I'm a beginner at Magic: the Gathering. Where should I shop for cards?

Question

A few of my friends recently began playing Magic: the Gathering at my school, and I decided to start playing.I know all the rules and stuff, but I still need cards... I have decided upon getting one of the tenth edition theme decks. First of all, which theme deck should I get? Also, I need to know where to buy it in Brampton.

Answer 1

Another option is to play Magic online.  You can visit http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mag... and download the program and buy cards at the online store.  This is a great way to find lots of people to play with also.

Answer 2

Places like Meijer and Wal-Mart carry the cards, although the selection there is generally fairly lacking.

You might check around any local hobby shops or if you have any stores that are specifically dedicated to gaming that would be better.

You might also ask your friends your planning on playing with where they get their cards.

As for the deck, you should really pick a color you think will fit your play style.

White is all about defending yourself and gaining life.

Blue is about controlling the actions that your opponent takes by tapping his cards or counter the spells he tries to use.

Red is all about doing damage to your opponent and his creatures.

Green usually is about being able to produce mana quickly and making your creatures stronger. Green is known for its incredibly big and tough creatures.

Black is all about stealing life from your opponent and destroying his creatures and being able to bring your own back from the graveyard or keeping them from going there in the first place.

If it is your first time playing I would suggest the Red or White theme deck as those colors are generally more straight forward in their strategy and require less understanding of the games timing than the blue or black deck will.

Answer 3

Buying a theme deck (soon to be replaced by "intro packs" when Shards of Alara comes out) at wal-mart is fine, but I'd advise against a major retailer for anything else. Wal-marts and targets sell random packs, later on you will want specific cards to fit a particular need in your deck(s) some of which won't belong to the sets that are a part of standard. 'Standard' is the 6 most resent expert sets, plus the current 10th edition core set, and generally it is all you will find at wal-marts and targets.

To get more specific cards (and better prices for that matter) visit either specialty brick and mortar shops, or internet sites. Here's a list of a few good sites you may want to check out:

www.starcitygames.com

www.mtgfanatic.com

www.trollandtoad.com

www.abugames.com

There is also a very popular site where players generally trade/buy/sell magic cards on forums, which you can find here:

http://www.magictraders.com/

Good luck and welcome to MTG.