Source Secret Santa 2014?

[afb0032]

Is anyone currently organizing one for this year?

[Dice_Box]

Not yet me thinks. I sat out of last year and watched on, (Something I regretted) I would be happy to jump in this year, but due to my location I would need time to order cards and ship them so a month worth of warning would not be bad.

[Zombiesquisher]

I would love to be involved in something like this.

[UseLess]

I would definitely like to be in again! Last year my SS victim never confirmed the cards arrived, which was a bit of a bummer, but it was all in all a great experience again :). I can't commit with doing the main organization, but I'm willing to help out in some way or another if someone else takes the main tasks.

[Valtrix]

I was going to make a thread soon, but didn't know when the time would be quite appropriate for it. I would be happy to organize or help with organization, but would only do so with permission of most of those involved of course. Logistics are also something that should be discussed before the actual thread happens. I don't have time at the immediate moment, but I can post some of my thoughts about the exchange a bit later once I've been able to organize and write them all down.

For reference, here was last last year's thread (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?26709-Secret-Santa-2013-The-year-Santa-gives-everyone-Coal-Golems&highlight=secret+santa). (Not done by me!) For pictures from packages, Check here. (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?27072-The-Source-Secret-Santa-2013-Bragging-Thread&highlight=secret+santa)

We should get started relatively soon though, as it can take awhile to get everything together!

[Lemnear]

This year I'll throw my hat in the Ring. Package will be dope ... call the drug squad

[Fry]

I's love to take part this year. Had a blast for the last two years and would love to bring some happiness to other Sourcers once more.

[Lord_Mcdonalds]

Id be up for it

[iamajellydonut]

Getting this planned is the one rare time when there's actually too few chiefs and too many indians.

Indians represent.

[Allcoin]

I'm a newer member here but I would love to be a part.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mini1337s]

Always in.

A mod should create an official thread with a quick summary of the process. Also, hater's posts should be nipped in the bud; they really made a lot of process frustrating.

[Whippoorwill]

I would be happy to organize or help with organization, but would only do so with permission of most of those involved of course.

I'd be willing to do the same.

[xterminans]

I would also love to take part in it this year!

[Einherjer]

I'd also be in once more :)

Greetings

[Tylert]

I wish I could participate... but i'm note sure i'd be able to send a good package :)
I thought my gift was ok last year, but got ashamed when i saw some packages :)

We will see...

[Julian23]

I've been in every Secret Santa this forum has ever seen and I'd like to continue my streak - count me in! :-)

[Zombie]

First year I think I actually have something worthwhile to send out.

[Sloshthedark]

I'm in

[Lemnear]

I'm about to get some altered stuff or stuff altered for that

[Mr Miagi]

Whoever will be organizing this please make sure to make it clear that if somebody can't afford 20-30$ gift or choses to send garbage it's better not to particiapte.

I'm all for the christmas spirit and all that, but having people abuse that, entereing into secret santa as a lottery to see if they'll get something valuable, while themselves send out untradebale crap is unacceptable! We've seen it happen every year, and I beleive last one was at it's peek. Yes, there should be a blacklist debarring few from participation.

[afb0032]

I also don't mind helping organize. I had a blast doing secret Santa last year. Maybe those who have volunteered to help so far can discuss what the minimum requirements/guidelines should be for this year.

[iamajellydonut]

Whoever will be organizing this please make sure to make it clear that if somebody can't afford 20-30$ gift or choses to send garbage it's better not to particiapte.

I'm all for the christmas spirit and all that, but having people abuse that, entereing into secret santa as a lottery to see if they'll get something valuable, while themselves send out untradebale crap is unacceptable! We've seen it happen every year, and I beleive last one was at it's peek. Yes, there should be a blacklist debarring few from participation.

I tried lazily scrolling through the thread starting at the tail end because I do remember a few from last year that were distinctly lackluster, but after a while I got bored and the only one that stuck out was your post complaining about what Whippoorwill had received. With that in mind, and in this context alone as I have no beef with you otherwise, you are the problem. It's impossible to weed out the lackluster packages. You have to just be aware that at some point to someone it is going to happen and accept that it might happen to you. Not to mention the possibility of people just not sending out at all or a package getting eaten by the beloved Canadian Postal Service.

Ignoring that "tradable" shouldn't even be a concept associated with this, if you're expecting value, you've entered this for the wrong reason. Pimp packages do exist and I'm going to do my best to make my package as lovable as possible, but the core of it is that I'm sending out because I want someone to have something to open, and I'm receiving because I want something to open. If I get a German Bloodbraid Elves, a Meandering Towershell, something crappy poorly altered with love, and some random staple, mission accomplished. My week will be made. Anyone who wouldn't be happy with the same is doing it wrong.

[Mr Miagi]

I tried lazily scrolling through the thread starting at the tail end because I do remember a few from last year that were distinctly lackluster, but after a while I got bored and the only one that stuck out was your post complaining about what Whippoorwill had received. With that in mind, and in this context alone as I have no beef with you otherwise, you are the problem. It's impossible to weed out the lackluster packages. You have to just be aware that at some point to someone it is going to happen and accept that it might happen to you. Not to mention the possibility of people just not sending out at all or a package getting eaten by the beloved Canadian Postal Service.

