"ARABESQUE" by OathPlayingCards

[Bradius]

Perhaps you can put a number limit on the sale tomorrow? I would be interested if some one or ones took tons of these. That seems odd at $100 a piece. I for one am sure not buying these for multiples on ebay or such. I will just have a hole in my collection.

[badpete69]

2 and a half minutes. Jesus...

told ya buddy that it would fly off the website... Was in a store on my phone but made it in...

[Thedissident001]

Well if someone did buy multiples they are going to be cheesed at the extras being added. I’m sure they will voice displeasure at some stage lol

[JuFiN]

He did make it clear that was the plan in his email.

[Merlebird]

I was also able to swing a fifth mortgage on my house. All is good.

I'm like 95% positive this is a joke, but it's that 5% that worries me....

Well if someone did buy multiples they are going to be cheesed at the extras being added. I’m sure they will voice displeasure at some stage lol

Have there been extras added? At least as it was explained in the e-mail, there would be 100 total sold: 50 tonight, 50 tomorrow night for the folks who missed the initial drop.

I don't mind having just the gold version as it feels more like the "definitive" edition to me. But you completionists must really be sweating these flash sales... good luck, y'all!

[Bradius]

Go with the 95%, but unnessary as I spent zero.

[TheGentlemanWake]

Wow! 2 minutes? How much faster than the last time? Congrats Lotrek and a million thanks for including the deck review link in your newsletter! UC was where I really started and it’s cool to see how the community helps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[shermjack]

Have there been extras added? At least as it was explained in the e-mail, there would be 100 total sold: 50 tonight, 50 tomorrow night for the folks who missed the initial drop.

There were are a total of 150 decks...100 sold today and the remaining 50 will be available tomorrow at the same time for those that missed out on them today (or want to get more)

[joeblow]

Congrats on the quick sale. Unfortunately $100 hits my limit. Clearly there are buyers at this price. It's probably good for ebay flippers.

I may be back on the Lotrek wagon for releases priced for mortals. Until then I hope you're not splitting your market and lose the lower end.

[Spectre]

I don't think he is "splitting his market and losing the lower end". He said earlier he plans on launching a KS campaign for a players version in a few days.

@GentlemanWake: Thank you for your stunning review! I love the fact that you say your opinion which includes some slightly negative comments which are always welcome (if not valuable) when they come in good faith. I think you're right about the indices and in the Player's edition that will launch in KS in a few days I'll make them perfectly readable.
I also loved the detail of the Arabian tales book you have on the table next to you!
Great review, really.

[portcullis]

I couldn't afford these - cos some months you just gotta be an adult - irrespective of however many are released, but I'm now convinced Lotrek is actually Adam Poots in a beard.

[Bikefanatic]

So what time the other decks are supposed to be released today?

[badpete69]

Same as yesterday 6pm edt

[RichK]

So what time the other decks are supposed to be released today?

6 pm EDT (Eastern Daylight Time), same as yesterday. If you're on mobile, I can't use one, try logging into Paypal before 6 so hopefully his web site will get you into Paypal faster. I don't know if it'll work but it's worth trying since there's no limit at $100 each.

[akicer]

Just for fun I wanna monitor how these 50 get sold lol

[JacksandJokers]

Just for fun I wanna monitor how these 50 get sold lol

Lol, I'm doing exactly the same.

[Azazaaz]

Ok, I got it this time. The Paypal trick worked like a charm, thanks RichK!

Now, after two rough nights I'm finally gonna sleep like a baby

[rousselle]

Ok, I got it this time. The Paypal trick worked like a charm, thanks RichK!

Now, after two rough nights I'm finally gonna sleep like a baby

Sucking your thumb and pooping your pants?

[Lotrek]

Just for fun I wanna monitor how these 50 get sold lol

5 mins. Compared to yesterday, it took ages!

[JacksandJokers]

Just for fun I wanna monitor how these 50 get sold lol

Lol, I'm doing exactly the same.

Definitely slower tonight but they're all gone now.

[Thedissident001]

All gone again? Yes ages compared to yesterday haha

[rousselle]

Annnd, there they go.

I hope everyone who wanted 'em got 'em.

I was tempted to pick up a couple just in case anybody here missed out, but I didn't make up my mind fast enough. Hopefully that means that they went to a good home.

[Bradius]

Well, I managed to get my decks this time. Sold out in like 6 minutes. Still, this is just getting crazy. I will give my thoughts later tonight. For now, I can finally rest and go on to my next meeting.

RichK, thanks for giving me some suggestions to speed my paypal processing. It helped.

[Lotrek]

Although the vast majority have gotten 1 or 2 decks, I decided that in the future I will be setting a limit to the number of decks someone can get for the very limited editions. I prefer the scheme of unlimited copies but for limited time, as it gives everybody the chance to get the copies they want. However this time the decks were already printed and I could not do that. For a 150deck print run it's pretty certain that many people will be left out even if the limit is 1 suite per person.

