Decision recorded: the comeback rule is approved. A player who is meaningfully behind may receive one automatic free command-structure upgrade when the match advances to the next Phase.
Canonical rules were written to docs/decklist-rules-alignment.md and research/unthinkable/tactical-vertical-slice-spec.md. Exact score thresholds remain balance values.
Source Record
This proposal is based on the current working battle-mode framing from the user request plus the existing phase, facility, and decklist rules in the project.
Source
Relevant contract
User request, 2026-06-23
Add a behind-player benefit: if a player is behind by a meaningful score threshold, they receive a free command-structure upgrade automatically upon Phase progression. Current working battle types are Conquest, Assault, and Raid.
Existing tactical vertical-slice contract and command-post loop context.
design/unthinkable/deployment-plan-state-model.md
State-model context for phase changes, build queues, and command-structure progression.
Rule Proposal
must Award the benefit only at Phase progression
When the match advances from one Phase to the next, the system checks whether one player is behind by the approved threshold. If exactly one player qualifies, that player receives one automatic free command-structure upgrade.
The rule runs on Phase A to Phase B and Phase B to Phase C transitions unless a later phase model adds more transitions.
The benefit is not a recurring trickle, income bonus, or manual comeback button.
The benefit is not granted during ordinary score ticks, base damage events, or objective captures.
must Require a meaningful behind threshold
The player must be behind by more than a marginal amount. The current placeholder is a normalized score-pressure gap rather than a final number because score-pressure tuning is still provisional.
Placeholder threshold: behind by at least 20% of the mode's victory target or approved equivalent pressure score.
Alternative threshold to review later: behind by at least 25% of victory target or two full objective intervals.
The exact number remains a tuning value, but the canonical rule should require a non-trivial gap.
The threshold must be high enough that players cannot reliably farm the upgrade by staying one point, one tick, or one minor objective behind.
must Upgrade command structure, not the whole economy
The free benefit applies to the next eligible command-structure upgrade only. It does not grant free units, free facilities, extra deck cards, score, or a broad resource windfall.
Ineligible examples: direct tank purchase, aircraft call-in, wonder unit, requisition-point increase, or objective score.
If no eligible command-structure upgrade exists, the benefit should expire or convert only to a specifically approved fallback.
should Surface it as pressure relief, not rubber-banding
The rule should help a losing player keep strategic options open without erasing the leader's earned advantage.
Player-facing copy should be terse, such as Emergency command upgrade granted.
Do not frame the leader as punished; the leader keeps score, map position, army state, and any earned upgrades.
The free upgrade should unlock choices, not directly swing combat on its own.
Battle Types And Score Pressure
The current working battle modes need a shared way to answer who is meaningfully behind, even though their victory conditions differ.
Battle type
Working win condition
Behind measurement proposal
Open question
Conquest
Secure points on the map to gain score. First to the victory score wins.
Use direct score delta against victory target. Example: if the target is 500, a placeholder 20% threshold means 100 points behind.
Confirm final victory score and score tick cadence.
Assault
Destroy all enemy base structures, using a StarCraft-like elimination rule.
Use normalized base-integrity and tech-pressure score: structure losses, command structure damage, and objective progress produce a hidden or visible pressure score.
Decide whether Assault needs an explicit score readout or an internal pressure score only for comeback logic.
Raid
Play the map-specific objective, inspired by Heroes of the Storm objectives without MOBA base-destruction as the required endpoint.
Use objective progress delta: payload distance, capture progress, event charges, convoy health, resource stolen, or map-specific objective score converted to a normalized pressure score.
Define the minimum common objective-score interface all Raid maps must expose.
Anti-Gaming Guardrails
must Snapshot before phase advance
The behind check should use the score-pressure state at the moment Phase progression is triggered, or a short pre-transition snapshot window. It must not be possible to trigger the phase, inspect the benefit, and then manipulate the result.
should Add hysteresis for repeated transitions
If later modes have many phase-like transitions, the player should not receive repeated free upgrades from oscillating around the threshold.