Ignoring that "tradable" shouldn't even be a concept associated with this, if you're expecting value, you've entered this for the wrong reason. Pimp packages do exist and I'm going to do my best to make my package as lovable as possible, but the core of it is that I'm sending out because I want someone to have something to open, and I'm receiving because I want something to open. If I get a German Bloodbraid Elves, a Meandering Towershell, something crappy poorly altered with love, and some random staple, mission accomplished. My week will be made. Anyone who wouldn't be happy with the same is doing it wrong.

So how exactly am I wrong? If rules say (as they said) 20$ (or was it 30?) minimum, then don't send only crap (you can still send crap in addition to something nice). I would just like to have this be clear to everyone entering SS14.

Or we can remove the price tag at all and just send whatever..

And yes, isn't it obvious, I'm in it for the profit :wink:

[Aggro_zombies]

I won't be able to organize or participate this year, but good luck to those who are.

EDIT: @Mr. Miagi: The floor is just a suggestion. Most people exceed that threshold, some by a wide margin. However, some people won't and will send as little as possible, so we have a minimum to try to make sure you aren't going to get some lightly played draft uncommons and a ball of lint for Christmas. The usual screening methods for this - often "You must have been an active member of the site for at least this long to ride this ride" - aren't really adequate as in previous years we've had lurkers or new people participate without issue while some established members have been decidedly stingy. Asking people not to participate if they can't send good packages is also moot since (1) that goes without saying for most people and (2) some people will participate regardless in hopes of getting a sweet package from one of the known highrollers. You can't really control for it. In the past, I've personally sent cards to people who got very bad packages as a thank you for participating, but whether this year's organizer wants to do the same is up to him.

With that in mind, I'd issue the following caution: if getting $20 in Standard playables at October TCG mid prices will break your heart and ruin your Christmas, seriously consider whether you want to participate. Not everyone will get a terrible package but the pairings within country/region are more or less random, so it could happen to you. It's fine to go into this with the hope that you'll get presents from an sdematt, but keep in mind that most players aren't that rich and you're probably going to get like $40ish of SP/NM fringe staples because that's usually how these things go. Just appreciate it for what it is and try not to get your hopes up too much.

[Megadeus]

I haven't participated before, but I would like to. I can't promise an insane package, but I'll make it interesting for whoever I get!

[H]

I need to take a look at what I've got lying around, I had to skip last year since I moved, bought a house, and got married. This year we are having a baby, so spending has been low, but if I find some cool stuff to move, I might do it.

[Megadeus]

Also someone said maybe the minimum should be raised? I wouldn't be opposed to his 50 dollar minimum that he proposed last year. If nothing else, it would weed out the people a bit who are just in it for value. Me personally, I just hope my Santa likes altering things because I would love Christmas themed alters to play with!

[Stomping Grounds G&H]

I'd love to take part again!

[Jon]

Im in, I dont make alot but I have piles of sweet things laying around and I love Christmas!

[shpishay]

Looking forward to participating this year!

[Whippoorwill]

I tried lazily scrolling through the thread starting at the tail end because I do remember a few from last year that were distinctly lackluster, but after a while I got bored and the only one that stuck out was your post complaining about what Whippoorwill had received.

Just a quick post to confirm that I did receive a 2nd package shortly after that first one from my Santa. I just never got around to posting pictures of those cards. Overall, I was quite happy with what I had received.

[Kayradis]

Last year was a blast!
I'm in as well.

P.S. Can I get Lemnear so I finally have an excuse to send him booze?

[Lemnear]

Last year was a blast!
I'm in as well.

P.S. Can I get Lemnear so I finally have an excuse to send him booze?

Booze? Pal, I have planned to send out a Bavarian Gingerbread Bomb on top of altered cards and german foils as an act of terror on healthy living

[iamajellydonut]

Secret Sauce 2014: The Year Everyone Got Booze

[TsumiBand]

If it's going to be a problem for you that you're not getting back what you're putting in, maybe you should just go get yourself the things you want and not worry about a Secret Santa event.

I was about to post this thing about putting people in different brackets and shit (like where the expected 'return' is a certain dollar amount or whatever), but it's entirely unenforceable, it only takes one bad experience to sour a person anyway, and just what the heck are you doing worrying about what you're receiving, anyway? I was under the impression that the underlying theme of "Non-Denominational Holiday Gift Exchange" was to enjoy giving, without concern for the receiving. If you're upset about the return, I daresay you're in it for the wrong reasons.

EDIT: My finances are slightly better than they were last year (in spite of the whole foreclosure business) so I can almost certainly partake this year - if you're not picky about the return anyway >:/ I'll read your wishlist and shit but I'm not Scrooge McDuck :B

[HammerAndSickled]

I would wanna be involved with this too, I was broke as shit last year and so I felt bad about participating (still broke as shit, but now I have some cool cards to give away.)

