****************************************************************************** * MicroProse Magic: The Gathering FAQ * * Version 1.2 [5/7/97] * * (c)1997 by Dana Huyler [coedana@everest.cclabs.missouri.edu] * ****************************************************************************** NOTE: This information may be reproduced in whole or in part as long as credit is given. If you use this FAQ on a webpage/ftp site, or as part of other documents, please e-mail me so I know that you did this. I want to know where this FAQ goes. ****************************************************************************** * 0 - Preliminary Stuff * ****************************************************************************** ============================================================================== 0.0 Table of Contents ============================================================================== 0 - Preliminary Stuff --------------------- 0.0 Table of Contents 0.1 Personal Notes 0.2 Things to add 0.3 Other Sources 0.4 Thanks { 0.5 Official News from MicroProse} { 0.6 From The Grapevine } { 0.7 Planned Expansion/Patches} { 0.8 Terminology} 1 - Shandalar ------------- { 1.0 WHY CAN'T I LOAD MY OLD SAME GAME FROM VERSION 1.0? } 1.1 What are the differences in each level of difficulty? 1.2 When I entered into a Duel, the creature had some special ability! 1.3 Why can't I have 4 cards of the same type in my deck? 1.4 How can I switch decks? 1.5 Why do the cards I can purchase change in towns when I load? { 1.6 How can I turn off the animations? } 1.7 Where do these extra lands come from? { 1.8 How come the computer never antes Restricted Cards? } 1.9 Why don't I ante basic lands? 1.10 What kind of quests are there? 1.11 I've been given a quest to defeat a creature. Where is it? 1.12 What happens if I fail a quest? 1.13 What do these Wise Men do? 1.14 Why do the prices change for cards? { 1.15 How can you get advantages from creatures? } 1.16 Ak! I got a disadvantage from a creature instead of a advantage. 1.17 How can I find Dungeons? 1.18 I left a dungeon because I was low on life, and now it's gone?? 1.19 Help I can't bring in White cards into this dungeon! 1.20 So what are the restrictions of Castles/Dungeons? 1.21 What are these dice things in the Castles/Dungeons? 1.22 What are Lairs? 1.23 What are World Magics? 1.24 There are Invisible creatures? 1.25 What's a good way to beat a dungeon? 2 - The Duel ------------ 2.1 I've shrunk the combat/spell resolution boxes! Where are they? { 2.2 Does the computer know what cards are in your deck?} 2.3 How can I band correctly? 2.4 How can I use stops? 2.5 What are mulligans? { 2.6 Does the computer cheat?} { 2.7 How do I use cards that don't HAVE to untap?} { 3 - Bugs} -------- { 3.1 Shandalar Bugs } { 3.2 Duel Bugs} { 3.3 A.I. Bugs} { 3.4 Card Specific Bugs} { 3.5 Problems/Limitations} 3.6 NOT A Bug. 4 - Cards --------- 4.1 What are the cards in the Astral Set? 4.2 What expansion are in the game? 4.3 Where are the multilands? 4.4 I can't use this card properly! 4.5 Are there any hidden cards? 5. Everything else, and the kitchen sink. ----------------------------------------- 5.1 Tips 5.2 Quirks 5.3 That wacky A.I. 5.4 The files in the game 6. Version Control ------------------ 6.1 What's new in this FAQ! 6.2 Old versions ============================================================================== 0.1 Personal Notes ============================================================================== I'm sorry that I didn't quote all the sources that I have for this FAQ, if you did send me something and want credit please mail me and we can talk. Also I assume that you know how to play the game. I don't want to go through explaining what the game is, or some of the finer details. If I glaze over something too complex, mail me and I'll fix it. This FAQ is NOT for strategy for the duel. You can get that all over the net or by the strategy guide. I don't want to list the myriad of possibilities for this game. Instead, I want to give a listing of things UNIQUE to the MicroProse game, the good and the bad. NOTE: My computer is hosed right now, and until I scrap up the cash to replace the motherboard, I can't play the game. I'm going to have to rely on the you, the readers, to help me out with the FAQ. All Bugs listed are for the CURRENT version only. ============================================================================== 0.2 Things to add ============================================================================== Creatures Card listing (maybe) Speed Breakdown of a few interesting files in the game cards.dat ============================================================================== 0.3 Other Sources ============================================================================== MicroProse Homepage MicroProse Technical FAQ - to get your game running right... Wizards of the Coast Home Page Steven D'Angelo's Card List Page Spoilers, and full cards listings for all expansions up to 5th edition. Bug List for Magic: the Gathering from MicroProse Run by WiSK ============================================================================== 0.4 Thanks! ============================================================================== Thanks to Beth Moursund, Coyote Tex, Sid Meyer, and Wizards of the Coast, Microprose, Richard Garfield, for Magic and the PC game! Don't forget the entire Microprose gang! ============================================================================== 0.5 News from MicroProse ============================================================================== THIS IS THE README.TXT in the patch! =========================================================== MAGIC: THE GATHERING Version 1.1 Readme File 15 April 1997 =========================================================== How to Update If You Downloaded the Update Files ================================================ 1. Copy the update files to your Windows desktop. 2. Double-click on the first update file labeled "MTGV11A.EXE." 3. Follow the directions on the pop-up dialog box. 4. After the files have been extracted, click on the "Close" button. 5. Now double-click on the second update file labeled "MTGV11B.EXE." 6. Follow the directions on the pop-up dialog box. 7. After the files have been extracted, click on the "Close" button. 8. All the update files have been correctly installed, and your copy of Magic: The Gathering is now updated to version 1.1. Note: Changes made in version 1.1 have rendered the original save game formats obsolete. Once you install the update to version 1.1, you will not be able to load old save games for either Shandalar or for the stand-alone Duel. General ======= * The AI now considers more possibilities in a shorter time. This allows it to find better card combinations and generally improves its play throughout the game. * Several memory-related lockups have been found and fixed. Lockups in general should be far less frequent on machines without compatibility problems. * New coin flip animation files have been added to fix lockups that occurred during the coin flip animations. * The game now handles long filenames correctly. * The font used for card names has been improved so that names fit better. Shandalar ========= Enhancements ------------ * You can now play in Shandalar without a sound card. * The crash problem caused by more than 500 cards in your deck has been fixed. 