D&D Basics (Getting started)

The Absolute Basics

First you will want to grab either the Basic rules (Free), the Starter Set (Cheap), or the Players handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, and Probably Monster Manual

Then you need to have at least a few items

• Dice (Phone apps will work if absolutely necessary, or these)
  
• Paper & Pencil (for notes)
  
• Character Sheet (In the free PDF or an app)
  
  The starter set is nice because it does a bunch of the work for you, it has an easy to follow adventure, pre-made characters, Dice, and rules for the DM and players. And at half the cost of just the players handbook AND including an adventure, it is an incredible value.
  
  Once you finish that then looking at at least a players handbook for the extra races, classes, backgrounds, and other things is a good deal. That should let you run free adventures people have put online.
  
  The DM's guide will let you get deeper into rules and the right way to call them, break them, and make them.
  
  The monster manual can be a great tool to make better encounters.
  
  If you want to run a commercial adventure after the one's included in the starter set, "Tales from the Yawning Portal" includes the Sunless Citidel, considered by many to be an excellent adventure for those new to the game and just recently brought up from 3.5e into 5e
  
  

  Common Tools of the Trade
  

  
  As you start running more complex adventures you are going to want to have a few tools to keep things moving, either as a player or as a DM.
  
  

  As a Player
  

  
  The bare essentials every players should have are listed above, but most players agree having a few extras can make the game run really quick.
  
  

  Spell Cards
  

  
  These cards have all the spells available for specific classes or from specific books on really well organized cards that make it easy to set aside your prepared spells and quickly reference all the core details.
  
  Cleric, Arcane, Ranger, Druid, Bard, Paladin, Martial Powers and Races, Xanathars Guide to Everything
  
  

  Binders & Sheet Protectors
  

  
  Keeping everything neat and organized can be a huge time saver and make it much easier for you to find what you need. Binders can be a great way to keep your notes and other materials organized. In addition many sheet protectors easily erase dry erase markers making it easy to keep track of spells and other changes without ruining character sheets with constant erasing.
  
  

  As a DM
  

  
  DMs have their work cut out for them. But a few simple tools can make the game run smooth and leave everyone having that much more fun.
  
  

  Index Cards
  

  
  A set of index cards can go a long way to speeding up the game. Players can put details on spells or magic items on them. You can prepare loot for the game ahead of time and hand it out allowing players to look over the gear as the game continues. You can also use them to hide portions of a battle map or commerical map to give the effect of fog of war.
  
  

  Game Mats
  

  
  A game mat let's you make single maps by drawing on them with dry erase or wet erase markers. Many are made of vinyl and can last a long time. Normally they will have either 1" squares or hex shapes.
  
  

  Minitures
  

  
  These things can be expensive, but giving your game that 3D upgrade and helping players better manage space in a game can be well worth it. You can use actual miniatures (Like those from Reaper), Create custom ones on Hero's Forge, or even just buy some cheap stand in tokens from Game Mash.
  
  If you just need a cheap way to keep track of positions army men, bottle caps, colored game pieces, and even legos can all play the role.
  
  No matter what you use, you can pick up colored rubber bands to mark status conditions or other information.
  
  

  Where Can I Play?
  

  
  You can find tons of places to play D&D.
  
  

• Get together a gaming group.
  
• Find a Guild or club in your area. Meetup.com,
  
• Most hobby shops and especially comic book and gaming shops offer games, usually Adventure League. WotC offers a tool to find stores here.
  
• /r/lfg can be a great way to find others to play online with.
  
• Play by Mail sites like RPoL allow you to play by forum post.
  
  

  Also:
  

  
  Critical Role - Voice actors playing DnD, Matt Mercer (The DM) is an amazing Dungeon Master and shows how the game should be played.
  
  Matthew Colville - Amazing videos on being a DM, must watch material for every DM. Even when your opinions differ he gives good reasons and great advice.
  
  

  Compendiums
  

  
  These let you ciew all the free open rules (SRD & Basic Rules) for D&D 5e at no cost.
  
  Roll20 Compendium - Has all the open rules for the game, so a good source for monsters, items, spells, etc.
  
  DnDBeyond - A more official source for the content, plus you can buy all the materials released by WotC to use, and has a great character builder.
  
  

  Adventures & Maps
  

  
  DMsGuild - Tons of free and paid adventures and other materials. The quality can be varying, but many are free and that can be great.
  
  /r/dndmaps/ - What more can they say, D&D Maps.
  
  Mike Schley Makes many of the maps for the D&D Adventures.

I'm relatively new to the game as well but wanted to play for a very long time. Some buddies at work finally taught me how to play and I have been totally sucked in. As a new player I can go through a few of the items that helped me.

For deck building: learn about the rule of nine. Just google "Magic rule of nine" and you'll find plenty of articles. The basic idea of it is if one card is good enough to have in your deck, it's probably good enough to have four of it. With that in mind and as a beginner deck builder, try to find nine card types (creature spells, instant spells, enchaments, relics, etc.) that you feel work well together, add 24 lands, and voila, you have a 60 card deck.

I know this is an over-simplification, please go easy on me vets, I'm still starting out and so far, the rule has worked out well for me.

For getting more cards: I learned a lot here in terms of what was a waste of money and what wasn't. I do a lot of eBay buying and found some very decent deals on cards. For instance, I was able to get three packs of the dragon's maze pre-release guild promos (two guild specific "booster" packs and four regular booster packs) for $7 each (six packs of cards for $7 when paying retail for them would have cost me at least $20-$24).

