P52 Deck of the Year awards

[Strag]

So I supposed these are now taking over from the UC awards? Unclear where the nominations came from or what the qualifying criteria is (for example, did decks have to be delivered somewhere in the world in 2021 or widely available)?

I guess you can write in more decks but not sure how that will get enough votes to make the "official" nominations. Only knew about this because of an email from Anthony at Jocu.

Link to the form: https://bit.ly/DOTY-2021-Nom

[Bradius]

As UC is now part of Portfolio52, the DOTY is being run through Portfolio52. From a practical perspective Alex took a huge financial and organizational support last year anyway to help out the DOTY campaign.

I did have a few write in submissions. In a few categories, I suggested No. 7 by Montenzi. I thought it was a worthy deck for consideration as I think Montenzi's use of cold foil is without peer. I am sure some others may think of a few other great decks. I was not sure how to vote for The Tempest TBH as I don't have the deck in hand. I am just glad someone else is handling this huge task. I'll provide my vote and do my part. I hope lots of people vote and let their voice be heard.

[bdawg923]

Only thing I don't like about it being a Google form is there's no pics. I don't know what I'm voting for. I don't remember every face card and Ace from every deck on the list.

[brownsl]

Only thing I don't like about it being a Google form is there's no pics. I don't know what I'm voting for. I don't remember every face card and Ace from every deck on the list.

I agree, pictures are needed.

[Timmargh]

Only thing I don't like about it being a Google form is there's no pics. I don't know what I'm voting for. I don't remember every face card and Ace from every deck on the list.

I agree, pictures are needed.

Thirded. I spent quite a while googling decks.

[andreac75]

Only thing I don't like about it being a Google form is there's no pics. I don't know what I'm voting for. I don't remember every face card and Ace from every deck on the list.

I agree, pictures are needed.

Thirded. I spent quite a while googling decks.

Me too!

[bdawg923]

Only thing I don't like about it being a Google form is there's no pics. I don't know what I'm voting for. I don't remember every face card and Ace from every deck on the list.

I agree, pictures are needed.

Thirded. I spent quite a while googling decks.

I just gave up and didn't vote

[Bradius]

Honestly, we have been lavishly spoiled by PipChick the last few years. Prior to Pip, we were given a blank slate. It was up to us to figure out what decks to even vote for for each category. Just trying to figure it out was so daunting, I chose not to vote the year I first joined UC forums. At least this time, we have some suggested decks to research. It isn't too bad though. I guess I have voted enough the past few years that I feel more confident in voting despite my complete ignorance on some nominated decks. Unfortunately, that may mean I overlook a few decks listed that I am not familiar with. I just kept in mind this is round one of voting. I am most likely going to do more research for the final round of voting, which will hopefully also involve a much smaller number of decks to consider.

[Timmargh]

Honestly, we have been lavishly spoiled by PipChick the last few years. […]

I came back to say something along these lines; Pip did immense amounts of work in previous years.

[Strag]

Agreed, it's a huge amount of (mostly) thankless work to make these awards happen in this way.

[Eric Lee]

Wish they had given clearer criteria for the nominations

[rousselle]

Hi, all.

Sorry I'm late to the party; I heard back from Alex a few days ago regarding the DOTYs this year, and this is the information I have so far:

The DOTYs have a nomination phase this year per popular request of last year's gambit and is a simple Google form that can be filled out by anyone.

The top 5 entries of each category will then be set up for official voting later this month. The nominations are open form along with radio button suggestions if they need help but allow this to be a true people's choice-style vote. This is done with the intention to give collectors a stronger voice. The form can be found HERE https://bit.ly/DOTY-2021-Nom.

Current Dates in the DOTY Timeline:

• Jan 15th -- Nominations end
• We reach out to nominees for representative imagery and descriptions to set up official voting.
• Jan 23rd (possibly Jan 30th depending on how quickly nominees respond) -- the official votes begin.
• This will be a 2 week period of voting.
• Final winners are announced. Where and how is still being evaluated.

Prizes for award winners and for voters are still being figured out. If anybody at UC wants to volunteer to help with the effort, I know that Alex would love to hear from you.

Much of what remains "to be determined" will largely depend upon how many hands are helping.

[hsbc]

Looks like voting is open!

https://www.portfolio52.com/2021-DOTY

[rousselle]

Yes! And, it looks like voting closes February 5th, so if you want to vote, get to it!

