Duct's Series Introductions!
Features
ducttapedeckbox
3 June 2014
1306 views
3 June 2014
1306 views
Hey TappedOuters! I have been finding myself with some free time, so I decided to get back into the writing scene. With that, I have some exciting news! Well, exciting if you enjoyed my previous series, Bang for Your Buck (BFYB). I am writing, or at least plan to write, two series, with one focusing on ways to expand your Magic the Gathering interests and the other as a revamp of BFYB. The purpose of this article in particular is to not only introduce you to my ideas for the upcoming articles and series, but also get feedback and suggestions for article topics.
Let us start with basic logistics. To prevent myself from becoming overwhelmed with writing (and so I do not clog up the homepage), I will be writing each of these articles on a biweekly basis. This introduction will not mark the beginning of either series. When I am confident with my series plans, I will post the first article. The following week will be the first article for the other series. These will then alternate weeks, so each article will have its continuation two weeks from being posted.
With that out of the way, I will go a little into detail about each series and the first few articles I have planned.
- As mentioned above, one series will be a revamp of the original BFYB. For those of you who were not around for this, BFYB was a weekly article that discussed budget deck building in Standard (we also started to venture into Modern when the series abruptly ended). The first article will be a community based discussion to set up the series, and then I will follow up with articles revolving around playing budget decks in Standard and EDH (the two formats with which I am most familiar). I also plan on composing articles that look at power budget cards in each of these formats. One aspect from the original BFYB that I am not looking to replicate is deck features. Sorry guys! Unless there is overwhelming demand for these types of articles, I would not expect their return.
- The other series will be a little more exotic. I wanted to do something different yet interesting, so I came up with the idea to write about Magic-related things that are not deck building and/or actually playing Magic. This includes organization strategies for your bulk and rare collections alike, as well as more artistic aspects such as card altering. I have yet to come up with a name for this series, so this will be one for you guys to help out with! I also am lacking a little on material for this series. I have enough for a few articles, but I will be relying on your help for more ideas.
Another point that I wanted to touch on was helping out with either of these series. If you have an idea or have experience in the area of focus for any of the articles I plan to write, please let me know. I will include a section for upcoming articles every week so you know what to expect. I am always open to people who want to “consult” on these articles. If it does not seem to fit into either series, do not be disappointed if it does not work out. I would be more than happy to help you out and get you writing your own article and/or series.
I would also like to include a little disclaimer, so to speak. The ideas that I write about in my articles are my beliefs about the game, and in no situation do I believe for them to be one hundred percent correct. I am always open to discussion, as with anything in Magic, there is probably another way to approach an idea. I also apologize in advance for possible typos that render parts of my articles confusing. I will try my best to provide you with coherent and logical arguments that enhance your time on this site.
Remember, with this brief article, I am looking for some feedback and suggestions! The sooner I get suggestions the sooner you will get to read the article (given that you want to, which I hope you do...). Some specific questions I would like to be discussed include:
- Are you interested in the second series? Are there specific things you would like to read about?
- Would you like to read about my thoughts on strategically organizing your collection? Or would this be boring?
- Would you be less inclined to read the revamped BFYB if I do not plan on featuring decks?
- Do you have any suggestions for anything? Now is the time to voice your opinion!
With that I will shut up and let some discussions ensue. Thanks for reading!
ducttapedeckbox says... #2
@ Kravian -- Do you have any ideas for a name for that series? I'm stuck there. I'll also do an article on organizing your trade binder, as there's even strategy in that to make yourself an even more effective trader. Thoughts on that? Thanks for sharing your methods too, be sure to share them when we get to the actual article as well!
June 3, 2014 7:10 p.m.
I'm always looking for information about physical organization, so at least a couple articles of the second series sounds like it could be VERY helpful.
For a name suggestion, how about something like "Card Feng Shui"?
June 3, 2014 7:23 p.m.
I would be very interested in the revamp of BFYB, as always.
June 3, 2014 8:12 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #6
@ sewellius -- Thanks for the support. I see what you're going for with the name, but I'm not sure if it fits. An interesting idea for the name though!
@ Kravian -- Don't think I can use that due to copyright stuff.
@ buffy -- Do you think the series would be "weaker" without deck features? People really enjoyed it, but it was my least favorite part of the article. Plus it was a hassle. I have no idea how zandl is doing his pauper challenge with so many decks. kudos to him.
June 3, 2014 8:17 p.m.
nighthawk101 says... #7
As an amateur MTG custom cards designer, I would love to hear an "outsider"'s thoughts on custom card creation.
June 3, 2014 8:59 p.m.
