Getting more views on your decks.
Features
Epochalyptik
22 November 2015
32557 views
22 November 2015
32557 views
As an English major with an interest in sociology and psychology, it's a natural tendency of mine to analyze the ways that people communicate and weigh their efficacy based on the responses and reactions of others. As such, I've spent quite a while studying different methods of attracting attention to various works (not necessarily restricted to decks) through the use of titling, promotion, and other resources. I'm not an expert, but I believe that what I've noticed will help someone somewhere at some point.
- Deck Information
- Titles
- Descriptions
- Format
- Inferences and Empirically Derived Information
- Promotion via Site Mechanics
- Deckcycling
- Featuring
- Forums
- Walls
- Deck Hubs
- Help beacons
- Account Details
- Name Recognition
- Profile Decklist
- Engagement
- Conclusion
1.0: Deck Information
1.1: Titles
First impressions are important. The title of your deck is the first piece of information a user sees while scrolling through the front page, hubs, or feature queue. As such, it is a contributing factor to that person's first impression of your deck.
The name of a deck should be in some way reflective of its goals or design. If you care to get technical, it should also make use of literary devices. A title that is clever, witty, powerful, catchy, or otherwise unique will stand out more on the pages of the site than one that is generic and uninspired. Though this may seem obvious once it is pointed out, it has enough of an impact to warrant its own subsection, so it should not be discounted.
For example, a deck titled "Wolf Run Ramp" would likely get less attention than an identical deck named "There's Something in the Forest..." because people tend to be drawn to the catchy, interesting, and unique decks over a generic cookie-cutter idea.
1.2: Descriptions
The description of a deck is valuable for one reason: it provides the user with a sizeable and easily visible place for information. It allows you to elaborate on your goals, restrictions, problems, and other details that are not readily obtainable from other parts of the deck page and that are important enough to warrant mention.
Being able to write an effective description for a deck will only help. You might use it to explain your budget, your meta, your influences, or your goals. This kind of information is in close proximity to the decklist and is usually checked by a user looking at the list itself. By updating it with useful information, you have the opportunity to explain to these users exactly what you're looking for and imply to them what kind of feedback would be most useful.
In the time since this article was originally published, I've written an article on how to create effective primers. Use this information to write better and more engaging descriptions and draw other users to your deck.
1.3: Format
Users and players are less likely to give you feedback on a deck if it is of a format they are unfamiliar with. A player who diligently plays Standard at FNMs is more likely to post on Standard decks, and the quality of his or her posts on those decks will probably be better. That same player is less likely to respond to an EDH deck, either because he or she is unfamiliar with the format or because he or she doesn't care for said format. It can also be assumed that users will view decks that are of familiar or preferential formats more often than they will view decks that are not. This further affects the probability of a given user leaving feedback on a given deck.
By correctly labeling your deck with the appropriate format information, you can expect to draw more helpful feedback if not a higher volume of such feedback. Standard seems to be the prevailing format in terms of sheer volume of deck creation, evaluation, and traffic.
1.4: Inferences and Empirically Derived Information
This section's title is essentially a complex way of articulating a simple concept: people make judgments and gather information while looking at a decklist, either consciously or subconsciously. For example, when I look at a deck, I look at the owner's name, the description, the format, the organization of the deck (specifically, the presence or absence of a coherent and well-executed strategy), and the quality of the cards in the deck. From the given information, I make inferences about the experience of the owner, the resources available to him or her (mainly in terms of budget), and the efficacy (or at the least, the theoretical viability) of the deck as a whole.
Being aware of how your deck appears to other people is important, as it allows you to get more out of comments and criticisms. It allows you to sift useful feedback from misunderstandings or misconceptions. It also helps you prepare a deck description that conveys what you want from the deck and from responses to it. By thinking about the way that people are responding to your deck and picking up on patterns in the comments, you can more effectively engineer your description and own comments to elicit a specific kind of feedback or encourage evaluation of a certain concept.
