Card Development Questions

[friarsol]

I am testing Deathforge Shaman and can not get it to double the damage using either Count$TimesKicked/Twice or Count$TimesKicked/Times.2

Those should be the right ones. It looks like TimesKicked wasn't calling the doXMath function that everything else calls. I'm submitting the fix now.

[Jaedayr]

Will this require more than text to work properly? Everything works except that the enchantment taps, not the creature. It seems similar to Gemhide Sliver.

Code: Select all

Name:Utopia Vow
ManaCost:1 G
Types:Enchantment Aura
Text:no text
K:Enchant creature
K:enPumpCurse:HIDDEN CARDNAME can't attack or block.:Enchanted creature can't attack or block.
A:AB$ Mana | Cost$ T | Produced$ W | SpellDescription$ Add W to your mana pool.
A:AB$ Mana | Cost$ T | Produced$ U | SpellDescription$ Add U to your mana pool.
A:AB$ Mana | Cost$ T | Produced$ B | SpellDescription$ Add B to your mana pool.
A:AB$ Mana | Cost$ T | Produced$ R | SpellDescription$ Add R to your mana pool.
A:AB$ Mana | Cost$ T | Produced$ G | SpellDescription$ Add G to your mana pool.
SVar:Rarity:Common
SVar:Picture:http://www.wizards.com/global/images/magic/general/utopia_vow.jpg
SetInfo:PLC|Common|http://magiccards.info/scans/en/pc/142.jpg
End

[friarsol]

Will this require more than text to work properly? Everything works except that the enchantment taps, not the creature. It seems similar to Gemhide Sliver.

Code: Select all

Name:Utopia Vow
ManaCost:1 G
Types:Enchantment Aura
Text:no text
K:Enchant creature
K:enPumpCurse:HIDDEN CARDNAME can't attack or block.:Enchanted creature can't attack or block.
A:AB$ Mana | Cost$ T | Produced$ W | SpellDescription$ Add W to your mana pool.
A:AB$ Mana | Cost$ T | Produced$ U | SpellDescription$ Add U to your mana pool.
A:AB$ Mana | Cost$ T | Produced$ B | SpellDescription$ Add B to your mana pool.
A:AB$ Mana | Cost$ T | Produced$ R | SpellDescription$ Add R to your mana pool.
A:AB$ Mana | Cost$ T | Produced$ G | SpellDescription$ Add G to your mana pool.
SVar:Rarity:Common
SVar:Picture:http://www.wizards.com/global/images/magic/general/utopia_vow.jpg
SetInfo:PLC|Common|http://magiccards.info/scans/en/pc/142.jpg
End

Yea this doesn't really work since the enchanted creature is the one gaining the ability. Issue 99 (http://code.google.com/p/cardforge/issues/detail?id=99) is already recorded as a work item. Once we have the work item finished cards like this and Gemhide Sliver would not need any hardcoding.

[Jaedayr]

Thanks for the quick response Sol. Next question. The card below appears to do everything it should including mana payment and creature selection, except the selected creature never changes zones from the graveyard to the battlefield. I am trying to use text from Debtors' Knell and Hymn of Rebirth. What am I missing here?

Code: Select all

Name:Teneb, the Harvester
ManaCost:3 B G W
Types:Legendary Creature Dragon
Text:no text
PT:6/6
K:Flying
T:Mode$ DamageDone | ValidSource$ Card.Self | ValidTarget$ Player | Execute$ TrigChange | CombatDamage$ True | TriggerDescription$ Whenever CARDNAME deals combat damage to a player, you may pay 2 B. If you do, put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control.
SVar:TrigChange:AB$ChangeZone | Cost$ 2 B | Origin$ Graveyard | Destination$ Battlefield | GainControl$ True | ChangeNum$ 1 | TgtPrompt$ Choose target creature card in a graveyard | ValidTgts$ Creature
SVar:Rarity:Rare
SVar:Picture:http://www.wizards.com/global/images/magic/general/teneb_the_harvester.jpg
SetInfo:PLC|Rare|http://magiccards.info/scans/en/pc/163.jpg
End

[Zirbert]

Here's one I'm working on - Necromancer's Covenant (I do love me some zombies). I jigsawed it together mostly using bits of other cards with similar functions. It doesn't quite work yet, but I think I know why. Hopefully one of the coding gurus will be willing to give it a once-over, please:

