With the high and every-increasing cost of entry, is it worth it to become invested in MTG? I enjoy the game and all, but it's such a huge financial commitment to keep even a few good decks around.
And then, dealing with the neckbears at FNM.
Thoughts?
Is MTG worth it, cost/benefit-wise, for a new player?
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Cost/benefit doesn't really apply to games and luxury goods unless you get that much enjoyment out of it. Generally MtG on the competitive scene isn't worth it in general.
MTG is fine on a casual level
MTG isn't fine on a competitive level unless you're willing to make competitive MTG your life, and even then you might as well pick up a second job of some kind to pay for the MTG.
Learn to draft. It's the cheapest way to start playing and be competitive at the same time.
I did draft for a year beforr breaking into constructed.
This is it. Drafting is fun as heck and you get normal people doing it, not just the sperg.
I also play commander, it's really fun but the sperg get hard to avoid.
Drafting is amazing and teaches you deck building. However, you'll have to do some research on constructed once you get into that.
Just don't go for chase rares. Build a solid core deck, and crack some packs every once in awhile. If you grab one of those rares, wonderful. If not, just play and have fun. Also, if the chase rares have use in modern and seem to be popular they might be a safe investment. I'm sure Collected Company is going to drop in price when it rotates, but I think it'll stay about 15.
This is literally what limited is for. Is 15 bucks too expenaice for a night of entertainment? If yes, pick a different hobby. Else, grind
Play draft.
Build a budget deck. Ultra budget if you really want. You'll gain cards from drafting that you can use to build your collection and upgrade your deck with.
Never buy boosters. If you want a card, buy the card online. Fuck card shops and their inflated prices. If they go out of business the players will migrate somewhere else to play, anyway.
At my LGS it's 10.
>tfw it's $20 here and when I get a bad selection it's like I should have just bought some packs
I've been thinking of getting back (my last set was the original Ravnica block, favorite block alongside Kamigawa) but the prices just put me awa. Tried LCGs but most, while great, arent as fun as MTG. Doesn't help that what I want is kitchen table / casual Magic at home. Don't like going to shops for various reasons.
Let's put it this way.
Average player stays with the game for about 4 years. Then it gets boring and/or too expensive to continue.
So you should take that into account first and foremost, especially if money is an issue.
But then again, you can try building budget deck, which isn't that hard and resource-eating.
>Is MTG worth it, cost/benefit-wise, for a new player?
Financially you're quite likely to cut even if you you're at least a little bit smart about it.
So it really comes down to time investment vs personal enjoyment and that's subjective thing so you gotta decide yourself.
For a burger flipper? no
For someone with a real job? It's chump change.
Have you looked into building a cube?
A common only cube including playsets of commons from OG ravnica block and return sounds fun to me, and would give you that kitchen table feel
Pauper
youtube.com
Even though as it becomes more popular, it becomes more expensive.
Still, the top deck is around $70
Pauper is cheap, if your LGS has players. Otherwise get a commander box set, draft, and trade the standard crap that you pull to gradually upgrade the commander deck.
>TCC
I'm terrible at any sort of drafting format. Back in the day I lost almost every game at all pre-release events. I dunno why I'm bad at drafting, might be the limited time and pressure, the limited pool, or jusr bad luck with pulling a decent carpool.
No.
Magic is never worth it.
This. I'm honestly thinking about just dropping all forms of Constructed MTG and solely playing Draft. Too many guys at my scene Netdeck way too much and are each a That Guy in their own special way.
Plus the cost to enjoyment ratio is getting too steep for me.
I haven't played tournament MtG or gone to an FNM in years. Despite what the FNM crowd will say, casual constructed with your friends is just about the most fun you can have spending an afternoon playing MtG, right up there with a booster draft made up only of your friends. The cost of entry is as high as your play group makes it.
To me it's not as much the cost but how much fun I'll get out of it.
For the cost of a good Modern deck I could go on a nice little vacation, vastly upgrade my PC further, buy a console and several games, get into an entirely new hobby... or I could buy a deck that'll use every week or so for a few hours.
Dude, try playing EDH. As long as your group isn't composed of retards it'll be cheap and fun.
EDH is slowly turning into just another competitive arena. It won't be long until it is just as bad as any other competitive constructed format.
That really depends on your playgroup. Mine is low-powered enough that someone can thrive on a precon with like 10 extra cards thrown in.
Mtg was never worth it
Paper tcgs are bullshit