Back to Basics: Card Advantage Theory

Card advantage. Knowing how basic card advantage works in a card game allows a player to make more informed choices and thus, effective card trades. I understand that not everyone will be interested to read through a mass of text about card game theory, so:

tl;dr: 1 card (in hand) = 2 gauge = 1.33 life = 4000 (permanent) stats

The basis used to formulate the above theory lies in the backbone of Buddyfight – monsters. 

T-Theory in Buddyfight!? Bakana!

For those who are interested in understanding the process that went into deriving the equation, I’ll try not to bore you too much (hopefully). Well then, yo ho, here we go!

Base Stats

What are base stats?

Base stats represent the fixed total amount of power, defense and critical allocated to a monster.

Different worlds have monsters of differing base stats. Such is the singularity of Buddyfight; to complement the various themes of different worlds, varying monster strength is introduced. For example, because Magic World prides itself on having a wide array of powerful, superior spells, its monsters are taxed with inferior base stats.

How are base stats derived?

Fear not, fair maiden - I will save thee

Let’s take Thousand Rapier Dragon for example.

5000 power, 1000 defense and 2 criticals.

Each critical is worth 3000 stats. 

Thus,

5000 + 1000 + (3000 x 2)

= 5000 + 1000 + 6000
= 12 000

From this, we conclude that Thousand Rapier Dragon is worth 12 000 stats.

What are the base stats for each world?

Now that we know how to total base stats, we can work out the base stats for each world and size.

Monster Base Stats Table
World	Size 0	Size 1	Size 2	Size 3
Dragon	-	12 000	18 000	22 000
Danger	8000	14 000	19 000	24 000
Magic	-	11 000	16 000	20 000
Katana	-	11 000	16 000	21 000
Ancient	-	11 000	17 000	INCONCLUSIVE
Dungeon	9000	12 000	17 000	INCONCLUSIVE
Legend	INCONCLUSIVE	13 000	17 000	INCONCLUSIVE
Darkness Dragon	-	12 000	17 000	22 000

The table above aims to better facilitate the comparison of monster quality between worlds.

In addition, it takes us to the next step: estimating the value of abilities.

Abilities

Shit wrong game

Abilities are pretty similar to give-and-take. A monster gives up a portion of its base stats in exchange for a positive ability. Conversely, a monster bears the burden of a negative ability for higher base stats.

Positive Abilities: To be added after totaling base stats 
Penetrate – 4000 stats

Double Attack – 4000 stats
Spectral Strike (1 damage) - 3000 stats
Spectral Strike (2 damage) - 6000 stats

Move – 2000 stats

Negative Abilities: To be subtracted after totaling base stats

Lifelink 1 – 3000 stats

1 Gauge – 2000 stats

‘Can only be called to left’ Restriction – 5000 stats

‘Can only be called to right’ Restriction – 5000 stats

‘Cannot be called to center’ Restriction – 2000 stats

Meatshield v1.0

Take Blade Wing Dragon, for example. Blade Wing Dragon has 2 criticals and 2000 power and defense. That’s only 10 000 worth of stats. If you look at the Monster Base Stats Table, a standard Dragon World size 1 should have 12 000 stats. However, Blade Wing Dragon has the move ability. That’s a positive ability. Thus, you add the value of move (2000 stats) to the base stats of Blade Wing Phoenix (10 000 stats). Voilà. 12 000 stats. 

Anomalies 

'OP pls nerf'

The base stats system is mostly accurate, but there are cases where a monster has higher or lower base stats than it should have. 

Bronze Shield Dragon is a Dragon World size 1. By right, it should have 12 000 stats. However, it only has 11 000 (2000 + 6000 + 3000). This is because Bronze Shield has too much stats on defense for a standard size 1, a tax of 1000 base stats is imposed to keep it balanced. 

Nanomachine Ninja, Tsukkikage is imbalanced - in a good way. Its ability is only decent at best, however, Tsukkikage has 12 000 stats (5000 + 1000 + 6000), which is 1000 stats more than the average Katana World size 1. That’s not factoring in its positive ability, ‘Nanomachine Body Replacement’!

Well, you get the point. There are more monsters with anomalies that I won’t be listing here. 

Summing It Up

Now that we have all the pieces, it's time to finish the puzzle.

Double Attack, Penetrate (4000 stats) - Card

Critical, Lifelink (3000 stats) - Life

Gauge (2000 stats) - Gauge

Hence, using base stats as a common factor:

1 card = 2 gauge = 1.33 life = 4000 stats

...And that's a wrap. I hope that through this article, you've gained a better grasp of the basic Buddyfight advantage system and how to properly assess monster quality. All that's left is to make full use of it - plan smart, play smart. 

Always look 30 seconds ahead.

The card images used on this site have been obtained and reposted from the Future Card Buddyfight Official Portal Site (http://fc-buddyfight.com/), in accordance to the guidelines stated there. Re-use of these images(re-post, distribution) is strictly prohibited. (C)bushiroad All Rights Reserved.