Rocky Mountain Yetis

I turned 40 this year, and thought it would be fun to review and take stock of my Magic journey. Some players have stated a collecting goal of owning all 40 dual lands by the time they turn 40. I don’t have 40 duals. I don’t intend to. I have 29 (30 total since I own 5 Volcanic Islands) and I’m quite happy with them. I’d frankly be quite happy if I never increased that number. But one of the things I enjoy about this hobby is that I’m good with this for a while and then I get intrigued by something new and then I’ll go after that.

I feel like 29/40 reflects my collecting goals quite nicely actually. I’m not a completionist. I have a sentimental attachment to some cards, and I want to own those cards, and I get excited about holding them and looking at them. Other cards were never really a part of my experience of Magic as a kid and don’t mean much to them. I don’t really want to have the money tied up in them or want to have them taking up space really.

Particularly, as I turn 40, I do the things I love. I do it because it strikes my fancy. Not just collecting cards, but anything. I’m fortunate to be able to design my life to spend my time and money on things I enjoy, and so I do. As I get older, I feel even less compelled to chase after goals that other people espouse or have achieved. I’m not saying that’s what everyone should do, but that’s what works for me.

The first dual land I saw was Badlands. My friend had a revised copy, even though between the two of us we only had black cards. I thought it might work to activate a Krovikan Elementalist, but I’m pretty sure we never did. Eventually, I acquired two from my local card shop for $10 each. I could either spend my ten bucks on a badlands, another dual, or Hammer of Bogardan. I eventually bought 2 badlands and 3 hammers. Oops. Oh well, I still love Hammer of Bogardan too.

I’m thrilled to own 4 Bayous. That might have been the first dual land I saw played and it just seemed so strong and evocative. It was alongside Underworld Dreams and Storm Seeker and was in an awesome deck. It took me long into my old school journey before I had a reason to play 4 bayous. But I do now and I love it. 

And Volcanic Island has always been my favorite. I’ve lusted after this card ever since I knew it existed. I played Blue/Red nearly since the beginning and this card seemed so elemental and so powerful. But I’d never even seen one in real life until I bought one in 2019 or so. So I’m thrilled to have my 4 Unlimited copies, and a revised copy to boot that I got early on and have held on to since I like it.

Since getting back into Magic, I’ve acquired and sold off duals, and probably will continue to keep doing so. The first card I sold from my collection as a kid was one of my original Badlands. I used the money to buy a Thunder Spirit and some other cards. At first I felt bad that part of my childhood had been pawned off. But then really it evoked the essence of this trading card game. My collection had always been temporary as I passed off cards I had once owned for something I wanted more. So moving a card of mine to a new home actually become nostalgic for me. 

As I turn 40, I have no real plans to get up to 40 duals. I could see eventually acquiring them over time. I like not having 4 Tundras. I’ve never played The Deck or LionDibBolt in an event and really have no desire to. I could see getting 4 Taigas to play some RG beatdown decks, maybe with Blood Lust and Berserk. That sounds fun and easy to play.

And while I like having duals, and being an adult is great, one of the nostalgic things I like about Magic and Old School is playing basic lands. I definitely like to play decks that have a reason to play more basics than usual. In TwiddleVault I get in 4 basic islands. With Blue/Red, I like to skip black so I can play more Islands and Mountains and Blood Moons. Lich lets me play my basic Forests, Swamps, and a few Plains. And I can get those altered for funsies.

That about wraps up this post. Until next time, may you collect and play what you love!