Draft is Coming Back: an Interview with the Game Designer

Marvel Snap Draft returns September 28th! This time around, it will use the scoring system from Sanctum Showdown. Today, we have an interview with the game designer, Sam Stoddard. Questions by ItsGuestGaming.

Q&A

Draft just ended and now it is already coming back. What did you see in that first run that made you want to bring it back this fast?

I had a lot of confidence that Draft would be a fun experience before it launched, but this was a feature that had a lot of community expectations, and it was very hard to know just how well we would be living up to those expectations. That being said, the reception was better than I could’ve possibly hoped for, and that was a clear signal that we had nailed the fundamentals of the mode that we’d spent the better part of three years going through various iterations on. Now that the core of the design has been proven out, there are a lot of questions related to the mode we still want to answer, and that means trying new things out to get to the best version of the mode possible.

Why was Sanctum scoring the next thing you wanted to plug into Draft?

Interestingly, Sanctum scoring was actually part of my first pitch when I took over the Draft initiative, and for a long time, it was the primary scoring system we were using. In terms of how a traditional CCG draft works, Sanctum has a lot of advantages in that it allows for different types of decks that regular scoring generally does not support – things like Aggro, Control, and Midrange strategies that shift what their curve is, and how they plan to win.

Beyond that, one of our biggest investigations in Draft is what it feels like to play with different scoring systems, rules sets, Augments, etc. As we try to figure out exactly how to implement this on a recurring seasonal basis, we want to know which parts are “core” to the experience, and which parts are open for variation between runs. This run, combined with a few iterations in the future, will give us a better idea of what level of variation we should be aiming for when designing the best player experience.

Before a single card is played, how does Sanctum scoring change what you are looking for in a draft?

The biggest changes are how it makes you re-think how you want the curve in your deck to be, how much you want to value consistency versus power, and what strategies are “good” in the mode. Some of the setups and payoffs in regular Snap can fall flat if the Sanctum ends up at the wrong location. The ability to bounce and move cards to reposition them becomes much more important for general gameplay than just as a combo piece.

How does the Sanctum (worth more points) moving to a different location each turn change the way you build a deck versus the first run of Draft?

You should be putting a lot more focus on making sure you have cards to play in the early game to establish some presence across the board, and thinking about what cards would be good to contest the Sanctum, rather than just building up your Power each turn.

The amount of points on offer each turn is different from Sanctum Showdown, with both the Sanctum and the other locations gaining value as games progress. How did the mechanics surrounding Draft influence this change?

I’m going to refer to my game design colleague, Michael Majors, for this particular answer.

“We are trying a different approach to Sanctum scoring that we think can better accommodate a spread of different archetypes and create a sense of back-and-forth that we believe will give Sanctum Draft a unique identity.”

Players had theories about how the different archetypes performed. What did the numbers actually say?

Boost, Ongoing, and Destroy were the most successful decks, while Swarm, Control, and Move had lower overall win rates. One of the exciting things about Sanctum is that we already know that the change in scoring will dramatically shake up what people know as “good” and “bad”. So while we are making some changes in card rarity and some starter changes, we are overall leaving things pretty similar and waiting to see how differently it plays out – and if people enjoy the different style of Draft/playing.

How can you tell when an archetype really needs a tune-up versus when it just has a learning curve?

As data comes in, we can see how archetypes play out over time, and get a better sense for how experienced the players are with them.

What is changing by September 28th, and what did you decide to leave alone for now?

Beyond adding some Augments, changing the scoring, and some rarity shifts, very little else is changing for now. That gives us the best ability to see how those changes worked in a vacuum, both for balance and player enjoyment.

Why is the answer not simply nerfing everything that popped off in the first run of Draft?

Frankly, we have a pretty good sense that the change in scoring system will shift what is good. There is a reason Sanctum has a very different meta than the ladder, and it would be premature to make changes to the card list when dealing with very different formats.

Does Sanctum scoring make certain cards or archetypes stronger?

Control and Move are the biggest beneficiaries since they can put a lot of energy into trying to steal the Sanctum from their opponents. Swarm’s ability to fill up lanes and take the early game also should make parts of it stronger. Meanwhile, the setup and payoff of decks like Boost and Destroy become harder to manage when you can often get the game won from out beneath you as you are setting up your big turn.

Should new, returning, and current players draft differently this time?

For sure – I think everyone should be drafting around interactions more heavily, and think a lot more about what each turn will look like before it happens.

Draft decks are temporary, but players’ cards are not. Why did getting Variants into the mode matter?

