afew thoughts about collecting cards

[Incredible Bums]

As I see the card-game, and how it tends to go, I´d say, there are lots of players (new ones, but also old ones), which are simply amassing and junking cards/creating even more and more "farms" and "storage nations" without any other meanings than to build up wealth or "hoarding", which is to regret, because imo this leads to a downfall of the game over time.
One of the reasons for this kind of behaviour might be, that some of these players would eventually like to start/continue a collection (other than "as valuable as possible" or "my own nation/region"), if they simply could think of a theme/object for it, which offers the option of being "remarkable" and is not already occupied by some other player/s, that is/are collecting those cards for a long time already; it´s relatively unsatisfying to compete with an existing collection of hundreds or even thousands of cards without any chance of ever being "noticed", mentioned and listed in the "collection collection".
Therefore I gave a few thoughts to find some "unoccupied fields", if someone would be in need of hints, which collection to start.
Easiest (and, as I guess, most common one) is to start any "geographic collection", like "your homecountry", if it doesn´t already exist on the list.
Next, there have been a few collections (in season one mostly), that have been started and cancelled over the years, like "Phoenixes", "Real Existing Ancient Nations and Empires", "Unicorns", aso.
Then, there are lots of opportunities to start some specified "volume collection", like the numerous "raider - defender" and similar ones (the "moths", the "tic-tac-toe pictured" might be a good example), or the "two letter nations"; they usually count in thousands, and most of them are rather easy to collect, as they tend to amass in one or a few regions.
Of course, much better would be to find a theme for yourself.
And least, I would like to invent other players, which dont want to or dont have the time, the space,the bank (like me, single nation without farms, three "listed" collections and paid space) or the will and endurance to collect for themselves to participate and post their ideas for collections they wont or cant do for themselves but would like to see in this thread, so other players (who cant decide, what to collect might start such collections); which, imo, would also be an enrichement and boost to the "free market" and safe a lot of otherwise "uninteresting" cards from being junked without even being offered on the market.

[The Cosmic Mainframe]

It's quite possible to both hoard wealth and develop some really neat collections. In fact, I've not seen many big traders who don't make an attempt at at least one themed collection. In my case, I keep just enough Legendary cards to keep myself in the top 100 for DV, while also maintaining six collections.

[Awesomeland012345]

There's already a thread for showcasing the best collections of cards that people have collected, not only including non-original collections such as all S2 legendaries, but also video games themes, gifs, and others. It even includes collections that house every single ultra-rare card, which even though is not necessarily a very imaginative collection, but takes a lot of hard work to get. It's the same with making collection's of cool cards, or just making your deck as valuable as possible. Collecting cards to make your deck value the best there is isn't necessarily a bad thing; all that matters is the people enjoy it. And the thread I linked proves that DV is not the thing that every single trader cares about.

[Ngeaur]

From the replies you are getting I'm not sure that your message is getting across. I interpret your philosophy as saying farming degrades the card game because cards are not appreciated for what they are, only how much bank they represent. This also causes cards to be junked and "lost" before other card collectors who might want them get a chance to see them. I agree. I also think that this farming/junking/power-to-the-deck-value trend has become too prevalent to reverse course.

In addition, there are many different approaches to the card game. Not everyone likes to sort and collect. I do. I can see that you do. IMNSHO we are exceptions rather than the rule, otherwise The Collection Collection v2 would have many more entries in it. Ironically, many of the collections listed there are, in reality, "owned" by a few players through their main nation or their puppets. I've paged through a lot of decks looking for cards and my interpretation of what I've seen is that that majority of card collectors are simply keeping what they open, occasionally going marketing for a card that has caught their fancy. The regular traders on the market are only a small proportion of the card collector universe although they appear to be many because of puppets.

[Sanghyeok]

I do farm cards to some extent, but I also have some even common and uncommon cards I value, and some legendaries I don't care about at all. For me, design is important, and rarity or value is just one consideration.

[Noahs Second Country]

The vast majority of active card players have a collection of some type. I have 5 or so to my name.

If you look at the trading cards discord there are numerous traders pinging other collectors with cards they may like for their collections - these traders go out of their way to locate and list suitable cards for others. Farming exists as a mechanism to accelerate the speed at which a collection can be completed. With how many copies of each card spawns each season, most have no inherent value beyond their junk value.

