If EVER you were curious about "Magic: the Gathering"

The $30 dollar value is not likely unless it has a card that is extremely valuable. I do like buying pre-con decks, because they do generally offer some valuable cards. But the basic land are worthless and most of the deck will be $0.05 to $0.15 chaff with 2 to 3 $3 to $5 cards and a few cards worth up to a buck. I've found on average, any "new" released pre-cons would typically set you back $15 to $18 if the cards were bought individually. I say "new" because cards can raise and lower in value pretty substantially with one release of a newer set, making some of the older pre-cons worthless and some worth $100s. Not trying to discourage you, it's a great game and good value, but I want to be realistic.

If they are pre-cons, the decklists will be online at several mtg oriented websites like:
https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/splice-of-life-4/
https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/24-09-16-pristine-control/

Note there were multiple decks with the name Pristine Control, so I'm not sure if I grabbed the right one. But just confirm that it's the correct card lists, and I can tell you how I would play.

One of my favorite ways to buy is to save up and buy someones personal collection. It's generally set heavy, but you can get a lot well below value. It takes some patience, know rough card values for the sets(s) and you have to look through it to know if it's a good deal or not, but one collection I bought for $20 had a $75 card in it and a few $5 cards. The $75 card is now worth around $380. I also did some work for a family friend who gave me his whole collection (minus the decks he wanted to keep) when he moved. It was nearly $3,000 worth if I sold the cards individually. (I did make him aware of the value he was handing over, he was still good with it.) I built a re-animator deck with what he gave (and a handful of cards from my own collection). In all the deck is now worth about $300. So there are some real treasures in building your collection this way.

Another good strategy (if you have the patience) is to go through bulk bins at card shops. Not all shops have this, and none are doing it now with Covid. But my local shop has $0.05 bulk. The cards range in value, typically up to a quarter. But sometimes he misses higher value cards and we get some awesome stuff. Great way to build pauper decks (decks under $5 containing commons and uncommons only).

If your not a fan of building (or you are just learning to play). The pre-cons are probably still your better route. I like the Duel Deck series which comes with two ready to play and balanced against each other decks. But any decks within the same cycle should be fairly balanced against each other.

If you decide you really like a set or block, one of the cheapest places I've found to buy a booster box is: https://collectorstore.com/games/magic-the-gathering/
They'll sell most new (non-masters) boxes for under $100 while most stores are $120 for a booster box. Great for drafting with friends, at about $25 for 9 packs with four players (or 8 packs with prizes).

A lot of mechanics in Magic are transferable to other game types. I use it for inspiration too. Based on your description, I would say you might look at more synergistic sets. One of the best blocks in Magic for synergy play is Kaladesh (The set names are Kaladesh and Aether Revolt). Unfortunately the pre-con planeswalker decks for this set have shot up to about $25-$30, so no longer available for $12 each.

I wouldn't say I'm a master... But a seasoned veteran. I don't play tournaments, just kitchen table. So I don't have a lot of the elite cards/decks you often see in tournament.
I like to try to build theme decks or quirky decks over maximizing efficency. They may not be as good, but are generally more fun because of weird interactions my friends and I create. I do have some elite decks, like my re-animator or infinite combo deck, but maybe only 5 or 6 of those. We generally talk about power level before each game so we try not to dominate one another.

If you come up with a mechanic, I could likely design a deck for you to try out. Also, you can play online with MTG Arena for free. It'll take a while to build a collection on there but it's a free way to play the game and learn. There are also bootleg game simulators that give you access to the entire collection. MtG knows about them and hasn't tried to shut them down, so I'm guessing they see it promotes purchasing in the long run.

Lastly, if you want to look at deck ideas as you get more experienced, I recommend https://tappedout.net.

I've never heard of that at a dollar store, but have seen it at HPB in my area. It's likely one of two things:

Chaff - The cards have been picked over and you are getting what won't sell. In which case this isn't worth anything as far as game play or value goes.

Random Bulk - Someone buys bulk and packages them randomly. Most bulk is Chaff, but can have missed or hidden gems. May or may not be worth it, typically not. You can do similar on ebay or tcgplayer with larger bulk quantities with minimum rarity guarantees. It's hit or miss.

I'd much rather buy collections from an individual. Still get some chaff, but usually includes the playable and value cards and for not much more than buying bulk (on a per card basis). One collection I bought had 3 decks that the previous owner didn't deconstruct. I made only minor modification to 2 and kept them. The other I took apart.

I totally get what you are saying @X3M. That's why I'm a Kitchen Table Player. More casual and fun to experiment with decks, rather than try to dominate the game.

Because of this, the rules had to be changed over time.
Like limits or bans of certain cards.

I rather see a "rare" card. To be rare in the deck as well.

Like a rule that would demand the rare card to have a common version first to enter the field.

WHAAAAT!

That is so absurd. If you do not build your deck, then you don't understand how the game works at all because:

The gameplay Magic the gathering IS deck building.

Playing the game is pointless in itself. You could use an AI and have the same results. There is very little decisions to make through a game. The outcome of the game is almost decided by the stacking of the cards in both deck. There might be in average from 1-3 interesting decisions to make. If fact try it, play multiple games, with the cards stacked in the same order, and you will get very similar results.

So if playing the game itself is more a chore, then what's left is use the feedback from the games to design and improve your deck. That is where the gameplay lies. But if a pro design a deck for you, then there is nothing left to be done. It's like making a computer play a game by himself.

The internet is a very wonderful thing, but sometimes it screw up experiences.

While there are people (like me) who get as much enjoyment out of building the deck as playing, there are just as many players who would skip the deck building process to just play. It's personal preference. A lot of players will have two or three decks that they just keep tweaking. Then there are players like me who try to build as many and as diverse a deck as I can.

As for the decisions are laid out for you, it depends on two factors. One, how much reactionary stuff is in your deck and two, how well do you know your opponents deck. I would agree, aggro and stompy decks have very obvious plays with very little thinking (I have several). But Control type decks require a lot of decision making (Do I counter this moderately threatening thing now or save it for something really threatening that typically runs in the opponents style deck). That's why control is much harder to play effectively, but is typically among the strongest archetypes. There is plenty of in between. Also, some deck types you have to change strategy a bit in two player or multiplayer, which may alter your decision making.

If people buy pre-designed decks. Without the need to learn the game by designing their own deck. Without the need to buy cards and select the ones that are usefull.

I guess it should be named MtBPD;
Magic the Buy Pre-designed Deck.

I miss those days of having just one or two opponents who followed strict rules. In regards of gathering cards.

Sounds like you bought a player-con deck rather than a pre-con deck then. Check out https://tappedout.net/ for all sorts of deck ideas. If you find a deck you like on Tapped Out, you can click on the TCGPlayer button on the left hand side of the page where it shows the approximate cost of the deck and it will open https://store.tcgplayer.com and download the deck to your cart from a group of sellers. TCGPlayer is great for getting cards cheap, but you have to be careful right now because, with covid, you won't likely be getting the free shipping from TCG direct because noone is shipping their cards to TGC right now. You're buying direct from the sellers so you'll likely be paying multiple shipping charges right now.