TKN Mafia Hall of Fame

Similar to the Hall of Fame for the NSFL, I have decided to now compile the statistics of players from the mafia games I also host on FootballsFuture. Instead of ordering merely by win/loss record, however, players are ranked by "victory points", which are designed to reward players achieving difficult win conditions a bit more than those winning as one of the main factions. The exact method for awarding these points is outlined below:

• Losses earn no victory points, regardless of the role's difficulty (although victory points are never deducted for losing, either).
• Victories as a faction that one was converted to (unless it was a part of the creation of a new faction or a role transformation) earn one victory point.
• Victories as a member of a main faction (those that win as a team, like town and mafia) earn two victory points.
• Victories as a third-party that was never considered a threat to the main town faction (such as roles requiring mere survival) earn three victory points.
• Victories as a third-party that was at any point considered a threat to the main town faction earn four victory points.
• Flawless victories earn a bonus of +1 victory point, which include:
• Town victories in which no player that wasn't a threat was lynched.
• Mafia victories in which none of their members died.
  
• Third-party victories that won the game entirely on their own.
• Victories that achieve every goal listed on an "either or" win condition (for example, when a role that must achieve X or Y achieves X and Y).
  
• Certain factions may have an opportunity to earn a bonus of conditional victory points depending on their method of winning or if an optional goal is achieved (these conditions will usually be communicated at the beginning of the game).
  
• If a player is replaced or modkilled, all gains still belong to the original player, but the amount of victory points they earn is halved (rounded down).

Without further adieu, the current list, as of the last completed mafia game (if you believe an error was made, please let me know):

1. Malfatron: 10 victory points, 4-4 record
2. kingseanjohn: 10 victory points, 4-4 record
3. swoosh: 9 victory points, 3-0 record
   
4. Dome: 8 victory points, 4-2 record
   
5. Daboyle 8 victory points, 3-1 record
6. SwAg: 7 victory points, 3-3 record
7. Forge: 8 victory points, 3-5 record
   
8. bcb1213: 7 victory points, 3-4 record
9. Whicker: 6 victory points, 3-2 record
   
10. squire12: 6 victory points, 2-5 record
11. The Orca: 6 victory points, 2-6 record
12. MWil23: 6 victory points, 2-6 record
13. Matts4313: 5 victory points, 3-4 record
14. Blue: 4 victory points, 2-0 record
15. RuskieTitan: 4 victory points, 2-1 record
16. Tugboat: 4 victory points, 2-1 record
17. JoshstraDaymus: 4 victory points, 2-3 record
18. Scoundrel: 4 victory points, 2-4 record
19. skywindO2: 4 victory points, 1-1 record
    
20. Deadpulse: 3 victory points, 1-0 record 
    
21. DingoLadd: 2 victory points, 1-0 record
22. carl_sjunior: 2 victory points, 1-0 record
23. VikeManDan: 2 victory points, 1-0 record
24. Llamalover: 2 victory points, 1-0 record
25. Hockey4djh: 2 victory points, 1-0 record
26. wolfeyestrk: 2 victory points, 1-0 record
27. MD4L: 2 victory points, 1-1 record
28. bigbadbuff: 2 victory points, 1-1 record
29. ET80: 2 victory points, 1-2 record
    
30. Daniel: 2 victory points, 1-2 record
    
31. theuntouchable: 2 victory points, 1-3 record
32. Glen: 2 victory points, 1-4 record
33. rackcs: 2 victory points, 1-5 record
34. Tk3: 2 victory points, 1-5 record
35. Pickle Rick: 2 victory points, 1-7 record
36. El ramster: 1 victory point, 1-1 record
37. bucsfan333: 0 victory points, 0-1 record
    
38. MookieMonstah: 0 victory points, 0-1 record
39. TedLavie: 0 victory points, 0-1 record
40. mission27: 0 victory points, 0-1 record
41. pwny: 0 victory points, 0-1 record
42. HokieHigh: 0 victory points, 0-1 record
43. TL-TwoMoreWins: 0 victory points, 0-1 record
44. jasonwbantle: 0 victory points, 0-1 record
45. Jlash: 0 victory points, 0-1 record
46. Slappy Mc: 0 victory points, 0-1 record
47. Danger: 0 victory points, 0-1 record
48. RandyMossIsBoss: 0 victory points, 0-1 record
49. DrDoomIQ: 0 victory points, 0-1 record
50. Xmad: 0 victory points, 0-1 record 
51. Ragnarok: 0 victory points, 0-2 record
    
52. 11sanchez11: 0 victory points, 0-2 record
53. Nazgul: 0 victory points, 0-2 record
54. AFlaccoSeagulls: 0 victory points, 0-2 record
55. Raves: 0 victory points, 0-3 record
56. SirA1: 0 victory points, 0-4 record
57. gopherwrestler: 0 victory points, 0-5 record

Links to all previous TKN-hosted games:

1. Star Trek: The Next Generation Mafia
2. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Mafia
3. Final Fantasy Tactics Mafia
4. Star Wars Mafia
5. Death Note Mafia
6. The Binding of Isaac: Remafia
7. Star Wars Prequel Trilogy Mafia
8. Chrono Trigger Mafia
   

Pikachu Genocide: Duel Game

Gotta kill 'em all!

Introduction

Most of my followers on Youtube will like this post. After promising to do so years ago, I finally got around to editing the "Anti-Pikachu" game I made for school, displayed below, into a release version:

Two things differ from the demo in the above video. First, the above demo was of the single-player version, in which players simply shoot Pikachus as they go across the screen. However, I modified the project into a 2-player game for a later assignment in the same class and unfortunately, I could no longer locate the 1-player version of the game. Also, I decided I wanted to release a version which used Keyboard controls rather than Joystick, since few people have two Joysticks available.

The Game

Do you hate Pikachu? Well then, it's time for you to become an official Pikachu hunter! Pikachu Genocide is a simple two-player game, written in Java, in which rival Pikachu hunters fight to be considered the best Pikachu hunter of all time! Protect your turf by slaying the Pikachus (and perhaps a few other Pokemon who try to invade) while buying power-ups and other Pokemon to invade your opponent! The last man standing wins.

Screenshot of the gameplay.

The goal is to kill all the Pokemon that are running left to right on your side of the screen before they escape. If they manage to escape, you lose a life! Meanwhile, you can buy power-ups, extra ammo, or even send Pokemon to the opponent's side with the money you earn for each kill. The goal of the game is to reduce your opponent's Lives to 0, while staying alive yourself!

Installation

1. Because Pikachu Genocide is written in Java, if you don't already have it, download the latest Java Runtimes here.
2. Extract the Pikachu Genocide.zip file to the location you wish to put the game.
3. You should be able to run "RunMe.jar" in the Pikachu Genocide main directory (Jar is the Java equivalent of an Exe). You can also make a shortcut to this file and use the provided icon in that folder.
4. If RunMe.jar doesn't work, try running "DebugMode.bat" instead.
5. If you have any other problems, feel free to contact me at timothyjsharpe@yahoo.com.

