Manalink.csv Definition
Definitions and Specifications for Manalink.csv
Updated: 2010.10.14
The file itself is actually not a Comma Separated Value file, but is instead a Quoted-Delimited data file with a semi-colon as the delimeter. Any data fields containing either delimeters or double-quotes (; or ") as part of their data must themselves be surrounded by double-quotes. Mana symbols, program variables and text associations are represented by a pipe character (|) followed by a letter, number or symbol. These are used exclusively for rules text in the following data fields:
103. Rules Text 105. Damage Text 107. Effect Text 109. Legacy Text
Special display characters (ex. carriage return) are represented by a backslash (\) followed by a letter or character. These are used exclusively in the preceding 4 data fields, as well as field #104. Flavor Text. The available modifiers are:
|0 thru |9 - Generic Mana Symbol |B - Black Mana Symbol |U - Blue Mana Symbol |G - Green Mana Symbol |R - Red Mana Symbol |W - White Mana Symbol |X - "X" Mana symbol (ex. Crypt Rats) |T - Tap Symbol |a - Additional effect text produced by Card's ability (ex. Urza's Avenger) |n - Modifier produced by Card's ability (ex. +|n/+0 until end of turn) |S - Identifies the color(s) associated with Card (ex. |SBlack) |H1 - Identifies the basic land type(s) associated with Card (ex. |H1Swamp) |H2 - Identifies the landwalk ability(s) associated with Card (ex. |H2Swampwalk) |L and |M - Replace word "L" with word "M" in Card text (ex. Magical Hack) |#1 and |#2 - Associate 2 sections of text for different Card effects (ex. Raging River) \n - Generates a "carriage return" when Card's text is displayed \\ - Generates a "backslash" (\) when Card's text is displayed
There are currently 109 data fields in the header for Manalink.csv. Each is detailed below:
1. ID
Unique numerical identifier for each Card. Currently the range is 0-1999.
2. Full Name
Complete name of Card as it appears on the upper-left of the printed original.
3. CODED CARD
A binary flag to define the coded status of a card. The possible values are: 0 - Uncoded and not usable 1 - Coded and usable
4. Name
Card name as it appears on the Playfield, in the Beckbuilder, etc. (potentially shortened for in-game display). Usually the exact same as field #2-Full Name.
5. Expansion
A HexaDecimal number representing the Card's associated expansion. There are 9 possible values: 0800h - Unlimited 0004h - Arabian Nights 0002h - Antiquities 0100h - Legends 0020h - The Dark 0008h - Astral Set 0040h - 8th Edition 01000h - Tokens 0080h - N/D _______________________________________________ Q: What does "N/D" stand for, "Non-Determined"?
6. Color
A single digit associating each card with a specific color. There are 8 possible values: 1 - Black 2 - Blue 3 - Artifact 4 - Gold 5 - Green 6 - Land 7 - Red 8 - White _______________________________________________________ Q: How does this differ from field #45-Sleighted Color.
7. Card Type
A single digit defining the Card's type. There are 8 possible values: 1 - Artifact 2 - Enchantment 3 - Instant 4 - Interrupt 5 - Land 6 - Sorcery 7 - Creature 8 - Token
8. DB Card Type 2
A value between 0 and 12 defining the general ability of the Card. The possible values are: 0 - Not applicable (ex. basic land, vanilla creatures) 1 - Ante (ex. Darkpact, Jeweled Bird) 2 - Control permanent (ex. Aladdin, Control Magic) 3 - Counter spell (ex. Power Sink, Deathgrip) 4 - Direct damage (ex. Lightning Bolt, Sandstorm) 5 - Discard (ex. Mind Twist, Cursed Rack) 6 - Card drawing (ex. Ancestral Recall, Bazaar of Baghdad) 7 - Life gaining (ex. Stream of Life, Swords to Plowshares) 8 - Damage prevention (ex. Forcefield, Death Ward) 9 - Land destruction/alteration (ex. Armageddon, Gaea's Liege) 10 - Mana producers (ex. Black Lotus, Drain Power) 11 - Game stallers (ex. Mana Short, Unsummon) 12 - Creature enhancers or inflatable creatures (ex. Order of Leitbur, Helm of Chatzuk) _____________________________________ Note: These values may be irrelevant.