My suggestions for the name:
Over The Borders
Thinking Outside the Deckbox
The Other Plane
Beyond the Mat
Magical Thoughts
The Lonely Wizard (all the activities are solo stuff like altering and organizing)
June 3, 2014 10:13 p.m.
mossflower says... #9
+1 for article about organization
For my bulk, I currently organize by Block, then Set, then Color, then Rarity, and then occasionally Alphabetically by name (though truthfully, I normally don't bother with this last step). I've also been kind of lazy about it for the last few sets. Also, storage space is becoming an issue. For my trades, I keep them all in a binder sorted only by color. Ideas about how to manage all of this would definitely make for an article worth reading.
June 3, 2014 10:16 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #10
@ Johnny5 -- I really like "Thinking Outside the Deckbox." Do you mind if I use it? Is "Thinking Outside OF the Deckbox" more grammatically correct? Grammar is not my strength, aha.
@ mossflower -- Be sure to share your methods when the article goes up in a few weeks :)
June 3, 2014 10:53 p.m.
"Thinking Outside of the Deckbox" would be more grammatically correct, but the phrase generally used is "think outside the box," so I think either would be acceptable. I really like that idea. One article could cover the 3D abacus cards. I think they are amazing and would love to see an article on them. Whatever you do, I look forward to reading your articles!
June 3, 2014 11:34 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #12
@ tj70 -- Thanks for the input, I always mess up grammatical things like that. Anyways, you should expect one on 3D abacus cards. Probably not on border-extending or anything though, I don't venture there.
June 3, 2014 11:41 p.m.
Not sure if you have a ton of experience with card sleeves but I would be interested in an article on sleeves. The topic has popped up in the forums from time to time. The article could be a pros vs cons on various manufacturers of sleeves. Things like size, thickness, durability, slipperiness, cost, etc. Just a thought.
June 4, 2014 7:20 a.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #14
@ Faded -- That's a great idea for an article. Sadly though, I have limited experience with different card sleeves - I usually just buy Ultra Pro out of convenience. If you or another user would like to help me with that article in the future, I'd be open to it.
June 4, 2014 10:09 a.m.
CommanderOfBolas says... #15
You should have an article about making duct tape deck boxes. lol too cheesy? sorry. anyway, seriously, there are lots of things that you could right about that aren't about playing the game. no one ever talks about those things, but lots of people want to hear about it. I think it will be a successful series.
June 4, 2014 1:37 p.m.
@ducttapedeckbox: Well, possibly. I don't super care to read deck suggestions and stuff like that, but you will definitely have more active articles, haha. More to write about, too. You could maybe just do one every other article or something.
June 4, 2014 5:46 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #17
@ CommanderOfBolas -- Nice. There isn't much to say about making them, it's pretty simple unless you want specifics of where to put duct tape. I might upload my templates for making them, though. A comical yet good idea. Thanks for the general support as well!
@ buffy -- If material becomes a problem, maybe I'll do a budget deck challenge. That'll have to wait to see how much time I have to write once I start working though haha. I'm surprised, I already have drafts written for the the next two articles. I'm never that fast haha.
June 4, 2014 7:15 p.m.
FergleMcMilky says... #18
I'm not sure whether this would count as something that isn't playing the game, but perhaps an article or two on how to move from playing extremely casually with friends to going to FNM's and such. By this I mean things like etiquette, format and roughly what to expect, which I think would be invaluable for the newish player. The second series does sound incredibly useful, so thanks in advance.
June 5, 2014 6:56 a.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #19
@ FergleMcMilky -- I think there may have been articles written about that, but I'll have to look into it. I also personally haven't been to and participated in an FNM since Zendikar, so I'm not sure how valid my opinions would be. That is a great idea though.
June 5, 2014 10:21 a.m.
smash10101 says... #20
That second series sounds awesome! I was planning on organizing my entire collection this summer, and could use some ideas. I do have a few tips for that though, and I also play budget standard (my deck is about $15, unless you play with the shock lands like I do) and I play EDH, though not really all that budget, so if you want any help, find my wall!
June 7, 2014 9:11 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #21
@ smash10101 -- Feel free to post on my wall with ideas. I can't promise that I'll be able to incorporate them, but I'll try my best. Nevertheless, I'll be looking forward to your comments on future articles- thanks!
Kravian says... #1
I'd love to hear organizational tactics. I currently organize alphabetically by color, then by rarity, then alphabetically again by type, then cardname, but I know there are many more (and probably more helpful) ways to organize, especially regarding deckbuilding and formats.
June 3, 2014 6:55 p.m.