Fat packs: I feel these are a waste unless you can get them discounted. At MSRP of $39.99 for nine packs, you could have just bought 10 booster packs at $4.00 each for the same price. The deck boxes are flimsy cardboard and not worth it (in my opinion) and the cheap die they include can be found just about anywhere (a generic 20-sided die will do you just fine).

Pack deals on eBay: To increase my collection I bought several packs of the "4x of every common/uncommon" sets. These sets are just what they advertise, four of every common and uncommon card in a release set. I got mine for around $25-$30. Most of the cards in them are bad (they're mostly commons after all), but not every common is a bad card; Wojek Halberdiers comes to mind as a good common card. If you just want to increase your collection for cheap, I was extremely satisfied with what I got.

Deck builder's toolkit: Can be decent for starters. You don't get great cards in them but you do get around 100 lands (I think) for deck building and a variety of booster packs, so I feel it is a solid investment.

Buying booster boxes: Buying them at MSRP is a tough sell, you could almost just buy 36 of individual boosters for the same price. Depending on the set, if you can find a set for around $90 dollars, it could be a good value as that takes the price down to around $2.50 per pack.

Buying individual boosters: Let's face it, cracking a pack is fun but a gamble. If you are just going to buy a bunch of boosters anyway, you might as well buy a box for as cheap as you can find it to knock the price per pack down and save yourself some money. That being said, each pack has a chance at giving you something nice (I pulled an Archangel of Thune out of one of three booster packs I bought from Walmart yesterday).

Learning to play:

Drafting: I just got the nerve to try and break away from the kitchen tablet to attend a draft at my newer local games store on Saturday. However the one day I showed up is the day no one else did, so I can't speak to how well something like that goes for a new player, but people seem to suggest it a lot as an activity that is friendlier for newer people, although this is going to depend largely on the people in the draft. You can find a booster simulator here if you want to give drafting a try to see what it would be like in a real draft: Link

As I mentioned before, I am only about two months into playing the game so far and I can tell you I made all the beginner mistakes in deck building. I was advised by my friends to keep my decks to 60 cards and I came to the table with 87 (more cards just means I need to add more land right?). I built my win conditions on a card I only had one of in my deck and I certainly didn't have a secondary or tertiary condition for winning in mind. The best way to learn is to find some people to play with and play with them. Let them know you are new and just learning.

Supplies:
Nice deck boxes: Link

Cheaper deck boxes: Link

Card sleeves to keep your cards protected: Link

Nice pages to put your cards in binders: Link

Cheap but large 5" binders: Link

Example of common/uncommon set: Link

Boros event deck I purchased: Link


And lastly a deck I built that has been working reasonably well for me. I only present this as a possibility for you as you can find all kinds of decks that will work better and be cheaper, but hell, this is what I am using, so maybe you will find it helpful.


Boros R/W

Lands:

10 Mountains

10 Plains

4 Boros Guild Gates


Creatures:

Boros Elite - 4

Legion Loyalist - 4

Wojek Halberdiers - 3

Firefist Striker - 4

Guttersnipe - 4

Tajic, Blade of the Legion - 1

Firemane Avenger - 3

Arachangel of Thune - 1

Aurelia, the Warleader - 1


Spells:

Boros Charm - 4

Warleader's Helix - 3

Arrows of Justice - 4


Some things of note: The cards that cost money are: Legion Loyalist, Archangel of Thune and Aurelia, the Warleader, everything else can probably be gotten cheap. I was lucky as I pulled the Archangel of Thune out of a 2014 booster pack yesterday and just put it in (subbed out 1 Firemane Avenger) and I got the Auerlia out of the boros specific pack I got on ebay. I purchased three of the Loyalists for around $2.50 each as I already had one. If you wanted, you could easily find replacements for these cards and still maintain the basic idea of the deck (I haven't priced all of this out but I would think this deck could be put together for under $50 without too much trouble).

Playing it: I play the deck as an aggro deck, attacking early if my opponent doesn't have defenders, and then waiting for my Battalion mechanic to kick in when they do. Attack early with the Legion loyalist before your opponent's defenses are up. Keep adding soldiers to the field and using the battalion mechanic to boost them up in power (Boros Elite) get past their blockers (Firefist Striker) or just fly over them (Firemane Avenger). Use the Arrows and Warleader's Helix's to remove blockers from the field and trample them with an army of soldiers. The Boros charms are one of the most valuable cards in the deck. They can add damage by attacking your opponent directly or giving a hard hitting creature double-strike (Give Tajic double-strike when his battalion mechanic is up) or use it defensively by making your army indestructible for a short time (useful for opponents trying to off your third solider to prevent your battalion mechanic from kicking in).

Another high damage maneuver in the deck is use the Guttersnipes to add burn. If you are able to get two guttersnipes on the field and then follow the next turn with two Boros Charms or Warleader's Helix, you can do some serious hurt (Boros Charm for 4, each Guttersnipe does 2 more for a total of 8 damage from a single charm).

I have some other decks but I won't bother posting them as I doubt they would be very helpful to you; as I said, you can do easy searches and find cheap decks that do more: maybe this one or this one. Keep in mind, what you buy and build depends on the format you plan to play. If you are playing standard/draft/limited etc. you are going to be limited in what you can choose from. If you are going to play modern, I heard it isn't cheap to be competitive. I wouldn't try legacy as a beginner.