9. Rarity
A single digit defining the Card's rarity for the purpose of draft and sealed deck tournaments. There are 3 possible values: 1 - Common 2 - Rare 4 - Uncommon
10. Req Colorless
11. Req Black
12. Req Blue
13. Req Green
14. Req Red
15. Req White
Each is a single digit (0 - 9) defining the total upper right-hand casting cost of the Card.
16. Num Pics
A value between 1 and 27 indicating the number of pictures available for the Card in the folder "CardArtNew". Additional pictures are indexed by adding a single letter to the end of the filename. (ex. 0000.jpg, 0000A.jpg, 0000B.jpg, etc.)
17. Mod Direct Fire
18. Mod Land Destructor
19. Mod Draw Cards
20. Mod Discard
21. Mod Gain Life
22. Mod Damage Prevention
23. Mod Recycler
24. Mod Counter Spell
25. Mod Control
26. Mod Combat Manipulator
27. Mod Enchantments
28. Mod Artifacts
29. Mod Creature
30. Mod Creature Generator
31. Mod Damage Opponent
32. Mod Library Manipulation
Each of these is a single digit between 0 and 7.
These are a set of modifiers to help communicate the use, intent and purpose of
the Card and it's abilities to the AI. The values can be directly relational
(ex. Giant Growth, Righteousness) or subjective (ex. Spirit Link, Balance).
____________________________________________________
Q: Is this anywhere close to correct? If so, exactly
how does the AI relate to each value?
33. Mod Dummy 1
34. Mod Dummy 2
35. Mod Dummy 3
36. Mod Dummy 4
A small set of spare headings for expanding Card definitions. These are unused.
37. AI Inc Power
38. AI Inc Toughness
Each is a one byte value defining the Cards ability to enhance the power and toughness of creatures. The values can be directly relational (ex. Giant Growth, Righteousness) or subjective (ex. Army of Allah, Magma Sliver). ________________________________________________________ Q: Does the AI use these values in gameplay? If so, how?
39. AI Power
40. AI Toughness
Creature's power/toughness as it appears in the lower-right of the printed original. __________________________________________________________________________ Q: How does this differ from the other power/toughness (fields 83 and 84)?
41. AI Base Value
A one byte value used by the AI in determining the best cards to select for limited play (draft, sealed deck, etc.). Higher is more valuable. The following scale should be used in determining the Card's value: 0 - Cards that are useless in limited play (ex. Buried Alive, Conversion) 1 thru 9 - Filler cards (ex. Grizzly Bears, Drudge Skeletons) 10 thru 19 - Lands and mana fixers (ex. Badlands, Basalt Monolith) 20 thru 39 - Average creatures (ex. Giant Spider, Granite Gargoyle) 40 thru 49 - Medium quality removal (ex. Immolation, Weakness) 50 thru 59 - Above average creatures (ex. Durkwood Boars, Prodigal Sorcerer) 60 thru 69 - Strong spells (ex. Tidings, Vampiric Tutor) 70 thru 79 - Very strong creatures (ex. Air Elemental, Serra Angel) 80 thru 99 - High quality removal (ex. Terror, Swords to Plowshares) 100 thru 200 - Potentially game-winning bombs (ex. Loxodon Warhammer, Fireball) __________________________________________________________________________________ Q: Is this value used for anything besides Card selection? Is it used in gameplay?
42. Dependent Artifact
43. Dependent Creature
44. Dependent Wall
A set of binary flags to mark cards and their effects as dependent on a specific type of permanent, either as part of the casting cost or as a targeting requirement. The possible values are: 0 - Not Required 1 - Required ________________________________________________________________________ Q: If this is correct, why are there no flags for lands or enchantments?
45. Sleighted Color
A 6 bit binary register associating the Card with multiple colors.
Each bit represents a color:
000001 (+1) - Unknown
000010 (+2) - Black
000100 (+4) - Blue
001000 (+8) - Green
010000 (+16) - Red
100000 (+32) - White
So a Card that is Black, Green and White would have a value of 42 (101010)
________________________________________________________________
Q: How does this differ from field #6 Color? Does this represent
changes to the Card's color after entering play?
