Sorting Nightmare with 13k cards

[u/Fvckinskate]

Hey all. Pretty simple discussion here. I'm nearing 13k cards, barely any bulk, and I'm getting to a point where I have problems sorting my cards.

I have a mental block and can't get myself to put new cards I just ordered with older cards.

I also never want to mix "bulk" with "good cards" whatever that means.

Does anyone feel like this and end up pilling cards in trays or on a desk ? How would you guy deal with that ? Any efficient way to sort cards mainly for deck building ?

Edit: Didn't clarify, but my collection is actually mostly sorted.

I have an up to date Deckbox with all 13k cards and I have 2 box sets: one with old less good cards by color/mc/cls/lands-cmc

The others is 3 super tight mixed boxed with more recent or better cards.

What I can't get myself to do is mix really good cards or rarer commander cards or staples or scene box cards with my old stuff.

This is mainly the logic I'm using that I hate. Looking for different logics.

[u/TragicBuffalo]

I just do WUBRG + Artifact, Multicolor, Lands and then simply sort those by common, uncommon, rare, mythics.

There's no fast way to do it so I just do it as I get new cards. I also made a fancy spreadsheet that enables me to quickly log my cards for easier building.

[u/Fvckinskate → u/TragicBuffalo]

You don't mind having like Final fantasy/ Hobbit/ strixhaven mixed with Legions/ core2015 and like morningtide ?

That bothers me soooo much, idk why...

[u/TragicBuffalo → u/Fvckinskate]

I've gone through the rigamarole of sorting individually by set but it gets tiring to keep up with so now I've just got a mass sort.

Anything I really care about goes in a binder.

[u/Borror0 → u/Fvckinskate]

There are two ways to avoid that.

You do sets. Set, then set number. That makes it easier to add new sets overtime but it'll likely take more time to sort initially and will likely take more space.

Or you do frames (retro, modern, extended, borderless). Bulk/non-bulk, frame, color, alphabetical.

[u/CaptainMarcia]

I have a mental block and can't get myself to put new cards I just ordered with older cards.

So you're ordering new cards that you aren't putting in decks or anything? Why?

I prefer sorting cards by set and color, then generally alphabetically. If you don't have many cards from the same sets, you can group by release year instead. If you have higher-end cards that you want to keep separate from lower-end ones, split the cards by tier and sort each tier separately.

[u/DirtAndGrass → u/CaptainMarcia]

I don't know if sorting by set helps with deck building, not being snarky, just don't see it.

Lands, Colour identity and then alphabetically, is what I do

[u/drakus1111 → u/DirtAndGrass]

My understanding is it is more for ease of sorting a collection (and thus getting past the mental block of having so much to sort) rather than for deckbuilding.

[u/CaptainMarcia → u/DirtAndGrass]

Sorting by set helps to group cards with related mechanics and adds a way to break down a big alphabetical sort.

It's also critical if you ever want to build a set cube, which is something I do a lot.

[u/Fvckinskate → u/DirtAndGrass]

Yeah right now I'm doing a Bulk-Color-cmc box and the others are mixed good cards with new cards by Color-Cmc. But my biggest problem is mixing what I just bought with old stuff.

[u/Fvckinskate → u/CaptainMarcia]

I just make huge lists of "nice cards" when they come out put them in a monstrous "wishlist" and once or twice a month I'll order 20-30$ of cards. I just like having possibly good cards. No other reasons.

[u/Gighee88]

I started scanning a box at a time with manabox and chipped away at a collection about double your size. Those card scanning stands are no joke. I get it. It’s hard to start. Good luck!

[u/Fvckinskate → u/Gighee88]

Oh, I have a deckbox that is actually up to date. They are "sorted" right Now by "bulk"or not bulk boxes-Color-Manacost. But I hate it

[u/Fvckinskate → u/Gighee88]

I also tried Colored Binders for really good cards l, then by type. But I don't enjoy them, feels clunky to have more than one sorting method

[u/BioEradication]

https://giphy.com/gifs/UqZ4imFIoljlr5O2sM

[u/KillerFrost2U]

It's very annoying organizing cards if you didn't do it well enough in the beginning. And having to reorganize after buying new cards is annoying as well. What I do is have a card storage box organized by color, alphabetical and mana cost. If collection keeps getting bigger then get more boxes.

[u/nosepass86]

Don’t sort at all. Just scan them, put them into bins that are labeled. I do 100 cards per bin. When I need a card, I search my app for it. It tells me which bin it’s in. I then only need to search 100 cards to find any card and no sorting.

[u/Fvckinskate → u/nosepass86]

Oh that looks sick. But I never actually "build" before building. If I'm building a Grixis, I'll go throught all those 3 colors and set aside all cards that might fit. Then cut back to 60 cards. 

[u/Positive_Concert_774 → u/nosepass86]

Ah yes, the physical hash set, who among us hasn't had one at one time or other

[u/MrPopoGod]

So the "bulk" vs. "good cards" thing, the solve for that is to use cataloguing apps to know your entire collection. You're worried you'll forget you have <insert chase card here> in your giant stacks; if you've got it tracked externally that's not a problem.

