Cheap Magic the Gathering Question

Benisjamin

Benisjamin

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I took over for someone at a comic shop recently and have been charged with hosting the Friday Night Magic event every week. I decided I should probably start taking some sort of interest in the game. Anyway,

I was wondering if Magic the Gathering cards ever go on sale at stores like Target or Walmart? I have honestly never checked, I don't even know if most of those stores even carry the cards anymore.

Any tips on picking decks/packs up on the cheap? Craigslist around me is kind of a joke and I don't know enough about the stuff to even start hunting on eBay.
 
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[quote name='Benisjamin']I took over for someone at a comic shop recently and have been charged with hosting the Friday Night Magic event every week. I decided I should probably start taking some sort of interest in the game. Anyway,

I was wondering if Magic the Gathering cards ever go on sale at stores like Target or Walmart? I have honestly never checked, I don't even know if most of those stores even carry the cards anymore.

Any tips on picking decks/packs up on the cheap? Craigslist around me is kind of a joke and I don't know enough about the stuff to even start hunting on eBay.[/QUOTE]

I know not too long ago Target clearanced out some of the Magic stuff they, its YMMV of course. I have seen some decks at Wal-Mart with a 30% sticker on them. I would get one of the pre-made decks, not a starter deck, they are a little more expensive but offer a better playing experience. Or just ask the people who show up at the Magic night what is best to get and where. I would guess most of them would be happy to introduce someone new to the game.
 
They are rarely on sale. Target has had the best discounts on a regular basis. There are also some blister packs they sell there and people get some good pre made decks from them. You should take advantage of price mistakes. I've done it 3 times now. They typically will mis-rack something. When I notice I take 3 or 4 of the product to the checkout, when the price comes up higher than what was displayed, I just get it adjusted. Remember to leave some on the rack, or they can't tell where the error was. Got 12 boosters for $12 the other day.
 
How are you hosting the event if you know nothing about the game? I REALLY hope you have an outside judge. This is not Yu-Gi-Oh. The rules can be absurdly complex. Also, don't piss away your money on packs. Buy by the box. And honestly, if you can't afford to buy by the box, don't bother. Magic is VERY, VERY far from a cheap hobby. I mean, never tell your customers that, obviously, but still...
NVM: It just occurred to me that you are probably just talking about that stupid FNM thing they bombard you with, and that that might not actually be any form of tournament. Still, you should probably at least know what is type II, etc. Basic stuff. Never assume anyone knows anything. I went to a power 9 tournament one time (type II format), years ago, and the first card my first opponent dropped was a Sol Ring, which I don't think was EVER type II. At the very least, it hadn't been for years.
 
Typically big box stores won't discount cards until a set is out of standard play and even then only a small discount sometimes, however their per pack price may be lower than the local card store. A number of local stores would provide discounts or incentives for larger purchases, especially if the bonus had little current value or cost them nearly nothing such as commons, uncommons or left over promo items.
 
The best bet to build a collection is to look around on ebay. I know m:tg now has collection builder boxes. It's a fun game but it gets expensive fast. I shudder to think how much I've dropped on M:tG cards.
 
Check out Cardshark.com. A good resource for getting a specific card or cards.

Side note: Your question prompted me to check my cardshark account. I have a few hundred cards that I'm trying to unload there. I played MTG for about a year when it was new and then quickly quit. I've had about 20 transactions at cardshark (they all went very well) but none in the past year or so. So I checked my account... all my inventroy is gone! FRACK. I'm going to have to relist now. :/
 
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