Like many on this thread, I did not participate this year in the nominating process, mostly because 1) while having a true blank slate to nominate your favorites is kinda, sorta more "fair" than having Pipchick tabulate peoples suggestions and then you look through the suggestions and see if that reminds you of anything you want to add, it's still *easier* when you have other people's suggestions to riff off of, and 2) I was too lazy/busy/pre-occupied to look through my own Watchdogs posts to see what I'd even received this past year. My bad, and I have nobody to blame but myself, but as a result, I notice a *lot* of decks I'd have expected to make the short list did not, and I'm kicking myself for not nominating them. I'm shocked that Montenzi's offerings are nowhere to be found, and Gio is mostly (but not entirely) absent from the list of nominees, just to name a couple of obvious ones. So, yeah, I'm sorry I didn't contribute on that score.

I am also, frankly, a little surprised to see Tale of the Tempest nominated, given that I didn't realize his decks had actually made it into people's hands by the end of the calendar year last year. Unfortunately, I haven't received mine yet, so I couldn't vote for these, even though I suspect I might have put in a vote in one or two categories, had I the chance. Alas. (That said, I'm still hoping I receive mine soon. I think I may be one of the folks who is in the last batch in the US, waiting for some of the decks that were erroneously routed to Germany instead of Texas for fulfillment.)

All that said, some of the nominated decks hadn't occurred to me because, get this, I *forgot* to open them when I received them (yeah, I know, the mind reels; I had saved them to be opened "that weekend" and then, well, got distracted by other things), so the voting process reminded me to open them and WOW, I had some amazing decks in my collection that hadn't realized were so amazing. So, I loved going through the voting process. Opening up Royales and Meadowlark Dentistry, in particular, was like Christmas opening up presents that were well hidden under the tree. It was also a joy to revisit some other decks that I love while I was considering them for various votes. And, again, I was reminded of decks that should have been nominated for some other categories than the ones they did appear in, but that's fine. Awards voting often goes like that.

This is yet another year where I ended up voting for a Best Overall Deck of the Year that I had not voted for in any other category. I know that some people think that's weird, but it makes perfect sense to me. The best overall deck balances all the many categories (and many more besides, like use of theme, execution, innovation, etc.) for a combined effect.

Anyway. It was fun going through the voting process, and I'm mildly annoyed with myself for not devoting energy to the nominating process, but overall, there were good decks to consider and when all is said and done, anything that helps me to enjoy my collection is a good thing. And, that's why we're here, innit?

[Bradius]

Thanks for the reminder to make the final voting. While there might have been a few decks/designers missed, I think there are some great decks/designers to consider. I certainly was mixed about some selections and wouldn't be surprised if another deck is chosen in the end

[Strag]

I voted but definitely see some missed out decks. Still not clear to me what the criteria is. It did hit home to me how excellent the Onda decks are.

[nur1988]

Hi all,

As you already know the DOTY is up and running. Thank you for posting the link. Just here to answer some questions that have been asked, in hopes it helps clear a few things up.

The nomination process was based off the feedback from last year where collectors felt they didn't get a say as to who should qualify for DOTY. The pre requisite form was created on the back end of that piece of feedback.
As we know, 2021 was quite saturated with a ton of releases and it's very difficult and time consuming to go back through the months and label each one, individually.

Yes, some decks were pre populated and it was to give people an idea of what decks did come out last year. I based this on asking a number of other collectors what should be included, as well as making some decisions myself. However, decks that were filled in the "other" section also made it to the final round of voting. As long as the votes were in, they were counted. If someone directly contacted Alex (or myself) and requested that a deck appear in the main options, it would've been added in. I appreciate that not many know I'm involved in it, I've never really made it public unless you see me on the P52 community page.

The criteria has been similar to those in the past - decks that have delivered during the year. Is this being referred to specific criteria for each category?!

One of the biggest issues with last year was Rookie of the Year. This category isn't exclusive to designers but Rookie producers too, and those who took lead on the campaign/release.

The final shortlist was initially meant to be based on the top 5 but some of the votes were really close, and in some cases they were tied. We made the decision to extend this to a top 7/8/9.

Hope that helps!

[Strag]

The criteria has been similar to those in the past - decks that have delivered during the year. Is this being referred to specific criteria for each category?!

Both actually. Just would have been a good thing to be very clear about on the nominating page what makes a deck eligible. Also pre-populating decks is always going to help those decks qualify for nominations... but unless you list everything or nothing it's kind of a no win scenario.

