Elements the Game Forum - Free Online Fantasy Card Game

Elements the Game => PvP Event Archive => PvP Events => Events and Competitions => Booster Draft => Topic started by: The Oracle on April 08, 2011, 07:32:47 am

Title: Booster Draft - Rules
Post by: The Oracle on April 08, 2011, 07:32:47 am

Booster Draft - Rules
Original idea by: Scaredgirl | Developed by: Scaredgirl | Art by: Scaredgirl | Organized by: Scaredgirl + TStar

(http://imageplay.net/img/m7Gbd169952/star.jpg)

Teams pick their cards from 8 different Booster Packs and fight in a single-elimination tournament.

1. SIGNING UP
You need to be a Jr. Member or above to join this event. Start by reading the rules very carefully, then sign up by posting on a separate sign up topic. If you cannot find a sign up topic, or if it is locked, this event is not currently active, and you will have to wait for it to restart.

Maximum amount of participants for this event is 32. If the event is full, you can still sign up as a reserve player, and will get a chance to join the event if any of the 32 players doesn't show up during the first round of card drafting.

2. FORMING TEAMS
8 players with the highest forum post count, will become Team Leaders. If you do not want to be a Team Leader, you must mention this in your sign-up post, by saying something like: "I do not want to be a Team Leader". Organizers will then skip your name when choosing Team Leaders, and you will participate as a regular team member.

Team Leaders are given a list of 24 players (all the non-Team Leaders), arranged alphabetically. Team Leaders then list the players from most preferred to least preferred, and finally PM their list to the event organizer. Organizer will make the teams by first arranging the 8 lists in random order, then going through each list, one by one, picking the most preferred available player, until all players have been assigned to a team, and each team has a total of 4 players.

Teams will be given a link to their own private chat room. That link should not be given to anyone outside the team. Teams will use the chat room for discussing about their drafting strategy, and later, their deckbuilding strategy.

Teams will have a letter from A to H, which will later be used when assigning Booster Packs. Team Leaders will be given moderator rights to Booster Draft forum section.

3. BOOSTER PACKS
Event organizer starts a new topic called "Booster Packs". This topic holds all the 8 Booster Packs that will be used in the event. It also has timers which indicate when a round of drafting is over and a new one begins.

This event uses a total card pool of 192 cards. These include all the cards in the game, except Pillars, Pendulums, Shards and Malignant Cell. There are also a total of 12 copies of Relics, which are special cards that will be explained later.

Cards are randomly divided into groups of 3 three. These are called Stacks. We have a total of 24 Stacks, each with 3 different cards.

Stacks are then randomly divided into 8 Booster Packs, so that each Booster Pack holds 8 stacks, therefore 24 cards. Booster Packs are given a number from 1 to 8 which is used to assign starting Booster Packs to teams.

Example: Team A starts with Booster Pack 1, Team B starts with Booster Pack 2 etc.

Booster Pack 1

Stack 1
(http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/Anubis.png) (http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/Miracle.png) (http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/VoodooDoll.png)

Stack 2
(http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/IridiumWarden.png) (http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/ForestSpirit.png) (http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/RedNymph.png)

Stack 3
(http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/Earthquake.png) (http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/Sanctuary.png) (http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/Quintessence.png)

Stack 4
(http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/Fahrenheit.png) (http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/SapphireCharger.png) (http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/Arsenic.png)

Stack 5
(http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/IceBolt.png) (http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/PurpleNymph.png) (http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/DevonianDragon.png)

Stack 6
(http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/RagePotion.png) (http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/Dragonfly.png) (http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/Catapult.png)

Stack 7
(http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/Hammer.png) (http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/Nova.png) (http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/StoneSkin.png)

Stack 8
(http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/Relic.png) (http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/IceShield.png) (http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/EnchantArtifact.png)

4. DRAFTING CARDS
There will be 8 rounds of card drafting. First 7 rounds last for 24 hours each. Last round happens as soon as 7th round is over, because at that point each Booster Pack has only one stack left.

During those 24 hours, each team has to pick one Stack from the Booster Pack their are currently holding. Failure to do so, will lead to the next team picking the Stack for them.

Example: Team A fails to pick a stack during a round. Team B then gets the Booster Pack and picks Stacks for both teams. Team B will naturally want Team A to get weaker cards, so they give Team A the worst Stack they can find.

After a round, each team passes their Booster Pack to the next team, while getting a new Booster Pack from the previous team.

