Sealed Deck: Now An Official Format

EDIT: Sealed Play is apparently the official name. I don't like it, but I guess I'll live with it.

Sealed Play, once a community-created idea, is now an official format, according to ArenaNet.

Sealed Deck is based of off an idea from the SoF guild, and is based off of Magic: The Gathering. (first, Dodgeball. Now, this. ArenaNet loves their community.)

(ArenaNet calls it "Sealed-Play," but "Sealed Deck" is more politically correct.)





The Rules:

It's about the same difficulty as Magic: The Gathering Sealed Deck, but it's more interesting (in M:TG, you used 55-60/99 (55-60%) cards from your pool; in GW, you use 32/64 of your pool (50%))

However, would Sealed Deck be effective as an official format, just like Heroes' Ascent? Sealed Deck works well for Magic: The Gathering...it should work well here...

I can't wait to read the rest of the rules...

(but from what I can tell, you don't get the free ability to use Ressurection Signets. Therefore, permanent ressurection spells may be too overpowered...)

bleh i hated sealed deck at friday night magic...

Note that we didn't really launched the idea, but ANet did before us with a a fixed practice round (see here:link). They didn't use a random pool, but kept the same pool for both sides.

So it's too much credit to say '[SoF] ported it to GW from MtG', as ANet had the first test.
We did however brought it to the community with the webtool.

I'm interested in the rules they'll use, as this is something we're pondering about. Clearly this isn't the full rules, as it doesn't cover some things like Res Sig, Charm Animal among others.

The winner will be the first team that's given echo and otyughs cry.

So Sealed Play is the actual name? Ick.

I wish I knew about that article beforehand...

Would love to see this implemented in the game!

Never got your favourite colours? =D

If A-Net actually published the deck that is being developed by Frog and SoF, they would make a killing in marketing that to us Guild Wars/MtG addicts. I would personally love to have a deck for times I'm away from my computer to help visualize certain skill combos for my various characters.

Agreed, having actual collectible skills cards would be rather fun - make builds on the move etc. Table top Guild Wars anyone?

could the Sealed Deck ever be implemented into regular Guild Wars play? Like how would you know the other team or players were picking skills from the sealed deck? Maybe they could have a new arena where your skills are randomly chosen and put onto your skill bar (kinda like how they dodgeball game gave you specific skills before the match) and you would have to play with what you are given. This might be fun.

I think it would be awesome to have sealed-deck play as the new torny style in Chapter 3. Hell, I'd probably even by the next chapter just for that. Sealed-deck would be a way to cull the cookie-cutter losers out from the community and give the inventive, creative, hot players a chance to finally get out of the sewer that has become Hero's Arena.

This is the most putridly awful idea I've heard for GW. Ever.

GW should not become Magic The Fantasy Hockey Card Game 3D.

If this is the slightest teensiest little bit indicative of where ANet is intending to take GW, I'm out.

GW's problem has always been that personal skill is insignificant compared to team build. A team of trained monkeys using the FOTM unbalanced build will always beat a team of top PvP'ers using random classes & skills - because it's all about build, while personal skill matters hardly at all.
The way to fix this would be to increase the importance of personal skill, ie going the Counterstrike: Fantasy route, but what sealed deck does is to diminish personal skill even more by increasing the importance of luck, in the hope that this will allow the random team of top PvP'ers to LUCK OUT and win over the trained FOTM monkeys.

I can't sufficiently express my disgust or how bad I consider this idea to be.

The real killing would come every time you had to buy a new set because of a skills balance/fix/update. I'm just not sure who would do the dieing.

Seems like there are a lot of unanswered questions about the event, like what kind of characters will be used, your own or new PvP? What items can be used? Is it one set of 64 random skills among everyone or is it multiple different sets of 64 random skills? Are res sigs factored in? etc, etc, etc. Looks like a lot of it may be based on blind luck.

Just to nitpick, but this isn't entirely correct. M:tG sealed deck has a minimum deck size of 40 cards (though no max), but if you're playing competitively, you'll want to use the smallest amount of cards possible.

I can't say I agree with you because if personal skill as you put it is so important, then having randomised builds will therefore place greater emphasis on personal skill and not the build. As there will be no FOTM and you have to best utilise limited skillsets personal skill will play vital role. Besides its also a team game; good players on a team will never be as good as a team with good players. Team play is important.

ROFL!! Ooooooh I can't wait to hear the little 12 year olds spam and cry when they get a deck full of BM skills without Charm Animal. Something tells me the Whaaaaambulance will be very busy when this starts up.

I don't think it is totally randomised, as in there is a method to the randomisation so that certain skills that require combinations or the presence of another skill on the bar are placed with those skills present.

After Mirridon in Mtg the game became so imbalanced and ruled by 1-2 decks I stopped playing T2 tournaments.

I only do sealed deck and draft. T2 is much like GW where you can look on the net for the deck to use and how to run it. Sealed and draft is pure player skill.

I AM LOVING THIS ALREADY. Now just get draft going and we might have something.

It's indicative that the design team are looking at ways to diversify how Guild Wars is played. Think of it like a layered pyramid. At the very tip you have the GWFC. Sealed Play should help fill in more pyramid layers and involve more players, as will any other variant gameplay types developed over time.

I say, keep an open mind. If it's not for you, you can safely ignore it and wait to see what else becomes available as the Guild Wars franchise is developed and diversified. No one is going to force you to participate, and obviously not every gameplay variant is going to appeal to any specific individual. It just might appeal to a large cross section of players, though, and that can only help the game in the long term.

You do realize that, if brought into the game proper, it would be an entirely optional play mode, right? No one's going to mug your favorite character and take away his/her skills.


But that would never happen. The "random selection" teams would be competing against other, not against ordinary GvG teams.

I think you're looking at it the wrong way. It's not an "either/or" -- build choice vs. skill. Both matter. If your premise that personal skill was insignificant held water, it would mean that if teams on the ladder fought teams on the bottom of the ladder with the same builds, the results would be close to 50/50. I think that's a hard premise to support given the facts of the ladder.