All I have for now. As I said, as a fellow new player who started out by buying a 2013 Core deck builder's toolkit on Amazon I think I have some idea of how you feel. Hopefully something of the above will be helpful to you.

Game 1:

Midtown Madness 2 - PC:
Best game ever to roam around San Francisco. It might not be as unknown as I think it is, but no one I know has heard of it. It is one of the best car games out there, I played it every day religiously for around 5 years. It holds a special place in my heart. [LINK]

Game 2:

space.deadbeef - iOS:
surprisingly amazing bullet-hell shooter where you fly around in a spaceship, with missiles. For iOS only, no android. I think it's free. One of the best iOS games. [LINK]

Game 3:

Pit - Real Life:
Hah! I win most creative because this is a BOARD GAME! (muahahhaha). Anyway, it's a great card/board game where you collect crops in your hand and earn points. One of the loudest games I've ever played. Comes with a fun bell to ring. Based on the stock exchange. [LINK]

Game 4:

Save the Date - PC:
Hilarious dating simulator. Breaks the fourth wall very often. Most of you will not enjoy the way that you have to beat the game. [Link]

Game 5:

Zoombinis Logical Journey: I love this game. As a child, this was all you could play at school, alongside with Bugdom. It was great because it was learning, but also you were traversing through a giant world full of mystery. Great game, that taught you problem solving. [LINK]

If I win, I would really like to try Far Cry 3.

Thanks for this!

Specifically, I would recommend getting him this one.

As its name suggests, deckbuilder's toolkits contain a smattering of semi-random cards, enough that you can build a functional deck or three just out of the included cards. Kaladesh is the most recent set. New sets come out every few months, and for casual play among friends the set doesn't matter, but if you're going to be playing at events held in a store, there are rules governing which sets are allowed. The most common rule set (called "Standard") always sticks to the most recent couple of sets. As far as playing in stores go, I would keep an eye out for things called "prerelease" events. These are held at stores whenever a new set comes out (the next one is in January), and are easily the most welcoming environments for brand new players. You don't need any cards of your own for these, you just show up, pay a small fee, they give you some packs of cards, and you play with them for the night.

As others mentioned, another good option for new players are things called Planeswalker Decks. These are ready-to-play preconstructed decks, not a pile of cards you use to make your own deck (although of course there's nothing stopping you from adding or removing cards to it as you see fit). The downside of these for someone in your position is that Magic cards come in five different colors, each with its own overarching theme. Green cards, for example, often focus on nature and growth. Blue cards often focus on spells and being clever and/or tricky. Red cards often focus on fire and aggression. Black cards often focus on death and destruction. White cards often focus on defense and purity. Why do I mention this? Because planeswalker decks will typically be exclusively one color. So if you've got a favorite color, awesome, get a recent planeswalker deck of that color! But if you're really new and still exploring what the different colors have to offer, buying a product that only has cards in one color might not be a great idea.

Something nobody has brought up yet are duel decks. Like planeswalker decks, these are products containing preconstructed decks, not just assorted cards, but unlike planeswalker decks, which are designed to be a gentle introduction to the game, duel decks contain two decks, which are designed to be fun to pit against each other. Magic isn't very fun if you don't have anyone to play against. Sitting at home and making decks is great, but you don't actually get to play the game with one person and one deck. If he's got a friend that's also interested in playing, getting a duel deck is probably the best way to easily allow them to play together.

It really depends on group dynamics and individual preferences.

I like games that make me think on my feet. Table top and video game RPGs, Mario Kart, Egyptian War, Magic the Gathering. These all require fast (mental or physical) reflexes and clever tactics. I like playing basketball for similar reasons as well.

My dad used to hate games, but I actually got him to play (and enjoy!) Gloom, Civ 5, and Zelda BotW, and now he likes games. It turns out he likes logic/math-based strategy, slow thinking, peaceful exploration, and independence or small groups.

Three of my favorite games to bring to parties where I don't know people are Saboteur, Code Names (I have the NSFW "after dark" version), and Spyfall. I like these games because they're relatively quick to learn (explain the rules in like five minutes and even if you don't understand newbies tend to catch on after a round or two, even if drunk), quick to set up (again, about five minutes), and have a nice balance of co-op play and competitive elements. Some people don't like the competition of games and like collaborating. Some people like lying and being the secret bad guy or taunting the other team. These games allow those kinds of people to shine.

I have a stack of other games that I'd bring for different occasions/people as well. Scrabble for methodical-thinking word nerds. Hanakimoji for an intimate (and kinda sexy/competitive, you're trying to win the favor of geishas and steal them from each other) two-player game. Betrayal at Baldur's Gate, Coup, and Bang! The Dice Game for a more complex, focused group of people who still want co-op/competitive play for a larger group as above, but maybe are more into games and rules and tolerate setup time.

Soooo over the past few years, my husband has bought a lot of two player games. Since I think most games are designed for more players than that, I wanted to put in some suggestions because we have found some really great ones!

1. Codenames: Duet - this was a gift from my cousin to my husband last year for Christmas. Wasn't sure about it when she asked me about it...but we play it ALL THE TIME. It's a cooperative game (I'm not super competitive), challenging but not mindnumbingly so, and there are so many different combinations of words being used that I doubt it will ever get stale.
   
