Magic The Gathering: crack in the form of cards?

Question

Magic The Gathering: crack in the form of cards?

Answer 1

I "High"ly agree

Answer 2

Good question. While Magic: The Gathering can be habit-forming, I would call the "can't-get-enough" feeling an obsession rather than an addiction. So I don't think I would equate this game to any kind of drug.

Of course, how you think of Magic: The Gathering will depend on what kind of player or collector you are. There are basically two types of people who buy Magic cards: gamers and collectors. Let's look at the gamers first.

There are three types of gamers. We start off this category with the social gamers. If you play socially, you probably won't collect too many cards, and you will generally be happy with whatever you get out of a few packs. You play just for the enjoyment of playing, or for something fun to do with your friends. You generally won't have a problem controlling a buying compulsion, because you don't have one.

Then there are the variety gamers. If you like variety, you will likely get more cards so you can experiment. The experimental player likes to put together a wide variety of decks and play them against their friends' decks or their own. Buying compulsion for this group is low, because you will be more interested in building decks and playing than gathering cards.

Finally, there are the competitors. These people tune their decks so they can defeat their opponents before turn four, and then they show up at tournaments and play for money, prizes and prestige. If you play competitively, you will definitely want the few difficult-to-get cards for your awesome deck, which will cost you some extra money. Most competitors also experiment so they can see how cards work together, so they may pay even more money, first for their collection, then for the few cards they need to finish off their deck. Buying compulsion is high for this group, but only to a point. Once the competitor gets the cards he or she needs, the need is satiated until another set comes out, at which time he or she may have to change strategies depending on what the new cards do.

Then there are the collectors, whose main purpose of buying cards is just to have them. There are also three types of collectors.

First, there are the investors. The investors buy cards so they can sell them later and make a profit. They will usually pay whatever it takes to get the really powerful and popular cards, because there is a good chance they will be worth more money later on. Compulsion is low, but these people wil spend a lot of money to satiate what compulsion they have. They love money, and they want to make more of it.

Next, there are the braggarts. These collectors want one (or four, if they also play) of every card in existence, so they can tell everyone how many zillions of cards they have, and/or show off the collection to family, friends, other collectors, or anyone else who will look at them. Compulsion for this group is very high, especially if they want to go back in history and find the very rare cards that were printed back in the mid-1990s.

Finally, there are the addicts. (I use this name only to show the obsession involved with this group.) The addicts will get as many of every card as they have money and space for. (Yes, even though those cards are thin, they will take up space when collected in the thousands. I know this from personal experience.)  Addicts don't care about showing off their cards, or even playing with them. They just have to have them. They will spend their entire paychecks, fortunes, inheritances, and whatever else they can beg, borrow or steal, to get just a few more cards. This is obviously the most dangerous, and most expensive, group to be in. People who are in this group should get psychiatric help immediately.

So, does this game warrant the nickname "Magic: The Addiction"? It depends on the players who play or the collectors who collect. Anything can bring about an obsession in certain people. And Magic: The Gathering is certainly no exception. - LJS

Answer 3

How about witchcraft in the form of something "innocent"?