Organize your MTG collection like an Engineer!

UPDATE: Part 2 of this video is now posted, going over the software tools I use AND showing my current collection value.
• MTG Collection Softwar...
How does a very analytical yet efficiency driven nerd organize his precious cardboard?!?
Pretty much like this.
In this video I show the final system I landed on after 21 years of constant refinement and improvement. Note this system is not designed for investment purposes, or mass card-hoarding, no...
This system is designed to help me quickly build decks, to know EXACTLY what I have so trading becomes backed up by quick electronic access and to keep the value of my collection spread across as many deck-ready playable cards as possible.
Here is an Amazon link to the BCW Card Sorting Tray shown in the video.
www.amazon.com/BCW-1-CST-Card...
Follow me on instagram at: / edwin_the_magic_engineer

[@djnewellmit]

I like your idea of keeping the playable cards sleeved once you put them into storage.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

You know... that has REALLY turned out to be a huge benefit!

[@austincrandall6952]

*Causally pulls out a force of will* Audience stops breathing for five seconds

[@franciscocarrillo9318]

What I love of this video is the passion and enjoyment that you have showing what you like

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Thanks for that! I’m still doing it but just not really making as many videos anymore

[@ewaldhouba]

I sort my cards this way: First sorting layer: black, blue, red, white, green, colorless and multi color and for non-color cards: lands, tokens, artifacts and planeswalkers. Second sorting: for the colors: creatures, enchantments, instants and sorceries. For artifacts: artifacts, artifact creatures and artifact equipments. This is the card-divider-level sorting. A pack of cards behind a card divider is sorted this way: Third sorting: mana costs and finally the fourth sorting: alphabetical. I put every card in the Decked Builder app on my phone, so I have total knowledge of my collection everywhere. If I’m building a deck I can easyly look up cards by color, type and costs. Also I can do all kinds of selections in Decked builder to find the type of cards that I need and when I have found my card, I know what color, type and cost it has and I can find the card within a few seconds, because the last sorting is alphabetical.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

ewaldhouba definitely taken to the next level!

[@rockylosco5596]

ewaldhouba hey thank you man I’ve been lookin for something like this for awhile,ur system makes total sense and also is the most common sense of all,I see u simply break it down as you go lower and lower and lower,my question to u is can u go any lower than. What you’ve stated,oh yea and so there is an actual program u can use to organize ur cards in a computer?very cool!

[@austincrandall6952]

See I go by the color order on the back of the cards clock wise so I do White, Blue, Black, Red, and then Green. I also put gold first and colorless in the back.

[@justanotherdude8145]

I was about to do the same, adding the divions by season above all.

[@benjaminmacdavid9359]

where do vehicles go tho? legit asking, is it artifacts? artifact creatures?

[@warbrothers7745]

My wife isn't happy when i sort cards whilst she's talking to me!!

[@PaulSzkibik]

if sorting your cards means getting rid of cards, maybe she'd be happy? Like I have the exact same issue of having way too many cards that I'll never ever play. It's a huge undertaking to sort all the cards out that I'll realistically never play and also just don't care owning. But my girlfriend will likely be very happy when I finally do.

[@ellyisjelly1504]

My partner and I both play MTG and we sort our cards quite differently. He often appreciates me sorting them for him ahah, so I don’t think he’d mind me doing it while chatting. I often help him sort his cards because of his disability, (or his carers help) but he instructs me where to put them. He does them by colour and card type in binders and boxers. He has his more valuable cards in a specific binder. I sort them quite differently. I go by set and store the bulk in the fatpack/bundle boxes or other boxes I have around. If ilI have enough of the set I’ll sort by colour. I keep a trades binder and I also have some pet cards in other binders. The one exception is that I’m trying to collect a copy of each card from a specific set so I have all those cards in a binder by number.

[@sasukekuniski1959]

i dont organize anything and i still find my cards .. i know the heart of the cards

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Cards have hearts?

[@badmoose01]

I think that’s a yu go oh reference

[@thedividend6114]

I love that dresser! And I also like the idea of digitally keeping track of everything. I personally organize my collection by set, WUBRG (commons first, then uncommons), multicolored, artifacts, etc. I’ll probably make a video myself going in depth on my organization. It’s definitely a tedious activity, but totally worth it when going back through your collection in the future!

[@ellyisjelly1504]

This is super cool and also incredibly effective! Enjoyed this a lot

[@henrygriffith7616]

I thought for a second that the monitor was a TV and the desk was the floor and you had gigantic cards

[@thehussar5604]

Love the setup. I just discovered your channel tonight and you are already one of my favorite Magic KZbinrs.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Very kind of you to say, Thanks The Hussar!

[@MadCowMusic]

This is a great idea; it's amazing how many times i've bought play sets of cards just to stumble on 2 or 3 play sets from previous printings that I either couldn't find or completely forgot about.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Thanks man. I have put a LOT of thought and effort into how I organize my collection. It's 100% based on helping me build decks. So extras are sold for funds to buy missing cards, and all the small choices are made around building decks fast and tearing them down fast. I made a follow up video about how I compliment the storage methods with electronic inventory and pricing tools. Check that one out!

[@marcoesquandolez4737]

Yep happens to me too

[@andrewsaunders6429]

Saw this in my recommended list. Keep plugging away, this was pretty cool!

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Thanks for the feedback Andrew!

[@maxpheby7287]

Yeah sorting cards is the ultimate alpha wave activity. Great for unwinding after a day at work.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Alpha wave, I love it! Does the field of brain science recommend a certain percent of alpha wave activities per day or week?

[@IanHarding12]

Finding myself falling into the same patterns as you. Its a great system, one I'll be following as my collection grows. Also, Black Dragon Shields FTW!

