Mtg Booster Box Mapping - 100% Free!
General forum
Posted on March 3, 2013, 7:13 p.m. by killers_inn
Go to http://box-mapper.rhcloud.com for free box mapping (currently for GTC only)
UmbrotheUmbreon says... #3
Carsf: Hoping for someone not to use a system that nets them the BEST cards or cards they want is like asking the government to have an annual date where they hand out the biggest and baddest weapons to all the public. Not gonna happen.
I do agree with you though. This kind of thing is ridiculous and should be illegal.
March 3, 2013 7:43 p.m.
killers_inn says... #4
Yet i am not the founder of the idea or the first one to develop it. People are already using vinzito's box mapper for a long long time (for $3.99 on iTunes / googlePlay). I just offered the same functionality for free.
And nope. Its not a virus. Anyone can try with pre-opened packs.
Btw, this is experimental and a proof - of - concept. And i agree with you but the only ones that can stop it, is wizards of the coast. They must change something about printing to avoid this. Once someone figures out there's a pattern on each box, and even in each booster card formation, this will be done by someone.
March 3, 2013 8:23 p.m.
UmbrotheUmbreon says... #5
So why promote something if you're against it? That's like trying to clean up a street when you are throwing trash on the sidewalk =/
March 3, 2013 8:40 p.m.
ShadowLand says... #6
Why would you ever want to know what you are opening? I love the excitement of opening a pack and having no idea what I am going to get
March 3, 2013 11:24 p.m.
I bought 25 packs of Innistrad on ebay the other day and all I got were 25 rotten rares worth 50 cents to 1.20$. I really think those were left over from a mapped boxe! The good thing is that the packs only cost me 2.20 shipped each! Mapping suck!!!
March 4, 2013 12:34 a.m.
There is no way to make box-mapping illegal, as once you buy a box, there's no way to regulate what you do with it. (it is possible that people selling packs as 'random', when they are not can be charged) The only thing that WotC can do is it to properly randomize the cards... if players can't use automated card shufflers for games, because a few people may be able to predict the likely-hood of card draws, perhaps WotC should consider the same concept as being applicable to their product.
Often the best way to have the creator of a product fix a problem is to make the problem obvious to them. 100-150 (no, I don't know the actual numbers) people paying for a Box-Mapper for their iPhone will not cause WotC to blink, and nothing will change about their randomization techniques.
Complaints about the current issues with box mapping will likely go unanswered, as the issues is not extremely common, and it is not having an impact on their sales.
Thousands of people using a free online box-mapper may make them take a second look. Though I have a feeling that it may still not be an issue for them, for the simple reason of, If people are using a box mapper... then people are buying boxes. This doesn't have a negative effect on sales, but rather a positive effect. - This is where WotC should be really concerned. If the issue becomes prevalent, they can become liable for losses due to scamming. They are benefitting form increased sales and, if it can be proven that they knew their product was capable of being used in this fashion and did nothing to prevent it, they can be found liable. (noting that they must follow international laws, not just federal or state laws)
This is unlikely to occur, as gathering enough evidence of this occurring and proving that WotC knows of the issue would be a costly and lengthy process, which few would be willing to undertake.
March 4, 2013 8:20 a.m.
Well said, Rayenous. While a lot of people agree that box mappers suck the fun out of buying packs, there're just about as many others who would like to only buy packs for the money cards. The simple fact that there are people out there in MTG solely for the secondary economy is one of the reasons that box mapping programs exist.
March 4, 2013 8:28 a.m.
UmbrotheUmbreon says... #11
Doesn't make it right, and doesn't help people who don't do this and get scammed easily out of potentially lots of money when the seller KNOWS they are giving nothing in return. I'm gonna look up and see if scamming can be considered stealing.
March 4, 2013 8:38 a.m.
Any time you knowingly miss-represent a product you are selling (i.e. say it's random, when you know the odds aren't truly random), it is illegal.
