The Big One

Today I complete my set raw set, which was long overdue, and an absolute cloud 9 experience. Check it out!
#MagicTheGathering #LimitedEditionAlpha #BlackLotus
I'm Mike, the Alpha Hoarder, and I'm sharing/documenting my wild collection here on YT. Join me while I ramble about old cards and MTG finance, and look at cool stuff.
[e-mail]
Mike the AlphaHoarder @ 375 Carlls Path #73, Deer Park NY 11729

[@NerdAndProudOfIt]

As always, there are collectors and there’s the horder! 😁👊🏻❤️! Awesome, Mike!

[@AlphaHoarder]

😆 thanks 👍

[@penguinlust6749]

Congrats! There aren't a lot of those sets out there, and to piece something like that 30+ years after the fact is impressive.

[@AlphaHoarder]

Wild to think about

[@Alphonsoinvestments]

I like the assortment of opening tools you keep handy!😊

[@AlphaHoarder]

😂 it's like the tray in the dentist's office over here

[@Izawwlgood]

My heart beat faster when you pulled it out of the sleeve. Congrats, what an amazing collection. I want to complete the horsemen. There's some super cool cards in those sets!

[@AlphaHoarder]

My hands were shaking, you can probably see it in the video 😅😅

[@monkey39128]

I'm not even a Magic guy and even I felt something when it came out! This channel is making me want to collect old Magic cards. 😅 The artwork is so beautiful!

[@monkey39128]

@@AlphaHoarder I did think, "Oh blimey is Mike ok?". Glad it was excitement and not something else. 😂

[@AlphaHoarder]

Really gets one's adrenaline going! I can only imagine opening one from a pack and being surprised by it. No wonder those guys lose it 😆

[@monkey39128]

@@AlphaHoarder Yeah that would be insane! I don't think I'd have the balls to risk opening an Alpha pack. 😂😂

[@Nabraham1]

Holy hell, wow! That is unbelievable. Congrats and thanks for sharing, seriously unreal!

[@MesaCoast]

Wow. My hands would be shaking holding that. 🤯 Fantastic collection mate

[@AlphaHoarder]

Mine sure were 😅 thanks 🤜🤛

[@LeGardien44]

I love arabian nights I just bought my first "big card" ever at the start of the year a Slightly played Library of Alexandria. Love this set. I wish I could buy some Alpha cards but they're out of my price range. Dream card would be Mox jet or Chaos Orb in alpha/beta 🤞

[@LeGardien44]

Still having a great time getting alpha common/uncommun or even basics tho

[@AlphaHoarder]

Love library!! Nice grab. Chaos Orb is one of my favorite too... so hard to get though!

[@weeblewom9513]

The Big One indeed, congratulations!! I had to laugh though - if it was me, my hands would have been shaking that much just for the Shahrazad! This video has caused me to realize I wouldn't have the intestinal fortitude to even handle a Black Lotus, much less the bankroll to afford one. I applaud you for your bravery sir! 👏

[@AlphaHoarder]

lol -- yeah, I was trying very hard to hold my hands still, but they were definitely shaking 😅😂 It was less nerves about dropping it (because the corners and edges are pretty beat already), and much more adrenaline from the excitement of actually getting it! Thanks for watching

[@Mike750200]

loveeeee! stunning!

[@spiritofthenight9067]

Congratulations! I'll never be able to achieve the same accomplishment but that's just fine. The joy in your voice and quivering hands told the story and I'm glad you shared it with us.

[@AlphaHoarder]

Quite a bit more adrenaline than I expected 😅 Thanks for watching

[@TavisKingsChannel]

Congratulations !

[@AlphaHoarder]

Thank you!!

[@TavisKingsChannel]

Collector Mode Unlocked 🔓 It's nice to see your Arabian Nights & Antiquities cards. 😁

[@AlphaHoarder]

😆

[@firecrest3325]

That is a beautiful card, cards that old and beaten up means people played with and enjoyed the card. The memories!

[@AlphaHoarder]

For sure! I wonder how many different people's stories are blended into my collection 🤔🤯

[@AY-hq4qz]

Awesome, congratulations!! 🎉

[@lechasseurdemothman]

THE DREAM...... Beautiful cards...!

[@juddhaven]

Rudy has already taken Arabian nights, 100 sets, probably 110 by now, very nice completion with the lotus, I'll make sure to wear white socks tomorrow as well.