Controls

As mentioned above, I scrapped the Joystick controls and enabled Keyboard controls for this release version. Below are the controls for each player:

ACTION	Player One	Player Two
Aim Up	Up Arrow	E key
Aim Down	Down Arrow	D key
Aim Left	Left Arrow	S key
Aim Right	Right Arrow	F key
Fire Gun	Ctrl key	Z key

To buy a power up, simply move your cross-hair to the corresponding button on the top of your screen, and fire on it.

Player Values

Each player has the following:

LIVES: At the beginning of the game, your Lives start at 5. When an enemy Pokemon goes unkilled, you lose 1 Life! When you reach 0, you lose the game!

CASH: You get cash by killing enemy Pokemon! Spend this cash on Power-ups! You start with $10. Do with it what you will.

AMMO: Your ammo starts at 20 and regenerates very slowly, so use it wisely! It regenerates slightly slower than the number of Pikachus that automatically spawn, so don't forget to stock up on Ammo during play!

Power Ups

Below is all the power ups players can buy:

AMMO ($1): Running low on Ammo? No matter! Here you can buy a clip of 5 rounds for a mere $1.

EXTRA LIFE ($10): Let's face it... at some point, a Pokemon is going to sneak by, despite your ace skills! Good thing you can buy an extra life here for a mere $10.

NUKE ($20): So... the enemy thought they could send a massive attack force to overwhelm you, did they? Luckily, you have a trick up your sleeve. The nuke is the most powerful weapon in your arsenal, and will kill all Pokemon on your screen instantly. It has a high cost, however, so use it only when you need it!

Below is the different Pokemon you can send at your opponent:

PIKACHU ($2): Attempt to give your opponent problems by giving them too many enemies to handle! Use this to send an extra Pikachu at them!

RAICHU ($4): Pikachu's evolved form is a bit tougher... not that it takes much to be tougher than a puny Pikachu. These fat orange rats will take two hits to kill!

PONYTA ($6): Ponyta is a really fast Pokemon! It moves at nearly double the speed that Pikachu does, making it quite annoying. It costs three times as much, however.

BLISSEY ($6): This fat pink Pokemon is a real pain! At least you can do is make it a pain for your opponent! These bad girls take four shots to take down, making them the sturdiest attackers in the game.

MACHOP ($6): Machop is much stronger than the ordinary Pikachu! When Machop escapes your opponent, he takes two lives instead of one!

Conclusion

So what are you waiting for, Pikachu hunters? Download below, grab a friend, and send some Pikachus to hell. ;)

 DOWNLOAD

Reanalyzing Gen 5's Uber Criteria – Problems with Smogon's Approach

First of all, this is a very specialized post regarding a very specific topic – the online competitive Pokemon metagame. Those who are not familiar with competitive Pokemon may not be familiar with the jargon used in this article, or care much about the topic. However, for those of you like myself who play competitive Pokemon, you may find this article and my thoughts interesting.

Anyway, so Smogon's recent Standard bans of Excadrill and Thundurus has gotten me thinking about Smogon's current approach to building the ideal metagame.

The “why” of Competitive rules

Most of you know me know that I have always been a Smogon supporter. Some may argue that Smogon tiers and rules change the game so that it is played “not as intended”, but ultimately it is the player's choice how to play the game. The majority of online gamers recognize potential abuses that exist within Pokemon, and therefore see the reasoning behind extra rules designed to enhance competitive play. The ultimate goal, of course, is to create a well-balanced metagame which ideally leads to one that is fun and interesting to play.

It is important to define to define what “well-balanced” means. To understand this, one must understand the logistics of competitive players and environments. Generally, the difference between competitive players and casual players is that competitive players tend to find their “fun” in winning, not the gameplay itself. It is these players who typically wish to test their skills in a competitive environment. For casual players, no competitive rules need exist at all. However, for competitive players, they will strive to create strategies that will generate the greatest chance to win. For that reason, a competitive metagame will always centralize to the best strategies, because in general, players will choose the strategies that gives them the best chance to win. Because of this, competitive metagames have a very real threat of becoming over-centralized.

To illustrate using analogy, let's take the game “Rock Paper Scissors”. For those who do not know, it is a simple game in which both players select one of those three objects and reveal them at the same time; Rock beats scissors, Paper beats rock, Scissors beats Paper. Let's assume a new rule is added to the game... a player could choose “Gun”, which would defeat all three. Naturally, any competitive player will always choose Gun, since it provides them the best chance to win. Seeing this, the creators of “Rock Paper Scissors” adds a fifth option, the “Bullet proof vest”, which beats Gun, but loses against the other three. Now, the metagame will centralize around the broken agent, the cause of the game imbalance (in this case, Gun), and its counter (in this case, the Vest). This new game deceptively has “five options”, but really has only three: Gun, Vest, or R/P/S. In this case, the differences between R/P/S are irrelevant, as their only use is to counter the Vest. And we have effectively taken a game where each option has equal value to a game that only 60% of its options are legitimate. This simple example shows how metagmes will naturally centralize around a broken agent, and its counter(s).

By banning Mewtwo, other Pokemon become viable.

Therefore, to be “well-balanced”, competitive rules are created with the intention of creating a game with the greatest number of viable strategies, or greatest variety. The uber list of Pokemon is to reach this end. Each Pokemon on the uber list outclasses, or makes irrelevant, several other Pokemon. For example, why use Dragonite, Salamence, or Altaria when one could simply use Rayquaza, who can more or less do everything those Pokemon can do better? Or why use any wall when opponents commonly use Deoxys-Attack, who can effectively break almost every wall in the game? By banning an uber, one hopes that several other Pokemon become competitively viable, or the ability to be played with the primary intention being to win.

The other goal of competitive rules is that they should usually be simple, easy to understand, and try to be true to the spirit of the game as much as possible. For example, one could say, “Mewtwo wouldn't be a problem if it didn't have its awesome movepool, so why not ban each really good move, but only on Mewtwo?” While this may allow Mewtwo to be played in the metagame, having three pages of rules like “Mewtwo can be used, but can't have Move X, Y, Z, or Item A, B, or C …, etc.” would be very confusing and in the long run, turn away players due to the fact that it ruins the 'spirit' of Pokemon, and complicates the game too much.

Smogon's classic approaches

Smogon creates the most popular set of competitive rules.

Now that I have explained the goal of competitive metagames, let's take a look at how Smogon currently approaches creating competitive Pokemon rules. The first of which are the common clauses (most notable Sleep Clause), which have been around for a very long time. I won't go much into Sleep clause, but note that without it, Sleep teams would be a broken agent, and the metagame would centralize around Sleep abuse teams, and sleep counter teams. Obviously, Sleep clause may eliminate these two team archetypes, but it is worth it, since several other viable strategies emerge that could not compete with Sleep abuse.

