I've been playing around with trying to make multi-race decks and find it next to impossible. The following are some observations and suggestions for improving the playability of multi-race decks. It should be noted that I don't profess to be a great deck builder and I don't have all the cards so there are things I don't know and haven't experienced.

There are two types of multi-race decks. The first utilizes one race as the primary race and splashes some cards from another race for effect and the other is decks which utilize two separate races about equally. The latter is by far the more difficult in this game due to resource and base restrictions. Most of the following comments are applicable to both deck strategies.

The only multi-race strategy that seems to work is using one primary race for all creatures and splashing a second race for spells, enhancements, etc. Not sure if this was intentional by the designers.

Issue #1: Base spawning
One of the bigger issues with multi-race decks is that a unit can only be spawned next to a its own factions base building. This means that your Elemental creature can't spawn next to your Sylvan Grove. It must be spawned next to an Elemental base building. You could have the domain to spawn that Elemental creature but he is stuck in your hand if you don't have an Elemental base built in play. In addition, this means that if your multi-race deck has creatures from both races they can't spawn next to each other unless you have two buildings (1 of each race) next to each other. This is a huge disadvantage when the enemy brings the fight to you.

Potential Solutions:
Simply allow all creatures to spawn next to any of your base buildings (remove domain restriction). I don't see the need to limit which bases at which creatures can spawn. What is the advantage to not allowing a Elemental creature and a Sylvan creature from spawning next to each other?

Issue #2: "mana screwed"
All ccgs that utilize resources have to deal with the "mana screwed" effect. When playing muti-race decks in this game I seem to encounter this more since all domain requirements must be from the same domain. If a creature requires 3 domain to cast then it requires that those 3 domain come from the same faction. In addition, unlike most other games where you have a lot of resources this game seems to be played with less resources and your resources are easily attackable.

Potential Solutions:
A) A more radical solution would be to replace all starter buildings (Grove, Graveyard, Magma Chamber, Dwarven Hall) with a single starter building that can provide any domain. All of these buildings have the same stats anyways so there isn't anything unique that would be removed. For this new starter building the controlling player would choose at cast time what domain that building produces (and base) similar to how Astridian Diplomat works. This would mean that instead of a deck containing 4 domain producing buildings from 1 faction and 4 from the other all your deck would need is 8 buildings (maybe less with the optimization).
B) Redo a lot of cards so that they don't require all resources from the same domain but require 1+ from their faction domain and the rest from any domain. For example: Lightning Bolt (EEE3) could be changed to requiring 1 Elemental domain and 2 domain from any other faction plus 3 flux. For some cards you may want to keep 2 or even all 3 domain requirements of the same faction as a way of limiting their multi-race play.

Issue #3: Alabaster Pantheon
This building has already been changed once but for the worse I'm afraid. Recently it was changed so that this building provides one or the other domain per turn (no longer both every turn). This is one of the few cards that I found that actually promoted multi-race decks. Unfortunately with the recent change it is very difficult, not to mention annoying, to play.

Potential solution:
[this isn't my own as it has been recommended elsewhere] Introduce the concept of universal domain. Universal domain can be used to satisfy any domain requirement. Change this card so it only provides 1 universal domain per turn. This brings back the support of more than one race which this card appears to have been intended to provide while ensuring that you can' use it to out domain your opponent and drop bigger creatures than them.

There are other issues but I don't want this to turn into a novel so I'll stop here for now. Any others out there trying multi-race decks and found them to be almost universally deficient to full race decks?

These are some good ideas. Specially the universal domain. That is a better way to handle the pantheon.

I'm a little attached to the idea of each domain needing its own base type but maybe it isn't worth the complexity. I'll have to think about it.

My two cents:



As am I. There's already the bazaar, and I'm sure in the future there will be more interesting ways bases are handled, but I like it as a basic idea. Is it frustrating to have a hand full of elementals and only a grove with a weathervane out? Absolutely. But it makes things more interesting.



