Best Christmas gift for Magic Player (Budget: $30)

[Chopper]

I don't play magic myself, but a friend of mine does and I was thinking of getting him a gift related to magic. I dont know anything about magic. When I went to the comics shop there were lots of different types of boxes and sets and wasnt sure which to get. The guy there said that Zendikar is the latest set but other then that I dont know what sets are popular and such. What do you recommend? Budget is around $30

[Arix]

Intro packs seem to be quite popular even among more experienced players, but others like myself don't really care for them, so you might want to be cautious. Something that's always popular is the Duel Decks. The current one is called Garruk vs. Liliana. It comes with two fully constructed decks, containing some very powerful and popular cards, such as Mutilate, Bad Moon, Blastoderm, and of course the titular Garruk Wildspeaker and Liliana Vess. If you're looking to get into the game, it'll be a great learning tool for you as well, but otherwise, there are just some great cards in there for your friend.

Apart from that, you can't go far wrong with a handful of boosters.

[Kappu1]

I would say find out what kind of player he is casual or competative and if you can find out what format he plays that would be a big help to you as well.

This way we can help you in figuring out what to buy or the person at the store should be able to.

I like what Arix said Duel Decks (has a few good cards in it) and boosters can't ever go wrong there.