Rules update: The balance results below predate Construct blocking and the six-Construct Prismforge deck. Read the current Prismforge rules, deck and matched test results. These earlier full-faction rates are historical.
Selected: Attack bonuses + combat Allies. The combat-Ally package improved both Companions in screening and unused-seed confirmation, narrowed their gap, shortened average games and reduced round-cap endings. Extra base Force for Keldrax added only four screening wins and was held back. The smaller local-bonus-only package gave little holdout benefit and did not help Keldrax. This remains a provisional AI-tested draft. All characters and illustrations are retained; both Companions still start at Guard 5.
The earlier construction improvements remain: Spire costs 2, Surveyor inspects 5, Emergency Assembly costs 0. Defender choice, ready blockers, exhausting movement, Journey requirements and the 20-Renown goal are unchanged.
Eight fresh distributed seeds. Both Companions face both Companions from each other faction, with both seats, both starts and four scoring/aggressive policy pairings. Each candidate has 3,072 matched games. Baseline is the current construction draft, not the original weaker prototype.
| Package | Wins / games | Rate | Change | Mean rounds | Round-12 games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current construction draft | 1307 / 3072 | 42.5% | 0.00 pp | 6.53 | 41 |
| Local attack bonuses | 1355 / 3072 | 44.1% | 1.56 pp | 6.55 | 45 |
| Attack bonuses + combat Allies | 1420 / 3072 | 46.2% | 3.68 pp | 6.13 | 18 |
| Combat Allies + stronger Keldrax | 1424 / 3072 | 46.4% | 3.81 pp | 6.14 | 21 |
Eight separate distributed seeds, the same matchup matrix, and 3,072 games per candidate. Every action was JSON save/resume round-tripped and checked for exact card conservation. The confirmation seeds were not used to select the screening candidate.
| Package | Wins / games | Rate | Change | Mean rounds | Round-12 games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current construction draft | 1172 / 3072 | 38.2% | 0.00 pp | 6.56 | 53 |
| Local attack bonuses | 1185 / 3072 | 38.6% | 0.42 pp | 6.56 | 52 |
| Attack bonuses + combat Allies | 1284 / 3072 | 41.8% | 3.65 pp | 6.30 | 18 |
Confirmation: mean rounds 6.561 → 6.299; games reaching round 12 fell from 53/3072 to 18/3072. Skyrunners worsened from 23.4% to 18.8%; the already favorable Revelwild matchup rose from 72.7% to 77.9%. The faction is not uniformly balanced.
| Companion | Construction draft | Selected upgrade | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitra | 40.2% | 43.2% | 2.99 pp |
| Keldrax | 36.1% | 40.4% | 4.30 pp |
| Opponent | Construction draft | Selected upgrade | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hearthbound | 29.9% | 35.2% | 5.27 pp |
| Skyrunners | 23.4% | 18.8% | -4.69 pp |
| Veilborn | 34.0% | 37.1% | 3.13 pp |
| Ironmaw | 22.5% | 29.5% | 7.03 pp |
| Hourglass Covenant | 46.5% | 52.3% | 5.86 pp |
| Revelwild | 72.7% | 77.9% | 5.27 pp |
| Prismforge | Construction draft | Selected upgrade |
|---|---|---|
| Starts first | 42.6% | 50.6% |
| Starts second | 33.7% | 33.0% |
21,504 new comparative games were run for this upgrade. Screening round-tripped saves every 25 actions and checked exact inventories at turn changes and match end. Confirmation checked both after every action. All runs checked Charge, unresolved defeats, action loops and legal Construct slots and locations. Source snapshots and hashes are retained.
The policy is held fixed across candidates and does not plan complete multi-action combinations. Seed blocks, mirrored seats and policy pairings are dependent; the game count is not an independent sample size. These are paired model comparisons, not human win-rate estimates or proof of final balance. Do not compare absolute percentages with older reports using different seeds.
Rules and interface checks cover contextual Force, enemy-turn expiry, Construct-only damage bonuses, cheaper plays, all upgrades, old-save isolation and prior faction mechanics. Browser layout remains unverified in this environment.
The current draft starts in a new save namespace. Resume the previous construction draft or resume the original prototype with their original rules.