If the idea behind domain is that it indicates your power in that field, I don't like this idea. Because my grove with a weathervane, so long as I have two other groves, can then cast your lightning bolt example.
I guess I don't see this as much of a hindrance to multi-domain decks so much as yet another strategic aspect. In the first few rounds of the game, your decision to either split domains or level up in one can make a huge impact. If you change the system along lines you're suggesting, the answer is a no-brainer: you always play a different domain building, there's no reason not to.

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-Minds

having universal and clan domains is a good idea, the big issue is most of the cards worth really playing in any domain have a double domain requirement, i've already discused pantheon at lenght for its recent changes so i won't go further.

And actualy not all tcgs suffer from mana screw type effects, many games any card can become a resource, dual masters and vs. play with this mechanic, this game intrinsicily will suffer from that.

One of the thing i think should be changed about pantheon is it should be a base as well. Thats a big issue is lots of locations give domain or base, or neither, and those effects need to be a little more common.

Salvage i also believe is overrated in cost to locations, i'd far prefer getting base and domain to salvage, salvage is very rarely usefull, you have to be suddenly broadsided but still in the game for it to be significant, about all it does is keeps you alive against a realy really fast rush. My keep point on this is thunderhead keep, the aloft building, which i love, but the salvage is mute point on it usualy, and the fact that you dont get base with it is annoying, although i understand its high cost, as it is so difficult to take out most the time.

I reiterate the X+Domain costing for cards would be a huge improvement to multiclan decks, and the game in general, i can also understand where you would want to be wary of this, as it is very MTG, it does however seem a logical move.


edit: ps: i suggested the universal domain, in my threat elemental snap point in card disscusion. I am rather found of the idea myself the more i think about it.

Jed, to weigh in on this, I'd suggest not getting rid of domains as you seem to be taking this, but adding another "neutral" domain which can count as one of anything as needed, but won't count as one of each. To be more clear, that Universal Domain could be used to case a one-domain spell of any domain, but it would not actually add one of each, which would make it possible to case a Mercenary by itself. I kind of like that idea.

Another alternative for the cards costing XX or XXX would be that they do not require "any three" but "three of one"

Are there any multi-domain cards? That's another way to make it more advantagous -- is to give some ADVANTAGE to a mutli-domain deck that simply isn't available to a single domain deck...

There are no multi-domain cards, warbel.



I'll agree with this, albeit I don't totally agree. The domain base gives the game that edge, especially when being attacked. If it's to that point though sometimes it's hard to recover, as anything you spawn might be killed before it undims anyway. This is more of an early game/late game problem. Mid-game I don't see a problem with spawning creatures regardless of domain. Early game you might get screwed via your hand. Late game is destroyed buildings.



Not all ccg's do that. Magic doesn't. This game does have a slight problem with higher domain cards, but that's why they're up there in cost. They have a game-changing ability or are extremely strong.
In reply to your solutions:
A) Definately no. The bases are fine. The game already deals with the bases to give you what you need to an extent.
B) This is a solid no, and a no forever from me. The reason the cards require that much domain is because they're a killer usually. It would be way too game changing to do this. Too easy to cast higher cards.



Funny enough I still haven't played with that damn pantheon since it was changed, but from reading what it did change to I'd have to say it needs to be put back to the old way.
Also, a "universal" domain is already in place, it's the gray X one guys.

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Card List

You use the word interesting I use the word annoying Seriously as it stands now multi-race decks mixing creatures from 2 different factions is a pain.

I don't consider the bazaar viable, an interesting card but not viable, to help solve the problem for two reasons. First it is rare and relying on most multi-race decks to need 1 or more rare cards to be playable is troublesome. Secondly, it allows all players to use it as a base. That is a huge drawback if I need to give my opponent a spawn window in my territory. I don't own the card but not sure I would use it if I did.



Yes this is exactly what I am proposing. Weathervane appears to be a card that was designed to support/promote multi-race decks since it doesn't require its own domain (Elemental) to cast. This is why I put the blurb about some cards would probably keep 2+ domain or even all 3 domain from one race. To use the most powerful cards from one faction or the most "faction-ish" cards you would need to invest in that faction.

Shame, because it's a great way to get an early base of a different domain in. It's cheap, and towards the beginning of the game, your opponent probably won't see it, so they can't use it.

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-Minds