Learning the Language: The Importance of Syntax

For many, upon getting serious about competitive play in a game, the first step is to find a concept you resonate with, whether that be flavor of the deck or play style. The focus should then be on what works, learning the stock sequencing, what the meta looks like, etc. While I am in no way suggesting this is unimportant, many players in the pursuit of what works tend to forget why it works. I believe it’s very important to spend time exploring the syntax of the game as well.

Defining Syntax

Syntax in its traditional definition is the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language. When we explore syntax in TCG’s we can break it down into two concepts. Surface level and Abstract.

Surface Level Syntax

My recommended first step is to thoroughly work through the rules of the game. In Magic the gathering and Flesh and Blood, this means understanding the stack, passing of priority and layers. For digital Pokémon this means the layers of priority and at least the fundamentals of how damage calculation works. Once the rules of the game are thoroughly understood, Their bearing on the play area should start to feel similar to laws of physics in relation to the world. When all the little pieces make sense. The weak points are easier to find and creative solutions to otherwise difficult game states are more abundant.

Abstract Syntax
The strategy games focused on ultimately comes down to games of statistics within complex syntactic systems. I’ve always preferred to focus first on what the cards mean and on application second. We must learn our words before creating sentences. It is still important to learn some stock phrases and lines, so we need our “15 phrases to get by” but these are tools to get us by prior to understanding the language fluently.

There is no shame in learning just enough of the language to experience the space when your passions lie elsewhere. Due to a limited amount of time on this earth, we can’t learn every system, so for some, the best option is to take a meta deck or one they enjoy, learn the stock lines, and stop there. That is sufficient to exist in the space and enjoy the company. But for those who love the game, learning the syntax will benefit more in the long run than learning the sentences only. Unexpected circumstances can always take us off guard but if we are well grounded in the syntax, we can understand the question the game state is asking and fluently discern whether or not an answer is possible.

Examples of Syntax
I’ve often referred to games like Magic and Flesh and Blood as games of perfect syntax. What I mean by that is the rules of the game are detailed and consistent enough to provide a single, correct outcome for every situation and that outcome makes sense.

In Magic the Gathering, when a creature card enters the battlefield (the zone most play occurs in), the game state recognizes it as a creature. While on the battlefield, the game tracks effects applied to that creature. When the creature leaves the battlefield, the game state no longer correlates the card to the creature as it existed when it was on the battlefield.

If that card returns to the battlefield, the game state will look at the attributes for the card again, identify it as a creature just like it did the first time, and while those attributes will be identical, it will not be the same creature, despite being the same card. This is one interaction where a lot of players get tripped up at first, thinking it should still be the same creature it was, and effects trying to reference the original creature should be able to reference it now.

Magic the Gathering was designed with the idea that “Sacred Cat” is a card that summons a cat to your side of the field. If that cat somehow leaves the field, and you’re able to get the card back into your hand, using that effect again doesn’t necessarily bring the same cat back into battle. Just a very similar one.

To me, this example shows not only that the slightly non-intuitive answer makes a lot of sense when we find out why it is the way it is, but it offers a kind of beauty. This is one of the rules that really helped me start to see the battlefield in magic as a tangible place that our cards are trying to affect. The card embodies the creature, but the syntax of the game is detailed enough that the card and the creature can exist independently of each other.

Result of Understanding Syntax

Mistakes are rare in games of this quality. The number of complicated interactions are large, and many of the results will not be intuitive until the underlying syntax is understood thoroughly. Upon learning that an interaction doesn’t work the way they’d expect it to at first glance, I’ve seen many players proclaim it shouldn’t work the way it does, rather than look for the missing pieces.

The game is never flawed, but our understanding of it can be. One of my favorite exercises to improve my understanding of the games, is to seek out the interactions that I don’t understand and do my best to figure out what I’m missing. The more examples we’ve explored, the more easily future questions that overlap partially with multiple previously explained interactions can be dealt with.

When the majority of our practice goes into learning the language i.e. becoming fluent with the syntax the words/cards, the fringe applications and interactions are especially important. As we explore these possibilities, we broaden our understanding of the words and structure of the language/game. Every match is a story. The best ones are unpredictable, but a deep understanding of the words involved will ultimately lead to more mental flexibility when less intuitive paths exist.