Unfortunately, the problem is that in order to have any charges laid, you would first need to prove that this is the case. Simply not getting any "money cards" in 30-40 random packs is not 'proof'. It makes it likely... but that's not enough to get charges laid.
The best thing to do is to remove the market for these 'filtered' junk packs. - Do not buy loose packs from unknown sources. - If you buy online, only buy sealed boxes, and do not accept boxes that were opened... just because you have 32 packs, does not mean they were from the same box originally. - Do not trade cards for packs. I know of 2 people that regular my LSG who trade "filtered" packs for rare cards. - Most importantly, inform others of the existence of box mapping, and suggest that they do not buy/trade loose packs from unknown sources.
If no one buys these junk filtered packs, there will be no secondary market for them to off-laod these packs. They will still be stuck with the entire cost of the box.
March 4, 2013 11:44 a.m.
ShadowLand says... #13
That seems the most levelheaded way to go about it Rayenous, I had no idea about this issue and I have probably been contributing as I buy packs all the time that are loose, and really never got anything of value. I was always of the mind that everything was random, but of course, if you break anything down far enough there is a pattern.
Thanks for the education, and with packs being as cheap as they are anyways, I will stick with sealed.
March 4, 2013 12:57 p.m.
UmbrotheUmbreon says... #14
Yeah I did that, though I DID pull a Falkenrath Aristocrat from the DKA pack. The guy tricked me by telling me vampires and zombies are rarely played, so I traded it for another pack, THEN was told it was a 17$ card >.>
March 4, 2013 1:25 p.m.
Yeah I normally buy the individually sealed packs from chain stores like Walmart, or Fat Packs and Booster Boxes.
March 4, 2013 4:28 p.m.
I mainly use box maps to filter my drafting packs so me and my friends don't have to compete to see who pulls the more over-powered rare. I also like giving away packs I know have something special in them, then watching the reactions of people when they open a $20+ rare. I don't particularly have a problem with box-mapping as long as people don't try to pull stuff like what happened to UmbrotheUmbreon and trick other people.
March 4, 2013 4:43 p.m.
killers_inn says... #18
Guys guys chill :) this is a proof of concept. You still can buy unmapped fat packs without hesitation (yet i can map them too if you want)The idea is evenly distributing rares around people. Its far from random. Imagine a shop that sells 1000+ boosters without any good rares. Randomizing can cause that, or worse, imagine all 1000+ boosters open the best mythic cards in the same shop that the rest of the world gets nothing...
The scrambling, though can't be done either. There's no practical way to shuffle boosters without causing damage.
Bottom line, i want and hope wizards to find an unmappable solution as most of you guys do
March 4, 2013 5:32 p.m.
That's a pretty weak argument, Killers. Do you know what the probability of flipping a million coins in a row and getting heads on each is? Low. Very very low. I'm sure that the probability of pulling no money rares or all money rares in a shop is possible, but it's still very unlikely. Even with good intentions, mapping takes away the randomness that is intended for the product. Not only that, but Wizards practically can't find a completely unmappable solution. Probability is predictable. It's best to stamp out mapping rather than tell Wizards to come up with a perfect solution.
March 4, 2013 6:20 p.m.
UmbrotheUmbreon says... #21
Basically a way for you to figure which packs will have the big money cards and which one have crap rares.
March 5, 2013 3:04 a.m.
Schuesseled says... #22
Taking the only valuable cards out of a booster box and then selling on the boosters to other people, without mentioning that those boosters are essentially worthless is essentially a crime in my book. Mapping is for dicks.
March 5, 2013 4:09 a.m.
SwiftDeath says... #23
i have seen videos on this. for one you have to have already bought the box so why should they care. two you have to open a few packs so it can figure out if the box was shuffled or not. three it isn't so you can pull the best cards before you open any single pack it is so you can use the cards you know you don't need and use them as drafting boosters with friends or newer players your trying to teach. no one is telling you that you have to buy this and use it but it does have functionality to it and if there are people who want it then that's on them.
also it cannot predict foils so if there are any of those then you would have no clue.
