When thinking about Trading Card Games, most people will think of either Pokemon or YuGiOh! But in a sea of Pokemon and YuGiOh! enthusiasts, there are those who grew up with a different TCG. We are of course talking about Magic: The Gathering.
But for those of us that are just trying to get into MTG now, one question holds more significance than anything else. How much Magic: The Gathering costs, and how far can you go with your spending?
How Much It Costs To Start Playing MTG (Novice)
$10-$30
Starting out in the world of Magic: The Gathering can be quite a daunting task. With the wide variety of monsters, spells, and other cards, new players end up confused before they even buy their first pack of MTG playing cards.
And that should be the first step you take. Before getting into the rules and regulations of MTG, a novice should start out by buying his or her first pack of MTG cards. A starter deck for Magic: The Gathering can set you back anywhere between $10 to $30 and should allow you to mix and match cards till you have a set amount of supports, spells, and offensive cards.
Once you have your first-ever MTG pack, you can then start to dive into the rules and regulations regarding playing the actual TCG. Eventually, you can look into holding friendly competitions between your friends.
We highly recommend this 2-player starter deck bundle from Amazon. It comes with everything you need to start playing right away, including rules, 2 decks, 2 deck boxes, reference cards, and more.
How Much Magic: The Gathering Costs To Collect And Play More Seriously (Intermediate)
$70+
When going from novice to intermediate, the cost to play MTG can make a meaningful jump upward. Players will now look into building their own custom decks from across expansions. Some will even start to follow specific play styles that will need specific types of cards.
Most of this will involve purchasing either box sets of cards or full-blown booster boxes from specific expansions (How to spot resealed booster boxes). It would not be out of the ordinary to look into picking up an individual card or two from proper card collectors to complete your deck.
How much Magic: The Gathering costs at this point depends entirely on the player themselves, but can easily range from $70 to $100 dollars to around a few hundred dollars. And while this may seem a little steep, for players who plan on participating in local-level tournaments to build up repute, this is just the beginning.
How Much Magic: The Gathering Costs For Serious Players (Advanced)
$1000+
This is the point for most people when their pursuit of Magic: The Gathering turns into a full-blown passion instead of a hobby that they pursue sometimes. And with that, the costs also tend to increase quite a bit.
Your primary purchases will now go from simple card packs and booster boxes to individual cards. Some players also tend to get into card collecting at this point given the number of cards that they have in their collection. That being said, you can expect your cost of playing MTG to now be in thousands of dollars.
At this stage, a player is likely to explore new formats, such as Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH), also known as Commander. This opens new doors to the hobby and will likely open new holes in your wallet.
It is also at this point that advanced MTG players should consider budgeting the amount that they are pooling into the game. Given that Magic: The Gathering is constantly coming out with new expansions players will constantly want to catch up with the ever-changing meta, which can lead to significant expenditures to pull certain cards.
We recommend checking out this Commander starter kit on Amazon, which comes with 5 starter commander decks.
That being said, players that are investing this much into the game will now be comfortable playing in competitions and developing their own custom strategies.
How Much Magic: The Gathering Costs At The Competitive Level (Expert)
$10,000+
This level is without a doubt the most expensive level of playing Magic: The Gathering. The costs are nothing short of draining and anybody considering playing MTG at this level should be sure of the amount of money they will be pooling into the game.
Players will, at this level, start looking into collecting special editions and rarer versions of cards. Most will also consider MTG more than a hobby or a passion but instead will think of it as a fully-fledged commitment in their life.
Most people who are at this level also start fueling their hobby either through making content based around the TCG or by playing in high-stakes tournaments to win back their investments.
For example, any expert MTG player is familiar with the rarest MTG card of all- Black Lotus. This card is the holy grail of collectibles and costs over $30,000.
Not only that, after being this committed to MTG, players also start buying memorabilia of the game and quite a few booster packs and premium items. Another potential expenditure can be found in traveling to attend events and tournaments and the costs included in doing all that.
All in all, when considering yourself an expert-level Magic: The Gathering player, you can expect to spend tens of thousands of dollars on the game and should make sure that you are carefully tracking all their expenditures.
Conclusion
Now that we’ve gone over all four levels of playing Magic: The Gathering, it is up to you to decide what level you’re at, and what level you want to reach. But before we sign off, a word of advice.
How much Magic: The Gathering costs depends on you, so play and collect cards according to what you can afford. The TCG should be treated like a hobby and a game, and should not come at the expense of our own comforts in life.