As most of you know, Smogon uses a tiering system to build its competitive metagame. Basically, Pokemon are separated into tiers, and players may choose to play in a particular tier, in which all Pokemon of that tier and Pokemon in a lower tier are legal. Unlike many other tiering systems, Smogon uses usage statistics (taken from the most commonly-used Pokemon simulator at the time... in Gen 5, this is Pokemon Online) to derive most tiers. Hence, their tiers are named accordingly. Overused contains the most used Pokemon, Underused contains Pokemon who do not reach a certain usage, then Rarelyused, finally Neverused (there is also an Unevolved tier for all Pokemon that are unevolved with little to no reason for it to see competitive play over its evolution). The exception to this system, however, is its Uber tier, which is not based from usage.

The Uber tier is not intended to be its own competitive metagame, but rather, a list of banned Pokemon from play in Overused (commonly called “Standard”, the most commonly played tier). Since broken agents are not always evident in usage statistics (and the fact that other broken agents tend to hide others), the Uber tier does not base from usage. Instead, it is an opinion-based tier, with a complex testing system in place and carefully worded criteria about what should be considered Uber. There are two considerations here, however. One is the obvious, determining what broken agents are, and two, determining what broken agents are not. Banning Pokemon that could exist with very little consequence in standard is a negative thing, since by doing so you are reducing the amount of viable options. What makes this tricky is a broken agent's influence on other Pokemon in the metagame. For example, if Kyogre were legal, Swift Swim Kingdra would have a very high usage. Does that mean Kingdra is Uber? No, since it would not be a problem if Kyogre was banned. But this illustrates the problem... sometimes a Pokemon is banned for being a suspect, when in fact, it was another agent alltogether that was the true problem.

Garchomp was found to be Uber in Gen 4.

To compensate for this, Smogon determines Ubers by carefully examining each suspect, quite simply, a Pokemon they suspect of being a broken agent. Smogon then goes through a number of testing metagames on Pokemon simulators to test how each suspect reacts to the metagame alone, and in combination with, other suspects. Each of these testing cycles can take months, which is why Smogon rules are in a constant state of flux and decisions are made very slowly. At the end of it all, players ranking highly on the Pokemon simulator ladder vote on whether a suspect is Uber, or not Uber. Its a good system by design. Public opinion is often skewered to personal experience. But with vast and detailed data available by usage statistics and the vast experience and skill-level of the voters, the decisions made by this braintrust typically are very good.

Smogon's definition of Uber has always been that an Uber, a broken agent, must be a Pokemon. This is for simplicity (see the Mewtwo example earlier). This is within the spirit of Pokemon, since each Pokemon species seems to be its own entity. Its base stats, movepool, typing, is all innate qualities of itself, so it would make no sense if one made rules allowing a Pokemon but disallowing certain options normally allowed to it. This system has worked very well for Smogon for Gen 1 through 4. The only notable exception I can think of on the top of my head is the ban of “Soul Dew”, which allowed Latias to exist in Overused somewhat-abridged in Gen 4 (but one could always consider the Soul Dew rule as a clause).

What went wrong with Generation 5

Speed Boost was previously balanced by being on poor offensive Pokemon.

Taking a look at Smogon's current bans of Generation 5, it off the bat seems to be erratic, and ignoring the fundamental principles highlighted above. Uber is typically a tier reserved for mainly “top-tier legends” (the Pokemon with the highest base stats), but several non-”top tier legends” have already been banned, including Blaziken, Thundurus, Garchomp, and Excadrill. In addition, Smogon has already made decisions against their old philosophy of simplicity. Moody was banned despite it being an ability (not a Pokemon), and a complex rule exists stating one cannot use Swift Swim-ability Pokemon with Drizzle-ability Pokemon. This creates a dual-standard especially when you consider Excradrill, since the sole reason it appears to have been banned was due to its ability, Sand Rush, which is merely the Sandstorm version of Swift Swim. So why is Swift Swim Pokemon not considered uber while Excradrill is (or why is a rule not simply in place disallowing Sand Rush with Sand Stream)?

The main problem for Smogon, as I see it, is not their system. The system they have in place is excellent, and by all accounts, should not vary in effectiveness based on the metagame it is evaluating. Instead, the problem is in their out-dated definition of Uber. There was one huge change in Generation 5 that requires us to re-evaluate how we define an Uber, and that change is Dream World. Dream World is a feature in which Pokemon can receive new abilities, abilities they did not have before. The reason this is a problem is a number of Pokemon received abilities that drastically altered its identity.

Time for another history lesson, though. Pokemon Abilities was a feature introduced in Generation 3. Basically, these are passive traits of a Pokemon designed to make each species more unique, beyond stats, movepool, and typing. Most of these abilities were minor perks, but a few were competitively significant, and played a huge role in the identity of the Pokemon (for example, Wonder Guard is crucial to the identity of Shedinja. It directly influences what it can do, and what it is useful for). For the most part, in Generation 3 and 4, powerful and unique abilities were balanced by being on Pokemon that would be pretty useless otherwise, so the ability and the Species' identity is one in the same.

In Generation 5, however, these once-exclusive abilities can now be found on many Pokemon that by all accounts did not need them, causing a number of problems. The most notable of these abilities are Speed Boost, given to Blaziken, and Drizzle/Drought given to Politoed and Ninetales, respectively. Speed Boost was once balanced by the fact that it was an “identity ability” of a very select few Pokemon, namely Ninjask and Yanmega, who were Pokemon that lacked offensive firepower. Blaziken however, especially with the improved movepool given to him by Generation 5 and great competitive typing, is an offensive powerhouse whose one check previously had been Speed. In the case of Drought and Drizzle, these abilities were uniquely given to Ubers previously, so we never really had to consider their competitive implications. Once again, “Drizzle” and “Kyogre” were one in the same thing. Now that Drizzle is also a quality of Politoed, a non-Uber, it makes us re-evaluate some things.

Solution... No Longer is Species the only thing that can be 'Uber'

The first solution is obvious, to me. Its not banning all Dream World abilities. Dream World, all things considered, is a good mechanic and most Dream World abilities provide interesting new viable strategies to older Pokemon without them becoming suspect, so we wouldn't want to reduce the amount of viable options. Instead, I've concluded that, in Generation 5, Abilities should and can be Uber in addition to a Species. With most Pokemon now having three Abilities, they have ceased in many cases to be part of a Pokemon's identity, since Abilities now belong in most cases to a wide array of different Species. The same conclusion could be had in the case of a super powerful move given to most Pokemon ... the obvious conclusion is to ban the move, not all the Pokemon who have it (Stealth Rock is one such move that was often debated even in Generation 4 as possibly being a broken agent). This solution really shouldn't even sound farfetched, as Smogon has already set the precedent by banning Moody early into the Generation 5 metagame.

