Reddit mentions: The best drill adapters

• Take your time learning. Magic is kind of like Chess in the way that it's simple to pick up and play but takes a lot of time and effort to master and no one becomes a guru overnight.
  
  
• If there are any specific cards you're looking for it's usually cheaper to buy them individually instead of gambling with booster packs. There's a chance to pull some $20+ cards from boosters but the odds are heavily stacked against you.
  
  
• Know what your cards are worth and don't be afraid to turn down a trade if you aren't 100% certain of the value of everything involved.
  
  
• Always keep your expensive cards protected and keep your decks stored inside of deck boxes so they don't get crushed or bent. Using rubber bands to keep cards/decks together can seem like an acceptable budget solution until they start to bend or wear the edges of the cards, which turns a $50 card into a $0 drink coaster.
  
  
• It's definitely worth investing into some card sleeves for your decks. They make decks easier to shuffle and prevent your cards from getting dirty. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people open a valuable foil rare from a booster draft, play it unsleeved for the tournament and then find out that no one wants to trade for it afterwards because it's completely scratched to hell.
  
  
• You also might want to look into getting a playmat. It's not nearly as mandatory to have as sleeves but it helps extend the life of your cards even further, it guarantees that you'll be playing on a clean surface and it helps mark your space at a table.

Standard Ultrapro playmat tends to run around $20. You can get cheaper ones that are plain if you want.

Inkedplaymats.com creates custom playmats for $25. I personally recommend them, as I've enjoyed every mat I've gotten from them.

For your viewing pleasure, I present Tolarian Community College's Playmat video.

Card game playmats are pretty similar to that. Check this out. 24" x 13.5"

https://www.amazon.com/Solid-Black-Play-Card-Game/dp/B00D8K2J30/ref=sxts_k2p_hero1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=2668835602&pd_rd_wg=0qCjV&pf_rd_r=KW3697AMEJWS1FJNSM86&pf_rd_s=desktop-sx-top-slot&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=B00D8K2J30&pd_rd_w=XPvtc&pf_rd_i=Magic+playmat&pd_rd_r=0K06AW679KHH166D2421&ie=UTF8&qid=1479080047&sr=1

Amazon is a good choice. Inked Gaming has ones with custom art if you're into that.

Giant mousepad protip:

You can use MTG playmats as mousepads. They're larger, the same material, machine washable and cheaper than an equivalent steel series. I can fit my 10keyless keyboard and mouse on this while browsing and move my keyboard off while CS:GOing.

https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Playmat-Games-Workstations-84082/dp/B00D8K2J30/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=black+ultra+pro+play+mat&qid=1569245806&s=gateway&sr=8-6

Looks like it is $9 right now, sometimes is a bit cheaper

playing card mats are the same thing but cheap

This might be a silly question, but why do people pay so much money for these large mouse pads when you can get a playmat with a rubberized bottom for ~$10?