I'd start off with a couple intro decks. They are balanced to play against each other. Then as you guys get not comfortable you can buy boosters or you can go online and pick up specific cards.
MTG
Magic: the Gathering discussion
General discussion, questions, and media related to Magic: the Gathering that doesn't fit within a more specific community. Our equivalent of /r/magicTCG!
Type [[Card name]]
in your posts and comments and CardBot will reply with a link to the card! More info here.
Jumpstart is the product for you! It’s designed to help beginners get right into the game and try out a variety of play styles. Each Jumpstart pack contains half of a deck, lands and all. So you each open two packs, shuffle your cards together, and start playing.
There’s even a LotR Jumpstart edition, though the packs are a little more expensive than generic Jumpstart.
if you're doing jumpstart i'd stick to the jumpstart 2020 and 2022 editions, not the set releases. the cards are better, there's more variety in the themes they offer, and it feels more cohesive than the stuff like jumpstart: lotr or jumpstart: brother's war
Fair, but if you enjoy Lord of the rings and want just Lord of the rings cards, the jump start is pretty fun as well.
I would like the second Jumpstart. I think it's a fantastic way to bring in new players and it's fun for existing players too. It's one of my favorite formats on arena and I think newer players can identify with the tribal themes easily to get into the game.
Yeah, the intro pack has two pre constructed decks that I've heard are fun to play with. My first purchase of magic in 10 years was the Frodo Commander deck. But I got that because the comic store near our house has regular commander deck play on Thursdays. If your want just a bunch of cards the Draft boosters are good, but the Set Boosters have a better chance for rares and other cards worth a good bit. I've been buying set boosters.
If you can find the Lotr Bundle once it's back on stock, I'd get that. It's $60 but comes with 4 promo foils, a lot of Land cards, and 8 set boosters.
If you want an easy way to play, the Jumpstart boosters are super easy! Just buy 2 and it's an automatic 40 card deck. She gets 2 packs and you now have 2 decks and can play right away!
Card Kingdom has premade standard decks (60 cards) that are cheap and designed to help new players learn the game.
The first purchase I made was a commander deck. It's relatively inexpensive and has enough unique cards to get a good sense of what the different play styles are. We eventually mixed and matched to create a variety of decks out of those cards.
You could also buy a box of draft boosters. This is what we tend to do now when new sets are released. It's fun to open the packs and have a draft night before using the cards to make a bumch of new decks.
@Graphy commander is fun, but it's a LOT for new players. Instead I'd recommend getting 2 starter decks specifically designed for new players (like intro decks).
Another option I like to use is Jumpstart packs! They're fairly simple and offer a lot of variety. Plus you can mix and match to customize the decks according to the new player's preferences. That way they can get a feel for what colors they enjoy
@Graphy to get a lot of LOTR cards specifically, the best value is to buy singles. If you just want a bunch of cards in hand you could buy a box and have fun cracking packs (more expensive, but possible to pull some of the most popular cards) or you could contact someone who buys and sells cards (like CardGardenMTG on Twitter) who sells repacks. They're much cheaper, but do have the most chase cards already taken out. Still a good way to get cards if you want a variety.