[Tournament] XCAFS20 - eXperimental Codex Asynchronous Fall Swiss - Sign-up / tracker thread!

[FrozenStorm]

[Tournament] eXperimental Codex Asynchronous Fall Swiss (XCAFS) 2020

Now taking signups!

This will be a swiss tournament, one match per week, with a grace period if your match doesn 't finish on time. We’ll be playing with a variety of card edits that intend to mixup the balance of the game, buffing some lower played specs / colors and nerfing some of the higher-played cards that tend to dominate tournment play.

I will post the final list of cards receiving changes in the next post, based on the discussion that took place in this thread

Also, since I’m posting this kinda late (apologies!) We’ll plan to start the tournament the first week of October, posting the first set of matches on Monday, October 5th

Nit picky details of how pairings will work

Each round, pairings will be assigned as follows:

1. If a match between two players who each have two losses is not completed when the next round is paired, a proxy of “the winner of x vs y” will be paired for the next round in lieu of either participant.
2. When the delayed match completes, the proxy will be replaced by the actual winner.This proxy is considered to have the combined opponent and bye history of both players, for purposes of making pairings.
3. Deliberately delaying a match in an attempt to affect your pairing for the next round is considered Cheating, and is punishable by being disqualified from the tournament.Yes, this is technically “not enforceable” but it 's still illegal. Don’t do it.

If the number of players is odd, a bye(which counts as a win) will be assigned to the player who:

1. Has had the fewest byes in the tournament(normally zero)
2. Has played against all other players, or so many of the other players that a bye is needed to avoid a re - match elsewhere in the tournament(probably won 't happen)
3. Has the most losses
4. Has played against the fewest remaining players (this helps minimize re-matches, while also keeping more players in the tournament longer)
5. Was picked randomly from among players tied for criteria #4

Each player will be paired with another player who

1. They have been paired against the fewest times (normally zero)
2. Has the same number of losses
3. An unfinished match is not counted as a loss for players with fewer than two losses Is randomly selected
4. I reserve the option to hand-craft pairings and/or the bye if necessary to minimize the number of re-matches. This manual manipulation will not result in someone getting a second bye unless all players have had a bye.

General Rules / TLDR of How Things Work:

• The player who goes first in each round will be pre-determined
• If one player has gone first fewer times in the tournament (not counting BYEs), that player goes first, otherwise, the first player is decided randomly.
• The first player is responsible for creating the game thread
• Tag @FrozenStorm when a winner has been determined.
• CAS tournaments use a “three strikes” rule - any player who has three losses will be automatically dropped from the tournament. Players may also drop at any time.
• There is no “cut” - the last player standing wins the event. Thanks to the “three strikes” rule, the field should narrow towards the end, and culminate in an exciting final few matches.
• Matches are 1 game.
• The default will be to play all matches as play-by-post within the forum, but a match may be played in an alternate format (in person, on an alternate platform, via snail-mail, whatever) by mutual agreement, until the field is reduced to four or fewer players.
• I am accepting volunteers to help Judge the event. You could be an authorized judge! @zhavier has been authorized
• If any rulings are necessary, any single Judge who is not participating in that match may make a ruling.
• Rulings are subject to appeal only if the judge making the ruling is wrong about the facts of the game (eg, forgetting that a Building Inspector is in play, or the Shrine of Forbidden Knowledge only makes Demons unstoppable by units) or the rules/FAQ as noted at sirlin.net/rules and/or the Rulings thread.
• Please note the forum suggested post generation spreadsheet, or one of the other format suggestions (like this or this) such that it includes include hand, tech and worker decisions, either in a details + spoiler combo …

Like this

Here’s my hidden stuff

• … or in a linked source that I can get to. This helps with judgements, adjudication, as well as spectators. For games involving me, you can send a private link to a different judge if you so choose, but as with all PbF games, honor system is in place: don’t peek at your opponent’s spoilers, just as you wouldn’t grab cards out of your opponent’s hand /
  deck / discard / worker pile and look at them!

New pairings will be posted roughly every Monday. Matches that are not progressing may be given an adjudicated result. The “tournament week” is considered to be from one round of pairings posted to the next (so possibly more or less than an actual calendar week, depending on how prompt I am with the Monday postings).

Details of unfinished match adjudication

1. Matches where Player 1 has posted their 5th turn within a week will not be adjudicated until 3 days after(Thursday)
2. Matches where Player 1 has posted their 10th turn by that Friday(11 days after pairings) will not be adjudicated until Monday(the two week mark).
3. Matches subject to adjudication may have a Win declared for the player who is, in the judgement of the Judges,
   a. “going to win” (having clear hand / tech spoilers is helpful for determining this)
   b. Less responsible for the delay of game, OR
   c. For no - one, if prior arrangements were made, or the match result isn 't critical for making the next round of pairings, or if a “catch up” week is coming up.
4. Generally I will be pretty generous about allowing for extra time, provided I’m given notice of absence.If you ‘re ghosting the tourney with no notice however, don’t be surprised if you 're given FF losses!