[@loganflores349]

I really like this idea. Its cool and it does seem easy to get to what you need

[@BradyRay_333]

I like it. Thanks for taking the time to make this video.

[@MartinSparkes-BadDragon]

I have done a similar thing with my collection. The only thing I would add to this is the idea of storing each play-set in a penny sleeve. That way you can flip through your cards by play-set rather than by individual cards. I have also gone through and grouped my cards by colour, then by type, then by CMC. Then they are sorted by name within that category. My card database will print out a pick-list ordered in the same way so that building a deck is just a case of following the pick-list. The drawer idea was a nice touch. I have nabbed an old dresser which was sitting around and am in the process of converting it as I type this.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Hey Martin, I just recently released an update to this video where I go over the software tools I use. Check it out! I had times where I started to get that organized about my collection... but I realized there's a point where too much organization does not benefit, it only hurts. There's a balance to be had. When you get super detailed then you make the time it takes to put away cards much longer and when you are building decks and making changes the organization becomes not something that benefits you... but slows you down. It came down to what my personal goal was. My collection is set up to enable me to quickly find cards to build decks. It's also set up to assist me in using my value wisely for trading cards I'm not using into ones I need for future decks. That of course does not need to be everybodies goal, and I'm also not saying my method is the best. All I'm saying is that I believe there's a balance between how organized is useful and when it becomes a process drag.

[@JasonNCSU2007]

I appreciate the attention the detail. I play a lot of standard, and just catalog the rest for trading and selling. Rare and Foil cards get sleeved. I only keep 4 of anything. Any excess of 4 I have, I usually make beginner decks for new players.

[@iurirosa3155]

I followed this method and, although at first it requires a stupid amount of work and dedication, it works insanely well. The major difference from what he has here is that I have all my most valuable cards in binders. I have adopted another method to help me going through my collection: Every playset I owned that isn't sleeved is put into a penny sleeve. Penny sleeves are usually a bit bigger and you can fit a playset without a problem.

[@ItsRandomKam]

If you have a lot of cards having a digital database of them is such a worth while time investment. The initial entry is a big under taking but it’s so easy everytime you get something to new to just quickly add it in and all or at least most of them are free. I use goldfish’s myself

[@FastTadp0le]

Deckbox.org allows me to sort, filter, search, buy, sell, trade, print lists and inventory all my cards. I have them stored in binders on a bookshelf, one for each set... I got 8 years left until I need a new shelf. Bulk traders go into boxes. Premium traders into binders. This system allows me to database (for collection, trading, selling+pricing and wishlist inventory) sort, and binder / box each new set ~4 boxes in 4 hours or less. Nice to see other approaches to the system from a 25 year vet. I've been in the game for a little under 3 years. I dig the swank dividers.

[@squeaks5635]

I also use deckbox.org and it was completely free when I started with it years ago. Rares in binder, everything else by set, then set number. You will find that when you sort by set number they are always in the same color order. WUBRGMAL and they are alphabetized within the colors that way too. makes narrowing down extremely fast.

[@marcoesquandolez4737]

Thanks for this. I’m halfway there just from “brain dead’ sorting like you say. This video helps me get over the line

[@codelicious6590]

Hey, thanks for sharing! I've been having a really hard time trying to figure out how to deal with my collection as it has gotten to a size that has become unmanageable for me- I have a hard time getting rid of any card I can look at and see a use for no matter how obscure or narrow that use may be. I too am wanting to organize in a deck-building mindset, so I think I'm going to use a lot of this info. Thanks again!

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Thanks for the comment Cody. Remember that my method is organized around building decks for any format. If your priorities are different then very likely a slightly different system would be best.

[@PANHobbies]

Amazing Edwin. Truly amazing!

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

There are updates/additions to this video I made in the years since :)

[@rockylosco5596]

Love the five colored gems man,real real cool lol

[@adamgregory9198]

Definitely agree with the black sleeves. I made the same decision and they work with every set and style of cards.

[@shoot_again2753]

I have a much larger collection but sort exactly like you do and matte black dragon shields on all. If you tear a sleave or want to put them in decks they are easy to build decks with. Been playing now for 30 years!

[@blipboyy]

Love the green dragon shield playmat. I have 2 I use as a deskmat for my computer

[@tomneufeldt7738]

That card sorting tray is a really good idea!

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

It works great!!

[@Aghoas17]

Really love this idea!!!

[@enemene22]

Great video! You have a cool collection.

[@CHill-wt8by]

Great video. I have learned to organize my cards the same way. I use Echomtg for my digital inventory and the phone app brings it all to my fingertips anywhere. :)

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Very cool to hear that others arrived on the same system. I would love to use EchoMtg for all of it, but the monthly fee would be too large for my 33k card collection. I'm not unwilling to pay it, more that there's no reason to price-track 25k of cards that are worth 10 cents each or less and likely never to change.

[@kitchentablemtgforums4048]

Great video. My collection has gotten a little out of hand and I haven't kept up with organizing them like I used to. This looks like a great way to organize collections. I've been thinking about putting a playset into binders of each card then selling or donating the rest but I love the drawer setup you have.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

For most of the years I've had my collection like this, I didn't have the nice Dresser Drawers. They were just in 5000 count cardboard boxes. But I must say I LOVE the Dresser Drawer solution because it's so much more aesthetically pleasing when the drawers are closed. It's also really nice to be able to open the drawer way out and get good lighting right over the cards so you can flip through them. I thought for some time that I wanted drawers that were barely taller than the cards, but I ran into a physical problem.... Most drawers don't open ALL the way. The back 1/2 to 1/3 of the drawer stays underneath the top... but that means your access to cards in the back is non-existent. Additionally, 7000+ cards in a drawer is HEAVY and most cheap drawer setups cannot handle the weight. So the inexpensive solution is a dresser drawer that's normal sized. Because the bigger drawers have more rugged rails for weight, and the taller space allows you to see cards in the back more easily. The taller aspect I didn't plan on... but realized it afterwards. The weight aspect I very quickly realized when I was shopping around for the perfect drawer set for cards.

