AI attacking and blocking Observations

[misfire200]

I have noticed in the 100+ matches I have played that the AI has a big issue with attacking when you have your 1/4 deathtouch plant critter in play. Even the elven pump decks that can get 20+ large critters on the field, they still will not attack for fear of losing one critter to the wall. The only time they would attack me with the plant on the field is with first strike critters (at least 4 in power) and with flying of course. The AI may want to take into account the total amount of damage they can do versus the little plant you have defending you.

[cc-drake]

- AI is on 20 life, has 8 poison counters and only one 1/1 creature. I attack with a Glass Golem and a Uthden Troll equipped with Grafted Exoskeleton.
AI blocks the Golem and dies.
- AI is on 1 and has a 0/4 and 2 1/1. I attack with a 9/9 and a 2/2. AI blocks the 9/9 with the 0/4 and the 2/2 with one 1/1.
Instead, AI should block the 2/2 with both 1/1, or at least the 9/9 with a 1/1 and the 2/2 with the 0/4.

[cc-drake]

Using 4/22.
- AI attacks with a 5/1 Claws of Valakut -enchanted Mogg Maniac. I decide to block with Wall of Bone and Chilling Apparition, both with regeneration shields. AI decides to distribute all 5 points of damage to the wall and his Mogg dies. Instead, AI should deal 4 points to the wall and one to the apparition which would keep his mogg alife.
- AI is on 1 life has two 1/1 and one 1/1 flying creature. I attack with two 4/4 Beasts and a Skyhunter Skirmisher. AI blocks the Beasts with a 1/1 and the flying creature and dies due to the Skyhunter.
- AI is on 9 poison counters, I have a 6/6 Infect-creature and AI a 3/2 Blinding Mage. AI decides to attack and died the following turn.
- AI does not attack with Darksteel Sentinel since it needs the Sentinel as blocker
- AI is on 2 and has a Flying Double Strike Rakdos Pit Dragon. Furthermore, we both have a non-flying wall. AI decides not to attack.
- With his Phyrexian Hulk, AI blocks Primeval Titan instead of Ant Queen. Due to trample, blocking Ant Queen would prevent more damage (and kill the Ant Queen as well)

[timmermac]

Using r8294.

AI is playing Treebeard 1. It has a 13/13 Dauntless Dourbark in play and a bunch of other Treefolk in play. The only dangerous creature I have in play is a 1/4 Plant Wall with deathtouch. The computer should take into account that killing my wall with his Dourbark is worth losing the Dourbark in an attack.

[cc-drake]

- AI is on 3 life and has a 3/3 and 3 1/1. I attack with a 7/7 trample. AI blocks with a 1/1 and dies.

[Sloth]

- AI is on 3 life and has a 3/3 and 3 1/1. I attack with a 7/7 trample. AI blocks with a 1/1 and dies.

Are you sure? I thought I got this into the AI blocking code.

[Rob Cashwalker]

While I can see the point... if it had blocked all-out it would save itself for 1 more turn..

However, if that were a real-life game, most players would scoop in a situation like that...

Maybe the blocking AI should consider what it has in hand? If it has something really good for its next turn, then go ahead and block all-out.

[cc-drake]

- AI is on 3 life and has a 3/3 and 3 1/1. I attack with a 7/7 trample. AI blocks with a 1/1 and dies.

Are you sure? I thought I got this into the AI blocking code.

Oops, I remember I used Vorrac Battlehorns to get trample - my mistake

[Agetian]

I noticed that the AI plays fast effect buff instants, such as e.g. Giant Growth +3/+3, before it declares attackers (or maybe right when it declares attackers) - it's good, but maybe it would have been trickier and more surprising if the AI sometimes cast such buffs in the Declare Blockers phase (and possibly if it still made sense by the Declare Blockers phase to still cast it - e.g. if the card is not blocked in such a manner that the buff will no longer be effective).

[Bundy]

The AI used Ali from Cairo to block my creature. The deck i used had no cards to deal direct damage, so Ali from Cairo could have been the winning card (or from my point of view, the losing card). Maybe it can be programmed that the AI never uses Ali from Cairo as a blocker?

Noticed a few times the AI equips Basilisk Collar after the combat phase to a tapped creature.

It also seems to me the AI is to scared to let one of his creatures die. For example, I can attack many turns with a 2/2 creature while the AI also has a 2/2 creature. Only when the AI life gets very low it decides to block and let both creatures die. If it did this the first combat, it would have saved a lot of life.
The AI lets my 2/2 creature pass many times, even when it has more 2/2 creatures in play, it only blocks when it can kill my creature without taking any loss itself.
Maybe the AI can be programmed to block sooner if it can also take out your attacker this way?

