Hey folks! If you're planning on submitting a deck review, please follow the rules below. Following the rules keeps the thread tidy, guarantees you more views and keeps your review from being deleted.
1. All reviews must be submitted with a tag AFTER the thread title: [VID] for video reviews, [TXT] for text reviews
2. Review titles must be straightforward. Post only the name of the deck you are reviewing, its corresponding tag, and any other appropriate tags you'd like. Here are the available tags, please note that only the bold tags must be included in your titles and the rest is optional:
[VID] - video review
[TXT] - text review
[pics] - review includes pictures
[long] - in-depth review (to give you an idea, 6+ minutes or 400+ words is something I'd consider in-depth)
[fimp!] - this tag is for first impressions (i.e. you just got the deck and did not yet break it in)
[unbx] - if you include an unboxing in your review, feel free to use this tag
3. Use a star rating and get indexed! Rate the deck out of FIVE stars. Include your rating in your thread description as well as somewhere in your thread. If you do a video review, same thing. Using the star system is entirely optional, but a moderator will add their own star rating to your review based on what you wrote/filmed. The rating provided will be the best possible estimate of the feelings you expressed. You may at any point change the rating provided to you by a moderator after notifying them of the change.
***** - This deck is practically flawless, and is the absolute definition of amazing playing cards
**** - This deck is pretty darn good, and definitely worth looking into
*** - This deck was decent and has some outstanding traits, but nothing too special
** - This deck was mediocre and average on all counts
* - This deck is absolutely terrible, but is still somewhat usable
ZERO - This deck can't even perform in card games, and is bad in every possible aspect
That's all folks! Our index will be used to aggregate your opinions and sort the decks from best to worst.
New to reviewing? Looking for tips on improving the quality of your critique? Look no further! Let's take a look at how you can improve your reviewing skills, increase your views and create a fanbase all at the same time.
The first step to making a review is keeping your bias out of the picture. Do you hate Dan & Dave? Have they murdered your family? Has Brad Christian come to your home to ransack your belongings? Cool, call the police, but keep your anger out of your reviews. Likewise, if you've had an affair with one of the folks from the Blue Crown or won a contest at Theory11, keep your positive bias out of it as well? Why? Because the deck has nothing to do with its creator. It's a product that has very defined and unchanging characteristics. If you love/hate the producers, feel free to blurb about that in your review, constructively.
Actually, just keep all your critiquing constructive.
If something makes you want to tear out your eyes and die, by all means say so, but describe how it could be improved, explore why the faults could have occurred, and try to find something positive. Again, the reverse is true. If something is absolutely stunning, explain why!
Next you should consider the facts. Never lie in a review. If you're in doubt over something you're stating as fact, either exclude your comment entirely or do some research. I've been on both ends of this. When I would review decks, I would spout out ludicrous statements that were untrue. The result was that people actually believed me. My ignorance is not an excuse, and if I were to go back to reviewing now, the first things I would do is make sure I don't spread misinformation. On the flipside, I've seen plenty of reviews spout complete lies about cards as well. For example, there is no such thing as a "909 Premium Finish" that T11 touts on their decks from time to time. The USPC allows you to name any finish whatever you'd like to. Yet people constantly say that the "909 Premium Finish" is somehow different from the magic or air-cushion finishes.
Okay, so now that you know what you need to know about the cards, where do you start your review? Consider the following categories to critique:
- Handling: Make sure you know how to do basic flourishes such as various fans, some cuts, springs, faros and dribbles. There isn't a huge variety in handling among USPC decks, so don't be afraid to hand out similar critique to cards that literally feel identical.
- Design: This is a big one, since handling tends to not vary as much as this. Keep in mind that art is 100% subjective. No, seriously, it is. What you should be looking for here is not whether something looks good or bad, but whether or not it accomplishes what it sets out to do. For example, if a pink and purple deck looks horrible to you, but the theme of the deck is ponies and princesses, then the design itself isn't necessarily bad. On the flipside, amazing artwork can look terrible when jumbled into 52 different pieces of cardboard stock.
- Magic: If you dabble in illusions and tricks, tell your readers/viewers why the deck may or may not be good for you. Exclude rating the deck on how well it performs for magicians if you are not somewhat versed in magic yourself.
- Flourishing: Cardistry, XCM, whatever you want to call it. If you dabble in this, include it in your review. If you don't then leave it out.
- Card Games: How well does the deck work for Texas Hold 'em? Slapjack? Solitaire? Go Fish? If you know your card games, review this section, otherwise move on.
Finally, after all is said and done, focus on your formatting, grammar, and spelling if you are doing a text review. Focus on your video editing, sound and video playback quality if you are doing a movie review. These things are crucial to maintaining an audience.
That's it! Get out there and review some decks!
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