Design Theory: Game Formats

This is a topic that I've been thinking about writing for a long time, but I hadn't quite figured out how I wanted to approach it, yet. However, with the advent of the BT09 Crossride units, I feel that now is as good a time as any to discuss something that won't happen for a while, but will most definitely come up at some point and will affect everyone who plays this game. As Vanguard evolves, what type of format will the game take on? Currently, with only 8 sets and a few extra boosters under our belt, the game is functioning on an "Eternal Format" where every card printed is available for play, barring rulings from Bushiroad to the contrary (Barcgal's being banned as a Starting Vanguard, for example.) But, I'm sure we all hope, Vanguard is going to continue to grow. As more sets are released and more cards are added to the prospective construction pool, Bushiroad is going to need to make a decision whether to rotate out older cards or keep everything as is. In this article, I'm going to go over the pros and cons of Block and Eternal formats before, finally, sharing my own conclusion with you.

Eternal Formats: We are the 1%

You're starting to show your age there, pal.

As I stated previously, an Eternal Format is one where every card (with a few exceptions) are able to be used in a deck. Yu-gi-oh is a prime example of a TCG with such a design. Those cards from the first few sets are just as playable as cards from the past few expansions. You can even go as far as to mix them together. If a card has been printed in an official YGO expansion, it's free to use. However, just because a card is playable, that doesn't mean it's relevant, and that's where a huge problem in eternal formats begins to show. In a given pool of cards, only a small percentage will be relevant to the metagame, as only a small percentage of all cards are powerful enough to be of use to you in a competitive environment. As an example, how many of you past Yu-Gi-Oh players remember when Blue-Eyes White Dragon was one of the best cards in the game? Compare that same card to any of the current boss monsters in the metagame right now. I guarantee you that Blue-Eyes will be completely outclassed either in raw power, playability, or utility. In fact, I challenge you to find a "professional" (and I use the term loosely) YGO player who would even consider using BEWD in the deck they take with them to a qualifier or championship. The card is simply not relevant in the game anymore.

Another thing about eternal formats that makes people like them is that sometimes older, overlooked cards can become the perfect counter to a new strategy, or becomes phenomenal in combination with a new support card that was recently released. For example, back after the Storm of Ragnarok expansion was released, Six Samurai decks were running around everywhere. People needed an answer to the deck, and it was eventually found in the form of Puppet Plant, a card that was released 4 years earlier. Had YGO operated on a block system, that card would have most likely not been legal to use, and another counter would have needed to be found, and it probably wouldn't have been as effective. I'm sure there are other examples, but I was never one for uber-hardcore YGO in the first place, so I can't really confirm any other examples.

Pictured: Something almost as sexy as me.

Another plus for eternal formats is that, barring a massive ban, your old decks can still be played. For example, I have a few YGO decks made and sitting in my desk. I know they're all still legal, so I can grab one and head to a tourney should the mood strike me, despite some of the cards in them being 6+ years old. I think I'm a pretty humble guy, so don't take it as bragging when I say that I can sure play my way around my Morphtronic deck. I've worn through so many sets of sleeves on that thing, a lot of the combos are second nature. Still, despite that, it doesn't hold a candle to the newer strategies, and there's no way in Hades I'd actually run it at any event higher than a locals. Sure, I can use my sexy, sexy Ghost Rare Power Tool Dragons, but they probably won't do much work for me with crap like Laggia and the like running around.

Which brings me to one of the major problems with eternal formats: Power Creep. I feel like Mark Rosewater said it best when addressing the concept of Power Creep:

"Each set raises the bar on what cards can do until you get to the point where the game collapses under the weight of the power level. ("I win turn one before you can even play.")" -MaRo

This is fairly apparent in games like Yu-Gi-Oh. Look back on the initial release, when BEWD was still considered good. Fast forward to 2012, and you need a full-ass 15 card Extra deck to even stand a chance in this game, as the focus has shifted entirely to who can drop their big boss Synchro or Xyz monster, or who can control the board most effectively through the use of their Synchro or Xyz monsters. Power creep is also evident in Vanguard, though less so. I'm sure you all know about the "OMG CROSSRIDES QQ" bullshit already, so I won't go into much detail. However, I'm fairly safe in saying that for many people, these Crossrides represent an unfavorable power creep in the game. (Whether or not their claims are valid are a tale for another day.) Because any card can be played, the companies need to find a way to continue to sell new sets. Eventually, the quick and easy fix is to just make a few cards in that set absolutely game-defining. This process repeats with each set, as more powerful tiers of cards are introduced until, eventually, all other cards are effectively unplayable due to the nature of the format.

