I've noticed a fairly common occurrence at competitive rel events is getting some deck lists with no names on them. I also noticed when we used the Starcity Games decklist we get very few instances of missing names, whereas with the DCI list we get more.

The main difference is the name on the DCI sheet is vertically along the side. As someones eyes follow the page there's no reason to check the margin. Secondly, it's shaded which on most forms indicates, “For Official Use Only”.

I'm wondering if anyone has considered a redesign, or even just modification to help fix this problem. For example, there's a field for, “Deck Designer”. I'm really not sure what to put there most of the time, and have no idea what that data could be used for. Maybe just asking for, “Name” again could give us a hint on how to track down the player if they missed the sidebar. Also, by having someone write out their name twice, it gives twice the data to help decipher a name that's illegible.

Any thoughts? Does care taking of this document fall under anyone particular's sphere of influence?

Another bit is that I can fill out the Starcity decklist on my computer and print it out. (almost any PDF renderer I've run across can do it)

With the name being vertical on DCI's, it's much harder to do.

I almost always catch at least one player who didn't put his name on his deck list while picking them up. Deck Check Lead should be reminding his team of folks picking up deck lists to verify that their name is on it. And in the case of limited events that lands are marked as well.

Originally posted by Jim Shuman:

I almost always catch at least one player who didn't put his name on his deck list while picking them up. Deck Check Lead should be reminding his team of folks picking up deck lists to verify that their name is on it. And in the case of limited events that lands are marked as well.

The fact that the judges responsible for picking up the lists can catch this mistake before the list gets virtually untrackable does not mean that there isn't an issue that could be addressed. I believe that since in most medium-to-large tournaments there are players that forget to fill out their names, we should strive to minimize those occurrences, since they generate overhead work for the staff.

Personally, I find the “name vertically on the left side” design bothersome, since I have to rotate the page just to fill in my name and DCI. I understand the logic of it is to allow the use of expanding files to classify them and quickly find the list for a player. But I also recognize that SCG has improved on that design by taking it a step farther and making the whole decklist form oriented that way. Which, incidentally is something that is already being done in checklists for limited events. Maybe it's a good time to get a new official design taking that into account.

If judges take one second when they receive the decklist to check there's a name on it, you don't have a problem :)

There's no doubt judges can, and have been, managing this problem. But I don't see why we can't stop the problem from occurring in the first place with a minor design tweak.

I agree, Adam. Just because “we can work around this problem,” that doesn't mean “there isn't a problem and we have no reason to address it.” Clearly the fact that we have to tell judges to check every list for missing names because they're certain to find plenty of missing names signifies that there's a way this can be improved.

Modifying the DCI registration sheets to be landscape in their entirety would certainly help by putting the name field top-center and much harder to overlook. There will always be players who forget, and we will still ask judges to confirm that each list has a name, but I imagine this would significantly reduce the number of missing names. Even diligent judges can get overwhelmed with a stack of lists and a list without a name can slip by. If there are fewer players that need reminding, there will be fewer problems with those incomplete lists slipping by.

Originally posted by Adam Zakreski:

But I don't see why we can't stop the problem from occurring in the first place with a minor design tweak.

Why because we are dealing with magic players. As smart as they can be, many still come to events ill prepared to participate. And they will rush to complete their deck registration and they are more concerned about getting the cards correct than remembering to put their name on the list.

A deck registration design change could probably help, would at least make it easier to verify when I'm picking up the list but it will never take away the human error that exists.

As the saying goes, “Make your product idiot proof, they'll make a bigger idiot.”

I'm not saying this will eliminate the problem entirely, but every little bit helps. I have to ask, is there a reason you would oppose a change?

You are free to use whatever decklists you like at events. Most players
will use whatever list the event staff provides. If you prefer a different
layout, then that's what you should provide at your events. Talk to your TO
about making a change, *that* is what matters, not what list WotC has on
their site.

Nick Short, L2
Chicago, IL, USA

I think the primary concern is at GPs, where an individual is unlikely to have the chance to discuss this with the TO before they are printed, and where they generally default to the list provided by the DCI. If we are able to update the DCI published version, that would work much better. Not everyone has the skills needed to design a quality deck registration sheet either. :)

I'm sure somebody out there has the skills necessary to put together a better decklist.

After doing that, getting feedback here, making it publicly available for judges to use, and then soliciting it directly to the DCI managers all seem like pretty doable tasks.

So, the question is, who's going to take charge on this?

I'm reasonably sure that the current version was designed for GP events to make it easier to find deck lists placed in the concertina filing system or placed in a box with that edge facing up.

The best option for making sure players put their names on is constant reminding; checking when they are handed in and more reminding.

We know that we want the name on the long edge of the sheet. However, there's no reason we can't modify the entire sheet to be landscape, so the name is in the same exact place, but it will be oriented such that it feels like the “top” of the sheet, where you'd expect to put your name. As someone else mentioned, SCG registration sheets are already set up this way, and that seems to work better for them.

Players forgot to fill out their name on the old sheets where you put your name at the top, players forget to fill out their name on limited deck registration forms even after being told to fill them out as the first thing they do when they get their pool and players forget to fill out their name on the current constructed deck lists. I doubt how the form is laid out will really change this, some players just forget to fill in their name.

Also unless SCG run events have 0 people forget I don't think a comparison between SCG opens and GPs is really reasonable as I'd have thought the relationship between players forgetting to fill in their name and event size is proportional.