<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dream Cache|TMP|59" href="#" target="_blank">Dream Cache</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.studiofoglio.com/">Phil Foglio</a></em></p>
<p><em>Magic: The Gathering</em> is a game divided in two. The people who uplift it are players <em>and</em> collectors.</p>
<p>Some of us are players who become collectors, or vice versa; the identity of what we value and what we want intermixing. What do these identities have to do with each other, and what does this have to do with scalping? A lot.</p>
<p>I have a theory that <em>Magic</em> players don't realize the duality of their identity, being both a collector and a player, has transformed them into their own enemy.</p>
<h2>The Amorphous Shape of a Scalper</h2>
<p>When we talk about scalpers, we are often referring to a very particular kind of person. In <em><a href="https://loreweaver.gg/spiderman/">Spider-Man, Scalpers, and the Gathering</a></em>, Paul Marquissee says: “They’re camping out, using bots, scooping up product, and flipping it for 2-4x the intended price.”</p>
<p>This is the form of a scalper, right? We see what the <em>Pokémon</em> TCG environment looks like, then see the prices of Collector Booster Boxes going up, and we naturally liken them to each other. What's happening to them is happening to us, right?</p>
<p>I previously thought this must be true as well. It wasn't until I was researching <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/a-deep-dive-into-the-concerns-with-secret-lair">my article about Secret Lairs</a> that I noticed something might not be true about that:</p>
<blockquote><p>"Secret Lair has attempted to solve some of these [scalper] problems. Cart maximums have changed from five to two, and this hasn't affected how much fans are able to purchase.</p>
<p>They've worked with their website host so as to close loopholes like queue bypassing through reused tokens. And lastly, Bartell says their site provider analyzed the amount of potential scalpers in the buying process, through their internal systems, and they found it is less than 0.5%."</p></blockquote>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Artful Looter"></div></div>
<p>This amorphous blob of “scalper” wasn't heavily involved with the Secret Lair problem, but we were still experiencing scarcity. I wondered if, maybe, we were wrong about who the blob was altogether.</p>
<p>I was watching this video, <em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EqUtk7x-mIc">What exactly is scalping in MTG and how do you feel about it?</a></em> and it was discussing a post that I'll get into in another section of this article, but it reasoned something that I found fascinating. While questioning why Wizards of the Coast (WotC) doesn't regulate the secondary market more, Musclesandmtg points out something I'd been trying to articulate for a long time. How do we precisely identify scalping?</p>
<p>The Goblin Storm Secret Lair, in this example, might have been bought one to use and one to keep for later. The one meant for saving was allowed to grow in value, to sell later. Is <em>that</em> scalping? He implies no.</p>
<p>He suggests that there might be nothing wrong with the value of a card or sealed product growing before you sell it. That you shouldn't be forced to sell anything for less than it is worth just because you bought it for less.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Booster Tutor"></div></div>
<p>I mean, we all do this, as <em>Magic</em> players, right?</p>
<p>We see a card we didn't care about shoot up in value, chase cards pulled in prerelease packs, and we sell it for more than we paid for it. This is so embedded in how we think and operate as <em>Magic</em> players that we don't actually see the fatal flaw in the culture of that.</p>
<p>When we buy one for ourselves and one to sell later, we buy up the product enough to create scarcity. If each one of us buys more than we need, in the event it goes up in value, this poses a problem. This is the most meager of scalping, isn't it? And with the numbers, and a culture built around doing it, it might add up.</p>
<p>I want to note here that this isn't a moral failure. I'm not trying to moralize this act, call someone out, point to them as the problem with <em>Magic</em>, but I do want to isolate where we direct our anger.</p>