The question becomes, however, if Abilities can be Uber, how can we determine when an Ability is Uber compared to a Species? As I stated before, in the case of most powerful abilities, the reason they do not cause problems is due to the Pokemon they are attached to. When a Pokemon becomes very powerful due to a new ability, however, we have to consider that the Ability is suspect, not the Species. The obvious example here is Blaziken, who received Speed Boost. Logically, we must ask ourselves: “Which is the broken agent, the species Blaziken or the ability Speed Boost?” I maintain that with simple logic, the conclusion is obvious. If you take the ability Speed Boost and place it on most common OU Pokemon, it would result in that Pokemon becoming too powerful. On the other hand, giving Blaziken most other common abilities would not likely cause it to become too powerful. This could be confirmed through testing, by seeing if Blaziken with Blaze as opposed to Speed Boost is Uber. I think the result is obvious, Blaziken would suffer from its Generation 4 weakness, its lack of Speed.

Permaweather is an uber mechanic.

As for Drizzle and Drought, the same kind of argument could be used. Obviously, Politoed and Ninetales are not suspect without Drizzle and Drought... in fact, they were both Neverused in Generation 4. Not much else changed about them. Taking a look at Smogon's current solution to Peraweather (Weather-producing abilities) is laughable... restricting Swift Swim with Drizzle, and banning Excadrill. Sure, one could argue that Swift Swim, Sand Rush, and Chlorophyll (which will now be referred to as the “Weather Speed Boosting abilities”) are broken here, and you could be right. Banning these abilities would likely solve the problem of Generation 5 being too weather-based just as well as banning Permaweather.

However, there are several factors that lead me to believe Permaweather is the broken agent here. First of all, weather teams would not be useless if Permaweather is banned. Permaweather clearly outclasses the alternative, though, the moves Sandstorm, Sunny Day,and Rain Dance, for two reasons: One, the moves require a turn of setup while Permaweather does not, and Two, they have a limited duration (5 turns, or 8 if you use a hold item which sacrifices your ability to use another item). Weather Speed Boosting abilities are completely balanced in the limited duration context, since the extreme power they grant is only temporary. And while other broken weather abilities don't really exist yet, it is conceivable that more are added with future installments. It becomes the choice of whether you'd rather ban several Abilities, or only the Permaweather abilities. Its obvious to me that Permaweather are the broken mechanic here.

Also, since Permaweather abilities clearly outclass the alternative method of setting up weather, and the fact that so few Pokemon have access to Permaweather abilities, it is clear that Permaweather causes more centralization than the Weather Speed Boosting abilities. Because of these, Pokemon who have Permaweather abilities are becoming widely used while most people are forced to bring counters to each of them if they'd like to compete. Also, it centralizes weather teams themselves since being forced to use a single Pokemon limits your ability to use other Pokemon of that type due to type coverage (For example, being forced to use Tyranitar or Hippowdon in Sandstorm restricts you from using other Water or Fighting-weak Pokemon), causing further centralization. There are many more Pokemon with Weather Speed Boosting abilities than Permaweather, so you both create a simpler rule by simply getting rid of Permaweather abilities, and make more strategies viable by reducing centralization. Of course, everything I said in theory above could be verified with Smogon's testing methods. Recall, Sand Stream was a problem in Generation 4 too. Now, ironically thanks to Dream World, all Pokemon with Permaweather abilities now have a different ability available to them, so we aren't banning the Species by banning the Ability.

With the issues I highlighted above, we have fixed a number of weird obscurities with Smogon's current rules. By banning Permaweather and Speed Boost, we could now test Blaziken, Garchomp, Excadrill and possibly even Thundurus back in Overused. Also, we can get rid of the complicated rule disallowing Swift Swim with Drizzle. At the same time, we have reduced the metagame's centralization towards weather teams, likely increasing the amount of viable options in Standard, allowing Pokemon who could not compete with the Weather bias to shine.

Final thoughts, possible problems with my above solution

Some Pokemon, like Yanmega, may suffer as a consequence to this change.

There is one final debate, however, this one mainly having to do with Speed Boost at the moment. If an Ability is deemed to be Uber, is it the Ability or the Ability-Species combination that is Uber? This is important since if Speed Boost becomes Uber, Yanmega and Ninjask are all but useless (Yes, they got new abilities from Dream World, but they aren't nearly as good). While it would be troublesome to set a precedent that says Ability/Species combinations can be Uber since that seems awfully complicated, with Blaziken being the only offender at this point, we could make him the exception to the rule by simply banning Speed Boost on Blaziken. On the other hand, if Speed Boost was given to other Pokemon in the future and it became a problem, we'd have to overwhelmingly decide to simply ban it. So in the long run, it may be simply better to say “Sorry, Yanmega and Ninjask, but Speed Boost is Uber.” After all, if every Pokemon had access to Wonder Guard, we'd obviously have to ban it too, despite its impact on Shedinja.

What the September 2011 Yu-Gi-Oh! Ban List should be

Hey Konami! Are you listening? If so, I have some suggestions for you regarding the September 2011 ban list. I tried to make a slower format that was fair and balanced. This is my ideal list, not necessarily a prediction, so keep that in mind. This is by no means official.

Also keep in mind this list only contains the CHANGES to the current official list, found here:
http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/limited/

Forbidden:  
Giant Trunade
Dandylion

Limited:
Judgment Dragon
Master Hyperion
Magician of Faith
Tour Guide From the Underworld
T.G. Hyper Librarian
Formula Synchron
Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En
Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
Royal Tribute
Pot of Avarice
Six Samurai United

Semi-Limited:
Reborn Tengu
Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner
Ultimate Offering
Royal Oppression

Unlimited:
Necro Gardna
Magical Stone Excavation
Megamorph
Mystical Space Typhoon
Destiny Draw
Overload Fusion
Swords of Revealing Light
Bottomless Trap Hole
Magic Cylinder

I know I will take some heat for putting Royal Oppression at 2... I prefer slower formats, and Royal Oppression helps this. 3 MST will help counter out this change. Further, this would make the metagame Shift towards less SSing or increaseing SS-oriented decks' S/T destruction (This format has MST/Dust Tornado/Breaker all at 3). I don't view this as a bad thing, since as it stands, SS-based decks are dominant. I don't believe this should be the case.

