Spring … It's the season where we get to escape the cold, dark winter into the blissful sunlight that brings blossoming flowers, blue skies, and, for an unfortunate few like me, hay fever. It's also the season of cleaning up. Maybe it's because spring feels like a fresh start. After surviving the most harsh season of the year, we feel rejuvenated at the first rays of sunlight, inspiring us to start with a clean slate.
A Tough Choice
I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of people entering our competition, and it was a lot of fun looking at how people organize their Magic collections. It's always nice to see a community so enthusiastic about sharing their hobby — although a free booster box of Theros Beyond Death certainly doesn't hurt either.
Before I announce our eight winners, I'd quickly like to go into more depths regarding the criteria we used to judge the results. As I mentioned, we had a lot of good entries, so setting parameters makes it a bit easier to determine winners.
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We were looking at the accessibility of your collections. This means, how easy is it to find certain cards? What system did you use to go through your collection? How do you separate and sort your cards? How long would you need to look for that one specific uncommon that finishes your Commander deck?
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We were also looking at the aesthetics of the collections. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but large collections are likely taking up a lot of space. When you are having friends or family over, how intrusive is your Magic: The Gathering collection to the rest of your living space? Is it displayed so that it actually shows off your hobby in a way that generates interest from people looking at it? Or is it so messy and clunky that you have to cover it up before inviting anyone? And forget the other people, what about yourself? Whenever you look at your own collection, you should feel proud and happy.
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Lastly, we looked at creativity. Now this subject is a bit broad and has multiple implications. What we mean by this is, how are you using the space and items available to you to your advantage? Are you using binders? Boxes? Both? Maybe you're even using something out of the box for your collection?
The Winners of the Spring Cleaning Contest
Again, we would like to thank everybody who shared their collection and participated in this little contest. Again, it was hard to pick eight winners. But pick we must, so without further ado, here are our eight winners in no particular order, based on the criteria outline above.
Krzysztof D.
Krysztof shows us how neat and tidy a small-to-mid-sized collection can really be. A color-coding system with binders for storage, deck boxes for the most played cards, and a seperate box for all accessories. The Magic artbooks are a nice touch, as they improve the aesthetics and provide a bit of context. Congratulations Krzysztof!
Valerio B.
I don't think we're all fortunate enough to have an entire room, or at least a section of a room, dedicated to Magic: The Gathering storage; I know I'm not. But Valerio not only has it, but also utilized all this space in a tremendous way. Using the same binders gives it a nice consistent look, and labeling each binder with their set symbol is just fantastic. There's even a little table with light to go through the binders. I think this is a setup many of us can only dream of. On top of that, literally, Nicol Bolas is watching over the entire collection. Chapeau!
Stefan H.
Where Valerio's collection was formal and consistent, Stefan's collection is colorful and eye-catching. Magic has great artwork; using it to show of your collection is a good idea if done right. And Stefan has knocked it out of the park. The (sealed) boxes on top make for a nice "show-off" aspect, while the closing cabinets below can hide the bulk of the collection. The little Liliana makes for a nice addition. Thanks for sharing, Stefan!
Michael P.
Michael's system is similar to that of Krzysztof, but on a larger scale. I'm a big fan of the color-coding with binders, and using the labelled Holiday Packs as storage for the remainder of the collection. The fact that all boxes are similar is a big plus in my book, making it look neat and professional. Good job!
Hans K.
Now this is a Vintage collection I can get behind. I love the black binders on the bottom, combined with the colorful set-themed binders above. It looks neat, exciting, and compact, and pays tribute to the early roots of this great game. Thanks for sharing, and congratulations!
Melvin J.
Similar to Michael's and Krzysztof's system, a combination of labeled boxes and binders. This collection also has a nice clear distinction between what is for collecting, what is for storing, and what is for playing. I like that even the boxes have a color code, which doesn't only help you find things faster, but also looks aesthetically pleasing. Congratulations!
Toon F.
Much like Valerio, Toon has a massive collection, dating way back. This is one of the better ways of storing such a wealth of material without going crazy! I like the boxes being labeled with their set icons and sorted by release date. Well done!
Lukas B.
Lukas went for an all-binder solution for his collection, and it looks great. While boxes have more storage capacities, binders actually display your collection in a satisfactory way when going through them. It seems that the binders are both labeled and color-coded, giving a clear indication of what's inside them. The cabinet closes on the lower part, hiding any loose parts of the collection. Congratulations!
Honorable Mentions
While the following contestants unfortunately didn't make the cut, I still would like to point them out for doing an excellent job.
D.P.
This obviously looks very sleek and beautifully sorted. The color of the dragons is used to signify the color identity of the binder's contents. The only thing that was missing here for me was something actually related to Magic. While the Dragon Shield dragons constitute cool fantasy artwork, they aren't directly related to Magic: The Gathering. Neverthless, thanks for sharing!
Michael V.
This almost seems like a "Scandinavian minimalistic" approach to the collection, and for that reason I wanted to point it out. It looks very clean and functional, with everything properly labeled and sorted, but I'm missing the Magic flavor in terms of using artwork or colors. Still, looks slick and well done!
Congratulations to Our Winners!
That concludes the Cardmarket 2020 Spring Cleaning Collection contest! A big thank you to everybody who participated. Hopefully you got some inspiration on how to properly sort your collection the next time you plan on cleaning it up.
The winners of this contest have been contacted directly and will receive their booster box of Theros Beyond Death as soon as possible. Thanks for reading!