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FFG Worlds: Reading the Fine Print
Oct 10 2017 12:00 AM |
istaril
in Articles
FFG OP has released another Thrones-related communication. As usual, it’s an uncontroversial and widely lauded document…You’ll find the FFGOP Thrones Worlds Schedule here.
The good:
- Clear structure. Schedule includes breaks, details like when leaderboards are posted. Cuts are clear, and not SoS based.
- The cut day (Day 2) includes swiss rounds, which can help alleviate inequality between the calibre of players in flights 1A and 1B.
- Document was issued sufficiently in advance of Worlds as to inform testing/planning, although it would have been better if it had been prior to ticket sales.
- Players will be entering Day 1B with (likely) full knowledge of what the field on Day 1A looked like, creating an information asymmetry there. This could be averted by “locking in†deck choices on day 1 of the event.
- There’s a major change to how the game is played snuck into the document, without an accompanying consultation and or explanation.
Now let’s be up front - it’s reasonably clear what this is attempting to address (an information asymmetry from scouting) and it isn’t without precedent - FFG OP did the same for the Star Wars LCG about a year ago. It’s entirely possible to agree with the change itself, but it’s pretty hard to justify the manner in which this change was made. A game played with perfect knowledge of the opponent’s deck plays out *very differently* from a typical game. This drastic change doesn’t inherently make a match better or worse, but it’s certainly not a change that should be embarked upon lightly, without consultation, and without detailed justification.
Before you all cry that “this is what Magic(â„¢) does!â€: Thrones relies so heavily on its plot deck, this application of a blanket ruling with its roots in other card games isn’t fair to this game. Remember that as plot choice is entirely under a player’s control (no random draw), you are being granted perfect knowledge of a deterministic game state. Many players claim, not without reason, that the core of the game is the anticipation of your opponent’s plots, and the knowledge of which are worth playing around and which are not. Plot-based resets are particularly illustrative of this: One of the best players I know had been considering a GJ deck running no resets which relied solely on the opponent's’ fear of Valar. Under these new rules he has scrapped the concept entirely. Gone is that creativity. Gone, too, are the nerve-wracking opening gambits of a lone Tywin setup, a naval superiority, or a summer harvest. Gone, I imagine, are plots like Political Disaster, or that second Wildfire Assault. Hello Marched to the Wall and Varys’s Riddle.
I’ve seen several arguments as to why this is the “wrong†change, offering alternative solutions such as allowing players to change their decks, reiterating the illegality of scouting (which, although unenforceable, can help change the culture of the “Casual scoutâ€), etc.
I am not claiming the solution to scouting is obvious. Personally, I strongly dislike aspects of the game that are “different†in between the swiss rounds and the cut. I dislike the fact that the winner of swiss is playing a single-elim tournament while other players played double (or triple), I dislike the worsening information asymmetry that comes from scouting throughout an event, I dislike extended time limits for cut rounds. And so I also dislike this new change, which makes cut games a very different beast. But it’s not the change itself I’m objecting to in this article… it’s the fact that FFG OP would embark on such a large re-shaping of the competitive game without talking to the community, announcing it properly and justifying their decision.
- CobraBubbles and Antaiseito like this
8 Comments
Yup.
I think having the decklists 100% revealed after the cut changes the game dynamics too much.
Scouting exists, though I consider it unethical, but I don't agree with changing the sneakiness / bluffing aspect of the game to attempt to fix it.
On the one hand I like it, on the other it's a very puzzling move. I like it because personally I like the challenge of seeing if the deck I brought is meant to beat the deck I'm playing against. When I do play testing, I often take some top tier, tournament winning decks and play against them; I suspect this is what most do. In that way, I already have the information anyways so I know what to play around. And if I see it in the lists, I can probably infer based on testing what it probably is doing.
It's puzzling that they decided to roll this out NOW. Why not wait and test waters with store championships, when there isn't too much on the line? I agree somewhat that it will be tougher to be creative in plot choices as if you see your opponent doesn't run valar, you know you're in control of the reset. But it's a double standard remember. If you know they know, you may be able to play around THAT. You can force their hand and try to play a game you want to play. Basically, knowing a decklist turns the games into almost pure strategy; that is, can you execute your deck's plan before their's baring, random draws? I'm a big fan of chess and to me that makes sense. It's less about what you play but how you play it.
One can argue that the perfect information makes the game better - that's a valid line of approach (the image of chess wasn't in my article by accident!), and one I haven't quite given enough thought to to decide where I'd fall. But regardless, that's not the argument FFG is making, or they'd be applying the rule to the swiss rounds as well. By applying it only to the cut, they're clearly only trying to remedy information asymmetry.
Do you think Martell/Rose could have won Worlds '15 with visible decklists during the cut?
Yes, because by the time Sam was in the cut (certainly by the time he was playing Patrick) both the important jist of Sam's deck was well known.
They did this at the SWLCG worlds in May, so not really a surprise.
Absolutely! I think that is probably the most puzzling part. Why not do this in the swiss rounds as well? Honestly, I'd like to test this for a store championship, just to see how it goes. As I'm not going to worlds, it'd be interesting to see how it affects the WHOLE tournament. First try it for the cut and then try it for the swiss as well.
I actually applaud FFG for trying new things even though they often get backlash for it. It may end up being precedent or a one time thing but at least they're TRYING to improve things. I think that's the one thing people often don't realize. These things are slooooooow. Compared to MTG, that has numerous mid to high level events throughout a championship cycle (certainly more than LCGs), it's hard to see how changes take full effect over time. We feel it more because there's so few events to test it on. Take rotation for instance. We all clamor for it to be more aggressive but in actuality, it has never been done to LCGs before. So I cut them some slack because it ain't easy making these decisions for the entire community. And if they listened to the community, there's no telling who else they'll piss off. You can't please everyone.