Magic: The gathering- how to start out?

[apac]

I think my girlfriend's son would like the game and I was looking for some to buy as a gift. I played a few times as a kid about 15 years ago, and now I'm surprised to see that most of the cards are almost worthless now. $20 gets you 1000 cards on ebay, and I've seen entire collections sold for $50 on craigslist.

So, what's the deal? What happened to them? I remember cards that were worth $50+ when my friends played.

Anyway, I really don't care about the value of the cards now, I just want to have fun playing with my gf's kid. Is it worth picking up one of the grab bags? Or am I better off buying one of the deck builders tool kits and starting from there? What's the difference between the new cards and the old ones, and the new rules and the old rules?

 

[The Boston Dangler]

$20 gets you 1000 cards on ebay, but it doesn't get you any black lotus.

if it's just you and him, then save your cash and buy the $20 ebay special. if you might want to play others, like in a game shop or something, then i'd buy new, because card legality, interpretation and effects can change. the latest rules should be posted on the mtg site.

 

[Dedpuhl]

There are so many cards now that there are a lot of throwaway rares. Those cheap lots are probably all garbage. I collected heavily in the late 90s and sold that collection for over 3k. I sold a collection I started 2 years ago for over $2k.

I didn't play the second time around. The rules seem to be essentially the same though the mechanics were altered slightly in 2001 or 2002.

I'd buy two fat packs from Wal-Mart or the intarwebs. You can make decks out of those and learn to play against each other.

http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Gatherin...s=mtg+fat+pack

 

[The Boston Dangler]

There are so many cards now that there are a lot of throwaway rares. Those cheap lots are probably all garbage. I collected heavily in the late 90s and sold that collection for over 3k. I sold a collection I started 2 years ago for over $2k.

I didn't play the second time around. The rules seem to be essentially the same though the mechanics were altered slightly in 2001 or 2002.

I'd buy two fat packs from Wal-Mart or the intarwebs. You can make decks out of those and learn to play against each other.

http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Gatherin...s=mtg+fat+pack

that's not bad. i would definitely stick to the core game and avoid the money-down-the-toilet expansions, tho.

 

[apac]

It's just me and him, and maybe him and some of his friends. He's only 9 so I don't think he cares too much about the technicalities, and he won't be playing in any tournaments.

The fat packs look nice- could we actually get 2 decent decks out of 2 of those?

edit: do I need core sets to go with those, too?

 

[Dedpuhl]

The fat packs are pretty nice. You get a thick pack of basic lands and 9 booster packs. It's great to learn the basics. If it's something that seems fun, then you can always add additional booster packs from the core sets (M13/M14) or from any of the expansions.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

whoa, that amazon link just shot way up!. it said 20-something dollars and only 3 left the first time i clicked it.

that is the current core set, m14 for magic 2014.

9 Magic 2014 booster packs
1 card box,1 SpindownTM life counter,1 80-card land pack
2 deck boxes

looks like everything 2 players would need for casual play. if the boosters are still 15 cards, that's 135 cards and 80 lands

 

[shortylickens]

Dont.

But if you do, play the video games. Much cheaper and not as addicting.

Its worse than crack.
Or porn.

 

[apac]

Dont.

But if you do, play the video games. Much cheaper and not as addicting.

Its worse than crack.
Or porn.

I'd like something fun to do with him that's NOT video games, especially in the winter. If he had his way he'd play video games all day, every day .

 

[ImpulsE69]

First: Gather.

Rather boring by yourself.

 

[Craig234]

Why not buy the computer game version on Steam? $15.

 

[Daedalus685]

http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Gatherin.../dp/B00DCKI02U

To start from scratch and just for fun buy these (most Walmart have them).

You get a good assortment of the common cards for lots of kitchen table fun. The cards are also legal if you ever do play at a hobby store.

Fat packs are also a lot of fun, but more money obviously. The starter tool kits give you a very good base in all of the colours. You get 4 packs plus a semi random assortment of useful cards in each colour.

There is no fundamental difference with the old and new cards but for the style and some of the wording. http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Default.aspx has updated text for any absurdly old cards.

