Nintenderek
08-10-2010, 11:47 PM
Introduction:
So, so many times a day on Pojo, and on other sites, I see people post their decks hoping for some good advice on their decks, and so many times I see so many bad replies. It seems nobody knows how to help someone with their deck. That’s when people get angry and it’s how arguments start. Even I have caught myself making lots of the common mistakes everyone makes. That’s when I came up with a small guide for myself. Then I started to notice the problem more and more. So, with that in mind, I decided to write an actual guide on how to do a proper deck fix.
1. Always be polite
Politeness is always a key factor in everything on forums like Pojo, including deck fixes. Just because you think someone’s deck is bad, or their opinion on something is bad, is no reason to start throwing insults. This just leads to more insults.
2. Start with the good
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen deck fixes start with something like “this sucks, do this” or something like that. People are less tempted to read the advice and take advice from people who insult them off the start. To be on Pojo means that the person who’s using the deck plays the game and knows enough about the game to find this website, which means there has to be something decent about the deck. Tell the person what you like about the deck. This will make them listen more when you tell them what’s wrong with it.
3. Remember to keep the deck count the same
Unless you are suggesting to them to make the deck smaller, don’t ever suggest to take out or add more cards then what you’ve suggested to put in or take out. For instance, if you suggest to someone to add a card, also suggest which card to take out for it. Even if they don’t take the full advice, it helps them to start on the thinking process of fixing the deck. For instance, let’s say someone is running Trap Hole, Negate Attack and Draining Shield, and you think they should take all of those cards out. Obviously, you will suggest Bottomless over Trap Hole, and probably Threatening Roar over Negate Attack, however you should also suggest something to put in instead of Draining Shield, to get them thinking about that spot in the deck.
4. Spells for Spells, Traps for Traps, Monsters for Monsters
Sometimes, people like to keep certain ratios in their deck. This may not always be true, but it is sometimes. This is why it’s usually a good idea when making suggestions that if you want to suggest replacing something in the deck, suggest replacing it with the same type of card.
5. Keep money in mind
Not everyone who plays this game is rich and can afford all the best cards. Some people may not be able to find certain cards to trade for. So, with that in mind, always keep suggestions on a budget. At the time of this release, Mirror Force has not been released as a common and is currently priced between 30 to 60 dollars. Not only that, but it’s extremely hard to find people willing to trade them. However, in a recent experiment I did, in 3 out of 5 threads opened, if a person is not running Mirror Force in their deck, somewhere in the first five posts, someone will suggest it. This also goes for cards like Solemn Judgment. Yes, it’s a rare now. No, that doesn’t make it that much easier to get when nobody is willing to trade it. This is why it’s a bad idea to suggest it to people, since people would probably be running it already if they had said cards. A good idea is to usually not suggest any cards that are worth more than 15-20 dollars. Also consider how easy it is to get people to trade a card when making the suggestions. So, while yes, Pot of Duality if a good card, it's a bad suggestion because not everyone has the 100 dollars to dish out for it.
6. Don’t use acronyms when making suggestions.
Not everyone is online as much as other people. Just because you know what PWWB means, doesn’t mean everyone does, especially considering a lot of the people who ask for suggestions, ask because they are inexperienced. It may be quicker to use these, but it’s easier on everyone to just spell things out.
7. Proper Grammar and Spelling are a must
I can’t tell you how many suggestions I’ve seen made that weren’t taken seriously just because of the grammar or spelling. It’s hard to conclude that someone knows what they are doing with Yu-Gi-Oh cards if they can’t even think enough to spell “Judgement Dragon” properly without the extra E in Judgment. Also, if you don’t spell the card names properly, then people might not know what card you are talking about, which means they won’t be able to find the card when they go out looking for it.
8. Give reference
Give good reason why this person should listen to you. For instance, if I was playing Blackwings and posted my Blackwing deck on pojo, I would be more tempted to listen to a fellow Blackwing Player, then someone who didn’t say they were a Blackwing player, because a fellow Blackwing player would know what they are talking about.
9. Don’t bash the deck just because of what type of deck it is.
Yes, Morphatronics aren’t top tier and won’t usually win against a deck like X-sabers. We get that. That’s no reason to just outright bash the deck and tell the person to run something else. Perhaps they do run something else more competitive and just wanted help with a fun deck? Or perhaps they are only a casual player? There are lots of decks posted online every day. You can’t expect every one of them to be top tier and shouldn’t bash a deck because it isn’t. Instead, perhaps giving advice on how to make the already existing deck better would be a better idea? Because you never know what might be meta next. I remember several months ago, people use to bash people for running frogs. If you posted a frog deck, you were usually flamed with in the first couple of posts for it, because frogs apparently sucked. Now look at frogs today. Just because something isn’t top tier now, doesn’t mean it won’t be in the future with more support.
10. Always check back later
When you give a deck suggestion, people will reply. It’s always nice to check back later, just to see what the person thought of your suggestion. That way, if needed, you can follow these rules again to give more advice.
Ninja Edit 11. Always give reason for suggestions
I'm not sure how I forgot this one, but it's pretty self explanatory and should just be common sense. Never give a suggestion for a deck with out giving your reason for that suggestion as well, that way the person you are making the suggestion to will understand and will be more likely to take the suggestion seriously.
Conclusion:
Anyway, that’s how to do a proper deck fix online. I noticed right away when I started to follow these rules I made for myself, I tended to get better feedback from the people I was trying to help. Instead of arguments, there was more actual conversation and deck fixing, and more people would take my advice. I hope this works as well for everyone else as it did me.
