References to other frameworks or pieces of work

[FanF]

this project can be related to quite a few pieces of work, at least that we can find in the public domain, so this thread is about linking up with them. The idea is to get this project better understood, and maybe support it in being more legitimately considered/supported!

[FanF]

In Episode 174, Lords of Limited's Ben Saks explains us how his "brain child" of Synergy Theory works. It is just great to hear this breakdown of his technique to evaluate the synergy potential of a card is supported by the results of this project. The Synergy Theory framework offers 4 lenses through which a Limited player would grade a card of a set. The idea is to find dimensions that can't be identified by the Quadrant Theory (as explained in LR Episode 184 by Brian Wong). Ben's explanation and use of the framework, at least in the podcast, is based on a qualitative review, as he and Ethan are enumerating archetypes and the cards that relate to them. This project would use a quantitative approach to doing the same thing - and with it, the ability to evaluate with a different degree of granularity, and even enable comparisons.

Let's have a look at the 4 aspects of the framework:

1. Mechanics: this is where you look into what micro-synergies a card enables, mostly around the  set-specific micro-synergies or keywords. On the quantitative aspect, you could look at overall how much improvement is driven to and from a card. You'll get a value that reflect both the breadth and depth of the micro-synergies that a card gets and provides. You could even separate the "to" (for the enabling side) and the "from" (for the payoff side). This value would reflect the synergistic potential of the card to be achieved if you manage to draft around it.
2. On-Color Cards: same exercise as above, but limited to cards of the same color. You'll get a value that will enable you to compare how well cards enable or benefit from other cards of the same color. This will tell you e.g. that you may be able to dive further onto that color during the draft or if you need to start thinking at other colors.
3. Off-Color Cards:  same exercise as above, but limited to cards of other colors. You'll get a value that will enable you to compare how well cards enable or benefit from other cards of each other color. You'll get there the answer to the question of "which color has the most potential with this card" of the previous aspect. More generally, even for cards which are synergistic within their own color, the value will point you to which colors work best.
4. Strategy Compatibility: a bit of an overlap with the first point above, in that you get an aggregated value reflecting the improvements from all the possible pairings. The overall strategy compatibility with the speed of the set is more reflected in the base grading of the card, i.e. a 2/2 for 2 CMC is valued higher in a faster set than a slower one - 2 vs. 1.5 for example.

Hopefully we can make use of the results of this project to support the use of the Synergy Theory framework!

[FanF]

As stated by Ben Werne and Ethan Saks' Lords of Limited podcast "50 ZNR Takes in 50 Minutes" - as soon as take #2!! - ZNR is about macro-synergies rather than micro-synergies! We've indeed seen sets with more combos before, and many of the more interesting ones include cards of higher rarity, as listed here. The exercise would have certainly uncovered beautiful gems in IKO. But let's see what we can do with KHM!