Collectible Card Game Headquarters

I am systematically writing a list of issues I notice with the AI as I play. The AI combat and general card AI topics contain a lot of little posts. The topics seem to be defined a bit ambiguously - some of my lines could go to both. Would the developers prefer me updating my list in a topic of my own, or should I keep posting parts of the list as I create it to these 2 topics? If the topics, should I post ambiguous entries to both or randomly to other only?

Any method would work since I believe most developers will skim through the stickied topics and new posts from time to time. I did a general description some time back (viewtopic.php?f=52&t=18062) and you can feel free to continue from there.

Do note that updates to the AI are usually few and far between since it is notoriously difficult to reproduce and fix reported bugs.

As you have linked your thread, I will then post my list here. This is more like a diary than a bug list (not everything is clearly a problem) or a wishlist (some things are difficult for an AI). There may be some repetition, which is a sign of something happening in generic situations.

These are from 1.5.52 beta and Xyx's LEB world with recommended settings:

AI casts an another Pestilence enchantment, useless

AI doesn't try to kill player with Pestilence (Winter Orb in effect, so it would have to wait a few turns to have enough mana; player health 7 << AI 18)

AI uses Twiddle to tap my creature just before my turn, useless

AI uses artifacts that consume 1 mana to gain 1 health while Winter Orb is active, questionable

Scavenging Ghoul attacks me alone in army vs army situation, for seemingly no benefit as it just wastes its two regen counters

AI tends to block (surviving) Fungusaur (while damaging it), questionable

Sometimes attacks with everyone, although there are spells like Fog in existence that affect all -> next turn it is defenseless and dies

AI casts unnecessary Giant Growth when blocking with 2, for the who-would-survive blocker

AI casts Kudzu to untapped forest, while I have some other (tapped) forests with Wild Growth (and Llanowar Elves anyway)

AI casts Giant Growth to Ley Druid only to tap him to untap the forest it used for him

AI casts Giant Growth to a creature that is blocking a Thicket Basilisk, useless

AI Prodigal Sorcerer tap damage targets my ordinary 1/1 creature when it should target the other 1/1 that has Creature Bond

AI Prodigal Sorcerers seem to only tap damage creatures with x/1 or me, but do not cooperate against a single target?

AI casts Burrowing to its creature while I have no reds on the field (and do have many things) (and Winter Orb is active), questionable

AI attacks alone with a Hill Giant (3/3) that I can block to death by two Wall of Brambles (2/3). This repeats. Does the AI understand that multiple blockers damage its sole attacker?

I attacked AI with Craw Wurm (6/4) with Lure. I chose the damage order so that 4 damage went to Two-Headed Giant of Foriys (4/4) and 2 damage to Granite Gargoyle (2/2+x). The AI had plenty of mana but did not boost Granite Gargoyle's toughness, hence it died. AI should have boosted GG using 1 mana at DB.

Winter Orb is active. AI blocks with two regenerating 0/1 creatures and does not block with a 0/6 that would survive, hence using 2 mana and definitely wasting 1 mana. Earlier turns it did not block with 0/1 creatures (Will-o'-the-Wisp, 3 of them in all cases), it instead blocked with a Living Wall only and let my 1/1 damage thru, inconsistent. AI life 18 mine 20. Dumb behaviour repeats. Eventually it did not have mana to regenerate and still blocked with a 0/1 instead of free 0/6. Repeats dumb with remaining 2 0/1s. When I attack with everyone later, behaviour reverses and AI only blocks with smart 0/6 and lets the rest thru (it has no mana for regen). At next attack AI life is down to 13 and it has 2 mana, and it decides to block with all three creatures 0/1 0/1 0/6, using mana for regen. It however blocked my Thicket Basilisk with 0/1 nonwall instead of 0/6 wall, resulting in the loss of one 0/1 via special ability at EC step, which it could have avoided. AI 5 life blocks my Fungusaur with a 1/1, earlier it let it thru, questionable, as it has that 0/6, which instead blocks the only creature it has no special benefit against.

AI with plenty of mana blocks 2 Fungusaur with 2 Frozen Shade, but does not use their ability and they die (instead of my attackers dying)

AI blocks my regenerating 2/2 Fungusaur with a 1/1 instead of either 0/1, who block 2 ordinary 2/4 instead. It also lets my non-regenerating Fungusaur thru.

Does not choose wall for my attacking Thicket Basilisk

AI plays Lich when it has 19 life and one Wall of Bone, questionable

AI casts Lich twice, questionable

AI casts Kormus Bell twice, questionable

AI attacks with 2 3/3 Swamps even though I can block them both without losses. Last AI action was casting Unholy Strength to one of its Swamps, but I countered it with Lifeforce.

AI uses its Swamp creatures for mana even though it could beat me if it attacked all at once

AI attacks with a lone 4/4 unit even though I can block it with a regenerating wall

AI keeps attacking with a lone Stone Giant even though I can block it with a Giant Spider (Winter Orb is active)

AI taps Dwarven Demolition Team to destroy my ordinary wall, but doesn't do it for my regenerating wall, which would waste my mana, questionable (Winter Orb is active)

AI doesn't boost Granite Gargoyle when it is among multiple blockers of my Giant Growth Lure Fungusaur, and because of that loses it

AI doesn't boost its attacking Dragon Whelp when my 1/1 blocker surprises it with Giant Growth, so it will not destroy my flying unit along the way, questionable (it does summon a Fire Elemental later with that mana though, which allows it to get it out one turn earlier then)

I might be able to explain why some of these things happen.