So much of the joy when you first start out is opening packs. I'd avoid the large cheap lots for that reason alone. If he likes it he is going to want new packs to open so may as well start off there with a tool-kit so all of the cards are from recent sets.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Why not buy the computer game version on Steam? $15.

those games are not actually magic. they're kinda magic lite and not worth the price. there is mgtonline, which is also terrible.

 

[pontifex]

i have a ton of card from when i was in HS (graduated in 98). No idea what to do with them. Some are heavily played so not in the best condition.

 

[Craig234]

those games are not actually magic. they're kinda magic lite and not worth the price. there is mgtonline, which is also terrible.

Seems to me it's 'actually Magic' even if not the same experience as the variety of cards and multiplayer game, and definitely worth the price.

I have a lot more fun with the computer game than I'd have spending a lot and getting way more into it to deal with kids who are going to kill you easily at some hobby shop.

 

[Leros]

People still pay lots of money for Magic cards. I had a roommate a few years ago who used to fly out every few weekends to random conventions. He'd buy and sell cards and make about $5-10k each time.

Apparently he had some sort of insight into what cards were going to come out soon, so he'd buy cards now that paired up well with them. When the new cards came out, the cards he bought would shoot up in value.

 

[Gerand]

So much of the joy when you first start out is opening packs. I'd avoid the large cheap lots for that reason alone. If he likes it he is going to want new packs to open so may as well start off there with a tool-kit so all of the cards are from recent sets.

This. Each one is like a Christmas present you get get to unwrap, lots of excitement there.

Another point though, you can definitely go the old card route as well and even use them in hobby shops and the like, it's called vintage/legacy (See here) play. This is what I do since I am way too lazy to keep abreast of the new releases yet I still enjoy the odd game with strangers.

 

[Sonikku]

You need not blow your bank on any of the fancy cards listed in this thread.


You need only believe in the heart of the cards.

 

[shortylickens]

those games are not actually magic. they're kinda magic lite and not worth the price. there is mgtonline, which is also terrible.

The Microprose game is exactly like Magic, but its hard to find (legally).

 

[Taja]

It's just me and him, and maybe him and some of his friends. He's only 9 so I don't think he cares too much about the technicalities, and he won't be playing in any tournaments.

The fat packs look nice- could we actually get 2 decent decks out of 2 of those?

edit: do I need core sets to go with those, too?

Ah, he's young. I'd go with the biggest pack for the lowest price then. Although, there used to be a decent starter pack that got you a few good cards...but this was when I was 15....11 years ago (ug...).You'll probably end up get little 1/1 creatures, but it would be something cool to learn with and work up a nice deck that he might want to use for competitions.

 

[soulcougher73]

Could just buy the latest duel deck if you want one premade and ready to play.

 

[Printer Bandit]

tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GadqHggATe8

 

[Red Squirrel]

At that age, I'd just buy lot of cards, with a few of the better ones too. Even if most of them arn't that good, half the fun is playing around and making your own deck. I'm not into it much though but played with people who are. I would make sure there's at least one pre built deck in there though as he might just want to start to play right away but at least he can also go through the other cards and mess around. Not sure how deep he's actually into it. It's easy to underestimate a 9 year old. One of my nephews can tell you facts about hockey players even most hockey pros would not know off hand, like how many goals Wayne Gretzky did in a specific year.

Accessories like the dice and markers and stuff can be nice too. Whenever I played I never had any of that stuff so I was always using someone else's or improvising using peanuts or chips or something. So one of those kits where you get a bit of accessories would probably be nice too as a gift.

 

[Newbian]

Find a game / card shop that runs games near where you live also as it can get boring just playing with 2 people.

The online version is ok but you need to pay as much for the online cards as real life ones and unless there are no card shops it's not as much fun but can be ok to play at home once you get used to the game layout.

Just make sure you hide the fact you are a player if your current GF dumps you as nothing will drive them away faster then this game.

 

[Phoenix86]

$20 gets you 1000 cards on ebay, but it doesn't get you any black lotus.

Man, when I was younger, I started playing during the first edition. I had about 10 of those with a lot of other very valuable cards, but the deck was stolen at one point.