Spelling and Grammar

The biggest impediment to getting a posting spotlighted is improper spelling and grammar. No matter how good the advice or how strong the deck, a poorly written post will not be spotlighted.

The first time a card name appears in your article it should appear exactly as it does on the card. Here are some guidelines for various games.

Vs. System:
For Vs. System cards the most important things to remember are the closed karat on Vs. System cards is represented by greater than/less than signs, as in the following examples.
Garth <> Tempest, Atlantean Sorcerer
Bart Allen <> The Flash, Scarlet Speedster

Cards without the <> still need to have their version listed after a comma, as in the following examples.
Annihilus, Destroyer of Life
Boliver Trask, Creator of the Sentinel Program.

After the first time you use a card name it is acceptable to shorten the card name for the rest of the article, so the cards could be referred to as Garth or Boliver the second time around.

Heroclix:
There are currently, as an example, nine figures with the name Superman. When first referring to any particular Heroclix piece it is important to include the version and the Set, so that your reader can be sure they are looking at the right piece.

U Superman, Cosmic Justice

That notation will make sure that your reader knows you are talking about the Unique Superman from the Cosmic Justice set.

All other TCGs:
The same rules apply as above for Vs. System. Make sure to use the full card name at least the first time and then it is okay to use commonly accepted abbreviations or short versions of the card name. Punctuation is very important; proper use of dashes as commas as they appear on the cards helps to the make the article easier to understand.

Game Terminology

If a term is in common usage and refers to objects, actions or phases within the game, it is usually acceptable. Make sure that you are using the proper terminology for the game that you are writing about though. Here are some examples for various games.

Magic: untap, tap, life loss, damage, sorcery, summon, and creature.
Vs. System: ready, exhaust, endurance loss, plot twist, recruit, and character.

It's very important to use the proper game terminology because, even though you may play several games, your reader may not. If you use game terms from other games that may be similar it might not make sense to your reader who doesn't play the other games.

Slang and/or derogatory terms that refer to other players are never acceptable.

Submission Formatting Tips

Paragraphs should be separated by a complete blank line and should not be indented.

Section headings are useful for organizing an article, and they break the article down into manageable chunks for the reader. Headings should be capitalized and separated by a blank line from both the preceding and following paragraph. Do not format your headings, and please do not use all caps.

Always use the proper format name for the format you are discussing. The sanctioned format name is important because if you have a local nickname for the format your reader may not understand it.

If you are speaking of a general format it should be lower case. So if you are talking constructed or limited it should appear in lower case letters. If you are speaking of a specific sanctioned format it should appear in its proper form. Some examples follow.

Magic: The Gathering: Standard, Extended, Legacy, Vintage
Yu-Gi-Oh! - Advanced, Traditional, Sealed Pack
Vs. System - Golden Age, Silver Age, DC Modern Age, Marvel Modern Age, Sealed Pack

When referring to block constructed it should appear in lower case letters. When referring to a specific block constructed format it should capitalized and include the name of the block; e.g. Ravnica Block Constructed or Ice Age Block Constructed

When referring to a draft or sealed format, the same rules apply. So Ravnica Sealed Deck is appropriate, or sealed deck is appropriate.

Within reason, all numbers in the text of the article should be spelled out. Very large numbers or numbers in formulas can be in numeral form.

Decklists should be formatted like this:

Maindeck:
4 Archangel, Warren Worthington III
4 Counterspell
3 Gambit, Remy LeBeau
2 Jean Grey, Marvel Girl
3 Wrath of God
4 Nightcrawler, Kurt Wagner
4 Quicksilver, Pietro Maximoff
2 Toad, Mortimer Toynbee
2 Wolverine, Berserker Rage
4 Wolverine, Logan
4 Finishing Move
4 Mutant Nation
4 Savage Beatdown
4 Tech Upgrade
4 Lost City
4 Advanced Hardware
4 Dual Sidearms

If the deck includes a sideboard or side deck that should be included in the same column directly underneath the main deck. Do not try to create a second column in your text file.

Each line should just contain the quantity of the card followed by the name of the card. Do not include subheadings like "Characters" and "Creature Type" or "Lands".

After periods or other punctuation marks, there should be one space, not two.

General Article Guidelines

Although there is no strict length requirement for Blogs, anything under 1,00 words should be examined carefully to see if it covers the topic in enough detail. Articles under 500 words are almost always too brief; if it seems impossible to say more on a particular topic, the topic is probably too narrow. But you should also avoid going beyond 2,500 words, as you typically are not staying focused on the subject itself at that point.

Try to anticipate any questions or doubts the reader will have and answer them preemptively. Some people will not take the time to e-mail an author or post a reply asking for clarification of a point. If they read something that seems unjustified and incorrect, they will most likely just dismiss the posting entirely.

Postings should be structured to encourage the reader to keep reading. They should not have to trust that it will get better later on - the introductory paragraphs should draw them in and make them want to read more.

Maintain a consistent tense throughout your article. Although there are times when switching tenses is appropriate, it is usually best to just pick a tense and stick to it. Most articles should be written in past tense, but present tense is okay as well, as long as you are consistent.

Constructed Article Blogs

There are two purposes of a Blog about a new deck/team/warband (or a new take on an old deck): First, to convince the reader that the deck is worth their time to build and test. Second, to explain to the reader how to play the deck correctly. Every deck analysis article should try to accomplish both of these goals.

These articles should, at a minimum, include:

A full decklist.

Justification of the cards included in the deck (not card-for-card, just the key cards). Also important to spotlight a few cards that didn't make the deck and the reasoning.

Match up strategy detailing how to play against the popular decks in the environment.

Every deck/team submitted with a posting should be play tested thoroughly, and the results should be noted when discussing the deck's match ups. Do not be afraid to include some negative testing results. Readers are more likely to trust a deck's results if some of them are negative, very few decks have winning records against all potential opponents.

Sealed/Limited Articles

Solid reasoning is the most important component of a good limited article. Avoid presenting advice as gospel. It is very important to explain why the advice is valuable.

Articles that rate cards require more work and are less rewarding than any other type of article. They can be very helpful to someone new to the set, but they usually become forgotten or obsolete within a few weeks of a set's release. It is generally better to look for a more focused area to write about than to try and rate each card in the set.

Tournament Reports

It is not necessary to have done well at a tournament to write about it. It is necessary, however, to have learned something. Fortunately, we all learn something at each tournament we attend; the trick is figuring out what it was. The tournament report is all about giving the reader the benefit of your tournament experience. Let them learn from your mistakes, and the mistakes of others at the tournament as well. Tell them about your good plays, or the exceptional things that happened too, but understand that there is typically more to learn in the errors than in the things that go well.

Tournament reports should also try to be entertaining. The most popular reports are both useful and fun to read.

Round by round, game by game coverage is not necessary, and frequently that will chase your reader away before the amazing play you made in Round 6 is even discussed. It is better to cover the interesting moments in-depth than to cover everything superficially. That being said, the report needs to be complete, and leave the reader feeling satisfied. Do not use this as an excuse to submit a brief report.

For constructed tournaments, always include a full deck list. Constructed reports should at least include each opponent's archetype and the match result.

Don't be afraid to do coverage of the final rounds of a tournament even if you are not participating. This kind of bonus material can turn an average report into a great one.

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