Chris Wilson, the former co-founder of Grinding Gear Games and co-creator of Path of Exile, has provided a rare look at his private Magic: The Gathering library. In a new video, Wilson walks viewers through a collection that he once had to sell off parts of to fund the development of his studio, but has since rebuilt into one of the most significant caches of cardboard history in existence.
A Hoard of Alpha Icons
Wilson’s collection serves as a tour of the game’s formative years, featuring extensive pages of cards from Alpha, The Dark, Legends, and Antiquities. Among the most notable items are his 14 copies of the Black Lotus—the most famous card in the game. These include 12 raw Alpha copies kept in a binder and two 9-grade versions held in protective slabs. Given that Alpha Black Lotus cards can command high five-figure or even six-figure prices on the market, the value represented in his binder is substantial.
Beyond the headliners, Wilson’s binders contain cards that are rarely seen in such volume by the general public. He showcases 24 copies of The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, a land card known for its high secondary market value, and at least 12 near-mint copies of every Mox artifact from the Alpha set. He also keeps loose, more heavily played copies of these "Power Nine" cards, noting that he has "limited" himself to only a dozen copies of Unlimited Ancestral Recall because collecting 24 would be "silly."
The Significance of Alpha
Reflecting on why he focuses so heavily on the earliest printings, Wilson noted, "Alpha is special because this is the original history of the game. These are cards that dictated the future of what was gonna happen and set it in motion." He added that he continues to find joy in these older sets, stating, "It just makes me feel so happy to go through sets like this and just appreciate the cool old stuff they printed—in my opinion, back when the game was even better than it is today."
The collection also includes tens of thousands of lands and numerous signed Alpha cards from the original artist runs. While Wilson largely avoids discussing the specific monetary worth of his hoard, preferring to focus on the history of the cards themselves, the sheer volume of his inventory—which includes sheets of Mishra's Workshop and Candelabra of Tawnos—places him among the most prominent collectors in the Magic community.
For those interested in the creator's broader philosophy, Wilson recently made headlines for his advice to other developers, stating that studios should not survey their players because "your audience is good at recognizing problems and bad at solving them."