Hello to whomever reads this!

I am dating an MTG player and I'd like to get him a gift related to the game, but I know next to nothing about it. I'm hoping someone can help!

Here's what I know:
- He's got three or four decks that he's put together, and he created a new one within the last month
- He plays mainly with friends
- One of the decks is in a green box -- I think this may have been his first deck
- His newest deck is based around knights

(See, I really know very little! :-/)

I've been considering getting him a bunch of different booster packs, but I have no idea which ones would even make sense to buy. Should the booster packs be very recent or would it be just exciting to open packs from a few different years/themes? For example, I was thinking about mixing it up and buying different packs -- one from Dominaria, Rivals of Ixalan, Iconic Masters, Battlebond, Unstable, etc. Does this make any sense at all?

Are there particularly exciting booster packs to try to get? For example, ones with rarer cards? And if so, where should I look for those?

OR, is it silly for me to even try to get him something related to MTG until I know more about his decks/personal preferences?

Any insight anyone has would be much appreciated. Thank you so much!!!

- mtggirlfriend

If booster packs seem confusing due to lack of knowing your significant other's tastes, maybe some other Magic paraphernalia would be better? Maybe a cool new play mat or life counter? Maybe just some new dice for counters or some custom knight tokens from Etsy for his knight deck?

Thanks for coming here to ask! You're really being awesome in taking such an active interest like this.

There's 3 main kinds of gift that I would, myself, like as a Magic player:

#1 - Learn to Play, and Challenge him to a game.
I'm a romantic at heart, and a family-orientated guy, so when my wife says she wants to have a game with me of Magic, my eyes light up. I love it when the people important in my life take an interest in what I do. If he's a bit older (over 20 years old), then this is probably what he'd like most. If he's younger, the it depends on how serious your relationship is (if it's pretty recent, he might still want this to be "his" time). But yeah, nothing is quite as sexy as my love showing me their mad skills and intellect. You can learn pretty quickly by playing Magic: Online, and then buy a deck, make some adjustments, and take him to town, likely for under $70 US, and give him the deck afterwards, but it'll take some time to learn that you might not have.

#2 - Magic Paraphernalia
Hey, maybe you don't want to play, or it's his thing that you don't want to step over. In this case, go with what AzureShade said. A play mat, dice, t-shirt, tokens, store credit, Magic-Online credit, or other Magic-related stuff is always appreciated and really sweet. My wife once gave me a small box with flower decals that I used to store my deck and dice for Draft nights at the store or with friends. Yes, this resulted in endless puns about me or other people "play with my wife's box", but we all had a good laugh about that, and in the end people really respected and appreciated that my wife cared about my hobby to give that to me to use, so it was great.

#3 - Booster Packs from the newest set, or a pre-made Commander deck
There's a problem with Booster Packs... they have a "best before" date. After 2 years from the time of original sale of a set, the contents of most packs are nearly worthless. There are exceptions (such as Jace, the Mind Sculptor), but they're pretty few and far between. Packs are great for getting you access to the latest and greatest stuff, or for saving and using as part of a draft with friends, but they're so ethereal in how long they retain relevance. If he even gets any good cards from them, he will forget that it was you that got it for him. Instead, I'd recommend getting a Commander deck. Commander is a format where most (if not all) of the major cards in them retain their worth and value for a very long time, which is one of the reasons so many people play that format of the game (unlike the format where you can only use cards printed within the last 2 years). If you buy 2 of these decks, this is another way that you can get yourself into the game along with him.

Hope this helps!

Hi! I'm gonna second the statement that I think it's awesome you're actively going out of your way to research and get advice on your gift for him. It's really cool.

If you have a creative hobby, maybe you could make him something? My personal favorite magic gifts from friends have been personally created items that are related to magic gameplay and not necessarily cards themselves.
As examples the three items I've gotten are:
1)Machined and number stamped 6 sided metal dice
2)A handmade deckbox
3)A crocheted/knitted (sorry, I don't actually know the difference) dice bag with a fabric lining

A note for if you end up going the booster pack route: Any pack from a set with the name "Masters" in it is going to be more expensive ($10 vs $4 MSRP). They have a shot at having some more valuable ($$) cards, but like all magic boosters it's a lottery.

Another note for booster packs: The "Unstable" set was released as a joke set so it is much sillier than your typical magic set. Some people like it and others don't really care for it. It's really hit or miss.

Best of luck to you!

Thank you all for taking the time to respond so thoughtfully! I'm really glad I came here, because it sounds like I was headed in the wrong direction. I wish I knew more than I do about his MtG style, preferences, and desires, and unfortunately I won't be able to sneak a peek at his MtG cards and paraphernalia before his birthday.

Alas, I'm not very crafty, but based on your suggestions, I am thinking about getting him a handmade deck box from Etsy. I found one that looks almost like a castle (great for his knight deck), but it's made to fit a Commander deck, and I believe my bf told me that a standard deck is 60 cards. Hmm.

I was also thinking about preordering Commander 2018, but the only preorders I can find are for four sets and it retails at $115. (That's a bit steep for me, although it sounds like that's a much better deal than buying a single set. If that's a truly awesome gift for an MtG enthusiast, though, I'd still consider it!)

Would someone mind explaining what a token is and how many someone might want/need? I looked for knight tokens and found some on Etsy called Knight Ally. I have no idea if these are the right type of tokens. Any thoughts?
https://www.etsy.com/listing/577735556/ ... allery-1-3

Yarium, I have definitely thought about option #1, but yes, there's part of me that likes that he has this separate thing he loves that has nothing to do with me. Also, the game sounds incredibly complicated, and I'm afraid it would take a lot of effort to become a worthy opponent! I do think he'd appreciate the effort, though ... maybe that will be next year's MtG gift.

Thank you again, everyone!!

a Commander deck is 100 cards. If it fits a commander deck, it will fit probably 99.9% of decks and the only reason that isn't 100% is that there are some weird, weird corner case things you can do in Magic. As a player, deck boxes don't need to be snug.

Good to know that an oversized box wouldn't be an issue. Tevish Szat, thank you!

Glad to have helped! You don't need to get the full set of cards from Commander - just one of the four decks will be good, and should run under $40.

Tokens are things that are used to represent something in the game that isn't an actual card in your deck. For example, the card Allied Reinforcements creates two Knight Ally tokens, which function just like regular creatures in the game, except they aren't actual cards, which can sometimes result in some weird things. If a deck creates lots of a specific kind of token, then some specific tokens can be fun.

I'll second what a lot of people are saying and say that something like a cool deck box, playmat, or dice set is probably the way to go. Buying cards is riskier and also probably more expensive and less special.

To reiterate on that token question. It is something that would start outside of the game that he could put onto the table to represent a creature created by another card. You can use anything as a token as long as all players can easily tell what it is supposed to represent and when it is turned sideways. If it is a standard deck then they will probably be used to represent "2/2 White Knight with Vigilance" which is technically different from the "2/2 Knight Ally" in your link but probably close enough that everyone can remember what they represent, especially when playing with the same group of friends.

Edit: This would be the standard knight.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/613551601/ ... e_active_1

Thank you all so much for your help and taking the time to answer my questions.

I just found out that he has six times the number of decks that I thought he did. Shows how little I know! This is clearly an important part of his life, so I plan to keep learning.

Magic playing boys will steal all your cards and then get mad when you have more moxen than them, would not recommend.