[@mikelong2756]

I'm looking for lots of revised and 4th edition commons and uncommons, some rates etc. I had about 5 boxes and they were stolen about 8-9 years ago. I recently decided to get back into mtg and I just spent about 100 bucks getting a white creatures deck together. But I would like to build at least a deck for every color on a budget bc I only make minimum wage and have literally no lands, no anything. If you wouldn't mind helping me out on just a bulk pile of 93/94 stuff I can def pay but like I said I don't have much money. I'm looking to just purely play the game like I did 15-20 years ago as a little kid

[@Yusei1Fudo]

@@EdwintheMagicEngineer Do you know what brand/type exactly of drawer you got? Also, how did you add the dividers in for sorting into colomns?

[@MSUTri]

Great video! I'm a Star Wars CCG engineer - I both collect and play. You made me realize that perhaps I should limit the cards I keep ready to build decks with, and move extras into a separate backup/trade storage.

[@markmason2216]

Congratz on 8K subscribers.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Thanks Mark

[@JohnnyMayHymn]

I do Color(s) > Creature | Non-Creature > Converted Mana Cost (GG costs more than 1G) > multiple copies together. Only exceptions are basic lands are mixed and slivers get their own pile.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

My collection is about 34k cards and almost nothing is more than 4 copies. You end up having to make judgement calls on what level of organization is helpful and what level just adds busy work without much value. I think the method you land on at the end is not the same as everybody else too. It depends on many factors. Like how much you brew, how many formats you play, how quick you want to build a deck, whether or not your collection is organized around value, etc.

[@JohnnyMayHymn]

Makes sense, I came up with that in the late 90's when my collection was pretty small, the focus was deck building and I wanted reprints next to each other. I've just kept up with it as the collection grew. I wouldn't recommend anyone with a large (already organized) collection to change the sorting order unless you have at least a month to kill.

[@evileyeball]

See how I keep my cards organized in a different way. Firstly they get sorted by set. because I know if I am looking for a card with a specific mechanic etc I know exactly which set to look Then they get sorted by Rarity. Common and Uncommon go in the same box by set and then under that we sort by colour. Rares/Mythics go in a seperate box or binder sorted as above Each box gets marked in pencil with what is in it so it can be erased and reused if needed. The number one thing that got me about your collection was how you went Artifact Black Blue Green Red White Multi Land Basically alphabetizing the colours rather than the standard wizards WUBRG order I keep my cards sorted in WUBRG order for mono coloured cards then for multi coloured cards I sort Allied Pairs, Enemy Pairs, Shards, Wedges, Nephilim, 5 Colour So Azorious(WU) , Dimir(UB), Rakdos(BR), Gruul(RG), Selesnya(GW), Orzhov(WB), Izzet(UR), Golgari(BG), Boros(RW), Simic (GU), Esper (WUB), Grixis(UBR), Jund(BRG), Naya(RGW), Bant (GWU), Mardu (RWB), Temur(GUR), Abzan(WBG), Jeskai(URW), Sultai(BGU), WUBR, UBRG, BRGW, RGWU, GWUB, WUBRG Then I put Artifacts and colourless after that followed by lands Basic Lands and Tokens have a seperate box which is sorted by WUBRG and by set The place where I am Most organized is my EDH decklist spreadsheet which uses the following Columns A Set Symbol as Unicode Character from Keyrune Font Pulled autiomatically based on Column G and Colour coded for Rarity based on Column H via conditional formating B Name C Type D Subtype E Mana Cost as Mana Symbols using Magic Symbols 2013 Font F CMC Converted Mana cost converted from Mana cost via a custom Macro G Set H Rarity I Foil J Reserved Uses a lookup formula to determine if a card is on the reserved list or not K Notes For example if it is a promo version or a specific Art of Basic land) also will say "NEED" if the card is one I don't yet own L Category M Price Used to use a custom macro to pull internet prices but it was slow and not friendly to TCG player so I disabled the macro N Price of needed Cards Displayed the price of only cards which said "NEED" in the notes column and had all other cards set to $0.00 O Sans P Takes the Mana cost column and replaces any Phyrexian mana with appropriate colours using the cards colour which in the case of Phyrexian cards appears in the notes column such that the Counts of each coloured mana symbol for mana base calculations can properly happen Then at the bottom of the deck list you get something like this (Taken from Dysphoria Syndrome my Circu Dimir Lobotomist Mill deck) u 57 65.52% b 28 32.18% Uf 2 2.30% 8 Artifact 16 Creature 7 Enchantment 39 Land 13 Instant 16 Sorcery 0 Planeswalker 4 Legendary 0 Tribal Average CMC 3.20 Boulder Colour (Cell backgrould colour denotes Box colour in this case blue) Sleeve Colour (As above but for sleve in this case blue) Theme Mill/Combo (u is a Blue mana symbol b is for Black mana and Uf makes a Blue Black Hybrid symbol)

