Oh the memories..
I got the Daredevil and Hulk packs from wave one as a gift. I immediately went out and got the Spider-man and Ultimate X-Men 5-packs and I've been hooked since the beginning.
I actually tried to give up 'mates for a while, or at least just focus in on who I was buying in an attempt to save money. That caused me to miss out on Kraven, Mysterio, AIM soldier, and some other guys who are now really expensive on eBay. The 90s X-Men caused me to dive back in head first. And lucky for me Mysterio is getting a new release now!