Cactus Game Design Message Boards

Would you be willing to provide and example of each level of report?

It can be the same deck list. For instance take a starter deck and do the 3 levels of analysis and show us what that looks like?

Just to clarify your "removal" category basically refers to any ability that moves an opponent's character(s) out of battle?

What classifies a card as a control or tempo based on your matrix? For instance what would burial shroud, besieging the city and David the Psalmist each count as in your system?

Are your percentages standard in the sense of anything that goes over 20% is a strength of the deck? Anything under x is negative and anything between is acceptable?

Is there a way to account for CBN, CBP, CBI value on enhancements or characters?

it would be interesting if someone had the resources to turn in all 8 top cut decks to you for analysis.

I've been working on drafting a new feature to the packages. It's a security matrix that displays a visual representation of a player's territory along with other zones of play. The concept is supposed to assist users in providing them with a colored chart with number and/or percentile values exposing the unsecured areas of a deck. Although the sample below is for the J starter deck represented in the reports above. As readers notice, starter decks are very unsecured as far as their layers of protection goes. So the level of security for a starter deck has a VERY high level of risk if you're a player considering to play with a starter deck or a "modified" starter deck.





https://goo.gl/photos/nnovS9BLcyBTbYDc8

If you want to do some analysis on the two new TLG Complete Decks, I would probably be up for it. I would be curious what the strengths and weaknesses of them are potentially.

I would like to give some feedback now that Disciple_Drew has done his analysis on the two complete TLG decks.

I had the Premium Quantitative Analysis done on both the WAR and ARK decks and am very impressed by the final product. I will say that knowing where the strengths and weaknesses in my deck are will allow me to make changes to my deck list with a greater understanding of the overall effect on the deck. My most pressing question before seeing the Analysis in action was, "Can I basically do what Drew is offering on my own." What I came to realize after seeing the final product is that I might be able to, but the level of experience and expertise that Drew brings to the table is second to none. He is basically bringing a high level professional ability into the realm of a hobby that he loves. I wholeheartedly recommend that you take advantage of the Deck Analysis Drew is offering. Make a deck list, go to the appropriate link Drew has listed above, and pay to have the analysis run even before you buy the cards. Once you see what needs to be changed, if anything, then go to TLG and buy any of the cards you don't have for your deck.

A+++ Thanks Drew!!!

Hi Guardian,

The offerings are packaged pretty straight-forward I think. However since this is something that has never been done before and I want to make it available for players, each new experience will help me fine-tune the service more. I want to improve the forms and wording on a constant basis so that it is easy for viewers to understand. I'm aware the technical data may be hard to digest.

I think your first and most important question you want to ask yourself:

1-What type of information you need to get?

-A Basic Analysis will breakdown qualitative data about the deck, such as: Specific quality elements, these are known as the Deck Attributes like search, draw, control, etc.
-Deck Balance will reveal to you a % of how much a deck is either Offensive or Defensive it is.
-Best Practices is in relevance to your playing habits rather than the deck itself.
-Situational Analysis is a very basic overview regarding internal and external strengths & weaknesses of the deck. Such as concepts of how the deck could play out in the meta.

2- What level of competition are you planning to participate in?
-I would recommend a Basic Analysis for Local & District level tournaments.
-I would recommend an Advanced or Premium Analysis for State, Regional, and National tournaments.

3- Based on your budget, adjust the level of study you need. If you're planning to buy a lot of cards or invest a lot of time in trading, I recommend doing an analysis first. This is to see if your envisioned deck list will deliver you your desired style of play. You can imagine the frustration you could face if you discover too late that your deck didn't provide you the level of pleasure you expected after you spent a significant amount of time or money.

Because you're undecided about certain cards, I would recommend the Basic Analysis per variant. It is the most cost-effective study I can provide at the moment. Based on the needs of the players and if I have the capacity to meet those needs I will aim on how to accommodate. Maybe a bundle, subscription, or another method to study various submissions in the long-term could work for you or others. But currently at the moment I haven't accomplished those details yet. However, because a report is good for a year you wouldn't need a new report until a year from the release date unless a new set is printed sooner. Or until you modify your deck.

Changing your deck will obviously change the data about your deck. I would recommend as a rule of thumb, unless you've changed your deck by less than the number of cards equal to the square root of the deck size (rounded down), it wouldn't be worth doing an analysis just yet. Equal to that number or more, you'll see substantial changes in your deck elements. If less, you won't see a substantial change. Unless your priority is strictly for performance.

Think of a Deck Analysis like you're doing a diagnostic on your car. An analysis will show you how your car is running and performing from it's current condition. From there, the report will aid you on decisions you can make. To put it in simple terms, if a player is expecting their deck to be a high performance sports car and you find out it's geared to perform like a scooter... you will lose the race. Same goes as far as your budget. If you're planning to spend a fortune on a deck and the deck plays very different than what you expected, your investment is lost. A player should give themselves the peace of mind and go the extra mile with a little extra effort and reward themselves with that assurance.