The New Card Theory Thread

[Captain Scibra]

Here is my evaluation of card costs in the game.  Credit goes to OldTrees (and other community members, which OldTrees gives credit to in his own card cost thread) for a majority of the theories that are found in this thread.  The end spoiler collects the evolutions of previous theories and newly discovered theories according to my observations of the game's balance.

Spoiler for Creatures:

Creatures are the soul of the game (except quanta, of course), as they provide the mainstream way to take down your opponent:  Reducing his/her HP to 0.  When relevant, the card itself of a creature has a value of 1 (usually only used with creature generation abilities).

• Attack

The first stat, and particularly the most important of the two stats.
X Attack: +X card cost

• Health Points

The second stat, not as important as Attack, but required such that the creature remains on the field.  It can be considered more important, however, with certain strategies that directly pertain to HP.

0 HP: -2 card cost (extra -1 (-3 total) if it lacks in-element synergy with 0hp)
1-5 HP : +0 card cost
6-7 HP : +1 card cost
8-10 HP : +2 card cost
11 and above HP : +3 card cost

• Skills

Skills can either amplify the creature's ability as an attacker, or take on a more supportive role in the game.  A creature's cost is increased by a relative number as to what the effect is.  If the skill also exists as a spell, the card value is increased by the cost of the spell, +1 for card advantage.  Also, the cost of using the skill may also decrease the overall cost of the creature.  The combined values should be no less than -1.  These can effectively allow a creature to become majorly cost-effective as an attacking creature (see Mummy and Ghost of the Past).
Direct Card Combo (In-element): No change
0-1: No cost reduction
2-3: -1 cost
4-5: -2 cost
(X-X+1: -X/2 cost)
Duo: -1 cost (including direct card combos)

One-use skills can be directly deducted from the overall card cost.  Duo doubles the deduction.

Spoiler for Spells. Under construction.:

Very simple, and one-use.  Can range from instantaneous powerful effects, to moderate, lasting effects on other cards.  There are not very many strict theories with this type.

Note:  All theories are for when the spell is used to your advantage. Still under construction.

Healing : +1 card cost per 5 HP
Poison/Purify : +2 card cost per counter
Max Health (Creature) : +1 card cost for every 2 HP
Delay/Freeze: +2 card cost for every 3 turns.

Spoiler for Permanents:

Similar to creatures, but have no regard for stats, with exception to weapons.  Their primary reason is skill support, but weapons and shields respectively provide strong offensive and defensive options.

• Weapons

They deal damage to the opponent.  The rare, element-costing ones have a significant skill (some unique).  Can be also be turned into creatures with Flying Weapon or 'copied' by Crusaders, to allow more weapon borne effects to be available at any given time during a match.

For ever point of damage they deal every turn, the base value increases by 1.  Skills themselves are the same for creatures with increasing the value of the card.  However, the skill cost is different, if there is one.

1 : +1 card cost
2 : +0 card cost
3 : -1 card cost

Single slot: -3 card cost

• Shields

They are an all-round defensive card against the opponent's creatures, weapons, and some spells that target you as well.

Some reduce a fixed value of damage

1 DR: +1 card cost
Additional DR: +4 card cost per DR

Every 10% of (average) miss rate: +1 card cost

Single Slot : -3 card cost

• Other Permanents

There are pillars, pendulums, (and Marks,) and then there are a wide range of permanents with considerably different effects.  This area is still under construction.

Spoiler for Upgrades:

Upgrades to a card increase a card's general usability in the game, either by making it more effective, cheaper, a little bit of both, and the occasional twist of mechanics entirely (an upgrade bonus to the overall card may still apply).  Upgrades also tend to open a new lane for an element, usually by drastically improving magnitude of effects of a certain type for that element.

No bonus is applied to cards that cannot receive too much of a stat or ability increase, nor can it reasonably receive a general cost reduction.  Prime example is Pest, which the upgrade in HP causes invulnerability to cards like Rain of Fire, but remain in range of most one-target creature control effects life Lightning.  It also could not receive a cost decrease for potential abuse with cards like Fractal.