<p>Additionally, I'm not saying there might not be bigger scalping going on to <em>some</em> degree, surrounding Collector Booster Boxes, but everyone else seems certain the amorphous blob of “scalpers” is to blame. I just pose this hypothetical to really ask: is there evidence surrounding these kinds of scalpers being a problem in our community?</p>
<p>On the other hand, we <em>know</em> for a <em>fact</em> regular <em>Magic</em> players often follow the rule of buying one for themselves and one to sell, especially when the product is speculated to really grow in value. And we do it pretty often.</p>
<p>I looked into the Collector Booster Bandits a little more.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cat Burglar"></div></div>
<h2>Evidence of Artificial Scarcity and Major Scalping</h2>
<p>I was poking around Reddit looking for references to official writing or research into the topic of <em>Magic</em> mass scalping, and I ran across a particular thread: <em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/magicarenamtg/posts/1771101446865849/">How does scalping work in Magic: The Gathering?</a></em></p>
<blockquote><p>"Can someone coherently explain to me how 'scalping' in MtG is supposed to work? Because I understand the theory: you buy up all the product in your locality, then sell it at increased price because you're now the monopolist. Would've worked beautifully around 1900, or even 1950. Now? There are thousands of LGS, plus retailers like Walmart or Target, plus the internet. There are probably millions of booster packs around. So, you buy up all the three sealed boxes at your local LGS. Unless you're deep in the pampa, everyone who wants to buy one just goes online. And if the online price is high, it's not 'scalping.' It's called 'free market.'"</p></blockquote>
<p>The reason I was on Reddit was mainly because I couldn't find a single reputable article with substantiated evidence that there was a problem with mass scalping in <em>Magic</em>.</p>
<p>There was nothing addressing numbers, statistics, or even “findings” in this regard. It's a sentiment that gets brought up often because it is an experience a lot of players have had. I clearly see the effect, but not necessarily a definitive cause. Just a lot of speculation.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Distract the Guards"></div></div>
<p>This post highlights something interesting, though: the distinction between who is doing what in the secondary market.</p>
<p>When an LGS inflates the price of a preconstructed deck because of the reprints' value, to make a little more for their shop's bottom line, we don't call <em>that</em> scalping. It seems like a weird semantics argument, but really I'm trying to isolate when and where we put our blame.</p>
<p>Are LGSs scalping too, if there is no difference in the 'free market'? Should we be upset with them?</p>
<p>So, I know what you're all thinking now. “This is WotC's fault. They need to control the secondary market more. They need to print more product because the amount they're printing now is artificially inflating the prices.”</p>
<p>Let's get back to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EqUtk7x-mIc">Musclesandmtg's video</a>. Imslumpd commented: “Seeing WotC-sponsored stores selling them at 3x/4x MSRP without any repercussions just feels like WotC isn't thinking or caring at all about the product after scalpers/LGS's already bought it. They got their money; in their mind, they are free of any 'secondary market' problem.”</p>
<p>Marquissee also said, “Wizards could fix this. They could increase print runs or put some enforceable purchase limits in place. Instead, they lean into the ‘trading’ part of the trading card game and let the secondary market do its thing. Which, in practice, means players like me pay way too much just to participate.”</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hired Heist"></div></div>
<p>These sentiments are good ones, but in practice they don't exactly work.</p>
<p>WotC could put limits on LGSs, I think, but this doesn't solve the problem. This only displaces the source of the scalping from LGSs, which need to profit to make spaces available for players, to people who scalp. Even when limiting amounts, dedicated scalpers will go from shop to shop, buying up what they can.</p>