   
2. Roll For It! - another hit! You roll your dice and try to match them to the patterns on the cards. Different points values are allotted to each card and your goal is to get to 40 points. Fairly easy to pick up. It actually pretty fun with two people but can be played with up to four (and if you buy two sets, up to 8). It's also very portable for vacations!
   
   A few others we like but don't play as often
   
   
3. Sushi Go - a little complicated to learn but there's a demo on youtube that is helpful. The cards are super cute!
   
   
4. Jaipur - we've only played this once or twice because it takes a little longer/requires a little more strategy but I really enjoyed it. I think this one is exclusively for two players
   
   
5. Quiddler - We just broke this one open a few weeks ago so only played once. This is more of a word game combined with a strategy game. Again, takes a little bit to get the hang of it....but I think we will be playing this one a lot too.

All they need is a deck each. Getting the Legendary Hero Decks for one and Legendary Dragon Decks for the other is fine. They'll have 3 each then so it's over the top but it's all good if they want to play with different decks. If you just want to get one each for now you can buy Structure Decks, but make sure they're both recent otherwise one will be a lot better than the other most likely. There are Starter Decks too but I don't recommend those.

Packs are fun, some will be better than other depending on which decks they want to upgrade with the cards. I can't help you there, someone else probably can.

Sleeves and mats are just for protection. The type of mat does kind of matter because the rules of the game have changed over time and sometimes it changes the layout of the board. This is the correct layout, get one which looks a bit like that (look out for the two extra square spaces in the middle, in between the main rows). You can also get the mats as two separate halves with different designs rather than as one huge one. Rubber mats are great, I think the gameboard is just like a solid plastic version.

When I started playing I bought a pack of 20 sets of dice.

After 2 years I now bring 2 sets to the table, with a few extra d6. That's a personal decision, because I find I need extra d6 more than anything else; You daughter night need multiple of other dice depending what character she plays. But overall, having 2 of every dice is plenty I think.

Having a box to keep and roll them in is an excellent idea. Dice boxes are a really useful addition to your DND setup. I made my own, but there are plenty of companies out there who make nice boxes too. Wyrmwood are what I would aspire to make my boxes like... Need a bit more practice and some different tools though lol.

Some other gift ideas though, and this is all stuff I use or have:

D&D books - Player's Handbook, Xanathars Guide, Dungeon Masters Guide, Sword Coast Adventurers Guide to name a few. Depends whether she's more of a player or wants to run sessions which ones you should get.

Spell or item cards - Something like this could be useful. If you know what class her character is you could get a specific set, or a general pack. I use them with a playing card folder to keep them all together.

Pins and stickers - there's loads of people who make enamel pins and stuff for D&D, great for customising a bag or something.

3D miniatures - Hero Forge let's you make your character and you can either download the file to print yourself, or get them to print it for you. Might need to get some paints to go along with this one.

Custom Character Sheets - Alright, so I actually make these, so it's a bit if a self plug, but I think they're still a great gift. A5 Character Sheet Booklet. It's your standard D&D character sheet in an A5 booklet format with a few extra bits added. Keeps everything nice and tidy, and protects the sheet from damage without having to faff about with a bigger A4 folder.

Mechanical Pencils - not much of a gift I guess, but hot damn, it is frustrating to have to sharpen your pencil at the table. Just get a mechanical one. I use one of these for my graphic design work and bought a second one to keep with my D&D stuff, but any mechanical pencil will do.

I actually think the perfect game for your scenario is Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition (it's imperative that you only get the 2nd edition. The 1st edition is basically unplayable and only good for re-purposing its miniatures and room tiles). The game is all about horror, mystery, exploration, adventure, and puzzle solving and it's really fun to play and super immersive. What also makes it a great fit for you guys is that it comes with a free app that does most of the heavy lifting in terms of rules so it's pretty easy to get started with and requires literally only a 2 minute introduction to get a new player up to speed.

Here's the thing though... it's semi cooperative, i.e. you really have to work together until one of you goes insane and follows their own agenda. The game is also very expensive ($85 at MM, $85 at CSI, ~$145 on Amazon) and only comes with 3 (3 or 4, I can't remember) scenarios in the base game. More scenarios come with the boxed expansions or can be downloaded via DLC for $4.99...

Edit:

Actually, the more I think about it, maybe Mansions of Madness isn't the best fit for what you're looking for, just because it also misses the mark on the time requirement. I'm just excited about Mansions because it's a great experience, super easy to learn, and one of my favourite games. I do think though it's not really what you're looking for.

Maybe Elder Sign is a better fit. That probably comes the closest to your requirements. It's a dice game with some decent theme and the same Horror/Cthulhu flavour as MoM. It says 90 minutes but if I'm not mistaken you can play a lot faster than that? It's $30 on CSI or $36 on Amazon. Check out this gameplay video for more details.

Another option that would definitely fit your time requirement would be Cthulhu Realms. It's a lot more cartoony and not quite as immersive, but it fits that time slot and is pretty straightforward. Also not too expensive with $16.50 on Amazon or $14 on CSI.

If you have some friends that play already, just build a deck for whatever format they play! They'll probably play either standard, (Only recent sets, 2 sets rotate out every 6 months. Check here for whats in it right now) Modern, (Only sets from 8th edition onward. Look at a card from 8th edition then one from 7th, if it look like it's from 8th edition it's probably legal) just Casual/No format, (you can use whatever) or EDH/Commander. (Kinda complicated, ask your friends or look it up)

If you don't have any friends that play, but you can talk one into trying it, grab either two deck builder's toolkits, or a duel deck. Deck builder's toolkits are nifty little things to build a casual deck on your own, but you actually have to build them. Duel decks are preconstructed decks that are usually a decent bit more complicated than the decks you'll build with a deck builder's toolkit, but you don't have to build them. I'd personally go for a toolkit but both are good options.