So, so many times a day on Pojo, and on other sites, I see people post their decks hoping for some good advice on their decks, and so many times I see so many bad replies. It seems nobody knows how to help someone with their deck. That’s when people get angry and it’s how arguments start. Even I have caught myself making lots of the common mistakes everyone makes. That’s when I came up with a small guide for myself. Then I started to notice the problem more and more. So, with that in mind, I decided to write an actual guide on how to do a proper deck fix.
1. Always be polite
Politeness is always a key factor in everything on forums like Pojo, including deck fixes. Just because you think someone’s deck is bad, or their opinion on something is bad, is no reason to start throwing insults. This just leads to more insults.
2. Start with the good
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen deck fixes start with something like “this sucks, do this” or something like that. People are less tempted to read the advice and take advice from people who insult them off the start. To be on Pojo means that the person who’s using the deck plays the game and knows enough about the game to find this website, which means there has to be something decent about the deck. Tell the person what you like about the deck. This will make them listen more when you tell them what’s wrong with it.
3. Remember to keep the deck count the same
Unless you are suggesting to them to make the deck smaller, don’t ever suggest to take out or add more cards then what you’ve suggested to put in or take out. For instance, if you suggest to someone to add a card, also suggest which card to take out for it. Even if they don’t take the full advice, it helps them to start on the thinking process of fixing the deck. For instance, let’s say someone is running Trap Hole, Negate Attack and Draining Shield, and you think they should take all of those cards out. Obviously, you will suggest Bottomless over Trap Hole, and probably Threatening Roar over Negate Attack, however you should also suggest something to put in instead of Draining Shield, to get them thinking about that spot in the deck.
4. Spells for Spells, Traps for Traps, Monsters for Monsters
Sometimes, people like to keep certain ratios in their deck. This may not always be true, but it is sometimes. This is why it’s usually a good idea when making suggestions that if you want to suggest replacing something in the deck, suggest replacing it with the same type of card.
5. Keep money in mind
Not everyone who plays this game is rich and can afford all the best cards. Some people may not be able to find certain cards to trade for. So, with that in mind, always keep suggestions on a budget. At the time of this release, Mirror Force has not been released as a common and is currently priced between 30 to 60 dollars. Not only that, but it’s extremely hard to find people willing to trade them. However, in a recent experiment I did, in 3 out of 5 threads opened, if a person is not running Mirror Force in their deck, somewhere in the first five posts, someone will suggest it. This also goes for cards like Solemn Judgment. Yes, it’s a rare now. No, that doesn’t make it that much easier to get when nobody is willing to trade it. This is why it’s a bad idea to suggest it to people, since people would probably be running it already if they had said cards. A good idea is to usually not suggest any cards that are worth more than 15-20 dollars. Also consider how easy it is to get people to trade a card when making the suggestions. So, while yes, Pot of Duality if a good card, it's a bad suggestion because not everyone has the 100 dollars to dish out for it.
6. Don’t use acronyms when making suggestions.
Not everyone is online as much as other people. Just because you know what PWWB means, doesn’t mean everyone does, especially considering a lot of the people who ask for suggestions, ask because they are inexperienced. It may be quicker to use these, but it’s easier on everyone to just spell things out.
7. Proper Grammar and Spelling are a must
I can’t tell you how many suggestions I’ve seen made that weren’t taken seriously just because of the grammar or spelling. It’s hard to conclude that someone knows what they are doing with Yu-Gi-Oh cards if they can’t even think enough to spell “Judgement Dragon” properly without the extra E in Judgment. Also, if you don’t spell the card names properly, then people might not know what card you are talking about, which means they won’t be able to find the card when they go out looking for it.
8. Give reference
Give good reason why this person should listen to you. For instance, if I was playing Blackwings and posted my Blackwing deck on pojo, I would be more tempted to listen to a fellow Blackwing Player, then someone who didn’t say they were a Blackwing player, because a fellow Blackwing player would know what they are talking about.
9. Don’t bash the deck just because of what type of deck it is.
Yes, Morphatronics aren’t top tier and won’t usually win against a deck like X-sabers. We get that. That’s no reason to just outright bash the deck and tell the person to run something else. Perhaps they do run something else more competitive and just wanted help with a fun deck? Or perhaps they are only a casual player? There are lots of decks posted online every day. You can’t expect every one of them to be top tier and shouldn’t bash a deck because it isn’t. Instead, perhaps giving advice on how to make the already existing deck better would be a better idea? Because you never know what might be meta next. I remember several months ago, people use to bash people for running frogs. If you posted a frog deck, you were usually flamed with in the first couple of posts for it, because frogs apparently sucked. Now look at frogs today. Just because something isn’t top tier now, doesn’t mean it won’t be in the future with more support.
10. Always check back later
When you give a deck suggestion, people will reply. It’s always nice to check back later, just to see what the person thought of your suggestion. That way, if needed, you can follow these rules again to give more advice.
Ninja Edit 11. Always give reason for suggestions
I'm not sure how I forgot this one, but it's pretty self explanatory and should just be common sense. Never give a suggestion for a deck with out giving your reason for that suggestion as well, that way the person you are making the suggestion to will understand and will be more likely to take the suggestion seriously.
Conclusion:
Anyway, that’s how to do a proper deck fix online. I noticed right away when I started to follow these rules I made for myself, I tended to get better feedback from the people I was trying to help. Instead of arguments, there was more actual conversation and deck fixing, and more people would take my advice. I hope this works as well for everyone else as it did me.