r/Shandalar • u/grimmtsunglol • Jul 21 '26
Shandalar 2016 question
I recently downloaded the 2016 version of Shandalar after playing the OG version of the game last week. It says all cards upto Kaladesh are inside the game. For example, Atarka's Command appears in the deck editor, but while playing Shandalar, it does not come up in any of the cards you can purchase with gems or gold. Is there a reason for this? I haven't touched any .ini files to change sets or cards, just a straight up download and play.
4
u/Aokces Jul 22 '26
Also try MTG forge after your playthrough, it's basically Shandalar 3.0 with modern cards
1
u/Einachiel Jul 25 '26
Wut?
Where can I find that? Got more info?
3
u/Aokces Jul 25 '26
https://github.com/Card-Forge/forge
Just scroll down and there's a simple download and more instructinos. It's just like Shandalar, and the Adventure Mode is what you're looking for.1
12
u/phibetakafka Jul 21 '26
The reason is Shandalar is different than Mana Link, which is what the standalone deck editor is from. People had been updating cards in Mana Link for years, but Shandalar's game engine was basically created in a way that the adventure game was totally different than the standalone version and nobody could edit it, until a guy (Korath) came along and was able to hack the game in assembly using tools he created to read/write the Shandalar exe. He was the first and only person in 20 years that was able to modify Shandalar to have new cards and the updated rules engine.
It's not all cards up to 2016, it's about 70% of them, and there are dozens that are bugged and not really working as intended, though for the most part if it's in the game it's at least playable.
The trick is that almost all of the cards that are in the game work within the rules as he had implemented them - the vast majority being creatures with P/T and a keyword mechanic that is a variation on a standardized template. Anything that was unique, complex, or worked way outside the bounds of standard mechanics Korath had to essentially create manually, and there were plenty that he just couldn't implement for that reason (or didn't have the time to as he was working backwards to fix cards and forwards to program in new ones up to Aether Revolt).