And if you don't have any friends that'll play with you (or even if you do, this'll help with the rules) download Magic Duels to get the hang of the game. Once you feel you know what you're doing, grab a deck (either by building one from your own ideas, copying a proven one, (saffronolive's decks are generally solid without breaking the bank) or a combination of the two) head down to your Local Game Store, (LGS for short, here's where to find one) play in a Friday Night Magic (FNM) and make some friends!

If you are just playing against your buddy at the kitchen table, buy a bundle.

https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Gathering-Booster-Accessories-Planeswalker/dp/B07MC628TF

Thats the most recent bundle to be released. But you wont go wrong with Ravnica Allegiance and Guilds of Ravnica either. The bundles come with 10 boosters, 16 of each basic land, spin down die and a booklet that talks about the story and showcases every card in that respective set. When I was first starting out earlier this year, I got a Ravnica Allegiance bundle and my buddy and I split it and each made 40 card decks. Over time we have added to the decks and now they are both 60 card behemoths with powerful cards.

I have also since gotten bit pretty hard and built a sultai tournament deck that I play at least once or twice a week in tournaments. But that has gotten quite expensive generally speaking even when taking into account the value of my winnings.

Tldr; bundles are a great place to start for casual play. With your budget, you could even get two of them to start with a nice hefty card pool. I highly recommend some dragon shield sleeves as well. You may pull an expensive card and you wont want to damage it while playing with it.

I suggest Gloom

​

> In the Gloom card game, you assume control of the fate of an eccentric family of misfits and misanthropes. The goal of the game is sad, but simple: you want your characters to suffer the greatest tragedies possible before passing on to the well-deserved respite of death. Play horrible mishaps like Pursued by Poodles or Mocked by Midgets on your own characters, while trying to cheer your opponents' characters with marriages and other happy occasions. Printed on transparent plastic cards, Gloom features an innovative design by Keith Baker. Multiple modifier cards can be played on top of the same character card; since the cards are transparent, elements from previously played modifier cards either show through or are obscured by those played above them. You'll immediately and easily know the worth of every character, no matter how many modifiers they have. You've got to see (through) this game to believe it! The second edition includes sturdy new packaging, rules fixes, timing icons, reminder cards, and more; plus it's fully compatible with the first edition game and supplements. It's sure to delight even the most despondent Gloom fan! 

I'd say it's a solid "family fun" game. I used to play Skip Bo with my parents, siblings and grandparents when my grandparents came over for dinner. Very easy to play, easy to have a conversation while playing and simple enough for kids and adults to learn quickly and enjoy. Quiddler is another game I'd recommend for around $10. Enjoy!

Depending on how you want to start out I usually recommend a deck builders toolkit for new players.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LDESLBG/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487327668&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=deckbuilder%27s+toolkit&dpPl=1&dpID=418-AbeqGrL&ref=plSrch

It's a great cheap way to start a collection and begin building your own decks for casual play.

If you want to be more competitive most people here will suggest finding a list you like and buying it in singles.

You could also show up to a game store on a limited day and learn to play that way. Limited is my personal favorite format.

Magic has a lot of diffrent things to offer and there is no right way to enjoy the game so welcome and have fun.

The deckbuilder's toolkit is a good option. Let it be known that the value isn't correct. You don't get the money you put into it. But it's a great way to expand your collection drastically. MAKE SURE that you get the right kind. M13, M14, Gatecrash, Return to Ravnica, Dragon's Maze. Those are the ones you're looking for. They should be 'in standard' (which means playable in a tournament).

If you want her to actually have a good deck, then you should buy her an Event Deck. Basically it's an intro deck, but they actually put good cards in it, but make it more expensive.

http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1071

Here are two.

http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1161

Here is another.

http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1227

And one more.

BUT! What you are looking for, a Red/White event deck? This one right here. It's standard playable, GOOD, tournament ready, and with a little work, she will destroy her competition.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BI3G7OQ

I would recommend this one instead: https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Gathering-Kaladesh-Builders-Toolkit/dp/B01LDESLBG/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481514634&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=mtg+deckbuilder%27s+toolkit

It is from Kaladesh, the most recently released set of Magic cards. If you plan to play with your friends at home or just build decks for fun, then it doesn't really matter which Deck Builder's Toolkit (or other product) you get. If you end up deciding you want to play in tournaments, Kaladesh will be legal in more formats for longer. In Magic, the most popular format is called "Standard," and only cards released in the last 1-2 years are legal to put in your deck, so the most recent set will be legal longer.

I am wanting to start playing Magic, I have started to watch a few youtube videos, etc. to learn a bit before going to my first FNM.

I am curious though about getting my first deck. I have found this starter deck! on amazon and am curious if it is a good idea to start with something like this, or would I get destroyed/laughed off the table in my first games?

Any help, thoughts, suggestions, or opinions are appreciated!

Hi!! So I preordered the starter decks from ToyWiz! But the galactic box I got for a really good price here:

http://www.potomacdist.com/dragon-ball-super-tcg-booster-boxes/

It's a lot less then other places. And if you want the starter deck now amazon has them here:

Dragon Ball Z The Awakening Super TCG Starter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XWQJ23L/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_0QFJzb2ZBB7A7

Also check local comic book shops! I went to mine and they had some starter decks as well! Good luck!

