People know this from MTG. People may remember this from the old STG forums. I wish to do it again.
These categories define what kind of player you are. ((credit to Mark Rosewater))
Johnny
Why does Johnny play CCGs? Because Johnny wants to express something. To Johnny, it is an opportunity to show the world something about himself, be it how creative he is, how clever he is, or how offbeat he is. As such, Johnny is very focused on the customizability of the game. Deck building isn't an aspect of the game to Johnny; it's the aspect.
Subgroups:
Combo Players - fascinated by card interactions
Offbeat Designers - driven by ideas instead of by cards
Deck Artists - uses deckbuilding as a form of expressive art
Uber Johnnies - builds their decks based on sheer stubborness
Timmy
Timmy wants to experience something. Timmy plays CCGs because he enjoys the feeling he gets when he plays. What that feeling is will vary from Timmy to Timmy, but what all Timmies have in common is that they enjoy the visceral experience of playing. As you will see, Johnny and Spike have a destination in mind when they play. Timmy is in it for the journey.
Subgroups:
Power Gamers - enjoys the thrill of dominating a game
Social Gamers - thrive on interacting with the community
Diversity Gamers - always wants to try something different
Adrenaline Gamers - embraces the joy of variance in the game
Spike
Why does Spike play? Spikes plays to prove something, primarily to prove how good he is. You see, Spike sees the game as a mental challenge by which he can define and demonstrate his abilities. Spike gets his greatest joy from winning because his motivation is using the game to show what he is capable of. Anything less than success is a failure because that is the yardstick he is judging himself against.
Like Timmy and Johnny, Spike has his own subgroups. What separates these subgroups is how Spike has chosen to try and dominate. Different Spikes focus on different aspects of the game.
Subgroups:
Innovators - prides himself on the ability to judge new cards
Tuners - dominates by fine-tuning the known decks
Analysts - wins by reading the meta, playing the environment
Nuts & Bolts - believes that the key to victory is flawless play
Hybrids
Timmy/Johnny & Johnny/Timmy
Timmy wants to experience something. Johnny wants to express something. Put them together and you get someone who wants to show others how much fun he can have. Timmy/Johnny wants to enjoy himself, but likes to be innovative in how he has his fun. Timmy/Johnny enjoys making up new formats or deck constraints. He likes to build decks specifically for offbeat and fun formats (which often includes multi-player).
Timmy/Spike & Spike/Timmy
Timmy/Spike is torn. He wants to win, yet he also wants to have fun. To solve this dilemma, he searches among the viable decks for the one that seems like it will be the most fun to play. Timmy/Spike is the guy who goes out of his way to play a dragon in his deck. Not one that shouldn't be played, mind you. But if there's a dragon that makes sense, Timmy/Spike is all over it.
Johnny/Spike & Spike/Johnny
Johnny/Spike wants to win. He just wants to win with style. Johnny/Spike is the rogue deck builder. He's the guy that comes up with the crazy decks that just might work. But Johnny/Spike takes the next step; he actually plays it. Johnny/Spike is out to prove that he can win while having the limitation of also being innovative while he does so.
Johnny/Timmy/Spike
Johnny/Timmy/Spike wants it all. He wants to prove that he can win while being innovative and having a rousing good time. This is a rare breed because it's hard to stay centered between all three desires. Most players that have a leaning towards all three profiles tend to lean more towards one or two than the other. But the triple-hybrid does exist and is the AB Negative of player profiles.