With the rolling ban lists and restrictions on older cards with each new set it's designed to be expensive... you can either get lucky buying packs to trade at tournaments or selling the cards with high value or you don't need for the cards you do need or you can buy the cards out right for a mint... TCG magic or otherwise is an investment requiring a bit of research so you don't get scammed out of good or rare cards had a buddy of mine that paid his rent trading cards It is genuine work if you want to play hard... If you don't want to get heavy into it start local card shops low level tournaments get a starter deck play with some friends that have equal interests low stakes and if you're lucky find your way into a position where you can get a stash of older cards and then work your way up... Thrift shops sometimes get cards that get sold by parents or someone cleans out a storage unit garage sales people won't know what they actually have and they give them away or sell them for stupid cheap do your research check your local shops It's always a good start