Not to mention that some people enjoy farming, inflating, playing the market, printing, etc.. Different objectives and playstyles create a more dynamic community of people looking to enjoy the card game.

[Giant Baba]

Different objectives and playstyles create a more dynamic community of people looking to enjoy the card game.

Quoted for truth. This post should be sticked to the top of the forum as a daily reminder, as it captures the sentiment of what Max Barry himself expressed behind the very idea of the Trading Card mini game:

"I'm glad I decided to make the cards pointless. At first, I was thinking they would be part of some kind of point-scoring game, where you would want to collect particular cards because they did something. But it was actually much better as an undefined, nebulous thing, much like NationStates itself, where people developed and pursued their own goals."

https://www.nationstates.net/page=news/ ... index.html

From the words of the mind behind NationStates itself, there is no approach to playing the card game that is more intellectually substantive or morally righteous than any other. Either a player will fill in their own blanks and play the game as an end in itself, or wind up stuck asking the wrong questions and finding unfulfilling answers. Pick your poison.

[Giovanniland]

I had seen this thread earlier today, but just now had some time to think and reply. As the maintainer of the Collection Collection v2 thread, I wanted to give my 2 cents in this discussion, however other opinions are always welcome.

As I see the card-game, and how it tends to go, I´d say, there are lots of players (new ones, but also old ones), which are simply amassing and junking cards/creating even more and more "farms" and "storage nations" without any other meanings than to build up wealth or "hoarding", which is to regret, because imo this leads to a downfall of the game over time.
One of the reasons for this kind of behaviour might be, that some of these players would eventually like to start/continue a collection (other than "as valuable as possible" or "my own nation/region"), if they simply could think of a theme/object for it, which offers the option of being "remarkable" and is not already occupied by some other player/s, that is/are collecting those cards for a long time already; it´s relatively unsatisfying to compete with an existing collection of hundreds or even thousands of cards without any chance of ever being "noticed", mentioned and listed in the "collection collection".
Therefore I gave a few thoughts to find some "unoccupied fields", if someone would be in need of hints, which collection to start.
Easiest (and, as I guess, most common one) is to start any "geographic collection", like "your homecountry", if it doesn´t already exist on the list.
Next, there have been a few collections (in season one mostly), that have been started and cancelled over the years, like "Phoenixes", "Real Existing Ancient Nations and Empires", "Unicorns", aso.
Then, there are lots of opportunities to start some specified "volume collection", like the numerous "raider - defender" and similar ones (the "moths", the "tic-tac-toe pictured" might be a good example), or the "two letter nations"; they usually count in thousands, and most of them are rather easy to collect, as they tend to amass in one or a few regions.
Of course, much better would be to find a theme for yourself.
And least, I would like to invent other players, which dont want to or dont have the time, the space,the bank (like me, single nation without farms, three "listed" collections and paid space) or the will and endurance to collect for themselves to participate and post their ideas for collections they wont or cant do for themselves but would like to see in this thread, so other players (who cant decide, what to collect might start such collections); which, imo, would also be an enrichement and boost to the "free market" and safe a lot of otherwise "uninteresting" cards from being junked without even being offered on the market.

There are lots of players that use card farming nations to increase bank wealth or the chance to get valuable cards they need. However, being also a members of the main Trading Cards Discord server, I concur with Noah's opinion that many card farmers sell cards other collectors may need, instead of just hoarding valuable cards and junking the rest. For example, my regional collection of the West Pacific would be nowhere near completion had I not discovered this helpful community, which also includes other regional collectors.
This creates a market where farmers are willing to help with a) trading card strategy, and b) the cards themselves farmers find in their puppets. In fact, the vast majority of cards in circulation on the market are a direct result of many people farming. More people farming = more cards = more collections completed (or closer to completion). The fact people use card farms to increase their wealth doesn't need to be seen as bad either, because more bank helps them to buy the cards they need.
Another important point is that, save some exceptions (such as legendary card collections), collections are not meant to achieve more deck value. Instead, people collect cards that have a special flag, a specific rarity, etc. Plus, while some existing ones are indeed large and surpassing them would be a hard feat, nothing is impossible. Don't forget the people that currently own these impressive collections also spent their time and effort to earn more bank, find the cards... if you want to build a better collection, it's up to you to start working even harder than them. For that, the community I mentioned earlier is a great help both with special trading knowledge and as a source of more cards.
Though I appreciate your list of ideas for more collections. It's certainly a good starting point for farmers that have the resources to build a collection but don't know what to collect, or even new traders trying to start their trading journey.

