[AcerbicZero]

I've seen MTG played, and I've had a few friends try to get me into it, but the idea of collecting a big shoe box full of cards never appealed. In a way I see it much like WH:40k, super interesting looking game, but with such a high barrier to entry as to make it functionally unattainable. Also unless I'm mistaken don't most MTG cards come in "packs" where you don't know what you're actually getting? I have zero interest in loot boxes, virtual or physical, so thats a big negative for me.

To each there own of course, but I think I'll avoid this particular time/money sink.

[enneff]

You don’t ever have to open a booster pack if you buy all singles on the secondary market, as many players do.

There are also draft formats where you pay to play against others from the pool of cards opened from a set of packs. The choosing of the cards is a deep meta game of its own. These are pretty affordable in general.

And you can play online which is cheaper still.

[rantwasp]

just buy a duel deck and play that w/ a friend.

the barrier to entry is super low. i can teach you how to play in the time it takes to drink 2 coffees. it’s trivial. to actually see beyond immediate things? well... it’s gonna take a while