Allow me to direct you to the newest version of the Coliseum:
https://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/the-coliseum.2715/
https://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/the-coliseum.2715/
The Coliseum
- Thread starter Velrun
- Start date
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
Sounds way more complicated than it needs to be, and awesome to do 
Very complicated to explain the rules, very simple to play with the rules
I will try and write the rules down in an easier-to-understand way as soon as I can. If you have all the pieces ready, it feels very much like a simple board game of Magic: the Gathering. Your decisions really matter, luck matters too and the rules are only difficult to learn but not to remember while playing. Nor do they take a long time to act out. There is a heavy buy-in clause though. It will take quite some time to get everything ready before playing for the first time.
I will try and write the rules down in an easier-to-understand way as soon as I can. If you have all the pieces ready, it feels very much like a simple board game of Magic: the Gathering. Your decisions really matter, luck matters too and the rules are only difficult to learn but not to remember while playing. Nor do they take a long time to act out. There is a heavy buy-in clause though. It will take quite some time to get everything ready before playing for the first time.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I'm wondering if I can cook up a variant that takes a little less time and whether it's worth it, considering that I usually play with 2, 4, or 6+. I was thinking about simplifying the classes, so that a single class gives you a deck that lets you play an increasing amount of cards on curve, depending on your level. For example, the Gardener lets you play a Lotus Petal for free on turn 1 if you're level 1, a Wall of Blossoms on turn 2 if you're level 2, a Cultivate on turn 3 if you're level 3, a Tree of Redemption on turn 4 if you're level 4, etc. Then someone can just pick a class once, and use that all through the gauntlet. Maybe have prestige classes that are multicolor, so you can grow from a base class to something better. Something like that.
I adore the spin you gave to this, really looks like a blast. The wounds in particular are a nice touch, you never know exactly how you are going to be hampered.
I adore the spin you gave to this, really looks like a blast. The wounds in particular are a nice touch, you never know exactly how you are going to be hampered.
I strongly advice you to do that! Start crafting
Also that sounds like a good idea with the classes. At least for a start. We started with something very similiar but as we grew use to the game, we decided we could optimize. And by that I don’t mean improve the beginner’s experience but improve the overall balance and the complexity that experienced players desire.
If I were you I would skip the whole Basic deck. I would skip Events. I would skip the experience points system and just do some simple classes/characters/heroes/whatever you want to name them. Also skip the whole ‘you discover more and more cards the more behind you are’ and choose a fixed number of new cards to optain after each loss. I would keep the bannings because it keeps the strongest player in check and it forces players to brew deck in new colors often.
Also that sounds like a good idea with the classes. At least for a start. We started with something very similiar but as we grew use to the game, we decided we could optimize. And by that I don’t mean improve the beginner’s experience but improve the overall balance and the complexity that experienced players desire.
If I were you I would skip the whole Basic deck. I would skip Events. I would skip the experience points system and just do some simple classes/characters/heroes/whatever you want to name them. Also skip the whole ‘you discover more and more cards the more behind you are’ and choose a fixed number of new cards to optain after each loss. I would keep the bannings because it keeps the strongest player in check and it forces players to brew deck in new colors often.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
So, a simple class system like this is what I had in mind. As you level up, you unlock additional cards, that you will cast when you reach a turn equal to your level.
For Wounds I wanted a more general term, since there's a lot of stuff that could happen to you that aren't necessarily wounds. I ended up picking Weakness for now, though I don't think it's a perfect fit either. Maybe exhaustion? Anyway, I like the border you chose, it's fitting! I wonder if you should be able to discard all wounds when you lose, or if there should be a cost for that (in the form of XP?) after the first heal.
For Wounds I wanted a more general term, since there's a lot of stuff that could happen to you that aren't necessarily wounds. I ended up picking Weakness for now, though I don't think it's a perfect fit either. Maybe exhaustion? Anyway, I like the border you chose, it's fitting! I wonder if you should be able to discard all wounds when you lose, or if there should be a cost for that (in the form of XP?) after the first heal.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
They're evolving! I think this is a nice starting point. The numbers, like how many exhaustion cards you can banish, how many times you have to discover, etc, can be changed.
Decided to put my cards in spoiler tags, because I feel like I'm hijacking your thread a bit
I do think the basic deck is a great idea. It plays a bit differently for everyone, because everyone has a color they can't play, but you still all have a base level deck. I like that.
Decided to put my cards in spoiler tags, because I feel like I'm hijacking your thread a bit
I do think the basic deck is a great idea. It plays a bit differently for everyone, because everyone has a color they can't play, but you still all have a base level deck. I like that.
The beauty is that you can make your own rules and that is fine You are doing almost all the things I did in the beginning too.
The reason we have a Basic deck is not only to mirror the Rogue-like experience but also to give players a bonus for losing games instead of only giving players a bonus for winning. Without the Basic deck, the player who gets ahead will start snowballing. Also the Basic deck provides some tools for some combo/synergy decks that would normally be difficult to assemble under these discover constraints.
