TFT is an interesting game in that it’s normal flow is often not it’s most desired flow.

First, let’s define a standard game of TFT. If you think about the most normal game of TFT you can imagine, it likely has 3 gold augments. It has you two starring your 1 and 2 cost champs in Stage 2, your 3 cost champs in Stage 3, your 4 cost champs in Stage 4, and maybe your 5 cost champs in Stage 5. You get your normal item distribution, with around 12-14 components total by Stage 5. Pretty normal, standard TFT.

Now thing to some of your favorite games of all time, that you either played or watched. How many of them fit within this standard power curve? My guess is close to none of them for most people. MOST people remember the games where the hit a two star 4 cost early in Stage 3 or even 2, or the game where a Prismatic augment or a unique champion gave them more than 20 items. These games that are so different from that standard game are often what players are chasing after, and lead the most memorable moments.

So for us, it’s a question of finding the right levers and opportunities to give players the chance to experience these games outside the normal curve. If it happens too often, it’s not special. If it doesn’t happen enough, most players won’t be able to experience it. That line is pretty thin, and varies player to player…especially when our top players play 1000+ games a set.

Encounters are one such mechanism to allow players to experience things outside the norm. Lillia can give you games where all 3 augments are on Stage 2. Rakan opens up the possibility of two star 4 costs in Stage 2. It’s a key example of a potential method to experience these games outside the norm, and for most players (not all), this is super fun and exciting! Future sets will likely continue to explore ways to achieve these level of deviation from the standard.

This is a topic I could talk a great deal about. Something as simple as “How often should a player hit three star 5 costs” is a great example of a topic in this space (I’ve already hit 3 this set in ranked O_O). But for now, I’m on campus and it’s time for breakfast. Until next time, take it easy 🙂

Link to Mortdog’s original post