500 is now a limit, and warnings will appear as you get closer to this total number. * The Help file now works in the Duel while in Shandalar. * Lockups associated with quests to duel a creature have been fixed. * Crashes when entering the Wizard Status screen have been fixed. * In the Deck Builder, attempting to sell more cards than you have of a given type no longer has an adverse effect. * You can now save the game in a town by right-clicking on the town screen. (Note that you cannot save if you are talking to the Wise Man, buying cards or using the Deck Builder.) * The number of wandering creatures has been reduced. * Bronze Tablet no longer causes multiple cards to appear in players' decks after use in a duel. * Your win/loss record in the Status screen now includes creatures quested against, but not creatures you defeated in dungeons or castles. * After you defeat one of the five major Wizards, you must pick three different cards as rewards instead of being allowed to pick multiples of the same card. * If you lose in a duel to free a beseiged city, all ante cards are now taken from you. * There is now a sound effect associated with blocking. * The text for Wise Man hints have been corrected. * You no longer hear a faint sound in the background while in the main map of Shandalar. Dungeon ------- * Draws against creatures in a dungeon will no longer kick you out of the dungeon. * Riddles in dungeons work properly. * Crashes caused by random treasures in dungeons have been fixed. * Free cards in play in dungeons no longer show up as ante. Lairs ----- * Intermittent lockups when collecting a riddle scroll in lairs have been fixed. * Spectral Arena encounters now work correctly. AI Enhancements =============== * The AI will avoid casting second enchantments on the same target when they repeat the same effect (such as Flight, etc.). * The AI will not use Sylvan Library, Greed or other life-spending cards to kill or nearly kill itself. * The AI has better logic for using Mind Twist and Twiddle. * The AI will use Fellwar Stones more intelligently. * The AI will now activate Island Sanctuary even if the player doesn't have a wall in play. * The AI will now use Land Tax correctly. * The AI will not use Oasis to attempt to prevent damage to itself. * The AI will use better judgment when paying costs for Power Leak. * The AI will cast Web on Walls when appropriate. Card-Specific Fixes =================== * Preventing damage now prevents side effects of damage (such as Drain Life, Hypnotic Specter, etc.). * Triggered effects on casting (such as for Ivory Cup, other lucky charms and Verduran Enchantress) now resolve before the resolution of the spell triggering them as they should. * The combination of Mana Vault, Animated Artifact and Giant Strength no longer locks the game. * Smoke or Winter Orb no longer allows illegal cards to be untapped (such as creatures under a Meekstone, etc.). * Swords to Plowshares and Ashes to Ashes no longer trigger graveyard effects (such as for Personal Incarnation). * Brothers of Fire no longer untap when their ability is used. * Candelabra of Tawnos now shows the proper "X" value when activated. * The problem caused by the infinite loop of the Carrion Ants pumping and then cancelling is now fixed. * Cave People now correctly reflects Magical Hack in its effect card. * Counterspell now works consistently for Eye for an Eye, Fireball and Armageddon. * Crumble now buries targets correctly. * Lockups associated with Fellwar Stone have been fixed. * The AI can no longer target the same target twice with Fireball. * Gaseous Form is now implemented so that creatures neither deal nor receive damage. * Instill Energy can now be used even if the enchanted creature is untapped. * Island Sanctuary can now only be activated once per draw phase. * Island Sanctuary now correctly reflects Sleight of Mind in its effect card. * The crash occuring when the AI had to sacrifice a creature to its Lord of the Pit has been fixed. * The AI will no longer be able to sacrifice a Lord of the Pit to itself. * Manabarbs will no longer do damage while it is being cast. * Manaflare and Manabarbs only trigger for lands now. * Strip Mining a Mishra's Factory no longer leaves an invincible Mishra's Factory in play. * Enchant Creature cards on an Assembly Worker are now buried when the Assembly Worker reverts to a Mishra's Factory at the end of the turn. No effects of the enchantments linger once they are gone. * Disenchanting an Assembly Worker now destroys it properly. * The Assembly Worker effect card now has name text. * The Necropolis of Azaar now has "Husk" counters as the text on the card indicates instead of "Corpse" counters. * Power Sink doesn't draw mana from Mishra's Workshop anymore. * Primal Clay now selects its shape at proper time. * Psychic Venom now has a targeting prompt. * The intermittent problem of not being able to use the Regeneration card has been fixed. * Reverse Damage no longer counts damage from previous turns. * Simulacrum is now available during the damage prevention step and will redirect all damage done to the caster during the current turn. * Soul Net no longer allows life gain for counterspelled summon cards. * The counters for Spirit Shackle now appear at the correct time. * Sunglasses of Urza now handles red mana sources as if they were white, in addition to handling red mana in the pool this way. * The prompt for Sylvan Library now correctly says "Pay 4 Life" instead of "Lose 4 Life." * Only one counter is now removed from a Tetravus per activation. * Time Elemental now always damages its controller when assigned as a blocker. * If the AI has a Time Walk in its hand, the game no longer puts "skip turn" hash marks on the Phase Bar. * Uncle Istvan is no longer invulnerable to some types of non-combat damage. * Verduran Enchantress no longer triggers on non-enchantments. Duel ==== * Add Card and Scan Card errors have been largely eliminated. * Conceding a duel will no longer causes page faults. * Lockups in the Pre-Combat phase in which the AI ended up in a thinking loop have been addressed. * You can no longer tap the AI's lands during its upkeep. * Creatures statistics refresh correctly in the Main Pre-Combat phase (such as playing a Castle before the Combat phase). * The "Assign X damage" prompt in the Advanced layout now displays the correct damage. Deck Builder ============ * You can no longer make decks with token cards in them (such as Wasps). * The Statistics screen now counts Birds of Paradise and the Moxes as correct Mana Types. * The given rarity information for Amulet of Kroog and Abomination has been corrected. * Right shift-clicking to move cards in the Deck Builder is now fixed. * The Deck Builder now considers basic lands as having the same color as the color of mana they produce for the purpose of deck stats. (For example, 5 Islands count as 5 Blue cards.) Gauntlet ======== * The Next Opponent screen displays the correct name for the next opponent. * The typo in the Next Draw screen has been fixed. * The random selection of opponents in the Gauntlet is now fixed. ============================================================================ 0.6 From the Grapevine ============================================================================ Nothing new, aside from the patch coming out! ============================================================================ 0.7 Planned Expansion/Patches ============================================================================ There is one patch and one expansion planned as of right now. April: OUT! Patch to improve game in all areas. OUT! December: Expansion planned for multiplayer support. Other modifications will be made when available. ============================================================================ 0.8 Terminology ============================================================================ [p##]: page references for the manual. Restricted: Out-Of-Print/restricted cards. Only found in dungeons. {}: Things new to this section. ****************************************************************************** * 1 - General Shandalar Questions * ****************************************************************************** ============================================================================== 1.0 WHY CAN'T I LOAD MY OLD SAME GAME FROM VERSION 1.0? ============================================================================== Becuase you can't. Read the 'README' file earlier in this FAQ.... Sorry. Microprose had to rearrange things for the new