Good day all planeswalkers. Shawn here and I am totally new to MTG. Have a few questions in mind and hope to get some answers here:

1. Appx. how much $$ to be invested before one can be competitive in tourneys?
2. MTG or MTGO? What'r the ups and downs?
3. What's the Luck vs. Skill ratio in MTG? 5:5?
4. What'r the average tourney payouts?
5. If I'm not mistaken, MTG cards are released by stages, how often is that?
6. Are new releases always better than the old ones?
7. How much $$ to be invested/month on upkeeping the cards to stay competitive?
8. Any opinion to a newbie?

Thanks for your time. Very much appreciated