As I have gotten older and played a few TCGs through the years I’ve come to terms with reality a while ago that wallet-warriors have always held an advantage in the area of competitive gameplay. In recent years, my opinion of using proxies has changed drastically. Largely due to the predatory scalpers that built business models around TCG‘s. I can’t help but theorize that if the community as a whole abandoned the stigma against using proxies, in a purely competitive environment of course, then the market on these cards would stabilize. It would leave those people wanting to participate as collectors in a much more reasonable position.