I suggested earlier today that the admins add a voting system to card collections, similar to that of dispatches. This would allow users to upvote collections that they feel are particularly interesting, and make them visible to more people. It has been several hours, and yet this feature has not been added. So, I have decided to take matters into my own hands. These are some of the top card collections that I've seen on Nationstates.
Credit to Destructive Government Economic System for gathering a number of great collections together.
Some examples of collections that will not be featured here:
• My Legendaries/Epics/etc (unless you've gathered more than anyone else- more on that later)
• My Favorites
• My Friends/Region-mates
• I'm selling these cards, come make a deal
These are perfectly fine collections. But they tend to have a personal, utilitarian purpose. The Collection Collection aims to host general-interest collections only.
Rank-based Collections: Legendary. Epic. Ultra-rare. Rare. Uncommon. Common. These are the six card classifications. Sometimes, you may wish to scroll through the entire list of cards, looking for one to catch your eye. These collections strive to make that possible.
Season 1
Every Legendary Card by Koem Kab
Even acquiring a single Legendary card can be a challenge. Getting all of them requires a boatload of cash, an eagle eye on your bids, and most of all, a fleet of farm puppets to finance the whole thing. This feat has also been achieved by Luna Amore, Mikeswill, and the Northern Light.
Wop's Epic Collection by Wopruthien
Over 1,800 cards strong, this collection of Epics may be nearing the total.
Pretty in Purple: Every UR by Karen Matheson (puppet of Refuge Isle)
At over 4,659 cards, Refuge is pretty close the 5,488 total she needs for a complete collection.
Every Common Card by 9003
At over 9,000 (mostly ex-nation) cards, this collection of commons is still only 7% of the way towards its ambitious goal of collecting all 121,698 common cards.
Season 2
Power to the Purple: Every UR II by An Actual Hurricane (puppet of Refuge Isle)
Refuge's long awaited sequel to Pretty in Purple is already a fifth of the way there!
Volume Collections: These collections are recognized for the impressive feat of quantity on top of quantity. To make it into this group, you need an extremely large collection united by a single, identical property.
All is default by BuccaRuu
Over 600 cards strong, I guarantee this enormous collection of the default Australian Aboriginal flags will make you go "Huh. That's a lot of the same flag."
The Catsfern Collection by Catsfern
As far as I know, this is the largest collection of a single player's personal cards in all of Nationstates, with 100 copies of one single card.
Delegates by Panpan105
A massive collection of cards with the WA "Delegate" tag.
I AM THE EX-NATION EXTRAORDINAIRE!!! by Destructive Government Economic System
DGES himself appears four times in this collection. There are over ten thousand ex-nation flag cards in this pile. Ten thousand! With a T!
We Even Have DEATed Ex-Nations! by Destructive Government Economic System
For one reason or another, these ex-nations are never coming back from what they did.
The Country Clubs: These collections fit into a finite (usually expensive) category. It is possible to collect all these cards. But trying to actually join any of these categories? Good luck with that.
Bookends: First and Last Cards of Season 1 by Luna Amore
Starting off small, this collection consists only of two cards: the first one released (the prohibitively expensive Legendary Testlandia) and the Common ex-nation of New Sequoia, which is all but extinct.
Commended [58/58] by Samudera
Now complete, this collection houses every nation that has received a Commendation from the World Assembly.
Condemned [14/14] by Samudera
A much smaller collection this time, of those notorious nations who have been condemned by the World Assembly.
Firsts [79/79] by Samudera
An even more exclusive group than the Legendaries. The only way to get into this club is to have the highest stat in any World Census category. (Come on, fellow Ponderosans, keep shooting!)
Game Volunteers [81/81] by Ballotonia
Ballotonia has assembled a full list of the admins, moderators, mentors and editors that keep this site running.
GCR Delegates [COMPLETE] by ROM
This is a list of politicos and warriors, the powerful nations who earned or took the delegacy of the Game-created regions.
General Assembly Authors by Auralia
A list of everyone who has contributed a resolution to the GA.
Issue Authors [185/194] by Ballotonia
Nearly complete, this collection hosts every nation that has contributed an Issue to Nationstates.
NS World Cup Winners [24/24] by Recuecn
The top athletes of the NS sports world, these nations have the honorable distinction of having won the NS World Cup! (Which I'm guessing they hold twice a year, apparently? Why are there so many?)
Top 100 Population [100/100] by Ballotonia
At the time of the card release, these were the 100 most populous nations in Nationstates.
Geographic Collections: These collections are based around real-world locations. (Wouldn't that make them country clubs also? Oh well...)
As Gaeilge by Refuge Isle
A collection of flags with Irish names and mottos. The name literally means "In Irish."
British Flags by ABritishName (puppet of Toerana)
This collection has over 200 Union Jacks, in many different styles.
Hungary-Romania Friendship Collection by Best Friends Forever
If it's got a Hungarian or Romanian flag, the Hungary or Romania names, or even mentions a region of Hungary or Romania, you can find it here.
The Land That Was Kemet by Kylarnatia
Now it's Egypt!
Österreich by Sophisticated horrors
As the name might suggest to those of you who speak German, these cards are all Austrian.
Real Places by Ponderosa
A catch-all for real-world countries, states, provinces and regions. If it can be found on a map, it belongs here.
Stars and Stripes by Star-Spangled Banner (puppet of Ponderosa)
A collection of Old Glories, with many variations.