[Whippoorwill]

I also don't mind helping organize. I had a blast doing secret Santa last year. Maybe those who have volunteered to help so far can discuss what the minimum requirements/guidelines should be for this year.

I think the easiest would be to copy the same rules as last year/previous years and possibly increase the minimum. Maybe to $30 since that would increase the minimum expected value and still allow those with less resources to participate. After all, this is supposed to be a fun event and not everyone is going to be able to go overboard on their packages.

One idea I'd like to suggest is that everyone participating tries to personalize their packages. It doesn't have to be anything exciting, just something more than cards in an envelope. Things like an alter done by you or even just a short note. Otherwise it just seems like we're making blind trades.

[afb0032]

I think the easiest would be to copy the same rules as last year/previous years and possibly increase the minimum. Maybe to $30 since that would increase the minimum expected value and still allow those with less resources to participate. After all, this is supposed to be a fun event and not everyone is going to be able to go overboard on their packages.

One idea I'd like to suggest is that everyone participating tries to personalize their packages. It doesn't have to be anything exciting, just something more than cards in an envelope. Things like an alter done by you or even just a short note. Otherwise it just seems like we're making blind trades.

I sent some proposed guidelines to Valtrix to judge their fairness earlier.

[Monkey_Island]

Count me in too! Last year was a bit disappointing, not because of the package I received which was awesome but because my victim has been... well victim of a steal.
I hope my package will arrive safe this year!

[Lord_Mcdonalds]

One idea I'd like to suggest is that everyone participating tries to personalize their packages. It doesn't have to be anything exciting, just something more than cards in an envelope. Things like an alter done by you or even just a short note. Otherwise it just seems like we're making blind trades.

Planned on actively trolling my victim (and I guess I'll send something nice as reperation)

Just trying to figure out how

[Higgs]

One idea I'd like to suggest is that everyone participating tries to personalize their packages. It doesn't have to be anything exciting, just something more than cards in an envelope. Things like an alter done by you or even just a short note. Otherwise it just seems like we're making blind trades.

Last year I sent my recipient Japanese versions of the cards he had on his wishlist and my first alter ever, a christmas elf crop rotation, which I thought was pretty brilliant. He posted a brief thanks but never shared any photos so I was a bit disappointed. I'm not sure if I can go above what I've done last year so I'm not sure whether I should participate this year.

[Mr Miagi]

Last year I sent my recipient Japanese versions of the cards he had on his wishlist and my first alter ever, a christmas elf crop rotation, which I thought was pretty brilliant. He posted a brief thanks but never shared any photos so I was a bit disappointed. I'm not sure if I can go above what I've done last year so I'm not sure whether I should participate this year.

I feel you. Three (4?) years a go I sent out a german Force of Will in an oldschool Sci-Fi book. Recepient didn't bother to confirm (becasue asking for braging is to much). Already thought my pacakge was lost.. Had to go through SS organizer to check with recepient that he indeed did receive the pacakge. Not a pleasant experience.

[Dice_Box]

Planned on actively trolling my victim (and I guess I'll send something nice as reperation)

Just trying to figure out how

Coal Golems?

[Valtrix]

Hey guys, almost done writing up my guidelines for the Secret Santa. Sorry about the delay! I can then get some feedback about everything and then create the thread for the event.

[UseLess]

I feel you. Three (4?) years a go I sent out a german Force of Will in an oldschool Sci-Fi book. Recepient didn't bother to confirm (becasue asking for braging is to much). Already thought my pacakge was lost.. Had to go through SS organizer to check with recepient that he indeed did receive the pacakge. Not a pleasant experience.

Same happened to me last year. I had sent a package with a Berserk, altered Mangara of Corondor as Santa and a set of phyrexian revokers altered in matching Christmas style + some extras. Never heard anything of it. I still hope that he will at some point confirm the package has arrived, even the organizers didn't hear from him... Tip to everyone: make photo's/scans of your alters so your hard work isn't 'lost' when the victim does not receive/brag about it ;).

[Valtrix]

Okay guys, here's my draft of the post I will start the thread with. Please give me some feedback on everything first, and then in a day or two I can officially start the thread. Sorry if it's a bit long, but I wanted to describe all the details of the process. (And then have a nice document which can be reused next year.)

The Source Secret Santa 2014

Introduction
How to sign up
Requirements for sign up
How the event will be organized
How to write a wish list
What to send
Backup santas
Expectations and issues
Dates

Introduction

Hello everyone, this brings another year of organizing The Source Secret Santa. This is a very popular event that many people enjoy, so let’s make it another great year. If you’re not familiar the basic idea is this: Send cards to a random person based on their wish list and receive cards from a random person from your wish list. Pretty simple! As long as everybody agrees to a few standards everything will go smoothly and we can have another great year.

How to sign up

Post in this thread indicating that you would like to sign up, along with your wish list. You may update your wish list after your initial post! After you sign up, please send me a private message with the information as below. If you forget to send me a message, I will also ask you for it.


• Real name
• Address
• Country/region
• Alternative contact (phone number, email, etc.)
• Willing to ship internationally?