version. ============================================================================== 1.1 What are the differences in each level of difficulty? ============================================================================== There are four level of difficulties: Apprentice, Magician, Sorcerer, and Wizard. [p19] With each higher level tougher creatures come out earlier, computer sends out creatures to take towns faster, dungeons/castles are more populated, and the AI makes less mistakes. The next sections contain a breakdown the differences in each level of difficulty ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.1.1 Apprentice ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Color deck 250 Gold 50 Food start with 2 amulets in major color, 1 in all others Arzakon has 100 life Minimum deck size 30 Evil wizards have 30 Life ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.1.2 Magician ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 Color Deck 200 Gold 50 Food Creatures have +2 life start with ? amulets Arzakon has 200 life Minimum deck size 35 Evil wizards have 35 Life ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.1.3 Sorcerer ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 Color Deck 150 Gold 50 Food Creatures have +4 life start with ? Amulets Arzakon has 300 Life Minimum deck size 40 Evil wizards have 40 Life ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.1.4 Wizard ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 color deck 100 gold 50 food Creatures have +6 life start with 1 amulet in picked color Arzakon has 400 life Minimum deck size 40 Evil wizards have 45 Life ============================================================================== 1.2 When I entered into a Duel, the creature had some special ability! ============================================================================== Sometimes when you start a duel, and decide NOT to pay the creature that creature might start with some ability. A box appears saying that the creature HAS a special ability and the computer plays a laugh noise, you then have to click again to start the duel. Starts with X in play: Start with an untapped card already in play. If it is a creature, it does NOT have summoning sickness. Mind Control: Plays with a copy of your deck. Starting hands are exact, but after that the decks are shuffled differently. Ante still comes from the deck of the original deck that the monster has, not ante from your copied deck. "Why don't you try this deck?": The computer GIVES you a deck to play with, usually a good one. Ante comes from YOUR deck, NOT from the new deck. I don't know if it is a copy of the deck that the computer plays with. Summons a/an X: You fight a different creature than the one currently fighting. This happens AFTER choosing to bribe the creature/answer a question. ============================================================================== 1.3 Why can't I have 4 cards of the same type in my deck? ============================================================================== In tournament rules, you can have up to 4 duplicates of a single card in your deck. This is not the same in Shandalar. You can have a particular amount of card depending on your deck size and if you have the Tome of Knowledge. [p139] Cards in Deck Duplicates With Tome 1-19~ 1 2 20-39~ 2 3 40-59 3 4 60-500 4 Unlimited. ~Depending on the level that you start on, basic lands will be inserted to get your deck to the minimum deck size required. With the Tome and 60+ cards, you can create any 'degenerate' decks you want. A degenerate deck is one with more than 4 of a single type of card. ============================================================================== 1.4 How can I switch decks? ============================================================================== When editing your deck in a town/village if you click either of the other deck buttons, then you then use that deck in the next duel. ALWAYS remember that the last deck you clicked on is the deck that you fight with. If you use an empty deck then it will be filled with basic lands, and you can't win until you get back to a town or edit your deck. You can tell the size of the deck you are using by looking at the book icon in the lower section of the screen it has two number. One of them is the size of the current deck, the other is the total cards you own. If you are using an empty deck it will show 0/XIX, where XIX is the number of cards you own. Note: The Black World Magic lets you edit your deck at any time, except when dueling. You cannot sell your cards when using it though. ============================================================================== 1.5 Why do the cards I can purchase change in towns when I load? ============================================================================== Oddly enough, when you save a game, then quit, and reload the game the villages have different cards for sale. I don't know why the game designers decided to do this. I'm going to ask them some questions about this. ============================================================================== 1.6 How can I turn off the animation? ============================================================================== { The Patch makes it easier to turn off all animations. Help: How can you do this with the new patch? } ============================================================================== 1.7 Where do these extra lands come from? ============================================================================== If you have a deck with less than the minimum amount of cards for your difficulty level, then during a duel the computer throws in basic lands into your deck to bring you to the minimum amount. After the duel is over, the computer removes those extra lands. To fix this problem, just bring the number of cards back to the required amount. (see 1.4) Note: This only works in Shandalar. This has no effect in the Duel program. ============================================================================== 1.8 How come the computer never antes Restricted cards? ============================================================================== Note: According to Beth Moursund, the creatures SHOULD ante Restricted cards, so this might get fixed in the upcoming patch. ============================================================================== 1.9 Why don't I ante basic lands? ============================================================================== Basic lands are too weak a card to ante. In fact, you can actually LOSE the game if you only have basic lands in your deck! ============================================================================== 1.10 What kind of quests can I go on? ============================================================================== There are three types of quests. Deliver a message - Just walk to the town. Deliver a card - Bring a card of a certain type to the town. (Red Sorcery, Colorless Creature, Blue land) When you arrive at the town, you lose a random card from the types that you own. If you don't currently own that type of card you must find it. Defeat a Creature - You must find and kill a creature. (see 1.11) There are four prizes for completing a quest Gain 1 or more amulets Gain a mana link Gain an amulet and a mana link Pick a card of a certain type The first three prizes come from villages, while towns only give the fourth prize. ============================================================================== 1.11 I've been given a quest to defeat a creature. Where is it? ============================================================================== Unfortunately, these quests just want you to find and defeat a creature of that type. It does not have a particular creature in mind. This means that you have to go to the terrain of that color and wait until you find a creature of that type. Another problem is that you might not know what type of color that creature is! NOTE: the creature should already be around the area of the town in the correct terrain type. ============================================================================== 1.12 What happens if I fail a quest? ============================================================================== You cannot get quests from that town/village any more. ============================================================================== 1.13 What do these Wise Men do? ============================================================================== If you are currently on a quest, you can talk to the wise men in the villages/towns. On the rare occasion you will get a nice gift. The following is a listing of what you can get from wise men. 1. A story (taken from the introduction) There are about 5 of these.. 