<p>The secondary market will charge whatever it can get. LGSs will just get stuck in the same situation as WotC, being unable to control what their buyers resell things for. And again we know that <em>Magic</em> players, the intended consumer and average player, will buy more than they need.</p>
<p>The most WotC can do is provide enough printing or reprints. Larger print runs and reprints in later sets are the best they can do to influence the market. And here a lot of you might agree with Marquissee when he says, “and that's the trap Wizards has set: scarcity mixed with cultural FOMO.”</p>
<p>I wondered something about this sentiment, something critical. Where are we, as a community, getting the evidence that WotC is printing less than they need to, in order to influence the market? I'm genuinely asking. I looked everywhere and couldn't find a shred of anything that suggested that WotC was producing a low amount of product.</p>
<p>From what I can find, WotC doesn't seem to release print run amounts. I can't nail down an exact source that says this, but the overwhelming consensus — as I've searched online and forums like <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/14p8plh/wondering_if_anybody_has_reliable_numbers_on_how/">this</a> and <a href="https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/magic-general/493567-magic-print-runs">this</a> — is that WotC doesn't release these numbers. We can make some inferences here, though.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hoard Robber"></div></div>
<p>In <a href="https://investor.hasbro.com/magic-gathering">Hasbro's statistics</a>, <em>Magic</em> is “played by over 50 million players to date globally,” and “<em>Magic: The Gathering</em> has grown at a 17% Compound Annual Growth Rate since 2009.”</p>
<p>“Total <em>Magic</em> revenue was $1.72 billion... FY 2025.”</p>
<p>How can it be possible, without gaining extra money from the secondary market, that revenue is increasing if they're not printing more product?</p>
<p>There is increased demand, and Collector Boosters for <em>Final Fantasy</em> were only $37.99 at MSRP, <a href="https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/collecting-final-fantasy">according to WotC</a>. They aren't charging much more for the products they sell. They must be printing more product than before, year over year, to account for the growth.</p>
<p>Maybe we can argue they're not printing enough for demand, but how can they predict their growth? I found a <a href="https://www.echomtg.com/blog/45/the-number-of-magic-players-worldwide-by-year-45/">blog with some estimates on <em>Magic</em> players worldwide</a> by year: “2013: 16.2 million Players (35% growth from 2012). 2014: 21.87 million Players (35% growth from 2013).”</p>
<p>That might have been more than ten years ago, but in 2025, <a href="https://articles.starcitygames.com/magic-the-gathering/magic-grows-23-percent-behind-magic-the-gathering-final-fantasy/">Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks said</a>,</p>
<blockquote><p>“Last month’s MagicCon: Las Vegas saw record attendance with more than 19,000 badges sold and the Wizards Play Network now boasts nearly 9,000 locations globally as its expansion continues. He said they saw nearly a 40-percent increase in unique players who participate in organized play in the first half of 2025”</p></blockquote>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jewel Thief"></div></div>
<p>Coupled with the fact that “<em>Magic: The Gathering</em> first crossed $1 billion in annual revenue in 2022,” and that it cleared $1.7 billion at the end of 2025, this kind of growth is clearly hard to predict.</p>
<p>Perhaps it's not the malicious machinations of a corporate overlord artificially creating scarcity to drive up values of a secondary market they see nothing of. Maybe demand is just that explosive.</p>
<p>I'll say it again: “The concern that WotC wouldn't want to maximize sales by making as much product doesn't make a ton of sense. They want more money, so they would make more product.”</p>
<h2>What WotC Has Done to Help</h2>
<p>Before we move into our last section, I want to air a grievance I've had. In my article, “<em><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/lets-talk-about-the-magic-final-fantasy-prices">Let's Talk About the Magic Final Fantasy Prices</a></em>,” I asked WotC to help us through transparency. When printing issues or demand got out of control, we wanted to understand what was happening to us.</p>