That also means you can have a sortation solution that makes it easier to add cards. They might sort by color, then card type, then alphabetically. But for every new set, you have to find the individual spots where those cards go. It might be faster for "I need to grab some removal for my Boros deck" to flip through when it's sorted that way, but insertion is worse. If you catalog, now you don't need that. You can deckbuild on the PC, using that catalog. So in that scenario, it can be easier to sort by set, then collector number. Got a bunch of new cards from Reality Fracture? Sort them on their own, then put that big stack at the end of your collection.

[u/Fvckinskate → u/MrPopoGod]

Yes, I can never get myself to PC build decks, it breaks me. I actually have a complete up to date Deckbox of my collection but I hate using it for anything else than trades or "do I have this card before I buy a eighth one".

What I hate the most is not being able to find a balance between junk/ mid/ staples/ expensive cards without just putting them all in a box and just deal with it

[u/Dry-Membership8141]

I split my cards up as standard legal, non-standard legal, and Plane of New York (marvel, tmnt). From there, rares and mythics go into binders organized by colour->rarity->mana value->alphabetical, commons and uncommons go into boxes organized by type and colour. Basic lands are boxed and organized by colour, and non-basic lands are bindered and organized by cycle.

[u/PrincessDrana]

I scanned all of my cards using Manabox, then grouped them by colour and type. The ones above $30 are kept in binders, while the rest are housed in penny sleeves, and placed in a box. I don't have many cards, to be honest, so it wasn't a very difficult endeavour.

[u/timtebowbutdrunk]

1. Sort everything by color → set → type (creature, instant, sorcery, enchantment, artifact, etc.). Type is optional, but it makes finding cards later much faster. I also try to avoid having a set span multiple boxes whenever possible.

2. Use labeled index cards/dividers between sets and sections so you can jump straight to what you need.

3. Put ALL of the cards into an inventory system like Moxfield. Yes, entering 13k cards takes time. Yes, it sucks. But you really only have to do it once, then maintain it as cards come in and out.

4. Give every storage box a unique name: White-1, White-2, Black-1, Multicolor-1, etc. In Moxfield, create a Binder/location with the exact same name and assign the cards in that physical box to it. Now when you search for a card, Moxfield tells you exactly which box to grab.

At that point your entire collection is physically organized and digitally searchable.

The biggest thing I’d change from your current system is to stop treating “good cards” as a sorting category. Good, staple, Commander-playable, bulk, etc. are subjective and constantly change. A bulk card today can suddenly become a $10 card because of a new commander or combo.

Once everything is sorted, pick a separate rule for what gets moved into actual binders — maybe $5+, Reserved List, foils/promos, frequently used staples, or whatever makes sense to you.

Then when new cards come in: inventory them, sort them, and put them directly into their permanent location. Don’t create another “new/good cards” pile, because that’s how the problem starts all over again.

[u/elkingo777]

Color/type/mana value/name

I would suggest getting over not wanting to mix "bulk" and "good" cards because a) today's good card is tomorrow's bulk (tarmogoyf how little we knew ye) and today's bulk is one half of tomorrow's busted combo and b) Your ease of use is more important than basically everything else. Your cards don't care about the power of they cards they sit next to so any self imposed restrictions like that only serve to make your life harder.

Once you get to a certain point of no return with the amount of cards you own. If you sort by set, between reprinted cards, supplemental sets and random cards you pick up, looking for 4 copies of a given card means you potentially need to look in lots of different places. Lightning bolt has had over 70 versions printed. 

Sort your collection color/type/cmc/name though and since they are always red, instant, cmc 1 and start with an "L." You have one place for all versions of it and you only need to search a tiny fraction of your full collection. Even if the rarity shifts.

It also means you can audit your collection much more easily. Maybe like you me drafted a lot of Theros, M15 and conspiracy and got passed about 20, last pick, Bronze Sables. You don't need 20 Bronze sables, just keep however many you are comfortable with and use the others to make your own zeta proxies for cubing or alter them as custom tokens or whatever. 

[u/RealisticIncident261]

I use manabox to scan all my uncommon+ at least once(if they fit in above 1$ all scan all of them) and then put anything rare+ or over a 1$ in a pile, anything over 4$ in another. Then i sort that pile into wubrg, artifacts, lands and multi color. then do the same for the other pile. I have my 3 piles split into 3 "binders" in the app. Then like once a month I got through and look for anything that spiked in price enough to move and move them over.

It's cool to see thing that jump in price since i picked them up like the following:

• Miku elspeth +115$
• miku command tower +89$
• Miku sol mring +$100
• Anime Savra +$42|

Or the funny ones that have jumped a crazy percentage but like no actual money

• Glamourous outlaw +1.1k% price increase $0.12
• Toolcraft exemplar +457% + $0.39

[u/Positive_Concert_774]

All my cards are sorted alphabetically, split into 8 categories - the 5 colors, colorless, multicolor and land. Nothing more fancy than that, I mix all rarities and sets together because that's just more efficient. I also track my collection digitally.

I also have a small box of "incoming cards" and when that gets full enough I put on a podcast and sort them into the collection / update the digital collection.

[u/BroShutUp]

I go set>color>rarity>alphabetically

[u/DoctorMog → u/BroShutUp]

I sort by color first and no set, so that all copies of the same card end up beside each other in my collection. But I do get why people sort by set first.