[Sloth]

The AI used Ali from Cairo to block my creature. The deck i used had no cards to deal direct damage, so Ali from Cairo could have been the winning card (or from my point of view, the losing card). Maybe it can be programmed that the AI never uses Ali from Cairo as a blocker?

Just checked in an update:
"The AI will no longer chump block when he controls cards like Ali from Cairo,
Platinum Angel or Platinum Emperion."

Noticed a few times the AI equips Basilisk Collar after the combat phase to a tapped creature.

I improved this last week. I think this won't happen anymore.

It also seems to me the AI is to scared to let one of his creatures die. For example, I can attack many turns with a 2/2 creature while the AI also has a 2/2 creature. Only when the AI life gets very low it decides to block and let both creatures die. If it did this the first combat, it would have saved a lot of life.
The AI lets my 2/2 creature pass many times, even when it has more 2/2 creatures in play, it only blocks when it can kill my creature without taking any loss itself.
Maybe the AI can be programmed to block sooner if it can also take out your attacker this way?

When I have some time I will tinker around with numbers here. Thanks Bundy.

[friarsol]

When I have some time I will tinker around with numbers here. Thanks Bundy.

Yea I think more Aggressive Blocking needs to be improved. The AI should be always willing to trade up/even (except in a rare situation where it "calls the bluff"). I know it'll be harder to trade up with multiple blockers, but I'd love to see that too.

[Bundy]

Yea I think more Aggressive Blocking needs to be improved. The AI should be always willing to trade up/even (except in a rare situation where it "calls the bluff"). I know it'll be harder to trade up with multiple blockers, but I'd love to see that too.

It's not only the AI that takes damage when creatures could be traded up. I sometimes wait to long, because the next card you draw might just be that enchantment you need to make your creature stronger ...

Sometimes you get lucky, most of the times you think "should have blocked sooner".
Or if you finally decide to block and then get the card needed "should have waited just one more turn".

But that is what keeps the game interesting ...

[Agetian]

I noticed that the AI is not very willing to block one of my huge threats with two/three of his creatures to get rid of it - for instance, I have a buffed-up 9/6 creature (e.g. a creature + an aura, or maybe even 2 auras), and the opponent has two 3/3s. Typically the AI will let me attack twice with this huge buff and deal 18 damage (and in the best scenario will attack back with 3/3s, but it depends on what I have - if I have something to block them with the AI won't even attack back), and only then when there's the imminent danger of losing the game the AI will consider blocking my 9/6, possibly with two of his 3/3s to destroy it. I think it would have been a worthwhile trade to get rid of my huge threatening creature earlier on (and make me lose a lot of material - not only the overbloated creature but possibly 1 or 2 auras as well) rather than let it deal free damage, because later it becomes very easy to just finish off the AI when it has two life left (even with a simple red sorcery spell such as Lightning Bolt or Shock or whatever).

[Agetian]

I noticed that the AI is not very willing to block one of my huge threats with two/three of his creatures to get rid of it - for instance, I have a buffed-up 9/6 creature (e.g. a creature + an aura, or maybe even 2 auras), and the opponent has two 3/3s. Typically the AI will let me attack twice with this huge buff and deal 18 damage (and in the best scenario will attack back with 3/3s, but it depends on what I have - if I have something to block them with the AI won't even attack back), and only then when there's the imminent danger of losing the game the AI will consider blocking my 9/6, possibly with two of his 3/3s to destroy it. I think it would have been a worthwhile trade to get rid of my huge threatening creature earlier on (and make me lose a lot of material - not only the overbloated creature but possibly 1 or 2 auras as well) rather than let it deal free damage, because later it becomes very easy to just finish off the AI when it has two life left (even with a simple red sorcery spell such as Lightning Bolt or Shock or whatever).

Oh, and by the way, this behavior also makes the AI feel very predictable about its blocking tactics - I mean, in 99% cases I feel very very safe attacking the AI, knowing that it will most certainly prefer to lose life until it's down to 1-4 rather than block my creatures, so I will attack even with my valuable creatures with important abilities such as mana source abilities or other valuable stuff - even if I'm fully aware that the AI, given that it wanted to, could beat my creature if it did block with a couple creatures of its own or if it would have preferred a one-to-one trade of its less valuable creature versus my much more valuable creature, I just know that in 99% cases the AI won't do it. Such aggressive careless attacking is something I would practically never really do in a real game versus a real opponent, but I will do it in Forge almost always because I know that the AI will prefer not to block and will let me deal damage rather freely until it becomes a matter of life or death for the AI opponent (when the AI will either block whatever I'm sending to attack it or lose the game).