Auto-tap: Just get rid of it.
This falls under the feedback heading, as calling it a bug would credit the devs with having made an honest attempt over the years to make the feature actually work correctly, which they have clearly not done.
The devs have made a clear signal that they would prefer we use the feature, by disallowing players from permanently disabling it. However, if there is one thing the current set illustrates best, it is that it is time for the devs to either FIX auto-tap by teaching the AI how to play or ELIMINATE IT ENTRIELY. Slowing the game down to paper speed is preferable to this feature because, in its current state, it only leads to sloppy play.
If a player has more than one option of how to tap to play the spell/ability they have chosen, the AI needs to look at what other spells or abilities the player might want to play next (and when) and select the option that leaves the player’s best option(s) available. When the AI is unable to make that determination (which at its present understanding of the game should be every play), it needs to halt and remind the player to look at what they are tapping. Highlighting what it's about to tap is insufficient because the purpose of having this feature is to appease player demand to speed up the game. So, now the player is forced to confirm the AI has chosen correctly, or throw care to the wind and make the often-erroneous assumption that the player and the AI are on the same page. It works great when playing a mono-color deck, but not so much once that second color is added to the math.
Let's say I have 3 swamps and 1 mountain on board. In my hand, I have a creature that costs 1B, and an instant costing R or 1R that I want to save for my opponent's turn. The assumption is that this is a no-brainer for the AI, it should ALWAYS choose to tap 2 swamps for the creature, saving the mountain for when I need it. What I'm finding more and more is that it's almost a coin flip whether or not the AI is going to choose correctly. Most of the time, yes it will predictably tap what I need it to, but I just lost two games (and vicariously a Premier token) to the AI not doing that, instead leaving mana up for some other spell that was not going to affect the board or improve my hand.
I am hardly the first to make this complaint. It's been broken since open beta. The devs have had their chance to fix it. It needs to go.
Thank you for attending my TED talk.
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Covale'rahien#01903 commented
If I have to stop and second-guess the AI's decision, then go tap manually, it's not a time saver. In fact, I just burned more time than if I'd manually tapped at the start.
I will give the devs some credit that, at least when the feature is turned off, the mechanic is switched to an auto-pay button for the late game turns where it doesn't matter does save time.
But, most people play with it turned on, which opens them to the bad habit of just going with whatever the AI decides and regretting it later. Or (in my case) getting rushed into that poor decision and letting it happen accidentally. Both of these are detrimental, not just to the individual player but to the general health of the game.
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[Deleted User] commented
Seriously, you cannot take that one second per spell to check if the proposed use of mana sources aligns with your game plan? The autotapper is a tool to speed up the game, it is not meant to take over playing the game for you. I'd rather have the autotapper available as it is right now, than having to tap manually every single time. You lost games, because you were too lazy/hasty to check what was about to happen before hitting the button. That's your fault, not the client's.