Why watch deck reviews?

[DeckReview]

Deck reviews are usually done to tell viewers to either avoid a deck or to get the deck. Over the years though I began asking myself questions after reviewing my video's audience retention and seeing everyone's different style of reviews. I know why I watch reviews, but I'm no mind reader. Your answers can improve the quality of my reviews and may be others too. And yes the questions are black and white, exaggerated.
 
 
Why do you watch/read deck reviews?
 
To see what the cards look like?
 
To see them in action in the form of flourishes?
 
Do  you watch reviews after you bought the deck to see if their opinion matches your own?
            If their opinion does not match your own, will you respect their opinion or discredit them as a reviewer?
 
Do you prefer reviews with more facts vs opinion or vice versa?
 
Straight facts or straight opinons deck reviews?
 
Do you prefer reviews that goes over every last detail right to the paper count layered on the cards or do you prefer simple condensed reviews?
 
What makes one reviewer's opinion matter more than the other guy's?
 
Skilled Robot reviewer or Sufficient Charismatic reviewer or Skill-less but enthusiastic reviewers?
 
Watch merely out of  boredom/entertainment?
 
Care more of the looks than the handling, or vice versa?
 
Reviews with high quality presentation with misinformation vs Real info with low quality?

[dmbaggs]

I watch the deck reviews mainly to see how the cards handle and what the cards look like. It's always nice to here a little back story to the deck as well, if there is one. Usually I watch a deck review because that person offers something that others don't

[ReaganM]

I agree with brown sac, I mainly use the reviews to see if cards handle well and am starting to use them to scout out good printers, that are not uspcc.

[Evan]

I watch deck reviews to see what the cards really look like. I also watch them to see how they handle.

I make deck reviews to show people that and to inform people about the deck.

[Frost]

I see deck reviews to see if i will buy the deck that they are reviewing .

[Evan]

A lot of people, including me, want to see what the deck looks like in the hands of someone other than the person in the trailer of the deck.

[xZEROx]

Same story here. I'm a collector so I don't really mind about the handling of the deck. But I really want to know how the deck is like, how the court cards are designed. Because, for the most part, I don't open my decks so I'll never know how each card looks like unless I watch these reviews.

[moonexe]

Do  you watch reviews after you bought the deck to see if their opinion matches your own?            If their opinion does not match your own, will you respect their opinion or discredit them as a reviewer?
It all depends on how biased this "opinion" is.
Do you prefer reviews with more facts vs opinion or vice versa?
Both, but facts are more important.
 
Do you prefer reviews that goes over every last detail right to the paper count layered on the cards or do you prefer simple condensed reviews?
It depends... I hate reviews that go too in-depth on the box, but I don't mind for the cards themselves.
 
What makes one reviewer's opinion matter more than the other guy's?
Nothing. That's what makes it an opinion.
 
Skilled Robot reviewer or Sufficient Charismatic reviewer or Skill-less but enthusiastic reviewers?
Knowledge is the key. If the reviewer doesn't know what he's talking about, he should be doing something else than reviews.
Care more of the looks than the handling, or vice versa?
Reviews aren't reveals. Enough said.
 
Reviews with high quality presentation with misinformation vs Real info with low quality?
Misinformation annoys the hell out of me, to be polite. Low quality is something you can't always help, and as long as I can hear what you're saying, I'd rather have a bad image than an idiot saying random stuff.

...The formatting is broken, I'm trying to make my post easier to read but it keeps getting messed up after I save the changes. Sorry about that.

[digipunk]

To see what the cards look like?
Of course.
 
To see them in action in the form of flourishes?
Yes.
 
Do  you watch reviews after you bought the deck to see if their opinion matches your own?
Seldom.

If their opinion does not match your own, will you respect their opinion or discredit them as a reviewer?
It depends on the skill level of reviewer. If he is an expert in cards, I respect him. If he is that kind of collector like sxjy0109 ( ) that only buys card but doesn't really use them, I don't trust such a reviewer. I hope there are many reviews for every single deck, then I may have the chance to honor some of them and mock the others.
 
Do you prefer reviews with more facts vs opinion or vice versa?
Either will do. You could never do a review that satisfies all people in the world. I want to know the facts as well as the opinions from the reviewer if he is an expert.
 
Do you prefer reviews that goes over every last detail right to the paper count layered on the cards or do you prefer simple condensed reviews?
Before I have the deck, the former. After I have the deck, the latter (I might think, "say something that I don't know" when watching the reviews).

Care more of the looks than the handling, or vice versa?
Handling.

[Don Boyer]

I don't often watch reviews.  For me, some text and some photos work just fine.

I've been considering a new video review format: 52 cards in 52 seconds!  Just the facts, straightforward, using a script, no dawdling or spending five minutes talking about the beautiful box that the viewers can plainly see for themselves.

The problem is that I lack enough time or interest in doing it myself!  It would also involve a good deal of editing, to have everything it needs and nothing it doesn't.

