TCG Community Interview #3: @metacosmic_quest

I spoke with @metacosmic_quest, a member of the TCG community! Here are his answers to my questions: 

Q: What was the first TCG you ever collected or played?

A: Actually I remember my first card. A pokemon base set Holo suicune given to me by my neighbor at around 5 years old. I still have it. And while pokemon was the first I played, I quickly switched to playing Yu-Gi-Oh. Pokemon has always been my main collection though.

Q: Which TCGs do you currently collect/play?

A: Well playing competitively it's currently Metazoo only. But I've dabbled in Krytik and, naturally, I play BackroomsTCG as well. 

Q: What's your favorite card in your collection?

A: That's a tough one because I have so many TCGs I collect. I even have Club Penguin Cards  but my favorite card from my entire TCG collection? If I HAVE to choose one overall, it would probably be my base set Articuno. Heavily Played in condition and it's unlimited print, but it was easily my favorite card growing up for no other reason then I liked the art and the card itself. Articuno is far from my favorite pokemon even at that time  it was Moltres actually until ChimChar came along

Q: What's your favorite TCG to play?

A: MetaZoo for sure. The judges can get on my nerves because they definitely make some interesting rule decisions to "balance" gameplay, but overall I absolutely love the game and it's the first game I've ever played competitively. 

Q: Which part of the hobby do you enjoy more, collecting or playing, and why?

A: Collecting but that's mostly because it's what I know. I always wanted to play competitive Yu-Gi-Oh growing up but I didn't have the ability to get to events or anyone interested in helping me do things like that unfortunately. I'm essentially making up for lost time but Yu-Gi-Oh is WAY too much for anyone to just jump into anymore  

Q: What do you hope to see more of in the TCG community? What do you hope to see less of?

A: Well the more part is easy, I hope to see more and more people realize that TCGs are literally for everyone and have just as much a role to play as board games and even video games. I want nerd culture to continue to win the culture war  As for negatives, I try not to focus on them but there are certain "winner takes all, anything goes" mindsets I don't appreciate in certain players. There's even people at this point I'd rather take an auto loss against than even try to play them in a tournament. 

Q: What are your thoughts on the new indie and homemade TCGs that have been coming out recently? Which one is your personal favorite?

A: I'm liking the innovation but, in all honesty, a lot of them need way more work than they are putting into their gameplay. TCGs cannot survive without three things altogether, quality product, well thought our and original mechanics, and some form of competitive aspect. Without all three no game can survive and unfortunately most of these games are either not doing enough to set themselves apart, or might be doing too much. I think Metazoo found a happy middle and that's why it's succeeded. My favorite new one is definitely BackroomsTCG. It's become my new passion. I already loved the backrooms content before I found the game, and the solo player, solitaire aspect is the most unique TCG I've seen probably ever. It's truly one of a kind and would be hard to replicate in a way that wasn't just a direct rip off. Essentially I'm not sure competition CAN arrise for BackroomsTCG since it's a new direction altogether. 

Q: What do you like best about the community?

A: The People. Everyone says that but I have met so many amazing people since rejoining the collector community almost two years ago. I really was in my own shell and didn't have any friends or know anyone. There's a lot of nuance but ultimately I did that to myself so I decided Id had enough and dove back in with an Evolving Skies Booster Box (pulled the moonbreon btw) and I haven't looked back because it's been too much fun. 

Q: Are there any hobbies you have outside of trading card games?

A: That's a very long list actually. Art in basically all forms is definitely one. I've even done my own sewing and leather work so I do mean ALL forms  Then there's bowling, watching anime (which is definitely a hobby the way I do it), I'm an old school horror movie nerd, I enjoy board games, and Video Game RPGs as well (Zelda and Pokemon mostly), and on top of that I'm an autodidact, so I really enjoy absorbing random information through videos and articles. Knowing me is like talking to a machine that won't stop saying "Hey did you know...." 

For more, follow @metacosmic_quest on Instagram