A lot of Marvel Snap’s progression is focused around upgrading and unlocking new Variants for your cards to give people some opportunity for self-expression. We had a goal of getting that into version one, but it fell off our timeline as we rushed to get [Draft] into the players’ hands as soon as possible. I’m hoping that adding these into the new version will give people more reason to go through their collections and think about card customization on cards they have not played in Ranked in a while, or maybe ever at all – and maybe even get them to spend their Bits on a Variant for a card like Deathlok or Mister Sinister because of how much they enjoy it in Draft.

Why can I use my favorite Variant, but not my chosen Border, Finish, or Flare?

We are currently using Borders to denote rarity, and felt it was important that we leave that information as clear as possible. We are currently holding back on Finishes and Flares, as we want to keep them open to possibly use them to denote different upgrades or power-ups in Draft. Depending on how that investigation and feedback goes, we may open them up to player customization in the future.

Why go with Sanctum scoring now instead of another ruleset, like Conquest scoring?

The core of what I think works with Draft is [that] it lives up to Snap’s goal of quick, bite-sized games that pack as much excitement into their six turns as most CCGs do in 20. Conquest is a fun experience for competitive players, but the time commitment to each Round conflicts with keeping individual Draft runs down to the 20–30 minute range.

What feedback did players give that you agreed with, but were not ready to act on yet?

Players gave really good feedback on which Augments they enjoyed, and which they did not, as well as the style of decision nodes that they found the most interesting. The biggest changes – which will be addressed in a future version – is rethinking how some of the Augments are offered to give people more choices and not cause them to hit the Skip button as much, as well as continuing to generate more rare starters and events to keep things interesting for people who have drafted dozens of times or more.

Do you see Draft coming back with different scoring systems or rules every time?

This is very much an open question – we will need to see how players react to Sanctum versus regular scoring, and that will dictate a lot about what we think about the mode going in the future. I could see a world where we keep it as regular scoring and our changes are far more card/Augment/new modifier-type of rotation on a regular basis, or one where we spend a bit more time cycling through rulesets like High Voltage, Team Clash, etc. to offer that kind of variety, and make fewer changes to the Draft-specific systems. It will really come down to player feedback.

When this run ends, what kind of feedback is actually the most useful to your team?

The most important lessons we are looking to learn:

• How did you feel about Sanctum vs regular SNAP scoring?
• Do you like having one system vs having it change between runs?
• How did seeing variants in Draft make you feel about your vs your opponent’s deck?

Lightning Round

1. When is Draft back, and how long do we have to play it?

Draft is back September 28th through October 12th at server reset.

2. Okay, what actually changed this time?

While the most dramatic change is the move to Sanctum scoring, we’ve also added four new Augments that are designed to better take advantage of the turn-by-turn positioning that makes Sanctum unique:

Slingshot

On Reveal: give another card here +1 Power, then move it right.

Taunt

On Reveal: your opponent must play their first card at this location next turn.

Unstoppable

Can be played anywhere; can’t be destroyed or have its Power reduced.

Apex

Ongoing: if this is your only card here, double its Power.

We’ve also added a number of quality-of-life improvements, as well as some features that didn’t quite make it in time for our first launch.

• You can now play with your Variants. Your favorite Variant for each card will be your default version of the card in Draft.

3. How does Sanctum scoring work in Draft?

Same as regular Sanctum Showdown – instead of playing until Turn 6, each location will have a number of points that whoever is winning it at the end of each turn will score.

4. How many points do I need to win a game?

18.

5. How many points is the Sanctum worth each turn?

6. What does Snapping do?

Snapping adds one point to the Sanctum’s value. You can snap every turn, starting with Turn 3.

7. What changes when both players snap?

If both players snap, the Sanctum’s value goes up by two total.

8. Does a tie cost a life, advance my run, or pay out Draft XP and Bits?

Ties will no longer result in a loss – instead, both you and your opponent will be sent back to the Draft screen with the same record to queue up again. You will not receive any XP or Bits for a draw.

9. Does a run still last until you reach five wins or two losses?

Yes.

10. Will Tickets, Respawn Tokens, XP, Bits, the reward track, or the Shop be different this time?

All of the mechanics are the same, but there are new items on the reward track.

11. How do favorite Variants work in Draft?

The version of a card you see will be your favorite Variant in your collection – assuming you own the card and have Variants of it.

12. Why is my Border, Finish, or Flare missing?

Borders denote a card’s rarity. We are currently holding back on Finishes and Flares to possibly use them in the future to denote different upgrades or power-ups.

13. Do I need to own a card to use it in Draft?

No, but you will need to own a Variant in order to mark it as your favorite and use it in Draft.

Be sure to check out the return of Draft on September 28th! Play to win prizes like the brand-new card, The Inversion.