March 5, 2013 4:18 a.m.
Do you really think that the majority of people using Box mapping are doing it so they can draft with junk rates?
That is a very naive view. I'm not sure if you're trying to defend box mapping, or just ignoring the issue. The time and cost of developing the box mapping system would only be worth it for those who are seeking to make a profit.
It is possible that a few people will sift through the rares, and then draft with their friends using their junk... but this is NOT the intended purpose of box mapping, and is not it's most common use.
Most uses of this "tool" are to get the valuable cards out of a box, and sell/trade the junk online or to people who don't know better.
March 5, 2013 8:10 a.m.
Sworddude098 says... #25
Yeah, it's a shame. Luckily, most card shops get suspicious if you ask to see the boxes' serial numbers. Just out of question, does this actually work?
March 5, 2013 3:24 p.m.
SwiftDeath says... #26
@Rayenous i wasn't saying they were. im just pointing out that can be one of the uses im sure people are abusing the app just like they do everything else so don't start calling me naive when im pointing out other uses and a way the app can be used positively. also the reason i said that was because that was from a comment that was from the video I was watching.
March 5, 2013 11:53 p.m.
I agree with Rayenous. I draft often with my friends and 90% of the fun is seeing what good rares are pulled that then go into a prize pool. To me it makes no sense, or any fun, knowing you'll only get to see the junk rares in action, and then have a junky pool of rares for prizes. I mine as well just sit around and watch American Idol with my girlfriend.
I want to tell Wizards that the ability to track and predict packs has got me really freaked out and that it's ruining the integrity of the game and the company. The packing system needs more randomness. For example during quality control at the factory, or during shipping sometimes boosters are moved around, which messes up the tracking apps. Just do something like that to make it more random. Right now the system can be exploited by those who simply want to make money, or by those who have knowledge of tracking apps, to basically rip off noobs and people who don't know. Wizards should take appropriate action to stop it or they are condoning this bad behaviour.
I'm only buying sealed boxes right now because I dont know who to trust. I haven't opened any foils or big rares in my last 20 loose packs from my local store and don't know whether they're weighing for foils, tracking packs, or whether I have just been unlucky? Its really too bad because I like to buying loose packs to support my small local Magic Shop. I encourage more people to voice their displeasure on this issue.
April 22, 2013 3 p.m.
This app has no positive value other than for shady MTG stores and collectors who aim to rip people off. I've heard this argument a couple times that you can use the leftover filtered packs for drafting with your friends. A couple problems with that.
1) Whichever friend filtered the packs knows what's inside all of them, and has a major advantage.
2) If its Ravnica block have fun building your multicolor decks with no Shock Lands :(
3) Gathering all the rares opened during the draft for a prize pool is really fun! Prizes give the games some actual meaning....."oh wait" now the prizes basically suck.
4) Prepare to have your ass kicked in kitchen table and constructed by the guy who's been filtering out all the good stuff. Now certain people have huge advantages over everyone else, sounds kinda like cheating ;)
Carsf says... #2
I don't recommend that anyone use this. I don't know if it is a virus or if it's real, but that doesn't matter. Mapping booster boxes or even packs for certain cards takes away from the experience of buying the product. The randomness is intended for the game, in order to ensure everything players get is equal. It ensures that players are forced to build a deck not on what's powerful, but what they have.
Mapping is terrible for the game. What's the point of buying packs anymore? Wizards might as well just sell specific cards. Not surprisingly, that would ruin card prices and ruin the game itself, as any powerhouse card can become available for everyone to use. Remember Jund's dominance in modern before Bloodbraid Elf was banned? You can expect standard to become just like that, changing only when a new set comes out, and even then only changing to include powerful cards.
The way it is now, cards gain and lose value, and trades mean you have to compromise to get something you want. Buying a pack or a box for a certain card or cards means risking the money you paid in not obtaining them. That's what makes the game what it is: an awesome game.
Please do not use this software.
March 3, 2013 7:28 p.m.