[@xpeterx]

i really like your system and the 3D printed deviders are awesome. i might reconsider my organizing system, but since my cards are a mix between german and english i'm still hesitent about alpabetizing them. but what i also do is i only keep four of each (if they are reprinted i keep 4 for every set that i have them in) and give the rest away to a local school for the kids to play with. my organzing tree is currently: 1. a. is the set currently in standard, b. modern, c. everything else (when a block rotates out of standard the cards are going to be sorted with the rest 2. sets are devided into cardtypes (a. creatures, b. artifacts, c. enchantments, d. instants, e. sorceries, f. lands) 3. cardtypes are sorted into colors (a. white, b. black, c. green, d. blue, e. red, f. multicolor, g. non-color) 4. those colors are then sorted into converted mana cost since i still have a very managable collection (~5000 cards) and just started playing again just a few years ago, i keep all the standard cards in binders (with the same card being put all in the same pocket in the binder) until the block rotates out. then they go into those cardbord boxes with said sorting method. at the moment i have my collection organized via mtggoldfish's collection tool, because i like that it's really quick and i can access it from anywhere. but i just downloaded the programm you reccommended and will look into that as well. thanks for the video.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

I absolutely believe there is no best system, it depends on a persons collection and their needs for their own collection. My collection spans Alpha-latest sets, I play all formats, and the goal of my collection is building decks easily.

[@Methyl_The_Sneasel]

Personally, if I had a card shop or regularly opened boosters, when it comes to bulk, I would try my best to sort them as I open packs, and sort them by either card number within a set or alphabetical order and sort them in separate boxes for each expansion/set (I call them sets because I collect Pokemon, but this also applies to all TCG's). And then, within each set, I would sort them by number, and add a divider every 10 numbers, so if I then have to look for a specific card, I look for the number, and then know what pile to look for it in.

[@Dando86]

Very nice! I do something similar but am using fatpack and toolkit boxes in draws at the moment. I use delver lens to add my cards to my digital collection. :) I sort by set, color then letter/name :) Love your videos! PS, I keep all my standard legal cards separated.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Thanks for the comment. What format does Delver Lens output the inventory info in? Is it directly entered into some existing database? Or does it create an XML file?

[@mreshadow]

I spent summer 2020 organizing. I use an app for inventory of just my decks. We have the same mat but I drew out the alphabet on mine not realizing the sorter plastic thing exists. I can't even imagine inputting all my cards into a DB! I love the dresser idea. Just using 5k boxes for now and dreading the day when I inevitably drop one. My group plays commander exclusively so I have staples separate. Decks in progress go into empty Dragon Shield boxes with the name on top. I also need to add inserts for the alphabet. Its so "engineer" that you take function over form by using all the same sleeves. I might need to go that route. This was helpful!

[@CollectorCraving]

Nice insite into your method,I have mine sorted in a similar way. I use decked builder as my digital database , I feel the camera helps speed up the entering.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

I tried the camera, and it's nice for capturing the card. But then you need to email yourself the list, then import it, then fix errors, etc. In the end just typing it in was faster than all those other steps combined. Additionally... if you already have 4x copies of a card that was reprinted in a newer set... the scanning app has no clue about that! But when I enter the cards manually I can catch that and not keep adding newer versions of the same card.

[@lizzybillet8358]

Awesome Buddy 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@lamgor89]

nice one, good video will learn

[@Snow-hx1ky]

Very helpful thank you!

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Thanks for the feedback :)

[@JWS64]

Just found this video today, Feb 2, 2019. Someone already asked, and I'll second, WHERE did you get that awesome sorting tray? Even if they're a company that no longer exists, would like to know. IF possible I'd like to find one exactly like or close to looking like yours. Thanks, and I did click "like and subscribe" to your video and channel.

[@asellers98]

I love your system. It is similar to mine, but I loaded it all into Decked Builder. It allows for pricing and inventory, as well as building decks and inventoried deck lists. Works on Tablet, phone, and computer.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Hi Andrew, thanks SO MUCH for the note about Decked builder. I'm looking at it right now and if it's good enough... I might make the switch to this for my main collection app.

[@asellers98]

Edwin the Magic Engineer I love being able to be at work and brew a deck in my head, or being on Facebook or KZbin and seeing if I own the card they are talking about. Knowing right away the cost and if I have it great! It is still going through growing pains, but I have 22,696 cards in it. You may want to run both, since doing the database conversion maybe simple.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Funny you said that... I JUST got done sending an email to Decked Builder's email support asking if there is an import feature. My collection is over 33k cards and if I have to type that in by hand... um. no.

[@PeterMacansky]

Nicely done

[@darksoundwave]

Hey Edwin! First off, great video! Sorting and condensing has been something a bit difficult for me, especially with my limited space. However, with that changing soon, I was looking into sorting in a similar fashion. I did have a few questions though. 1) With your overall collection, do you use any binders to separate specific cards? Or have you moved away from that and used the method you mentioned in the video overall. 2)With the card boxes in the dresser, are the weight of the cards supported well enough from the dresser drawers?

[@Junglewarfare]

I don’t play magic but I do play Yugioh and I found this video helpful. I mostly use penny sleeves for cards that are playable.

[@L4TMTG]

Great video homie

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

@@L4TMTG thanks for that. In the years since I did updates on the same channel. Showed the Software I use and what I do with valuable cards

[@jeffreyd.5558]

I've started to use the same sleeves for all my cards and buying a new pack at COMP REL+.

[@BigBig5]

I am in the process of organizing mine and scanning them with the TCPGlayer app, then exporting the CSV to a database like MTG Collection Builder. I will keep a backup of all CSV files just in case MTG Collection Builder is no more or I switch to another program or website. I found that BCW 1000 count boxes fit nicely in my nice wood leather dresser.

[@joaopires8815]

Really useful content. I love your videos. They really make me wanna go back to my old 90s cards and play 😊

[@nkmason8284]

There's no way you went through your cards and found an ornithopter that was Beta

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

LOL oh yeah. Good point.

[@gleblanc83]

i went through my stuff and didnt even know i had a CE Ancestral

[@einoseikkula1847]

I was just about to point that out.