Example:

Round	Team	Booster Pack
Round 1	Team A Team B	Booster Pack 1 Booster Pack 2
Round 2	Team A Team B	Booster Pack 2 Booster Pack 3
Round 3	Team A Team B	Booster Pack 3 Booster Pack 4

5. DECKBUILDING
After card drafting, teams will have up to 24 different cards depending on how many Relics they aquired. Teams can use any number of these cards in their decks, while other teams cannot use those cards at all. Marks, Pillars and Pendulums (from any element) are free to use without any limitations. For each Relic your team has, all your team members can use one upgraded card during duels.

6. BRACKETS
- Single-elimination tournament.
- Event Organizer will post the brackets.
- Players are randomly seeded so that team members do not face each other.

7. BATTLES
- Each round of battles lasts for 4 days.
- If the fight doesn't happen, we flip a coin, unless one player is clearly more active in trying to find a suitable time
- Battles are best-of-5. Player who first wins 3 duels, wins the battle
- You are allowed to switch decks and mark between rounds.

8. AFTER BATTLES
- Both winner and loser must provide their decklist in the battle result topic. A short matchup review / play-by-play is recommended but not necessary.
- If you lose a battle, you are eliminated from the event, but are encouraged to help your team to win
- When all 4 players have lost, the whole team is eliminated from the event.

9. WINNER
Team that has the last player standing, is the winner, and gets their names to Hall of Fame. The Player who is the last player standing, will be rewarded an award icon. If 2 or more players from the same team are the only ones left, they have to fight each other until we have one winner

10. REWARDS
The winner of the event will receive the following forum award icon: (http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/535/boosterdraft.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/850/boosterdraft.png/)

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: Scaredgirl on April 08, 2011, 07:54:25 am

If you have any ideas of feedback, please let me know. Thanks.

Here is the original topic btw: http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,24075.0.html

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: TheIdioticIdiot on April 08, 2011, 12:55:56 pm

"except Pillars, Pendulums, Shards and Malignant Cell"

you forgot ash....

also, are the stacks randomly assigned? or are they pre-picked by PvP event organizer or someone?

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: Scaredgirl on April 08, 2011, 01:06:35 pm

Quote from: TheIdioticIdiot on April 08, 2011, 12:55:56 pm

"except Pillars, Pendulums, Shards and Malignant Cell"

you forgot ash....

Ah, yes I did. Lets all that ignore that card. :)

Quote

also, are the stacks randomly assigned? or are they pre-picked by PvP event organizer or someone?

It's random.

I made a list of all the card images in alphabetical order and posted it in the secret section of the forums. I then made a list of cards used in this event (192 cards).

Production of Booster Packs goes like this.

1. Copy the list of 192 cards (separated in paragraphs)
2. Paste the whole list to Random.org list generator
3. Randomizer shuffles the list and outputs them in random order
4. Take cards, 3 at a time, and put them in Booster Packs, starting from Booster Pack 1

It takes maybe.. 10-15 minutes, after which I have 8 Booster Packs, each with 24 random cards.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: kobisjeruk on April 08, 2011, 05:14:54 pm

Quote

Unless stated otherwise (for example specific ruling of that particular event), winners and losers must provide their decklist in the battle result thread/post. A short matchup review / play-by-play is recommended but not necessary.

Yes? No? Undecided?

the only reason I brought this up is because the previous draft definitely killed my interest, not only because of all the quitters/deserters but also because we, the spectators didn't get to see what each team uses with the cards they drafted

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: Scaredgirl on April 09, 2011, 04:19:01 am

Quote from: kobisjeruk on April 08, 2011, 05:14:54 pm

Quote
Unless stated otherwise (for example specific ruling of that particular event), winners and losers must provide their decklist in the battle result thread/post. A short matchup review / play-by-play is recommended but not necessary.
Yes? No? Undecided?

the only reason I brought this up is because the previous draft definitely killed my interest, not only because of all the quitters/deserters but also because we, the spectators didn't get to see what each team uses with the cards they drafted

I already had this rule under "AFTER BATTLE", but your wording is better so I'll use that. People should definitely list their decks in an event like this one, because not listing it would give you an advantage.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: xdude on April 09, 2011, 11:18:13 am

Quote from: Scaredgirl on April 09, 2011, 04:19:01 am

People should definitely list their decks in an event like this one, because not listing it would give you an advantage.

Mmm no, it wouldn't. I find all this posting deck thing rather stupid and useless, since if somebody wants to cheat he's gonna cheat anyways and having your decks posted is rather giving an edge to opponents. Also, events should be fun for players, not spectators.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: kobisjeruk on April 10, 2011, 12:58:55 am

Wrong, events should be fun for everyone, not just players. Spectators have every right to have fun too you know.

