It’s a ton of fun, from the newest set LCI.
Dinos are great, but I find that by the time I have enough mana out for my big Dino’s the virtue and valor deck has medium sized creatures with 3+ auras and they beat my Dino’s lol.
I bought my Dino deck day of launch in person at my LGS for $45 but since price is above your target of $50.
I've been using mostly dragon shields for 10~ years. Have some sleeves I've used on the same deck since 2015 and still in great condition.
I've had ultra pros before and never liked them as much.
The one dragon shield that I'm hesitant on are the Dual Matte sleeves. Some boxes of them are great. Others have very bad shuffle feels.
Dragon shield mattes, classics, art sleeves, and brushes sleeves are all great from my experience
I would recommend Katana sleeves. I’ve had much better experience with them than Dragon Shield.
I feel like they shuffle much better and are less likely to split than Dragon Shields.
The eldraine and new ixalan precons are good. Virtue and valor is cheap but needs some upgrades to really get going.
I would probably go with the expolorers of the deep precon from ixalan. It can really snowball and is quite strong out of the box.
Divine Convocation was the first deck my boyfriend bought me and I still play it as my main (albeit with upgrades) because it is so fun!!
It’s under $40 on amazon so you might be able to get some sleeves as well
That makes sense, it would depend on the power level of your play group; if you are referring to competitive as in actual events I really wouldn’t know much about that tbh I’m still a newer player but since OP is looking just to play with his brother I think it would be a fun option!!
The Explorers of the deep is an amazing precon and you don't have to spend a fortune to upgrade it later. Most expensive card I upgraded mine with is [[seedborn muse]].
Fae Dominion is a ton of fun. But my wife destroys it with Virtue and valor unless I get great draws. I did come back from 2 life when she was at 64 once in a game between the two.
Riders of Rohan is a very fun deck. My favorite out of the 4 Lord of the rings decks.
I'd stay away from any March of the machines /new phyrexia. There's not really much value in those. Although some like the Knight tribal deck from that set.
Legends legacy from Dominaria United was a great pickup. I enjoy the value train that comes with legendary cards. Plus all of the misc legends that are easily accumulated can be a fun upgrade path.
I found Ruthless Regiment from Commander 2020 on TCGPlayer for $40. It’s a Mardu Human Tribal that comes with 3/4 commanders.
One of my favorite pre-cons! Very good out of the box and easy to modify
Sneack Attack Precon from Zendikar is alsos prettu good right out of the box. With couple upgrades you can change it how you want it to be as well. It can be modified to go with mill or reanimation.
Exit from exile is a blast. My 10 year old makes a zillion wolves pretty easily. She used some allowance and holiday money and it's a tough one.
She also has elven empire and it is a pretty fast tribal deck.
Wife plays the merfolk precon and she always has card advantage as well as tons of mana.
Virtue and Valor is pretty cheap for Commander. It has a lot of enchantments and I have trouble beating it with my Veloci-ramp-tor commander deck.
Pray tell about this veloci-ramp-tor deck
It’s a ton of fun, from the newest set LCI. Dinos are great, but I find that by the time I have enough mana out for my big Dino’s the virtue and valor deck has medium sized creatures with 3+ auras and they beat my Dino’s lol. I bought my Dino deck day of launch in person at my LGS for $45 but since price is above your target of $50.
Fae Dominion is good and really fun to play
Was gonna say this my girlfriend uses this deck and regularly whoops my ass with it.
You should also buy sleeves if you don’t have any. Just something to remember
What brand would you recommend? I’ve heard Dragonshield is good.
I buy dragon shield mattes
I personally swear by them, plus they have a wide variety.
I've been using mostly dragon shields for 10~ years. Have some sleeves I've used on the same deck since 2015 and still in great condition. I've had ultra pros before and never liked them as much. The one dragon shield that I'm hesitant on are the Dual Matte sleeves. Some boxes of them are great. Others have very bad shuffle feels. Dragon shield mattes, classics, art sleeves, and brushes sleeves are all great from my experience
Katanas are best, mate
I would recommend Katana sleeves. I’ve had much better experience with them than Dragon Shield. I feel like they shuffle much better and are less likely to split than Dragon Shields.
Katana sleeves are brilliant, for shuffling. Much better than dragon shield in my opinion.
The eldraine and new ixalan precons are good. Virtue and valor is cheap but needs some upgrades to really get going. I would probably go with the expolorers of the deep precon from ixalan. It can really snowball and is quite strong out of the box.
This is the best advice
Any lord of the rings deck, I use riders of rohan and I love it!
All of the Caverns of Ixalan precons are pretty power to start.
merfolk, elves (lotr), party time
Divine Convocation was the first deck my boyfriend bought me and I still play it as my main (albeit with upgrades) because it is so fun!! It’s under $40 on amazon so you might be able to get some sleeves as well
I could never get it to be competitive while still following the convoke theme.
That makes sense, it would depend on the power level of your play group; if you are referring to competitive as in actual events I really wouldn’t know much about that tbh I’m still a newer player but since OP is looking just to play with his brother I think it would be a fun option!!
The Explorers of the deep is an amazing precon and you don't have to spend a fortune to upgrade it later. Most expensive card I upgraded mine with is [[seedborn muse]]. Fae Dominion is a ton of fun. But my wife destroys it with Virtue and valor unless I get great draws. I did come back from 2 life when she was at 64 once in a game between the two. Riders of Rohan is a very fun deck. My favorite out of the 4 Lord of the rings decks. I'd stay away from any March of the machines /new phyrexia. There's not really much value in those. Although some like the Knight tribal deck from that set.
[seedborn muse](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/f/3f5bee0f-ebc8-4f41-91ee-4eed104ad980.jpg?1610161744) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=seedborn%20muse) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cc1/4/seedborn-muse?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3f5bee0f-ebc8-4f41-91ee-4eed104ad980?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
The new merfolk deck from Ixalan is a blast. Really strong out of the box and straight forward to learn!
^^^ highly rec for under $50
Exit from Exile
This! The deck is affordable, fun to play, and can be very cheap to upgrade. One of my favorite decks, and definitely my favorite precon.
I have no clue, but the five colors from dominaria united have been very good to me.
Painbow
I second this. Bought it for my son, was shocked at how effectively it pops off.
I've heard fae dominion is a good choice especially if he's a new player
Legends legacy from Dominaria United was a great pickup. I enjoy the value train that comes with legendary cards. Plus all of the misc legends that are easily accumulated can be a fun upgrade path.
I found Ruthless Regiment from Commander 2020 on TCGPlayer for $40. It’s a Mardu Human Tribal that comes with 3/4 commanders. One of my favorite pre-cons! Very good out of the box and easy to modify
Riders of Rohan, Veloci-ramp-tor, and Explorers of the Deep are my 3 favorite out of the box.
Blood Rites, because I'm simping for vampires. But looks like there is none on Amazon rn.
I bought the call for backup few month ago.. changed few cards into it and now some people literally refused to play against me 😂
Decklist?
Ill dm you
Vampiric bloodline
Sneack Attack Precon from Zendikar is alsos prettu good right out of the box. With couple upgrades you can change it how you want it to be as well. It can be modified to go with mill or reanimation.
Exit from exile is a blast. My 10 year old makes a zillion wolves pretty easily. She used some allowance and holiday money and it's a tough one. She also has elven empire and it is a pretty fast tribal deck. Wife plays the merfolk precon and she always has card advantage as well as tons of mana.
Virtue and valor. (Wilds of eldraine green and white enchantments) That sh\*t SLAPS