For many cards, it's just a matter of "I drew this card, it must be in my deck for a reason, I have the mana, therefore I cast it". In the case of this quest world, the reason the card is in the deck is often just "it had to go somewhere". Richard Garfield didn't just make Ancestral Recall, he made some really bad cards as well.

reporter wrote:Sometimes attacks with everyone, although there are spells like Fog in existence that affect all -> next turn it is defenseless and dies

The AI attacks with everything if either:

1. It knows it's dead. Might as well try.
2. It thinks it can kill you. This seems to be bugged in that once you get down to a really low life total, the AI gets into this blind frenzy where it completely ignores your army of blockers.

reporter wrote:AI casts Giant Growth to a creature that is blocking a Thicket Basilisk, useless

Did that kill the basilisk?

reporter wrote:AI Prodigal Sorcerers seem to only tap damage creatures with x/1 or me, but do not cooperate against a single target?

Unfortunately not. The AI will finish off things that took incidental damage elsewhere but it will not formulate a plan where it combines multiple damage sources to take down larger things. For example, I don't think I've ever seen it do something like double Lightning Bolt an X/4 that really needed to die.

reporter wrote:AI attacks alone with a Hill Giant (3/3) that I can block to death by two Wall of Brambles (2/3). This repeats. Does the AI understand that multiple blockers damage its sole attacker?

Were you at 3 or less life?

reporter wrote:AI with plenty of mana blocks 2 Fungusaur with 2 Frozen Shade, but does not use their ability and they die (instead of my attackers dying)

AI doesn't boost Granite Gargoyle when it is among multiple blockers of my Giant Growth Lure Fungusaur, and because of that loses it

Sometimes it's really stingy with mana. It doesn't make sense. It's like a lottery.

reporter wrote:AI attacks with 2 3/3 Swamps even though I can block them both without losses. Last AI action was casting Unholy Strength to one of its Swamps, but I countered it with Lifeforce.

Were you at 6 or less life?

reporter wrote:AI attacks with a lone 4/4 unit even though I can block it with a regenerating wall

AI keeps attacking with a lone Stone Giant even though I can block it with a Giant Spider (Winter Orb is active)

I think it likes to "bluff" combat tricks.

Xyx wrote:

reporter wrote:AI casts Giant Growth to a creature that is blocking a Thicket Basilisk, useless

Did that kill the basilisk?

The way I wrote it, probably either Fog or regen saved it, but I'll have to write better notes to be sure.

Xyx wrote:

reporter wrote:AI attacks alone with a Hill Giant (3/3) that I can block to death by two Wall of Brambles (2/3). This repeats. Does the AI understand that multiple blockers damage its sole attacker?

Were you at 3 or less life?

reporter wrote:AI attacks with 2 3/3 Swamps even though I can block them both without losses. Last AI action was casting Unholy Strength to one of its Swamps, but I countered it with Lifeforce.

Were you at 6 or less life?

Adding life to the notes from now on then, it is short.

Xyx wrote:For many cards, it's just a matter of "I drew this card, it must be in my deck for a reason, I have the mana, therefore I cast it". In the case of this quest world, the reason the card is in the deck is often just "it had to go somewhere". Richard Garfield didn't just make Ancestral Recall, he made some really bad cards as well.

The above is probably the best answer to most of the questions in the AI threads.

As I mentioned in my thread, the AI has no notion of overall strategy and is basically making individual decisions on the fly all the time. This applies to multiple-pinging/stacking burn spells unless the target was damaged from another effect previously (eg. combat). Same goes for multi-pumps like Granite Gargoyle.

Many static effects (I think Winter Orb is one of them) are not considered in the AI code at all since it would mean inserting "if-else" blocks all over the place to support a single card or effect.

Here are some more from 1.5.53 beta:

AI attacks with 1/3 2/4 against my 1/3 2/4, I can block it all (or even destroy its 1/3 if I took damage). Repeats this the next turn even though it has summoned a 3/3 in addition, who does not attack? If it did, I would take damage..

AI summons Lord of the Pit even when it cannot get anything useful done with it next turn. It will instead be forced to destroy its own creatures with it.

AI with black deck will not change its behaviour when I have Lifeforce active. Its only option as far as I can see is to lure me into using my mana for countering small spells, while it has collected something useful for last (depending on mana sources).

AI damages me four times with Orcish Artillery in repeating turns, but it is not so good of a trade (me 20->18->16->14 AI 15->12->9->6)

AI attacked me with most of its creatures, and I had to use Fog to not die. AI summons more creatures (I don't) and .. decides not to attack with anyone next turn. It has 3 Orcish Oriflamme, Gauntlet of Might, Keldon Warlord and more red creatures than I have green ones. AI 6 me 14, it could do minimum 11 damage to me if all attacked, I would lose half my creatures and I could only do it 3 damage next turn (but I would win if the one card I hold was Fog, but it could still attack with almost all to do 6 damage to me and prevent that outcome). It didn't attack again and I could set up a Lure Thicket Basilisk and won.

While AI has Castle active, it attacks with a 1/2 against my 2/2. AI 20 me 19. <- this one not from LEB world

Well, at this point I'm unsure if posting AI feedback matters much (at this level). There are clearly all sorts of little things not working so well (and relatively easy to find), and many big things difficult to achieve with minor improvements.

reporter wrote:Well, at this point I'm unsure if posting AI feedback matters much (at this level). There are clearly all sorts of little things not working so well (and relatively easy to find), and many big things difficult to achieve with minor improvements.

Some of these cards you are posting about we already mark as they shouldn't be played by the AI due to playing drawbacks.