2.0: Promotion via Site Mechanics
2.1: Deckcycling
Available to all users, deckcycles are the most common means of promoting a decklist. Once cycled, a deck is displayed on the main page until it is forced out of the queue by subsequent cycling of other decks. Depending on the amount of activity at the time of queuing, the duration for which a given list appears on the front page can vary by any duration from minutes to hours. The key to capitalizing on this mechanic is to watch for patterns in timing and site activity; striking a balance between high activity and low competition is how you get more out of deckcycling than the average user.
Think about all factors that contribute to site activity. Time of day, day of the week, present holiday periods, and upcoming events (FNM, SCG Opens, PTQs) are only a few. Understanding the effect they have on traffic requires some deeper thought. For example, I'd be willing to bet that site traffic increases a bit between 2:30 PM and 4:30 PM EST on weekdays in the fall and spring. Why? Schools are letting out for the day. With limited personal Internet access within school, students are likely to check their social networking accounts shortly after arriving home. It might not be a major spike, but it's something to consider. On Fridays from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM, the FNM attendees will be leaving their computers behind for the local game tables, meaning that this is probably not the ideal time to cycle a Standard deck that you really need some help on. Deckcycling a short while before or after this time frame would be more appropriate.
Users with standard accounts may deckcycle once per day. An upgraded account benefits from an increased maximum that used to be (and I believe still is) three per day. You have a limited number of opportunities you have to get your work on the front page, so using them wisely can make quite a difference in the successfulness of your deck in garnering feedback.
2.2: Featuring
Similar to deckcycling, featuring is a site mechanic that queues a given deck for display on the front page. Unlike deckcycling, featuring keeps a deck queued for longer and costs something (in this case feature tokens). You acquire feature tokens by upgrading your account or buying them directly (both of which can be done at the "Extras" page). To view featured decks, select the features tab at the top of the front-page deck listings. The top deck on the home page is always a featured deck.
One of the tricks for effective featuring is to keep an eye on the feature queue. If you feature your deck when there are a lot of other decks also being featured, there's a lower chance that your deck will get views than if the queue was almost empty. Since the front page currently only displays one featured deck at a time, you will get far fewer views on average when you're competing with several other decks in the queue than when you're only in with a handful of others.
2.3: Forums
TappedOut has a dedicated deck help forum. If you've tried deckcycling but just aren't getting the feedback and views you want, try creating a help thread for your deck. There are a few general rules/guidelines for deck help threads:
- Make it clear what you want help with. You might have questions about improving your mana base, the viability of one card over another, etc. Be sure to express any questions or concerns so people know what to pay special attention to.
- State any restrictions or desires with the build. If you can't add a certain card (because of cost, preference, etc.), then make that clear. If you want the deck to do something better or have an idea of what you want it to do, say that. Budget restrictions, color preferences, and archetype or playstyle preferences are all things that you should include if they are relevant. The more information you provide, the better the help you can receive.
- State the goal of the deck. This is closely related to the two points above, but warrants elaboration. If you have a combo deck, make it clear what the combo is. If you have a control deck, you might indicate what your win condition is. Help others help you; offering a brief explanation of the deck now can save you from explaining it later and users who read your thread will visit your deck already knowing what you want that deck to do. This allows them to look through the list from the beginning thinking about how to help you better accomplish your goal.
- Link your deck. To anyone with any background in psychology (or who has been self-taught through observation as I have), the less you ask people to do for you, the more likely they are to help you. Asking people to go to your profile and hunt down your deck probably won't get you anywhere. Providing the URL is somewhat better. Providing a direct hyperlink to your deck is the best way to get views. All someone has to do is click one link; there's no copy-pasting or scavenger hunting, just a simple motion.
- Don't flood the forums. If a deck help thread doesn't get you that many extra views, don't immediately make more. Give it a little bit and let it cycle off of the front page, then wait a few days or a week after that point. Spamming the forums with posts asking for help on the same deck will often turn the community away from you.
2.4: Walls
If you've got contacts on the site or there are high-profile users with reputations for involvement in the format your deck was built for (such as myself for EDH), consider making a brief post on those users' walls asking for help with a certain build. In general, you should follow the same rules you would were you creating a deck help thread. Don't spam the walls of every user you come across; if you haven't interacted with a user in the past then don't post on his or her wall without good reason.
