UNBROKEN - Seasons Mystery Deck Sale

[KingfisherZero]

Congrats to those that got in! Exciting 60 seconds waiting for the Paypal load or whatever...but I got one!

[hsbc]

Imagine being a Seasons completionist and trying to hunt down all of these to buy second-hand

[vasta41]

I ended up getting one to be on the safe side. Hopefully a cheaper, more abundantly available version is released soon and if so, I'll just sell this one.

[aardvarkgod]

Um, so how are we going to get this deck listed on Portfolio52?

[Daisho]

It is odd that the guy that runs the Portfolio52 would be the guy that creates a deck that breaks it.

Otherwise, I guess I would look forward to owning v49 of this deck.

[aardvarkgod]

It is odd that the guy that runs the Portfolio52 would be the guy that creates a deck that breaks it.

Otherwise, I guess I would look forward to owning v49 of this deck.

We should make him scan in each deck and make entries before he sends them all out. That way we can see all the possibilities and fill our wishlists with things we'll never be able to get!

[MagikFingerz]

It is odd that the guy that runs the Portfolio52 would be the guy that creates a deck that breaks it.

Otherwise, I guess I would look forward to owning v49 of this deck.

We should make him scan in each deck and make entries before he sends them all out. That way we can see all the possibilities and fill our wishlists with things we'll never be able to get!

If this actually happened, people could easily trade for the ones they'd want the most.

[IAmTheChin]

I am assuming when you say each deck is unique that you are referring to the tuck only, but all the cards will be the same.
I'm far more interested in what the back design will be and what the courts will look like.

Correct!
But it's a mystery deck, where's the mystery in showing? Lol jk there's fairness in that inquiry. I won't show it but I'll give a gauge on the deck. It's got custom ace, jokers, Seasons courts, and a simple patterned back design. I thought about the back a lot and what it needed to be to unite all the different patterns and think this is the best way. On a fun note it is animated which I've wanted to do for a while but couldn't since it would mark a deck. I felt for this experimental series though it would be fine.

As I was checking out PayPal froze for a minute and I missed it Trying again tonight!

Paypal troubles happened for a few users, not all. If you'd like to be safe it may be worth doing CC with autofilled info for checkout. I actually had one order where payment went through but the order didn't which given his payment was before the closing order was doubly odd.

Ahhh the hunt is always fun Got mine.....

Fasted hands in the west lol

I think the system only allowed one order per person.

Yeah, if you try to add more the site wags its finger at you.

Yeah, didn't Alex say if this 'experimental run' is successful he might do an official KS campaign.

Yes, so this was more to test the execution of the concept of individualized variation (more on that below). I'm surprised the concept was embraced so well though so I'll definitely be making this a KS at some point. I can see a larger printer with foiled cards that lend themselves well to this theme. I've got a queue to get through but it's certainly on the list now for a larger shot.

It is odd that the guy that runs the Portfolio52 would be the guy that creates a deck that breaks it.
Otherwise, I guess I would look forward to owning v49 of this deck.

Great insight! That was actually the main point of this experiment. Now that I've gone all-in on P52 I've been noticing a lot of areas for improvement on a site level as well as cultural level. Looking at last year's Manor of Wonder decks there are a significant amount of Elixir prototypes unlisted. Basically what's happening is there is a small group of very dedicated uploaders and the rest who are unfamiliar/uncomfortable with the process. One of my goals for 2021 is to begin incentivizing and making more comfortable the idea of volunteerism on the site in one form or another to flesh out the site quality a bit more. I'll be sending instructions on how to upload a deck with each purchase. Honestly from a monetary stand point this project was a crazy amount of work and not necessarily worth it once you consider initial testing/material/time costs, but it's totally worth it in my book if it starts normalizing more uploads to the site.
(Basically I'm looking to launch a #CardGenomeProject soon which involves getting the entire community to scan every single card over the next 2 years. This is a needed prerequisite for the end result which is a 'Deck ID' tool I want to put on site which I feel like would be a huge value add. So hence this idea of uploading=good! lol)

The second point of this project is absolutely one that forces discussion - variation. It's big enough topic that it's worth starting in a new thread. But currently every variation that gets accepted is set up as a completely unique deck. But as the site grows this makes it harder for users to search visually. So what happens when we have gilded decks that are only different by a sticker on the back of the tuck? What about Bicycle decks that are identical except for it's production year on the bottom flap? Understanding and figuring out how to manage variation through the conversations that would come from this is something I was looking forward to hearing. 'Set Collections' is long overdue, but for individual deck variations, I'm thinking of nesting trees of multiple variations of a deck in a single deck listing to help organize search and formatting the page accordingly. But these are still just thoughts.

We should make him scan in each deck and make entries before he sends them all out. That way we can see all the possibilities and fill our wishlists with things we'll never be able to get!

If this actually happened, people could easily trade for the ones they'd want the most.

@Aardvarkgod I thought about this a LOT. If I can get it to work I will be doing this for the Kickstarter in which each person will get a QR code to scan which will automatically add their deck to the database or add an existing deck to their collection. Getting that automated is what I am unfamiliar with still (hence why all this is manual and experimental). But yes that is eventually end goal.