<p>Here are some examples of them doing that:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Notion Thief"></div></div>
<ul>
<li>“Rather than the typical limited supply of past Secret Lair collaborations, the Hatsune Miku-themed deck is experimenting with a 24-hour made-to-order period, where any deck purchased between August 10, 9:00 AM PST and August 11, 8:59 AM PST will be fulfilled and delivered, regardless of how many decks are sold.” — <em><a href="https://screenrant.com/magic-the-gathering-hatsune-miku-print-order-scalping/">Magic: The Gathering Is Officially Countering Scalpers With New Crossover</a></em></li>
<li>“On December 9, 2026, <em>Secret Lair x MSCHF: The Zeta Set</em> will go on sale again for a single 24-hour limited order window. No setting an alarm for a specific minute and hoping. If you want <em>Secret Lair x MSCHF: The Zeta Set</em>, everyone who orders it during that window will have it fulfilled. We estimate these orders to begin shipping in the second half of 2027.” — <em><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/zeta-set-sale-returns-dec-9-with-24-hour-order-window">An Update on The Zeta Set Sale</a></em></li>
<li>At MagicCon Las Vegas 2025, the <em>Final Fantasy</em> Collector Boosters were limited to three per person per day at MSRP.</li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ransack the Lab"></div></div>
<p>Obviously this is not all they can do.</p>
<p>Maybe they can talk about why they don't list print amounts for each set online? I did find some speculation about this online, but I'd like one from WotC themselves.</p>
<h2>Have We Forgotten the Word "Collector" in Collector Booster?</h2>
<p>I was on Reddit again.</p>
<p>I came across this thread, <em><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/1mu53vd/mtg_scalpers_have_gotten_out_of_control_and_are/">MtG scalpers have gotten out of control and are ruining the game for new players</a></em>. I saw a comment that resonated with me: “CBBs do not matter for regular players. They are solely for the whales. Ignore them and you will be happier.”</p>
<p>CBBs, or Collector Booster Boxes, are for collectors. They're for people who want to invest financially in having unique versions of the cards to eventually profit from, or simply to own something valuable. The artificial value of “high-end” cards is part of collecting. The tumultuous nature of collecting allows for the fluctuation of demand and prices. It's part of the collector's ecosystem.</p>
<p>When players talk about being priced out of the game, Collector Boosters come up a lot. We're back to that collapsing of the identity of most <em>Magic</em> players. The practicality of owning as a player and the desire for opulence as a collector are fighting each other. There is a desire not to be priced out of the collector side of <em>Magic</em> by a lot of players, as players, not collectors, because for a long time the cost of entry to collect was rather low.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Skyway Robber"></div></div>
<p>I urge us to look into the sun here — the Reserved List, the cost of the one-of-one <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The One Ring" href="#" target="_blank">The One Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>“Players” aren't necessarily who these boxes are for. “Collectors” are.</p>
<p>I'm not saying that the inflated barrier to entry can't be upsetting, but WotC facilitates two types of customers: ones that want artificial inflation to increase the price of their collectibles, and others that want to keep the prices low to make them accessible.</p>
<p>Collector Booster Boxes aren't designed to remain accessible, as in many other collectible scenes. I know this is devastating to players who used to enjoy the access, but I'm not sure how we satisfy two consumers of this game who want two different things.</p>
<p>So, I want to ask again: are <em>Magic</em> players their own scalpers?</p>
<p>We're cannibalizing ourselves. Whether it's the average player's culture of buying one to play and one to sell, or our fellow collectors buying Collector Booster Boxes for their intended purpose, we're in the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ouroboroid" href="#" target="_blank">Ouroboroid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> of <em>Magic</em> culture. At least that's what I think. What do you think?</p>


Are Magic Players Their Own Scalpers?