You can always find your local game store that is hosting the Shadows over Innistrad prerelease this April 2nd and 3rd and preregister. Like a Yu-gi-oh prerelease, you get 6 packs of cards from the upcoming set and make a deck of 40 cards to play against other newbies and veterans. You and your friend can even participate in the two-headed giant event which is similar to double dueling from Yu-Gi-Oh except you share one life total. They will release a Shadows Over Innistrad prerelease primer in the upcoming weeks which will list how to build a deck and what to expect. Here is a prerelease primer from the most recent set. It's pretty helpful since the tips on building a deck is still relevant. If you guys don't know mechanics, I'd suggest playing the most recent [duel deck] (http://www.amazon.com/MTG-Magic-Gathering-Pre-Order-February/dp/B018DDZICA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457596721&sr=8-1&keywords=blessed+vs+cursed). The decks are balanced against each other and even contains cards from the upcoming prelease, Shadows over Innistrad. You guys can also get the most recent deck builder's toolkit and build 40 card decks to practice for the prerelease since it also contains some cards in the competitive scene except for the Journey of Nyx booster pack.

The closest I've found to the Netrunner card backs have been these ones from Amazon. Unfortunately, the corners of the art have a bad habit of peeling away from the sleeves, leaving the cards slightly marked. At one point I saw a card on top of my deck and thought, "I think this is Sure Gamble"... and it was. Naturally, this is a bad thing, so I bought new sleeves.

That being said, they lasted quite a while before that happened, so if you want to go that route, it's not a bad choice.

Not from Michigan, so I'm not sure about games in that area, but good luck and happy running!

edit The playgroup finder on Stimhack.com shows there might be a game night Thursdays at 6pm at Out of the Box on East Main and Church, and another on Mondays at around 6pm in Grand Rapids at GrandLan. Not sure how up-to-date this info is, but it might be a place to start!

I agree with this. The thing that disappointed me with the toolkit is I wanted new cards, but the packs are a mixture of recent sets.

I picked mine up when they were on sale, so I only paid half price but you can look at what's in the kit here:

https://mtg.gamepedia.com/Ravnica_Allegiance/Deck_Builder%27s_Toolkit

​

As you're playing guild kits, you're in somewhat a modern-esque format as the guild kit is not all standard playable cards. Since you sound happy with that I would just hit up the LGS or go to tcgplayer and filter by the color you want, sort lowest price to highest price, and look for some fun cards to tune it up with. If you want something store purchasable I would just buy straight packs, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Gathering-Booster-Accessories-Planeswalker/dp/B07MC628TF and split the packs.

This is really awesome of you! I, too, would enjoy a pack of cards if you're still giving em away.

Off the top of my head, I guess the thing I really have "too many" of would be Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. I'm not opposed to having more though lol.

Quiddler.


It's a make a word game. Everyone gets 3 cards the 1st round, 4 in the second and goes all the way up to 10. Drunken Quiddler is the most fun. Rules are brutal and enforced with an iron fist. You forget to pick up a card? To bad. Now you have less cards to make a word or words with. Each round has 2 bonuses: one for the most words and one for the longest word. We have added a 3rd rule of He/She who created the best short story involving their word(s) gets a predetermined prize at the end. Tons of fun. Great to play with kids too. They suck when they drink too much ; - )

I'm going to give a tepid recommendation of the Gambit packs: if you want some solo scenarios to learn the cards and whatnot, there are several cards which give the rules for the bosses from the digital version. You'd have more "real" practice with the digital version, because these solo scenarios tend to muck with the strategy a bit, but it's still a fun diversion.

In terms of non-Star Realms things you might consider:

• Something to track life. Star Realms comes with "authority cards" to do this, which everyone hates. Use your smart phone, search for "life tracker app" or "simple points tracker". If your phone battery is too important to waste, these are fun and fit in a deck box. Speaking of which....
  
• A good deck box to keep the various expansions together, as the retail box is too small. I like the branded one well enough, but there are unbranded ones a bit cheaper.
  
• The branded sleeves are awful, despite being made by the same people as the other two links. I sleeved because the starters were showing more wear than everything else, but resleeved with a different brand after a few months.
  
  
  Otherwise, you're getting solid advice from other users, so I'll shut up.

So maybe starting with one of each of the following? Also are special packs worth getting beyond the boxes? Thanks again

1. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XWQJ23L/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_E29cAb4VN729D
   
   
2. Dragon Ball Z Super Series 2 Union Force TCG Booster Box English - 24 packs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0765Q4GQ1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_F59cAbBDKGQEQ
   
   
3. Dragon Ball Z Super Galactic Battle TCG Booster Display Box English https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XX4ZY97/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_u79cAbSSPNPDG

What are the ages of family members who will be playing? It’s not a board game but I would suggest checking out [Gloom](Gloom (2nd Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1589781449/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ztKpDb1VPZXE4) .Good balance of strategy and silliness.

A strategic board game that could be fun if they have enjoyed Dominion is [7 Wonders](7 Wonders https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0043KJW5M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_VvKpDb0SG0DQ8).

Most of your prices are way too high. They're still used games, you can't sell them at new prices.

Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of Ashardalon

• Your price - $40
  
  
• Amazon - $41
  
  Chronicle of the Godslayer - Storm of Souls -
  Rise of Vigil - Immortal Heroes
  
  
• Your price - $20/$20/$20/$15
  
• Amazon - $29/$30/$30/$22
  
  Munchkin
  
  
• Your price - $9
  
• Amazon - $17
  
  Munchkin Impossible
  
  
• Your price - $9
  
• Amazon - $24
  
  Battlestar Galactica
  
  
• Your price - $25
  
• Amazon - $37
  
  Dungeon Twister
  
  
• Your price - $40
  
• Amazon - A lot
  
  I'm getting tired of this so I'm going to skip ones that are good deals...
  
  Carcassonne: The Catapult
  
  
• Your price - $10
  
• Amazon - $15
  
  Van Helsing
  
  
• Your price - $20
  
• Amazon - $19
  
  Zombie Fluxx
  
  
• Your price - $9
  
• Amazon - $12
  
  Dresden Files
  
  
• Your price - $30/$30
  
• Amazon - $37/$28
  
  There are a few games that would be good deals, but most of them need to be re-priced. To make it worth people's time to buy from you then you should really price $20 under Amazon (for bigger games) if you want them to pay shipping. Then it'll even out to only $10-ish less than Amazon for them.
  
  

Happy cakeday the_dogma!
I am also approaching my cakeday!

I absolutely LOVE pumpkin pie!

Can you link to what you're looking at? I assume you got this? They sold a limited edition one, but I don't think the size of it is any different. My box of arcane cards looks like this, but it looks like they repackaged and they look like this now, but I don't think the cards are different at all.

I don't know where you live, but in the states you can order something online for cheap. Here is a $14 deal with free shipping for a custom mat. I haven't ordered from them but the reviews seem good and include pictures.

There's a similar one called What Do You Meme? that is actually really fun to play. Way better than Cards Against Humanity.

I bought one here

https://www.amazon.com/CUSTOM-Playmat-Any-image-want/dp/B00L9EZC2C/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

$14 relatively cheap for a custom mat, and the quality is pretty decent imo. Makes sure you have a high resolution image to send in though. The higher the res the better the print quality.

Cthulu Realms

Is this it? It is like 2$ more and people are saying its a great reskin/upgrade of Star Realms, for 2$ more!

I use and love these.

Always gets me compliments, too.

If you can find it, the spellslinger set should be a good introductory product. The decks are meant as teaching/learning tools, so they are meant to be played exactly as the cards are ordered the first time you open them while playing along with the instructions: https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Gathering-Spellslinger-Starter-Guides/dp/B07GZ1SDZW/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=magic+starter+set&qid=1550770267&s=gateway&sr=8-7

Hello! Sorry if this is not the right place for this. But I was wondering if anyone new of a playmat that is all black, two player, and has the link format printed on it. Any solid color would be appreciated also. Thanks for any help!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XY6J4H3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_XaVTzbHJ4PXFW
Somthing like this but all black.

I recommend these if you are a tech free table: https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Spellbook-Cards-Druid/dp/B01MQU4K9U

It's still around: https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Moves-Games-1019-Deluxe/dp/B00000DMBD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492888469&sr=8-1&keywords=pit+card+game

I've played it before and it's fun

Well, there's always the "What do you meme?" board game! :)

https://www.amazon.com/What-Do-You-Meme-Party/dp/B01MRG7T0D

I noticed you had Smash Up expansions on your list and I think you might like the game Ascension It's a deck building card game and one of my all time favorites.

We actually got two of MTG Origins Deck Builder's Toolkits since it was the cheapest we could find, and we don't have a lot of money xD

Any rookie player wanting to play any caster should invest in the spell cards for that class. Having your spells in front of you makes a huge difference.

https://www.amazon.ca/73917-Spellbook-Cards-Druid-Deck/dp/B01MQU4K9U

Here's the funniest thing I've seen lately, and as I type about it, I chuckle. the ass was fat.


This is what I want. It's $13 used with box. or this

blam.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076627MR9/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you have prime, free 2 day shipping.


CHEAP

https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Ball-Awakening-Super-Starter/dp/B06XWQJ23L/ref=pd_bxgy_21_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=N9GVCR0RJYTKXDCZA5X5

I just bought this one off of Amazon. It's really nice--sort of like a mousepad sort of material. I play with my boyfriend so we just got the two-player mat rather than getting two individual ones.

You can buy a Star Realms box from Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Realms-MERCENARY-GARRISON--Holds/dp/B00WVO0HGK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1468192774&sr=8-2&keywords=star+realms+box

Although that was too expensive for me so I bought a plain white box https://www.chaoscards.co.uk/accessories-c1/card-storage-boxes-c7/bcw-bcw-cardboard-storage-box-for-100-trading-cards-one-piece-p410

Links are for UK sites sorry. Hope you can find something simular where you are.

Not exactly what you're asking for, but I like the simplistic design
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XY6J4H3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_UOg5Ab4K65KKW

There's a nice Event Deck that is R/W. It is based on soldiers swarming in fast with benefits if there are a bunch of them attacking. I'm linking you the amazon link to the event deck because i'm at work and wizards is blocked :( Some of the cards are rotating out of Standard soon, but it's a nice place to start.
http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Gathering-GateCrash-Event-Rally/dp/B00BI3G7OQ

Ascension was originally a board game. It's been adapted to iOS, Android and the PC. The PC version seems referenced by your link. This is a whole new version designed and developed for VR. I haven't played Dragonfront, but my take is Ascension is more designed to be a boardgame in VR w/ all the player/player interaction, vs Dragonfront being VR game with boardgame like design - kinda two different interpretations.

