Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of Magic: The Gathering theme decks


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was delete. Although sources have been provided to indicate that this is a potentially notable topic, consensus is that the current content so substantially fails important content standards such as WP:GAMEGUIDE that it should be removed from mainspace. It can be draftified or userfied for improvement via WP:REFUND if desired.  Sandstein  10:51, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

List of Magic: The Gathering theme decks

 * – ( View AfD View log )

Fails WP:GNG & WP:GAMEGUIDE with only 2 weak secondary sources in the lead. The majority of the article is unsourced & links directly to the Wizards of the Coast website. I would suggest merging the lead to Magic: The Gathering compilation sets. Sariel Xilo (talk) 20:14, 14 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Games-related deletion discussions. Sariel Xilo (talk) 20:14, 14 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Lists-related deletion discussions. Sariel Xilo (talk) 20:14, 14 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been listed on the WikiProject Magic: The Gathering talk page. Sariel Xilo (talk) 20:22, 14 September 2021 (UTC)


 * Weak keep. There is a question of whether "theme deck" is the correct terminology, as MtG has changed its own terminology (and products) over the years. Some of those decks are reviewed, there are some listicles too:, , , , , ... I think that while this article can be improved, the topic does meet WP:NLIST. --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus&#124; reply here 03:09, 15 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Fantasy-related deletion discussions. Necrothesp (talk) 12:36, 15 September 2021 (UTC)

 Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
 * Comment This article was created in 2005‎.  There were links to the various articles about the cards.  The template still has the links to those articles. Template:Magic:_The_Gathering I don't know anything about this game so can't comment if this article as it is, is useful and valid.  Does listing "Colors included" and whatnot matter?  The updated list itself is found in the template.   D r e a m Focus  02:47, 16 September 2021 (UTC)
 * The sources in that old revision are to the producer's official page, so while reliable are not independent. Side note: even if this is deleted, fan wikis have all that information or more. The issue is whether this is a notable list... --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus&#124; reply here 06:20, 16 September 2021 (UTC)
 * The article is fairly poor. It's going to meet WP:N as a topic, but I'm not at all sure that means we should have the article.  As an editorial matter, this seems not hugely encyclopedic.  I'm going to go with keep because AfD isn't the right place to discuss merging or redirecting a topic that meets WP:N, but I'd be open a discussion on the talk page involving merging or redirecting if someone can identify a good target. Hobit (talk) 02:11, 17 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Comment I also don't play Magic & only accidentally ended up on an article improvement kick for this game. Like User:Piotrus, most of what I found was about Commander which was useful for the Magic: The Gathering Commander which specifically lists the preconstructed products for that format. Part of why I went AfD over merge discussion was that I couldn't find much about the use/history of theme decks in the various formats. So while the concept of theme decks might be good to merge elsewhere, I'm not entirely sure how to make the list of charts readable for someone without deep knowledge of the game. Like User:Dream Focus, the list of charts mostly left me with questions. For example, why are the number of cards in a deck not standard across all decks; I assume that's because these decks are intended for different formats but I would love sources to explain that X theme decks are intended for A format while Y theme decks are intended for B format. Is "theme deck" suppose to mean "all preconstructed decks" as User:Qwaiiplayer says below? Did WoTC changes their marketing terms and if so, when? Etc. Sariel Xilo (talk) 16:46, 22 September 2021 (UTC)

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, North America1000 01:00, 22 September 2021 (UTC)  Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
 * Keep per Piotrus. These products, often called "Preconstructed Decks" or "Precons" nowadays, usually receive significant coverage, especially the commander products (e.g. ). The page needs a lot of  cleanup but the topic meets WP:GNG and WP:NLIST. Qwaiiplayer (talk) 12:31, 22 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Comment My understanding was that these theme decks were a type of preconstructed decks. Some of the formats list their preconstructed products (for example, the commander decks are listed here: Magic: The Gathering Commander). Sariel Xilo (talk) 16:46, 22 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Comment I think part of the confusion is that before preconstructed Commander decks were created in 2011, the term "theme deck" and "preconstructed deck" were mostly interchangeable. While theme decks generally refer to the 60 card preconstructed decks that are released with each new set, it seems that this article includes all types of official preconstructed decks in its scope (e.g. Starter decks and Commander Decks). As of now I'm unsure whether the article scope should be expanded to include all preconstructed decks (i.e. move the page to List of Magic: The Gathering preconstructed decks) or just eliminate all the decks that aren't strictly "theme decks" (e.g. List_of_Magic:_The_Gathering_theme_decks and List_of_Magic:_The_Gathering_theme_decks). That can be discussed outside this AfD though. Qwaiiplayer (talk) 17:42, 22 September 2021 (UTC)
 * , IMHO we should have a single list for all of those theme/precon decks (note: I play MTG and collect those very decks). Some get coverage, some lists exits, as I said, IMHO this concept, whatever the applicable name, meets NLIST. Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus&#124; reply here 07:52, 24 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Delete as WP:INDISCRIMINATE game guide content. Ajf773 (talk) 10:02, 23 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Redirect to Magic: The Gathering. Minkai (talk to me) (see where I screwed up) 17:27, 24 September 2021 (UTC)

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, – filelakeshoe (t / c) 🐱 12:33, 29 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Weak Delete - As per WP:INDISCRIMINATE: "To provide encyclopedic value, data should be put in context with explanations referenced to independent sources." Gentleman wiki (talk) 20:12, 30 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Delete or draftify in current form. Poor article that needs more encyclopedic text and positioning, but I would say that as a list this actually seems justified - well-defined topic, consisting of material that is not available in this compiled form anywhere else; there's encyclopedic value in drawing such disparate info together (for a much more high-calibre example, see e.g. List of giant squid specimens and sightings (20th century)). However, that requires that every bit of material is well-sourced, and currently every single link to the actual card listings is broken . This has no business being in mainspace in this form. -- Elmidae (talk · contribs) 17:23, 2 October 2021 (UTC)
 * 'Delete Difficult to keep in current form. Sachin.cba (talk) 02:57, 7 October 2021 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.