Self contained core game (no expansions/boosters)?

Trine

Does anybody have any recommendations for a game similar to Magic The Gathering that doesn't involve new expansions every few months and the need for buying boosters?

I guess I'm looking for a self-contained full game in a single core box, or maybe with just a couple of optional expansions. Does such a thing even exist, or are all decent MTG-style card games based on Wizard's model?

luisspellcast

there's way more games than you could possibly imagine that fall into the type of game that you're looking for but, imho, they just get very boring after a while

munchkin is the first game that pops to my mind -- it's really fun to play with a group of friends -- http://www.worldofmunchkin.com/game/

i think there are many ways to approach mtg -- if you see it as a money-sinker where you're forced to buy boosters every few months then maybe you're looking at the wrong format -- there are a few competitive formats that don't require you to sink money because the decks don't shift that much

i've always loved card games and i always look so damn forward for the involve-new-expansions-every-few-months-and-the-need-for-buying-boosters because one of the biggest funs about this card-game thing is to get home and have a booster-box waiting for you-- double-pepperoni dominos is on the way because you rang on the way home and you have something very geeky (like eureka or farseek) waiting for you on your dvd player... and you crack open booster after booster...

... but i digress...

Gunmonkey

Your looking for Living Card games, kinda of a subset of a TCG where the Core box comes with about 3 or 4 of each card and you build the decks from them and then there are optional expansions that are self-contained, no booster grinding. Its also handy as there are usually enough cards in the Core set to make two decks, largely of differing factions, so you would only need one box between two people. Heres the Boardgamegeek write-up on them: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamefamily/5337/living-card-game

Not very many of them available according to the list there, and largely based off large licenses. Have heard good things of the Android: Netrunner game, one player is a hacker while the other plays a AI defense system, very dynamically opposed playstyles.

randomchild

Maybe Dominion would be up your alley. Its a card game where all the cards come in the base set or optional expansions and you build your deck from communal set of cards. It is a lot of to play, it is not as confrontation orientated like magic but their are a lot of fun cards that attack your opponents!

Tweej

If you have steam/IOS, Hero Academy is something which you should look into.