2.5: Deck Hubs
You can choose labels, or "hubs," for your deck from a link at the top of your deck's page. A hub is essentially a mini cycle queue for a certain type of deck. Deck hubs are also like tags; they allow people to find your deck by searching the appropriate hub, where it will be displayed among other decks of the same type. By tagging your deck with the appropriate hubs, you also ensure that whenever you deckcyle that deck it will also appear at the top of that hub's listings.
2.6: Help beacons
The site has been updated a few times since this article was originally published, and you now have the option of checking a "Needs help" option in the deck editing screen. You can flag one deck for help at a time. Flagging a deck puts a red cross next to it on various pages and is meant to signal to other users that you're looking specifically for feedback on that particular deck.
3.0: Account Details
3.1: Name Recognition
Being active on the site has its perks. When you contribute a lot to decks, the Q&A, the forums, and just in general, users begin to recognize you. If you ask for help from the community later on, those users will be more likely to give you the time of day.
Another way to get your name out there is by upgrading your account. This allows you to add some color to your username and stand out from the crowd. Anything you can do to get some recognition and positive attention will help you later on when you need the community's help with your work.
3.2: Profile Decklist
When other users visit your profile page, they can see a list of your decks. This list is not all-inclusive; you must choose the ones you want to be listed. While this isn't a sure-fire way to get those decks views, it doesn't hurt. I've often gotten comments on decks that I haven't cycled in months because people found them on my profile page and navigated to them from there.
4.0: Engagement
If you actively engage people in discussion on your deck pages, then you're likely to encourage them to keep commenting and helping you develop the deck. You aren't obligated to accept every single suggestion, but you should provide some reasons for accepting or rejecting advice as appropriate. This way, you're demonstrating that you've considered what everyone else has to say and are interested in continuing to develop the deck. Don't shut others down for offering advice or not quite understanding your intent with the deck. Offer clarification and be just as helpful in return as other users are being to begin with.
5.0: Conclusion
While I'm sure there are other details regarding deck activity and how to increase it, this is enough for a basic idea of how to handle the layout and promotion of your deck. If you apply some common sense and a little psychology, you can usually get better results than if you approached the process of getting views without a cohesive plan. As with all my articles, any comments and questions are welcome!
So that's why I've started to see people posting on my wall, hadn't really thought of posting on walls as a way to get decks looked at.
On another note I think you missed mentioning Hubs in the article.
May 23, 2012 5:46 p.m.
Really informative article, Epochalyptik. This will certainly help out other deckbuilder's who want to publicize their creations more efficiently, and to also encourage people to make the most out of the features this site offers.
May 24, 2012 12:30 a.m.
alucardbelmont says... #5
Love the article and very informative. Will be a great help for the other users to get their decks out there and also help with deck writing in a way.
May 24, 2012 12:49 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #6
Just as an update, the recent site changes have made the Featured Decks bar a dynamic object. If you hit the play button on the feature bar, featured decks now cycle through the front page in real time.
I believe the update has also reduced the feature times of decks to 24 hours, but I'm not 100% sure on that.
May 24, 2012 1:06 a.m.
This is a great post, chocked full of really helpful information. That you for taking the time to write it!
May 31, 2012 6:40 p.m.
Alphawolf626 says... #11
Excellent article! My deck, Call the WHAAAAAAMBULANCE, has almost 7,000 views. I could probably work on my description a little better, but I personally think the name is catchy, and I usually try to post how I do in Local FNMs to show how it plays against some archetypes.
The one thing I would tell people who are trying to get a ton of views is to be patient. It didnt get almost 7,000 views overnight. Replying to comments made on it and remembering to deckcycle (as well as add for featured queue) eventually made it well known...well, not well known, but pretty highly viewed. As Epoch said: Title, decent description, and availability are all keys to getting a lot of views as well as comments that open your eyes to new ways to expand and alter the deck.
I am not sure if Epoch mentioned this, but commenting on other player's decks and asking them to look at your own helps. One thing you DO NOT want to do is leave a comment saying, "Hey, look at my deck". I recommend providing a piece of advice or asking why they did this instead of using another card, and then adding your deck at the end. Personally, I am more likely to response and help a player who takes interest in my deck and offers advice or even a genuine compliment over someone who comments, only telling me to look at theirs.
