How do you write you descriptions/primers?
General forum
Posted on Dec. 28, 2023, 5:50 p.m. by Kazierts
This is something I've kind of asked before, but found myself wondering about now while writing for my Nethroi deck.
For those who have never seen the way I do my descriptions, if you take a look at my two favorite decks ( Monoblack Infect [Competitive] and Zombie Hunt Companions [Budget/Casual/Jank] ), you'll see I write, A LOT. Personally, I like it a lot. It's something I discovered enjoying through making my decklists. It has helped me realize certain niche interactions and realize that maybe some cards aren't useful at all. However, it has also allowed my more creative side to flourish as well as helped me better my English (I'm an English teacher and also a non-native speaker).
That's all good and well, but descriptions of decks are not just for myself. Since they're public, they are also a way for people to interact with you creation, possibly help you or even learn from your list, playstyle, etc. I'm saying this because, when I asked something similar to today's question before, I had been mine were too long.
Right now, as I'm in the process of redoing my Nethroi deck, Nethroi's Hateful Toolbox [Casual] (I still need to double check a few cards as I'm also using Moxfield to build), I've started to wonder a bit more about this question. I understand my style might not be for everyone, and probably that no one will read, but I'm thinking here if it's not best to just do what makes me more comfortable and fulfilled in general. This may seem like an obvious choice, but I also like to build budget jank decks that anyone can buy and enjoy.
I'm not asking this for people to answer me about how I should do things. Rather, I want to see how other people interact with this if at all. Do you care about your descriptions at all? Do you write thinking about other people's enjoyment, understanding? Or about just your deck? Maybe all of these?
Crow_Umbra says... #3
Shout out multi-lingual MtG players, you love to see it.
I enjoy writing primers, and definitely have quite a few parallels to some of the thoughts you expressed. I definitely write primers for myself first and foremost. After I've put a deck list together, writing the primer is kind of like the next big "enthusiasm check" for how I feel about it. The more excited I am to write and maintain the primer afterwards is an early indicator that I'll keep the deck for a while.
As much as primers are mostly a way to organize my thoughts on what I've built, I do recognize that there is the potential for it to be a resources to players that may be new to MtG, or that strategy. I try to find the write balance of verbosity and being concise where I can.
I started my deck brewing on TappedOut about ten years ago. Looking back, I really appreciated having detailed and well-maintained primers to help teach me.
December 28, 2023 6:51 p.m.
FormOverFunction says... #4
I had kept most of my descriptions pretty formal/sanitized; sticking to the nuts and bolts of how the mechanics work. Recently, I think with my Antique Shop deck, I have started to put together a more fun description of my theme decks. I’ve started to look at these descriptions as a proxy for the sort of theme-discussion banter that I might have at the table while I’m playing, rather than a point-by-point flowchart on which cards synergize with which other cards. I haven’t made any new decks recently, sadly, but I definitely intend to have more storytelling banter going forward.
December 28, 2023 11:18 p.m.
Dangerwillrobinson79 says... #6
Mine are basically a cheatsheet I take a quick look at before playing a deck, especially if I haven’t played the deck in a while.
Good primers get me excited about a commander, deck, or play-style and give me the gist of how to pilot it. There’s several people on this site with outstanding primer-writing skills. I’ve learned a lot by studying primers from: Crow_Umbra, Dumannios, Licecolony, KongMing, Pikobyte, ThatWeirdPerson, MrHighscore
Good topic!
December 31, 2023 2:44 p.m.
legendofa, I'm actually leaning more towards writing them for myself as well. It does feel rather relaxing spending a lot of time thinking about all the interactions and possible scenarios for my strategies.
Crow_Umbra, you've made an interesting point here. The primer is definetly an "enthusiasm check". If you are like me, you probably get dozens and dozens of decks in your head at the same time. A lot of times I don't even need to start writing about to see if I'll actually enjoy it or not, but the primer is most certainly the most effective check. Also, congrats on your primers. I haven't seen any of yours yet, but someone in this thread has mentioned you as a reference in good primers.
Dangerwillrobinson79, thank you! I'll definetly take a look at some of those people. I want to see how good writers do it to learn something from them.
December 31, 2023 4:17 p.m.
Crow_Umbra says... #8
Thank you Dangerwillrobinson79, I appreciate it. I like how you've structured your Pantlaza primer.
I'm definitely always brewing or tinkering with my existing lists Kazierts. I think I've shifted more to primarily fine-tuning the 4-6 decks I'll play irl, more than I do brewing new decks. When brewing new stuff, I try to mostly stick to looking for strats that have enough of an existing overlap with a deck I have. I'm currently in the process of converting my Zimone and Dina deck into Lord Windgrace.
After I've put together a list, I do lots of gold-fishing to get a feel for it before I start writing the primer. If I can't get excited enough to want to write the primer, then I'll just leave it to collect digital dust in some folder lol.
The last job I had for 4.5 years was in healthcare research. As part of my role, I interviewed patients for studies, and put together various "how-tos" for those participants on different aspects of the studies. In 2020 we shifted our primary study to interview remotely because of the pandemic. I wrote an instructional guide for participants on how to download, install, and use Zoom on their computers or mobile devices. It was a huge learning opportunity to write for folks that weren't the most tech savvy.
December 31, 2023 5:05 p.m.
ThatWeirdPerson says... #9
I was mentioned here and I just wanna say thank you to Dangerwillrobinson79 for the compliment. So, thanks!
legendofa says... #2
I don't usually go too deep into my descriptions, but I write them for myself. I usually have a little flavor or backstory, what I was thinking about as I lined out the deck, and mention some of the key cards and interactions. I try to make them the sort of thing I would want to read, and just hope other people find it mildly interesting.
December 28, 2023 6:35 p.m.