Competitive Game Design Philosophies

As most of you know, I love games. All kinds of games, really, but in particular, competitive games. I like the ability to match my wit and skill against an opponent's. The excitement and desire to compete against another human to determine who is 'better' is very enjoyable... and of course, to the victor goes the spoils. I have played several competitive games in my lifespan, spanning from video games like Warcraft 3, Doom, and Pokemon, table-top games like Star Wars Miniatures, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Magic: the Gathering, and even board games like Monopoly, Chess, and Munchkin. Using my experiences, I have compiled a list of 'Game Design Philosophies' I hold. These are general qualities of what makes a good competitive game. While this list is intended for competitive games, most of these points apply to other sorts of games as well. Without further introduction, the list:

1. General simplicity is a gaming virtue. This is debatable, but I believe it is vital to any game's success. Any game should be simple in concept, for a number of reasons. The most obvious is that unnecessary complexity will discourage people from playing the game to begin with. It also creates situations where there are so many variables, it is difficult to come to a decision in the game, and therefore slows down the game. Sometimes, people wonder how a simple card game like Yu-Gi-Oh! became so popular. As far as game design goes, it really doesn't score that highly in any other category. But its simplicity and fast gameplay is fun and 'charming', as the game continues to draw in players. Another game I've enjoyed is Doom (using the free multi-player software known as ZDaemon to play online). This oldie is really the first successful First-Person Shooter, but many people still play it competitively due to its fast-paced nature and simple design.

2. Mastery is what is complex. While philosophy #1 states that simplicity is good in game concept, mastery of the game ought to be complex. A newcomer shouldn't be able to come into the game and be very good his first time. On the contrary, skill should be very important for any game. A good example of this is Chess. While the rules of Chess are fairly simple, it can take years to truly become "good" at the game. A game which is simple in concept but complex at the competitive level is ideal. Of course, other games are good at this. Warcraft 3 (not the crappy MMORPG, the RTS) has pretty simple gameplay when you first get into it, and almost everyone can beat the single-player campaign. However, when playing online, the player soon discovers that his skills must be improved, as there are several complex strategies competitive players use to overwhelm opponents.

3. Luck's role should be limited. Luck is a tricky concept since it is inherent in several competitive games from the start. For card games, for example, luck is already vital since it controls which cards you will draw from the deck. Luck is somewhat of a mixed coin. On one hand, luck ensures a fresh playing experience each time the game is played. It also adds some element of "surprise" and "randomness" that we see from real-life. Overcoming these random events can be very rewarding. On the other hand, though, Luck can be a very bad thing for a competitive game. An unlucky player may feel his loss is undeserved, while his opponent may feel the same thing about a win. No player wants to lose or win based on luck, a player plays a competitive game due to the desire to compete, to win on their own merit. A competitive game can survive with elements of luck (TCGs are perfect examples), but it must be limited as much as possible. Magic: the Gathering is a game that compensates its inherent luck very well. For one, its mana system creates an alternate resource besides the amount of cards you have currently in your hand. This slows the game down. And due to the fact up to four copies of a card can be played in any Magic deck, the probability is high of a player drawing his key cards by the time he wants to use them.

4. Balance and diversity keeps things interesting. In game design, this is one of the hardest things to accomplish. While it is foolish to think that every strategy in every game ought to be equal (in fact, if this were the case, it would not be ideal since it would likely be a strong luck-based game), there ought to be several strategies and options that are viable in every competitive game. This allows different players to go different options, and makes the game more interesting to play due to the wide array of different styles of players that player can face. One way to accomplish this is making sure that certain strategies "check" others, creating a "checks and balances" system. If Strategy A becomes more popular, then Strategy B (which is good against A) will increase in use, creating a natural defense against centralization around a single strategy. Some examples include the Color Wheel in Magic, which ensures at the very least 5 equally-good 'colors' players can play with. In Pokemon, players create a team of 6 of over 500 species, which at least 100 are competitively viable. Sometimes, though, things get out of hand and something becomes 'too good'. When this happens, almost every game has created some sort of Ban List, which limits what players can use. This is necessary for most games.


5. Environment is almost as important as gameplay. What I mean by this is it is not enough for a game to excel in rules 1-4 for a game to become popular. Another big concept is the game's environment, or how the game feels... its background. In Warcraft, one plays the role of a commander, waging war on enemy nations. In Pokemon, one is a trainer of creatures to battle others. In Munchkin, you are exploring a dungeon, trying to obtain treasure while backstabbing your 'Friends'. In Magic, each card has flavor that really makes you feel like you are casting the spell. Each of these examples allows the user to create a light sense of roleplaying, which really adds to the game's general enjoyment. I've played several games that may be good games, but lacked this general factor and really failed as a result.

Anyway, these are the 5 philosophies I've come up with. Feel free to leave a comment about what you think about these, and if you can think of another game design philosophy I missed, feel free to mention it!

2nd KOTC Pokemon Tournament (LIVE with CASH PRIZES)

After the success of the last KOTC tournament (Pokemon was over half of the total gamers there), we are set for the 2nd KOTC event, which will be held July 23rd in the same building. We did upgrade to a larger space, though, the Terrace Ballroom, which should give us quite a bit more breathing room than last time (those who went recall how cramped it was!). Should be a lot of fun, once again. Please join us at:

Saturday July 23, 2011

Hyatt Headquarters Plaza (Terrace Ballroom)

3 Speedwell Ave

Morristown NJ, 07960

Pokemon tournaments will be Round Robin, with a number of rounds determined by the number of players. After the Round Robin, the top players will enter a single elimination tournament to determine the winner. We will offer two types of tournaments, free “Casual” tournaments with no prizes and pay-to-enter “Competitive” tournaments with cash prizes determined by the number of players who enter.

$20 to enter – Up to $500 Grand Prize

In order to play KOTC tournaments, you must own a Nintendo DS with working wireless connection and your own copy of Pokemon Black or White (flash cards NOT permitted due to inability to battle infrared). Each round, participants may choose between Level 100 Standard over wireless or Level 50 over Infrared. If a player does not have a Level 100 team, he is entitled to use the Infrared option. In addition, teams must follow these restrictions:

Your team must not contain any of the following Pokemon:
Mewtwo
Lugia
Ho-oh
Kyogre
Groudon
Rayquaza
Deoxys
Dialga
Palkia
Giratina
Manaphy
Darkrai
Arceus
Shaymin-Sky
Zekrom
Reshiram
Keldeo
Meloetta
Genesect

Sleep Clause – You cannot select a move that causes sleep on an enemy Pokemon if one or more of their party is already asleep by one of your effects (Note: If the opponent is asleep by his own effect, such as Rest, this does not count towards Sleep Clause).

Species Clause – You cannot use more than 1 of the same species of Pokemon in your team.

Evasion Clause – You cannot use moves that raise evasion, such as Double Team or Minimize.

OHKO Clause – You cannot use moves that have a chance to one-hit KO the enemy Pokemon, such as Fissure.

Hax Items Clause – You cannot use the following items: Quick Claw, Focus Band, Razor Claw, Scope Lens, Razor Fang, King’s Rock, Brightpower, and Lax Insense.

Self KO Clause – If a tie occurs, the controller of the effect that caused the tie loses. This is the case with Explosion, Self Destruct, Perish Song, Destiny Bond, Sandstorm, Life Orb, etc.

