Where to start?
Economics forum
Posted on Sept. 3, 2013, 10:07 p.m. by Hijynx
I haven't played magic in 8 years, got rid of all of my cards. Now I'm looking to get back into magic however on a more limited budget, about $50. What should I buy first?
Epochalyptik says... #3
$50 is kind of tough. It's not really enough for a competitive deck unless you want to go barebones Modern affinity or burn.
If you want to get into Standard, mono-red will be around after Theros comes out.
EDH is another option, but you'd need to find a playgroup and you'd be slow to acquire some of the format staples.
September 3, 2013 10:17 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #4
Whatever you buy, you should probably buy it from Return to Ravnica. That set has a lot of Standard and Modern staples and pricey rares and mythics you could trade for more cool stuff if you don't need them. Not to mention it doesn't rotate out of Standard for a year. My 2 cents.
September 3, 2013 10:18 p.m.
EDH is very good to a deck on a budget. Anything that's not hot in modern or standard usually has a very low price tag.
If you want to have something for a casual friday night magic, you could do worse than an event deck. Those are usually packed with some good staples.
If you want to be really competitive then I might suggest the Pauper format. When everything in your deck is a common, it's easy to get your hands on things. And you can build a strong deck on $50.
September 3, 2013 10:23 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #7
It really depends on if you want to just collect cards and make a deck for better or worse from what you pull or if you want to immediately make decks that will work and at least interact with each other decently.
September 3, 2013 10:27 p.m.
Another suggestion for getting back into it is to do drafts or sealed games. Depending on where you do it, it's anywhere from $10 - $20 a game.
This is a good path to go down if you're looking to catch up on building a collection and you intend to get back into the game for a while. I recommend this path if you've got a budget or you plan on spending a little here or there over time.
The best part of this format is that it forces you to play with the cards that aren't the shiny bombs everybody covets. So you learn the mechanics and you develop a healthy respect for what is powerful and what isn't. The other upside is that it's marginally more expensive than just buying packs and a bajillion times more exciting.
I'd recommend sealed if you're just starting and going to draft once you get a feel for a set.
September 3, 2013 10:39 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #9
@JWiley129: Fat packs are, economically speaking, the worst way to buy cards. They give you the lowest pack-to-money ratio of the three most common ways of buying packs: individual, fat pack, and booster box. The extras (i.e. spindown, collector's guide, basic lands, box, and art) are not worth the additional cost if you are on a very tight budget.
As apt142 mentioned, drafts are a great option. They will ease you back into the game and build up your collection. The trick is finding cheap drafts; on a $50 budget, you will need to be selective about how much you spend on each draft.
September 3, 2013 10:52 p.m.
NobodyPicksBulbasaur says... #10
It depends on how, when, and where you like to play.
If you just want to play the game, then signing up for drafts can be a good way to build a collection while also playing games of MtG. If you do well then you can also come out ahead in prize packs.
If you want to start playing competitively, then you're going to want to buy singles of the cards you want in order to complete a deck. Keeping it mono-colored will drive the price down because you will only need basic lands. As you gather cards while playing your cheap deck you can sell or trade them for stronger, more expensive cards.
September 3, 2013 11:21 p.m.
Thanks all for the suggestions! I will probably go do a draft this Friday at my local games store.
September 3, 2013 11:41 p.m.
RickyHoeppner says... #12
Heres what I would do. Buy a deckbuilders toolkit from m14. Play woth ot a little, then preorder a fatpack from theros. You will have fun and you will quickly catch on with standard.
September 4, 2013 2:21 a.m.
50 dollars is very tough. Most competitive land-bases cost more than this. If you can find a nice play group, they may let you proxy (print out a card on paper, cut it out, and stick it in front of another card in a sleeve), so you can play with proper decks at a cheap price, but unless either you have a great stroke of luck or know a few others who want to play budget-friendly, then his may not work. Pauper isn't played a lot outside online, but if you can find people to play pauper (commons only) may be a good format to look into.
JWiley129 says... #2
A fat pack is a good place to start. They usually run about $30-$40 bucks, come with a box, 9 boosters, a spindown D20, info book on the block/set, and how to play insert. That leaves you $10-$20 to get more boosters or an intro pack to get a deck to build around with 2 more boosters.
That's my 2-cents. I'm sure some people will disagree with me, but that's what the internet is for!
September 3, 2013 10:12 p.m.