Happiness is An Empty Booster Pack
The rain whipped against the aged glass of the storefront. Another Saturday, another solo and no shows for Standard Showdown. Time for a little retail therapy. Three packs of the newest set. Three chances to pull that card you want. Three little pockets of relief. You wait on baited breath hoping to see the orange-ish bronze tint of that one Mythic you want. Schrodinger’s packs. They could be anything. In this case though, anything is three bulk rares you have four sets of. A sigh fills your lungs and you schlep your disappointment to the counter and ask to buy the card you wanted to pull all along. A cool relief and warm joy washes over you as your hand closes around the hard case. Your brain alights thinking of how jealous your friends will be next Commander night. Happiness is a warm pack of cards. Who says you can’t buy happiness?
Well, actually most sociologists. Do you ever find yourself in a constant cycle of being excited to buy packs or cards, suddenly find that joy fading almost immediately after and then finding yourself back at the store counter waiting for the store owner to hand you another pack of cards. But it never seems to be enough? Then you may be experiencing what sociologists Phillip Brickman and Donald T. Campbell called “The Hedonic Treadmill.”
Happiness: The Only Thing Worth Tutoring
The Hedonic treadmill isn’t the newest Peloton device that promises to get you in shape. Rather, it is a concept that explains our ability as humans to adapt to happiness-inducing stimuli in a way that causes each successive exposure to have a lesser and lesser effect. In Magic, sometimes we buy cards because hoping it will make us feel better, which for many it does. But constantly doing so can make us feel numb and we start to climb what feels like a rope of sand hoping to increase our relative joy while not making any real progress in feeling better long term. All we’re left is with a feeling of wanting, guilt and a lot of pack wrappers.
But this isn’t all doom and gloom! This is merely a part of being human and by understanding this we can step off of this treadmill and really start to enjoy the true Magic of this game: The Gathering. We hear it all the time. There is no Magic without the Gathering. And nothing could be closer to the truth (Except that one time you cast a Narset’s Reversal against a Cyclonic Rift. That got hairy!).
Player Void
There are multiple studies and self help ‘experts’ (We should obviously weigh one greater than the other) who have shown it is not things that make us happier but rather experiences. For a lot of us, COVID has turned the last year of social gatherings into a gaping void. While Spelltable and MTGO (or Cockatrice if that’s how you swing) are fantastic, they lack that visceral je ne sais quoi that we crave from interacting with others.
We don’t fondly remember the card itself, rather, we remember the moments we had casting it, the reactions from others or the circumstances around getting the card. We remember literally everything around the card but not the card itself. In a game as commodified as Magic , it’s no wonder we often get those wires crossed and think we can buy those moments.
Joy Sells, But Who’s Buying?
Which begs the question: What are we trying to buy? Good times? A chance to gloat? Or a memory yet to be made? If there’s one thing that’s endured in spite of the pandemic it’s been the community. In fact, it was the community that made me realize that Magic isn’t an end. It’s a means. It is a means for us to meet and share a common bond with other people. Our community. It’s merely a pretense. A point driven home by the insightful Lawrence Harmon in his CFB Mailbag.
I don’t play Magic just to play Magic. I play Magic to have fun and meet and make new connections. I can do that with or without buying more cards. And often I found that when it came to connecting, the latter was better than the former.
Going Beyond Magic Plus Ultra
Some of the best relationships I have are with people I met through the Magic Community but they’re stronger not because of our conversations about MTG but because of everything else. The friendships I’ve built over cooking, mental health and finance through the Magic community are more valuable than any original Beta dual could ever be (Not that I’m looking to light those on fire or anything).
I can’t buy those connections with booster packs or even singles. Rather, what I can buy are cards that help facilitate interactions or cards that I hope will make memorable moments. Because in Commander (Or EDH if you’re an old foagie like me), that’s all I really want: Memories. Memories that we can share and look back on fondly.
HOW DARE YOU TELL ME I’M NOT HAPPY!
‘So are you saying we should just STOP Buying magic cards and go live in a Forest or some other Hippie Dippie nonsense?’
No, not at all, Straw-Man McArgueperson.
I’m not purporting we should drop Magic all together. Rather I believe we should be working towards creating a more healthy mental framework with which to engage the game so we aren’t just mindlessly buying cards hoping to buy something we can’t ever hope to purchase with money. Now, I am not any kind of expert (But neither was Will Johnathan so, go figure), but what I can offer you is some advice that’s helped me and a few of my friends curtail unsatisfying spending and enrich our own enjoyment of the game.
- Thank The Cards You Own
Now this is going to sound like some new age “woo” stuff but acknowledging the good times you had with your cards and the games you played is a great way for you to become grateful for what you do have. I find that when we are thankful for what we have we realize that we don’t always need the next shiny new thing. (Probably a smart move anyway, with all the foil curling happening).
2. Explore Other Hobbies
Sometimes, the best way to get off the treadmill is to find or rediscover another hobby. When you find yourself in this vicious cycle of trying to purchase joy sometimes the only thing to do is remove yourself from it and focus on other things that get your brain moving! Ideally ones that don’t involve you needing to pay to keep up. For example, I took my break from buying Magic as an opportunity to rekindle my joy of reading and cooking. Diversifying your hobbies gives you a chance to have a breather and grow as a person!
3. Ask Yourself WHY Are You Buying?
This is more than just which deck it’s for but rather what do you want out of the card beyond the game itself? What does the card represent to you beyond playability or cash value. For example, I recently made an effort to re-discover and celebrate my roots as a Korean American. As part of that I opted to pick up a copy of the Sethron Hurloon General Lunar New Year Promo.
For myself, that card means more than just some janky niche tribal commander. What it actually represents is the first year I felt comfortable enough to embrace my heritage as an Asian American. Now, not all cards need to have these deep underlying meanings. (I’m sure we’re all sick of hearing from the guy who lectures people about tattoos needing meaning).
Sometimes buying something for entertainment value is plenty! However, if you find yourself compulsively buying cards and feeling empty shortly after then taking a step back and asking ‘But why tho?’ can help you not only stop the cycle but also help you cut down on buying just to buy!
Enduring Ideals
As with many difficult topics I was very hesitant to write this. I want to end by saying I’m not advocating what you should or should not do. What I really wanted from this was to get us thinking about how we engage with the game and if it brings us joy. After all the real magic isn’t the cards we buy but rather the friends we made along the way (Sorry, it was just there I had to take it!).
Happiness may be an empty booster pack but what good is it if you don’t have friends to make memories with!
Things are bad now but they’ll get better…I promise…
