A comprehensive MTG application that helps players find competitive cards, analyze meta, track tournament results, and discover deck alternatives with pricing and affiliate links.
- Card Search: Find MTG cards using Scryfall API with advanced filters
- Competitive Alternatives: Discover better cards with lower CMC
- Meta Analysis: View tier rankings and meta share (mock data for now)
- Purchase Links: Direct links to Amazon, TCG Player, and other retailers
- User Authentication: JWT-based login system with MongoDB
- Card Piles: Save and organize your favorite cards
- Tournament Results: Real tournament data from MTGMelee, MTGTop8
- Meta Analysis: Live meta share calculations and tier rankings
- Deck Lists: Tournament-winning deck lists with pricing
- Price Tracking: Real-time card prices from TCGPlayer, MTGGoldfish
- MTGO Integration: Ticket prices and online tournament results
- Affiliate Revenue: Amazon, TCG Player affiliate links
- Modern UI: Responsive design with CSS Grid and Flexbox
- State Management: React hooks and component state
- Routing: React Router v6 for navigation
- Styling: CSS Modules with modern gradients and animations
- API Server: RESTful endpoints for cards, users, and meta data
- Database: MongoDB with Mongoose ODM
- Authentication: JWT tokens with bcrypt password hashing
- Rate Limiting: API request throttling
- Scryfall API: Free, comprehensive MTG card database
- TCGPlayer API: Card pricing and market data
- MTGMelee/MTGTop8: Tournament results and deck lists
- MTGGoldfish: Additional pricing and meta analysis
- Amazon Associates: 4-8% commission on MTG card sales
- TCG Player: 5-10% commission on card purchases
- Card Kingdom: 3-5% commission on sales
- Star City Games: 3-5% commission on sales
- Pro Subscriptions: Advanced analytics and deck building tools
- Tournament Coverage: Premium tournament reports and analysis
- Price Alerts: Notifications when cards hit target prices
- Deck Builder Pro: Advanced deck construction and testing tools
- Node.js 16+ and npm
- MongoDB (local or Atlas)
- API keys for TCGPlayer, MTGGoldfish, etc.
# Copy and configure
cp env.example .env
# Required variables:
DATABASE_URL=mongodb://localhost:27017/mtg-pile
JWT_SECRET=your-super-secure-jwt-secret
JWT_EXPIRES_IN=7d
# API Keys (get these from respective services):
TCGPLAYER_CLIENT_ID=your-tcgplayer-client-id
TCGPLAYER_CLIENT_SECRET=your-tcgplayer-client-secret
MTGGOLDFISH_API_KEY=your-mtggoldfish-api-key
MTGMELEE_API_KEY=your-mtgmelee-api-key
# Affiliate IDs:
AMAZON_AFFILIATE_TAG=your-amazon-tag
TCGPLAYER_AFFILIATE_ID=your-tcgplayer-id# Clone and install dependencies
git clone <repository>
cd mtg-pile
npm install
# Start MongoDB (macOS with Homebrew)
brew services start mongodb/brew/mongodb-community
# Build and start the app
npm run build
npm run server # Backend on port 3001
npm start # Frontend on port 3000- Tournament Scraping: Fetch results from major tournaments
- Deck Aggregation: Count archetype appearances and performance
- Meta Calculation: Determine meta share percentages
- Tier Assignment: Rank decks based on meta share and win rates
- Tier 1: Top 50% of meta or top 15 archetypes
- Tier 2: 0.2%+ meta share, competitive but not dominant
- Tier 3: <0.2% meta share, rogue decks and experimental builds
- Meta Share: Percentage of total tournament decks
- Win Rate: Overall performance across tournaments
- Top 8 Rate: Frequency of reaching elimination rounds
- Tournament Wins: Number of 1st place finishes
// Search cards
GET https://api.scryfall.com/cards/search?q=name:"Lightning Bolt"
// Get specific card
GET https://api.scryfall.com/cards/named?fuzzy=Lightning Bolt
// Get sets
GET https://api.scryfall.com/sets// Get access token
POST https://api.tcgplayer.com/token
// Requires client credentials
// Search products
GET https://api.tcgplayer.com/catalog/products?name=Lightning Bolt
// Get pricing
GET https://api.tcgplayer.com/pricing/product/{productId}// Tournament results
GET https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/{tournamentId}
// Deck lists
GET https://mtgmelee.com/Deck/View/{deckId}- Set up TCGPlayer API integration
- Implement tournament data scraping
- Create database schemas for tournaments and results
- Build real-time meta calculation engine
- Implement tier ranking algorithms
- Add historical meta tracking
- Integrate affiliate link generation
- Add premium subscription system
- Implement price tracking and alerts
- MTGO ticket price integration
- Advanced deck building tools
- Tournament coverage and reporting
- Affiliate revenue from TCGPlayer and Card Kingdom
- Premium subscription for advanced analytics
- Tournament coverage and premium content
- Tournament result aggregation
- Deck list database with pricing
- Affiliate partnerships with major retailers
- Comprehensive tournament database
- Meta analysis and tier rankings
- Affiliate revenue from multiple sources
# Development
npm run dev # Start both frontend and backend
npm start # Start React frontend only
npm run server # Start Express backend only
# Building
npm run build # Build production React app
npm run test # Run tests
# Database
npm run db:seed # Seed database with sample data
npm run db:reset # Reset database- Single server setup
- MongoDB local instance
- Basic caching with Map objects
- Redis for caching and sessions
- MongoDB Atlas for database
- CDN for static assets
- Load balancing for API endpoints
- Rate limiting and DDoS protection
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch
- Make your changes
- Add tests if applicable
- Submit a pull request
MIT License - see LICENSE file for details
- Issues: GitHub Issues
- Discussions: GitHub Discussions
- Email: [Your Email]
Built with ❤️ for the MTG community
This app demonstrates how to build a competitive MTG database similar to MTGDecks.net, MTGGoldfish, and other successful sites in the space.