Not quite what I would call a "poor man's homecart", especially sonsidernig what the boxes cost, with art, shipped.
LOL
I have several home carts worth around the $200 mark. There are plenty more that go up from there, with the most expensive carts being around $1000 (except for a couple really spendy exceptions like Metal Slug 1).
So, yeah: poor man's homecart
I made a wrong choice of words, what I meant to say is that MVS aren't exactly cheap once you dress them up. I'm unsure what I paid for Samurai Shodown 5 and Samurai Shodown 5 Special MVS, however I did have to import those 2, at a price. Same goes for Sengoku 3.
I know what some Home carts sell for, however I was not willing to pay $$$$$ to get started with AES since I was a bit late into the game of owning Neo Geo carts, of any kind. MVS gets you much further for the same amount of money, for the same games.
If you enjoy paying $200-$1,000 for a cart, have fun! Unlike TG-16 vs PC-Engine, there are pretty much no differences in MVS and AVS, other than cart shape/art, instruction manual, box, and PRICE! Same game, I can play either in Japanese or English. Unibios and a consolized 2-slot work fine for me.
I say the same for anyone thinking to get into Neo Geo. If you want to play a handful of games, goe with AES. If you want to play more, go with MVS. If you really want AES, and you have maybe $10,000 sitting around that you'd like to build an AES collection with, go for it. That $10,000 will get you A LOT further with MVS. You can buy nearly all the MVS carts, shockboxes, and art for them at that price.