More often than not Magic the Gathering writers opine on the competitive, monetary and strategic aspects of the game. We've all taken positions on card value and the nature of skill but more often than now we all overlook the natural pleasures of accumulation encouraged by this collectible, trading card game.  But not today my cardboard hoarding friends.  Today we'll explore the factors that drive people to amass collections that fill entire closets and rooms with Magic cards.  Why are some people interested in collecting while others could care less?  And is Leaf's cherished collection of 3,500 Storm Shamans unhealthy or just beautifully fanatical?

It was a beautiful March evening in Bellevue, Washington USA.  I had just arrived at my colleague Robby's (mtgcolorpie) house for the first time.  We were meeting to film our video review of Phyrexia vs. The Coalition.   We exchanged pleasantries and made our way upstairs to a spare bedroom that Robby affectionately dubbed his "man-cave".  "More like a frickin' Magic cave!" I said as soon as I entered the room.  The walls were covered in Magic the Gathering posters from the past  two decades, some of which were signed by the artists.  There were boxes piled up along the walls full of Magic cards, stacks of playmats from every era and bowls overflowing with dice from god knows where.  I picked up a random stack of cards laying on one of the tables and started thumbing through them.  "Do you mind if I take a look?"  I said, overly excited.  "Go ahead" he replied.  Tarmogoyf, Tarmogoyf, Baneslayer Angel, Tarmogoyf, Japanese Tarmogoyf... what the heck?!  I had just picked up a random stack among several others and I was holding a collector's dream in my hands!  I took another look around and asked Robby where he had gotten all of these amazing things.  He had a story for each item, particularly the signed posters and playmats he'd managed to get his hands on.  Needless to say I was both impressed and envious.

I know a lot of you hardcore collectors out there read that story and thought "that's nothing" so don't tell me he's the only one!   To me, Robby and others like him embody the spirit of a lot of collectors out there and only the most hardcore competitive players lack at least a bit of that spark.  But why do we have this drive to collect in the first place?

The collecting aspect of Magic the Gathering differs from the other parts of the game in a  couple of meaningful ways.  First, it's %100 personal.  (Leaf doesn't have to explain to me or to anyone else why he has a life sized cardboard cutout of Liliana in his bedroom. ) In fact, it's something that can be done almost entirely independent of the game of Magic and/or any other human being.  And while the social aspects of Magic are most of the reason he and I play at all, collecting is something we can do entirely on our own.  Most of us enjoy sharing our collections with our friends (or showing them off!) but on the whole you'd have to agree that most of collecting is personal.  Robby doesn't have 15 various copies of Tarmogoyf for the competitive or monetary value.  He almost unquestionably acquired those cards for himself.  Because he enjoys them.   The second thing that differentiates collecting from other aspects of the game is the removal of the competitive aspect of the game.  With collecting, no one wins, no one loses, there are no hurt feelings and everyone (usually) goes home less cards they didn't want and net cards that they've been feinding to obtain.  For a lot of players, the refuge from the constant struggle for "the best deck in Standard" is a welcome relief.

I've encountered other collectors who collect in order to better remember their own personal Magic history.  Whether it's the pre-release foils or the DCI bonus cards, some collectors simply become attached to these cards that they've associated with positive Magic the Gathering memories.  To look through these binders is a lot like looking at a really cool scrap book.  Some of the cards even have dates on them to help associate them with the events they were acquired at.  I'm sure all of you have encountered a trader who has a special section in his binder that he won't trade from.  Not because he might actually play the cards at some point, but because he or she just wants to keep those particular cards for nostalgia.

My personal collector's story is that of foil planeswalkers.  Ever since using them to conduct Store Wars Vol 1 I've tried my best to pick up a copy of every foil planeswalker ever printed, promo or not.  I've succeeded thus far but Scars of Mirrodin is going to require a few extra pennies to pick up my foil Elspeth Tirel and Koth of the Hammer.  But even that unobtainability has a positive side.  What fun would it be if I always owned every foil planeswalker at any given moment?  As far as I'm concerned, if you didn't actually "collect" the things, or at the very least want for the things in your collection then it isn't really collecting.  Even the seemingly negative aspects of collecting can add to your experience.

So are we all just hoarders?  Are we antiquers?  Do we just like shiny things?  In my experience with collecting and collectors the answer to those questions is: Yes.  It is human to want to acquire pretty things of value and keep them to ourselves Gollum-style.  And even your grandma can understand the raw antique value in a card like Black Lotus.  As for our universal love for shiny things?  Well, I'd be a liar if I told you I hadn't traded two copies of Gideon Jura for my recently acquired foil version.  Laugh all you want.  For me it was worth it.  Collect on!