diff --git a/projects/mtg/include/DeckMenuItem.h b/projects/mtg/include/DeckMenuItem.h
index 93e4f2e97..09cf9eb51 100644
--- a/projects/mtg/include/DeckMenuItem.h
+++ b/projects/mtg/include/DeckMenuItem.h
@@ -8,10 +8,6 @@
 
 using std::string;
 
-#define SCALE_SELECTED		1.2f
-#define SCALE_NORMAL		1.0f
-
-
 class DeckMenuItem: public JGuiObject
 {
  private:
diff --git a/projects/mtg/src/DeckMenu.cpp b/projects/mtg/src/DeckMenu.cpp
index 3b3a9d9aa..44315f51f 100644
--- a/projects/mtg/src/DeckMenu.cpp
+++ b/projects/mtg/src/DeckMenu.cpp
@@ -172,17 +172,20 @@ void DeckMenu::Render()
       mFont->SetScale( menuFontScale );
       currentMenuItem->RenderWithOffset(-kLineHeight*startId);
     }
-
-    RenderBackground();
-
-    if (!title.empty())
-    {
-      mFont->SetScale( titleFontScale );
-      mFont->DrawString(title.c_str(), titleX, titleY, JGETEXT_CENTER);
-    }
-    mFont->SetScale( 1.0f );
-    scroller->Render();
   }
+
+  RenderBackground();
+
+
+  if (!title.empty())
+  {
+    mFont->SetColor(ARGB(255,255,255,255));
+    mFont->SetScale( titleFontScale );
+    mFont->DrawString(title.c_str(), titleX, titleY, JGETEXT_CENTER);
+  }
+  mFont->SetScale( 1.0f );
+  scroller->Render(); 
+ 
 }
 
 void DeckMenu::Update(float dt){
diff --git a/projects/mtg/src/DeckMenuItem.cpp b/projects/mtg/src/DeckMenuItem.cpp
index d53a20e28..24b2b5b69 100644
--- a/projects/mtg/src/DeckMenuItem.cpp
+++ b/projects/mtg/src/DeckMenuItem.cpp
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 #include "Translate.h"
 #include "WResourceManager.h"
 
+#define ITEM_PX_WIDTH 190.f
 
 DeckMenuItem::DeckMenuItem(DeckMenu* _parent, int id, int fontId, string text, float x, float y, bool hasFocus, bool autoTranslate, DeckMetaData *deckMetaData)
 : JGuiObject(id), parent(_parent), fontId(fontId), mX(x), mY(y)
@@ -12,8 +13,14 @@ DeckMenuItem::DeckMenuItem(DeckMenu* _parent, int id, int fontId, string text, f
     mText = _(text);
   else 
     mText = text;
-  mHasFocus = hasFocus;
+  
+  //trim the string so that its width fits in the background.
+  //in the future we might want to replace this with a horizontal scrolling of long strings
+  WFont * mFont = resources.GetWFont(fontId);
+  while (mFont->GetStringWidth(mText.c_str()) > ITEM_PX_WIDTH)
+    mText.erase(mText.size()-1);
 
+  mHasFocus = hasFocus;
   if (hasFocus)
     Entering();
 
@@ -29,8 +36,7 @@ DeckMenuItem::DeckMenuItem(DeckMenu* _parent, int id, int fontId, string text, f
 void DeckMenuItem::RenderWithOffset(float yOffset)
 {
   WFont * mFont = resources.GetWFont(fontId);
-  string displayName = mText;
-  mFont->DrawString(displayName.c_str(), mX, mY + yOffset, JGETEXT_CENTER);
+  mFont->DrawString(mText.c_str(), mX, mY + yOffset, JGETEXT_CENTER);
 }
 
 void DeckMenuItem::Render()