1) Threads must be a minimum of one month old before applying for primer status. If your list is only a month old we expect that you have heavily tested it over the course of that month before applying. We would like to encourage more testing than this, but a minimum thread life of one month is required.
2) No primers will be approved earlier than a month after to the card's release date. This is so that proper testing can be done by any interested individuals and that some of the kinks can be worked out. Lists that becomes a primers are not expected to be a work of perfection, but giving everyone a chance to test the commander allows for a lot of these little problems to be worked out.
3) Ask yourself: "Do you have enough experience with this commander to be writing a primer?" If not, wait to get more experience before applying for primer status.
4) In general, a good primer should have most all of the following elements. You don't have to call the sections the same things, but the following topics should be covered:
Why play this commander? - If you can't give reasons as to why you enjoy playing your commander you probably shouldn't be writing a primer for them. Let readers know the pros and cons of the commander. Let them in on what sort of role they might play in the deck as well. If the whole point of your commander is to throw your opponent off because it's so terrible, then go ahead and tell your readers such.
Deck History - This section inform users about the point in your commander deckbuilding career were you built this deck. It contains previous builds or versions, how the deck has grown and changed, and how it is better now than it used to be. Information in this section can show users that you have tried strategy X, whether or not you found it effective, and the reasons why.
Deck List - This is essential for any deck. If you don't have a list of what you are currently running, then it can't be much of a primer. This must be organized and in deck tags. Sectioning the list in some way is required, and we strongly recommend either sorting alphabetically or by CMC within each section.
Card Options - This can be a rundown on what you are currently running or a rundown of the possible card options. Either way, some discussion about which cards can be used and what roles the deck is necessary. Sometimes while writing this, you may also think of new cards or decide that a card isn't so great after all. You are expected to use card tags in this section.
Strategy - How do you pilot your deck? We want to know what sort of mindset you should be in when playing this deck. Let users know what your basic gameplan is, then go into further detail. Some sample questions to address as follows: What are the deck's strengths and weaknesses, and how does the deck handle those weaknesses? How should you pilot it at different stages of the game? When is the time to be aggressive or defensive? What cards are critical to the success of your plan? When and how do you use them? What is your Commander's role in the plan? What should you look out for in opening hands? This section should be detailed enough that a player unfamiliar with your deck could pick up your deck and play it with moderate procifiency. To facilitate this, card tags are strongly encouraged in this section.
Matchups (1v1 only) - When playing 1v1 you should know who the real competition is. Let users in on some of the tips and tricks for fighting back and winning against key opposition. This sort of a section really cant be done for multiplayer due to the issues with multiple opponents, but there is no reason a 1v1 primer shouldn't have this information.
Changelog - Changelogs track the changes your deck. They can help minimize users asking, "hey have you tried this card out?" While they aren't absolutely required they are useful for readers and fairly easy to maintain.
Personal Bio (optional) - This doesn't need to have much personal information outside of your Magic experience. Most people are interested in hearing that you have enough Magic experience to be writing a primer. If you have been playing Legacy / Standard / whatever for the past 10 years, or if you have attended and/or won large-scale events, let people know. Tell people about your background going into writing this primer and why are you a good source for information.
5) You will be expected to maintain your list with updates, defend your card choices, and change the deck when appropriate. If you foresee an issue with your ability to maintain the primer for at least the immediate future please refrain from requesting primer status for it. Obtaining primer status and abandoning the deck is a very poor practice.
6) Please scrutinize your post and make it presentable.
Check your spelling and grammar and fix any mistakes.
Ensure that your card tags and URLs work properly. Remove any broken or dead links.
Organize your decklist somehow. One continuous block of text is not fun to read.
7) Please note that this outline reflects the bare minimum requirements for primer consideration. Applications that do not meet these requirements will be rejected. Even if your thread does meet these requirements, we reserve the right to deny your application until such time as you have brought your thread up to the standard we expect for primers. If you are unsure of what that looks like, please consult the list of existing approved primers to a better idea of our expectations.
