One store owner told me hes resorted to getting up in the early hours of the morning to try to buy packs online from other retailers, just so he has something to sell on his shelves, while knowing hes driving the problem by doing so
Every Equipment costs mana to actually equip to your creatures, but the deck has plenty of ways to cheat around equip costs by making them either discounted or completely free, depending on what your board state is
As is, Id rather have Gilded Lotus most of the time
Start with Elite Trainer Boxes (ETBs) or Booster Boxes
This helps to set up your field, as it allows you to set up your field with Pokmon such as Sableye DEX, and then move the Energy off of them to your main attackers when you no longer need to set up (or need to start attacking)
Zuran Orb When you absolutely positively have to have life gain, except no substitute