General CBS

Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

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I thought a bit about the logistics, and it seems to me like you want to make the 2nd and 3rd boosters first, then shuffle in all the alpha cards and construct the 1st boosters. That way you minimize the required amount of shuffling and card sorting.

As for the mechanic, I think it's a good way to seed build around in the first booster, which means you could probably put this mechanic on even more cards than just six. I think I would use a sticker to denote the alpha cards, rather than print proxies, but your cube is already filled to the brim with proxies, so it's probably okay. If I were to use proxies, I'ld probably make Alpha a supertype, and put reminder text in the text box, so you can also alpha up (legendary) creatures, where there's not enough space to put the explanation on the type line. So, for example, Approach of the Second Sun would be an Alpha Sorcery, and the first line of the text box would read: (Alpha cards only appear in pack one.)

Good candidates for alpha treatment in my mind would be:


Though Braids is a good example of the problems you run into when you want to alpha up legendary creatures. There's no more room on the type line, and even adding just Alpha is going to make the line feel cramped.

I'ld be tempted to put these in an alternate border, to make them stand out both to the drafters, and to yourself so you can more easily remove them from the card pool after the draft.
 
Velrun

Velrun

I am using stickers! :)

As you can clearly see the card is foil and thus not a proxy. At least I do not know how to make custom cards foil.

I also never proxy real cards. We only run proxies when they are custom made.
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

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Velrun said:
I am using stickers! :)

As you can clearly see the card is foil and thus not a proxy. At least I do not know how to make custom cards foil.

I also never proxy real cards. We only run proxies when they are custom made.
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Ok, in that case I wouldn't even tell people and just mark them in a way you can easily find them back after the draft. If someone inquires what "that red sticker in the top corner" means, you can explain that these are build around cards that you want to always appear in the first booster, so you need a way to quickly find them back after a draft. After all, the ability has no effect after the draft. Once players start playing their decks, it doesn't matter whether they picked their card in the first or the last pack.
 
Velrun

Velrun

Exactly. The ability has no effect :) That was the main reason why I didn't want to customize an already existing card. I rarely do that.

For scrolls I also use real MtG cards whenever possible (with stickers)

Has anyone found some super small stickers that you can write on with a pencil?
 
Peter LaCara

Peter LaCara

Is there a reason you have to put any indication on the card at all? You can't just stick the alpha cards in their own box and shuffle them in to the first packs? Knowing that a card is an alpha card shouldn't affect your drafting decisions at all.
 
sigh

sigh

it would help organization for cube management, especially post-draft.

You definitely could do it another way that doesn't require a marking, like an alpha pack checklist, but stickers/etc. is an easy way to do it.
 
Velrun

Velrun

Peter LaCara said:
Is there a reason you have to put any indication on the card at all? You can't just stick the alpha cards in their own box and shuffle them in to the first packs? Knowing that a card is an alpha card shouldn't affect your drafting decisions at all.
Click to expand...

There is a reason but it is not for any in-game reasons.

I believe transparency is important. I believe it is important that the players know what is going on and why. In theory I am putting myself at risk by stating a card cannot be opened in any other pack other than the first pack because I could make a mistake and the players would open an Approach of the Second Sun in the second or third booster pack would would make me look dumb. But I believe the transparency is more important.

Giving a cube-rule an actual name is also beneficial to the overall state of the cube because the players will discuss the new keyword and the cards who has it. "Shouldn't Stoneforge Mystic have Alpha?" and "Why does Approach of the Second Sun has Alpha?" Other discussions could be "Should be invent a new custom keyword named Beta or Gamma and give those keywords to cards we want to appear in P2 or P3?" This would not be possible unless I give the card an actual keyword written on the card.

Besides all that there is also the cleaning up after a tournament which obviously gets a few seconds faster if I can see which cards has Alpha easily :)
 
Velrun

Velrun

Sometimes I should write fewer words to be more precise. English is not my native language :)

What I wanted to say: I believe transparency is important because the players are an equal big part of the cube. The end :)
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

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I think alpha is a nice choice. It's short and to the point, and while it doesn't immediately scream "only appears in the first pack", it does communicate the "first" part very, very well. I believe people should be able pick up the meaning of this keyword with no problems at all!
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

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There was someone on these forums who used great stickers to mark the top right of a card. Looked really slick. I forgot who though... Anyone?
 
Velrun

Velrun

I want stickers you can write on. Or print text onto.

Not just plain, colored stickers.

I am not demanding any of you can help me :) But if any of you can, please link me :D
 
Velrun

Velrun

That's brilliant.

I'll show you all when I'm done.

Ps. if you are looking for a good laugh, click on VennyTheKid's die cut link and watch the promotional video below.
 
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