When he entered college and got his hands on a little more money, he started researching on eBay and it snowballed from there. He started with US cards, but quickly saw that the real value resided in Japanese cards, especially the limited promotional ones like the Illustrator
Your cards must match the color or colors of your Leader
When the trophy Pikachu card released it was a hot commodity, due to its limited quantities
Dont worry too much about buffing its power for more expensive taxes: it turns out a Rhystic Study that can only trigger once per turn per opponent on noncreature spells is still pretty good
By paying one life, you can exile the top card of your deck face down, putting that card back into your hand during your next end step
Combine that with a robust game catalog and measured, responsible engagement, and you have the pillars of a satisfying long-term experience