Our gift to all MTG CB users for 2021

Hey patrons!

I've been thinking a lot about advertising on MTG CB the last few months. 

Now and then, a user reaches out to me about performance issues stemming from the Google Ads on the site. I have very little control over their content and styling, and as a fellow Internet user, I've become increasingly frustrated with the number of ads everywhere I go.

It's sad having to switch over to a web browser with an ad blocker just so I can read a Wiki about a video game without two videos playing simultaneously. It's so intrusive and borderline evil -- it gets in the way of the content and what you're trying to do. This led me to reflect: why on Earth am I showing advertising on MTG CB at all?

Historically, it's just something I was "supposed" to do in order to cover server costs. When MTG CB was new, it is true that this was the main source of revenue, but as the site grew, TCGPlayer referral sales caught up to it, and Patreon support has surpassed it as well.

For MTG CB, Google Ads are about one-third of its revenue. But just because something is optimal financially doesn't mean it's something I have to do. Sometimes you should crack open that booster pack just for fun, you know? Therefore...

Change #1: Effective immediately, MTG CB will no longer show Google Ads for any user. :)

If some cool sponsor comes along someday with non-intrusive ads that I think would serve collectors well, I'd definitely consider it, but I'm done torturing everybody with intrusive Google Ads.

Change #2: The $2 tier is being upgraded to include a MTG CB sticker and a MTG CB magnet (I couldn't decide which was better, so you get both!)

I think they look great!

Change #3: All patrons, of any pledge level, past and present, can opt-in to have a sticker and magnet sent to them as a thank you for making ad removal possible.

I'll be making a poll to collect the shipping addresses for these opt-in users since most didn't need to provide a shipping address in the past.

This wouldn't have been possible without all of the support I've been receiving on Patreon. Thank you!

More to come soon on this quarter's giveaway and on the Limited Edition Alpha release. :) Stay tuned!