Asklemmy

I bought one for myself a while ago. I think a Rider Waite 78 card deck, because they seem to be the most used original decks.

But i never really put the time in to learn all the meanings and patterns, so i'm not the best reference.

They look nice though.

Edit: i got this one: https://www.amazon.de/gp/aw/d/B071YNQSB1

Like the other comment, Rider Waite is OG, but Albany Waite has cooler colors IMO.

I’d go with either of these original sets and then they can venture into the infinite varieties of decks out there.

Modern Witch Tarot is full of feminist iconography and has beeeeeautiful art.

Get her a pig and name it tarot deck.

I've always wanted a pig.

My rec was gonna be the biddy tarot since it's a modern / inclusive version of the rws which is some of the most common imagery used in themed decks so if she decides to get a Pokémon themed deck or whatever later the imagery will translate well (I have a cat meme deck and an emoji deck in addition to my traditional rws deck). Comparing the imagery across themed interpretations of the RWS is FASCINATING and has taken up a significant part of my last two years. The biddy is about 2x what you're asking though so let me see what else I can find...

Osho Zen is the most beautiful tarot deck (not just visually but the explanations of each card are both clear and give a story! Dont know what it costs in the US.

I'm not into tarot that much (I just like the art usually, doubly so if it's from an IP I'm a fan of), but if she is or ever was into Neopets, the Neopets Tarot Deck on their merch site is only $22 and is pretty nice.

It comes with a guidebook in case you need tips or instructions on how to start, or just need a refresher on things. The art on the cards is fantastically done, with each card representing what it is extremely well with just the picture alone. Plus, each card is packed full of lore and little nods to different NP plots/characters from over the years. The guidebook tells you what each card represents/means, plus a description of the art and how it pertains to the card, and a bit of fun lore/callbacks (like the Game Graveyard being the representative art for the Ten of Swords card, or Tor being the Knight of Pentacles)

There is a lovely Skyrim Tarot deck. A bit outside your range there, but I saw it lower elsewhere.

thanks y'all for replying!!!

I'm gonna get what she'll like the most

My favourites are Lost Hollow and Kitten Tarot. Tip: you can get both together for less than 15 bucks on Aliexpress or Temu

Here's my rec from AliExpress. Modern shape and color but a lot of classic imagery still. This one sort of as well. You could then pair either with a more traditional RWS deck for her to compare the imagery too. I wouldn't fuss too much on getting a guide book. The internet has a wide range of interpretations to draw from. Wikipedia even has a pretty good set of pages on all things metaphysical and I find that it approaches them from a pretty grounded place as spiritual traditions without placing a lot of weight on them as truly divinatory or anything.

https://www.malpertuis.co/

There is a wide variety on temu. I was surprised at the quality of them.