June 1, 2012 5:30 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #12
@Alphawolf626: I did not cover that; thank you for bringing it up. As you said, it's important to use all the features of the site to your advantage, but you must do so intelligently. Don't plug your deck on every other deck page you see - only the relevant ones. I only link another user to my deck via his or her own if my deck is relevant to theirs and I have given advice that follows the goals of both. I use mine as examples more than anything else.
Another thing to note: the number of +1s your deck has does not matter. You don't win anything for having a highly rated deck. It does make other users more inclined to check it out, but make sure you don't spam people asking for +1s. If the deck is good, they will vote for it of their own accord. A reminder to comment and vote in your deck description is about as far as I would go.
June 1, 2012 6:27 p.m.
I read this article back when it was first posted and I started to take a more crestitive approach to how my decks were listed. My decks got more views in a couple weeks then my entire time on tappedout. Some of them are even getting +1s which is pretty cool. I am slowly working on making all my decks more catchy and better described. Its a big project but so far it has proven to be worth the time. Upgrading your account is one of the best investments you can make. It is only 5$ and it helps keep the site we all use up and running so its a win/win. One thing that you did not cover is responses. I have noticed that people like it when you comment some sort of response to the feedback they were kind enough to leave. Just a thought though whoever reads this take it for what you will.
June 4, 2012 9:50 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #14
As ninjaking92 mentioned, replying to the feedback you get is crucial to maintaining an active discussion on your deck once you start getting more views and comments. When you respond to others' opinions, you let them know you're interested in what they have to say and it encourages them not only to keep viewing your deck but also to keep posting on it. Additionally, commenting on your deck will send a notification to all people subscribed to that deck and they'll be more inclined to check on it again when they see it in their notifications window.
One of the more difficult to handle aspects of this process is responding to advice you don't like or don't plan on taking. When I do this, I try to acknowledge the other user's point of view but also express my own views and why I don't think the recommended changes are necessary. If you approach the issue this way it lets the other user know that you have seen and evaluated his or her input and it doesn't have the negative impact of a harsher or shorter tempered response. When you find someone's advice to be particularly useful, thank him or her and explain why the changes made a difference.
A lot of this step is basic manners but being diligent about positive response is important for maintaining discussions on your decks.
June 4, 2012 11:30 a.m.
BiggShaggs181 says... #15
Thank you so much!!!! I have been kind of bothered by lack of all comments on this site compared to others that i used so im glad to get some advice on things i had not thought of before. Also tips on how the site worked were nice to considering I am relatively new here. Keep at it!
May 12, 2013 1:37 a.m.
Joshuawesome says... #16
I'm glad I read this. Now, off to redo all the descriptions of my decks! lol
May 13, 2013 1:13 a.m.
t3hSn0wm4n says... #17
way to revive an old but hella good article.. :D very well-written. actually did not know some of these things. i had to figure out most of the site on my own... lol i am still just now learning but it is good to have this as a point of reference. :D thanks epoch!
May 13, 2013 1:24 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #18
Glad to see the information is still relevant. With the expanding user base, it can be difficult to get your decks seen. Nobody should be denied feedback purely because they aren't getting noticed.
May 13, 2013 3:56 a.m.
Spellshaper says... #19
Very good and well written article with lots of good, easy to understand information. I tend to be creative with my names and descriptions but I didnt know about the deckcycle button. Will sure be putting that to good use.
Also, giving complements on other player's decks without exactly expecting a comment back is good sportsmanship. +1 to this article.
August 10, 2013 2:03 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #20
This article has been refeatured for the benefit of the community. Discussion is still encouraged.
October 4, 2013 4:14 p.m.
miracleHat says... #21
Wow, long time I haven't read this, thanks for featuring it again!
October 4, 2013 4:27 p.m.
GureiSeion says... #22
Well written, and a great reminder that one shouldn't neglect the forums. <_<
October 4, 2013 4:43 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #24
It's worth noting that there's a trend going on in the forums. When one person posts a trade thread or a deck help thread, three or four other people generally hop on the idea and post their own threads of that kind. This tends to flood the activity box on the home page. It's best to start threads at high-traffic times to maximize the number of people seeing your thread, but be wary that your thread might be bumped off the home page in short order.