Your name and address will only be shared with the person sending you a gift and myself. The alternative contact will only be known by me and only used if I have tried to contact you via forum private message but have not heard back from you in a timely manner. This is purely a quality control effort, as last year there were a few people which didn’t communicate well and I’d like to avoid that this year. If you're concerned about any of these details, send me a message to discuss it. Really, communication is the most important part of this event!

Requirements for sign up

First, you must let me know your participation by 11/9/14. However, you can still sign up after this deadline on a rolling basis. What I'll do is that when two people sign up after the deadline they will get paired together. This way everybody that wants to participate can, even if you're on the fence originally. If you sign up late just expect that your package might arrive a little late!

Otherwise you must have an account which has been registered for 3 months and a post count of at least 25 to sign up with no questions asked. However, in the past we’ve had plenty of lurkers with great gifts, so if you don’t meet these two requirements just send me a message detailing your interest in the event. I’ll do a brief screening and might ask you a couple questions before adding you to the event. Sorry for anybody that this is an inconvenience to, but I think everybody will feel a bit better participating knowing that there’s a small screening process.

How the event will be organized

Pairings will happen randomly between people in the same groups (the states and international shippers). You will not be receiving cards from the same person you are sending cards to, unless you sign up after the normal sign up date in which case I will just pair each new two people together. This way you can't really feel bad about sending somebody more than they sent you since it's a different person sending you things.

I will track everybody's information to make sure that people ship on time and have received their packages. That means when you ship or receive you should let me know so I can mark you down for this.

How to write a wish list

The minimum gift amount this year will be $35. Many people tend to go more than that, this is just a guideline. Your wish list should contain cards with a mix of values and try to include as many things as you can to try and help make life as easy as possible for your secret Santa. If you ask for really expensive or hard to find things it might be difficult for your Santa to assemble a good package!

Try to be as specific as possible. Include the maximum number of a card you would like to receive. (That is, don’t write “daze,” instead say “3 daze”). Let people know how you feel about foils or foreign cards. If there are certain things you prioritize the most, indicate that in your wish list. Below is an example of a great wish list from last year. It has a mix of values and formats for the desired cards and is well put together. The more things you ask for the better, as it gives your Santa more options. (But only put things you'd be happy receiving of course. Spend a little time on this.)


- Alpha or Beta basics, any shape.
- 4 portal/ Portal 2nd age Armageddons!
- 4 Stronghold Ensnaring Bridges.
- Any number of Artificer's Intuition. Foil or non foil, any language which is not Italian/English.
- 4 Baleful Strix.
- 1 foil english Ancestral Vision
- 4 Submerge
- 3 Unexpectedly Absent
- 3 Toxic Deluge
- 1 Strategic Planning
- 4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
- 1 foil english 7th Fallen Angel
- 1 Linvala, keeper of silence
- 4 Birds of Paradise (any edition with old frame!)
- 1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
- 1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
- 1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
- 3 Bonfire of the Damned
- 4 Young Pyromancer
- 3 Cryptic Command
- 4 Loxodon Smiter

What to send

Obviously try to fill out your Santa’s request as best you can, within reasonable cost limits. You might want to stop by a local game store, or even order a few things online yourself for your gift receiver. Remember that the minimum recommended gift is amount is $35 in card value. Sometimes you might not be able to fill the needs of a particular person’s list very well. As long as you can get them some things from their list, there are lots of simple ways to supplement your gift to turn it into a great package. Here are a few suggestions:

• Send chocolate. Everybody loves sweets!
• Make an abacus life counter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UAcSHttpiA). I made one of these my first year and my recipient loved it.
• Card alters: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSS1mEadWqo). Even if you’re not a fantastic artist it’s not too difficult to do some boarder extensions on cards with simple color schemes.
• Use cheap cards to tell some kind of story. For example, last year I had a stack of cards and sticky notes between them last year which told a silly Christmas story. They said silly things like, “This year I…” then there was a copy of opt “…ed to send you a great gift.”
• Sending Legacy staples is also a good way to flesh out your package too, even if they’re not on your sender’s list.
• Scout a user’s posts and see what they play. Maybe if they play a lot of lightning bolt decks you could send them a cool lightning bolt—foil, old edition, altered, foreign, whatever.

Backup Santas

From past experience, there are usually a couple people that don't receive gifts. This is unfortunate, but unavoidable. In these cases it's good to have a few people as backup santas who can send out a gift in case of an issue like this. If this is something you're willing to do, let me know. It will be greatly appreciated.

Expectations and Issues

Have the expectation that the package you receive might be a little worse than the one you spend, but if something like this would ruin your experience than it might not be best to participate. This is supposed to be a fun event and in general it is but some mishaps are unfortunately unavoidable.

If there are any issues with any part of the event, please send me a private message. Really, it can be anything. Did my person ship? Is my package good enough? I’m not sure I can do a good job with my person’s list, what should I do? I will keep my inbox empty and will do my best to handle any problems that come up this year in a timely manner.

Important: Try to keep negativity out of this thread. If there is a real problem, it is best to deal with it by sending me a message first.