Some upgrades include a major bonus.  These qualify as the upgrade was necessary to the utility of the card.  Flesh Recluse without the extra attack gain would be too similar to Elite Mummy, Archangel's change in play style is acceptably improved with the extra upgrade.  Graviton Guard also gains the extra bonus in HP to account for striking similarity to simply being a smaller Elite Charger.  Miracle might just be a ratio of -1 cost per 5 original cost.

Spoiler for Elemental cost versus other costs:

Finding the cost of cards that require quanta from a specific element is what this thread is all about.  But this section here is about determining the cost of the card should it be able to use quanta from multiple or all elements.

The cost of a card that can use quanta from all elements is to be determined by the following equation:
1.5(X +1) = Y

X is the cost that is strictly quanta from one element.  Y is the cost that can be quanta from any element.

For hybrid style ideas (those that can use quanta from only a few elements), for each additional quanta element that can be used, +1 cost to the overall cost of the card.

Spoiler for Element theories:

Every element has its uniqueness.  There are mechanics that belong strongly to an element, and mechanics that will never belong to that element.  Each element is being observed as receiving bonuses for general card criteria that are perceived as the element's specialty among the rest.

Spoiler for Aether:

Aether's thematic points are trans-dimensional and the other-worldly.  Strong mechanical factors are immortality, electricity, negation, and card generation.  It's cards receive a bonus for negation effects.

Spoiler for Air:

Air's thematic points are the skies, freedom of movement.  Mechanically, it's strong points are CC-oriented cards, burst damage, and evasion.  It's cards receive a bonus for creature-damaging effects.

Spoiler for Darkness:

Darkness thematically centers around those who dwell in the dark, and ideals such as unkindness, inconsideration, or conceit.  Darkness receives a bonus for denial effects.

Spoiler for Death:

Death primarily includes themes of removing life from an entity.  It can seep energy, among other things, from the end of a creatures life.  Death also contains themes unholy in nature, such as raising the dead.  Death receives a bonus for effects that cause poison.

Spoiler for Earth:

Earth is about sturdiness, structure, dirt, and creatures that dwell within.  A lot of minerals are thematically tied to Earth, but primarily only when it has to do with the physical capabilities of the card in game.  Earth receives 1 free HP bonus.

Spoiler for Entropy:

Entropy is chaos, randomness, uncertainty, and lack of center.  Entropy harnesses many effects in which to twist fate in it's favor, however can be somewhat unreliable.  Entropy receives a bonus on effects which incorporate random outcomes.

Spoiler for Fire:

Fire is about destruction and heat, and also can represent passion, anger, and bravery.  Fire receives a bonus for attack points, and effects that increase attack points.

Spoiler for Gravity:

Gravity is about large creatures, unity, and effects that center around large masses and using them to their advantage.  Gravity is also believed to hold the technological theme, as technology in many ways is counter-entropic.  Gravity receives a bonus for effects that use HP.

Spoiler for Life:

Life is about growth, abundance, recovery, and mutuality.  Life receives a -1 cost for all of its creatures.

Spoiler for Light:

Light is about faith, divine powers, protection, and the visible spectrum of light.  Light receives a bonus for protective abilities and synergies.

Spoiler for Time:

Time is about speed, lack thereof, long life, and ancient themes, particularly those of ancient Egypt.  Time receives a bonus for effects that increase card advantage.

Spoiler for Water:

Water is about ebb and flow, resilience, substitution, and the cold.  Mechanical points include freezing, the most cross-element duo abilities, of which most are spells, and counter swarm effects.  Water receives an extra -1 duo bonus.  Recommend avoiding rainbow quanta production of any sort.

Spoiler for Other:

Other, also known as colorless (MtG term) or chroma (due to the introduction of the Mark of Chroma in 1.4) is about cards that hold no link to any element due to plainness of the card.  However, while they may have a plainness to them, some weapons can be enhanced by certain elemental energies, particularly by one's mark.

Spoiler for Notable Changes:

10HP is deemed to be worth +2, not +3 as previously thought.  It would appear that Stone Dragon was assumed to have used the Earth free HP Bonus.  This also clashed with the original theory that Light gained a general creature bonus when it was thought that Golden Dragon's 10 HP had a value of 3.

