It is an excuse and a bad one at that. I am decently certain you picked up 6 spiked helmets because you believed that thorns would carry you, which meant afterward that you would not have enough space to put in any other useful item.
The My First Wand build is so easy because you are almost guaranteed to find a mana stone after each battle, I think it is a 50% chance average and the wand itself is a common. Even when I did not need it I came across this item at least once per run.