Thanks for the interesting input and discussion here in this post! I appreciate it. My mom Zelled me $100 so I bought standard packs and the tavern pass. I will try to stick to the Standard format until, and if, I feel otherwise compelled to stop (only time will tell).
However, I like a mix of the other modes too; I will mix in BGs, Mercs, occasional Tavern Brawls, and Solo Adventures to build my Wild collection (so that someday I might have enough variety to theory craft decks with the hopes of discovering something cool and powerful).