Dates

11/9/14: Last day to sign up. Late enrollers will be accepted on a rolling basis. See signup details.
11/10/14: Pairing will be sent out.
12/12/14: Recommended ship by date. If you’re international, consider going sooner if you can.

[iamajellydonut]

I like that as the OP.

[Allcoin]

Okay guys, here's my draft of the post I will start the thread with. Please give me some feedback on everything first, and then in a day or two I can officially start the thread. Sorry if it's a bit long, but I wanted to describe all the details of the process. (And then have a nice document which can be reused next year.)

The Source Secret Santa 2014

Introduction
How to sign up
Requirements for sign up
How the event will be organized
How to write a wish list
What to send
Backup santas
Expectations and issues
Dates

Introduction

Hello everyone, this brings another year of organizing The Source Secret Santa. This is a very popular event that many people enjoy, so let’s make it another great year. If you’re not familiar the basic idea is this: Send cards to a random person based on their wish list and receive cards from a random person from your wish list. Pretty simple! As long as everybody agrees to a few standards everything will go smoothly and we can have another great year.

How to sign up

Post in this thread indicating that you would like to sign up, along with your wish list. You may update your wish list after your initial post! After you sign up, please send me a private message with the information as below. If you forget to send me a message, I will also ask you for it.



Your name and address will only be shared with the person sending you a gift and myself. The phone number will only be known by me and only used if I have tried to contact you via forum private message but have not heard back from you in a timely manner. This is purely a quality control effort, as last year there were a few people which didn’t communicate well and I’d like to avoid that this year. If you're concerned about any of these details, send me a message to discuss it. Really, communication is the most important part of this event!

Requirements for sign up

First, you must let me know your participation by 11/9/14. However, you can still sign up after this deadline on a rolling basis. What I'll do is that when two people sign up after the deadline they will get paired together. This way everybody that wants to participate can, even if you're on the fence originally. If you sign up late just expect that your package might arrive a little late!

Otherwise you must have an account which has been registered for 3 months and a post count of at least 25 to sign up with no questions asked. However, in the past we’ve had plenty of lurkers with great gifts, so if you don’t meet these two requirements just send me a message detailing your interest in the event. I’ll do a brief screening and might ask you a couple questions before adding you to the event. Sorry for anybody that this is an inconvenience to, but I think everybody will feel a bit better participating knowing that there’s a small screening process.

How the event will be organized

Pairings will happen randomly between people in the same groups (the states and international shippers). You will not be receiving cards from the same person you are sending cards to, unless you sign up after the normal sign up date in which case I will just pair each new two people together. This way you can't really feel bad about sending somebody more than they sent you since it's a different person sending you things.

I will track everybody's information to make sure that people ship on time and have received their packages. That means when you ship or receive you should let me know so I can mark you down for this.

How to write a wish list

The minimum gift amount this year will be $35. Many people tend to go more than that, this is just a guideline. Your wish list should contain cards with a mix of values and try to include as many things as you can to try and help make life as easy as possible for your secret Santa. If you ask for really expensive or hard to find things it might be difficult for your Santa to assemble a good package!

Try to be as specific as possible. Include the maximum number of a card you would like to receive. (That is, don’t write “daze,” instead say “3 daze”). Let people know how you feel about foils or foreign cards. If there are certain things you prioritize the most, indicate that in your wish list. Below is an example of a great wish list from last year. It has a mix of values and formats for the desired cards and is well put together. The more things you ask for the better, as it gives your Santa more options. (But only put things you'd be happy receiving of course. Spend a little time on this.)



What to send

Obviously try to fill out your Santa’s request as best you can, within reasonable cost limits. You might want to stop by a local game store, or even order a few things online yourself for your gift receiver. Remember that the minimum recommended gift is amount is $35 in card value. Sometimes you might not be able to fill the needs of a particular person’s list very well. As long as you can get them some things from their list, there are lots of simple ways to supplement your gift to turn it into a great package. Here are a few suggestions:

•Send chocolate. Everybody loves sweets!
•Make an abacus life counter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UAcSHttpiA). I made one of these my first year and my recipient loved it.
•Card alters: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSS1mEadWqo). Even if you’re not a fantastic artist it’s not too difficult to do some boarder extensions on cards with simple color schemes.
•Use cheap cards to tell some kind of story. For example, last year I had a stack of cards and sticky notes between them last year which told a silly Christmas story. They said silly things like, “This year I…” then there was a copy of opt “…ed to send you a great gift.”
•Sending Legacy staples is also a good way to flesh out your package too, even if they’re not on your sender’s list.
•Scout a user’s posts and see what they play. Maybe if they play a lot of lightning bolt decks you could send them a cool lightning bolt—foil, old edition, altered, foreign, whatever.

Backup Santas

From past experience, there are usually a couple people that don't receive gifts. This is unfortunate, but unavoidable. In these cases it's good to have a few people as backup santas who can send out a gift in case of an issue like this. If this is something you're willing to do, let me know. It will be greatly appreciated.

Expectations and Issues

Have the expectation that the package you receive might be a little worse than the one you spend, but if something like this would ruin your experience than it might not be best to participate. This is supposed to be a fun event and in general it is but some mishaps are unfortunately unavoidable.

