Discussion Full art clumping.

RedSuinit

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Had anyone else noticed the tendency of full art cards to find one another in deck after a lot of shuffling? I feel like it may be in my head, but I have noticed after many deck shuffles that the tendency is for full arts to be very close to other full arts. Anyone else noticed this tendency?
 
Nah, it's all in your head. No physical reason that would occur more than any other card (assuming they are sleeved, but of course they are). Clumping happens, but that's essentially in our heads too as the clumping is a result of our arbitrary categories and how we perceive the position of the members of a given category.
 
I also agree with the user above - full-arts, foil cards, non-foil cards, cards don't stack if deck is shuffled properly.
I was thinking before that Play!Pokemon foil Energys (especially basic) are stacking a lot, but it's not exactly true. People just need to shuffle harder.
 
I could have sworn I read somewhere that there was a rule preventing from playing an all-holo playset of cards that come in holo and nonholo variants for this reason, but I can't find it any more, so I must have been imagining it or something...

That being said, I both agree and disagree with the previous two posters. Holos and FA cards have two points about them which can influence how the shuffling goes. For one, while it isn't very noticeable (especially with sleeves on), is that Holo/FA cards are *slightly* thicker, due to having a layer of foil and/or FA texture. It might not seem like much, but it can have a minor impact on the results of a shuffle.

Another factor is that Holo/FA cards tend to curve due to an effect of the thin sheet of foil returning to the shape that it was on the spool of foil before being applied to the card. This has an effect in shuffling on almost every shuffling method, and can also have a psychological effect when you have your opponent split- they might feel that a certain card feels slightly different, and then split the deck there. Also, if you shuffle by splitting the deck every few cards, a curved card will have less friction due to there being less surface area on the card above/beneath it, so it'll slide a little easier. Curved cards might also group together because they 'fit' into eachother, as opposed to perfectly flat cards sliding off one another.

Those being said, the above two posters are right- by mixing up the way you shuffle your deck and being super thorough about it, you should be able to avoid all your Leles being in the same spot in the middle of your deck ;)
 
Another factor is that Holo/FA cards tend to curve due to an effect of the thin sheet of foil returning to the shape that it was on the spool of foil before being applied to the card.

Are you sure that is the reason? We all know they curve, but I've never before heard this explanation. Since it is still just heresay, the main reason I've heard is still suspect as well; that the cardboard absorbs slight amounts of moisture over time (which happens to all cards). The thing with holofoils is that the card cannot expand evenly; had you not given your reasoning, I'd have never questioned my own. XD
 
Are you sure that is the reason? We all know they curve, but I've never before heard this explanation. Since it is still just heresay, the main reason I've heard is still suspect as well; that the cardboard absorbs slight amounts of moisture over time (which happens to all cards). The thing with holofoils is that the card cannot expand evenly; had you not given your reasoning, I'd have never questioned my own. XD

I would have to do a ton of wiki digging to find the page that describes it, because I don't totally remember what it's called, but I've heard both explanations a few times. The foil returning to the shape of the spool did so under heat IIRC, and it was the only one with any source to the explanation. I suppose it wouldn't be too tough to test with, so I might do a couple tests later with some reverse holo commons I don't care about...

-under heat gun
-in cold water
-in warm water?
As well as a regular common for control maybe?

It's got me thinking now, so I'm really curious about the results. I don't normally like ruining any cards, but this is for science!!! ...I'll have to do it when I'm not at work, though :(
 
@Sheimeix

That would be interesting but remember the moisture thing is from the surrounding air. The heat one is, too... so the experiment might need to be different. Slow warping doesn't stress the card as bad, ya know? Kind of how some things can slowly bend, but if you try it fast they'll just break. Maybe you can just keep some cards in a room with a humidifier, a heater, etc.?
 
These effects sound like they would be tiny if present at all under day to day conditions. I think if they were affecting shuffle to this degree, they would be detectable and border on marked cards.
 
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