By the mid-2000s, Magic the Gathering wasn’t really part of my daily life anymore. I still had cards, I still had decks, but I wasn’t playing the way I used to. My time was going more into websites, online projects, and just trying to figure out life in general.

I never actually planned to quit the game completely. It just slowly became something I used to do instead of something I was actively doing. For a long time my cards just sat in boxes, untouched, but I never got rid of them.

That didn’t happen until years later, and it’s another decision I still regret.

Moving, Money Problems, and Bad Decisions

Around 2012 my life changed again. I moved out of state to live with my girlfriend at the time, and money was tight. Really tight. When you’re struggling financially, you start looking at everything you own differently, especially things that feel like they’re just sitting there.

My Magic collection was one of those things.

I wasn’t playing anymore, I wasn’t going to tournaments, and at the time it felt like the cards were just taking up space. After a lot of talking about it, I ended up selling the whole collection.

I got around five hundred dollars for everything.

Even at the time I knew that wasn’t a great deal, but when you need money, you don’t always make the best choices. Looking back now, I definitely got ripped off, but at that point in my life I wasn’t thinking about long-term value. I was thinking about getting through the moment.

The funny part is, not long after I sold the cards, I started missing the game again.

I even started buying packs here and there without really telling anyone, just because I wanted to open them. It sounds stupid now, but if you’ve ever collected cards, you know exactly how that feels. Once it’s in your system, it never really goes away.

The Collection That Got Destroyed

Not long after that relationship ended, I ended up moving again, and this is where one of the worst things that ever happened to my cards took place.

I had started building up a small collection again. Nothing like what I had in the past, but enough to make decks and enjoy the game. During the move, some of my stuff had to be stored at someone else’s place for a while.

Instead of being kept inside, the boxes ended up sitting outside.

It rained.

If you know anything about Magic cards, you already know what happened. Cards that weren’t sleeved turned into a solid block. Everything stuck together, warped, and got ruined. There was no saving any of it.

I ended up throwing the whole thing away.

That was the moment I told myself I was done with Magic for good.

At that point I had traded away one collection, sold another, and now lost one completely. It felt like every time I built something up, it disappeared.

Getting Pulled Back In Again

Of course, that still wasn’t the end.

Later in 2016 I met some people who played Magic, and before I knew it I was buying cards again. Not because I planned to go all in, but just because I enjoyed the game. A pack here, a deck there, a few singles, and before long I had boxes again.

Since then I’ve built up another collection, probably bigger than I realize. I have binders, long boxes, unopened product, and a lot of cards I haven’t even sorted yet. Sometimes I look at it and wonder if I should sell it, sometimes I think about organizing everything, and sometimes I think about actually playing again.

I haven’t decided yet.

What I do know is that Magic has been one of those things that keeps coming back into my life no matter how many times I walk away from it.

Final Thoughts

When I look back at my history with Magic the Gathering, it’s not a straight line at all. It’s collecting, quitting, selling, starting over, losing everything, and somehow ending up right back where I started.

I had cards most people today will never even see in person.

I traded them away.

I built another collection.

I sold it.

I built another one.

I lost it.

And now I’m here again, sitting on boxes of cards, trying to decide what I want to do next.

Part of me says sell them.

Part of me says keep them.

And part of me knows that no matter what I do, Magic probably isn’t done with me yet.