Nit-picky details about correcting game errors

In the event of a game error, one of three fixes will be implemented:

1. If a unit, hero, or building took the wrong amount of damage, and changing it to the correct amount does not cause anything to leave play or not leave play, then the damage will be corrected.
   a. If not enough gold was spent, and the excess was floated, the gold total will be corrected. If too much gold was spent, the excess will be refunded. The possibility of theft (red starter, Anarchy, or Law) does not impact this, as both players are responsible for maintaining the game state.
   b. An actually executed theft (or failure to steal after taking the appropriate action) forecloses this remedy.
2. The game will be backed up to the turn of the error. In this case, having the decisions / game state noted is important for re-constructing things. Any random events that are undone (eg, drawing cards) must be re-randomized, regardless of the size or type of error. Normally the entire turn containing the error will be backed up and re-done, but if knowledge has been gained, or cards drawn, and the error occurred after the new information was gained, the Judge must only back up to the point where new information was revealed.
3. If neither of the above apply, or if I feel a backup cannot be performed, the game will be left as-is. (For example, an error occurs on Turn 2, and it is now Turn 4, both players have made decisions, reshuffled, etc. based on the incorrect game state).
4. Regardless of remedy, players should feel free to use any information disclosed by their opponent’
   s error in making gameplay choices.For example, an opponent 's tech choice revealed via a card illegally played and then returned to hand.
5. In the case of repeated errors, or errors where the gamestate cannot be recovered, a game loss may be given if the error was substantial.

Late signups will be accepted without penalty until the second set of pairings are made. Signups after that may occur, but will be given one loss for each full round / “tournament week” that has elapsed. As stated above, please submit deck choices with your entry to the tourney, via PM to me or reply in this thread, in order to sign up!

List of players participating:

1. FrozenStorm [Bashing]/Discipline/Ninjutsu
2. charnel_mouse [Balance]/Blood/Strength
3. zhavier [Balance/Feral]/Blood
4. Bomber678 deck tbd
5. EricF [Past]/Peace/Truth
6. bansa [Law]/Peace/Finesse
7. CarpeGuitarrem [Bashing]/Discipline/Fire
8. dwarddd MonoPurple
9. James MonoBlue
10. codexnewb [Future]/Peace/Truth
11. Nekoatl TBD

You can find the current standings on the “Tracker” tab of this spreadsheet!

[FrozenStorm]

Here's the full list of card edits for this tourney, subject to change until Monday the 14th of September when it will lock in.

FINAL: Tournament Balance Changes

Neutral Starter:

Spark costs 0 (instead of 1)
Fruit Ninja is a 3/2 (instead of 2/2) and keeps Frenzy 1

Finesse:

Harmony Instead of “sacrifice harmony” to stop the music, the card now reads “You may sacrifice Harmony at any time. Whenever Harmony leaves play, turn all dancer tokens over. They are now 2/1 Angry Dancers with Unstoppable”
Star-Crossed Starlet Her ability is now optional (“Upkeep: You may have SCS deal 1 damage to herself”)

Bashing:

Troq midband becomes topband and can deal 1 damage to any building (not just a base)
Troq midband becomes readiness, level range is 4-7 instead of 5-7
Troq maxband becomes Overpower
The Boot becomes “Trash an opposing Tech 0 or Tech I unit. Trash this card”
Intimidate changes from “Give a unit or hero -4atk until end of turn” to “Give a unit or hero -3atk/-1hp until your next upkeep”
Final Smash cost reduced to 3

Red Starter:

Scorch can target any unit, patrolling hero, or building

Anarchy:

Zane Level 1 add “Dies: instead of opponent getting hero Levels, opponent gains 3 gold”
Detonate costs 2 (instead of 3)
Sanitorium cost reduced to 3, loses the ability cost of 1g (just tap to draw 1, play cards)
Pirate Gunship loses Obliterate

Blood:

Rickety Mine gains Haste, ability changes from coin flip to “When this arrives, put two Ore runes on it. Tap: gain 3 gold, remove an ore rune. When this runs out of Ore runes, trash it and deal 1 damage to you and your opponent’s base”

Fire:

Jaina Midband loses the “patrolling” designation
Fire Dart costs 1 (instead of 2)
Flame Arrow costs 3 (instead of 4)
Doubleshot Archer costs 2 (instead of 3)

Green Starter:

Ironbark Treant ability becomes “-1 ATK/+1 while patrolling” (rather than -2 ATK/+2 armor)
Rich Earth gains “Arrives: Get a 0/1 wisp token. While you have 10 or more workers, this gains “tap: make a wisp””

Balance:

Midori Midband becomes “Your units with no printed abilities get +2/+1”
Circle of Life becomes “Sacrifice a Tech 0 or Tech I unit. If you do, put a unit one tech level higher with cost 4 or less into play from your Codex” (instead of a green unit with cost 5 or less)
Gemscout Owl is 1/1 (instead of 0/1. It still can’t attack)
Chameleon costs 0 (instead of 2)

Feral:

Predator Tiger gets +1 HP (5 HP instead of 4)

Growth:

Giant Panda is a 3/4 (instead of 2/4)
Might of Leaf and Claw grants +3/+3 (instead of +5/+5). Also, Might of Leaf and Claw gains the Healing 1 keyword (even when not yet active)
Blooming Ancient gains “limit twice per turn” on it’s second ability (can only move 2 runes off of the Ancient each turn)
Oversized Rhinoceros costs 4 (instead of 5, for Circle of Life synergy)

Black Starter:

Deteriorate costs 1 (instead of 0)
Pestering Haunt costs 1 (instead of 0)
Thieving Imp reduced to a 2/1 (instead of 2/2)

Demonology:

Vandy midband loses “Resist 1”, now midbands at 4/5 and maxbands at 6
Dark Pact becomes “Deal 1 damage to your Demonology Hero, and 2 damage to your base. Draw 2 cards” (cannot target opponent’s base, and also damages your Hero)
Metamorphosis grants stealth instead of invisibility, only gives +1/1 instead of +2/2, still gives readiness
Banefire Golem costs 5 (instead of 6)

Necromancy:

Garth midband adds “Once-Per-Turn”
Garth maxband fetches cost 4 or less (instead of 5 or less)
Lich’s Bargain deals 6 damage to your base (instead of 4)
Bone Collector reduced to 2 ATK (2/3 instead of 3/3), gets Frenzy 1
Corpse Catapult moves to 2/5 instead of 1/4.
Wight gains “Arrives: create two 1/1 black Skeleton tokens” (it keeps other abilities)

Disease:

Crypt Crawler costs 1 for a 2/2 (instead of 2 for a 3/3). It keeps Sparkshot and the anti-flier ability

Blue Starter:

Porkhand Magistrate ability costs 0 (instead of 1) to use.
Lawful Search Changes to an upgrade, with “sacrifice this:” as the trigger for the ability it currently has as a spell (Look at opponent’s hand or discard, then draw 1)
Building Inspector ability is “Your opponents must pay you 1 gold to build (or rebuild) a building” (instead of only the first building costing 1 more)
Bluecoat Musketeer can now be long range while 2 attack or less (instead of exactly 1)

Law:

Jurisdiction gains “You may trash Jurisdiction and/or the searched-for spell” and “If that spell has Channeling your Law hero can Channel it until he leaves play” at the end of it’s effect.
Tax Collector is a 3/3 (instead of 2/3)
Guardian of the Gates is a 2/6 (instead of 1/6) and affects Units and Heroes (instead of just Units)
Arresting Constable Gains “Haste” and can target any unit or hero with it’s ability.

Peace:

General’s Hammer costs 2 (instead of 3)
Drill Sergeant’s gains “limit twice per turn” on it’s second ability (can only move 2 runes off of the DS each turn, same as Ancient)
Debilitator Alpha costs 4 (instead of 5) and has “As Patroller: Attackers get -1 ATK” (even if they aren’t attacking Debilitator Alpha)

Truth:

Spectral Tiger gains Resist 1
Spectral Roc gains Resist 1
Hallucination Changes to: Spell - Summon Target up to 2 units or heroes. Summon a 0/X hallucination token for each target, where X is the current HP (factoring in any buffs, debuffs or damage) of the target. Destroy these at your next upkeep.
Dreamscape Instead of “all units are illusions” this becomes “Arrives or Upkeep: mark up to 5 units. These units are illusions until your next upkeep, even if Dreamscape is removed from play”. Also gains "Tap: Create a Mirror Illusion (max 2). Still channeling, still cost 3.
Quince Midband ability now costs 1 (instead of 2)
Mind Control Cost reduced to 4 and can attach to any unit, including tech 3s

Purple Starter:

Time Spiral costs 0, and ability adjusted: “Add or remove a time rune from a card (or forecasted card) that you control”
Tinkerer also triggers on Arrival. “Arrives: or : Add or remove a time rune from a card (or forecasted card) that you control” //combined with the other changes, previous version was a bit too degenerate

Past:

Prynn midband becomes Dies:… (instead of “Dies from fading”)
Seer can only affect cards you control.