Static Teams - As you enter the tournament, you must register a 6-Pokemon team and a 3-Pokemon substitute team. In the middle of rounds, you may swap substitutes with Pokemon in your main team at your discretion. However, you may not switch Pokemon with Pokemon that are not registered.

45 Minute Timed - Each round will last 45 minutes to ensure the tournament runs smoothly. If at the end of the round some games are not completed, stop play and seek a tournament official. Then, overtime regulations will apply. Each player will receive and additional 3 turns. At the end of these 3 turns, the player with the most Pokemon remaining is declared the winner. If they are tied, the player with the Active Pokemon with the highest HP is declared the winner. If this is tied, the match continues until the first change of either of those conditions.

Please note that all teams in KOTC tournaments must be able to have been obtained through normal gameplay. Using moves, abilities, stats, etc. that are not possible through normal gameplay or have not been released are not allowed. For example, using unreleased Dream World abilities or items that are unobtainable in Black and White like Soul Dew is not permitted. Our stance on hacking is currently a don’t ask, don’t tell approach. As long as hacked Pokemon do not exceed what is normally possible, we will allow them.

As a courtesy, it is strongly recommended that players interested in our Competitive tournaments research and are aware of mechanics like IVs, EVs and breeding if they do not already know them. These mechanics are vital to competitive success.

Infractions policy:

If at any time you have a question during a match about tournament rules or want to report your opponent for breaking a rule, you may call a tournament official during your match. The tournament official will make a judgment based on our infractions policy. Note that a tournament official's judgment is final. If you believe the tournament official made an incorrect judgment, you may after your match report it to the head tournament official.

Game Rules Policy - Sometimes, either accidentally or purposefully, a player may break a tournament rule highlighted above. This includes but is not limited to the Gameplay Clauses listed above, or even something like arriving at your match for a round more than 10 minutes late. Breaking any of these Game Rules will result in a match loss. In some cases, the player may have to change their active team to adhere to the Game Rules again (in such cases as Species Clause, Evasion Clause, OHKO Clause, or Hax Items Clause).

Cheating Policy - Cheating is strictly forbidden and enforced in KOTC tournaments. This category includes but is not limited to using a hacked Pokemon beyond the normal limits of gameplay, watching the opponent's screen to see what move he/she picked, seeking gameplay help from others during a tournament game, using an unregistered Pokemon, or tournament fraud. Breaking the cheating policy will result in disqualification, no matter what the offense.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct Policy - Participants of KOTC tournaments are expected to display a certain amount of sportsmanship. This category includes but is not limited to using excessive foul language, verbal abuse to other gamers, or offenses like trying to stall for time (not in gameplay, but in move selection to try to stall for the 45 Time Limit, moves are expected to be selected in 30 seconds at the longest). Breaking the sportsmanlike conduct policy will first result in a warning. The second offense will be a match loss, and a third offense will be disqualification.

If you have any questions regarding these POKEMON rules, feel free to contact me at pokemoshpit@gmail.com.
More info about the event and such here on KOTC's website: http://kotcnation.com/kotc/2011/05/genes-oct-2nd-v-17-nj/

RSVP to our Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=113168892107807

KOTC Pokemon Tournament Vlogs

Hey guys, as you may remember from my post a few weeks ago, we just had our first KOTC Pokemon Tournament yesterday. Did four Vlogs at various points in the day, decided to post them here so many those who couldn't go could still see what it was like. I would call it a smashing success, personally!

Vlog 1 - Calm Before the Storm
Filmed before the start of the event.

 Vlog 2 - Successful Start!
Filmed after the 1st tournament.

Vlog 3 - Winner Interview
Filmed after the 2nd tournament.

Vlog 4 - The Man Behind the Man
Filmed near the end of the evening.

 There you have it folks. Hope you enjoy the Vlogs and if you attended, the tournament! Hope to see more of you there at the next one. ;)

Reallife Pokemon Tournament with Cash Prizes

Hey, guys. Wanted to highlight something I've been working on recently that I think is really cool. You may or may not be familiar with King of the Couch (KOTC) tournaments. They're an organization sponsored by Gamestop to run gaming tournaments. Their past events have had great success running competitive tournaments for various games including Madden, Call of Duty, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and more. My friend and I were recently contacted about expanding this to Pokemon tournaments. If interested, it'll be in Morristown, New Jersey on May 7, starting at about 11 am. Even if you aren't competitive but just a fan of Pokemon, it should be worth your while to show up. After all, they'll be plenty of people around to battle / trade with casually. Or you could enter any of the other tournaments they'll be offering that day. If interested, here are the Pokemon rules for these tournaments:

KOTC now offers Pokemon tournaments. Pokemon tournaments will be Round Robin, with a number of rounds determined by the number of players. After the Round Robin, the top players will enter a single elimination tournament to determine the winner. We will offer two types of tournaments, free “Casual” tournaments with no prizes and pay-to-enter “Competitive” tournaments with cash prizes determined by the number of players who enter.

$20 to enter – Up to $500 Grand Prize

In order to play KOTC tournaments, you must own a Nintendo DS with working wireless connection and your own copy of Pokemon Black or White. Default KOTC tournaments use Level 100 Single battles with the following restrictions to teams & in-battle rules:

Your team must not contain any of the following Pokemon:
Mewtwo
Lugia
Ho-oh
Kyogre
Groudon
Rayquaza
Deoxys
Dialga
Palkia
Giratina
Manaphy
Darkrai
Arceus
Shaymin-Sky
Zekrom
Reshiram
Keldeo
Meloetta
Genesect

Sleep Clause – You cannot select a move that causes sleep on an enemy Pokemon if one or more of their party is already asleep by one of your effects (Note: If the opponent is asleep by his own effect, such as Rest, this does not count towards Sleep Clause).

Species Clause – You cannot use more than 1 of the same species of Pokemon in your team.

Evasion Clause – You cannot use moves that raise evasion, such as Double Team or Minimize.

OHKO Clause – You cannot use moves that have a chance to one-hit KO the enemy Pokemon, such as Fissure.

Hax Items Clause – You cannot use the following items: Quick Claw, Focus Band, Razor Claw, Scope Lens, Razor Fang, King’s Rock, Brightpower, and Lax Insense.

Self KO Clause – If a tie occurs, the controller of the effect that caused the tie loses. This is the case with Explosion, Self Destruct, Perish Song, Destiny Bond, Sandstorm, Life Orb, etc.

Static Teams - As you enter the tournament, you must register a 6-Pokemon team and a 3-Pokemon substitute team. In the middle of rounds, you may swap substitutes with Pokemon in your main team at your discretion. However, you may not switch Pokemon with Pokemon that are not registered.

45 Minute Timed - Each round will last 45 minutes to ensure the tournament runs smoothly. If at the end of the round some games are not completed, stop play and seek a tournament official. Then, overtime regulations will apply. Each player will receive and additional 3 turns. At the end of these 3 turns, the player with the most Pokemon remaining is declared the winner. If they are tied, the player with the Active Pokemon with the highest HP is declared the winner. If this is tied, the match continues until the first change of either of those conditions.