If I did a deck review, though, it would likely be among the shortest you've ever seen, whether in print or in video.

[loldudex2]

I don't often watch reviews.  For me, some text and some photos work just fine.

I've been considering a new video review format: 52 cards in 52 seconds!  Just the facts, straightforward, using a script, no dawdling or spending five minutes talking about the beautiful box that the viewers can plainly see for themselves.

The problem is that I lack enough time or interest in doing it myself!  It would also involve a good deal of editing, to have everything it needs and nothing it doesn't.

If I did a deck review, though, it would likely be among the shortest you've ever seen, whether in print or in video.

That format seems really cool, and I woul love to see that, as long as you don't talk really fast and you don't seem rushed.

[digipunk]

That format seems really cool, and I woul love to see that, as long as you don't talk really fast and you don't seem rushed.

Look at his lengthy replies on these forums. Do you really believe it will be short if Don writes a review...

[loldudex2]

That format seems really cool, and I woul love to see that, as long as you don't talk really fast and you don't seem rushed.

Look at his lengthy replies on these forums. Do you really believe it will be short if Don writes a review...

That is very true. maybe he could make each review 5:20 long so he still goes over everything important, while keeping a relatively short card review, because I do feel with only 52 seconds, and with extremely customized decks, he won't go over enough information, or it will be really rushed and he would have to film it many times so it doesn't go over the time limit, unless he edits it or something.

Maybe you could do quick 52 second reviews, and if people are really interested, you could film a longer one with back-story, and more detail, and more information.

[Jin Jian]

i watch deck review just to see the design of the card .. but i watch your deck review is mainly for the card fan and the xtreme giant fan

[Don Boyer]

That format seems really cool, and I woul love to see that, as long as you don't talk really fast and you don't seem rushed.

Look at his lengthy replies on these forums. Do you really believe it will be short if Don writes a review...

Ha ha.  Thanks for the love...


I prefer short and to the point.  A review longer than a long TV ad is too long.
That is very true. maybe he could make each review 5:20 long so he still goes over everything important, while keeping a relatively short card review, because I do feel with only 52 seconds, and with extremely customized decks, he won't go over enough information, or it will be really rushed and he would have to film it many times so it doesn't go over the time limit, unless he edits it or something.

Maybe you could do quick 52 second reviews, and if people are really interested, you could film a longer one with back-story, and more detail, and more information.

[phantom1412]

I wanna know mainly the design, all cards in details.
Second, I wanna know the handling of the decks.
Third I wanna know what people think about the deck.

[Paul Carpenter]

I watch reviews now and then, and the main thing I want to see is what all the cards look like as a whole package. Often you only get to see a handful of cards, and not all of them, and usually you get to see a small picture or a digital representation. Seeing the details of all the cards, showing some closeups, talking about the details are the things that I'd look for.

Handling, IMO, is not all that critical because most cards coming out these days are very similar in stock and finish and there aren't wild variations amongst new releases. I can look at my collection and probably 90% of my decks handle very closely, except for the few oddballs. So unless a deck handles utterly horribly straight out of the box, spending a lot of time talking about that isn't as helpful.

Giving some personal opinion is fine, but a reviewer should always be fair and preface things like that making it clear that it's their opinion alone, and other people might feel completely different. We all have our tastes.

Length wise, I think a good review could be done in 5 min or less.

[Don Boyer]

People seem to forget that the video deck review is just that, a VIDEO, with a visual element.  With good edit work and running from a script, you really need say very little - or you can talk about the quality of the handling while simply showing what the cards look like.


The whole "reading everything on the box" thing that a lot of people do?  It's like having that annoying friend with you that reads every single stupid sign that you pass on the road when you can plainly see it yourself.  You're SHOWING them the tuck box - most of your viewers can read, and the ones that can't only need to see it anyway.  The whole tuck box could be handled in ten seconds with barely a spoken word.


With proper film technique, a deck review can be as short as a television advertisement.


And what's with "reviewing" a deck that they haven't handled until they cracked open the cellophane on-camera?  This is the 21st century, folks - any deck short of the "two for 99 cents" kiddie decks you find in the dollar store will handle well out of the box.  I want to know how it handles after you've been playing poker all night or shuffling it incessantly for the past several days.  Then show me if the thing can still respond as smoothly - that's a review that's worth watching.  The "I'm cracking it open on screen" shows are NOT reviews, they're previews for people interested in buying who want to see how pretty the box and the cards are.


I'd wager there were plenty of reviews about how kick-ass Massa decks were when they cracked open a pack on-camera, inflating the value of them, but when people realized the finish wore out REALLY fast, the value of them dropped like a stone out of an airplane.  (Hmm...  Perhaps a cagey card manufacturer could sponsor a group of people to throw out killer "first impression" reviews to inflate the price and demand, in an effort to sell out before the public realized what crap they really are after more than a few uses...)