Collectors in CCGs

Ryan S. Dancey has an interesting blog entry on a new US ruling that affects consumers, retailers, and distributors (and the affects aren't limited to the gaming industry).

In one of his comments, he mentions an interesting observation with regards to CCGs (and Magic: The Gathering in particular):

Turns out, "hard to collect" and "requires a lot of purchases" are features, not drawbacks.

I've stopped playing Magic: The Gathering several years ago because my budget couldn't afford it. It came at the time the stand-alone expansion Tempest was released. I dropped the game after that expansion because they altered the rarity scheme. The game became "hard to collect" and "requires a lot of purchases". The former didn't hit me as hard as the latter--it was way out of my budget as a kid who was just in high school.

Now while that tidbit didn't work for me, it doesn't mean it didn't work for others. In fact, it was post Tempest that foil cards in M:TG began.

Now to me, there are three types of people who get into CCGs (and they aren't mutually exclusive, some of these traits overlap).

1. The gamer -- he's not interested so much in collecting as playing the game optimally. He'll obtain rares, uncommons, and commons as far as they're useful to him in terms of rules mechanics. Foil cards are pretty but if it gets in his way of getting more useful cards, he'll opt for the latter. Card rarity is an obstacle to be conquered when it pops up, although it isn't where he gets his kicks. A gamer will get a card like Shivan Dragon not because it has a high price or rarity but because he has a use for it in his deck (and in the case of Shivan Dragon, that's not often).
   
2. The collector -- a collector values rarity. In a Booster Draft, he might be tempted to grab the rare card instead of a common card that might be more useful to him in the game. Of course there are also various types of collectors. Some focus on specific artist, on a specific theme, etc. But the main point is that collecting the cards is as fun as playing the game. Wizard of the Coast's shift in rarity scheme and inclusion of foil cards addresses the collector--it makes collecting more challenging and in the case of foil cards, an optional new goal. A collector will get a card like Shivan Dragon because it's a classic rare card or because its art was done by Melissa Benson.
3. The re-seller -- he's pretty much like the collector but he doesn't collect for collection's sake: it's to churn a profit. In many ways, he's similar to the collector but the motivations are different. A re-seller might want to collect say, a set of foil lands not because it'll just look good in his deck but because he can fetch a hefty sum for it. An increase in rarity and foil cards aren't necessarily boons as much as they are means to an end. On one hand, it makes acquiring certain cards more difficult. On the other, it also increases the value of the cards he can sell once he obtains those cards. A re-seller will get a Shivan Dragon because he can sell it to other collectors or re-sellers, or in some cases, newbies who are distracted by the card's "perceived value" in gameplay (i.e. high Power/Toughness but neglecting to notice the similarly expensive mana cost).

The gamer isn't really positively affected by Wizards of the Coast's rarity scheme. He'll get the cards he needs and it might be a pain-in-the-ass to acquire some cards because of their rarity. Fortunately, M:TG isn't that hard of a CCG to collect (in contrast to something like say, Yu-Gi-Oh!). For the collector and the re-seller, Dancey's words ring true: it's a feature, not drawbacks.