Those are my thoughts on Eternal Formats, but before I show you my conclusion, I need to go over the other major type I mentioned earlier, the Block or Staggered Format.

Block Format: Every Day I'm Shufflin'

Back when I was introduced to Standard (or Type 2, as it's also called) Magic: The Gathering, I was absolutely pissed off that they had a rotating block format. I was used to Yu-Gi-Oh at the time, and it was a foreign concept to me that the cards I have would become illegal based on the rules set down by the company, rather than the environment derived from the cards themselves. Yeah, I was too young and stupid to realize that they were basically the same thing. Now that I am both older and (slightly) wiser, I have a newfound respect for the Block format after playing both MTG, Legend of the 5 Rings, and the Pokemon TCG.

On the surface, Block formats seem like a quick and easy way to grab money by the company that makes the game. What better way to keep you buying their product than to make some of it illegal, forcing you to change up your deck? I'll admit, the idea turned me off a bit and still does in certain respects, especially because I'm a dirt-poor college student. However, from a design standpoint, Block formats are the best way to ensure that a TCG lasts for a long time, as evidenced by both Magic and L5R. But why is that?

For starters, block formats allow for changes in the meta without huge-ass power creeps. In a block format, it is inevitable that a card or cards will be rotated out. I bet you wouldn't be complaining about the game as much if you recognized that cards like Spectral Duke Dragon and DOTE had a limited timeframe in the format. Blocks allow for the proper rotations that shift the meta. Additionally, block formats encourage dynamic deckbuilding. You might have a great idea made now, but what are you going to do when cards X, Y, and Z rotate out of your deck? You might give up then and there, but someone else might look at the newest set and figure out that cards P, Q, and R actually work well in the deck as well. This type of interaction that forces players to change up their deck all the time promotes better deckbuilding skill, as it allows players to notice value in cards they may have overlooked earlier because their deck was "perfect" with cards that had been rotated out.

Block formats also make new sets relevant. Players who have completed their "pet decks" in eternal formats will often ignore new sets unless something completely awesome catches their eye and makes them want to make something else. In a block format, players need to look at every card in the set and assess both current and potential future value. You never know when something can make it big when some of the big threats are no longer a factor in the metagame...

In larger games, blocks can also help to focus new players on where to begin. In a large game with a huge card pool, it becomes intimidating for newer players to have to deal with 12000+ card pools. Blocks shrink that size down to 1000 or so cards, which is a much more manageable size to work with.

In Closing:

As you may have guessed by this point, I'm a huge fan of block formats. If I were to design my own TCG, that's the route I would go. However, I feel like Vanguard is not a game that would benefit from a block format. The major reasons for this are the Clan and Avatar effects.

Vanguard is a game that is heavily focused on playing a deck that you as a player like, be it for gameplay, art, or theme. Unlike Magic, which has what boils down to 5 "clans," or L5R which has roughly 10 or so, Vanguard has many more, and not all clans are present in all the sets. A block format would be too restrictive based on which clans would exist in which block and would, I feel, do more harm to the game than good. On top of that, a huge part of Vanguard is making a deck around your "Avatar" card, the card that you like the most. If that card were to suddenly be rotated out with no reprint in sight, then where does that leave you? While I wish that vanguard could support blocks, the way it is set up now leads me to believe that that is not a feasable option for the game.

Let me know what you think, though! Send me a message on reddit, PM me on facebook, respond to wherever I post this and give me your two cents!

As usual, this is Stephen Stills of Team Sex Bob-Omb reminding you that you're all beautiful. I just happen to be more beautiful than any of you.