If there are any issues with any part of the event, please send me a private message. Really, it can be anything. Did my person ship? Is my package good enough? I’m not sure I can do a good job with my person’s list, what should I do? I will keep my inbox empty and will do my best to handle any problems that come up this year in a timely manner.

Important: Try to keep negativity out of this thread. If there is a real problem, it is best to deal with it by sending me a message first.

Dates

11/9/14: Last day to sign up. Late enrollers will be accepted on a rolling basis. See signup details.
11/10/14: Pairing will be sent out.
12/12/14: Recommended ship by date. If you’re international, consider going sooner if you can.

Looks great. Though I don't think I have enough posts to participate :(


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Zombiesquisher]

Looks great!

[Dice_Box]

Looks great. Though I don't think I have enough posts to participate :(


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You will have enough soon enough. Plus its a way of weeding out those that just log on and go "Looks good, send me free shit". Seeing as your not a new account (so your not signing up just to scam) and you have made constructive posts on other threads in the past, I do not feel like you would have too much of an issue signing up.

[Valtrix]

Otherwise you must have an account which has been registered for 3 months and a post count of at least 25 to sign up with no questions asked. However, in the past we’ve had plenty of lurkers with great gifts, so if you don’t meet these two requirements just send me a message detailing your interest in the event. I’ll do a brief screening and might ask you a couple questions before adding you to the event. Sorry for anybody that this is an inconvenience to, but I think everybody will feel a bit better participating knowing that there’s a small screening process.

No problem, just send me a message. But, you'll probably have 25 posts by then. I think the requirements are pretty lean, but I put in an extra clause in the original post for just in case.

[Mr Miagi]

I'd add something like this to the guidelines/rules for SS14:

Upon receipt of the pacakge confirm this on forum (brags are optional but highly desired :smile:)



Don't open till Christmas! You inpatient fucks! :tongue: just kidding (a bit), but it makes it so much more interesting to unrwap gifts on Crhistmas eve/morning

[afb0032]

Looks great Valtrix. Thanks for creating a template for future years as well.

[Sloshthedark]

Valtrix - Thanks for running this, great OP


Same happened to me last year. I had sent a package with a Berserk, altered Mangara of Corondor as Santa and a set of phyrexian revokers altered in matching Christmas style + some extras. Never heard anything of it. I still hope that he will at some point confirm the package has arrived, even the organizers didn't hear from him... Tip to everyone: make photo's/scans of your alters so your hard work isn't 'lost' when the victim does not receive/brag about it ;).

happened to me 2/3 years, playset of alters, special stuff, bought wishlist foils... so a Sad Santa bragging thread this year? =D

[Fry]

Expectations and Issues

Have the expectation that the package you receive might be a little worse than the one you spend, but if something like this would ruin your experience than it might not be best to participate. This is supposed to be a fun event and in general it is but some mishaps are unfortunately unavoidable.



It looks great to me, I just noticed what may have been a typo. You wrote, "Spend," and I think you may have meant, "Sent."

I think that the proposed starting post looks great and is informative and provides great guidelines for the wishlist and how to personalize your own package for your victim, I mean recipient...

[J.V.]

I'm in. Let me kmow the details.

[Whippoorwill]

Looks good!


I'd add something like this to the guidelines/rules for SS14:
Upon receipt of the pacakge confirm this on forum (brags are optional but highly desired :smile:)


Cosign. At worst just post that you received and what you got. As for pictures, I'd rather see a shitty cell phone pic than no pic.

Sucks to hear that multiple people sent awesome packages and the recipients didn't post pictures for the rest of us to see.

On a side note, I'm going to see if I can find some cards to donate. I'm unsure how many lots I'll do, but they would be chosen randomly based on certain qualifications. Currently I'm thinking of the following groupings (open to more ideas as well):

-Those who have been confirmed to have sent by X-date (as decided by Valtrix).
-Those who have posted pictures of their (received) presents by X-date (as decided by Valtrix).

Just something as an incentive to those making sure to get their packages out on time and for those posting bragging pictures.

[amalek0]

I'm interested in participating--I'm starting to work on doing my own alters, and this might be a good way to share them with people who appreciate them.

[nodahero]

I'm in again!!

[afb0032]

Just letting everyone know who hasn't seen it yet, the official thread for 2014 is stickied. If you wish to participate please post in there.

[Lemnear]

Guys, I guess the Secret Santa lost it's Spirit. It is the gesture what matters and while I can see why there is a 35$ rule so people maybe get some actual playable cards, the wishlists so far make me shudder.

Sets of Force of Wills, Lions Eye Diamonds, Deathrite Shaman, Fetchlands, foreign foils and even FBB Duals (which the cheapest german ex Plateau on MKM is already 95$+ for reference and an german ex U.Sea 700$+). Need to make up my mind if I want to end up confronted with such a wishlist and either disappoint anyone or get ripped off in the end.

Atm I feel like rather sending surprise packages to my fellas around the globe

[Sloshthedark]

Guys, I guess the Secret Santa lost it's Spirit. It is the gesture what matters and while I can see why there is a 35$ rule so people maybe get some actual playable cards, the wishlists so far make me shudder.

