Spell Evaluation Order

The game engine checks for spell effects at many specific steps in the game pipelines. Spell evaluation order determines exactly when each spell contributes its effect.

Events and Effects

Card Text Phrases

A Text Phrase is a Game Event

Spell Target Hierarchy and Event Bubbling

Evaluation Order

Spell Evaluation Order

Initiative Order

Events and Effects

Card Text Phrases. Card texts use the following phrases to specify exactly when an effect will happen within a game turn. Each phrase corresponds to one step in a game pipeline.

• “at start of turn”
• “after start of turn”
• “before movement”
  • “on exit”
  • “on move”
  • “on enter”
• “after movement”
• “before combat”
  • “start of combat”
    • “start of each combat round”, “every round”
      • “before checking armor”
      • “is hit by”, “is hit in combat”
      • “after checking armor”
        • “is dying”
        • “when ... is killed”
        • “when ... dies”
    • “when ... hits”, “hits give”
    • “when ... damages”
    • “kills an opponent by combat damage”
  • “end of combat”
  • “after combat”
• “after all combat”

A Text Phrase is a Game Event. Internally, every card text phrase is represented as an event, which is a message that can be passed around. When the Sanctum game engine reaches one of the above steps, it broadcasts the event to all active spells in play. Spells work by responding to the events they're interested in, as written on their card texts.

Usually, many different active spells want to respond to the same event. We need a unique order in which to evaluate all active spells. This is handled by event bubbling.

Spell Target Hierarchy and Event Bubbling. Every spell target defines a “next” spell target for event handling. Whenever a spell target gets an event, it forwards the event to the “next” spell target in line. Because the “next” targets generally go “upward” toward the globe, this forwarding is called bubbling. (Mnemonic: Think of an event as a bubble in a soda, which gradually floats upward.)

• When an event is applied to a group, it bubbles down to each minion in the group.
• When an event is applied to a minion, it bubbles up to the minion's square.
• When an event is applied to a square, it bubbles up to the globe.
• When an event is applied to a player, it doesn't bubble anywhere.

Evaluation Order

Spell Evaluation Order. When the Sanctum game engine applies an event to a spell target, it follows these simple rules.

1. In casting order. All spells on this spell target are checked, from oldest to youngest.
• A minion checks all group and individual spells.
• A square checks all square, structure, and terrain spells.
• The globe checks all globe spells.
• A group doesn't check any spells. It delegates all group spell checking to each minion.
2. Bubble. The event bubbles to the “next” spell target, as described above.

Initiative Order. Many game events are applied without having any obvious spell target. For example, the “at start of turn” event checks all spells, not just some of them.

These events are handled by applying them directly to a player. Each player has its own list of all of its active spells. These are evaluated in initiative order, as follows:

1. All active spells of the neutral player, from oldest to youngest.
2. All active spells of the initiative player, from oldest to youngest.
3. All active spells of the non-initiative player, from oldest to youngest.

v2.10.00 Last updated 2005/08/05