Code: Select all

Name:Necromancer's Covenant
ManaCost:3 W B B
Types:Enchantment
Text:no text
T:Mode$ ChangesZone | Origin$ Any | Destination$ Battlefield | ValidCard$ Card.Self | Execute$ TrigExileGrave | TriggerDescription$ When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, exile all creature cards from target player's graveyard, then put a 2/2 black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield for each card exiled this way.
SVar:TrigExileGrave:AB$ChangeZoneAll | Cost$ 0 | ValidTgts$ Player | ChangeType$ Creature | Origin$ Graveyard | Destination$ Exile | ValidTgts$ Player | SubAbility$ SVar=MakeZombies
SVar:MakeZombies:AB$Token | Cost$ 0 | TokenImage$ B 2 2 Zombie | TokenName$ Zombie | TokenColors$ Black | TokenTypes$ Creature,Zombie | TokenPower$ 2 | TokenToughness$ 2 | TokenOwner$ Controller | TokenAmount$ X
SVar:X:Count$InTgtYard.Creature
K:stPumpAll:Creature.Zombie+YouCtrl:0/0/Lifelink:No Condition:Zombies you control have lifelink.
SVar:Rarity:Rare
SVar:Picture:
SetInfo:
End

It's letting me choose the player, it's exiling the creatures, it's giving my zombies lifelink - it just doesn't make the zombies.

I'm pretty sure the problem is that X, the number of cards exiled / zombies made, is being defined too late. I don't know how to tell it X is the number of creature cards in the target player's graveyard *before* the exiling.

I also don't have SetInfo and Picture info there yet, but even I can handle those - I wanted to get this "draft" version posted ASAP.

Anybody want to help me move that variable definition to the right place? I tried flipping the order of the triggered abilities - make X zombies, with X defined as Count$InTgtYard.Creature, then exiling all creatures from that graveyard (seems to me that would be functionally identical) - but that went off without asking me for the targeted player. Again, no zombies, and I don't know how to wedge a "choose target player" into the token-making trigger line...

[friarsol]

Thanks for the quick response Sol. Next question. The card below appears to do everything it should including mana payment and creature selection, except the selected creature never changes zones from the graveyard to the battlefield. I am trying to use text from Debtors' Knell and Hymn of Rebirth. What am I missing here?

Teneb looks ok to me, so there may be an issue with how Triggers interacts with Targeting. You don't need the ChangeNum line since you are targeting (you would use TargetMin and TargetMax for non-default values)

[friarsol]

I'm pretty sure the problem is that X, the number of cards exiled / zombies made, is being defined too late. I don't know how to tell it X is the number of creature cards in the target player's graveyard *before* the exiling.

Yep that pretty much sums it up. If we make Remember more flexible than we can remember how many cards are exiled and then use that value with the next SubAbility. This would be good for things like Cleansing Meditation or Decree of Pain. (Although Destroyed this way might be a bit trickier)

[Zirbert]

I'm pretty sure the problem is that X, the number of cards exiled / zombies made, is being defined too late. I don't know how to tell it X is the number of creature cards in the target player's graveyard *before* the exiling.

Yep that pretty much sums it up. If we make Remember more flexible than we can remember how many cards are exiled and then use that value with the next SubAbility. This would be good for things like Cleansing Meditation or Decree of Pain. (Although Destroyed this way might be a bit trickier)

Hmmm... so there isn't any way to just grab and define a variable, other than citing X in an ability line then defining it in the next? That is, there's no way to just, more or less anywhere, say "X = (definition)", then refer to it later?

I grew up programming in Basic (yup, I'm that old), so I wanted to write this card's ETB ability as something like this logical sequence:

Code: Select all

X = number of creature cards in target players graveyard
Exile all creature cards from that graveyard ( = exile X creature cards from that graveyard)
Put X zombie tokens into play

I thought I must have been overlooking some really simple way to do this. Hopefully something like it will eventually be available. Seems like it would make some cards a whole lot easier to code.

Thanks,

Zirbert

[friarsol]

Hmmm... so there isn't any way to just grab and define a variable, other than citing X in an ability line then defining it in the next? That is, there's no way to just, more or less anywhere, say "X = (definition)", then refer to it later?

What you wrote up is the way that does happen. But there's no way to do it "before" anything else. So when X is calculated, it's already in the SubAbility, after the creatures have been exiled. As I was saying before, by making Remember more flexible, we can remember all of the cards that were effected by the primary ability and then use those cards however we choose. Counting the number would be the most common thing to do in this case.