2. +2 lives in the next duel 3. A dungeon clue 4. A deck of a creature from a particular color 5. Tell you where a world magic is. 6. Give you a card for the next duel. ============================================================================== 1.14 Why do the prices change for cards? ============================================================================== It seems that each town or village has a different rate for cards. There are 6 different types of cards: the 5 colors and colorless. Each card has a fixed rate, for example, basic lands are 20 gold. The easiest way to find out the rate at which a color is going for is to attempt to sell a basic land when you are editing you deck at that town/village. Here is a short table which I think works. Rate Land Price Colorless Land ---- ---------- -------------- 50% 10 50 75% 15 75 100% 20 100 150% 25 125 200% 30 150 Usually Towns have a higher rate than villages. It also seems that the buying price is exactly the same as the selling price. I don't know if table is correct. It seems like the colorless land prices are not right at all. Also, the card prices are rounded to the nearest 5 gold. Note: You can combine this knowledge with the Negative Card Bug. Go to a village where the rate for that card is 50% and sell -50 of that card. Then go to a town where the rate is 200% and sell those cards. Instant Free Cash! Note: Beth Moursund says that there should be a difference between the buying price and the selling price, but I've never seen a difference. ============================================================================== 1.15 How can you get advantages from creatures? ============================================================================== Sometimes after defeating a creature you can get an advantage or a disadvantage. Exactly how to get this is hard to nail down. It seems that you need to lose only a little bit of life, or kill the creature as fast as possible. I assumed that if you took combat damage, then you didn't get an advantage when you won. Sometimes I did get an advantage when I took combat damage. Here are a few of the advantages: { Won an Amulet: Receive one amulet of the color of the creature +X Lives: Between 1 and 5, depending on both the level or the difficulty. Pick a card from my Deck: Displays the opponents deck and you get the pick one card from his hand. Duplicate Card: The computer lets you pick one card to duplicate in your deck. This is one of two ways to get additional Restricted cards. A few of the more powerful high powered blue creatures give this to you. (Sorceror, Elementalist, Mind Stealer, or Shapeshifter) You get a card in the next duel: You start with a card in play in the next duel. If it is a creature, then it starts with out summoning sickness. Usually given by the lower level creatures. Teleport: The Winged Pegasus randomly Teleports you to a location on the map, like using the Leap Of Fate world magic. If you leave a dungeon/castle, advantages given to you from the dice in a dungeon/castle are GONE. You can bring advantages into a dungeon or a castle just fine. It appears that what advantage you get is creature specific, If you get an advantage, send them to me. I'll add them to the list. } ============================================================================== 1.16 Ak! I got a disadvantage from a creature instead of an advantage! ============================================================================== On the higher difficulties you can get disadvantages instead of normal advantages. I have only see two types of disadvantages. -X Lives in the next Duel Life Carries over the the next duel (like in dungeons) ============================================================================== 1.17 How can I find Dungeons? ============================================================================== You can gain information about dungeons from creatures, Wise Men, or from Lairs. Three clues are given for each dungeon, the position on the map, what size/color of creatures it contains, and what effects are in play for the given dungeon. ============================================================================== 1.18 I left a dungeon because I was low on life, and now it's gone!? ============================================================================== If you do not get all the cards from the dungeon, then it moves to a random location on the map. To find it again, you have to get another dungeon clue for that dungeon. In a Castle, the wizard just gets annoyed and sends a creature to take a town. ============================================================================== 1.19 Help! I can't bring in White cards into this dungeon! ============================================================================== At the more difficult levels, you might not be able to bring a type of card or a certain color into a dungeon. This is very very annoying. ============================================================================== 1.20 So what are the restrictions of Castles/Dungeons? ============================================================================== Each dungeon/castle will have one card in play when you enter a duel. This card is an enchantment of the color of the dungeon/castle or non-creature artifact without upkeep. There will also be an additional effect on high levels that forbid you from bringing in certain types of cards. Note: If a dungeon forbids a certain type of card (like fast effects, or white) then it forbids you from drawing that type of card from your deck. BUT if that brings your deck below the minimum required for your level it does not fill your deck up to the minimum with basic lands. ============================================================================== 1.21 What are these dice things in the Castles/Dungeons? ============================================================================== There are four major events in dungeons/castles. 1) Creatures The dungeon will give you a clue as to what the dungeon/castle is populated by, this can be either large or small creatures of a given color. The higher levels have more creatures. You do NOT get ante from creatures in dungeons, and if you lose a duel in the dungeon you lose your ante card AND get booted from the dungeon/castle. If you are in a dungeon, and you did not get all the Restricted cards from the dungeon, then the dungeon moves to a random location on the map. 2) Treasure chests Treasure chests either hold Restricted cards or gold+amulets. In castles there are NO Restricted cards. 3) Dice These dice are give either advantages or disadvantages for the next duel ONLY in the current dungeon/castle. If you get an advantage and then leave, you lose the advantage. On the apprentance level you can never get a disadvantage from dice. On higher levels you might get a disadvantage. There are two types of advantages 1) +X lives. This is additive(?) you get to keep this live while in the dungeon/castle. In dungeons where life carries over, this is necessary. the easier levels give you around 3-4, while the harder ones give 1-2. 