I'm not sure we've quite gotten to the bottom yet on Bloomburrow singles, but in most cases, it'll be better to buy singles you need now as compared to when cards first came out
Everything ships in bubble mailers with card protectors
Prior to this year, the only way to guarantee getting a foil card prior to this year was to buy one of the boxed sets that specifically had foil cards included as promos, which is certainly a valid option but lacks the cool factor of opening a booster pack and getting a really cool card at random
An altered card (Altered) must be marked with the appropriate icon and listed for sale under the following conditions: PLAYED A card still usable in tournaments, partially altered, and in good enough condition to be played
Conventions offer more competition between buyers, but not everyone there buys bulk, and the lines can be long