Tetra Master

[Masamune·1600]

Yes, there are two kinds of defense to a Tetra Master card. Note that there are four symbols per card. The first (P) is the power (attack) value, the second (T) is the card type, the third (D) is the physical defense value, and the fourth (M) is the magic defense value. These symbols correspond to various hexadecimal values. You may note that P, M, and D can range between 0 (the number) and F; these symbols sum up hexadecimal values from 0F to FF. Because of how the hexadecimal system works here, each symbol has a randomly determined value. 0 (0F) can range from 0-15. 1 (1F) can range from 16-30. This range of 15 continues to F, where the value is 240-255. These are the numbers that appear when one card attacks another. The T symbol can be either P, M, X, or A. If the card has a P, it will attack the physical defense of a card. If it has M, it will attack the magic defense of a card. If it has X, it will attack D or M (whichever is lower). If it has A, it will attack the lowest number (P, D, or M) of the opposing card.

By this logic, the most powerful statistical card would read FAFF; the weakest card would read 0(P or M)00.

Unfortunately, even with a far superior card, you can still sometimes lose. The following is taken from Trifthen's Tetra Master FAQ on GameFAQs.

There is one final possibility remaining. If a card is placed next
to another card, and they both have arrows pointing at each other,
a battle ensues.

card 1 | card 2
_____________
|\ | |
| -|- -|
|/ | | \|
-------------

The above placement would result in a card battle. Each battle has
three phases where different numbers are displayed.

Phase 1:
* Each card has a power as discussed previously. This value falls
between the min and max listed in the table. Each card also has
a defense fitting the the above chart.

A B
Example : 4P22 attacks 1M01

The first number that appears on card A is its attack power, say
70 (4 = between 64 and 79). Card A is a physical card, and card
B has 0 physical defense, so the first number to appear on card
B is its defense, say 7 (0 = between 0 and 16).

Phase 2:
# Next, the computer rolls a number between 0 and the number shown
in phase 1. This will be the *actual* attack or defense. Let's
say it rolls a 66 for card A, and 1 for card B.

Phase 3:
# The number rolled in phase 2 is subtracted from the number in
phase 1. This guarantees that the number will be positive, and
the highest number wins. So:

Card A: 70 - 66 : 4
Card B: 7 - 1 : 6

There are a few things this should tell you :

1.) Higher rolls are BAD. You want low rolls so less is subtracted
from the total number.
2.) A weak card can defeat a strong card if the roll is in its favor,
look at how the 1M01 defended itself against a 4P22.

If you want to know how likely a card is to win a battle, here's the
basic formula:

1 + Power of Weak
100 * (1 - ----------------------)
2*(1+ Power of Strong)

So in our example, you have:

1 + 7 142 - 8 136
100 * ( 1 - --------- ) = 100 * --- --- = 100 * --- = 94.4%
2(1 + 70) 142 142 142

So in our example, card A will win the battle 94% of the time. But
in the example of the battle, it lost because of a bad roll; that's
the 6% it loses.

But, since you may not know attack/defense values right away, you
can get a basic idea. Using our example again, take the maximum
attack card A could have (79) and the lowest defense card B can have
(0) and use our equation. The result is 99.4%. Now, take the minimum
attack card A can have (64) and the maximum defense card B can have
(15) and use our equation. The result is 87.7%.

So, in our example, if you don't know the values of the cards fighting
it out, card A will have a 88-100% chance of beating card B if it
is attacking.

If you played card A, good job. You would have won the card battle,
but you had a 6% chance of losing, and lost. Your opponent now
controls both cards. If you had won, you'd control both cards.

This is the aspect of Tetra Master that most bothers me. Even having figured out the hexadecimal system behind the cards, and utterly outplaying an opponent, one can still lose based on simple bad luck. Clearly, however, the odds would be in your favor.

Some of the statistical ideas I've addressed may be a little daunting at first, but they're not really complicated once you stop and consider them.

To summarize what's important: the first value attacks defense (third or fourth value). It will attack the third if it is P, the fourth if it is M, the lower of the two if it is X, and the lowest value of the opposing card if it is A.

I hope this helps resolve some of your questions concerning Tetra Master.