October 4, 2013 6:42 p.m.
peru_soldi says... #25
This was awesome... I'm trying some of these tips
Thanks!
October 4, 2013 11:57 p.m.
Excellent information and reminder to plan visibility.
October 5, 2013 9:05 p.m.
so was this article simply reformatted or is there actually new information in this old post?
October 6, 2013 6:38 a.m.
I guess it was just a reformat, it still has some information that is now false.
October 6, 2013 6:40 a.m.
the 10 deck limit on your profile page no longer seems to exist.
October 6, 2013 8:49 p.m.
I think you forgot the most important step...
Make a deck of 60 Swamps and have it become like the number 5 deck on the site.
October 9, 2013 12:02 p.m.
Very well written, useful above all other things.
A while ago I wrote detailed description for my 5 decks (one of each colour), and there was a spike in feedback for a couple of days... then it returned to normal. Bummer.
Anyway, congratulations on this article, cheers! ;)
October 11, 2013 10:33 a.m.
It will be on the right side of the page by your other deck information lookoutimscary.
December 21, 2013 10:12 p.m.
Click your own name and a list of your decks will show up
Pili-Pala Summons The Blue SunSCORE: 4 | 8 COMMENTS | 167 VIEWS
December 21, 2013 11:18 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #42
This article has been refeatured for the benefit of the community. Discussion is still encouraged.
December 22, 2013 6:33 a.m.
I've found that another great way to get feedback for your deck is to hunt around for similar decks. Give your critique, then link your deck and ask for their feedback. You can discuss the differences between your two decks, why they're there, and which one performs better. I've made several friends this way, and we give each other feedback on all the decks we make.
The person has experience running a deck similar to yours, which means that you'll get stuff from someone who knows what they're talking about. It's always annoying to get comments from the one guy who doesn't have a clue what you're trying to do with your deck.
December 23, 2013 11:45 p.m.
Hey Epochalyptik How do you post pictures and stuff in the deck description? I have seen a lot of people doing this and am still trying to figure it out.
December 29, 2013 8:58 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #46
@ninjaking92: You have to embed the image with HTML.
December 29, 2013 12:08 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #47
Republished again while I finish my now-overdue February installment of Pandora's Deckbox. I figured this is still relevant, what with all the Deck Help threads being posted as of late.
March 1, 2014 3:47 p.m.
Just wondering.... was this because of my post a few weeks ago in the forums, where I commented on how Spike players are loud obnoxious and proud and how I go on unnoticed?? I remember you linking me...
March 1, 2014 8:35 p.m.
This is so informative for new users. It's a great resource to have an archive about how to use the site effectively for anybody to read.
March 1, 2014 10:31 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #51
@Asher18: No. I refeature this article every few months, and this time it happens to coincide with an overdue PD article (I had a lot to do last month).
March 2, 2014 2:09 a.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #52
Epochalyptik I think event reporting should be included in this. I feel it is a very under utilized tool on this site and could lead to more people actually playing magic together after interacting on the site. I use it regularly to mild success. The little top 8 bubble looks much better than cramming it in your deck title. When we could view lists of top 8 decks from the home page I got more value out of it and the site in general. Now it just shows top +1's which tends to have no correlation to how competitive the decks are. I'd prefer if we had both.
March 2, 2014 2:01 p.m.
FantasiaWHT says... #53
Oh that's very good, thank you! I wasn't sure exactly what deckcycle did, and the other tips were excellent as well. I changed my deck's name, deckcycled it, and shortly got a +1 from somebody who commented and said they loved the name!
Which brings up a question - does having more +1's make your deck more visible in any way?
March 2, 2014 9:48 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #54
Upvotes are meaningless. They're just an "achievement" thing. They don't contribute to anything.
March 2, 2014 10:14 p.m.
Epoch when can we finally +1 comments??? Cause there's some really good ones.
March 2, 2014 10:21 p.m.
