If you head out for Thursday, there are friendly folks that would load you a deck if you asked. Pre-cons for Commander can be had for ~$40-50, and most could be upgraded to be better for another $20-30 of singles; not the worst costs for a Magic format!

There is a small card shop in Bayonne, MTG events run at the Play Hoboken Space, a few places in the city, then some folks drive out to NJ for events at suburban shops for tournaments & prereleases. It's a lower margin business that needs lots of floor space, so it's hard to make it work in JC! That's why we made the facebook group and group chat, as there are enough folks here to get a community going but no store.