Decks

Building a Deck

The deck builder is the main feature of TappedOut, and it's important to understand how it works. This page will provide some basic information about the deck form itself, but getting more familiar with it requires some hands-on learning experience.

The deck add form is for creating new deck lists. To edit one of your existing deck lists, go to that deck's page and click the edit button.

When adding a deck, you’ll be prompted to name the deck and select what format it is in. You can also add hubs. Adding hubs to your deck will help your deck get move views when deckcycling or featuring your deck.

Next, you have the description section. Crafting a solid description is important! Deck descriptions are helpful for getting feedback on your deck. Explain how your deck works, what kind of help you are looking for, etc. If you plan on featuring your deck, make the first sentence a brief statement or question to others to guide the conversation. Also, list any key combos or synergies using the Card name + Card name syntax. To add an image, use a normal HTML image tag.

When adding cards to your deck, you can use the Quick Add function or the Advanced Card Search. If you check the Restrict Search to Cards box under Quick Add, you’ll be able to add only the cards already listed in your inventory.

On the deck add form, you’ll also notice several options and text fields.

Mainboard & Sideboard

List the cards in your deck and sideboard here.

Maybeboard

The maybeboard is a place where you can keep track of cards you're considering adding to your deck but aren't sure about.

Acquireboard

The acquireboard is a place for you to track what cards you need to complete a deck. You can get a full list of all cards for all decks on your profile. You can also sync your acquireboards with the want section of your trade binder in your settings.

Deck folders

Deck folders are yet another way to keep your MTG decks well organized on TappedOut. Simply view any deck (even decks of other users!) and click on the 'Add to folder' option on the left. You will be given a chance to add decks to current folders or create a new one.

To view your deck folders, click on your profile, and scroll down to your MTG Decks and click "By Folder."

Deck Formats

Official formats

The official deck formats can be found here.

Community Formats

Quest Magic is an RPG created entirely by decks on TappedOut by Askani28!

What's the Asterisk* mean?

The asterisk means that a deck isn't legal according to the format or the 'is prototype' box is checked on the deck form. These decks do not appear in search results.

Need help choosing a deck type? This article can help.

Deck Charts

Mana Symbol Occurrence Chart

This chart shows a count of how many of each mana symbol occurs in the casting cost of your cards. In the case of split symbols, it counts one for each. For instance, Balefire Liege from the Eventide set would add 3 White and 3 Red to the pie chart. In multi-colored decks, this is especially useful in deciding which lands to use and at what frequency.

Land Mana Production Chart

This chart shows a count of which color of mana your lands produce. In the case of dual or triple lands, one of each color will be added. Try matching your Mana Symbol Occurrence chart with your Land Mana Production Chart for a well-balanced deck.

Mana Curve

Just how much juice does your deck need to run? View the mana curve to compare the casting cost frequency of your cards and plan accordingly.

The Competitive Meter

This is based on the currently tagged casual and competitive decks on the site. The intended purpose is to show you if your decks are perceived as casual or competitive.

Cycling a Deck

Deckcycling is a process that helps your decks get more views. Some people will cycle a deck to show it off, while others may be looking for feedback or tips on how to improve a deck.

When you Deckcycle, your deck will appear on the Front Page under the “Latest” tab. It also appears in a special feed on the Deck Builder homepage, as well as in the feed for the format of your deck.

Before you cycle a deck, you should consider adding your deck to Hubs. Adding your deck to Hubs is important to Deckcycling because it increases the number of places where your deck ends up. When you edit your deck, you can select Hubs. These Hubs will appear on your deck. If you have Hubs selected for your deck, then when you cycle the deck, the deck will also appear on those Hub pages.

How to Cycle a Deck

Navigate to one of your decks and look at the left-hand menu. You’ll find a button labeled Deckcycle under the Playtest button. Users with a standard account may cycle a deck once per day, however users with an upgraded account can Deckcycle three times per day. You can also cycle an additional time using the app if you have it installed.

Featuring a Deck

When you feature a deck, the featured deck will display as a deck ad in the header of the website for a time, replacing the advertisement. Your deck ad is displayed to a set number of people. If you’re a supporter your featured deck will be shown to more people. For 16 hours after featuring a deck, the deck will also appear in the Featured Decks queue on the front page. You can feature any deck, not just your own. Featuring a deck will cost one feature token. You can get feature tokens here.

How to Feature a Deck

When you want to feature a deck, navigate to the deck detail page. On the left-hand side, there will be a green button that says Feature Queue.

Once you click on that button, a pop-up will appear requesting confirmation.

Click okay to confirm. A green square will then appear at the top of the page, confirming the deck has been added to the Feature queue.

Feature Deck Views

You can track how many clicks your deck is getting in the Features link under the Profile dropdown. Use an interesting name, and a helpful description will improve how many people actually click on your deck and leave feedback.

How to Get Feedback on a Deck

Looking to improve your deck’s win condition, for ways to make a deck more efficient, or have another goal in mind for your deck? You’re probably interested in user feedback. The easiest way to get feedback on a deck is to cycle your deck or feature your deck.

Title and Description

It’s a good idea to create an interesting deck name that might garnish interest from other users. Your deck description is an important factor when looking for feedback. You want other users to understand what the goal of your deck is. You can include any restrictions you have or issues you are facing. You can use deck descriptions to discuss influences or specific goals in relation to your metagame. It may also be good to state a budget for your deck in the description.

Deck Help Forum

Another way to get feedback for your deck is to post your deck to the forums and ask for help. There’s a dedicated TappedOut deck help forum. When posting to this forum, you should make it clear what you want help with. Be concise, provide context and links, use proper grammar and punctuation, and be polite. You should note that community participation is a two-way street. If you want to receive feedback on your decks, you should give other users feedback on their decks. Once you start to get feedback on a deck, reply to comments. Creating a conversation can help your deck get more views.

Ask a Specialist

If you want help from someone who specializes in a hub within a format, you can reach out to specialists by posting on their walls. To find a specialist navigate to the Deck Builder, pick the format of the deck you want feedback on, then select a hub. From here, you’ll see a list of specialists to choose from.

Add to Hubs

Speaking of hubs, you should always add your deck to hubs when creating a deck. You can also edit a deck to add hubs after it’s been created.

Hubs are TappedOut's way of tagging decks. A deck's hubs describe in a general sense what the deck is about. Users can add up to six different hubs to each of their decks. Additionally, users can browse decks by hub, which makes it easier to find a certain kind of deck.

Hubs are a great way to concisely describe your deck. Pick the hubs that best characterize your deck's colors strategy, theme, or concept. You can always add, remove, or change the hubs associated with your deck.

Additionally, you can search decks by hub on the Deck Builder page. This is a fast and easy way to find decks with specific strategies or themes - things that may not be apparent simply by color or name.

Enable “Needs Help”

When creating a deck, you can check the “Needs Help” option in the deck builder. This will flag the deck by putting a red cross next to it. This is a signal to users that you’re looking for feedback. You can also enable the “Needs Help” option when you edit an existing deck. However, you can only enable the “Needs Help” option for one deck at a time. You can also only enable this feature for decks with a low number of views and comments.

Add to Decklist

Upgrading your account may be another helpful way to draw attention to your decks. An account upgrade will enable you to add styles to your username, which may draw more attention to your post or profile. On your profile, you can choose five decks to list. It’s a good idea to list decks on your decklist you want feedback on.

For more suggestions on how to get feedback on your deck, check out this article.