WotC_BenFinkel

Originally posted by Norm_Standart

How does the UI work for cards like Nullhide Ferrox?

Originally posted by arotenberg

I saw someone on YouTube suggesting using [[Gutmorn, Pactbound Servant]] to gift an Emrakul into Sparky's hand and see what happens when Sparky takes over the player.

And this comment pointing out that, per the rules, you shouldn't be able to make the opponent start venturing into a dungeon while controlling them, because you can't make them fetch the dungeon card from outside the game to put into the command zone.

Nothing like a whole community of us hyper-literal, game-incentivized nerds to find out how good the test suite is on your new feature.

Originally posted by WotC_Jay

So, I used to be an engineer many years ago, but I don't really handle engineering on this project. So I can't speak to the tradeoffs well there. But, for use cases:
Python is used most for parsing the cards and understanding which behaviors we need to bundle together to make them work. A lot of this is processing text/xml/json, which python makes quite easy. Python also has a lot of libraries for natural language parsing, which we use to determine, basically, what a card does.

CLIPS is a rules-based language for designing expert systems, and that's where a lot of the "managing the rules of Magic" code exists. This is what's mostly driving the logic while you're playing a game.

C++ is largely used for handoff with other systems (the matchmaker giving a paired set of players the the CLIPS code that manages their gameplay) and, of course, performance-intensive areas like calculating auto-tap options.

At a super high level, the python code gets card info f...

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Originally posted by omguserius

Oh this is going to be fun

Originally posted by Odenetheus

Hey!

I'd like to add that you can use As Foretold to cast a commander for its original cost in Brawl, even now in 2023, despite the cost being supposed to be higher

Originally posted by Incarnate_Phoenix

Does it seek two spells that each have a mana value of three or two spells with a total mana value of three?

Originally posted by DeeBoFour20

Is this new? The autotapper literally killed SaffronOlive with Channel rather than tapping his Gilded Goose. It was pretty funny. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSohYe3FCB0&t=545s

Originally posted by Alpha_Uninvestments

“Auto Tap considers life to be a resource and will prefer taking damage over sacrificing another permanent (such as a Treasure token).”

Time to turn off the auto tapper

Originally posted by bahhizzle

Is seek random?

Originally posted by jeppeww

If i somehow manage to exile a permanent card with signature spells i still won't be able to cast a copy every upkeep right? I assume this is one of those "linked" abilities?

Originally posted by WotC_BenFinkel

Hello reddit! I'm Ben Finkel, a software developer who's been working on the MTG Arena Rules Engine for over five years. This is a card that I designed! It'll be in the Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate (HBG) release.

I designed this card in my favorite weekly meeting, the Card Design Workshop. This is a sort of "club" that any WotC employee who is interested in MTG card design may attend to flex their creative muscles.

Each week we get a prompt for some design hole that needs new ideas. On August 13, 2021, the workshop got this prompt:

Card details: A blue rare enchantment, instant, or sorcery. Its name is “Signature Spells.” We’re looking for a top-down design of a Wizard ability in D&D. From the D&D manual: “You gain mastery over two powerful Spells and can cast them with little effort. Choose two 3rd-level Wizard Spells as your signature Spells.”

(Plus that the card is intended to be a digital design)

This was my original proposal, which ...

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Originally posted by CHRISKVAS

the set code is YCLB not HBG

Originally posted by EmTeeEm

It is how Scryfall was handling Alchemy sets. "A" was already taken by Art Series cards.

I think Wizards calls it HBG.

Originally posted by CptnSAUS

Did it really need to gain "can't block" in this perpetual way with that much text? Why can't each one just have "~ can't block" written right on the card? And why can't these block anyway? It is not a repeatable effect since these specializations can't specialize again.

Originally posted by diox8tony

The only scenario I can think of is....you get attacked, and later the enemy buffs one/some of those creatures...(and they could all be untapped(vigilance tokens) or he later tapped untapped ones...so you're sitting there wanting to kill the buffed creature, but not sure if it was the one that hit you.

But....they have made many cards that say "destroy each creature that dealt damage to you"....so they can't fix those if they are already in arena...