The 16 Card Snake Draft Format for Classic/VC
Well met!
Some time ago, I devised a draft format for use with C3G. The plethora of figures available in the combined Classic/VC, and recent events, have revitalized my interest in this format.
The 16 Card Snake Draft Format.
Snake Draft. It's a draft where the positions flip flop every round. For example, if someone drafts first during the very first round, they'll draft last the following round, then they'll draft first again in the next round, and so on.
So, with 4 players drafting 1 card at a time, the order would be: 1234432112344321. Each player ends up with 4 cards (out of 16).
Of course, there are an infinite number of ways to choose those 16 cards. Some totally subjective, current principles:
1. Select a map.
2. Select 4 sets of 4 cards each. Make it so that all cards in a set are of roughly equal value. The Book lists (point cost) for Classic and VC being open in separate windows for reference makes it easier.
3. Make 1 set of Common Squad cards, and 3 sets of Hero cards. I've considered sets of Unique Squads, sets within sets, multiple Un-Common/Common Heroes, all Heroes, etc., but, for now, . . .
4. Avoid synergy. That especially means no bonding squads/heroes together.
5. Adapt a theme, selecting cards: from a particular pair of Generals, sci-fi, history, movies, books, etc.
6. It's impressionistic. Allusion is all - and can be "out there."
For example, riffing on Game I of my Kha playtest, Kha Formal Playtest - 16 Card Draft Format, let's play
Tomb Raiders
Let's start with squads (30-40 points per squad/150-210 points total). C3V has skeletons. Tomb Skeleton Archers and Tomb Skeletons. For roughly the same cost, we add Venoc Vipers ("I hate snakes!) and Red Ants of Aunstrum.
1st set of heroes (70-80 points). Let's start with the snake-hater: James Murphy. Add a monk, Zhen Yuan, a mercenary, Martial La Hire, and a female ninja, Kumiko.
2nd set of heroes (100-110 points). A vampire hunter, Van Nessing, an evil ronin, Akumaken, a military man, Sgt. Drake Alexander, and a secret agent, Agent Carr.
3rd set of heroes (120-130 points). A samurai, Kaemon Awa, a Varkanaan, Bahadur, a rogue, Locksley, and a blood knight, Viceron.
Adventure awaits!
How does this format strike you?
Comments 4
Total Comments 4
Comments
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Sounds fun! Do you draft from each set of 4 cards individually, or the full set of 16? Also, how many copies of each Common are you allowed to play?
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Posted May 6th, 2018 at 10:04 PM by NecroBlade
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It looks good, Kolakoski, and would work especially well for a group of 4 players. Enjoy!
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Posted May 7th, 2018 at 08:43 AM by Dad_Scaper
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ClarificationWell met! 3 squads per card. Draft from all 16, but only 1 from each tier. |
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Posted May 7th, 2018 at 10:06 AM by kolakoski
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The 16 Card Snake Draft Format for TournamentWell met! For a tournament, there would be a separate 16 Card draft at each pair of maps, as opposed to for the whole tournament. Only 4 people would be drafting at a time. Opponents would each draft an army, and then play their separate 2 vs. 2 games. If the cards are presented ahead of time, the players can determine how they'll draft, and what they want there armies to look like, for each game. Or . . . Delineate the tiers (per game or for the whole tournament) without naming the cards. For instance, drafting a 500 point army, a player must draft 1 card from each tier, as follows. 1st tier: Must draft a common squad card, which will have 3 squads on it. 50-70 points/squad = 150-210 total points. 2nd tier: A Hero - 130-150 points. 3rd Tier: A Hero - 90-110 points. 4th tier: A Hero - 50-70 points. The total would have to be 500 points, or fewer. The point total and range of points per tier can be different, between tournaments or maps. Additional restrictions, again per map or per tournament, could be added, such as what combinations of Generals are allowed, what type of unit(s) must be drafted in a tier (say only Dragons + Racheim available in Tier 2 above), Heroes only, etc. I would suggest not allowing certain synergies, such as bonding or auras (listing forbidden relationships). |
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Posted May 7th, 2018 at 10:25 AM by kolakoski
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