Sets of Force of Wills, Lions Eye Diamonds, Deathrite Shaman, Fetchlands, foreign foils and even FBB Duals (which the cheapest german ex Plateau on MKM is already 95$+ for reference and an german ex U.Sea 700$+). Need to make up my mind if I want to end up confronted with such a wishlist and either disappoint anyone or get ripped off in the end.

Atm I feel like rather sending surprise packages to my fellas around the globe

yeah the "wish cardlist" probably wasn't the best idea, gets a bit too ambitious... feels wrong reading through it

[H]

Guys, I guess the Secret Santa lost it's Spirit. It is the gesture what matters and while I can see why there is a 35$ rule so people maybe get some actual playable cards, the wishlists so far make me shudder.

Sets of Force of Wills, Lions Eye Diamonds, Deathrite Shaman, Fetchlands, foreign foils and even FBB Duals (which the cheapest german ex Plateau on MKM is already 95$+ for reference and an german ex U.Sea 700$+). Need to make up my mind if I want to end up confronted with such a wishlist and either disappoint anyone or get ripped off in the end.

Atm I feel like rather sending surprise packages to my fellas around the globe

I was considering entering too, then I clicked on the thread and was :eek:

I'm not rich, I can't afford FBBs, foreign foils and what-not. I was going to try to get my wife to help me make some neat Magic themed paraphernalia and include some cards and stuff, but now I feel like anyone who gets paired with me I going to be "WTF is this shit, no BB Duals?"

[Lemnear]

I was considering entering too, then I clicked on the thread and was :eek:

I'm not rich, I can't afford FBBs, foreign foils and what-not. I was going to try to get my wife to help me make some neat Magic themed paraphernalia and include some cards and stuff, but now I feel like anyone who gets paired with me I going to be "WTF is this shit, no BB Duals?"

My personal problem is that the estimated 35$ does nowhere fit with the wishlists. Either you go way beyond the 35$ or you disappoint people because you only picked the "cheap" stuff from their list. I feel like people confused their 35$-Secret-Santa-wishlist with their personal want-list for 2015

[H]

My personal problem is that the estimated 35$ does nowhere fit with the wishlists. Either you go way beyond the 35$ or you disappoint people because you only picked the "cheap" stuff from their list. I feel like people confused their 35$-Secret-Santa-wishlist with their personal want-list for 2015

Yeah, as I thought about entering, I was contemplating what a reasonable wishlist would be for myself. I came up with:
any foil Basic Lands (I collect them)
any random tokens (hard to find is cool, but I collect all of them)
any FBB Italian Revised random junk if you have it laying around (which I even felt awkward about asking, even though most of them are pretty low priced)

After I clicked the thread though, I was completely discouraged. Frankly, I don't even care what someone sent me, but I have a feeling that I can't meet people's expectations on what I can actually send them card-wise.

[PirateKing]

I suspect there are those out there looking for a quick gain, but I anticipate to send in kind with my wishes. I don't collect cards outside of decks and various sideboard techs, so any card on someones wishlist will be crispy fresh off the store of my choice. And since they offer free shipping over $100, that has always traditionally been my minimum budget. Much respect to Valtrix, I don't possess the will or skill to manage such an endeavor, so I don't want to appear ungrateful. This is Legacy after all, those that participate must already contend with triple digit single card purchases, and for community events such as these, a balance must be struck between participation and value. $35 allows for a great number of participants while still maintaining a level of value that gifts may stay relevant. It's a difficult line to walk, this forum isn't about discussing budget alternatives to Legacy decks, we're expected to talk about the best iteration of a deck, even if it means 4x Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale.

But for me at least, it's not at all about the money or value. The most disappointment I got was that I didn't get any sweet booze or chocolate I kept hearing so much about. I put some expensive nonsense on my list, but I wouldn't be disappointed in the least to receive something more fiscally manageable. I'm in this for those rare non-magic items that get sent, or the goofy Christmas alters. For those coming into this with any other reasons, unrealistic goals lead to failed expectations.

[TsumiBand]

I'm not sure how DRS can be lumped in with Forces and LEDs; DRS is like a $7 USD card.

Also I guess I understood a wishlist to just be a suggestion and not a demand. In case that wasn't clear with my own personal post (...and I think the 'worst' playset I mentioned was a playset of Serra Ascendants, but srsly that's like the only thing keeping me from having a Soul Sisters decklist ready to sleeve up) then I'll edit mine for the sake of whoever gets my name.

People who fret over not getting everything/anything on their wishlist are, in the end, in it for the wrong reasons and were probably going to be disappointed anyway.

[afb0032]

My personal problem is that the estimated 35$ does nowhere fit with the wishlists. Either you go way beyond the 35$ or you disappoint people because you only picked the "cheap" stuff from their list. I feel like people confused their 35$-Secret-Santa-wishlist with their personal want-list for 2015


Yeah, as I thought about entering, I was contemplating what a reasonable wishlist would be for myself. I came up with:
any foil Basic Lands (I collect them)
any random tokens (hard to find is cool, but I collect all of them)
any FBB Italian Revised random junk if you have it laying around (which I even felt awkward about asking, even though most of them are pretty low priced)

After I clicked the thread though, I was completely discouraged. Frankly, I don't even care what someone sent me, but I have a feeling that I can't meet people's expectations on what I can actually send them card-wise.

