100% New to Magic, Don't know where to start.

Learn the rules and basic gameplay from the free Steam/iOS game. It's not 100% precise (it doesn't explain priority, or the individual steps of the beginning phase), but it's pretty much perfect for learning how to play the game.

As for paper magic, it really depends on who you want to play with. If you don't know anyone else who plays, but you're still interested in quick and easy casual play, I'd suggest getting a set of free Sample Decks from your local game store. You can easily teach family and friends to play with them; the downside is, they're half the size of normal decks and worth next to nothing overall.

As for getting further into the hobby, that's really up to you. If you have a group of friends who already play Magic, I suggest going to them, learning the skill/financial level they play at, and seeing what they suggest.

But it looks from your post like you have a group of friends who are interested, but don't play yet. If so, an intro pack apiece can be useful for learning the game. They're very underpowered in the larger competitive sphere, but they're a good place to start your collection. Or if that's still too much of a financial leap, you can just introduce your friends to the game through the Sample Decks I was talking about earlier.

And as for building your collection, you can try looking into Limited (Magic's answer to the Hearthstone Arena, and in my opinion the most interesting way to play the game), or building a deck for Standard Constructed (Magic's version of normal Hearthstone play). And of course there's your local casual environment. In all these cases, you won't be playing against utter beginners, so don't look to pre-made products; just assemble a budget deck of your own.

/r/magicTCG Thread