Thank you all for your amazing support despite my horrible delays (which I believe soon will be a past to remember and laugh with).

[Bradius]

Okay, so some thoughts on this Arabesque series. Lotrek, back in January asked us to pony up $85 for a deck unseen and buy on faith that it was a great deal, knowing the price would eventually go up to $100. So, being the insane Lotrek fan I am (and having paid out the nose for decks missing of his that were released earlier), I was way into this opportunity. So much so that I bought in for 6 decks sight unseen and a seventh at the end of the campaign when there were a few extra. Then came the error decks, they were “only” $50 each, so I was in for another four decks. So now I am in for 11 decks in the series. And for the error deck, I had to compete with everyone for those. Then comes the silver arabesque, and I have to compete again for the decks, which I will go into later. Now there is going to be a Kickstarter for some Player editions. Somehow, I am guessing at this point there will be some Signature decks coming out too. I say this to just point out I bought into a single deck, not a whole dang unknown series! As a collector, I want the whole series (which is something many of us share). When David was mentioning about an eight-deck series of all of the planets, at least he was upfront about it and several of us were able to lobby him to sell the entire series to some of us, so we could then not worry about getting into the series and find out for some reason we were missing say the Uranus deck. I mean that would just be a tragedy at that point if I was missing Uranus after securing all of the other limited-edition decks. Anyway, I was able to just pay and sit back.

In the Arabesque case, it is likewise getting harder and harder to get the new decks. This Silver deck was completely ridiculous. I was on this sale a few seconds after it went on sale, and then got sold out while I was quickly trying to navigate PayPal and getting error messages on your sale site. To say it was frustrating would be an understatement. Honestly, as much as I love your stuff, that has really turned me off to doing this anymore. And I am just being honest, even after getting my Silver decks the second day. It is just crazy. And the real kicker that is ticking me off, is that as soon as these decks arrive, a bunch of people will be putting them up for sale. Either so they can basically pay for their collecting costs or just to make a buck. Either way, they have no intention of keeping and enjoying all of these decks as a collector. They are speculative buyers trying to make a buck.

Now, I know that you decided to go to limited decks to avoid having the long waits for production, but the flip side of that decision are these insane flash sales. I don’t care to keep doing this, and if that is the path you choose, I am probably going to pass because it is going to continue to escalate as long as folks purchase your rare decks from these speculators at significant premiums on eBay and even on UC’s sale site. I can only click so fast, as my latest results have proven to be inadequate. Frankly, I would rather you go back to offering the decks for a reasonable time and then build them and know I can collect everything. I would also rather know what kind of a series I am dealing with upfront, than the way this has been unfolding as I can better plan how many I want to purchase. This adventure has been a lot steeper than I was planning when I first leapt on this deck in faith. Also, I would like to point out that those that leapt with you on faith should have been the only ones to compete (If that should even happen) for the limited decks. Again, I want the whole dang series, not parts of it.

At this point, I am really doubting that I am backing another mystery deck to be honest because this really has not played out really well for me, which is frankly a shame as much as I love your stuff as is evidenced by my so far 15 Arabesque decks I have ordered so far. My purchases for the Ambassador series so far is even greater in magnitude. Another kicker is that the rarer varients were sold sight seen as a flash sale! That doesn't sit well for someone that really backed you sight unseen!

I am not looking for special breaks, but I am not interested in forever trying to touch my nose while balancing a bottle turning three times backward each time you release a new variant as well or get into a new series not having any idea how it is going to play out and how I can get the complete set. I also am much less interested in completing my sets by buying from the resellers and thus make this problem worse.

[vasta41]

**to long to quote**

First off, I agree with just about everything you said. People reselling decks on ebay for a markup doesn't bother me as much as you but I get your point- it's more fair for collectors to have first dibs on cards over the resellers. But the obvious problem with that is how do you weed out the collectors from the resellers when selling a deck?
I don't know how long you've been collecting cards but about 10-12 years ago it was much more common for websites like E, T11, etc. to have "flash sales." To the point where it became a joke about server crashes. And most of those flash sales were decks of cards that have since been recolored 100 times. And when playing cards began popping up on KS for the first few years, many if not all of them had substantial discounts for limited EB categories. Some still do now but not like it used to be so again, a flash sale-esque method of distribution. I never actually sat back and thought about how I feel about card sales that I have to set an alarm for, probably because I'm just so used to it as a standard. But the point is Lotrek is not the first to do this.
Where it becomes frustrating (for me anyway) is when you're trying to collect a series (an expensive one I might add) and out of nowhere there are now 3 extra errored versions you have to buy. Now on the one hand, if I put myself in Lotrek's shoes I would probably do the same thing in order to supplement some of my wasted money. So how can I fault him for that? But on the other hand, as a collector it can be a bit unnerving to know that most of the time these error decks end up being more valuable than the original decks I paid good money for.
I guess I'm lucky that I can sometimes keep my Pokemon syndrome at bay much to the delight of my wallet and wife. But it is quite an interesting topic of discussion. Either way, the way I look at Lotrek's decks now is that I will just try to buy the ones I can afford and ignorantly try to pretend the others don't exist!