For 5e, these cards are affordable and high quality, would recommend. I hope we get a deck for beasts because after formatting and printing and cutting and laminating, my own beast cards still wouldn't be as good.

As a DM, monster cards in general could be fantastic, instead of a mess of index tabs out of a book.

Like this? I use this one.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00WVO0HGK/ref=sxts1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478440799&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65

What Do You Meme? Adult Party Game https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRG7T0D/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ZyFWBb69B9P4V

Here’s a link to the product.
What Do You Meme? Adult Party Game https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRG7T0D/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ysjgAbZTQRAPQ

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L9EZC2C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_Ap7EDbBZZCVY0

It’s not as high res as it looks though😅

You should play What Do You Meme?. It's freaking hilarious.

This will give everyone the Giggles!

I got 2 wheat, 2 wheat, 2 wheat.

1 Corn.. whose got my barley?

Pit

There is no better game,

The new version is fine......... but...........

http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Moves-1019-Deluxe-Pit/dp/B00000DMBD

I am more of an old school guy and opt for the farm version,

Old School from Ebay

wheat, rye, flax, hay, oats, corn, barley

CustomInk is probably the most advertised. But I used these guys off Amazon:
CUSTOM Playmat Any image you want https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L9EZC2C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ZmSdBbMXAJXP5

I was looking at these yesterday and the price jumped up a bunch since then.

Here are the Paladin cards. Out of stock right now, but expecting more in a few days. They seem pretty reasonably priced.

https://www.amazon.com/73919-Spellbook-Cards-Paladin-Deck/dp/B01N7VWIIB/ref=pd_sim_21_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01N7VWIIB&pd_rd_r=VSMBCSS3DX0JDCPP7ZB6&pd_rd_w=FWhIp&pd_rd_wg=xvFpx&psc=1&refRID=VSMBCSS3DX0JDCPP7ZB6

I got the new Arcane cards from my local gaming store, and they got so few in they had to do a raffle just to pick who got to buy them. Apparently GF9 didn't get enough supply to meet demand, and everyone got a very low stock of them.

I got a birthday present from family recently from Barnes and Nobles that are premade, heavy material that is lamanated. Found it on amazon too, if you are so interested. Contains all spells a druid can use, though I'm not sure what editions it includes.

https://www.amazon.com/73917-Spellbook-Cards-Druid-Deck/dp/B01MQU4K9U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1525452298&sr=8-3&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons+spell+cards

https://www.amazon.com/What-Do-You-Meme-WDYM/dp/B01MRG7T0D/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1492276656&sr=1-1&keywords=what+do+you+meme


Just in case you guys want to purchase a copy

https://www.amazon.com/CUSTOM-Playmat-Any-image-want/dp/B00L9EZC2C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481967037&sr=8-1&keywords=Custom+playmat can get any image you want for cheaper than buying an ffg mat

Never mind. It was this game:
https://www.amazon.com/What-Do-You-Meme-Adult/dp/B01MRG7T0D

custom playmat from amazon

Why does this even exist?

Correct! https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06XY6J4H3?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_yo_pop_mb_pd_t2

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L9EZC2C/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_1_w

there is, personally just ordered a mat from there recently, cant wait till i get it

Snapshots:

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https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Gathering-Origins-Builders-Toolkit/dp/B00Y0ZVNFM
Is this something I should buy?

Pit! Simple card game.

Extra cheesy - Source

If it's satire, it's kind of expensive.

https://www.amazon.com/What-Do-You-Meme-WDYM/dp/B01MRG7T0D

I got news for you bud.

https://www.amazon.com/What-Do-You-Meme-Adult/dp/B01MRG7T0D

Buy one of the starter decks,

SD3



SD2

SD1



[two set of SD 2 and 3]
(https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Super-Cross-Worlds-Starter/dp/B079LGRXCZ/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1522882579&sr=8-7&keywords=dragonball+super+card+game)

Not EXACTLY the same, but close-ish!

C'est vague, mais dans les jeux de deck-building y en a sans doute plusieurs qui colleraient. Les deux qui me viennent en tête sont Thunderstone et le Seigneur des Anneaux, et après une recherche rapide je tombe aussi sur Ascension.

Looking at getting this and this

EDIT: Why downvote me, tell me what is wrong with them? I'm clueless and asking for help

Edit2 thanks everyone you rock

No, Wizard releases a new one yearly. I think the Magic Origins one is current: http://www.amazon.ca/Magic-Gathering-CCG-Origins-Builders/dp/B00Y0ZVNFM/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys&ie=UTF8&qid=1451282872&sr=1-1&keywords=magic+origins+deck+builder

I suspect that these are trading card storage boxes, and/or box from an Magic Origins Deck Builder's Toolkit, and/or Magic Origins Fat Pack (these are now renamed "<name of set> Bundle") box.

If you're not willing to drop 25, maybe you're willing to drop $15.

https://www.amazon.com/CUSTOM-Playmat-Any-image-want/dp/B00L9EZC2C/ref=lp_8437525011_1_1?srs=8437525011&ie=UTF8&qid=1535769821&sr=8-1

Fully customized, all you've gotta do is send them the picture and they'll make the mat. Of course get the highest res you can so it scales better, but I've ordered 5 mats from them so far, and I've yet to be disappointed.