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Curse of Opulence" href="#" target="_blank">Curse of Opulence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | art by <a href="https://www.kieranyanner.com/">Kieran Yanner</a></em></p>
<p>My fiancé, Stephen, collects a lot of things. His biggest collection is Power Rangers. He has the original Thunder Megazord and it's battered—but surprisingly not <em>that</em> battered—green box.</p>
<p>I helped him carry a five-story, black shelf up the stairs so he could have a shelf dedicated to displaying not only the unboxed figures, but their boxes.</p>
<p>While writing this article article I asked him which of his Power Rangers figures were original versus Legacy—a rereleasing of old Power Rangers figurines strictly for collecting. The way his eyes lit up, that small grin across his face.</p>
<p>I became a little obsessed with that smile, that desire to collect. See, I don't really collect anything. I keep my <em>Magic</em> cards in a sleeve, yes, but I have no intention of selling them.</p>
<p>I only buy them for functionality. I don't pick the fancy arts 99% of the time. Sometimes I run full art lands, but mainly for the uniformity. I've recently moved to basic lands that all look the same. It's cheaper.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mechtitan Core"></div></div>
<p>I don't get foils unless I need the card and it's the only printing available. I don't like the way the light reflects off them into my eyes.</p>
<p>The art is hidden under the opulence, the flecks of silver and gold. It shines differently from its plain, flat, non-foil sisters. I want to understand a desire for this. I want to want to try to collect.</p>
<h2>What is a Collection?</h2>
<p>I told Stephen I didn't understand collections. I'd tried collecting coins and foreign money when I was a kid. I'd tried buying a few magic cards for their art, but ultimately, I didn't get any sort of thrill.</p>
<p>I've always been practical, only owning things I needed. I moved across the US multiple times with only the things I could pack into my car.</p>
<p>Stephen raised his eyebrow to my concept of a collection. He argued even two or three things could be a collection. I rejected this immediately, laughing, but then I became sort of interested.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cat Collector"></div></div>
<p>I had a hard time finding an article that talks about "a collection" in a strict sense. Yes Merriam-Webster gave me <em>something</em>:</p>
<p><em>"something collected especially : an accumulation of objects gathered for study, comparison, or exhibition or as a hobby"</em></p>
<p>Could three cards in my hoard of practicality make me a collector? <a href="https://www.mollymendoza.com/">Molly Mendoza</a>'s <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Myrel, Shield of Argive" href="#" target="_blank">Myrel, Shield of Argive</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from a <em>Secret Lair</em>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dollmaker&#039;s Shop//Porcelain Gallery" href="#" target="_blank">Dollmaker&#039;s Shop//Porcelain Gallery</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> by <a href="https://cachorubione.com/">Cacho Rubione</a> from <em>Duskmourn: House of Horror</em>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Titania, Protector of Argoth" href="#" target="_blank">Titania, Protector of Argoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from <em>Modern Horizons 2</em> by <a href="https://iriscompiet.art/">Iris Compiet</a> are enough to make me a collector?</p>
<p>It didn't feel right. There was a rite of passage, and itching obsession that I found prevailed the community of collectors.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Myrel, Shield of Argive|slc|13"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dollmaker&#039;s Shop//Porcelain Gallery|dsk|335"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Titania, Protector of Argoth|mh2|319"></div></div>
<p>I looked up a few collections and stumbled across <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/klown-doll-museum">this</a>: "Plainview, Nebraska’s Klown Doll Museum is exactly what its name promises. Inside, nearly 8,000 clown dolls line shelves, fill display cases, and peer out from every corner.</p>
<p>Some are cheerful and brightly painted, while others lean toward the eerie, with frozen expressions that seem to follow you as you move through the space." This is what I figured was a collection. Or more relatably, a shelf full of Megazords and Tigerzords.</p>
<p>I tried looking up the legal definition. I was sure lawyers had ironed out if you can write it off for insurance purposes. I got trapped in the hole of "collections law" which is about taking money from people when they don't pay their debts.</p>
<p>I eventually found on <a href="https://www.allstate.com/collectibles-insurance">Allstate website</a> that, "Eligible collectors with qualifying items worth at least $15,000 can own a policy, and there is no value maximum." I didn't like this definition either.</p>
<p>Stephen's Power Rangers' collection might be worth maybe 3K according to him. That seems like a gulf in expectations.</p>
<p>It feels like lawyers had simply decided whether something was worth their time to take to court, not what something was actually considered.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brazen Collector"></div></div>
