draft.cardsphere.com: First Update

Our initial foray into draft simulators was a modest success. Most folks liked it, some pointed out a few issues. Once we got a good handle on them, the time was to get back to planning and coding. Four days after our initial release, we present you our first update to Cardsphere Draft Simulator.

By far our number one requested improvement was a compact view mode for mobile devices. Seeing just one card at a time on a small screen was less than ideal. After several prototypes and much arguing we have arrived at the solution we present to you today. Compact mode can be enabled or disabled from the menu, no matter the screen size. From now on the first click selects and reveals the card, the second click confirms the action. We found in our testing this reduces accidental actions, especially on mobile devices.

Our close number two request was to make bots draft cards based on value as well as card rating. A few folks pointed out that it did not feel right to be passed a $50 foil mythic as pick 4 in a pack. I could be the right in a Pro Tour high-stakes competitive draft, but it just feels off in most other cases.

We also wanted nice social media previews for when people share those draft links. Few people noticed, but we did not support Microsoft Edge browser at launch. That and many other issues are addressed in today's update. The full change log is below:

• Implemented compact view mode.
• Implemented card selection. First click selects the card, second click performs an action on it.
• Improved image loading speed.
• Card name is now displayed on card image placeholder until the image is loaded.
• Implemented support for Microsoft Edge browser.
• Added draft counter to the front page.
• Implemented draft configuration option that allows bots to value-draft.
• Draft links provide metadata for better social media sharing experience.

We hope this demonstrates our commitment to listening to the feedback and making quality tools for the Magic community. Please keep that feedback flowing! Thank you!

And hey, who's drafting Ravnica Allegiance when it comes out? I know I will! But not before a few practice drafts 😉

Michael