If we had a stand alone "Define Variable" AF this could cause nightmares with how the AI could play that card, since the primary ability handles most of the checks for whether or not the card should be played.

[Zirbert]

OK, here's another work-in-progress that's creating triggering problems. Because no one demanded it, Giant Shark. Don't laugh - it let me try several abilities and triggers, and I figured it was a safe bet that no one was going to beat me to posting it:

Code: Select all

Name:Giant Shark
ManaCost:5 U
Types:Creature Fish
Text:no text
PT:4/4
T:Mode$ Blocks | ValidCard$ Creature.wasDealtDamageThisTurn | ValidAttacker$ Card.Self | TriggerZones$ Battlefield | Execute$ TrigBlockedPump | TriggerDescription$ Whenever CARDNAME becomes blocked by a creature that has been dealt damage this turn, CARDNAME gets +2/+0 and gains trample until end of turn.
SVar:TrigBlockedPump:AB$Pump | Cost$ 0 | Defined$ Self | NumAtt$ 2 | NumDef$ 0 | KW$ Trample
T:Mode$ Blocks | ValidCard$ Card.Self | ValidAttacker$ Creature.wasDealtDamageThisTurn | TriggerZones$ Battlefield | Execute$ TrigBlockingPump | TriggerDescription$ Whenever CARDNAME blocks a creature that has been dealt damage this turn, CARDNAME gets +2/+0 and gains trample until end of turn.
SVar:TrigBlockingPump:AB$Pump | Cost$ 0 | Defined$ Self | NumAtt$ 2 | NumDef$ 0 | KW$ Trample
K:CARDNAME can't attack unless defending player controls an Island.
K:When you control no Islands, sacrifice CARDNAME.
SVar:Rarity:Common
SVar:Picture:http://www.wizards.com/global/images/magic/general/giant_shark.jpg
SetInfo:DRK|Common|http://magiccards.info/scans/en/dk/28.jpg
End

This one is very, very close to working. Its noncombat abilities are fine (what used to be called Islandhome). It gets the attacking bonus when, and only when, it's blocked by a creature that has taken damage (I built a test deck with it Giant Shark and Pyrohemia, running against another test deck of nothing but lands and 0/x walls).

However, it gets the bonus whenever it blocks *any* attacking creature, whether that attacker has taken damage this turn or not. I know (hope) the problem is in this part:

Code: Select all

T:Mode$ Blocks | ValidCard$ Card.Self | ValidAttacker$ Creature.wasDealtDamageThisTurn | TriggerZones$ Battlefield | Execute$ TrigBlockingPump | TriggerDescription$ Whenever CARDNAME blocks a creature that has been dealt damage this turn, CARDNAME gets +2/+0 and gains trample until end of turn.
SVar:TrigBlockingPump:AB$Pump | Cost$ 0 | Defined$ Self | NumAtt$ 2 | NumDef$ 0 | KW$ Trample

But, I can't tell where. As far as I can see, this says that whenever this card (Card.Self) blocks a creature that has taken damage this turn (ValidAttacker$ Creature.wasDealtDamageThisTurn), run the trigger. Where have I gone wrong?

(Oh, and Hellfish - the new trigger example is great. I love the annotated explanations.)

-Zirbert

[Hellfish]

Ooh, I think this is a case of the wiki not keeping up with my changes. If you rename the ValidAttacker parameter to ValidBlocked it should work. I'll edit the wiki.

[jeffwadsworth]

There are quite a few optional cards out there that the AI should pretty much always accept. Lifegift is an example. Is there anyway to encourage its use? An opposite to IsCurse$ True, etc.

[friarsol]

There are quite a few optional cards out there that the AI should pretty much always accept. Lifegift is an example. Is there anyway to encourage its use? An opposite to IsCurse$ True, etc.

This is the exact type of thing I'm working on related to triggers right now.

[Zirbert]

Ooh, I think this is a case of the wiki not keeping up with my changes. If you rename the ValidAttacker parameter to ValidBlocked it should work. I'll edit the wiki.

That did the trick! Thanks to you, Forge can offer, at long last, a fully functional version of the card players have been clamoring for - Giant Shark.

I'll post the corrected card over on the Card Contributions thread. Hopefully some kind soul with a sense of humour will take mercy and add it to the SVN (Death Pit Offering, too, which nobody's committed yet).

-Zirbert

[friarsol]

(Death Pit Offering, too, which nobody's committed yet)

While definitely functional, I think it would be greatly advantageous for Death Pit Offering to wait for a SacrificeAll