Starting out with Magic the Gathering

Lame Lantern

Hi folks, as the title suggests I'm looking to get into MtG after spending some time playing the video games these last couple of years. I have a couple of questions before taking the plunge though that some you guys might be able to help out with.

First is money. I don't mind the expense of tabletop games usually as long as I'm getting plenty of mileage out of them. Basically, I'm wondering if dropping the ~€130 or so on a booster box every expansion would be enough to keep me current and competitive? If every expansion comes with a few must-buy €50 ultra-rares to be able to play effectively then I'm not going to bother picking up the hobby.

Second, there's the scene around Dublin. Are there many groups/Friday night places that run in the city centre? If so, what are the demographics like? Will I be the only 20-something in a room full of teenagers and 50-year-old DnD veterans? I'm also a postgrad in TCD so I might look into joining the card gaming soc there this September. Are they any good?

This might be a little more subtle, but I've had experience in the past with neeeerd cultures wherein people are defensive, overly-critical, hostile, have poor interpersonal skills... you know, neeeeeeeeeerds. In general, is the MtG community in Dublin mature/friendly/welcoming or the opposite?

Thanks for reading and thanks for any help!
LL

Gunmonkey

Well GamersWorld would be your best bet to visit first, main hub for Magic in Dublin I have found (just south of the Jervis Luas stop). They have Friday Night Magic running every week, plus a few other events every now and then.

As for the "buy a booster box or not", couldnt really say as never bought one myself. While you do get 36 Rare/Mythic cards, you could be better buying singles of the ones you want rather than leaving it to chance, but thats if you have a clear idea what decks you want to build. If you wait till the middle of July the next Core set, 2013, is being released and there are hints of a new Deck Builder set coming out, which has around 200 cards for around €20, good starting point. Or if you know the Rares you want, GamersWorld do a set of the Commons/Uncommons in a box (around 450 cards, basically a booster box with the Rares/Mythics removed) around every sets launch for €25, its god for getting the C/U cards to bulk out decks.

As to the "maturity" of the community, went to one of the FNM's around last November, mainly people in their mid to late 20, everyone was quite relaxed, no raging "WIN AT ALL COSTS" players. I mainly played with my friends in one house or the other, never ventured much into the wilds as it were

Lame Lantern

Cheers! I'll be holding out until 2013 comes out so I'll look around for some deck building solutions rather than go the brute force route. Had a look at gamersworld's website and they seem to have a lot of cost-effective specific cards for sale which is a handy resource to have in Dublin.

I'll mostly be playing with friends too but I always think it's good to get out into the world and get your ass kicked to try and stay engaged so good to hear that there's a decent community in Dublin. I'll call in on that store and try and get some advice.

Thanks again!

luisspellcast

hey there--

i don't want to sound condescending but i think you need to look at the other side of the coin when you refer to nerds-- i'm proud to fit in the nerd/geek group and it's hard enough (sometimes) to explain O.C.D. to people that might (or not) understand the neediness of tightness-- yes, there is some sort of awkwardness related to poor interpersonal skills but only to an extroverted/social comfortable mindset. don't be so quick to judge them and i'm sure you'll be accepted a lot faster/easier than you might think.

as for how to start magic, i made a post in a similar thread for another game-- i would start by reading as much as possible at the wizards website and understand how the game works-- after you select a strategy, get a standard pre-constructed deck (along with card sleeves to protect your cards) and show up at your local store and have someone play a few matches to show you the first ropes-- once you're comfortable with the cards, try to get involved in FNM (friday night magic,) as it's a more laid-back tournament-like environment-- from there, take it up on how you want to shape your deck choices and then you should be ready to start spending big bucks and getting something out of cards.

regarding booster boxes (displays,) are great to fill in blanks-- at the moment, i'm still (re-)building my collection and there are a lot of commons and uncommons i need from the innistrad-block-- so it's was a lot cheaper for me to just get a box of each, take the commons/uncommons, get a few rare cards to narrow down my "most wanted" list and look to trade the ones i don't really want.

hope this helps