Wasn't really sure what best "graphic" deck criteria was.

For best use of colour, is it the deck, the tuck or the series we are speaking of?

Best print techqnique to not have a single Lotrek deck is a bit of a surprise to me, again not sure of the criteria here.

Please don't take it as me being critical, just saying what I'm confused about. As I said last year, it's a thankless process and always open to criticism or comment.

[nur1988]

The criteria has been similar to those in the past - decks that have delivered during the year. Is this being referred to specific criteria for each category?!

Both actually. Just would have been a good thing to be very clear about on the nominating page what makes a deck eligible. Also pre-populating decks is always going to help those decks qualify for nominations... but unless you list everything or nothing it's kind of a no win scenario.

Wasn't really sure what best "graphic" deck criteria was.

For best use of colour, is it the deck, the tuck or the series we are speaking of?

Best print techqnique to not have a single Lotrek deck is a bit of a surprise to me, again not sure of the criteria here.

Please don't take it as me being critical, just saying what I'm confused about. As I said last year, it's a thankless process and always open to criticism or comment.

I'll be the first to admit it was a little rushed towards the end of the year due to the short notice given to me to get this done - so things have been oversighted a little and that's totally on me.

I certainly wished there was a way where I could've listed every released deck from last year but as mentioned it's a monumental task - keep in mind, I have a day job I work full time, and this was to be done during free time. Had to make a decision on how to best tackle this, for my own sanity and pre populating some decks felt like the right thing to do at the time.

The best graphic deck was anything that would remotely have any kind of information (infographic) on the deck (i.e Sip to Suit has ways of brewing coffee printed on the cards, Photography deck has cards that tell you the best settings to use for taking a photo) or releases that were braned as "infographic" deck, usually the decks that have big bold lettering on the decks (typography)!

Best use of colour can be in relation to the tuck, back or courts - for example, the butterfly decks best use of colour would apply to the backs, Onda would apply to the courts, Grateful Dead is tucks, back and court.

Print Technique is referring to the way decks get printed - whether it be various foils used really well, use of holo, gilding, UV etc. I believe Lotrek's Moresque was voted on the pre req but not enough to break into the top few decks.

Hope that helps a little more. Certainly not taking it as being critical and definitely want to be clear on this.

[Jocu]

This is yet another year where I ended up voting for a Best Overall Deck of the Year that I had not voted for in any other category. I know that some people think that's weird, but it makes perfect sense to me. The best overall deck balances all the many categories (and many more besides, like use of theme, execution, innovation, etc.) for a combined effect.

So I COMPLETELY understand this as I have a similar thing in my life.

One of my favourite bands growing up was AFI. (It's not important if people know who they are)

My favourite AFI album is absolutely Black Sails, but my favourite album of all time of any band is Sing the Sorrow by AFI.

It might seem contradictory but it makes perfect sense to me, STS is just an incredible album for me and means a lot more as far as music goes as a whole. But I think AFIs best days and best sound as a group culminated in Black Sails.

Great minds I guess

[hsbc]

I decided to list all nominated decks and see who got how many nominations DOTY nominations are in bold

2049 Karma
52+J (4)
Abracadabra
Alice in Wonderland (6)
Anatomica (5)
ARW V2
AvH
Beatles
Beyond
Black Market
Blue Jay Dentistry (4)
Bold
Butterfly (2)
Capsize
Copperhead
Cult: Earth
Danger High Voltage
DMC Private Signature
Echo x Smoke (2)
Fontaine Pink Panther
Galaxia
Glisk
Gods of Egypt
Graphic Cheatsheet 2: Palettes
Grateful Dead (2)
Harry Potter (4)
Hummingbird (3)
Inception (5)
Kingdom/Kinghood (2)
Nebula (2)
NOC Pro
NPCCD Hindsight (3)
Onda (7)
Orbit Christmas 2021
Royales (4)
Shinto Neko
Sip to Suit
Tale of the Tempest (3)
Tempo Lab
Vacuum Tube Space
Visions (2)
Wayfarers
Whiskey

Anatomica, Inception, and Visions are the only rookie decks in other categories
Designers with multiple nominated decks: Ark, dealersgrip, Elettra Deganello, Jocu, Luke Wadey, Theory11 (3), Thirdway -- I just skimmed through manually so this might be off!