Please note that all teams in KOTC tournaments must be able to have been obtained through normal gameplay. Using moves, abilities, stats, etc. that are not possible through normal gameplay or have not been released are not allowed. For example, using unreleased Dream World abilities or items that are unobtainable in Black and White like Soul Dew is not permitted. Our stance on hacking is currently a don’t ask, don’t tell approach. As long as hacked Pokemon do not exceed what is normally possible, we will allow them.

As a courtesy, it is strongly recommended that players interested in our Competitive tournaments research and are aware of mechanics like IVs, EVs and breeding if they do not already know them. These mechanics are vital to competitive success.

Infractions policy:

If at any time you have a question during a match about tournament rules or want to report your opponent for breaking a rule, you may call a tournament official during your match. The tournament official will make a judgment based on our infractions policy. Note that a tournament official's judgment is final. If you believe the tournament official made an incorrect judgment, you may after your match report it to the head tournament official.

Game Rules Policy - Sometimes, either accidentally or purposefully, a player may break a tournament rule highlighted above. This includes but is not limited to the Gameplay Clauses listed above, or even something like arriving at your match for a round more than 10 minutes late. Breaking any of these Game Rules will result in a match loss. In some cases, the player may have to change their active team to adhere to the Game Rules again (in such cases as Species Clause, Evasion Clause, OHKO Clause, or Hax Items Clause).

Cheating Policy - Cheating is strictly forbidden and enforced in KOTC tournaments. This category includes but is not limited to using a hacked Pokemon beyond the normal limits of gameplay, watching the opponent's screen to see what move he/she picked, seeking gameplay help from others during a tournament game, using an unregistered Pokemon, or tournament fraud. Breaking the cheating policy will result in disqualification, no matter what the offense.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct Policy - Participants of KOTC tournaments are expected to display a certain amount of sportsmanship. This category includes but is not limited to using excessive foul language, verbal abuse to other gamers, or offenses like trying to stall for time (not in gameplay, but in move selection to try to stall for the 45 Time Limit, moves are expected to be selected in 30 seconds at the longest). Breaking the sportsmanlike conduct policy will first result in a warning. The second offense will be a match loss, and a third offense will be disqualification.

If you have any questions regarding these POKEMON rules, feel free to contact me at pokemoshpit@gmail.com.

More info about the event and such here on KOTC's website: http://kotcnation.com/kotc/2011/04/genes-oct-2nd-v-17-nj/

RSVP on our Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=180316818682411

Hope to see you there!

Nachomon: Revised Pokemon Type Chart

Thought I'd share this. Been working on and off on my own Pokemon game (actually called Nachomon) and one of the things I decided to do is a major type revision. A lot of the types are still there but renamed, but I've also added/expanded on a few. I also changed the weakness/resistance/immunity table by like, a lot. Maybe this will interest someone. Any suggestions would be neat, too.

Normal

Strong: none

Ineffective: Rock, Metal

Worthless: Incorporeal

Weak: Melee

Resist: None

Immune: Incorporeal

Notes: Begging-level Nachomon like small animals are of this type. Base stats are generally below average, but specialize in either Attack or HP normally. Attacks of this type are generally weak, but also contain buff and debuff moves. Normal is strong against no other type, but is also only weak to a single type, Melee.

Heat

Strong: Plant, Cold, Insect, Undead, Metal

Ineffective: Heat, Rock, Dragon, Space, Water

Worthless: None

Weak: Water, Cold, Wind, Earth, Rock, Space

Resist: Heat, Plant, Insect, Metal

Immune: None

Notes: Heat Nachomon specialize in Heat and Fire moves. They typically have high Magic Attack and Speed. Attacks of this type are generally Magical and offensive with a chance to inflict Burn on the enemy. Heat is disadvantaged with usually low defenses & HP and a large amount of weaknesses.

Water

Strong: Heat, Acid, Earth, Rock

Ineffective: Water, Dragon

Worthless: Plant

Weak: Cold, Thunder, Plant

Resist: Water, Metal, Heat

Immune: None

Notes: Nachomon of the Water type use Water to their advantage. They typically have good Magic Defense and HP. Their moves are typically Magical, and contain some defensive buffs for the user. Water is disadvantaged by having low Attack and Defense stat usually.

Thunder

Strong: Water, Wind, Dragon, Metal

Ineffective: Thunder, Plant, Light, Technology

Worthless: Earth

Weak: Earth, Technology

Resist: Thunder, Wind, Metal

Immune: None

Notes: Thunder Nachomon use Electricity, Lightning, and Thunder to overwhelm enemies. They typically have a very good Speed & Magic Defense stat. Their moves have chances to inflict Paralysis on the enemy. Thunder is disadvantaged by having low Defense.

Plant

Strong: Water, Earth, Technology

Ineffective: Heat, Acid, Dragon, Metal, Space

Worthless: None

Weak: Heat, Cold, Acid, Insect, Space

Resist: Thunder, Earth, Rock, Technology

Immune: Water, Light

Notes: Plant Nachomon have the power of Nature on their side. They typically have good defenses and are aided by two immunities. Attacks of this type inflict several different status effects & debuffs to opponents, while using many support moves to help themselves and the team. Plant is disadvantaged by being a poor offensive type & typically low attack stats.

Cold

Strong: Heat, Water, Plant, Insect, Rock

Ineffective: Cold, Dragon, Metal, Space

Worthless: None

Weak: Heat, Melee, Metal

Resist: Cold, Insect

Immune: None

Notes: Cold is the opposite of Heat, focusing on freezing enemies using Cold & Ice. Nachomon of this type usually have good Magic Attack & Magic Defense. Moves of this type have a chance to freeze enemies. Cold is disadvantaged by usually low Attack & Defense stats.

Melee

Strong: Normal, Cold, Rock, Metal, Dark

Ineffective: Melee, Acid, Arcane, Insect, Undead, Light

Worthless: Incorporeal

Weak: Wind, Arcane, Undead, Light, Technology

Resist: Melee, Acid, Insect, Rock, Dark

Immune: None

Notes: Melee Nachomon use their Fighting abilities to aid them in combat, whether they are Warriors or Martial artists. Melee Nachomon usually have good Attack and Defense. Moves of this type are usually quite powerful and physical. Melee is disadvantaged by low Magic stats usually.

Acid

Strong: Plant, Insect, Metal

Ineffective: Melee, Arcane, Undead

Worthless: Acid, Technology

Weak: Water, Earth, Arcane, Technology

Resist: Plant, Melee, Insect, Undead, Metal

Immune: Acid

Notes: Acid uses a variety of Acids & Poisons to overwhelm opponents. They typically have above average defenses and attack. Acid moves usually focus on destroying opponents in other ways, like Poison. Acid is disadvantaged by a large amount of types that Resist it & two types that are immune (including itself). One note is that Acid Pokemon have a special ability that they are immune to be Poisoned.