[Adonael]

I understand the frustration too, particularly considering the cost of the decks. I'm happy enough to only get the original version as it's all I can afford and also consider it the purest. I can't fault the process either considering there's obviously more than enough demand and I can't think of a better way to do it. I'm not surprised by extra versions, it's good to make the most of the incredible designs, but I agree it would be nice to know about them in advance, if not the particulars, just the fact they'll exist. I was surprised to hear about Arabesque players edition though, are we getting players editions of all future decks now? Because the Ambassadors player edition turned out great, even the other half was impressed lol.

[theCapraAegagrus]

I agree with much of what Bradius and Vasta posted before me.

My biggest gripe is the amount of variants per design, which is why when it comes to Lotrek, I've only kept the "Signature" decks in my collection. I was going to spend a million dollars on the Icons series, but then he launched the Signature deck, which IMO is the best one. Then came Liturgy which I missed out on the launch, lo and behold, the Treasure deck came along and I got that. Same with Grotesk.

I thought that Arabesque was going to follow Sanctus being the one-and-only of the foiled design (expecting "Players" decks), but now there's Error and Silver. Is there going to be a Signature? I've just become accustomed to waiting forever for the 'best' one to drop. It's exhausting and makes me anxious since I never know when, or which one, is the Ultimate Edition. And it's the only one I care about.

[JacksandJokers]

I also agree with all of the above.

I will happily admit that I usually buy a few extra decks specifically to sell for profit in order to cover the costs of the decks which I will keep.
I'm also a bit of a completest, particularly with Lotrek's work, so I do get annoyed when a new Limited / Signature / Players edition pops up completely unannounced.

However what angers me the most is when all of a sudden there are error decks being sold for a fraction of the original cost & those who buy them receive them and start selling them well before the people who initially forked out their hard earned cash for the original (and as far as they knew the only) "correct" version.

I was lucky with Arabesque as I was able to afford several of each the Gold & Silver versions, However I completely missed out on the error deck and the recent Golden Oath prototype sale as I simply couldn't afford them at the time (and why should I, I have already paid for the "original" versions).

Like Bradius, I have also considered simply quitting if these flash sales / error decks keep occurring as it almost makes it impossible for completists like myself to keep up.

[Lotrek]

As always I'm open to criticism and grateful for the negative comments coming from positive people. If I am not, I won't improve.

Before I go further, let me make this clear: There will be NO other costly variants in the Arabesque series and there will be NO SIGNATURE edition. Only the player's version of the deck, which means no foil on the cards, a beautiful handling and two different colors for the back for those who want to play games that need two decks.

NOW...

When planning and producing a deck I have two choices: Print first and then sell what is printed or ask for some type of crowdfunding to do my crazy stuff. Both have some disadvantages either for me or for backers. Printing first means that I cannot print many decks therefore the price may be rather high and of course many people will be left out. Crowdfunding means that things may not turn as desired, resulting on delays and/or error decks -WHICH I HATE TO DO -but I have to if I don't want to end up bankrupt...
Just FYI, the Silver decks were planned and printed from the beginning and of course their first print had the same error cards. All these decks were scrapped as were the money they costed. I only kept some as a proof that they really existed.

Of course I could say: "f**k you guys, since it works for me and my decks sell in seconds I don't give a s**t if you miss an edition. Practice more with your keyboards next time". But this is not my mentality. In fact what works best for me is what works best for my backers. So I'm trying to figure out what would be best. If I'm honest I must say that I didn't really expect the Silver deck to disappear in minutes. I'm probably underestimating my decks' selling powers but that's the truth. After that incredibly fast sale I came to some conclusions or better I have some ideas:
I'm seriously thinking of doing a presale for a certain period of time where people will be asked to "reserve" their decks by paying a small part of the final price. This way I'll know how many decks are sold, people will have paid a small amount to reserve the deck without having tied up their money for an unknown period of time and I'll be able to get things started. After all, as I gain experience I'm avoiding disastrous production errors which cost crazy amounts of money and time. I'll stick to the disastrous design errors! This is just a thought, I don't know if it can work but I think it may be worth trying.

Another idea would be something like a club with an annual fee (not much, just enough to make only people who are really interested join in) where EVERY MEMBER will have the chance to get at least one copy of everything I do -if they want it of course).

I have many ideas for upcoming decks with crazy stuff and as I cannot rest without experimenting the results are somewhat unpredictable. But I really think it's worth the effort on both ends. You've only seen a few things of what I can do. I'm here to stay so I want as many people as possible to be happy. If you have ideas regarding what could work best, I'm all ears, really.


Bradius, I'm warning you: If you miss the next mystery deck you'll regret it!