[@keeler1160]

Can you make a video specifically on your dresser? I want to see the arrangement you have set up. Also what do you use to divide the drawer? is it the cardboard card containers?

[@andrewhernandez1917]

Love the set up! What boxes do you use in the dresser?

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

There was a cardboard 3x5 row of "drawers" I got at an LGS once. Bought 3x of those setups (lots of cardboard). I used them for a bit, but cardboard long boxes in a 3x5 container is not really a smooth system, it does not slide well and jiggles when you bump it etc. Also, you are constantly removing replacing long boxes just to look through them so quickly thumbing through the collection was difficult. I knew I wanted to switch to some kind of open top drawer setup... so I could just slide open a good quality drawer and easily thumb through the cards to find what I need or put stuff away. But I completely failed to find a cost effective drawer setup. I had this drawer from Ikea that we no longer needed, so I tried just taking the open-top empty long boxes from that original 3x5 cardboard setup... and voila they worked well! So it's open top long boxes, placed into a dresser drawer set from Ikea. Now I have added some lighting from these units I got at Walmart, I'll have to show them in a future video or something.

[@GamerTreasures]

Man today was my day off I sorted card from 2pm-11pm with a few minor breaks in between. Your way looks great but very time consuming. I usually just seperate my stuff by set and rarity.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

There's no way around it, it's definitely time consuming. Absolutely yes. However the way I look at it... I spend 100 hours getting it set up, so I don't waste 1000 hours later looking for cards for decks. It also keeps my investment VERY efficient, meaning I'm not going to have value wasted on 25 Lotus petals, I'll filter those out and sell 21 of them and use that money to buy cards I don't have yet. That's the main reason I tried to qualify the PURPOSE for this organization method. It's purpose is quick deck building and very intentional trading. Thanks for commenting! :)

[@GucciCaligula]

@@EdwintheMagicEngineer do you ever use scanner apps to lighten the load on the data entry step? I feel like importing csvs would make this system much faster

[@lordwhatshisname3408]

I just have a bookshelf of binders. I sort them first by rarity, then by color. I find it super simple and I usually don't have issues finding what I need Commons I have cardboard BCW boxes for them

[@3nertia]

I'm currently working on a program that can take scans of cards and catalog them into a database >_>

[@djenksings]

How did it go, it sounds like a really good idea

[@cesarrodrigonunezhinojosa3619]

Hey, I think your organization it's awesome, I actually have in mind something a bit crazier, take this a step further... I wanted to make this archive, like shareable/viewable from a cellphone, if you are trying to trade cards, you can check your cell phone and see if the card your picking isn't already in your collection.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

I'm literally ready to do that as soon as that quality of software tool exists. At this moment, it does not in any reasonable form I know of. Every tool that almost meets those needs for me falls short somewhere... 1. They often don't have those "fringe" cards available for data entry. Like the fact my FBB Erhnam Djinn is Korean. That DOES matter because it makes a price difference. Many tools don't even have any way to enter CE, IE, FBB, Pre-Release, judge rewards cards! 2. Some of the tools want me to pay a monthly fee when the collection gets over a certain size... and my collection is approaching 35k cards! I'm not gonna drop $20 per month just to know what my cards are on my phone. 3. Some of the tools are terrible about staying up to date with the latest sets. Even MTG Studio did not add Ixilan for like 4 months and I had piles of cards just sitting around my man cave waiting to be entered. 4. Some tools don't have a proper system to import cards and I WILL NOT type/click 35k cards into a new database. Just... no. If you know of a software tool that's capable of all this and the normal requirements... PLEASE tell me. I know of nothing that hits them all.

[@michaelboyer5799]

Love the tips. Do you double sleeve your decked cards or single sleeve them?

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

I single sleeved for most of my MTG career, but they are all double sleeved now. KMC Ultras inners and Dragon Shield outers :)

[@oliverfries9386]

Thanks!

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

You are welcome.

[@vintagetechshack]

Found your channel from watching Alpha Investments videos. Great information about organizing and storing a card collection. I've gotten into redoing my collection, as I have started pulling it out of storage and want to get things organized and playing again. I like the tray your using, and have been looking around, and can't seem to find it. Does it have a brand name, and where did you get it? Thanks!

[@vintagetechshack]

I found it. Took a little more searching, but found it on Amazon. Hope this helps others locate it if they are interested in a tray to help sort and organize. a.co/h4nzu10

[@viktaschaeffer8654]

This is funny I'm going through this same process right now. It's very time consuming. While digitally entering them I remove any card that's beyond 8 copies (since my husband and I both play). I can already tell how much easier this will be on us later, it's just getting through it right now. O.o

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Hi Victoria, thanks for the comment and yes is SURE DOES pay off in the long run. If you can find a way to enjoy the process of refining your collection there are so many benefits!! 1. It opens up a lot of potential trade stock. 2. It decreases the amount of cards you need to search through to find stuff. 3. It makes your collection easier to manage and or move/around during clean up, moving, etc. 4. I find that all kinds of ideas for new decks spark when I'm looking at cards while I organize. 5. It forces you to put your collection value where you want it. When you are sitting there looking at 12 copies of a certain card, 3 of them are special/foil... you are now forced to make a choice. Keep the best ones to improve your collection quality or keep the cheap ones and use the others to sell/trade for cards you want more. I tend to sell/trade off everything Modern/Standard that I don't think I'll be playing with because my favorite formats are Vintage, Legacy, Traditional EDH, and Old School. And if you do the software-inventory side as well... 6. You can build decks electronically and avoid all the searching... then once you are happy with a starting list of 60 go to the physical collection and make the idea a reality in 5 min to start testing. 7. You can immediately determine if you already have enough copies of a card using tools like PC/Smartphone so you don't waste money buying what you already have. 8. It's easier to add your best cards to price tracking tools to watch for price movements and capitalize on them. 9. You can add cards to the collection without having to physically thumb through existing cards to see if you already have 4x or 8x copies. There are just so many benefits! But YES it's a lot of work.