[@AlphaHoarder]

Yeah, Rudy is next level lol. I'm confining my hoarding to only alpha, so one Arabian set will do for me. Thanks for watching until the end 🤜🤛

[@thomashitz3040]

Beautiful! Congrats ❤

[@AlphaHoarder]

Ty 🤜🤛

[@Bantha_Rider]

fantastic mate well done

[@tcgcompletionist]

love this sooo much! a beautiful alpha set and a gorgeous signed lotus! what a treat!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Thanks! Catching up on a few of your stuff between meetings, incidentally. Nothing like complete sets, eh!

[@sandrostrapazzon1307]

Amazing stuff! Congratulations!!!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Thanks 🙏

[@onlyhuman3281]

Dream collection thank you for shareing.

[@AlphaHoarder]

Thanks for watching

[@fourkeepsgaming]

That's sic Mike congrats. Also that Shahrazad, one of my favs

[@MRkriegs]

very nice pickup! alpha lotus!

[@gudtimes6363]

A signed one is so cool ! Congrats

[@AlphaHoarder]

Ty!

[@phillipstrong1007]

I love seeing your amazing collection

[@AlphaHoarder]

Thanks for watching 🤜🤛

[@alexandremassa4974]

Thanks for sharing, it is really a beautiful card, stunning artwork !

[@AlphaHoarder]

Stunning is indeed the word 🤩

[@jeffreypavlik629]

Congratulations on completing your set! Excellent Black Lotus. I would take that card in any grade.

[@AlphaHoarder]

Thanks!

[@brendanpowers3516]

That is a thing of beauty. Having a gap in the binder would not sit well in my mind either, so I understand the thinking there. Very nicely put together.

[@AlphaHoarder]

Much better this way 😁

[@CardboardTutor]

Awesome! Congratz on finishing your collection! Ever thought of building a set cube to draft with friends to share this wonderful time capsule? 😁

[@AlphaHoarder]

A couple people have suggested that... it would be pretty epic 😆

[@paulfalkn]

Congratulations man😊

[@valkopuhelin2581]

Thanks for sharing, that was nice to see.

[@AlphaHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@wuschelbeutel]

the pinnacle of any mtg collection. i know you already have the high graded ones, but no alpha black lotus doesn't induce awe - especially a rush signed one. will be wearing white socks tomorrow to celebrate your acquisition.

[@AlphaHoarder]

Thanks! And I appreciate those few of you that watch until the end 🤜🤛

[@christhemagnif]

WOWZA 🤩 that is a thing of beauty! Congratulations on the acquisition. Looks great in the binder. Now you can enjoy 😅 Cool to see you branching out into Arabian and Antiquities. Very fun sets and nice and manageable in comparison to Alpha. Happy collecting!

[@AlphaHoarder]

It is pretty nice to finally finish a couple sets of my bucket list. So many amazing old cards. Thanks for watching 🤜🤛

[@duranparsi]

That's awesome!

[@AlphaHoarder]

I'm pumped 😁

[@seanjelle]

Congrats! What an amazing pick-up. That Lotus has definitely done its job winning countless battles and now it gets to retire in your binder - well deserved😁

[@AlphaHoarder]

Haha -- I guess I'm like it's nursing home

[@MTGUshuaia]

Congratulatioms bro!!!!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Thanks!!

[@Lmatdhr]

Signed is the way for alpha lotus, congrats!

[@AlphaHoarder]

It suits the card for sure!

[@monkey39128]

Gorgeous collection. 😀

[@AlphaHoarder]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@KykyJyky]

What an incredible card.. real piece of history there

[@AlphaHoarder]

Sure is! Thanks for watching

[@EngineerfifeninerO]

A lifetime collection goal for sure!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Indeed!

[@nathanmccolloch452]

Grats! That's gotta feel good 😁

[@AlphaHoarder]

It's amazing and surreal

[@MTGUnpacked]

Incredible collections!🤩

[@AlphaHoarder]

Thank you! 😁

[@Alexlorne82]

Absolutely epic

[@tomcadden8054]

Ooft, very nice! Quite the throwin aswell!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Indeed 😁

[@curiouscrow4761]

Congratulations 🎉 killer card man!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Ty

[@GameMageVideos]

Legendary

[@atunga5]

isn't it amazing how these cards affect us.. even for you who has handled a ton of alpha cards it is a special moment. congratulations!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Ty! 😁 It triggered more adrenaline than I'd expected. It's just so iconic and carries the weight of so much history behind it

[@marakah5298]

the true Magic 30 right here

[@AlphaHoarder]

Absolutely!