Light (as already mentioned above) and Aether were perceived to have a general creature bonus, but this has been deemed an obsolete observation, given the likelihood of each element receiving a unique bonus.

[Captain Scibra]

Card-by-Card Examination

Spoiler for Aether:

CARD NAME	THEORY EXPRESSION	PROJECTED COST	ACTUAL COST
Spark	3 (Attack) -3 (HP)	0	0
Ball Lightning	5 (Attack) -3 (HP) -2 (Upgrade)	0	0
Immortal	4 (Attack) +0 (HP) +2 (Immortal [4])	6	6
Elite Immortal	5 (Attack) +0 (HP) +3 (Immortal [5]) -1 (Upgrade)	7	7
Lobotomizer	5 (Attack) + 3 (Lobotomize) -1 (Ability Cost [3]) -3 (Slot) -1 (Bonus)	3	3
Lobotomizer (U)	5 (Attack) +3 (Lobotomize) -3 (Slot) -1 (Bonus) -1 (Upgrade)	3	3
Phase Dragon	8 (Attack) +1 (HP) +4 (Immortal [8])	13	13
Elite Phase Dragon	10 (Attack) +1 (HP) +5 (Immortal [10]) -2 (Upgrade)	14	14
Phase Spider	4 (Attack) +0 (HP) +1 (Web) -1 (Duo) -1 (Bonus)	3	3
Phase Recluse	7 (Attack) +0 (HP) +1 (Web) -1 (Duo) -1 (Bonus) -2 (Upgrade)	4	4

Spoiler for Hidden:

[Submachine]

Following.

[xyan]

This is very well thought out, and could lead to many balanced card ideas in the future.

following

[moomoose]

there are several other things to balance and adjust cards.  negative side effects can be implemented to alter the utility of a card, examples include liquid shadow, overdrive and rage potion.  also, reliance on one or more additional cards in order to function also exists, some scorpions require a second card to give them the ability to attack, and the phase salvager requires a hp boost to exist for more than one turn.

[Keeps]

I know a lot of thought went into this.  However, if you think about any game that went totally buy an equation, those games were always very boring games, especially in card games.  Also they tend to simplify the game to stalemate.  Moomoose is also right to point out that there are other effects to be considered.

A card that heals for example, needs to be viewed in respect to how it heals and what type of cost is available. 
In this game, you have heal by quanta build up (stoneskin), heal by perm health growth, heal by vampirism, heal by heal, slow heal buy perm, etc..
We could also add heal by sacrifice too, etc...  each has a different type of cost associated with it. 

[BeefSupreme]

Interesting. Following.

[Jyiber]

Very interesting and fairly clear. You know, someone once argued with me about if life was a growth themed element or not...

Consider upgrades that increased cost and why in your OP. Not that it couldn't be figured out, but just for reference it'd be useful.

[OldTrees]

Cautiously Lurking

[OdinVanguard]

*applaud*
Glad to see someone taking up the challenge of maintaining / rederiving card cost theory. Will be very helpful to current and future card designers. I think that deserves a +rep for the effort.

[Captain Scibra]

Very interesting and fairly clear. You know, someone once argued with me about if life was a growth themed element or not...

Consider upgrades that increased cost and why in your OP. Not that it couldn't be figured out, but just for reference it'd be useful.

Mitosis is a prime example of growth in Life, with Forest Spirit following in second.

I don't really see the necessity to explain such upgrades, as they comply with the 0 to -3 bonus, and the change of the card is greater than the upgrade bonus (Archangel for a prime example).  I will however, phrase it such that there should be no confusion.

[OdinVanguard]

I wasn't sure if I should bring up the concept here or start a new thread, but I'm trying to figure out what a good cost equivalent is for shields which produce quanta based on damage they reduce.

As a reference, I'm trying to balance this card right now: Dispersive Ward | Entropic Aegis

Its a bit tricky because on the one hand, there is a pretty well defined value for damage reduction, but aside from solar buckler, there are not other shields that produce quanta for their owner, so trying to decide how much the cards should cost and what range of values the reduction should have has is tricky.

So basically, how much should M points of reduction be worth when either
-N quanta is produced for every point of damage reduced?
or
-N quanta is produced fore every point of damage reduced?