@MagikFIngerz, YES! Great minds think alike! So for all you oldies that have been on P52 since the beginning might remember the TRADE function on the site which matched you with members on the site for possible trade suggestions. I ended up dropping it for voiced privacy concerns and turned it into the search of tradelists/wishlists by deck so there wouldn't be any unwanted solicitations. But now there are people wanting this exact function again. The solution is seeming to be managing specific account privacy settings which is something that I've been looking into. But yes the idea for this series, and the site as a whole, has always been to help people find the decks that best express themselves. Nostalgia photo of the site below back in 2015 that I had to scroll to bottom of my IG feed for lol.



Anyhow sorry for the long post. This is just a little bit of what I've been thinking about the last year and a half for P52 which is why I've been a bit quiet. I'm hoping that once the new build is finally in place in a sustainable way I can start producing more consistently again.

[macstrat]

if anyone that has these are interested in making an archive of the backs, i will host them on my flickr. (i scan in at 350dpi because i display them on a TV and that puts it at roughly 4k@72dpi for display)

[hsbc]

Yes, grabbed one! Already sold out again, for good

[james001a]

Happy to say I managed to get one in the second release. This is sure to be a centerpiece of my collection. I have several shelves, so I can have several centerpieces lol.

[hsbc]

I got a shipping notification for my deck a day or two ago

[irtjames14]

Finally got mine yesterday, and these look absolutely stunning!!!

[bdawg923]

Finally got mine yesterday, and these look absolutely stunning!!!

How did you get 3? I thought it was limited to 1

[irtjames14]

Finally got mine yesterday, and these look absolutely stunning!!!

How did you get 3? I thought it was limited to 1

I worked out a trade with 2 people involving the unbroken decks and Alex was nice enough to have those sent to me directly!

[Bradius]

So, someone has a mini-hoard already with 1.2% of the total unbroken population under their control....That is worthy of an award!

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I guess I will have to settle for my paltry 0.4% of the population...I guess I can't bag all of them all of the time...oh well. Dang it.

[Timmargh]

I'm looking forward to the entries on Portfolio52.com.

[hsbc]

[Harvonsgard]

When NPCCD2020 marked my personal highlight from Seasons, this would be the opposing end of the scale.
I'm glad I decided to not touch this with a 10-feet-pole.
Weird thing is, I'm still disappointed despite me not having any eggs in this basket.

[bdawg923]

When NPCCD2020 marked my personal highlight from Seasons, this would be the opposing end of the scale.
I'm glad I decided to not touch this with a 10-feet-pole.
Weird thing is, I'm still disappointed despite me not having any eggs in this basket.

Kinda harsh, but why? I thought this concept was great and unique and the deck I got came out awesome. Seeing some pics on p52 confirms that. Some of the tucks are gorgeous

[Harvonsgard]

Subjective feelings . Be aware that as a card collector the cards are 80% of my focus most of the time. There're some decks I bought just for the tuck but those occasions are rare.
I don't like seasons courts so, that doesn't help. NPCCD2018 e.g. helps me to forget that with a gorgeus tuck and a great back design. This deck... not so much. Standard tuck with different patterns and some gold foil on it. Might be labour intensive to produce as Alex mentioned, but effort that went into the wrong direction, imo.
Then we have the back. Monochrome, faded border... feels like early custom cards era, not something I'd like to see from seasons in 2021.
Weathered courts... feels like something from the darkest hour of custom playing cards, not a fan either.
Then - and I know this might just me being weird/subjective af - but in the chase of uniqueness the uniqueness gets lost to me so, I can't even embrace the concept - not that I would try to since, themes/concepts are nice added features to a deck but the leading role for me is again, the overall design. Another thing about the concept is, that Kintsugi in its original form is embracing the flaws that happen during the manufacturing process not something simply added for a certain style. So for me it looks like this project mimics the looks of Kintsugi but neither the philosophical nor the artisan concept of it.

[Bradius]

Harvensgard, keep in mind that this was also an effort to test out some new features of P52 as well. I get your concerns. As a tuckist by nature, I probably like a unique tuck design more than most. That said, I do get the concern over the cards. I just wanted to point out that part of the reason for this design was to utilize some new features in P52.

[james001a]

As a fellow (semi) tuckist, I would like to support Brad in his comments. I am quite happy with the tuck and understand Harvonsgard's take on this, since he is all about the cards. Since I could not buy two of these and open one, the deck stays sealed, so that is what I have to go by aside from posted photos. I am loving the experiment set up by Alex, and am totally enjoying the experience of naming the deck, and putting it up on P52. It is so cool seeing as each deck gets posted. Most experimental deck since Crypt.

[cgouwu]

obviously someone managed to get a bunch and resell right after.
I'd rather these decks go to some true collector

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[Bikefanatic]

Damn shame. These were $79 USD each.

[Strag]

Not minding that I missed these, unlike NPCCDs

[Bradius]

Wow and those 9 resale decks are already gone. I am honestly not wild about it, but I guess one way to look at it is that the decks likely eventually did get in the hands of collectors that missed the initial sale. I do think someone grabbing nine of 200 released is way over the top. They had best be careful though. I am sure Alex looks here and can probably figure out who did this. Which may mean that that might be the last time they can so easily bypass his deck limit rules.

[Jykwei]

Someone bought all 9.

[Harvonsgard]

The beautiful thing about humans is that they corporate. Purchase limits are even more redundant then deck limits in general .

[Bradius]

$1,800 for nine unbroken decks purchased by one person? That isn't squirrel crazy. That is bat sh1t crazy.