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Trim token file down on not needed extra entries #102
Description
There are many examples of extra entries in the file
Those make the token file and the right click UI in Cockatrice more complex.
E.g. Scute Swarm has a "normal" and a "x" entry.
The x entry should be enough as it covers all cases, it also defaults to "1" as the most needed one.
That way the current "exclude" tag for the "x" entry is also not needed and the default token shortcut still works.
It's even reasonable to argue the "normal" case is the best here and the edge case for several lands entering the battlefield at once (before they have 6 lands in play) is super rare.
As Psi states, there are probably more of those.
A good starting point might be to check which cards have more than one entry and go from there.
Activity
Psithief commentedon Feb 27, 2021
First, let's review
There is a "default" for every card that produces tokens.
If a card produces multiple types tokens at once, (
Trostani's Summoner) then the "create token" shortcut would create all of the default tokens.Then there are cards produce different tokens from different abilities, or under a different circumstance. When that happens, only one of those abilities can be designated the default; all the others must be marked with the
excludeattribute. That prevents the "All Tokens" shortcut from producing a token from that entry, and so those tokens can only be created from the context menu.For example, it won't make sense for the "all tokens" shortcut to create both token creatures and emblems for many planeswalkers in the same keypress. (Search text =
createand text =emblem)"Unnecessary" entries
Some tokens have extra entries added for convenience for the same type of token. These are tokens intended to have a "sensible default" when using the "All Tokens" shortcut, but have an extra option in the context menu if the player wants to use that instead.
These are:
Discussion
With
x=0no longer a useful setting, I think we can safely removeScute Swarmfrom this list.Swarm Shambleris on shaky ground as well. The others, you'll have to convince me. It's not possible for a player to avoid the context menu when there are different abilities to create different related items on one card, so they will already be familiar with using it.Are you suggesting all of these examples should be replaced with a single
xcount entry? That seems less user-friendly to me, as it's complicating the default action no matter how unlikely the other options might be. I'm going to need to be convinced that the token UI is made "more complex" by these actions.Let's take
Maja, Bretagard Protectoras an example. Her text saysWhenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, create a 1/1 white Human Warrior creature token.Her default entry is as expected. The create token shortcut creates a single 1/1 white Human Warrior creature token.
I've also added a second entry that allows the player to create X 1/1 white Human Warrior creature tokens as a shortcut if the player has multiple lands enter the battlefield at once, as I expected that this would not be that uncommon with a green legendary creature in a game of Commander. Most players would not even notice that option is there, but for the ones that are willing to look, it's there for them to use.
This reasoning is the exact same used when a second entry was added to
Scute Swarm, so I suggest we not talk aboutScute Swarmand use Maja as the relevant example.Is the extra effort on my part more of a hindrance to a player with a card like this?