In addition, don't be surprised if your primer is declined when first submitted. This is a normal part of the process, and committee members are more than happy to help you improve your thread to meet the standard we have set for primers.
Application Process
Once you have reviewed the above portion of the Primer Outline you may proceed with your application. Do not feel like every thread needs to be a primer eventually. Primers are a lot of work to create and maintain and if you feel like you may have issues maintaining it then I would strongly suggest you consider holding off. Once you are ready and your thread meets the outline requirements the following spoiled information can be used to begin your application for primer status.
1) Create a new thread in this subforum. Please format it in the manner of your username + the name of the commander exactly. Please dont over clutter this part. For example I would create the following: ISBPathfinder's Jenara, Asura of War. This keeps things neat and clean. If for some reason your application is turned down and you would like to re-apply later please just bump the thread you created earlier stating the reasons you are reapplying and the changes you have made to fix the primer since last application.
2) In the thread itself please provide some basic information for us. For simplicity lets start out with answering the following questions:
Please provide us with a direct link to your decklist.
Please provide us with your experience with the deck. We are looking for some sort of estimate of the time spent tweaking, games played, duration of time you have been playing the commander.
I think beyond that the primer itself should sort of contain most of the rest of the information we might be looking for. If there is something beyond that that you would like to provide for us that is fine but try try to keep it to relevant information.
Who is the committee
If you have any questions on these matters feel free to contact our committee members on the matter. The following list of users helped us to create the primer outline as well as help decide on threads which are trying to obtain primer status.
1) Threads must be a minimum of one month old before applying for primer status. If your list is only a month old we expect that you have heavily tested it over the course of that month before applying. We would like to encourage more testing than this, but a minimum thread life of one month is required.
2) No primers will be approved earlier than a month after to the card's release date. This is so that proper testing can be done by any interested individuals and that some of the kinks can be worked out. Lists that becomes a primers are not expected to be a work of perfection, but giving everyone a chance to test the commander allows for a lot of these little problems to be worked out.
3) Ask yourself: "Do you have enough experience with this commander to be writing a primer?" If not, wait to get more experience before applying for primer status.
4) In general, a good primer should have most all of the following elements. You don't have to call the sections the same things, but the following topics should be covered:
6) Please scrutinize your post and make it presentable.
7) Please note that this outline reflects the bare minimum requirements for primer consideration. Applications that do not meet these requirements will be rejected. Even if your thread does meet these requirements, we reserve the right to deny your application until such time as you have brought your thread up to the standard we expect for primers. If you are unsure of what that looks like, please consult the list of existing approved primers to a better idea of our expectations.
In addition, don't be surprised if your primer is declined when first submitted. This is a normal part of the process, and committee members are more than happy to help you improve your thread to meet the standard we have set for primers.
Application Process
Once you have reviewed the above portion of the Primer Outline you may proceed with your application. Do not feel like every thread needs to be a primer eventually. Primers are a lot of work to create and maintain and if you feel like you may have issues maintaining it then I would strongly suggest you consider holding off. Once you are ready and your thread meets the outline requirements the following spoiled information can be used to begin your application for primer status.
1) Create a new thread in this subforum. Please format it in the manner of your username + the name of the commander exactly. Please dont over clutter this part. For example I would create the following: ISBPathfinder's Jenara, Asura of War. This keeps things neat and clean. If for some reason your application is turned down and you would like to re-apply later please just bump the thread you created earlier stating the reasons you are reapplying and the changes you have made to fix the primer since last application.
2) In the thread itself please provide some basic information for us. For simplicity lets start out with answering the following questions:
I think beyond that the primer itself should sort of contain most of the rest of the information we might be looking for. If there is something beyond that that you would like to provide for us that is fine but try try to keep it to relevant information.
If you have any questions on these matters feel free to contact our committee members on the matter. The following list of users helped us to create the primer outline as well as help decide on threads which are trying to obtain primer status.
Committee Members:
bobthefunny
d0su
Donald
fzian
Gaka
ISBPathfinder
SuperSonik
Surging Chaos
Weebo
Wildfire393
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics by Xen
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