Speed System
From CMC Wiki
The speed system was implemented 29th May, 2004 to solve the problems of clickwars.
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Why the Speed System
Prior to the speed system's creation, spells and abilities triggered immediatly after a user selected it. This yielded several situations where it would be possible to counter your opponent's ability if and only if you could click through the casting sequence faster then your opponent (hence the name clickwar). Take the following example:
| Player A plays Mind Burrower and casts an undizzier upon it. It is the intention of Player A to use the Mind Burrower to control Player B's dizzy Shadehawk (Prime). Player B sees the played Mind Burrower and casts his own undizzier with the intent of destroying the mind burrower via shadehawk's ability. At this point, the player who can click and target first will control Shadehawk and take a significant advantage. |
As this favored players with quick reflexes, fast connections and computers, and a bit of luck, it was not exactly fair. Clickwars are now much less frequent, but still exist in a few scenarios.
How the Speed System Works
Every activated ability or spell is associated with a speed indicated by a letter at the bottom of the card. S-speed abilities (denoted by 
) occur instantly (as in the old system). These spells and abilities are usually ones which have little effect on the game or would clutter up the ability resolve due to repeated use (for example, Crossover has no great game-changing effect and players often switch between the various modes. It would be a great waste of time if both players had to confirm each change).
The remaining speeds A through E (denoted by 
) will cause an ability resolve stack to be created. Both players must press Ability Resolve before the items on the stack are cast. Any additional spells or abilites (excluding S-speed which will still be cast immediately) will be added onto the stack and players must select ability resolve again (i.e. you can't wait for your opponent to hit resolve, add a spell then quickly hit resolve yourself). Recorded on the resolve button are the number of spells or abilities currently in the stack and a timer. If no changes are made and the players do not click resolve within 65 seconds, the resolve will occur automatically.
Order of Resolution
The spells and abilities on the stack are cast in order of A-speed first, then B and so on down to E-speed.
| Player A controls a Mind Burrower (which is ) and targets a monster. Player B adds Thundermancy (which is ) targeting Player A's Mind Burrower, to the stack. When the stack resolves, Thundermancy will be cast first (since B-speed comes before E) and the Mind Burrower will be destroyed before it could use its ability.
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If two abilities are of the same speed, precedence is given to the current player.
| On Player A's turn, Player B casts Thundermancy on a Gargoyle (both ). Player A uses the Gargoyle's ability. Since it is Player A's turn, the Gargoyle's ability resolves first saving him from harm. If the exchange had occurred on Player B's turn, the Gargoyle would have been destroyed before it could use its ability.
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And in the rare instance two abilities have the same speed and caster, the one cast first resolves first.
| Player A cast Equip Weapon () on a monster. Player B targets that same monster with End Disk Two (). Player A then casts Arm Breaker (also ). When the stack resolves, Equip weapon will occur first as it was casted earlier and Arm Breaker will only affect End Disk Two.
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Speed Modifiers
Certain spells introduced in War of the Webcomics have the ability to modify the speed of abilities. They work like this:
Any entity with S speed, when slowed, becomes A. When sped up, remains S.
Any entity with A speed, when slowed, becomes B. When sped up, remains A.
Any entity with B speed, when slowed, becomes C. When sped up, becomes A.
Any entity with C speed, when slowed, becomes D. When sped up, becomes B.
Any entity with D speed, when slowed, becomes E. When sped up, becomes C.
Any entity with E speed, when slowed, remains E. When sped up, becomes D.
Failure
Through the speed system, it is possible for spells and abilities to fail. This occurs when something causes them to either lose their targets or fail their requirements before the spell finishes resolving. For example, if the monster I was about to undizzy was destroyed by a faster spell/ability, then my undizzy spell/ability would have no target when it resolves and thus fail.
For more detail, check the Failure article.
Strategy Notes
- By casting spells on your turn, you make them faster than your opponent's spells. A Thundermancy cast on your turn can only be blocked by Infinity Shield, but one cast on your opponent's turn can also be stopped with Crack Under Pressure
- Since counterspells counter everything after them in a resolve stack, it can be advantageous to add high cost spells to a stack that your opponent started. If he wants to counter your spell he must also counter his own (provided he doesn't have a counterspell with a speed in between the two).
- Although you target spells and abilities based on the current state of the field, their effect depends on the state when they are cast. If you use The Silver Arrow on a monster which your opponent is targeting with Conviction (on his turn), the Conviction will undizzy the monster, then The Silver Arrow will dizzy it.
Categories: CMC | Cleanup