2) Start with a card. This can be anything from creatures, to mana sources. On easier levels the cards given are usually powerful creatures, while the harder levels give weaker creatures or moxes/mana creatures. There is one type of disadvantage 1) -X lives. NOTE: if you leave the dungeon/castle any -vantanges you have are GONE. You can bring -vantages into a dungeon or a castle just fine. 4) Scrolls Scrolls are question given based on the cards in the game. If the question is wrong, a creature appears in its place. On the easier levels the questions have 5 possible choices, while harder ones usually have more choices. NOTE: question take into account ONLY the starting abilities of a creature. Goblin Balloon Brigade does not have flying for the purposes of the scroll. Examples of questions 1) which of these creatures has flying ability? 2) What special ability does this creature have? 3) what is the casting cost/power/toughness of this creature? ============================================================================== 1.22 What are Lairs? ============================================================================== Lairs are one of five different buildings that appear on the world map. All you need to do is walk onto the lair and you get the prize in question. 'named' areas are lairs that put up a dialog box that say something like 'You Found a Thieves Hideout!'. Unnamed areas: Gain one land of the appropriate color (island/plains...etc) Gain a card of the appropriate color (usually a rare) Gain an artifact Named areas: Sometimes you can also gain a card or artifact from these. Thieves Hideout: +500 Gold Oasis of Mouldoon: Trade a card in your deck for +5 lives in the next duel Ruined Tower: Gain a Dungeon Clue. Diamond Mine: trade random amulets for cards. Gem Cutter Guild: Buy amulets for 200 gold each. Guardian Ghost: Trade a random amulet for a look at a random color Spectral Arena: Duel a creature for rare/astral cards. Lost City of El'Arkan: Gain 1 amulet of each color Nomad's Bazaar: Purchase cards at normal cost. The Lost City and Thieves Hideout have a chance of taking gold/amulets depending on the level of difficulty. ============================================================================== 1.23 What are World Magics? ============================================================================== There are two types of World Magics: Usable and Permanent. Usable require at least one magic amulet to use, while Permanent are always in effect. You can purchase World Magics in towns for in between 150-600 gold. You can get knowledge for where the World Magics are by leaving towns that do not have world magics, or from wise men. You can purchase these world magics by leaving the town. As you leave, you are prompted to purchase the world magic. There are 12 different world magics in the game: Usable*: [p26] Conjurer's Will: Risk one black amulet to edit your deck in the open. You cannot sell your cards.(400 Gold) Leap of Fate: Risk one blue amulet to teleport to a random location.(300 Gold) Quickening: Risk one green amulet to double your land speed. (300 Gold) Thunderstaff: Risk one red amulet to banish one creature in the open. (500 Gold) Sword of Restance: Risk one white amulet to teleport to a town that is under siege. (400 Gold) Permanent: Slight of Hand: Switch Ante ONCE before duel. (500 Gold) Tome of Knowledge: Increases the amount of duplicates cards in your deck by one. (400 Gold) (see 1.3) Haggler's Coin: Increases the amount of cards sold in towns/villages. (500 Gold) Fruit of Sustance: In Forests, you gain food instead of losing food. (300 Gold) Dwarven's Pick: Move faster in Mountains. (150 Gold) Amulet of Swampwalk: Move faster in Swamps. (150 Gold) Ring of the Guardian: Wizards need 5 mana taps to win. (600 Gold) *Note: The Usable World Magics Have "Risk an amulet" because there is a chance that the world magic will consume an amulet. The higher the difficulty the greater the chance that an amulet will be used. ============================================================================== 1.24 There are Invisible creatures? ============================================================================== Yes, I was informed by Beth Moursund, that some creatures have the ability to be invisible. ============================================================================== 1.25 What's a good way to beat a dungeon? ============================================================================== Explore *every* darkened opening, do NOT run into any symbols (creatures, dice, etc.) except treasure chests :-). Map as much as you can. Watch for intersections on the map, it is difficult to see the "cross streets" sometimes. Take every possible path you can, without running into the symbols. With luck, you will see a few treasure chests in the distance, behind creatures. Go back and grab dice until you find a decent effect, but don't take all the dice. You should have discovered a large amount of dice when you were mapping. Don't use all the dice, because you might need an unused dice to replace a bad effect you got from a previous dice. Now, fight the creatures directly in the way of the treasure chest. If you don't see a treasure, they're usually hidden at the edge of the map. Look at the black unexplored areas. Choose what looks like the weakest creature blocking the largest unexplored area. Fight as before. Always choose the weakest creature to fight that is guarding unexplored area. Never fight a creature unless it is blocking your way, and you need to fight it to continue. Never fight a creature unless you are powered-up by dice effects, unless you have used up all the dice. Prefer creatures leading towards the edge of the map, and creatures with large amounts of unexplored space behind them. The key here is to find the OOP cards, grab them, and leave, before you get killed, so you must minimize the amount of fighting you do (especially with life losses carrying over). JoSH Lehan ****************************************************************************** * 2 - The Duel * ****************************************************************************** ============================================================================== 2.1 Help! I shrunk the Combat/Spell Resolution boxes! Where are they? ============================================================================== You can shrink the Combat/Spell Resolution boxes just like normal windows. When shrunken, icons appear on the left side of the screen in the divider between the playing area and information section (where the mana pool/life area is). The combat screen looks like a sword, and the Spell Resolution box looks like a star. ============================================================================== 2.2 Does the Computer know what cards are in your deck? ============================================================================== NO! The computer only knows what is in play, and the PRIMARY color that you use in your deck. The AI does not cheat. The computer DOES know your primary color, and has a sideboard of 2-5 cards (depending on the creature) that it inserts into its deck. The sideboard has no effect outside of Shandalar. ============================================================================== 2.3 How can I band correctly? ============================================================================== To band, just attack with all NON banders first, then attack with the banders. When attacking with a bander you have a choice of banding it with a current attacker, or if you don't want to band with another creature just click 'Done'. ============================================================================== 2.4 How do I use stops? ============================================================================== Stop are makers to tell the computer not to continue when the end of that phase is reached. At that time you can use optional effects. To place or remove stops, right click on the phase you want to add a stop to. The best places to use stops are in the following places: Your Draw