[@barbosa300]

Cool set up, personally I would arrange my cards by set rather than alphabetical order but it looks great.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

The problem I ran into doing it that way was that WoTC kept reprinting cards across sets. This left me with no good solution, there was always a problem. Either I collected full sets which was great to have full sets near each other... but it was terrible because I was wasting money buying repeats instead of cards I didn't own. Do I REALLY need that 24th Birds of Paradise? I should I buy the Fetch Lands I don't own yet... Or perhaps I did only buy one set of a given card and avoid it in other sets. But that's also a problem... because when you want your Birds of Paradise... which set did you leave them in?!? One is in the Revised set, one in 4th Edition, one in Ravinica and the last one in 8th Edition? Ug... I also have to make dividers for each set, each color, etc. So I'm ALWAYS making new collection dividers because I'm always adding new sets. With my current system I make 1 letter for each color and I'm done. I eventually realized that what I personally prioritized was spending my money efficiently (not buying more than 4 of anything) and also being able to find cards FAST when I wanted them. If I know I own those Birds of Paradise, I don't need to look at the electronic tool, I don't need to look across 15 different sets.... no... I just go STRAIGHT to Green, then "G" and it's probably in the front... still inside a sleeve. Done. The way I do it, decks get built up, and torn down then put away in MINUTES.

[@fsmoura]

_" If I know I own those Birds of Paradise, I don't need to look at the electronic tool, I don't need to look across 15 different sets.... no... I just go STRAIGHT to Green, then "G" and it's probably in the front"_ Wait, shouldn't you go to green, and then "B" instead?!?

[@nikkimeredith761]

Nice dividers. Have you ever thought about making and selling them? I just stumbled upon your channel this morning as I was looking for some research and inspiration to help keep motivated. I'm in the process of taking on the organizing project for a huge collection of MTG cards that my bf inherited from his old job and I'm not sure why I started this project but I deffinatly did not know what I was getting into when I started. It's a couple weeks in and I'm committed to continue and finish but the dividing had always been a question for me. I can colorize, alphabetize, and keep like kinds and pictures with like kinds with no problem. The real question for me is the grouping, or in what order? Also the dividing while my stacks keep getting bigger and growing as the more boxes I pull out to go through. I would be super interested in those dividers you designed or 3d printed. I don't have a 3d printer but if I had one I'd be on top of it. I'm an interior designer so I really like your approach to the sorting and maybe that's why I even took this project on from a personal viewpoint of no one should open a box and have no rhyme or reason to it. I think from a standpoint it makes sense to be ocd like that to save hours on the backend when building or searching. Now I never have played myself but I hope that's not working against me as I'm learning how to categorize these.

[@thecomrade302]

i love the magic community

[@_donny_9473]

I do it while I am sitting with my wife! She laughs at how people like us spend the time to do this small tasks for the long term pay off!

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

She laughs but it's so worth it!!

[@JazzyGems111]

Hi. Thanks for the video. Just wondering where I could get one of those sorters? I'd love to buy this for my son. Always trying to find great MTG gifts for him!

[@brandonwatsonandtheikbsoun576]

So cool. Thank you for making something direct and to the point that is simplistically laid out. I love the organization system. This is more or less what I have been moving towards with my collection. I started some hardcore sorting in January of 2016, and I am almost done digitizing my inventory. In the process of getting everything sorted and entered, I have found that I need a better physical management system to do exactly what you are showing here. I am going to push forward with using furniture for my physical storage, but let me ask you a question: Do you have any opinions on using card catalogs for the furniture? I am currently using a chest of drawers as well, but my wife wants to get something new for me. I also like to keep some things such as miscellaneous cardboard, styrofoam, hard plastic boxes, duel deck or prerelease boxes, sleeves, dragon shields sleeve boxes (once I have exhausted the box for use), etc. Do you keep anything like this? How do you store these types of accessories and otherwise trash?

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Hi again Brandon. As you saw all my main cards are either in decks or in the long cardboard boxes within the drawers. I do have extra card which are total trade stock, not organized or electronically entered in the main collection. They are just sitting in 5000 count cardboard boxes and a couple of trade binders for easy travel. I really bounced around with how to store my cards for the main collection. What I really wanted was a set of drawers that were more thin, pulled out all the way, and I wanted to set up a wooden divider system for all the rows instead of cardboard... but I found nothing that fit that bill. In fact, I discovered a few issues I had not first considered. Firstly... what ever solution you use needs to be able to handle a LOT OF WEIGHT!!! When you have 8000 cards in each drawer it's REALLY heavy. And that's ok for most normal drawers... but if you ALSO want to pull the drawer out all the way (to access cards in the way back) you gotta remember how beefy the rail system on those drawers must be to hold like 40 pounds of cards extended ALL the way out. Normal drawer rails cannot do this. They MUST be special and beefy. The other solution however... is instead of thin drawers if you use taller drawers... then they do have wasted top space yes. But they don't need to pull out all the way because that "wasted" space above the cards lets you access cards in the back even though the drawer is only out 2/3 of the way. Another thing to consider... having cardboard long individual row boxes allows me to remove that single row of cards if I want to. That's both nice for working closely with those cards... and also for when I need to shift the entire collection because one row is too full. I can just remove the rows and slide/rotate them all around. If you were REALLY gonna go for it... what you need is... A custom made dresser drawer setup, with REALLY beefy drawer rails, that pulls out all the way, can support 50 LBS per drawer, and you also need some high quality card rows that can be taken out of the unit. That can be custom made... but I suspect it would be spendy. I hope this all made sense.

