Manalink Update 7/31: Challenge Mode + Launcher

[Reid]

Everything seems to work for me (except I've problem with decks too but I backup them manually so no problem). Thanks, this seems a nice challenge.

[jatill]

awesome work guys:P
finally managed to beat first 9 matches:)

btw. Does second challenge start with that deck which has kobold in play aswell?

Nope, but it takes 10 matches to win the 1st challenge, not 9.

[Revan]

After a couple of hours play time, I finally played agianst the final opponent (pretty nasty the last 2 by the way.)

This was the situation: I had a moat in play and removed all flying options from the opponent, he had just drawn his last card so I would win next turn, but then the game crashed...

Really not happy at the moment

[Revan]

Okay, so 2 attempts later I cleared the first challenge, but when I start a new challenge the opponent once again starts with a kobold taskmaster...

On an other note, I do have an extra card after clearing the challenge, but I also had 2/3 cards I didn't see before downloading this update.

Did you put in extra cards outside of the challenge mode that you didn't tell us of?

[mathusalem]

yeah I noticed 3 or 4 new cards as well and I haven't beaten the first challenger.

[aww1979]

I'm not asking for any spoilers, but what exactly is the nature of challenge mode? I still can't get it to run. I used the launcher and picked challenge mode, but as far as I can tell it's just normal duels. I did not see any kobold or other card in play to indicate it was on.

[somacat]

@aww1979: Challenge mode is a special form of gauntlet, where the AI gets an additional advantage in each match. For example, in the first match, it starts with a Kobold Taskmaster in play to enhance it's Kobold deck. Other rounds will start with different cards in play, or some other advantage.
Also, you can try to get the challenge mode to start this way: In your Magic folder, open config.txt and change the 0 next to 'Challenge Mode' to a 1. Make sure you turn off all the other options (except Rules Engine) though. Then just start a normal Gauntlet. You should see the Kobold in play.

@mathusalem and Revan: The unlockable cards appear in the deckbuilder, but I believe that if you try using them in a deck, their abilities won't work, they will just be generic creatures / permanents etc. I think you also get a message that tells you that you need to unlock them.

EDIT: also, after you finish a challenge (or if you lose), I believe you have to close the program and open it again to do another challenge (just don't do this until after you get the message saying you have unlocked a new card!).

[thedrigo]

This mode is AWESOME. The decks given to the AI to kick your ass in Challenge Mode were superbly picked and wonderfully put together. Congrats Jatill, you have made the game even more awesome than I thought was possible. THANK YOU!

[jhamma66]

I'm sure to get the newbie award for asking this, but what are the deck restrictions for playing the gauntlet? I built a deck that got an error saying swamp was the illegal card...

[stassy]

Tried the Challenge mode from the Launcher and I get an autoloss because my deck is not legal although I have CheckDeckLegality:0 in config.txt

Edit: It's the same error as previous post

[somacat]

A deck should be considered legal in challenge mode if it is either legal in vintage or legacy. Check http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Resources.aspx?x=judge/resources/sfrvintage and http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Resources.aspx?x=judge/resources/sfrlegacy for lists. Although it is strange that it will give an error showing Swamp... is the deck 60 cards?

Also, Challenge Mode automatically enforces deck legality checking. The ability to turn CheckDeckLegality on / off is for regular duels.

[stassy]

So you can't play a challenge mode with a degenerated deck, it's ok that is all I wanted to know.

The land thing is normal I think, it's just the next card in the library, I tried a legal deck and it worked

[jatill]

So after reading the above posts, is anyone still having trouble running the gauntlet? I have a nice gauntlet surprise coming, but not until later in the week, or maybe next week.

Re: Deck Legality. If your deck is too small, you'll get a random card as the error. Otherwise, you should get a picture of the actual card causing the problem.

[jhamma66]

Ahhh... no, I built 40 card decks! When did the minimum deck size move to 60? I guess you can tell how long it's been since I've played in a tournament (about 12 years)...\

Thanks! I will go back, edit decks and see what happens.

[jatill]

I'm curious if people are using and are successful at this feature.
If you are using the challenge mode, please let me know in the forum. Also mention which level you've managed to get to. Thanks.