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Sprint 12: Stack & Shift Overhaul

Sprint 12 introduces the “Stack & Shift” combinatorial mechanics, transforming PCMTG’s battle system from single-card reveals to a sophisticated tactical staging system. Players can now chain modifiers (ITEM and POLICY cards) to their base MEME cards to shift coordinates, preview vectors in real-time on a glassmorphic Tactical HUD, and check economic cast requirements. Additionally, this sprint includes a deep-cleaning Technical Debt & Architectural Cleanup pass to eliminate all any types, achieve a 100% warning-free Next.js production build, and extract duplicate 3D math and quadrant configurations into central, shared helper modules on both backend and frontend.

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🛠 Context & Required Skills for AI Agents

When working on this sprint, agents must adhere to the following technical contexts:
  1. Combinatorial Stacking Rules:
    • A valid hand stack must contain exactly one core MEME card acting as the base coordinate anchor.
    • Up to two modifier cards (ITEM or POLICY) can be stacked behind the MEME card, only if a core MEME is already staged.
    • Deselecting the base MEME card triggers a cascading selection clear, emptying the entire staged stack.
  2. Euclidean Shifting & Clamping:
    • Accumulate all modifier axis shifts (x, y, z) before applying coordinate bounds limits. Clamping the final coordinate strictly between [-10, 10] once at the end (rather than step-by-step) ensures mathematical client-server parity.
  3. No-Implicit-Any Strictness:
    • Explicit typescript interfaces must define all profile models, result payloads, and card states. The Next.js compiler must build clean in non-interactive production modes.

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🗺 Sprint 12 Roadmap

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[x] Phase 1: Balanced Hand Deals & Smart Ghost AI

  • Objective: Ensure player hands have modifier diversity and bots can use them strategically.
  • Tasks:
    • Refactored both /queue and /inject-ghosts in backend/src/routes/debate.js to deal exactly 2 core MEME cards matching the player’s affinity, and 2 modifier cards (ITEM or POLICY type, centrist or matching affinity).
    • Upgraded high-ELO Ghost Bots (ELO >= 1200) to mathematically select and stack optimal modifiers on top of their base card during reveal simulations.

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[x] Phase 2: Combinatorial Player Hand & 3D Staged HUD

  • Objective: Give players the ability to stage card stacks with rich, tactile UI.
  • Tasks:
    • Upgraded frontend/components/PlayerHand.tsx into a controlled component governed by selectedCardIds.
    • Implemented cascading deselection rules and margin overlapping card fans.
    • Engineered the Staged Stack HUD displaying modifier cards stacked behind the base MEME card via depth scaling and 3D CSS transforms (slight skewing, rotation, and custom glow backdrops).

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[x] Phase 3: Tactical preview HUD & Live Wallet Sinks

  • Objective: Calculate coordinate offsets in real-time and validate casting cost balances.
  • Tasks:
    • Built a glassmorphic preview dashboard on the Arena page summarizing current coordinates, active offset deltas, and projected coordinate points.
    • Mapped faction currencies directly to player wallets. Enabled dynamic casting cost authorization checks, displaying an Authorized transaction status or a glowing Insufficient Funds warning panel.

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[x] Phase 4: Technical Debt Reduction & Consolidated Utilities

  • Objective: Refactor duplication out of the codebase and secure type-safety.
  • Tasks:
    • Shared Backend Module (backend/src/utils/cardUtils.js): Consolidated quadrant currency mapping arrays, card predicates (isMeme, isModifier), and coordinate vector summation logic.
    • Shared Frontend Module (frontend/lib/cardUtils.ts): Built strong TypeScript typings (Vector3D, UserProfile, PlayerResultEntry) and centralized styling metadata registry entries QUADRANT_REGISTRY.
    • TypeScript Integrity: Cleared all occurrences of any variables inside the page states, hooks, and SVG map visualizers to achieve a compile-clean Next.js production build.

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📡 E2E Verification & Type-Check Results

  1. Frontend Production Compile: 
    npm run build
    • Result: ✓ Compiled successfully and ✓ Finished TypeScript in 2.4s. Clean, zero-warning production build achieved with all any types eliminated.
  2. Backend Post-Match Resolution Test: 
    node test-resolve.js
    • Result: Passed 100% successfully. All coordinate summation, ELO calculations, ledger entries, and Firestore state sync operations verified.