Aren't collectors already a subset under 'whales'? At least for those who remain to stay and continue. I guess collectors would be coming from existing user base, so appealing to them would help on the retention. Improving NPE would still be the growth driver, I believe.
I think Magic the Gathering (MTG) is the best benchmark/model for Splinterlands given that it's a CCG (Collectible Card Game). How to encourage collecting? Here are some examples:
a.) Develop a Trading market - technically, it should just be a transfer of assets between to players. What is needed is a market that can connect demand and supply for a swap.
b.) Art - In MTG, the illustrator/artist is always credited which eventually created a following. How does Splinterlands commission artists for the cards - no one knows hence does not create additional value.
Not in my opinion regarding large collectors primarily, the collectors that are here range from small to large investors. And they are here despite there being such little attention to the issues collectors normally focus on.
I think there are many various CCG/TCG games, and yes MTG is a model as well. I also believe both the ideas you pointed out could be helpful, especially if they made a concerted thrust into expanding the collectability aspect.
Your vision is fine and would be a natural thing to do if we really focused on collectability as a focal point. I'm a believer that they aren't even close to doing that, we literally haven't changed a thing about our cards' collectability since we introduced a gold foil version 6 years ago.
I think we are going to move forward with numbering at least 1 promo card, so that's a start. Hopefully we expand on it and do many things that are done in MTG and other games too. There's a big world of card collecting, and doing whatever will attract those people I think would be a big positive going forward.
Thanks for the reply ScioN!