[@brandonwatsonandtheikbsoun576]

Edwin the Magic Engineer great! Yes I'll keep these things in mind as we browse for the right piece. I wouldn't have thought about the rails needing to be rated for more for the application, but that's a great point. Also, the space-above creating more access, but losing usable space, makes sense. I would hope to avoid this. I'll let you know what we find down the road!

[@JohnDoe-io3ux]

I have a similar system of sorting physically but don‘t have an inventory software. Can you make a video about different inventory softwares with advantages/disadvantages? Is it possible on mtg studio to add personal notes to a specific card (e.g. if a spefific card is currently in my tradebinder or in a deck)?

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Hi Florian, I made that electronic inventory video a little bit ago :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6uXoHRom7abpNE Yes MTG Studio allows you to make personal notes for each card entry :)

[@GameTech3D]

What size boxes do you use inside the drawers? Is it a perfect fit inside the drawer?

[@jacejames3853]

I’ll need to sort through my cards I have a bunch of extra cards I don’t need looks like I’m going to have fun sorting

[@gpcyan3]

Edwin, I am also an engineer by trade and I am running into a storage problem with my current setup. I think your setup with the IKEA 6 drawer desk looks like a great solution for me. Do you know which model you used from IKEA? Also, Did you just cut out some cardboard for dividers in the drawers or use something else? Thanks in advance!

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

gpcyan3 Hi Gpcyan3, It was the Ikea "Malm" series if I remember right. The dividers were part of a cardboard based drawer setup where it was like 4 rows across and 3 tall. I just use the bottom part of each drawer. You can use any single 1000 count box with a removable top. I would recommend boxes that lay the cards down on their side due to WEIGHT... because if you use boxes that stand the cards upright you might need to reinforce the drawers so they can hold all that weight. Here's a link to the cardboard setup I scavenged for boxes... Card House Storage Box - with 12 800-Count Storage Boxes by BCW www.amazon.com/dp/B004GLLA26/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_TQSVzb6X6NH5B

[@skeletonking2352]

You could always go blue S-A, S-B, S-C, etc.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

I literally might be doing that pretty soon. The Blue "S" and "T" section... and the red "G" sections are just massive.

[@chan4est]

What are the exact boxes that you use inside your dressers? I can't find the nice ones with the lid that fits over the top. Thanks Edwin!

[@PeterMacansky]

❤️❤️❤️

[@paramedic1988]

Great Chanel!! Greetings from Russia

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Thanks for the comment, and greetings back to Mother Russia from Texas, USA :)

[@gearsfan6669]

I use my binder for sorting, i only ever sleeve expensive ($10+) cards, cuz i trade or sell most of my expensive cards i wont use due to not liking the strategy they would be good for (example I hate tron as a deck so i have a Karn (sleeved) up for trade) and then i sort by WUBRG then by CMC and then by type, playsets+ extras for other decks get put together so i can easily grab the amount of that card i need (normally only 1 copy cuz i mainly play EDH) so i have A LOT of extra Sol Rings (the best of which is a Revised one that is in my Muldrotha list) then i color code sleeves based on colors of tge cards or decks they will go in, so i use WUBRG for colored spells (multi i go by which is it flavor for more) and then clear or silver sleeves for lands and artifacts

[@kevorkian25]

a true magic addict ;p

[@shivamutreja6427]

You do it while you're talking to your wife . . . That's when I hit subscribe

[@BionMTG]

Beta Ornithopter... you never had one of those...lol Great vid, I'm just being a pain.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

You are correct of course and #2 to call that out LOL! Thanks for watching and keeping me honest :)

[@BionMTG]

perhaps i should have read you other comments. I do like the drawer system you have, i am more of a binder guy and also have my entire collection in a single data base. I also use a similar sleeve method, for my entire collection, KMC perfect fits, and then a matte black dragon shield. I do not only sleeve what i use, i protect every card i own in the same method.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

very cool to hear you arrived at nearly the same solution. Sleeving every card I own...OMGosh that would be expensive. My collection is over 33k cards now. I would have to buy pallets of KMC's and Glossy Black Dragon Shields. Speaking of which, I bought a big order of KMC's off Amazon and saved a ton of money. It was something like $44 for 20 packs.

[@BionMTG]

Edwin the Magic Engineer that is precisely how I buy them. Minimum quantity is a case LOL

[@sylvainarchambault9746]

Hi! Do you put every card in the dresser or you have a system with binders for valuable cards. Also, do you know how many different card do you have? Thanks for your time.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Good question. Most of my valuable cards are in decks. In some of my newer videos you can see I put deck boxes on a newly-installed shelf in the background. Well that's where all my power, dual lands, reserve list cards are usually sitting. When not there, yeah they go in my collection drawers. When we leave the house for any bit of time, the big stuff goes in a safe, or goes with me :) I know EVERY card I have because my entire 33k+ (number of cards, not value) is entered into MtgStudio. The 1700 most expensive cards are also tracked on EchoMtg.com website so I can see price trends.

[@TheWickedDestruction]

"Its always the blacks..." lmao. great content man!

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

My sports cars are black, my portable MTG multi-deck containers are black, my sleeves are black, even my MTG based furniture (dresser, desk, etc) are black. I just love that color aesthetically. :)

[@snap-off5383]

You even have FREINDS that are black. Ha! An Adam Corolla/Jimmy Kimmel "Drew Drop" sound bite of those 4 words would be hilarious out of context.