Theme packs: I'm going to have to subdivide this later, right? This category is for collections built around a common theme. Buying up all the dogs you can find? That's a theme pack.
Beauties by Jasminlandia
Like hot women? Real women? This collection is full of actual women! Or, at least none drawn in a Japanese style.
Boats by Panpan105
A veritable fleet of ships, both old and new.
Looking for cats? Feline Master has over 200 of them!
Note: This collection is currently unavailable, as Feline Masters has ceased to exist. For a smaller but growing collection of furry friends, check out Alanis Star's Meow Collection! :3
Doctor Who by Smiley Bob
A collection of cards referencing Doctor Who.
Doggos by Libereco kaj Paco
Finally, the collection of dog cards we've all been waiting for.
Enemies of the State by Atheist (puppet of Ponderosa)
Religions and religious symbols, collected by their sworn enemy, the Atheocracy of Atheist.
ÉN VOK A FÖNIKSZMADÁR by Matthias Schalk
A small but growing collection of phoenixes.
The Eyes Have It by Candlewhisper Archive
One of the most recognizable and sizable "these flags look like mine" collections, Candlewhisper has filled his entire deck with eyes!
Flowers by AnneBelleRose
An entire deck of flower-themed cards! A sub-selection of only realistic flowers is also available here.
GIF Cards by Raghallaigh
It's a windy day for these flags! The constant motion of these pages will give you a mild case of vertigo.
Glorious Brotherlands by Wittebosland
Better red than dead! An army of communists awaits.
Greife by Coffin Breathe
A collection of Griffins.
Here there be dragons... by Erratica
A sizable collection of dragons, with only a single appearance of the Welsh flag. Now that's restraint!
Mostly MLP by Blargoblarg
Somewhat of a "personal favorites" collection, except it just happens to consist almost entirely of images from My Little Pony.
Nature by Tildalandia
r/EarthPorn, from the comfort of Nationstates!
Museums of Paleontology by Saurian Nations
A collection dedicated to the times dinosaurs, mammoths, and janky proto-humans walked the earth.
Plain Color Flags by Ancot
You can find the old Libyan flag here several times over, as well as lots of other exciting, colorful banners!
Pokemon Gotta catch them all by The Zravvisk
A good way to digitize your Pokemon card scrapbook.
Project Car by Dr Hooves
A bunch of cars, including those that are named "Projects" for some reason.
rpg by Incredible Bums
A collection dedicated to role-playing games, compiled by a real-life gamemaster!
RWC by Bombadil
Don't you love trying to create a new region, only to find that the name has been snatched by some refound hoarder? Do you at least like their flags? This collection consists entirely of the North Korean Revolutionary Workers Councils!
Skin on Skin, let the Swarm Begin by Starving Locusts (puppet of Ponderosa)
Speaking of refound gangs, a partial collection of Blitzkrieg's moths!
I am now fluent in over 25 forms of science fiction by Earthbound immortal squad
Star Wars! Star Trek! Cowboy Bebop! Doctor Who! If it's a popular science fiction franchise, it's probably represented here.
School Class Nations by Tee World
We'll never get to talk with them, but you can sure collect them! Sixty nations with the "Class" tag.
Skeletons by Hugo Boss
There's a few big ex-nation collections out there, but this one is a real graveyard.
Stan by Ssejekistan (puppet of Voxija)
Can you stan this collection of nations ending in "stan"? I can.
Video Games by Panpan105
A collection of anything and everything related to video games.
What's So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding? by Granddaddy Purple
A hippy-dippy collection of hippies, weed, and acid trips.
The Woods by Strange World
A beautiful forest, replete with unique and interesting trees, as well as multiple copies of the flags of Lebanon and Norfolk Island.
You Suck At Cooking by The Soylent Green Party
A mouth-watering collection of delicious-looking food. Or is it people?
Zoo by Tildalandia
Has he got a zoo, and I'm telling you, it's a world-class menagerie!
Arthouse: These collections might appear random at first glance. Perhaps they are. Or maybe they're just pretentious. Whatever feeling you get looking at these, you do have to admit: they make you think.
Aspects of Aurlyn by Flerdysis
At first, this may seem to be just an ordinary favorites collection.However, you can be sure each card has been carefully selected. Each card represents a certain aspect of the personality of Aurlyn, the leader of Flerdysis. For example, Knootnz, which has a motto that when translated means, "United in Liberty", matches her fierce commitment to personal autonomy, as well as her hatred of dictators and tyrants.
Go then, there are other worlds than these by Christ Triumphant
This is a collection of the surreal and the otherwordly, a sci-fi adventure that pushes the boundaries of what we consider normal. In other words, the most inspiring science fiction and fantasy cards. The title itself originates from Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series.
The heArtful Collection by Devil Heart
It's hard to get a grip on this collection. You know there's something that ties them together, but there's always an exception when you try to pin down a rule. The curator describes the collection as cards that are (mostly) hand-drawn, surreal, popping, or with arty abstracts.
Samsara by Ponderosa
This collection aims to represent change, cause and effect, and the dualities of light and dark within everything and all of us. The title refers to a Sanskrit term meaning "the cyclicality of all life, matter, and existence".
That's all for now. Post a comment with another unique, interesting collection and I'll be sure to add it!
Also, I'm aware, there's no anime collection. That's because every other card collector has an anime collection and they aren't hard to find. If you reply with an extremely lengthy or unique one, I might post it.