Why would someone pay to see a Lakers game? Might as well use that money to buy ice cream or ride a roller coaster, no? Come on now, part of this whole events thingy is entertainment value for the whole community.
We want to help the community enrich their EtG experience by urging them to participate but you cant have participation if you dont have something that will pique their interest.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: Scaredgirl on April 10, 2011, 04:18:48 am

Yep, definitely. PvP Events are supposed to be e-sport events that everyone can enjoy. I personally watch the results of many events because it's interesting to see who won and how they won. If there weren't any deck images or play-by-play, it would be really boring.

If we didn't force players to post their decks in this event, it would give a huge advantage to those who don't, therefore leading to a situation where nobody (serious about winning) would post their decks.

On the other hand, if everyone posts their decks, nobody has an advantage over others.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: hell_maker_2943 on April 11, 2011, 08:27:54 am

Wow, a really good idea Scaredgirl. Not too confusing, and brilliant for newbies (sort of like me in a way, I suppose).

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: QuantumT on April 11, 2011, 10:31:44 am

Really, I think there are arguments to be made for both sides when it comes to posting/not posting decks.

Having the decks posted takes away from the surprise factor of the event, as any given deck I make will have the opportunity to surprise somebody exactly once. Especially in an event like this, where what I'm playing would be a complete mystery otherwise, it definitely takes something away from the event. It means that I can only surprise later with my deck choices, not with my decks themselves.

On the other hand, not posting the decks obviously makes the event very uninteresting for the spectators.

To be honest, I'm think posting the decks takes more away from this event than just about any other, as there's absolutely no way to know what your opponent is packing otherwise. This differs from events like war and the draft, where you at least have some general idea of what your opponents will be playing (50% element and drafted cards respectively).

Since this event happens to be fairly short (3 rounds), I might lean towards posting all decks used after the event is complete.

One thing's for sure though, if deck posting is going to be done, it definitely needs to be mandatory.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: DSSCRA on April 11, 2011, 09:59:06 pm

I don't see why the picks are not secret? One of the best reasons for secrecy is that it makes it that much harder to hate draft.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: RootRanger on April 11, 2011, 10:04:06 pm

I think decks should be posted. I think people will want to follow the event in the later rounds, where few people remain. Also, if someone wants to know the decks used they can spectate the matches.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: QuantumT on April 12, 2011, 09:41:32 pm

Quote from: RootRanger on April 11, 2011, 10:04:06 pm

I think decks should be posted. I think people will want to follow the event in the later rounds, where few people remain. Also, if someone wants to know the decks used they can spectate the matches.

Ah yes, I completely forgot about spectate, which thoroughly ruins any possibility of keeping the decks secret.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: DSSCRA on April 12, 2011, 11:13:26 pm

Quote from: QuantumT on April 12, 2011, 09:41:32 pm

Quote from: RootRanger on April 11, 2011, 10:04:06 pm
I think decks should be posted. I think people will want to follow the event in the later rounds, where few people remain. Also, if someone wants to know the decks used they can spectate the matches.
Ah yes, I completely forgot about spectate, which thoroughly ruins any possibility of keeping the decks secret.

You could just come on as a guest so people don't know who is about to fight. (you would just arrange before hand, through forum pm, who is going to go on as a guest)

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: TStar on April 13, 2011, 12:15:13 am

Quote from: DSSCRA on April 12, 2011, 11:13:26 pm

Quote from: QuantumT on April 12, 2011, 09:41:32 pm
Quote from: RootRanger on April 11, 2011, 10:04:06 pm
I think decks should be posted. I think people will want to follow the event in the later rounds, where few people remain. Also, if someone wants to know the decks used they can spectate the matches.
Ah yes, I completely forgot about spectate, which thoroughly ruins any possibility of keeping the decks secret.
You could just come on as a guest so people don't know who is about to fight. (you would just arrange before hand, through forum pm, who is going to go on as a guest)

I think it's just easier to post decks.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: Scaredgirl on April 13, 2011, 12:25:25 pm

Decks will have to be posted because otherwise there is room for exploiting.

Example:

- Players A and B fight
- Player A wins (keeping his deck a secret)
- Player B tells Player C what deck Player A was using
- Player C beats Player A who uses the same deck again

We have no way of stopping Player B from telling deck secrets, which is why not posting decks is not an option.

Any other ideas or suggestions?