Phase: For Sylvan Library Your Upkeep Phase: For cards that have optional upkeep, and to use the Upkeep Bug. Opponents Pre-Combat Phase: for Strip Mine Opponents Discard Phase: for anything you want to do before your turn. ============================================================================== 2.5 What are mulligans? ============================================================================== Originally 'Mulligans' where a widely accepted house rule. In 5th edition and this game it works like this. Both players draw seven cards. A mulligan can be declared by a player if they have either all land, or no land in their initial seven card draw. If a mulligan is declared, both players may choose to 'take a mulligan' and draw seven new cards. After that initial mulligan, no more mulligans may be declared. Even if that new draw produces a mulligan. Note: as stated above, if Player A gets a mulligan and opts to take the mulligan. Player B may mulligan also, just to get a different initial hand. ============================================================================== 2.6 Does the Computer cheat? ============================================================================== { According to CoyoteTex, the computer does NOT cheat. It does not know what particular cards are in your deck, or in your hand. It only knows what is in play. Nothing more. NOTE: This is also true for Sinbad. The computer does not know when land cards are coming next, nor does it force the Sinbad draw to be a land.} ============================================================================== 2.7 How do I use cards that don't HAVE to untap? ============================================================================== { Cards like Tawnos's Weaponry give you the option of untapping to remove the effects of the artifact. To untap this card, place a stop on your untap phase. When your untap occurs, it will prompt you with "Untap Effects? DONE?". To untap the card, just click on the card, other click done to keep the card tapped. } ****************************************************************************** * 3 - Bugs and 'features' * * * * NOTE: I will only keep track of bugs for the current version of the game. * ****************************************************************************** ============================================================================== 3.1 Shandalar Bugs ============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.1.1 Memory Leak Bug ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There is a memory leak that only happens on machines running the older version of the kernel. If the machine slows down after playing the game, download the kernel update from the Windows 95 homepage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.1.2 Sound Always There Bug ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Music and sounds can not be turned off via the menu in the deck editor in Shandalar. Note: See TIPS section on how to turn off sounds. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.1.3 No Profit Bug ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It seems that there is not a difference in the selling vs. buying price of cards in the game. According to Beth Moursund, there should be a difference depending on the level of difficulty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.1.4 "No Fast Effects" Bug ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ When you enter a dungeon on higher difficulties, some of them forbid a certain type of card. The game does this by preventing you from drawing that type of card. Unfortunately, if you have a 60 card deck and 50 of them are illegal, then you are playing with a 10 card deck. The computer will not add basic lands to your deck to bring it to a minimum. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.1.5 Confused Quest Bug ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you kill a wizard, sometimes you can get a quest to kill a creature of the color that has been banished. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.1.6 Quest Scroll Bug ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sometimes during quests, the quest displayed is incorrect. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.1.7 Journal/Stats Stops Working Bug ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This bug still exists from version 1.0. Basically, both the Journal and the stats stop working when you enter a dungeon for the first time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.1.8 Tribute Bug ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After obtaining Tribute from a particular creature, the next time you encounter that creature, you are again offered to get Tribute, but instead you go into a duel. ============================================================================== 3.2 Duel Bugs ============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.2.2 Never Ending Upkeep Bug ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you die during upkeep from cards like wanderlust, the duel does not end. There is no way around this once it happens. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.2.3 The "Sid" Bug ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ While playing in a duel, you may get an "Assertion Error" from the duel, the error box says: "File->g:\NewMagic\Sources\sid\Minit.c, Line 1598" "AddCard Error" "Please call MPS Customer Support 1-510-522-1163" You will have to click this box multiple times. After about 10 or so boxes, the game usually proceeds normally. More Sid Bugs usually appear more frequently until the game is exited and reloaded NOTE: The "Sid" bug is a generic bug, it can happen from multiple situations. In the new patch, this bug is MUCH rarer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.2.5 Trampling Spirit Link ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Spirit Link has a bunch of problems. It does not give life from some non-combat damages. Also if you with a trampling spirit linked creatures extra life is added. For instance if you attack with a 6/6 trampling, spirit linked creature, and it is blocked by a 2/2. The computer assignes 6 damage to the 2/2 blocked creature, and 6 life is added to the controller of the trampler. Then 4 damage is assigned to the controller of the blocking creature (due to trampling). From this 4 damage to the controller, ANOTHER 4 life is given. Therefore double life is assigned on the damage that spills through the trample. ============================================================================== 3.3 A.I. Bugs ============================================================================== In general, there are times when the A.I. can do illegal things, like casting spells into the graveyard with no valid targets, casting spells on creatures that are not in play, and then cast the creature. ============================================================================== 3.4 Card specific Bugs (In Alphabetical Order) ============================================================================== NOTE: * represents bugs I am not 100% assured of yet. Aladdin's Lamp: Casting cost is 1. It is incorrect. Animate Dead: Cannot be used to get creatures from opponents graveyard, but the computer uses it correctly. Apprentice Wizard: Cannot be used during an interrupt phase. Assembly Worker: Listed in the Deck Builder, but you may not use it as a card during the duel. Black Mana Battery: Cannot be tapped when casting a card. Control Magic: If you target this on of your creatures, the machine locks. Gem Bazaar: Does not change mana color if tapped during opponents turn. Flight: Cannot target fliers or Assembly Workers. Hurkyl's Recall: If you recall a pump artifact (like Tawnos's Weaponry) then the effect does not go away if the artifact is effecting a creature. Laces: You can lace Effect Cards. Like "Power Up Effect" from Tawnos's Weaponry. The cards do not change colors, but they are