YuGiOh Cards

The "new cards" only exist because the creators are running out of ideas for cards; hell, it was that way when they released the amazoness, archfiends, cards that can flip itself to face-down defense one a turn, spirit monsters, gaurdians and spell counters. It's still the same game of killing monsters, spells and traps. So I don't think you need to do any catching up with the new cards... nothing you can't learn just by reading the description anyway.

I'd say stick with the old school starter decks (Joey, Yugi and Kaiba) and booster packs. The only downside to that is that if you plan to play competitively, all the old powerful cards are banned (Raigeki, Change of Heart, Monster Reborn, etc). Upperdeck ran the game into the ground, imo. I also recommend getting the tin boxes and use those as decks (Jinzo, Command Knight, etc).

Right, cause when something's new, a fresh idea or original, it's running out of ideas and ruining the game. That's BS.

I've been playing the game since the beginning up to the latest set and promos, and the game's only been getting better. Sure the game has gone through some bumps--with the occasional release of a way-too-powerful cards... early example of this was Chaos Emperor Dragon, and the latest example would be Judgment Dragoon--but it evens out in the end. And now almost every Type, Attribute and Archetype are getting their own support now'a'days, when they were previously forgotten.

Synchro Monsters are a big part of the game now. And I mean BIG. You won't really be able to play for fun or competitively until you learn about the new mechanics. Synchro Monsters have a white frame, and are like Fusion Monsters, except you combine a regular monster (or more), with a monster called a "Tuner Monster" to create them.

My suggestion is to buy the 2008 Starter Deck from online or a local store. Since the deck is from 2008, it should be marked down in price, which makes it even better (it'll be 8 bucks at most). The 2008 Starter Deck starts you out back into the game again, providing you with a few Tuner Monsters and 3 Synchros to teach you how to use them. (Heck, the deck even provides you with one of the more popular Synchro Monsters--Colossal Fighter, a Synchro with 2800 ATK, and an effect that allows it to self-revive itself every time it is destroyed by battle.

Considering your 30 buck spending limit, I suggest the 2008 Starter Deck, 1 Special Edition Pack Box (it's hard to miss them, they look like a Starter Deck box, except inside is 3 packs of a specific Set and a promo card, great deal) and 2 to 3 assorted packs of your choice. Though, if you wanted an opinion on what assorted packs to get, I'd say 1 to 2 Hidden Arsenal packs (if your store has them, sometimes the store doesn't carry all stock) and 1 pack of The Duelist Genesis. That should start you off fine.