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: TStar on April 13, 2011, 02:52:01 pm

I'm only concerned that this is starting to look very similar to the Regular draft event, just with more cards for each team and no community pool. I think something big needs to be changed to really separate the two. I still think secret drafting could be very interesting as a strategic option where teams can "hide" cards until later rounds to try and get an edge. It will also make teams have to scout out their opponents to try and know what cards they have access to. Just a thought. I just think something need to really set this apart.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: DSSCRA on April 13, 2011, 10:22:20 pm

Quote from: TStar on April 13, 2011, 02:52:01 pm

I'm only concerned that this is starting to look very similar to the Regular draft event, just with more cards for each team and no community pool. I think something big needs to be changed to really separate the two. I still think secret drafting could be very interesting as a strategic option where teams can "hide" cards until later rounds to try and get an edge. It will also make teams have to scout out their opponents to try and know what cards they have access to. Just a thought. I just think something need to really set this apart.

Yes keeping draft picks secret would be best (like in mtg : P)

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: plastiqe on April 18, 2011, 08:20:14 pm

Sounds like it'll be fun. Ya'll should put more effort into constructing the booster packs, make them as much like a real life elements booster pack as possible (rares, uncommons, slightly even distribution of elements and of powerful cards, etc). Random booster packs are random. And I agree it'd be more fun if the booster drafting was done with pm in secret, Gl1tch (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,16929.msg232062#msg232062) had the right idea.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: TStar on April 18, 2011, 09:11:05 pm

That's basically what is going to happen. The secret drafting would be a great way to set it apart from the other Draft event. I really don't want then both to just turn into slightly modded versions of each other. We have to be really careful about changing the rules of on to make it the same as the other.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: Scaredgirl on April 25, 2011, 10:24:51 am

We talked about this earlier in chat.. I'll give a summary here as well.

I don't think that events should be designed to please only the participants. I personally enjoy watching these PvP events, just like I would enjoy watching football or something. This is why I'm not a big fan of PM's in events. I generally try to avoid them as much as possible because when things happen 1vs1 in "secret", it goes against the whole idea of forums.

Also apart from being bad for viewers, PM's also make it more complex to organize. What I suggest here, is basically players doing all the work and Organizer just observing, making sure everything goes well. If we used PM's, it would be a totally different, and we would depend on the organizer being online and doing his or her thing.

As for the uniqueness of this event.. a drafting event is a drafting event. The drafting mechanics I propose here, are completely different from drafting mechanics used in the original Draft event, which is all it needs to be unique. If we use MtG as an example, it has tons of different events where the drafting is different, but the actual gameplay is the same. We have the same thing here. It's not like after having one Elements draft event, we have to force all future drafting events to be somehow super unique, by making the non-drafting process different. I like to design events around one "thing". In War it's Vaults, in this event it's the Booster Packs. I like most of the event revolve around these booster packs, and not make some random rules just to try to artificially make the event more unique.

As a summary, I think that having unique drafting method is usually enough to make an event unique. After all, the concept of drafting was not created on these forums, it has been around for a long time, and it's what many people think is the coolest part of CCG's.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: DSSCRA on April 25, 2011, 09:52:11 pm

While I understand what you are saying but the drafting isn't really supposed to be the exiting part of the draft and having the picks be public just makes drafting horrible and filled with hate drafts. (a hate draft is when you draft something only to screw someone else over) With the way you are having drafting work (the way when you get a card no one else can use it) and the way cards are clumped make hate drafting even easier. Now you may be saying "what's the problem with hate drafting it is just good strategy" and yes hate drafting is good strategy but it makes for boring games with bad decks. Also I don't really like cells they seem rather pointless and while they speed up drafting they end up adding a larger swing imho (ie they make first picks for some people a lot better) but even if you get a god pack in normal drafting you only get one of the good cards instead of 3.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: jippy99 on April 26, 2011, 12:33:25 am

I agree with SG here that having a different drafting style is enough to make this event different from other drafting events. One of the reasons I support public drafting is because it is fun and very amusing to see what others are picking and their strategies. I know from the Draft that the drafting part was one of the most fun parts in the entire event and was probably the only time our team united as a whole to make decisions. I would strongly advise keeping drafting public for the good of the event and the people watching and participating.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: QuantumT on April 26, 2011, 05:18:48 am

There are various reasons going into why most of the stuff needs to be public, but I'd like to have a go at a secret draft at some point. I'd be willing to host it as a completely unofficial event if people were interested.

Title: Re: RULES
Post by: Acsabi44 on May 05, 2011, 08:21:47 pm

Quote from: QuantumT on April 26, 2011, 05:18:48 am

There are various reasons going into why most of the stuff needs to be public, but I'd like to have a go at a secret draft at some point. I'd be willing to host it as a completely unofficial event if people were interested.

I am very much interested, indeed. It's a pity this is gonna be public in the first place.
There goes the funness of reading signals and anticipating opponent's picks...
...and here comes the unfunness of hate drafting.