DECK OF THE YEAR

[hsbc]

The winners are being announced throughout this week

2021 DOTY BEST TUCK WINNERS
1) 52 Plus Joker 2021 by @Stockholm17⁠
2) Hummingbird Feathers by @Marvelousdecks⁠
3) Harry Potter by @Theory11⁠



2021 DOTY BEST JOKER WINNERS
1) Alice in Wonderland by @kingswildproject⁠
2) Anatomica by @Curio_playingcards and @aminurkari⁠
3) Gods of Egypt by @Riffleshuffle⁠

[rousselle]

Associated videos:

2021 DOTY BEST TUCK WINNERS
1) 52 Plus Joker 2021 by @Stockholm17⁠
2) Hummingbird Feathers by @Marvelousdecks⁠
3) Harry Potter by @Theory11⁠



2021 DOTY BEST JOKER WINNERS
1) Alice in Wonderland by @kingswildproject⁠
2) Anatomica by @Curio_playingcards and @aminurkari⁠
3) Gods of Egypt by @Riffleshuffle⁠



Some of these videos will include thoughts from the winners.

[montenzi]

I'm shocked that Montenzi's offerings are nowhere to be found, and Gio is mostly (but not entirely) absent from the list of nominees, just to name a couple of obvious ones. So, yeah, I'm sorry I didn't contribute on that score.

Thank you, but I am extremely happy that my decks are not in the list. Last year I told Amy that I will ask to de-list if nominated. They did nothing to improve it since in was on UC. RIP DOTY. This year will be even worse. For all contests (not only doty) - I always try to remove my decks, it does not matter why

[hsbc]

2021 BEST BACK DESIGN WINNERS
1) Inception by @runitdecks and @dhondraws⁠
2) 52 Plus Joker 2021 by @Stockholm17⁠
3) Nebula by @EmilySleights52⁠



2021 DOTY BEST ACE WINNERS
1) Harry Potter by @Theory11⁠
2) Alice in Wonderland by @Kingswildproject⁠
3) Anatomica by @Curio_playingcards and @aminurkari ⁠

[rousselle]

Associated Videos:

2021 BEST BACK DESIGN WINNERS
1) Inception by @runitdecks and @dhondraws⁠
2) 52 Plus Joker 2021 by @Stockholm17⁠
3) Nebula by @EmilySleights52⁠



2021 DOTY BEST ACE WINNERS
1) Harry Potter by @Theory11⁠
2) Alice in Wonderland by @Kingswildproject⁠
3) Anatomica by @Curio_playingcards and @aminurkari ⁠

[Harvonsgard]

I didn't bother to vote and most probably won't care to vote in the future as well. I like to see the results though, thanks for posting Allan, hsbc.

[rousselle]

I'm shocked that Montenzi's offerings are nowhere to be found, and Gio is mostly (but not entirely) absent from the list of nominees, just to name a couple of obvious ones. So, yeah, I'm sorry I didn't contribute on that score.

Thank you, but I am extremely happy that my decks are not in the list. Last year I told Amy that I will ask to de-list if nominated. They did nothing to improve it since in was on UC. RIP DOTY. This year will be even worse. For all contests (not only doty) - I always try to remove my decks, it does not matter why

Well, sooner or later, I'm going to get around to posting my list of 150 favorite decks, and yours are going to be in the coveted "must buy" category, whether you like it or not.



Edit: I'll note that my list of faves is not a contest. It's a fact. Heh. So, I hope that doesn't break your "no contests" rule.

[rousselle]

Associated Videos:

2021 BEST ‘GRAPHIC’ DECK WINNERS
1) Bold. By @elettra
2) Sip to Suit by @art of caffeination
3) 2049 Karma by AVTones



2021 BEST COURT CARD WINNERS
1) Inception by @Runitdecks and @dhondraws
2) Alice in Wonderland by Kings Wild Project
3) Anatomica by @Curio_playingcards and @aminurkari



2021 BEST MAGIC DECK WINNERS
1) Butterfly Border Series by @cardsbystfn, Ondrej, and Tereza Kovandová
2) Royales by @kingsncrooks
3) Inception by @runitdecks and @dhondraws



2021 BEST USE OF COLOR WINNERS
1) Inception by @Runitdecks and @dhondraws
2) Butterfly Spring by @cardsbystfn, Ondrej, and Katrina
3) Grateful Dead by @Theory11

[Bradius]

Inception? Really? Ooookay...I guess....really?