I have all rules written down on cards like you just uploaded. I decided not to share them at first because I changed them very sleightly last week and since I was under a time pressure from the other thread, I just uploaded what I had.
I think your classes are way, waay too strong and will dominate the cards that people play but I think you should experience that for yourself like we did We also started with some busted cards. Now we’re down to “Scry 1 and create a Treasure token”
My players chooses which class they want to level up to when they actually get there and not before the game begins. The exception is the player sitting outside as a spectator in the first game. He gets to reserve one of the six Level 1 classes. When he wins his first game and levels up, he can either choose his reserved class or get a random other one. By random I mean: Whenever a player levels up they get to reveal three random classes from the level they have reached ans choose one of those.
We have also introduced a Level up sphere/grid where certain classes can only level up to certain other classes. Each class has a range of 2 to 5 options whenever they level up. An example is a Scholar can become a Mage who later can become a Wizard but a Thief cannot become a Mage nor Wizard at any point in the tournament. A Thief can instead become a Pirate and later a Pirate Captain. Etc etc. And each would have several options and not just one ‘ladder’ to level up from.
When a card is banned from the winner’s deck they get a new one straight into their deck by revealing three cards of the same type (Spells get spells and lands get lands). Then they choose one of those three to put in. The recent change we made last week was to also have the winner exhaust a card that shares a color with the banned card. This can be any card (probably their worst card that is sitting in the sideboard) but it has to share a color with the card. This change was made for two reasons. To further help the Mario Cart/comeback mechanic where the players who are behind will easier catch up but also to sleightly more force players into changing colors every now and then. There is also a tactical element that gets added to the deck construction phase and the banning proccess.
I still haven’t uploaded half of the Events. This is, once again, because I didn’t have time. I will get to that by the end of the month.
You are doing almost all the things I did in the beginning too.The reason we have a Basic deck is not only to mirror the Rogue-like experience but also to give players a bonus for losing games instead of only giving players a bonus for winning. Without the Basic deck, the player who gets ahead will start snowballing. Also the Basic deck provides some tools for some combo/synergy decks that would normally be difficult to assemble under these discover constraints.
I have all rules written down on cards like you just uploaded. I decided not to share them at first because I changed them very sleightly last week and since I was under a time pressure from the other thread, I just uploaded what I had.
I think your classes are way, waay too strong and will dominate the cards that people play but I think you should experience that for yourself like we did
We also started with some busted cards. Now we’re down to “Scry 1 and create a Treasure token” My players chooses which class they want to level up to when they actually get there and not before the game begins. The exception is the player sitting outside as a spectator in the first game. He gets to reserve one of the six Level 1 classes. When he wins his first game and levels up, he can either choose his reserved class or get a random other one. By random I mean: Whenever a player levels up they get to reveal three random classes from the level they have reached ans choose one of those.
We have also introduced a Level up sphere/grid where certain classes can only level up to certain other classes. Each class has a range of 2 to 5 options whenever they level up. An example is a Scholar can become a Mage who later can become a Wizard but a Thief cannot become a Mage nor Wizard at any point in the tournament. A Thief can instead become a Pirate and later a Pirate Captain. Etc etc. And each would have several options and not just one ‘ladder’ to level up from.
When a card is banned from the winner’s deck they get a new one straight into their deck by revealing three cards of the same type (Spells get spells and lands get lands). Then they choose one of those three to put in. The recent change we made last week was to also have the winner exhaust a card that shares a color with the banned card. This can be any card (probably their worst card that is sitting in the sideboard) but it has to share a color with the card. This change was made for two reasons. To further help the Mario Cart/comeback mechanic where the players who are behind will easier catch up but also to sleightly more force players into changing colors every now and then. There is also a tactical element that gets added to the deck construction phase and the banning proccess.
I still haven’t uploaded half of the Events. This is, once again, because I didn’t have time. I will get to that by the end of the month.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
Yeah, the basic deck struck me as core to the concept, and to the experience, so I didn't want to scratch it
Also, you are probably right that my cards are too strong, but hey, battlecruiser magic!
Yeah I would say it is pretty important to the final product (although I do not believe we are fully there yet even though our experience system functions perfectly)
The Basic deck has synergies left and right with itself but also with the Basic deck the Enemy is playing.
Also an important thing to note if you wish to build your own Basic deck variant is that you do not want any cards that costs more than a single mana of a specific color. They will be incredibly difficult to cast otherwise and would almost instantly lose their value when the player discovers new cards as a result of losing a game because they would be difficult to splash.
The Basic deck has synergies left and right with itself but also with the Basic deck the Enemy is playing.
Also an important thing to note if you wish to build your own Basic deck variant is that you do not want any cards that costs more than a single mana of a specific color. They will be incredibly difficult to cast otherwise and would almost instantly lose their value when the player discovers new cards as a result of losing a game because they would be difficult to splash.