I agree! It's much harder to play in person due to the pandemic though.
There's a bonus though: each new physical deck and booster pack that you buy is also redeemable online, so you can buy a deck or two, redeem their codes in the online version, and immediately start playing them there.
Yes but that require buying cards. Sometimes I want to do it to make friends, but that would require a decent time and money investment. And while I saw few girls playing it at the university, I think it’s mostly kids playing, so it would be a bit weird too (in addition to being a visible foreigner).
You don't have to buy cards. In high school people were playing with cards printed at home, and put into card sleeves. I assume no on photoshopped their card to change the stats.
Store hates people playing with proxies. It’s obvious illegal in tournament. That would make me stick out even more. So no. But I’ll ask acquaintances around if some are playing the game.
There's a bonus though: each new physical deck and booster pack that you buy is also redeemable online, so you can buy a deck or two, redeem their codes in the online version, and immediately start playing them there.