Why can't u use ion to buy cards???
Because its designed to be an economy, generate btc for the development of ion. Use btc income to support the markets, develop ion, and the ionomy platform. It will also support buy pressure on the exchange. Using your own coin to fund development makes no sense. Coins that do use their coins for development, well you can see where that ends up, pressure down on the markets as they need to sell their coins to pay for services/development.
How is this any different? Those cards put more IONs into the hands of bagholders (presumably that's why they buy them) from the premine in exchange for bagholders' BTC. Same thing as if the team just sold a bunch of "own coin to fund development" and those same bagholders bought it with that same BTC, except you wouldn't need the convoluted PNGs and hyperinflation and all that other bullshit.
You aren't really suggesting that the "team" invented some mysterious method of producing money out of thin air, are you?