I am a newbie myself and was worried about startup costs for the game. I have been lucky enough to find a way around the large startup costs we all dread.

If you are a Barnes and Nobles member, you are currently getting coupons for 25-35% off in your email. It is for single item only. Can be used in store and online. Add in another 10% you get for all purchases and you can get the core sets at 23.39 to 26.99 depending on the coupon you are getting. Then you can use same coupon to order online Edge or Balance expansion and wait for it to ship to your house. Even cheaper. Personally I have been able to grab 2 core sets, one edge and one balance for about $100 vs $140.

This will then allow you to spend extra cash for your force packs at your LGS so you could complete your collection family cheap.

Just wanted to pass that along.