Earth

Strong: Heat, Thunder, Acid, Rock, Metal

Ineffective: Plant, Insect

Worthless: Wind, Space

Weak: Water, Plant, Wind

Resist: Rock, Metal, Technology

Immune: Thunder

Notes: Earth Nachomon use the power of the Earth as their offensive tool. Most have very good Attack and good HP. They focus usually on damaging moves and moves with secondary debuff effects. Earth is disadvantaged by having two types immune to it and typically having low speed.

Wind

Strong: Heat, Melee, Earth, Insect

Ineffective: Thunder, Rock, Metal, Space

Worthless: None

Weak: Thunder, Rock, Space

Resist: Melee, Insect

Immune: Earth

Notes: Wind Nachomon use the power of Wind and Flying abilities to evade attacks and deal damage. Wind Nachomon have outstanding Speed. Several Wind moves are based on evading the attacks of opponents. Wind is disadvantaged by having below average stats aside from Speed.

Arcane

Strong: Melee, Acid, Space, Technology

Ineffective: Arcane, Metal

Worthless: Dark

Weak: Insect, Dark, Incorporeal

Resist: Melee, Acid, Arcane, Space

Immune: None

Notes: Arcane Pokemon use magic and mind abilities to overwhelm opponents. They typically have outstanding Magic Attack & good Magic Defense. Arcane attacks usually are quite offensive, but also have several support moves weaved in. Arcane is disadvantaged by having very low physical stats & HP.

Insect

Strong: Plant, Arcane, Dragon, Dark

Ineffective: Heat, Cold, Acid, Wind, Rock, Metal, Incorporeal

Worthless: None

Weak: Heat, Cold, Acid, Wind, Rock

Resist: Melee, Earth, Technology

Immune: None

Notes: Insect Nachomon are some of the first Nachomon a new Trainer finds on his journey. They evolve early on, but typically have below average stats. Many types resist & are strong against insect. Still, Insect has some key strengths notable against Arcane & Dragon, which are hard to hit with other types. Insect moves are generally physically offensive and rely with debuff moves & secondary effects.

Rock

Strong: Heat, Wind, Insect

Ineffective: Melee, Earth, Metal

Worthless: Metal

Weak: Water, Cold, Melee, Metal

Resist: Normal, Heat, Wind, Insect, Technology

Immune: None

Notes: Rock Nachomon are Rock-hard! They typically have outstanding Defense and having several useful resistances. Rock moves focus on mostly buffs and moves that indirectly damage the foe & help themselves. They are disadvantaged usually by having low Special and Speed stats and having some inconvenient weaknesses.

Undead

Strong: Melee, Dark, Technology

Ineffective: Acid, Light, Rock, Metal

Worthless: Incorporeal

Weak: Heat, Arcane, Light

Resist: Melee, Acid, Dark, Technology

Immune: None

Notes: Undead Nachomon are filled of zombies or ghosts of deceased Nachomon, not quite ready to depart into the afterlife. They are usually very hard to kill, with good HP and defenses with solid attack. Undead Nachomon have a large variety of debuff, status, and support moves to outlast its enemies. Undead Nachomon typically have very low speed.

Dragon

Strong: Dragon

Ineffective: Metal

Worthless: None

Weak: Thunder, Insect, Dragon

Resist: Heat, Water, Plant, Cold

Immune: None

Notes: Dragon Nachomon are the rarest & among the most powerful Nachomon in existence. They are quite useful due to their lack of common Weaknesses and useful resistances & typically above average stats. Apart from themselves, only Thunder and Insect are effective against Dragons. As an attacking stat, Dragon moves are average. They are helped by having only one type that resists it, but they are only good against other Dragons.

Dark

Strong: Arcane, Light, Space

Ineffective: Melee, Undead

Worthless: None

Weak: Melee, Insect, Undead, Light

Resist: Space, Incorporeal

Immune: Arcane

Notes: Dark Nachomon use underhanded tactics to get the edge. They usually have outstanding Attack with good Magic attack. Dark moves are typically physical with several useful secondary effects. They are disadvantaged by having less than average HP and defenses.

Metal

Strong: Cold, Rock, Light

Ineffective: Heat, Water, Thunder, Acid, Earth, Metal

Worthless: None

Weak: Heat, Thunder, Melee, Acid, Earth

Resist: Normal, Plant, Cold, Wind, Arcane, Insect, Rock, Undead, Dragon, Metal, Light

Immune: None

Notes: Metal is one of the best defensive types for Nachomon known. They usually have good defensive stats and HP which is aided by their huge list of resistances. Metal moves contain a few buffs & physical attacking moves mostly. They are disadvantaged by being a poor offensive type due to a large amoung of Nachomon resistant to it & having some annoying weaknesses.

Light

Strong: Melee, Undead, Dark, Incorporeal

Ineffective: Metal, Space, Technology

Worthless: Plant

Weak: Dark, Metal, Space, Technology

Resist: Thunder, Melee, Undead

Immune: None

Notes: Light are a type of righteous Nachomon sticking to law, order, and justice. Nachomon of this type typically have outstanding HP and good Magic defense. Light moves contain many support and buff moves. They are disadvantaged by low attacking stats usually.

Space

Strong: Heat, Plant, Wind, Light

Ineffective: Dark, Arcane, Technology

Worthless: None

Weak: Dark, Arcane, Technology

Resist: Heat, Plant, Cold, Wind, Light

Immune: Earth

Notes: Space Nachomon are not of this world! They use the power of Space and Time to their advantage. They typically have outstanding Magic defense & good attack. Space moves contain a few buff & debuff moves but also some very powerful attacks. They are disadvantaged by having low HP & defense usually.

Incorporeal

Strong: Arcane, Incorporeal, Technology

Ineffective: Dark

Worthless: Normal

Weak: Light, Incorporeal

Resist: Insect, Technology

Immune: Normal, Melee, Undead

Notes: Incorporeal Nachomon are Nachomon who lack a physical shape or body, whether it is due to being a Ghost or even Virtual projection. Incorporeal Nachomon have no usual stats, and their stats are mostly based on their other type (there is no pure Incorporeal Nachomon). Incorporeal Nachomon have the advantage of having the most immunities in the game, 3. Incorporeal moves have a variety of buff, debuff, and support moves.

Technology

Strong: Thunder, Melee, Acid, Light, Space

Ineffective: Plant, Earth, Insect, Rock, Undead

Worthless: None

Weak: Plant, Arcane, Incorporeal

Resist: Thunder, Plant, Light, Space

Immune: Acid

Notes: Technology Nachomon are Nachomon that are artificial, man-made. They typically have above average stats aside from Magic stats. Technology moves vary greatly between powerhouse attacks & a variety of support moves. Technology Nachomon have the added bonus of being completely immune to all forms of status.