Present:

Sentry’s ability becomes “Prevent the first point of damage that would be dealt to your patrollers each turn (active player’s choice if more than one patroller is dealt damage at the same time)”
Hyperion reduced to 4/4 (instead of 4/5)
Octavian’s ability becomes: “1: Disable a unit or hero and give Octavian -1/1 until next upkeep” (loses and no longer readies him). Also gains “Resist 1”

Future:

Vir midband is range 4-6 (instead of 5-6)
Double Time Cost reduced to 5 and moves to forecast 2 (instead of forecast 3)
Knight of the Conclave is Forecast 2 (instead of 3), loses resist 1
Reaver’s ability becomes: “Arrives or : Trash a worker, or deal 6 damage to a Unit or Hero”. Cost reduced to 2

White Starter:

Fox Primus is a 2/3 (instead of 2/2)
Aged Sensei Can only give its buff to units, no longer can buff heroes

Discipline:

Versatile Style has these 4 abilities (improved, still costs 2):

• Destroy an Upgrade
• Disable a Hero, or a Unit with Flying
• Repair 4 damage from a building
• Your Discipline hero is a Detector until your next turn

Focus Master - Changes to 2 cost, ability becomes “All your patrollers gain +1armor”
Hero’s Monument - Daigo Stormborn has Haste in addition to his other abilities

Ninjitsu:

Fuzz Cuddles is a 3/3
Inverse Power Ninja ability adds: “up to a maximum of -5/5”, so it bottoms out as a 1/1 with a board flood and can’t get itself killed
Flying Fox is a 3/2
Masked Raccoon is much improved: 2 cost, 3/4. “Masked Raccoon has Swift Strike while you control another Ninja. Masked Raccoon is Invisible while you control another Cute Animal”

Strength:

Bird’s Nest Ability changes to "Arrives or upkeep: Put a 1/1 Flying Bird Token into play (max 2 tokens in play at a time). Remains as a channeling spell.
Mythmaking gains the ability "Your Legendary units ignore the “Legend Rule”

[Bryce_The_Rice]

I have a suggestion:
Allow different decks every round.
I know that’s against the spirit of codex tournament formats, but there are a lot of changes and people might want to get around to several.

[FrozenStorm]

While I like the spirit of that idea (let people try stuff), for the purposes of my sanity in organizing I’m going to say no to that; changing decks and stuff like that gets to be a lot to track and manage people submitting and stuff.

Everyone is free to try multiple decks with these changes casually, I’d be happy to see it. But not going to do that for the tournament

[charnel_mouse]

I’m in, let’s see how [Balance]/Blood/Strength fares with the edits.

[zhavier]

I’ll be in as [Balance/Feral]/Blood

[Bryce_The_Rice]

I’m in, but I don’t know what deck I’m playing yet. So many possibilities…

[EricF]

I’m in with edit: changed my mind

Hidden until start of event

[Past]/Peace/Truth

[bansa]

I’m in. Deck tbd after final ruleset.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I’m in, will submit deck by PM

[FrozenStorm]

Final edits were made to the rules change post, looking forward to this tourney y’all! We’re thinking to try some stuff out pre-tourney, lmk if you’re into that also

[dwarddd]

Count me in for the tourney, MonoPurple please

[charnel_mouse]

I’m planning to put decks into the match data as MonoGreenF20, [BalanceF20]/BloodF20/StrengthF20 etc., i.e. card edits add a suffix depending on which tournament they were first allowed in. If anyone has a better idea of how to handle this, let me know!

[EricF]

I would either combine all balance changes into one, or just not even track it (if you want to get player data, maybe code everyone’s deck as the same “XCAFS20” name) You’re never going to get enough data on individual sets of balance tweaks to be meaningful, but you might be able to get something from “playing with any balance changes” as a category.

[charnel_mouse]

I agree that I won’t get enough data, but it’s simple enough to record that I might as well. The match history is for everyone’s use, not just mine. I also don’t think it’s inconceivable that we end up having a few tournaments/series with fan decks (e.g. Grey) included, so this is a good opportunity to prod myself into handling unofficial decks.

[James]

I’m in - I’ll test out the ?buffed overall MonoBlue.

[APALM]

Will you guys play out this tournament on the forums here, or on tabletopia or equivalent? If the latter, I’d love to see some recordings put up on YouTube. Fascinated by how this whole ‘nudging the tiller’ thing works out.

[FrozenStorm]

We’ll be playing on the forums @APALM, perhaps at some point I could commentate some forum games of note in a video though I have not done that before! It’d be cool to have more codex content on youtube

[zhavier]

I actually think the easiest way to do it would be to record a vassal game. Shameless plug.

[charnel_mouse]

This is Vassal, for those not aware.