How Solforge’s Resource System Inherently Created a Tension between Power and Consistency, and how Ice Grasp has fundamentally changed Solforge.



“This one is long-lasting… this one is quick-acting. When do I want to feel better, now or later?” – Jerry Seinfeld





Solforge’s resource system is truly unique, and from it flows the fundamental essence of the game: the tension of balancing what matters now ( Power , or board control) with what will matter later ( Consistency , leveling priorities, and meta knowledge). There are so many factors to consider every turn with regard to balancing board control against meta knowledge that it is probably impractical to represent with numbers. Instead, every line of play has to be judged on a case by case basis. Solforge players have an intuitive sense of this balancing act, and we are able to tune in to that essential tension that is at the heart of Solforge. We love that inherent tension; it’s what we enjoy about the game. It is my contention that the inclusion of Ice Grasp in the card pool, and the AT burn deck that has become popular as a result, has stripped Solforge of its essence, leaving us with a monster child that only somewhat resembles the game we knew and loved.

Unlike in MTG or Shadow Era, resources in Solforge do not represent development over time. In those games you play what you are able to play given the resources available to you, and you gain more resources incrementally over time. In Solforge,by contrast, you are able to play any 2 cards in your hand at any time, as early as turn 1, and by playing a card you “level” the card, so that the next time you draw said card you will be able to play its leveled version. The resource system has deep implications on gameplay in that the tension between “now” and “later”naturally stems from it - the tension is essential to the game.

Initially this tension was captured loosely, implicitly, by basic card design. Look Deepbranch Prowler’s 7/7 body at level 1. It’s tempting to play in PL 1, as it usually trades favorably with other on-level creatures and gives you the board. However, the 8/8 body at level 2 is already underwhelming compared to other creatures at level 2. Am I willing to take the board now, at the cost of having a weaker deck in PL2? Is it almost PL 2; is the boardstate about equal; will the game go late? Perhaps I’d rather level something else . Does my opponent have a must-answer threat; did my opponent play very aggressively to open the game? Perhaps that Prowler is the right call. Consider the different leveling progressions of Deepbranch Prowler and Technognome. How intereing! Every game is unique, every turn is unique, and every situation is freshly tested on the scale of Power and Consistency.

Eventually this tension and constant act of perpetual balancing, known only on an intimate level by Solforge grinders, became an overt and explicit aspect of the game. With Set 3, Secrets of Solis, came two new Keywords, two new mechanics, side by side – Solbind and Consistent. The two opposing wills of Power and Csistency were actually given names . Cards with the Solbind keyword tend to be above the curve in terms of raw power, but with the downside of adding extra cards to your deck; playing with a larger deck means that your odds to draw any particular card decrease, and further, that your odds to draw a card that you’ve previously leveled drop as well. Am I willing to have a more inconsistent deck for the potential to have access to more powerful cards?

The Consistent mechanic, on the other hand, appeals to the opposite end of the spectrum. Cards with Consistent are generally below the curve compared to other cards at their level, but have the upside that you are guaranteed to see them within the top 20 cards of your deck at every player level. Am I willing to give up some early power for the guarantee to draw stronger cards later?

The printing of Ice Grasp has fundamentally changed Solforge, in that it is a highly successful deck that operates on an entirely different wavelength. For the Burn player, there is no difference between Power and Consistency. Precisely by controlling the board, the Burn player accomplishes his meta-goal of burning down the opponent. Your “for now” cards accomplish your “for later” goal.

Imagine a deck with 30 copies of the exact same card – we would call this a Perfectly Consistent deck. I’m not saying that it will be strong, fun, versatile, or tournament legal. But theoretically, we would have a perfectly consistent deck. While Ice Grasp doesn’t make your deck perfectly consistent, it does edge your deck closer and closer to perfect consistency, by decreasing the variation between various burn spells in your hand.

Let’s look at the difference between Static Shock and Shatterbolt. They deal 1 and 5 damage respectively. Without any Ice Grasp running, there is a world of difference between the two cards. Shatterbolt does 400% more damage than Static Shock. With one Ice Grasp running, the results are 4 and 8 damage respectively; each bolt now only deals 100% more damage than each Shock. With two Grasp running, they deal 7 and 11 respectively, making Bolt deal 57% more damage than Shock, etc.

I’ve won games by just casting Static Shock with no follow-up spell when I had enough Ice Grasp running in the background. Without Ice Grasp you would never say, “I’ll just play this Static Shock, it’s basically the same as a Shatterbolt.” But the more Ice Grasp you have running, the less difference there is between one Tempys spell and another Tempys spell. All your burn spells transcend their egos and approach nirvana, the barriers between cards don’t matter anymore.

The AT Burn deck does something quite beautiful in this sense. Every burn spell slowly sheds its identity, strips away its personality, to become one with the massive tsunami of inevitability that is Ice Grasp.

Imagine a Weirwood Patriach for spells. Now imagine you get to cast it every turn for the rest of the game. For free. That is approximately what casting an Early Ice Grasp does for the burn player. If I had an infinitely recurring Weirwood Patriarch for my creatures all game, would I ever play Technognome over Deepbranch Prowler in PL1? There is no incentive. I’d play Technognome to make my deck more consistent in PL2, and I’d avoid playing Deepbranch Prowler for the same reason. But if I had WWP every single turn for rest of the game for free, my deck is going to be pretty damn consistent anyway, so I will always play to the board. That is what Ice Grasp does - for spells. I can whatever I need to play for the board right now, and my consistency in later turns is not diminished in the slightest.

Burn decks are able to use Ice Grasp to marginalize the difference between one spell and another. Every spell does the same thing – it deals tons of damage to the face. As such, the Burn pilot does not have to worry about balancing Power and Consistency. The deck approaches Perfect Consistency over time, so the pilot basically just has to worry about the board, or Power.

The Burn pilot has to concern himself strictly with the board, and only minimally with future turns. By having Ice Grasps running in the background, the Burn pilot is able to burn their opponent down while controlling the board, since every single Tempys spell accomplishes roughly the same goal. Of course, the Burn pilot has to give up some tempo early in the game to cast the Ice Grasps themselves, but this can be rectified with a timely Ambriel’s Edict, or by utilizing one of the above-the-curve creatures in Ambriel Archangel or Steelscale Dragon to get some 2:1s until Burn can stabilize. But once those Grasps are running, the Burn player no longer has to concern himself with Consistency, deck quality, or future turns. The burn player just has to play the board, because his deck becomes extremely Consistent and because every Tempys spell kills his opponent.

Playing with or against Burn even

feels

different. You’re no longer playing Solforge – you’re playing Burn. It can certainly be enjoyable, but it also deviates from the traditional core and essence of Solforge, the tension in balancing Power and Consistency. I am not necessarily calling for nerfs or anything. I don’t think this is an issue about Burn being too powerful as much as it’s about Burn being “very different” essentially, at its core, from traditional Solforge decks. It can be fun, rewarding, challenging, puzzling – it can be all these things – but it has cheated its way past the fundamental struggle of balancing Power and Consistency, and without that struggle it will never feel like Solforge.