valid targets! Library of Alexandria: Seems to have problems if the hand size goes above seven. If it gets above 7 then it can never be tapped to draw a card at when there are 7 cards in hand. Magical Hack: Does not show the modified text on the card that was Hacked the worked in version 1.0, but it is broken now. Rainbow Knights: You can only use the first strike option once. After that initial usage, you cannot use it again. Slight of Mind: You cannot slight creatures that have 'protection from color' on their card. If you do slight them, the protection does not change how it is supposed to. I don't not know if this bug exists when a Ward is slighted. Spirit Link: Only works for combat damage. It does not work for damage from upkeep (Lord of the Pit), Fast Effects (Prodigal Sorcerer), or Legacy Effects (Nafs Asp) Visions: Locks up the machine in version 1.1. DO NOT USE THIS CARD. Volcanic Eruption: Creatures killed still do not go to the graveyard. This bug existed in version 1.0. Wild Growth: A Wild Growthed Oasis generates 1 green mana when tapped to prevent damage. ============================================================================== 3.5 Problems/Limitations ============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.5.1 500 maximum cards/80 unique limitation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ You cannot have more than 500 cards in a deck, or more than 80 different cards in the deck that you are loading. In the patch it fixes this problem you can't have more than 500 cards, but you get warning before this happens. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.5.2 Mixed up authors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In version 1.1, The authors get mixed up if the last name is past 'L'. For instance Tom Wänerstrand's cards now show 'Unknown'. ============================================================================== 3.6 NOT a bug ============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.6.1 Nafs Asp ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Legacy Effect of a Nafs Asp stays UNTIL you pay the 1 mana to remove it. It does not go away on it's own at the end of the turn. ****************************************************************************** * 4 - Cards * ****************************************************************************** ============================================================================== 4.1 What is the Astral Set? ============================================================================== There are 12 cards in the astral set. I will give the spoilers for these cards and also give a tiny bit of strategy for them. Call From the Grave, 2B, Sorcery Random creature is selected from either player's graveyard, and brought into play. Caster then loses X life where X is the casting cost of the raised creature. Strategy: seemingly useless, its loss of life is harsh. If you need a creature, animate dead is better. Prismatic Dragon, 2WW, Summon Dragon (2/3) Flying Becomes a random color during upkeep 1: Target color becomes permanent Strategy: Great for getting around most CoP's. It's random color ability is very useful against anti color decks. Knights of the Rainbow Vale, WW, Summon Knights (2/2) Gains a protection from a random color when brought into play 1: gain first strike until end of turn WW: add +0-2/+0 until end of turn. Strategy: Great pumping ability, although not as cheap as a White Knight, the Knights outweigh having to pump first strike with the chance for extra power. Good against most decks due to random protection. Pandora's Box, 5, Artifact 3+tap: Brings a token creature randomly selected from each players deck into control of both players. Strategy: Great for large creature decks. I think creatures come into play untapped, even if they don't normally do. Useful before blocking to get a creature to block with. Whimsy, XUU, Sorcery Produce X random fast effects Strategy: Good for a few laughs. Likes to produce the Hive and Bottle of Suliman Effects more than others. Faerie Dragon, 2GG, Summon Dragon (1/3) Flying 1GG: Produce a random fast effect Strategy: Rather useless card, mostly because the fast effects usually target your cards. There seems to be more bad fast effects than good ones. Goblin Polka Band, RR, Summon Goblins (1/1) X+T: tap X random creatures. If Goblins are tapped in this way they do not untap as normal during their next phase. Strategy: Good for using BEFORE the opponents combat, or before yours just to see what gets tapped. Generally a useful card. This card can tap itself, and if it does so it does not untap next turn, due to the fact that it is a goblin. Power Struggle, 2XUU, Enchantment Swap either lands, creatures, or artifacts between players during any upkeep (see Bugs) Strategy: totally chaotic card. Artifact Creatures seems to be the worst off, being that they are both artifacts AND creatures. Be sure that your lands are tapped and when Power Struggle activates, it could swap a land for the opponents. Note that if it chooses to swap a type of card that one player does not control, nothing happens. Aswan Jaguar, 1GG, Summon Jaguar (2/2) When put into play pick a random type of creature that they player has in deck or graveyard. GG+T: kill a creature in play of the type that Jaguar is hunting. Strategy: Most useful of the Astral Cards, save the Necropolis. Works well in groups. Orcish Catapult, XRR, Instant Distribute X -1/0 counters to random creatures of target player. Strategy: Another useful card, great for generally weakening the opponents creatures. Gem Bazaar, Land T: add a random color to controllers mana pool (see bugs) Strategy: Useful in multiple color decks Necropolis of Azar, 2BB, Enchantment Whenever a creature goes to the graveyard from play add a Counter to Necropolis. (see bugs) 5+remove a counter: Put into play a spawn Token into play on controllers side. a Spawn Token is a black creature having a power and toughness randomly picked between 1 and 3. Strategy: Wonderful card, a little expensive to bring into play and use. ============================================================================== 4.2 What expansions are in Magic: The Gathering? ============================================================================== The only 'expansions' that can be used in this game are the Astral Set and the Restricted cards, (and 4th Edition) From the files in the directory (see 5.4) There are some following card sets already set up: Alpha/Beta/Unlimited, Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends, and the Dark. The plans to add other expansions are yet unknown. ============================================================================== 4.3 Where are the Multi-Lands? ============================================================================== The Multi-lands are not in Magic the Gathering because they were removed from the 4th edition set, and they are not considered Restricted. ============================================================================== 4.4 I can't use this card properly! ============================================================================== Certain cards are difficult to use with the interface. Here is an easy method to properly use these cards. The interface DOES NOT stop for some optional effects during Draw or Upkeep. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.4.1 Land Tax ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ First put a lock on your Upkeep phase. If you have fewer lands in play than your opponent, Land Tax will have the name of the card in yellow. Click on Land Tax to draw 3 basic lands from your deck. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.4.2 Shapeshifter ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The computer does not prompt you every upkeep to change the shapeshifter's power/toughness. To do this you must put a lock on Upkeep BEFORE the turn you want to change the power/toughness. During Upkeep, click on the shapeshifter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.4.3 Sylvan Library ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ When your draw phase rolls around, you will get the face down card in your hand (with the orange line:draw a card) and your Sylvan Library should have a yellow name now, indicating that it can be used currently. Do not click DONE! Click on the face down card, indicating that you want to use your normal draw. The game will ask for fast effects, you decline and the card will appear in your hand face up. Now click on the Sylvan Library, two cards will appear in your hand and you will be prompted which of the three cards you want to put back/pay life. Ingo Warnke ============================================================================== 4.5 Are there any hidden cards? ============================================================================== Yes. There are in fact... Taking a look at the files (see FILES) shows that extra astral cards exist. There are 9 Land Cards hidden in the game: Red Guild, Blue Guild, White Guild, Green Guild, Black Guild, Artificer's Guild, Bright Society, Grey Society, and Dark Society. I know that the Guilds are for multiplayer, and I assume the Societies are also. There are 4 'other' cards in the same section: Gladiator, Master, Royalty, and Veteran. Also included is the 5 cards for the MTG books: Arena, Mana Crypt, Nalathni Dragon, Sewers of Estark, Windseeker Centaur, and Giant Badger. Finally, there are some very strange cards! MPS Logo, Across The Rhine, CivNet, Terror from the Deep (24/24 Creature!), and World Card! I don't know how to get these cards, or if they are ever going to be made playable. ****************************************************************************** * 5 - Everything else, and the Kitchen Sink. * ****************************************************************************** ============================================================================== 5.1 Tips ============================================================================== 1) To turn off the sound in the duel (it goes faster) Rename the directory DuelSounds to something else. To remove unnecessary overland sound files, go to the Sounds directory and change all but following files: rwalkl.wav, rwalkr.wav, bwalkl.wav, bwalkr.wav, kwalkl.wav, kwalkr.wav, gwalkl.wav, gwalkr.wav, wwalkl.wav, wwalkr.wav. Don't delete the files just incase there are other files needed, 2) Playing without the CD in the drive will reduce the number of crashes. This is also the only way to turn off the music. 3) When more creatures are involved in an attack than can fit in the attack window, you can use the white rat on the bone pile in the middle of the attack window to scroll right/left. ============================================================================== 5.2 Quirks in the game ============================================================================== You cannot receive Mana Batteries or Celestial Prisms from the selection screen in towns or from certain lairs.. What are Unique colorless cards? (Gem Bazaar?) Why is it there when purchasing/receiving cards? If the computer starts with a Keldon Warlord already in play, and they do NOT go first, then the Keldon Warlord starts in the graveyard. ============================================================================== 5.3 That Wacky A.I. ============================================================================== The AI in general does lots of very strange, and sometimes illegal things. Here is just a tiny sampling of interesting things it does. Computer will pump creatures for 0 mana multiple times. Computer will tap Mishra's Factory to get the mana to turn itself into a creature . Computer does not see Mishra's Factories or pumpable blockers as potential block material. Instead it will go on attacking willy nilly. Computer can't handle having two mana vaults in play. If one is tapped and the other is not a strange thing happens. It sees that it can untap a mana vault. So to save land, it tap a mana vault for 3 and one land for a total of four mana. It uses that mana to untap the vault. Then it checks again as sees that there still is another mana vault tapped. It does this until it is out of land. The net result is that the computer has no untapped lands, one tapped mana vault, one untapped vault, and 1 damage. Computer will destroy an enchantment just to cast another of the same type. Computer will activate fast effects on cards that he has not casted yet. The cards will be cast during his turn though. (example: computer used Tawnos's Wand on an El-Hajjaj when there was no creature of that type in play. After the effect resolves the computer casts the El-Hajjaj, and the effect is on the card when it enters play) Computer does not seem to know how to use Stone Giant properly. It attempts to use it on random permenants, which fail. Computer can cast enchantments on his graveyard... ============================================================================== 5.4 the files in the game ============================================================================== master.csv holds the artist name, rule text and quote for all the cards. NOTE: this file is not correct for some of the Astral cards! Is this file even used? legacy.csv holds the 'legacy' effect cards generate when they are used or go to the graveyard. info.csv has the type, color, expansion, and casting cost of the cards. There is one more .csv file, but it looks like garbage. Here is the format 0 1 59 a b c a) this is the ID of the cards that are valid in this version of magic. b) I have no idea, it ranges from 1 to 3. c) I also have no idea, it might be an offset from a file for data or picture information. It's probably for cards.dat. Here is a breakdown of the cards. cards 0-291 are Alpha/Beta/Unlimited cards. They have been fixed for 5th edition. 292-390 are cards from the Dark Expansion. 391-465 are cards from the Arabian Nights Expansion. 466-550 are cards from the Antiquities expansion. 551-859 are cards from the Legends expansion. 860-871 are the 12 Astral Cards. 873-884 are unknown cards. 885-892 are token creatures. 893-898 are cards from the 'book' expansion 899-929 are null cards. 930-952 are duplicates of cards, probably used for testing. 953 is the MPS LOGO card. It is a 0 casting cost artifact. 954-959 are null cards. 960-962 are 'program' cards. If you have Across the Rhine, CivNet, or X-Com Terror of the Deep then these cards might activate. 963 is the World Card. What is it? 964-997 are null cards. 998-1249 are legacy effect cards. ****************************************************************************** * 6 - Version Control * ****************************************************************************** ============================================================================== 6.1 What's New in this FAQ? ============================================================================== Most of the new information concerns the new patch. The only things that are NOT new is section 4, and parts of section 1. ============================================================================== 6.2 Old Versions ============================================================================== 1.3 [upcoming] will contain bugs from the patch. 1.2 FAQ for the new patch. Includes ALL fixes/problems from the Patch. 1.1 Fixed: 1.6 Removing CD to turn off animations 1.15 Teminalogy 1.24 Added New Section. 1.25 Added New Section. 3.1 Got the right page for the memory leak bug. Added new sections. 3.1 Modified No Stats Bug, added new bug 3.2 Added new Bug 3.4 Morale not a bug, added Mana Flare. 3.6 Added new section. changed OOP to Restricted, makes more sence. 1.0 Added Section 6 and send it out on the Internet. 0.3a Added sections 3 through 5 0.2a Added sections 1 and 2 0.1a Just a quick hack. Only had bugs. Have questions? Want to see something in this FAQ? Mail me at coedana@everest.cclabs.missouri.edu. -Dana Huyler