[@LittleMushroomGuy]

Congrats

[@AlphaHoarder]

Ty!

[@NateBullock-ow6on]

I have a guardian beast and 2 desert twister from Arabian nights that's it but very nice collection

[@AlphaHoarder]

It's a really cool set

[@connorwills9862]

Congrats buddy!!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Ty 🤜🤛

[@timothyvandenberg2905]

Congrats!!!!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Thanks 🙏

[@Dapper422]

I feel the same way about my LoTR set.

[@spiritofthenight9067]

This is the comment I was hoping to see here. We can all experience the joy of a completed set no matter the value. Well done.

[@Wipokorp]

SWEET!! 😊 Congrats!

[@Wipokorp]

Great to see that you’re completing an AK set, too! 😊

[@AlphaHoarder]

Arabian has been on my bucket list, it's a fun set!

[@hamacWay]

Congratz man!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Ty!

[@grailsgg]

exquisite. thanks for sharing. quick question, maybe a dumb one: would you ever consider trying to clean the surface of the lotus, just to get a little of the gunk off? i often do that with some of my old border foils, and they seem to clean up really nicely just with a soft cloth and a drop of water. granted the stakes are much lower when i clean those. just curious. thanks again

[@AlphaHoarder]

I probably don't have the nerve to try. I've done that on unlimited cards... sometimes the gunk comes off, sometimes the surface is left scratched up. As your said, the stakes are a bit steep 😅

[@MrAdamJoel]

Thanks for sharing

[@AlphaHoarder]

Thanks for watching 🤜🤛

[@teamcosmicseeds]

Behind Jeff F Rush's old manager, I probably hold the most Rush autographs by a single collector (hopefully) signed alpha lotus is my MTG GRAIL 🎨I need 1.Congrats Mike! 🤝

[@AlphaHoarder]

Oh no way I didn't know that! Very cool. It's an mtg grail indeed 🤩

[@teamcosmicseeds]

@@AlphaHoarder I still need a signed alpha lotus 😔 maybe one day after I buy a house then flip it 😂

[@teamcosmicseeds]

@@AlphaHoarder oh & I learned mtg from Jeff F 🤪 a crazy magic fact

[@Josh_Grav]

Epic as always bro!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Ty 🤜🤛

[@jamesoncurry5224]

Sickkkkk

[@Alphonsoinvestments]

The big one😮!!

[@technetin]

Not normally a signature fan but I don't mind this one

[@teamcosmicseeds]

How does 1 not love 🎨 Rush? I mean I have...169 signed rush cards but no lotus yet!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Agreed!

[@nickfanzo]

Nice!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Thanks!

[@riccardo4-xx8op]

Hey mike; whats your feedback on portal three kingdoms set? Along with arabian is my favorite and im slowly completing it. Im doing it in chinese, slightly cheaper than english one and perfectly match the set flavor.

[@AlphaHoarder]

I love that set, it's another one on my bucket list. For a while I was collecting the sealed packs just because I love the history there. It's one of those sets that's remained super niche for the entire life of the hobby, so I don't expect that to ever change, but it is what it is, and some of us appreciate it for that. How close are you in building it?

[@riccardo4-xx8op]

@@AlphaHoarder Missing imperial seal, zodiac dragon and Dong Zhou; but i wanna upgrade conditions on about 20% of what I have. Finding perfectly clean white borders is a true challenge. About white borders: i know its disliked by most of the collectors but let me tell you i started to actually like them, especially on white mana cards, the first pages of the binder looking beautiful!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Nice!

[@lechasseurdemothman]

Arabian nights is différent. The most beautiful set of Magic...!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Arabian is an awesome set, for sure. It's been on my bucket list for a long time 🙂

[@tcgcompletionist]

Mike id love to make a video together! we can talk about collecting habits, niches, display and our short term and long term goals.

[@honigson8776]

😍

[@shadowmarez7457]

Where can i buy that Grip tool you have??

[@AlphaHoarder]

It's these guys: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XCTL1UE

[@byzantinegold]

I wonder, how insulated/different is the alpha black lotus from the general market for vintage magic? I remember you becoming more pessimistic recently on the future monetary value of these cards, but the alpha black lotus seems to be something special, like the "crown jewel" of magic that may hold up far better over time.

