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Notes -
I actually think most trading cards aren't far off from Bored Ape NFTs at the end of the day. Companies love to put gambling in everything these days from mobile apps, to the random toy boxes that take up an entire aisle at my local Walmart. I think gambling was the first supernormal stimulus that humans discovered - randomness that our brains desperately want to find patterns in.
But like other supernormal stimuli, I think they are best avoided. Play LCGs instead of TCGs, or proxy your TCG cards (or buy singles and play cheaper formats like pauper if you really must buy in to the ecosystem.) They should be game pieces, not another supernormal stimulus like all the phone apps or porn sites try to be these days.
Yeah the current arc of the TCG market feels sufficiently mature that it's gotta be close to another big correction, but I don't think that necessarily renders the whole thing valueless. Even NFTs haven't like literally gone to zero even if you've obviously gotten absolutely fucked if you got in anywhere near the top.
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