46. VS Black
47. VS Blue
48. VS Green
49. VS Red
50. VS White
A set of binary flags to define Card as being distinctly "Anti-Color". It can be protection from color (ex. Black Knight), destruction of color (ex. Northern Paladin), counterspell ability (ex. Deathgrip), or presumably anything else that is negatively color centric. The possible values are: 0 - Neutral toward this color 1 - May negatively affect this color
51. For Black
52. For Blue
53. For Green
54. For Red
55. For White
A set of binary flags to define Card as being distinctly "Pro-Color". It can be creature enhancement (ex. Bad Moon), mana production (ex. Tolarian Academy), creature production (ex. Call of the Herd), or presumably anything else that is positively color centric. The possible values are: 0 - Neutral toward this color 1 - May positively affect this color
56. Count as Black
57. Count as Blue
58. Count as Green
59. Count as Red
60. Count as White
A set of binary flags used to associate multi-colored Cards with the specific colors of their casting cost. Mono-colored Cards ignore these values. The possible values are: 0 - Multi-colored Card does not have this color in its casting cost 1 - Multi-colored Card does have this color in its casting cost
61. VS Black Land
62. VS Blue Land
63. VS Green Land
64. VS Red Land
65. VS White Land
A set of binary flags to define Card as being distincly "Anti-Basic Land". It can be landwalk ability (ex. Bog Wraith), destruction (ex. Flashfires), alteration (ex. Conversion), or presumably anything else that negatively affects a basic land type. The possible values are: 0 - Neutral toward this basic land type 1 - May negatively affect this basic land type
66. For Black Land
67. For Blue Land
68. For Green Land
69. For Red Land
70. For White Land
A set of binary flags to define Card as being distinctly "Pro-Basic Land". It can be mana production (ex. Gauntlet of Might), augmentation (ex. Living Lands), alteration (ex. Blood Moon), or presumably anything else that positively affects a basic land type. The possible values are: 0 - Neutral toward this basic land type 1 - May positively affect this basic land type
71. Count as Black Land
72. Count as Blue Land
73. Count as Green Land
74. Count as Red Land
75. Count as White Land
A set of binary flags used to define the Card as ???
They may actually be this land type (ex. all basic lands, Badlands)
or not (ex. Gaea's Cradle, Vault of Whispers). The possible values are:
0 - Is not this basic land type, or does not produce this color of mana
1 - Is this basic land type, or does produce this color of mana
____________________________________________________________________________
Q: This is horribly inaccurate. Both Magical Hack and Phantasmal Terrain
have all of these flags set (counts as all lands), yet Llanowar Elves has
none of them set. What exactly are these flags for?
76. AI Flying
77. AI Banding
78. AI Trample
79. AI First Strike
80. AI Wall
81. AI Landhome
Each value is a single digit between 0 and 4 that defines the Card as
possessing, granting, affecting or being affected by that type or ability.
"AI Flying" includes all creatures with flying as well as Gravity Sphere
and Hurricane. "AI Trample" includes all creatures with trample
as well as Berserk and Armadillo Cloak. "AI First Strike" includes all
creatures with first strike as well as Urborg and Kobold Overlord.
_________________________________________________________
Q: Does the AI actually use these values during gameplay?
If so, for what? How do the values affect gameplay?
If not, then what do the values represent?
82. Exp Rarity
A 5 digit HexaDecimal number defining the Card's rarity in different expansions.
Each of the 5 digits represents a specific expansion, in the following order:
1st digit - 8th Edition
2nd digit - Chronicles
3rd digit - 5th Edition
4th digit - 4th Edition
5th digit - Revised
Each digit has 5 possible values representing the Card's rarity in that expansion:
0 - Unavailable in this expansion
1 - Uncommon
5 - Common
7 - Special Chronicles
9 - Rare
___________________________________________________________
Q: There are 16 Cards in the current Manalink.csv using the
"Special Chronicles" rarity. What exactly is it for?
83. Power
84. Toughness
Creature's power/toughness as it appears in the lower-right of the printed original. __________________________________________________________________________ Q: How does this differ from the other power/toughness (fields 39 and 40)?
85. Num of DB Abilities
Numer of database abilities the Card possesses. Currently the range is 0-8. The abilities are defined in the fields following this one.