While I understand where both of you are coming from, I think Valtrix did a great job in his opening post addressing this. I view the wishlist as a guide to things you wouldn't mind receiving, but also as an insight to the type of things you personally prefer. I can probably say for certainty I'm not going to send foil japanese jaces, but at least that tells me the person likes blue, likes jace, likes japanese, and likes foil. If they are disappointed by receiving their lower end cards that are on their wishlist, then that is their fault for listing them. I believe most of us understand that not everyone is made of money and has good intentions, which is why altered/signed/off the wall things are more exciting to receive than a regular mtg card.

[iamajellydonut]

I wouldn't call most of these wishlists outrageous. Fact of the matter is that if you need Deathrite Shaman or Jitte or even Force of Will, you probably already have them. So, naturally, you want the things you can't get. The foils. The foreigns. The duals that you can't bring yourself to justify.

If you're looking to join, don't be discouraged because you can't buy most of the things on their list. Most people would be happy with a Delta and some chocolates. And if they aren't, they're scum and who cares.

[sephorusFR]

I'm all in again for a 3rd year :D

[Zombiesquisher]

I wouldn't call most of these wishlists outrageous. Fact of the matter is that if you need Deathrite Shaman or Jitte or even Force of Will, you probably already have them. So, naturally, you want the things you can't get. The foils. The foreigns. The duals that you can't bring yourself to justify.

If you're looking to join, don't be discouraged because you can't buy most of the things on their list. Most people would be happy with a Delta and some chocolates. And if they aren't, they're scum and who cares.

Agreed, I was under the assumption that the point of the lists is to maybe get one thing off of it and some cool alters or something. Not Foil Korean Snapcasters or something like that...

[amalek0]

Yeah, I thought the point was packs of crap like awesome christmasy-altered $1-$5 sideboard cards and fun shenanigans things. Like the christmasy swords to plowshares alters and stuff. Fun Christmas stuff you'd take to an LGS secret santa party

[Fry]

I find some of those wish lists crazy, and I probably won't get any of the cards on some of them because they are insane and I don't have connections to get Korean or Japanese foils. I'll get some fun things and probably make a story out of the order I have the cards packed in my nice little package. I'll make sure to put something nice in there too, but if the list is all $40+ cards, they aren't going to get any. If there is a bunch of smaller things and a something like a $20-$30 dollar card, chances are I will get it and add some other things in the mix, but not if every card is at the cost or more.

[LIKEABOSS]

I have to agree here. When people ask for 4x Force of Will it really gets on my nerves. This is Christmas, not your 1000 things to get before I die list.

[Valtrix]

I agree that the wishlists this year seem rather much, at least compared to years past. That said, looking over the lists again I think they seem more ridiculous than they actually are because everybody puts all the expensive things on top. For example, one starts with FBB duals, but then has things like spellskite at the end so it would be easy to think that it's a really high end list when all the expensive stuff is on the top. It's also perfectly reasonable to put ridiculous things on the wishlist I think, as long as you have a bunch of other not ridiculous things on the wish list as well.

A single force of will isn't out of line as a "top-end" wish list item, though one shouldn't be disappointed if they don't receive it. But, considering that in my opening post I asked people to put the maximum amount of a card they would like it would make sense if a person is interested in force of will they might need up to 4 of them and list that on their wishlist.

I was considering pairing people with "similar" wishlists, but this is imperfect and would take a lot of work. I think that when a little bit more time passes I will try to evaluate the state of the wishlists and see if anything needs to be addressed or not. I'm open to any thoughts people have about it.

[iamajellydonut]

I was considering pairing people with "similar" wishlists, but this is imperfect and would take a lot of work. I think that when a little bit more time passes I will try to evaluate the state of the wishlists and see if anything needs to be addressed or not. I'm open to any thoughts people have about it.

Don't worry about it. Putting too much thought into this and saying "well, you can't do this and have to do this" is about as exhausting for everyone as trying to explain a joke. You can't force someone to have the spirit of the event. They either have it or they don't, and trying to regulate the results just devalues the event as a whole. Just let it go.

[apple713]

are there any foils in this set? Maybe just the commanders?

[amalek0]

Don't worry about it. Putting too much thought into this and saying "well, you can't do this and have to do this" is about as exhausting for everyone as trying to explain a joke. You can't force someone to have the spirit of the event. They either have it or they don't, and trying to regulate the results just devalues the event as a whole. Just let it go.

It is what it is. Whoever I get is going to have their list checked briefly, but is most likely going to get some of the cheaper items on the list altered christmasy by me and maybe some chocolates or something depending on the shipping. Effort and holiday spirit is the point, not the moneys.

[Bed Decks Palyer]

I'll abstain. Lists = crazy. Also... but lets keep that for myself.
Those participating: have fun!

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