Competitive Play

This article contains advanced strategies for players already familiar with how to play Magical Drop III. If you are new to the game, we suggest you start with our introduction instead.

Do You Play Mirror Matches?

One of the first things new players notice about competitive Magical Drop III is that tournaments almost exclusively use “mirror matches,” meaning both players intentionally select the same character. While the uninitiated may initially believe this is detrimental to character diversity, we’ve come to learn that mirror matches add an additional layer to player-vs-player metagame.

For years the fighting game community has used “pick a top tier” as a rallying cry and mantra. When you choose to play a top tier character in a competitive setting, you’ll inherently have some advantages over those who do not: improved damage or combos, better defensive options, faster movement speed, you name it. So when the world’s best players are facing off for large sums of prize money in a tournament you’d likely agree it’s foolish not to take any extra help the game will give you.

In Magical Drop III we find ourselves with a large disparity in strength between high tier and low tier characters. In a world without mirror matches, character selection would eventually gravitate towards solely the strongest one or two characters, making those with weaker drop shapes and patterns essentially obsolete. By mandating that players choose the same character we can eliminate the artificial skill gap of tier placement and turn weaker characters into valid counterpicks. Furthermore, we stress the elements of Magical Drop that the community has judged most valuable for determining who is the better player: execution, consistency, and game knowledge.

Tournament Rules

If you want to put the aforementioned skills to the test, there’s no better place to do so than in a Magical Drop tournament. While our game is too niche to be a common fixture of larger esports events, there are a handful of dedicated tournament organizers out there keeping the competitive spirit alive in the community.

Below you can find the rules I use when organizing the monthly Fightcade 2 events for our Discord server, which has become the de facto ruleset of the online community. It is important to note however that not every Magical Drop III tournament you’ll encounter uses these rules, so be sure to inquire ahead of time to ensure you have a clear understanding.

Game Settings

• Double elimination bracket

• First to 3 games per match

• Best of 5 rounds per game set via DIP switches

• Quota is set to 200 via DIP switches

Character Selection

• All matches must be mirror matches

• Players should start as Magician unless they can agree to another character before match begins

• The loser of the game picks the next character used

• You cannot select a character you already won as unless both players agree

• All hidden characters are legal

Introduction to Competitive Strategy

Many new competitors fall into the trap of consistently selecting the high tier characters which have proved fruitful in casual matches versus their friends or the CPU, however this strategy rarely pays off against more seasoned opponents. To be successful in competitive Magical Drop III you must be comfortable with a variety of matchups which can best be bucketed into three groups based on the character’s tier position: high, mid, and low. 

Each of these tiers requires you to adjust your playstyle to have the best chance to win, and your character selection should take into account your assessment of your opponent’s strengths in comparison to your own. Your first game, where both players must pick Magician, is a great measuring stick in this regard. 

Some questions you can ask yourself between rounds to pinpoint your opponents’ strength and weaknesses:

• Did the round end via quota or was someone pushed off the board?

• How fast does my opponent seem to move around the board?

• How long were the chain reactions my opponent made?

• Did my opponent intentionally add balloons to their board with the C button?

• Did my opponent effectively use their burst balloons?

With the additional information you’ve gathered in the first game, it may be time to start thinking about which character you’d like to choose as your counterpick. Below I’ve created a quick guide for counterpicking strategy. The information is based on my own observations and theory-crafting, as such these are by no means “solved” matchups and I strongly encourage you to experiment and adjust them to best suit your abilities.

High Tier Characters - SS, S, and A tiers

Due to the large number of hidden characters, the high tiers make up nearly half of the Magical Drop III roster. These characters are known for oppressive drop shapes and highly randomized color patterns. Even veteran players will struggle to prevent themselves from being pushed off the board by the raw strength of the characters in this tier and very few rounds will be decided by quota.

Optimization is the name of the game for the high tier characters. By focusing on identifying opportunities to create 2-chains you’ll be able to quickly apply deadly pressure on your opponent. Should they somehow hang on for dear life you can throw them a curveball by completing a single large chain followed by a quick succession of 2-chains. While this is technically slower in terms of lines sent, the ice balloons created by the longer chain should trip up your opponents just long enough for the 2-chains to score the killing blow.

High tier characters should be a go-to counterpick when facing players who have an affinity for long combos or if you believe you outclass your opponent entirely.

Mid Tier Characters - B and C tiers

Mid tiers make up another large portion of the game’s cast of characters. More often than not these characters will rely on your ability to outrace your opponents to quota to secure the win. These characters do still however have the ability to apply solid pressure that can prove lethal should you make one too many mistakes in a round, so you’ll need to remain vigilant.

Since your goal in mid tier matchups is to reach quota as quickly as possible, many players will use the C button to intentionally add additional lines of balloons to their board at the start of the round. This helps give you a head start towards your goal but should still be manageable enough to clear before their trash heads your way. Sometimes you’ll even uncover an early burst balloon you can use to your advantage. How far you push your board out at the start of the round is a matter of comfort, so try experimenting with the various degrees of the technique in practice. 

Mid tier characters should likely be your counterpick against players you believe you are faster than or if you find yourself being quickly bullied off the board by high tiers.

Low Tier Characters - D tier

Let’s just be up front here, the low tier characters of Devil and Fool are likely no more than a gimmick in competitive play. With flat drop shapes and simple color patterns, even all the 2-chains in the world likely won’t be enough to defeat a skilled opponent. But if you know the trick to this match up and your opponent does not, then they can still give you a leg up.

The key to playing as these characters is to optimize your chain length as little as possible. It's extremely unlikely anyone will be pushed off the board, so the goal is to avoid fueling their progression toward quota. Quickly fill up your board with the C button and create as large a combo as you can muster to clear the board while minimizing the lines of trash you send. Once you’ve done that just sit back and wait, should you have guessed right about their game knowledge they’ll restock your balloons with their trash giving you the advantage on quota.

Low tier characters should rarely be your counterpick, but could steal you a game or two should you believe your opponent will be overly aggressive.