Starting Magic the Gathering from scratch?

Question

I learned how to play a few years back from my cousin who lives far away, and I'm thinking of getting into magic myself. I obviously own zero cards right now... what's the best way to get started? I don't want to blow a whole bunch of money right away... what should I do? I heard something abt the new precon decks only have 40 cards.... so then just buying one wouldn't be enough to play eh? =\

Answer 1

If you go to a specialist shop you'll probably be able to pick up a themed 60 card deck or two. These decks are perfect for getting back into the game, as the 40 card starters tend to be less complex for someone with experience.

As for playing the game, it's a good idea to go against someone with experience for a while until you fully understand again.

Answer 2

I'd say buy some cheap theme decks. They'll have mana, monsters, spells, etc...and they're balanced so new players can easily get into them

Here's one store:

http://magiccardhaven.ecrater.com/

Answer 3

Well if you have the money I would suggest buying at least 2 starter decks (or whatever they're called) and some boosters. A lot of card game stores have grab bags which is usally 8-15 common cards for really cheap (around a dollar) and those are really nice to get.

Answer 4

You can get a ton of cards for cheap if you look around.  Here is a discount card shop:

http://magicthegathering.informerbot.com

Answer 5

40 card precons are only in Core Sets.  That is, the base sets (Xth, 9th, 8th, etc.)  Regular sets will have 60 card precons.

And if you are starting from scratch, the best, albeit not smartest way, is to search Ebay or other auction sites for collections or lots.  Though you will get a whole bunch of commons and probably a lot of duplicates.

And depending on how much you are willing to spend, I am trting to get out of Magic so I was thinking about selling my collection.  If you want to see what I have, here is my list of rares.  Note that I have a 40 lb box of cards and then a couple of other boxes and binders.

http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php...