From the replies you are getting I'm not sure that your message is getting across. I interpret your philosophy as saying farming degrades the card game because cards are not appreciated for what they are, only how much bank they represent. This also causes cards to be junked and "lost" before other card collectors who might want them get a chance to see them. I agree. I also think that this farming/junking/power-to-the-deck-value trend has become too prevalent to reverse course.

In addition, there are many different approaches to the card game. Not everyone likes to sort and collect. I do. I can see that you do. IMNSHO we are exceptions rather than the rule, otherwise The Collection Collection v2 would have many more entries in it. Ironically, many of the collections listed there are, in reality, "owned" by a few players through their main nation or their puppets. I've paged through a lot of decks looking for cards and my interpretation of what I've seen is that that majority of card collectors are simply keeping what they open, occasionally going marketing for a card that has caught their fancy. The regular traders on the market are only a small proportion of the card collector universe although they appear to be many because of puppets.

As I've said before, it's true a lot of cards that could be part of impressive collections are junked, however many farmers know each other and save cards for what other farmers collect. There are several strategies that can prevent people from junking cards you want, such as bidding an amount above junk value that may catch most people's eyes. Though I also believe it should be a challenge for people to acquire all their desired cards, as scarcity is a fundamental property of the market. A balance between people junking everything non-valuable and no cards being junked is what we seem to currently have, and I find it okay.
Although I am always open to new entries for the Collection Collection v2 thread, I also believe we shouldn't just display every single collection without any evaluation or such. I try to browse the market and look for traders with interesting collections, even if they aren't active forum or Discord wise, so their efforts can be displayed for all to see. Ultimately, I have tried to also maintain the number of collections owned by large farmers around the same as other people, so the little trader can also have a chance. Though it's not my main concern itself, because, large farmer or not, what matters in the end is the collection's quality.

[Coffin-Breathe]

The vast majority of active card players have a collection of some type. I have 5 or so to my name.
If you look at the trading cards discord there are numerous traders pinging other collectors with cards they may like for their collections - these traders go out of their way to locate and list suitable cards for others. Farming exists as a mechanism to accelerate the speed at which a collection can be completed.

Interesting - when I tged you a few weeks ago about a card you were and still are missing in your collection (for a more than fair price), you didn´t even answer; maybe you were to busy, managing your hundreds of farms...
Besides, some people don´t like discord and stuff like this - at least as long as there´s a forum in here, where the game is located.

[Noahs Second Country]

The vast majority of active card players have a collection of some type. I have 5 or so to my name.
If you look at the trading cards discord there are numerous traders pinging other collectors with cards they may like for their collections - these traders go out of their way to locate and list suitable cards for others. Farming exists as a mechanism to accelerate the speed at which a collection can be completed.

Interesting - when I tged you a few weeks ago about a card you were and still are missing in your collection (for a more than fair price), you didn´t even answer; maybe you were to busy, managing your hundreds of farms...
Besides, some people don´t like discord and stuff like this - at least as long as there´s a forum in here, where the game is located.

hmm... I don't see a TG from you anywhere.

Did you send it to my main? I tend not to check telegrams on my puppets.

[Incredible Bums]

There seems to be some misunderstanding - my intention, when I started this thread was to give some players ideas for starting collections, as well as to encourage newer ones to collect, as well as to offer a thread for everyone to share ideas for collections. Not to start a discussion about farming.

[Coffin-Breathe]

Did you send it to my main? I tend not to check telegrams on my puppets.

...meanwhile the price has gone up a little bit : https://www.nationstates.net/page=deck/ ... lections=1

[Giovanniland]

There seems to be some misunderstanding - my intention, when I started this thread was to give some players ideas for starting collections, as well as to encourage newer ones to collect, as well as to offer a thread for everyone to share ideas for collections. Not to start a discussion about farming.

To be fair, you did comment about farmers hoarding cards, etc on the first paragraph. However, I don't see why to discuss this further, so I agree on ending the farming discussion and instead focus on your original intent with this thread - ideas to start collections (which I really appreciate).