[@AlphaHoarder]

I think that's very much the case. I'm much more worried about things like a jenky legends rare, or a beta uncommon.

[@mfdoom1898]

Can NEVER have enough Arabian Nights

[@AlphaHoarder]

It's a really cool set!

[@The_Abhy]

I really like you dont use gloves. Really cool collection, I hope you will once show this to your kids. And they will play with them.

[@AlphaHoarder]

Thanks, appreciate you watching. I definitely intend to share all this with my kids when they're a bit older!

[@paulr9562]

A real Chad would make a cube.

[@AlphaHoarder]

😆

[@Hydroflame521]

someone wrote on that black lotus, gotta give it to me now 😓

[@AlphaHoarder]

😆

[@jeffreyjaros5924]

i see you had 2 Desert Nomads....how do you tell which one is the light version and which one is the dark version?

[@AlphaHoarder]

I don't think Nomads has two, but Bird Maiden does. It's most obvious in the casting cost. The white version has a normal white circle behind the colorless mana, and the dark version has a barely-visible too-small circle there instead. The same is the case in the text area for the colorless mana symbols.

[@jeffreyjaros5924]

@@AlphaHoarder why do you have 2 then? i've heard all the commons have light and dark versions...most are very easy to tell apart, but i haven't seen any explanation on the Nomads.

[@AlphaHoarder]

Oh wait, do you just mean Desert? I do have two of those, one being the so-called campfire version, which has an extra flare in the artwork. Another that's harder to notice is Nafs Asp, since there's no casting cost… You have to look in the text body. But Desert Nomads I only have one here

[@jonathsu]

@@AlphaHoarder I noticed the same thing actually! You do indeed have two Desert Nomads (at 8:05 timestamp). Also... looks like you're missing a slot for either Ydwen Efreet or Cyclone; they are beside each other. Congrats on the Lotus and raw set!

[@AlphaHoarder]

I checked the video and you're both right 😆 I must have fixed the binder some time after recording and forgot (probably while listening to some other yt video and not paying much attention), because my binder doesn't have that now. I was so staring at it and reading the comment and thinking, "what's he talking about??" 🤦‍♂️🤣

[@TripsAhoy]

Sweeeeeeeeet ❤❤❤

[@Kensiky]

Please say you are still collecting Alpha Jumps.

[@AlphaHoarder]

Of course. You can never have enough jumps. Or Raging Rivers. Or... crap, maybe I am still accumulating 🧐😆

[@Dibiase206]

Something about the top loaders in a binder makes me cringe a bit. They present much better in the portfolio you used to use. IMO I would make a graded set with best copies and have a second set raw in a portfolio.

[@AlphaHoarder]

Yeah, I know what you mean for sure. So much dead space and the loaders slide around. I loved the way the whole set fit into that other binder… I just couldn't shake the growing worry that the cards weren't laying right in there, and it was going to lead to damage. This is definitely safer, but I do still have my eye out for a better way to store them 🤔🤔

[@andrewlynch3737]

Nvidia or Coin? Lol Grats on the beautiful card!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Yup 😁

[@macadoo1588]

That's an amazing piece to your collection. I gotta ask though, are you a doctor, lawyer, mob hitman? How do you afford these things?! 😂

[@AlphaHoarder]

None of the above (though I've encountered all three)! I'm a software guy and a real estate guy, I've worked really hard and I've gotten really lucky 🙂

[@macadoo1588]

@AlphaHoarder that's awesome! I'm glad these pieces are ending up with someone who truley cares about the game and its history. Though I am jealous, had to save up for a year to get an Unlimited Lotus about 10 years ago. Lol

[@troonlegend8317]

Must be nice to have that kind of money to blow on magic cards

[@AlphaHoarder]

I'm sure not complaining -- I'm grateful every day. It's been a long, tough journey, but thankfully it seems that fortune eventually favors perseverance.

[@aladinhotzenplotz3182]

lol

[@TheTugenukem]

I really like that video is less now, over 20 minutes videos are just too much time consuming.

[@AlphaHoarder]

Every now and then I manage it 😅

[@dovinsveto]

Thank you

[@dovinsveto]

Tears .. lilke tears .. childhood

[@alldaywhodie]

nice collection!

[@AlphaHoarder]

Thanks!