86. DBA1
87. DBA2
88. DBA3
89. DBA4
90. DBA5
91. DBA6
92. DBA7
93. DBA8
Each is a one byte value associating the Card with one of the following abilities: 0 - No additional abilities 1 - Banding 2 - Desertwalk 3 - First strike 4 - Flying 5 - Forestwalk 6 - Vigilance 7 - Islandwalk 8 - Legendary landwalk 9 - Mountainwalk 10 - Plainswalk 11 - Poison 12 - Protection from black 13 - Protection from red 14 - Protection from white 15 - Haste 16 - Rampage 17 - Regeneration 18 - Deathtouch 19 - Swampwalk 20 - Trample 21 - Reach 22 - Banding granting 23 - First strike granting 24 - Flying granting 25 - Forestwalk granting 26 - Vigilance granting 27 - Islandwalk granting 28 - Mountainwalk granting 29 - Plainswalk granting 30 - Protection from artifacts granting 31 - Protection from black granting 32 - Protection from blue granting 33 - Protection from green granting 34 - Protection from red granting 35 - Protection from white granting 36 - Haste granting 37 - Rampage granting 38 - Regeneration granting 39 - Deathtouch granting 40 - Swampwalk granting 41 - Trample granting 42 - Reach granting
94. Mana Source Colors
A 6 bit binary register defining the colors of mana the Card can produce. Each bit represents a color of mana: 000001 (+1) - Colorless (generic) 000010 (+2) - Black 000100 (+4) - Blue 001000 (+8) - Green 010000 (+16) - Red 100000 (+32) - White So a Card that can produce Black, Green and White mana would have a value of 42 (101010)
95. Inflatable
A binary flag defining the Card as self-inflatable. This includes both the obvious (ex. Shivan Dragon, Carrion Ants, Dragon Whelp, Granite Gargoyle) and the less obvious (ex. Fungusaur, Sengir Vampire, Lhurgoyf, Rock Hydra, Wall of Wonder). The possible values are: 0 - Card is not self-inflatable 1 - Card is self-inflatable
96. Hack Color
A 6 bit binary register associating the Card with multiple basic land types. Each bit represents a different basic land type: 000001 (+1) - Unknown 000010 (+2) - Swamp 000100 (+4) - Island 001000 (+8) - Forest 010000 (+16) - Mountain 100000 (+32) - Plains So a Card that is Swamp, Forest and Plains would have a value of 42 (101010)
97. Hack Mode
A single digit defining how the Card and its effects are associated with lands. There are 8 possible values: 0 - Card has no abilities that affect lands 1 - Card has landwalk 2 - Card has ability that affects lands 3 - Card's rules text affects lands 4 - Card has a continuous effect on lands 5 - Card is a sorcery, an instant or has a trigger that affects lands 6 - Card has effects that affect all players or other player's land 7 - Card has landhome
98. Enchant Type OWN
99. Enchant Type OPP
Each of these appears to be a value from 0 thru 8
________________________________________________________________________
Q: Are these values intended to help guide the AI's targeting decisions?
Are they used for Cards or effects other that enchantments?
100. Subtype
101. Subtype 2
Each is a one byte value identifing the Card's sub-types as defined in the source file "subtypes.h". There are currently 232 possible values: 1 - Incarnation 2 - Artificer 3 - Advisor 4 - Pest 5 - Angel 6 - Anteater 7 - Ape 8 - Nightstalker 9 - Archer 10 - Dryad 11 - Artifact 12 - Antelope 13 - Assassin 14 - Atog 15 - Avatar 16 - Archon 17 - Plant 18 - Badger 19 - Aurochs 20 - Beeble 21 - Blinkmoth 22 - Basilisk 23 - Bat 24 - Bear 25 - Beast 26 - Bringer 27 - Sliver 28 - Berserker 29 - Monk 30 - Boar 31 - Trap 32 - Ally 33 - Ox 34 - Cyclops 35 - Camel 36 - Equipment 37 - Cephalid 38 - Chimera 39 - Centaur 40 - Cleric 41 - Shapeshifter 42 - Construct 43 - Cockatrice 44 - Artifact Creature 45 - Citizen 46 - Demon 47 - Eldrazi 48 - Devil 49 - Crab 50 - Djinn 51 - Shaman 52 - Dragon 53 - Dauthi 54 - Drake 55 - Deserter 56 - Druid 57 - Dwarf 58 - Eye 59 - Dreadnought 60 - Drone 61 - Efreet 62 - Egg 63 - Elk 64 - Elder 65 - Elemental 66 - Elephant 67 - Elf 68 - Enchantment 69 - Ferret 70 - Flagbearer 71 - Minion 72 - Fox 73 - Faerie 74 - Homunculus 75 - Frog 76 - Goat 77 - Graveborn 78 - Harpy 79 - Fungus 80 - Hellion 81 - Gargoyle 82 - Hippo 83 - Homarid 84 - Giant 85 - Gnome 86 - Goblin 87 - Lizard 88 - Hyena 89 - Jellyfish 90 - Soldier 91 - Gorgon 92 - Hag 93 - Human 94 - Horror 95 - Horse 96 - Kavu 97 - Hydra 98 - Imp 99 - Kirin 100 - Kor 101 - Juggernaut 102 - Kraken 103 - Lammasu 104 - Kithkin 105 - Knight 106 - Golem 107 - Kobold 108 - Land 109 - Leech 110 - Legend 111 - Mountain 112 - Licid 113 - Metathran 114 - Leviathan 115 - Monger 116 - Mongoose 117 - Desert 118 - Moonfolk 119 - Mutant 120 - Mystic 121 - Bird 122 - Manticore 123 - Nautilus 124 - Nephilim 125 - Merfolk 126 - Minotaur 127 - Ninja 128 - Masticore 129 - Octopus 130 - Myr 131 - Orb 132 - Orgg 133 - Oyster 134 - Ouphe 135 - Nightmare 136 - Nomad 137 - Island 138 - Ogre 139 - Pentavite 140 - Ooze 141 - Orc 142 - Forest 143 - Pegasus 144 - Swamp 145 - Phelddagrif 146 - Phoenix 147 - Pincher 148 - Plains 149 - Prism 150 - Rabbit 151 - Reflection 152 - Barbarian 153 - Rhino 154 - Rat 155 - Cat 156 - Rogue 157 - Rigger 158 - Salamander 159 - Scout 160 - Satyr 161 - Scarecrow 162 - Scorpion 163 - Serpent 164 - Shade 165 - Permanent 166 - Fish 167 - Pirate 168 - Samurai 169 - Saproling 170 - Serf 171 - Skeleton 172 - Slug 173 - Sheep 174 - Slith 175 - Spawn 176 - Specter 177 - Sphinx 178 - Spider 179 - Spirit 180 - Soltari 181 - Spellshaper 182 - Griffin 183 - Spike 184 - Turtle 185 - Thopter 186 - Treefolk 187 - Troll 188 - Not Used 1 189 - Splinter 190 - Unicorn 191 - Vampire 192 - Sponge 193 - Squid 194 - Squirrel 195 - Starfish 196 - Warrior 197 - Wall 198 - Survivor 199 - Thalakos 200 - Thrull 201 - Wizard 202 - Wolverine 203 - Wolf 204 - Wombat 205 - World 206 - Wraith 207 - Triskelavite 208 - Wurm 209 - Yeti 210 - Zombie 211 - None 212 - Crocodile 213 - Illusion 214 - Insect 215 - Vedalken 216 - Volver 217 - Weird 218 - Snake 219 - Sand 220 - Tetravite 221 - Whale 222 - Worm 223 - Zubera 224 - Assembly Worker 225 - Hound 226 - Lhurgoyf 227 - Tribal 228 - Shrine 229 - Carrier 230 - Mercenary 231 - Rebel 232 - Viashino
102. Type Text
The Card type as it appears to the left and below the Card's art on the printed original.
103. Rules Text
The complete updated rules text for the Card. Pipe (|) and Backslash (\) are allowed.
104. Flavor Text
The flavor text for the Card as it appears on the printed original. Backslash (\) is allowed.
105. Damage Text
Additional rules text displayed on the Damage Card created by this Card's damage effect. Pipe (|) and Backslash (\) are allowed.
106. Effect Title Text
Title displayed on the Effect Card produced by this Card's ability.
107. Effect Text
Additional rules text displayed on the Effect Card created by this Card's ability. Pipe (|) and Backslash (\) are allowed.
108. Legacy Title Text
Title displayed on the Legacy Effect Card created by this Card's ability.
109. Legacy Text
Additional rules text displayed on the Legacy Effect Card created by this Card's ability. Pipe (|) and Backslash (\) are allowed.
Notes:
The goal for this definition is to be specific, inclusive, uniform and concise.
General questions to consider:
What is the range of values for each data field? What exactly do the values represent? What are they used for? Selection of Cards in limited play (draft/sealed deck)? Used by the AI to help decide targets? Is the value actively used by Manalink, or is it now irrelevant? If so, what was it used for and why is it no longer needed?
Still to do:
Break down fields #17-32 and provide more accurate and singular definitions.