Epochalyptik I agree with Rasta_Viking29 there was a Top 8 tab where people could post their decks if they placed in the Top 8 at an event. This tab has been missing for some time now. I used that tab a lot and found it to be very useful. I realize that there is a "top" tab, but that is not the same. the current "top" tab lists many decks thats have high Scores because they are cute or clever, but not relevant to people looking for very competitive builds. The old top 8 tab was a great resource for people to quickly identify the decks that were preforming well. Not only did it help me get good feedback on my own deck when it preformed well, but it gave me good ideas by seeing other decks that were winning. Please bring that tab back to tapped out!
March 3, 2014 10:01 a.m.
Epochalyptik isn't in charge of site design. I'll tag yeaGO! so he can see this.
March 3, 2014 10:07 a.m.
RCMetalhead says... #58
I really like the article Epochalyptik! Some of the ideas you mentioned are very easy to do but are stuff that you usually overlook or just don't really take in consideration when you want people to check out your deck. Anyways thanks for the tips! =)
March 4, 2014 2:14 p.m.
AshiokDimir says... #60
Great article. I find it's always helpful when people bring in their skills from outside Magic. I do have one nitpick, just because you're an English major. In section 1.3: Format, the line "It can also be assumed that users will view decks that are of familiar or preferential formats than decks that are not." should have the word "more" after "formats."
March 8, 2014 12:34 a.m.
The more (good) gifs in your deck description, the more upvotes you will get.
June 2, 2014 12:53 p.m.
JexInfinite says... #64
Now, if only people read this article before posting on DH or asking for help.
March 29, 2015 8:08 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #65
I decided to refeature this article to help some of the recent advice-seekers garner more feedback.
March 29, 2015 8:10 p.m.
Interesting story... Nice features I did not fully understand before reading this.
It would be nice if the search function for decks is more accurate; I wasn't able to find my own deck :-) sob xD
March 29, 2015 8:48 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #67
I love how you make this fabulous article about this subject, and yet let me read you the titles of the decks on the home page:
Mana Ramp Devotion, Sultai Training Grounds, Esper artifacts, Mono Green Devotion Fun, Grixis Dragons, red aggro, Jank Midrange Graveyard (jank haha), Venser Twin, and Super Esper Friends.
This article is sitting on the homepage in big letters, featured, and the first thing that you mention is making the name interesting. People are blind, I swear.
March 29, 2015 9:33 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #68
And, although this is maybe not the place to discuss it, let me chime in on that deck search. I searched for decks with both Blood Moon and Remand and it gave me no results. Nada.
March 29, 2015 9:36 p.m.
I really Appreciate this article. It is very informative, Extremely powerful, and perfectly laid out.
March 29, 2015 11:21 p.m.
I always appreciate it when you go out of your way to help people learn and be better around the site. Thank You. :) I need to do some of this because my Standard deck has fallen BEHIND.
March 30, 2015 3:10 a.m.
Cool name, fresh ideas, interesting picture, and a quality deck. That's what helps most in my book. : )
March 31, 2015 10:37 a.m.
The time is very close to irrelevant for deck cycling. If you cycle during the middle of the day, during low traffic, it will be on longer because there are less people deck cycling. Therefore, about the same number of people see it. However, I did not think about FNM for standard, dropping the number of views. Nice article!
March 31, 2015 10:40 a.m.
DarkHestur says... #73
One day I may figure out how timezones and USA days work from where I live... one day.
March 31, 2015 10:39 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #74
I'm pretty sure there's at least one website that will just tell you.
March 31, 2015 11:26 p.m.
elpokitolama says... #75
Nice work here Ep'! I would like to add also some things that I theorized about this:
To catch the eye of the viewer, the deck name is indeed really important but the featured card can have its own impact as well (even if it is unseen when your deck is being featured). Try to find a card illustration not well know that sticks with the thema of the deck. It will create some curiosity for the deck. :)
About the description: a well explained description is great, but it can be even better if you fill it with humor or some kind of story.
The last one but not the least, the gimmick. What people want usually while coming here is fresh ideas. If someone wants a good deck in the current meta he'll just go to mtg top 8 to see what are the champions' decks.