<h2>The Urge of Collection</h2>
<p>Alexander Mitchell wrote an article titled, "<a href="https://alexander-mitchell.medium.com/the-psychology-of-collecting-why-some-people-love-to-collect-ceb7a778db77">The Psychology of Collecting: Why Some People Love to Collect</a>." He said some of the reasons were the thrill of the hunt, nostalgia, sentimental value, completionism, community, a desire to display, investment, escapism, identity, and even a desire for control.</p>
<p>Maybe I was wrong. Maybe my three cards <em>could</em> be a collection. It seems small, but the reason I had them matched Stephen's reasons—matched some of Mitchell's reasons.</p>
<p>I felt an emotional connection to these arts. I liked the colors, the expression of line work. I liked <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wedding Ring" href="#" target="_blank">Wedding Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> by <a href="https://www.targeteart.com/">J.P. Targete</a>—talking about it at length in <a href="https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/cashinds-seo-03022026-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-food-chain-and-magics-aesthetic">my article about <em>Magic</em> art</a>, but I don't own that version.</p>
<p>Maybe I should allow myself. Maybe it's stubbornness, trauma that keeps me from holding something in my hands just to admire its beauty.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Collector Ouphe"></div></div>
<p>On Allstate's website, in a particularly small font, it mentioned that while policies for insuring collections are available for a wide range of collections, "Items with non-market value and items for everyday use do not qualify for collectibles insurance."</p>
<p>Do we collect because they're valuable?</p>
<h2>The Price of Opulence</h2>
<p>Matt Bassil wrote an article called "<a href="https://www.wargamer.com/magic-the-gathering/most-expensive-magic-cards">The 16 rarest and most expensive MTG cards in the world</a>." The list was as follows:</p>
<ul>
<li>Pristine <em>Alpha</em> <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Black Lotus" href="#" target="_blank">Black Lotus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - $3 million</li>
<li>The 1/1 One Ring - $2 million</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Black Lotus" href="#" target="_blank">Black Lotus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Autographed Alpha - $800,000</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mox Opal" href="#" target="_blank">Mox Opal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - $108,000</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lord of the Pit" href="#" target="_blank">Lord of the Pit</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> <em>Alpha</em> - $105,000</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Timetwister" href="#" target="_blank">Timetwister</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> <em>Alpha</em> - $84,000</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Splendid Genesis" href="#" target="_blank">Splendid Genesis</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - $72,000</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vesuvan Doppelganger" href="#" target="_blank">Vesuvan Doppelganger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - $63,000</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ancestral Recall" href="#" target="_blank">Ancestral Recall</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> <em>Alpha</em> - $36,000</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phoenix Heart" href="#" target="_blank">Phoenix Heart</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - $27,500</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Time Walk" href="#" target="_blank">Time Walk</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Gamma - $26,400</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Euroakus" href="#" target="_blank">Euroakus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - $25,200</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fraternal Exaltation" href="#" target="_blank">Fraternal Exaltation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - $23,750</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mox Emerald" href="#" target="_blank">Mox Emerald</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> <em>Alpha</em> - $18,000</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Underground Sea" href="#" target="_blank">Underground Sea</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> <em>Alpha</em> - $17,500</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mox Sapphire" href="#" target="_blank">Mox Sapphire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> <em>Unlimited</em>- $16,800</li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phoenix Heart"></div></div>
<p>In the tenth place, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phoenix Heart" href="#" target="_blank">Phoenix Heart</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, is what the average cost of a brand new 2027 model car is. My current car is estimated as being worth less than 2K. I thought about this for a while.</p>
