Spring Updates

Lately we've had a spat of server-related issues affecting performance and uptime. We appreciate your patience while we continue to diagnose and dig into these issues.

Related (and also a factor) to this is the fact that we are over-due for another card purge for inactive accounts. There are two ways to avoid losing your cards: if you have logged in since January 1, 2017 or by becoming a Premium member on the site (and supporting ongoing development). The next purge will take place on May 21, 2017.

In other news, we're also shutting down our Patreon campaign at the end of June. We've been able to build subscription tools for automatic premium membership right into the site, and no longer need to involve a third-party application. Thank you to our long time Patreon supporters over the past year, we could have never made it this far without you! (Be sure to checkout Patreon for more details if you are already a supporter.)

If you want to see what Premium features add to your profile, you can use the promo-code 'HEXPROOF' to get your first month for just $1, until June 1st. Becoming a member helps offset the cost of server hardware, software licenses and applications we use to keep MTG Cardsmith running. Sign up for Premium today!

SSL Certificates and Disqus
Recently we also moved the site over to SSL encryption for all pages. This was done for increased security and to become more standardized with modern website expectations. A side-effect of this was losing much of our disqus history that was tied to unsecured urls. We are actively working with Disqus to find a resolution and reimport those comments to the new system.

Summer Contest Ideas
We'd like to host another big card contest this summer, but we want to hear from YOU what would be a great theme. Have an idea for us? Leave it in the comments below - if we choose yours you can even be a judge!

Aether Revolt Patreon Giveaway

We're digging into our first pack of Aether Revolt. Watch below to see the Mythic giveaway for February Patrons! Congrats to our January winner BoolieBoo2. To join your fellow Cardsmiths and be eligible for the next drawing, support us on Patreon.com/mtgcardsmith. $5 Patreon members not only get added to the drawing, they also receive premium account benefits for each month they support.

MTG Card Maker v2.0

Very shortly we'll be launching an updated version of the M15 Card Editor. This new version features:

• An updated image uploader - mobile and tablet friendly!
• Updated styles to match the rest of the site
• Stability improvements
• Manual toggle for Power/Toughness display - no more "smart" rules to worry about

In addition to the updates, we'll also be sunsetting the Modern Card Editor and removing it from our creation options. In the long run we hope to re-introduce modern frames into the current editor. The modern-frame editor was our first editor and the earliest code ever made for the site. So while we're sad to see her go, she'll not be forgotten and will likely return in one form or another.
Note: After the switchover, edits (for Premium accounts) to modern framed cards will launch the new card editor and give it the appropriate M15 frame.

If you're keeping tabs, its clear that we're working through our yearly goals at a solid pace! We're on track and excited to dive deeper into building the perfect planeswalker editor.

Lastly, if you like what we're doing and want to show us some support, consider signing up for Premium features today. Your subscription keeps us going and unlocks some special abilities for your MTG Cardsmith account.

Year of the Fire Rooster Contest Winners

A HUGE thank you to all of our participants, celebrants and roosters! We hope everyone had fun and enjoyed earning the rare contest avatar!

Haven't had enough? Perhaps you should check out the Return of the Circuit Challenge, going on now!

Cardsmith 2017: The Year Ahead

In the last year, we've done everything from new Hybrid Borders, major account updates, and Edit Card functionality - on top of two major site contests and our daily site upkeep . However we didn't get everything done and there are plenty of projects we are waiting to sink our teeth into! Here is a brief look at our goals for MTG Cardsmith and the community in the year ahead.

1. Major Server Update - things get old, and we're behind on some important updates that are preventing us from delivering an A+ experience with card editors. This is not only the most necessary update, it's also the most risky and hardest to plan for. Regardless, it must be done and therefore is the first item on our list. Once complete, new features ahead should be much smoother. Time Estimate: 1 month

2. Mobile Friendly Uploader - With #1 out of the way we can finalize the remaining work left here, and standardize around a solid, mobile-friendly upload/crop experience.

3. Update M15 Editor Form - All of our editors are due for a facelift, so we're starting with the primary editor first.

4. M15 Planeswalker Editor - Using the above inertia, we're due for a new planeswalker creator, with the latest frames, advanced features and a better uploader.

5. Retire Modern editor - This was the first editor ever made, and it shows its age on the front and in its code. We'd like to retire this editor, and potentially include modern frame selection options in the M15 card editor as an alternative.

6. Additional account features and site design improvements.


These are the major goals we have lined up. We also aim to keep improving and adding features as the game of Magic continues to change, and of course new set icons and new contests! With your help, we can get things in a solid place where we can continue adding ideas like transforms, full-art frames, and other community ideas.

Thank you for your support in 2016, and if you like what we're doing, we hope you will continue or start supporting us in the year ahead.

Happy New Year!
-The MTG Cardsmith Team


ps. We're holding a New Year's contest until January 28th: 2017, Year of the Fire Rooster