Recommended future rule: one comeback upgrade per player per match unless a later design explicitly allows more.
Current three-phase model naturally caps the opportunity to at most two transition checks.
defer Keep exact score math provisional
The scoring system is not settled yet. This approved design locks the rule shape, not final numeric balance.
Conquest can use direct victory-score percentage first.
Assault and Raid need a normalized pressure-score contract before implementation.
Final thresholds should be tested with bots and player telemetry before becoming release balance.
Implementation Checklist
Agents writing implementation should check these items against the approved rule.
Canonical rules state that the benefit triggers only on Phase progression.
Rules define a meaningful threshold, with exact values marked provisional until score tuning.
Conquest uses direct score gap against victory target.
Assault defines a pressure-score adapter instead of pretending base elimination already has score.
Raid maps expose a normalized objective-progress score or equivalent adapter.
Only one player can receive the benefit per transition.
No benefit is granted if the score gap is below threshold.
No benefit is granted if both sides qualify due to malformed scoring.
The upgrade applies to command structure only.
The benefit cannot purchase units, wonders, or direct combat effects.
Player-facing copy stays terse and does not explain exploitable score math.
Telemetry or debug output records phase, score-pressure gap, threshold, and awarded upgrade.
Tests cover marginally behind, exactly at threshold, above threshold, tied, and no eligible upgrade cases.
Approval Record
The proposal was approved on 2026-06-23 and the downstream canonical rules update has been written. This record is read-only.
The YAML is preserved as submitted; its status: review field reflects the source page state at compile time.
phase_progression_comeback_rule_alignment:
status: review
created: 2026-06-23
compiled_at: "2026-06-23T16:25:00.536Z"
product_path: unthinkable
proposal:
trigger: phase_progression
benefit: one_free_command_structure_upgrade
recipient: player_meaningfully_behind
exact_score_values: provisional
battle_types:
conquest: score_to_victory_target
assault: destroy_enemy_base_structures_with_pressure_score_adapter
raid: map_specific_objective_progress_with_normalized_pressure_score
placeholder_thresholds:
recommended_start: 20_percent_of_victory_target_or_equivalent_pressure_score
later_review_option: 25_percent_or_two_full_objective_intervals
decisions:
comeback-rule-direction: approve
behind-threshold-model: approve
battle-mode-coverage: approve
automatic-application: approve
downstream-rule-writing: approve
rule_feedback:
award-the-benefit-only-at-phase-progression:
title: "must Award the benefit only at Phase progression"
decision: approve
feedback: ""
require-a-meaningful-behind-threshold:
title: "must Require a meaningful behind threshold"
decision: approve
feedback: ""
upgrade-command-structure-not-the-whole-economy:
title: "must Upgrade command structure, not the whole economy"
decision: approve
feedback: "It should serve as a minor comeback mechanic"
surface-it-as-pressure-relief-not-rubber-banding:
title: "should Surface it as pressure relief, not rubber-banding"
decision: approve
feedback: ""
snapshot-before-phase-advance:
title: "must Snapshot before phase advance"
decision: approve
feedback: ""
add-hysteresis-for-repeated-transitions:
title: "should Add hysteresis for repeated transitions"
decision: approve
feedback: ""
keep-exact-score-math-provisional:
title: "defer Keep exact score math provisional"
decision: approve
feedback: ""
required_guardrails:
- threshold_prevents_marginally_behind_gaming
- trigger_only_on_phase_progression
- command_structure_only
- no_direct_unit_wonder_or_score_grant
- assault_and_raid_require_pressure_score_adapters
- exact_numbers_remain_balance_values
source_files:
- alignment/decklist-rules-alignment-omega-war.html
- docs/decklist-rules-alignment.md
- research/unthinkable/tactical-vertical-slice-spec.md
- design/unthinkable/deployment-plan-state-model.md
next_route_if_approved:
- write canonical game rules update
- define provisional score-pressure interface
- add implementation tasks and tests for phase progression award logic