<p>The difference between The 1/1 One Ring and the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Black Lotus" href="#" target="_blank">Black Lotus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Autographed <em>Alpha</em> is 1.2 million dollars. If I added up every dollar I've ever earned in my whole life without taxes, it would have been less than the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Black Lotus" href="#" target="_blank">Black Lotus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Autographed <em>Alpha</em>.</p>
<p>I think back to the $3,000 Stephen spent to have his collection and something feels wrong with equating these things with numbers. Stephen and I once drove for two hours one way to pick up Legacy Edition Black and Gold Dragonzord. I love long drive with him.</p>
<p>We'd laugh and sing and pick up food. It was an adventure. He would tell me about how when he was a kid he'd play with the original Power Rangers, that they were gone now, lost to the inevitability of getting older, lost to the lack of attention and love of a child.</p>
<p>The cost of his collection didn't matter, I think. It could be an investment yes, but when he reverently holds them in his hands it's not because he wants to lose them again.</p>
<h2><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gonti, Lord of Luxury" href="#" target="_blank">Gonti, Lord of Luxury</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gonti, Lord of Luxury"></div></div>
<p>The thing that never puzzled me about collection was condition. Stephen stared at his original Thunder Megazord, running his fingers over the smooth surfaces, talking about its condition. Immaculate. I was the same with my cards. I wanted to keep them immaculate.</p>
<p>The first ever <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@RhysticStudies">Rhystic Studies</a> video I ever watched was, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efpPygoqb9M">Dear Gonti, Love Sophie</a>." It was a discussion on the emphasis we put on the idea of damage to our <em>Magic</em> cards, how we treat things we adore. I was moved by this idea.</p>
<p>What becomes of a deck that we protect? What is its function anymore? Sam (Rhystic Studies) says pristine cards, "ha[ve] no memory or sentiment."</p>
<p>When I think about the creases of smile lines on my face, the wrinkles on my brow, I feel like they tell others about how I love to laugh, like to think.</p>
<p>I want to know what cards do, in the bends and the tears with their use. Is this what a collection should be, a display of experience and time?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Collector&#039;s Case"></div></div>
<p>I have two cards framed on the wall of my apartment. One is an oversized <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis" href="#" target="_blank">Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from the Stalwart Unity precon from 2016.</p>
<p>It was my first precon and for 10 years I've kept that oversized card in somewhat pristine condition. I feel a connection to it, but I hadn't thought to put it up on display. Stephen had, finding it lingering in a binder somewhere. So, I put it up and forgot to look at it often.</p>
<p>The other card framed on my wall was my <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prosper, Tome-Bound" href="#" target="_blank">Prosper, Tome-Bound</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It has this crease on the bottom from me putting away cards too quickly, crushing him underneath. I never replaced it until my friend <a href="https://linktr.ee/Reversalwizrd">ReversalWizrd</a> bought me the Prosper Secret Lair.</p>
<p>I'd spoke so highly of this deck that he bought it for me when I couldn't get it myself. But, I didn't want to get rid of the original. I wanted to display its crease. It sits above my desk.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Collector&#039;s Vault"></div></div>
<p>Sam mentioned in his video that, "Keeping everything immaculate is a fools errand," but I'd go further. Keeping things immaculate is an adult's desire, it's a look into the future.</p>
<p>It's a way of keeping value for selling later instead of gripping onto the now. It's the prediction of separation, the expectation of loss. Children scrape up their toys, play with them, love them. They couldn't imagine the future, when they'd lose this joy.</p>
<p>I think about how much it might overjoy Stephen to hold his original toy, hold the one that he went to sleep with, opened on Christmas.</p>
<p>Sam said, "I've been reflecting on everything that I own. From my cameras to my books to my clothes and my guitars, all of my favorite things tend to be those that bear some sign of use," unsleeving his <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ruric Thar, the Unbowed" href="#" target="_blank">Ruric Thar, the Unbowed</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck and riffle shuffling it.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Component Collector"></div></div>
<p>I'm not going to stop sleeving my decks, but I think I might stop and wonder about the history of a card that I buy with a ding or dent.</p>
<p>I'll think about DJ from Sam's video and how he "instead... uses his cards as they were intended to be used in an almost aggressive way."</p>
<p>Tell me about your collection. I'm <a href="https://linktr.ee/strixhavendropout">@strixhavendropout</a> on everything!</p>


collecting

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