[@LDD429]

I really like that sorting tray, do you know the brand name? I'm not seeing anything like it online. I have my system, but I've let things get out of hand and am dreading going through the cards. I'm at that point now where I don't know what I have or where it is making it impossible to buy, trade or build.

[@williamdiehl117]

Do you have the measurements of the dresser or even better yet a link to where you got these dressers? What kind of boxes are you using in the drawers?

[@jimbryant2157]

Edwin - You mentioned that you might be changing your collection software in the near future, did you ever do that? I ask because I am looking to try an organize my collection and I keep getting a website warning when I go to the MTG Studio website (which worries me a bit), so if you have found a better application, I would like to check it out. Thanks!

[@ethanmckalister6403]

Great.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Thanks

[@tjzx3432]

This is how i do this already, minus the dresser. I don't have that many yet.

[@theohiocalls]

I personally have them by color then set then alphabetical. If I need a card I look up sets it was in and look at those.

[@avavii]

I found it to be simpler to find your cards, if you sort them by number and expansion instead of alphabetically. Magic already sorts cards for you, you simply have to look what number it shows and go grab it from the set. MTG Studio shows that info for you, if you own it.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

The point you are missing is what happens when cards are printed again and again in different sets. For building decks... I gain nothing by having 100 copies of disenchant across various sets. Or even worse... if I only have 4 copies but they are spread out somewhere among 15 sets they were printed in.

[@jdRamza]

​@@EdwintheMagicEngineerFinding this video years later. That is a very good point if you're not trying to collect each set entirely and instead are focusing on just having 4 available for a deck. With a large collection that certainly cuts down a lot of extra cards.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

@@jdRamza Hi JD, yes not only that... but it opens up a LOT of room for you to trade/sell those duplicates for the other cards you are missing and don't have! It also really helps me not waste money when doing purchases... because I have my ENTIRE collection digital I can very quickly verify what cards I have and I'm missing. So when I'm considering a bulk deal or big purchase I can very quicklty see how good/bad the deal is for me. The main benefit though... is based on what you want to get out of your MTG. If you want a huge collection and investment value, that's very different then getting playsets and prioritizing the building of decks and having cards for those decks. I'm definitely in that 2nd camp, PLAYING MTG is my top priority so my inventory method makes that as easy as possible. Especially when I stop buying cards and just use what I have.

[@rockylosco5596]

Vintage magic mat with link on it ?!nice lol(link as in Zelda of course for any young folks that don’t know who link is)

[@ShenanigansMTG]

I personally organize my cards first by color, then by type then if they are creatures by humans, druids, elf’s, beasts and so on. But with these new card types I think your system is really effective. How do you sort the expensive cards in trade binders ?

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Hi Lillie, thanks for watching the video and the comment. It's important to note that for any given collection size and purpose... a different organization method is best. My collection is extremely large and it's goal is to help me quickly build decks I want to build, and to maximize the use of value by not keeping more then 4x of any card. I made two updates to this video. The first was showing the software I use to organize my collection. It's in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6uXoHRom7abpNE The last video I made about organizing covers what your question was. It's here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnynoZeHi56UgLM Hopefully that helps! Cheers,

[@saleen12]

Is that the ikea 6 drawer dresser? What did you use inside it to hold cards?

[@thellusionistmaster]

@Edwin the Magic Engineer, quick question where do you keep the fluff of the collection, do you donate it, do you have it sitting in other boxes?

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Some of it sits around in a closet, on it's way out but collecting little bits of extras until it's worth getting rid of. From time to time I run through the extras to see if there's any valuable cards in there based on recent price changes. I don't tend to keep the extras very long. Eventually I do a big trade-chain with local friends called "the Blob". I should perhaps make a video about that... It's a really good strategy for fleshing out an organized collection with missing pieces VERY cheaply.

[@Valcarius]

i like those 3d printed divider cards! however, i cannot justify buying one for card dividers... lol

[@sandergielens913]

I sort mine by rarity, then color, then mana Cost, then alphabetical, then by version. Also have all 30.000 in a digital collection and have taken out the duplicates. Save to say i May be spending a bit to much time organising but man it feels great to Just find the card you need in 20 seconds. Wonder how it goes after playing for multiple tears, only been playing for 1 year now.

[@buccodrew1]

I am a collector that plays occasionally and I keep 5 copies of each card from each set. I use an excel spreadsheet with hyperlinks to gatherer.wizards.com for each card. I also use mtgcollectionbuilder.com because it’s free, it looks good and I can upload my collection directly from my excel spreadsheet. I have cabinets that I build similar to your dresser but it’s vertical and it has 7 drawers that have dividers built in. This gives me the ability to put the cards directly into the drawers instead of boxes in drawers.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

If mtgcollectionbuilder.com is so good why do you still use an Excel Spreadsheet with hyperlinks? MTG Studio has many features far superior to doing a spreadsheet. And it's one of the only tools I have ever used that knows the difference between a Revised Dual land and a FBB Revised dual land... which REALLY matters. Could you email me pictures of the vertical cabinet you built? It sounds really interesting! [e-mail]

[@buccodrew1]

A few reasons actually. Excel is my hard copy, if the website is down for any reason I still have access to my collection. The hyperlinks are just there because I copy and pasted them. I liked the feature so I didn’t remove them. The gentleman who runs Collection Builder also has a link to printable artwork intended for binder covers. I have also spoken with him on Facebook about some things, he is extremely responsive to questions. Wasn’t my intention to knock MTG Studio, just voicing what I liked about my methods.

[@buccodrew1]

And I’m at work currently, I will shoot you some pictures tonight when I get home!

[@chrismoore677]

When i was collecting i went by set and alphabetical id fill a binder with a complete set an any bulk would go in long boxes still by set an alphabetical i started with dragon maze and ended around shadows over innastrad