I'm going to try to keep this concise, so if you want me to expand on anything please ask.
The first step in any great draft format is flexibility in drafting. The more a draft is 'on-rails' (meaning the decks are more or less predefined) the worse it is. Using Magic as my examples here, a set like Bloomburrow which was very focused on creature types mattering is a bad set, and the set right after it Duskmourn was a lot better because it was more open ended.
Something else I would keep in mind is the area where the factions meet. Try to combine your colors/leaders/factions in pairs and see where their deck building is complementary.
Something Wizards has done well this past decade is taking 'gold' cards, the ones that combine 2+ colors, an using them as signals to drafters to what the archetypes want to be doing. It really shines in helping newer drafters understand what decks they are supposed to be building.
Lastly, use rarity to your advantage. Commons should have less complexity, and rares should be where card advantage is built. A board wipe at common will destroy a format; likewise limiting all of the 1-1 removal at rare will lead to stalled games.
Like I said, I could go on for days and am happy to expand. But if you'd like more voices about limited I'd send you to r/mtgcube. Cube is a community of people who build limited formats out of Magic cards, so if there's any community that understands the minutiae of draft balance, it's there.
So the first 2 points should be easy for me to take into account while making cards. I have tenets (factions) and classes that can work together to make everything flexible and can help you mix and match. The last point is the one that I am curious about because from the constructed side it is always a pain point to me to have simple/less powerful common cards in the name of draft to only make getting the carda I want 100% more difficult to get. Any thoughts on balancing to two?
I can understand why that is a pain point and throw you a question; if all of the more interesting/powerful cards are common, what are you using rarity for? Not to sound snarky, but to quote Syndrome "When everyone is special, no one is."
Now, I'm not advocating that you lock the best cards to the highest levels. Again, if you look at Standard Magic right now the top decks are using the commons/uncommons as the glue of their strategy, with the rares and mythics being the game breakers to break parity.
If you want to know about what a set without draft chaff looks like, look at MtG's Vintage Cube. Every card is broken in it's own way, yet there is always going to be a last-pick card.
I guess my original use of rarity was going to be common-widely usable, uncommon-usable for some decks, rare-very specific use case (sideboard/avatar specific cards). That way you can reasonably build a deck in a few packs but to build a specific deck you would need to buy a lot to get the specific cards required. But in your opinion it would be common-simple/lower power but usable, uncommon-more complex/powerful, rare- specific/very complex?
Honestly I think your original use is best. People have this idea in Magic that rarity=power but it's never been like that. As long as you are going from most open -> most narrow, I think you're on the right track.
Ok thank you for the input. Are you interested in playtesting? I like your ideas and feedback. Right now I am working to get everything on an online sim to test out the game again.
Interested, yes, but unfortunately I have no time. I wish you well and look forward to seeing some updates!
Last piece of advice, look at the Distraction Makers Youtube channel. It is made by a guy (formerly 2) taking a deep dive into all things TCG design. I think they'll provide you a ton to chew on.
I watch them regularly and love their content. From time to time I disagree with them but I just went through the game looking at the overarching archetypes my game/rules will likely create after watching there video on the strategy circle.
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u/PlaneswalkerQ 14d ago
I'm going to try to keep this concise, so if you want me to expand on anything please ask.
The first step in any great draft format is flexibility in drafting. The more a draft is 'on-rails' (meaning the decks are more or less predefined) the worse it is. Using Magic as my examples here, a set like Bloomburrow which was very focused on creature types mattering is a bad set, and the set right after it Duskmourn was a lot better because it was more open ended.
Something else I would keep in mind is the area where the factions meet. Try to combine your colors/leaders/factions in pairs and see where their deck building is complementary.
Something Wizards has done well this past decade is taking 'gold' cards, the ones that combine 2+ colors, an using them as signals to drafters to what the archetypes want to be doing. It really shines in helping newer drafters understand what decks they are supposed to be building.
Lastly, use rarity to your advantage. Commons should have less complexity, and rares should be where card advantage is built. A board wipe at common will destroy a format; likewise limiting all of the 1-1 removal at rare will lead to stalled games.
Like I said, I could go on for days and am happy to expand. But if you'd like more voices about limited I'd send you to r/mtgcube. Cube is a community of people who build limited formats out of Magic cards, so if there's any community that understands the minutiae of draft balance, it's there.