Oh, I also forgot something that might interest you, Epoch (but I believe you already noticed it). Like any other social network, T/O has its trends. Sometimes, a deck with a nice gimmick might catch the eye of the next deckmaker he will want to have it's own version of it, with his own new gimmicks. Until I started to gain more and more upvotes with my caw blade deck, there was almost no modern deck that tried this mechanic. During one month, many caw blade deck appeared on the website, and the "trend" stopped 3-4 weeks ago. I can't say I'm not proud of this example to say, but there are some more. For the past few weeks, the trend was Junk anafenza+melira combo decks and before this one it was jund/mardu Alesha (for the modern format). ;)
April 1, 2015 3:28 p.m.
elpokitolama says... #76
Also, the deck following the trends, if well constructed, can aim for more suggestion than an ordinary twin or abzan midrange deck. ;)
April 1, 2015 3:31 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #80
DH has always been kind of a spamfest.
I'm just hoping that periodically refeaturing this article will help reduce the number of threads that just provide a link to the deck and no useful background or call to action.
July 12, 2015 9:24 p.m.
JexInfinite says... #81
Can you highlight the sections which say not to shamelessly plug your deck everywhere? Also the bit which says to ask for specific help? Those are pretty important at the moment, and making those bits stand out will probably mean more people who are skimming the article will actually read those parts.
July 12, 2015 10:41 p.m.
This is a great article Epochalyptik, it should be a must-read for new users. It has all the information you could want on getting your deck seen. +1 lol
July 13, 2015 9:21 a.m.
IvoryFrost says... #83
Awesome article Epochalyptik! I know for some users it's intimidating asking for help, this can be a huge help for them.I also realized some of the points you've made could be articles all on their own. For example writing a description for your deck, I feel like I need a tutorial written on how to properly describe your deck. Some deck descriptions I've come across are decks which are finished and have done well, others are for decks which needs help or feedback for improvement. Some descriptions are broken down into different sections, others aren't and they are just a wall of words. So what is the best and proper way to write a deck description?
July 13, 2015 1:26 p.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #84
A good deck description flows from card to card describing all their interactions that are held within their own deck. Your main deck description should be all about how your deck functions and how each card you have achieves a specific spot in that deck. Describe why you choose the cards, describe how those cards interact with other cards. Describe key features, combos and important/hidden plays that a new player may not notice from just looking at your deck.
Your sideboard is where you describe all of your match-ups. It is ideal to give a quick run down of each match-up to point out your strengths and weaknesses to that match-up and how your sideboarding helps against those match-ups.
I'll give two decks of mine that show both a good main deck description and a good sideboard description.
July 15, 2015 11:22 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #86
Refeatured this. I've been noticing some pretty bland and uninviting DH posts recently.
I should probably update the article to include info about the new format-specific DH forums.
October 15, 2015 10:55 p.m.
Thanks man this is the first article I have read after making my account 20 minutes ago and I think this is probably going to be one of the most helpful articles!
November 4, 2015 10:29 a.m.
To achieve the best ratio of Effort:Likes it is important to reference a meme in your description (Or deck title for additional attention), preferably with a GIF or caption image. Preferably something easily recognized by anyone, even your grandmother!
PS: Additional likes are achieved if this meme has a clever or relevant reference to your deck!
An even more efficient method is to promote your decklist as being a "group project" (If you like this deck, you are a part of this project!) or a "competition" (Show tappedout THIS deck is better than THAT deck!) to give people a cause to like your deck without it appearing that way!
Another important rule in the game of likes is the "RAINBOW" rule. For each color in your name that can be found in the rainbow, increase your like ratio by 1/7.
The most important rule however, is that for each Storm Crow in your deck (up to 4) you get a +50% modifier to your like ratio.
As a master of the arts, alow me to present you a graph to further explain my reasoning. Here you can clearly see the benefits of adding pointless content to your messages in an attempt to gain attention. The contents of the graph? Whatever. Look, big picture!
I hope this lesson taught you much.
November 23, 2015 11:17 p.m. Edited.
Can somebody please tell me, how to delete a comment on my own deck? Can't find any answers.
Vman says... #1
very useful article.. i Almost never comment on a deck without a description as i tend to think people arent looking for help on it and sometimes i cannot simply recomend things they are looking for...
my only though please put an emphasis on "budget"? it would be nice for people to say theirs more often it really make sit much easier
May 23, 2012 9:52 a.m.