Getting started
Getting started with Magic
What the game is, how a game runs, and what to buy first. Written for someone who has never held a card.
What we are talking about
Magic: The Gathering is a card game for two or more players, first published in 1993. Each player brings their own deck, built in advance from their collection. That is the essential difference from an ordinary card game: nobody plays with the same deck, and building it is as much a part of the game as playing.
A game pits two planeswalkers — mages — against each other, casting spells and summoning creatures. Each player starts at 20 life. You usually win by reducing your opponent to zero. Other ways to win exist, but that one is enough to begin with.
There are more than thirty years of cards in circulation, which can feel overwhelming. In practice nobody plays with all of them at once: formats cut the game into manageable pieces. More on that below.
How a turn runs
Lands make mana
Almost everything costs mana, and mana comes from lands. You may play one land per turn, no more. That is the rhythm of the game: one mana on turn one, four on turn four. It is also why a deck needs enough lands — around seventeen in sixty cards is a reasonable starting point.
Draw, play, attack
A turn comes down to this: draw a card, untap your permanents, play a land, cast what you can pay for, attack with your creatures. Then it is your opponent's turn. The full phase structure exists and matters in tournaments, but it is learned by playing, not by reading.
Creatures have two numbers
Bottom right of a creature: its power and its toughness. A 2/3 deals two damage and survives three. A creature summoned this turn cannot attack straight away — that is summoning sickness, and it is the rule new players forget most often.
Spells resolve on a stack
When you cast a spell it does not take effect immediately: it waits, and your opponent may respond. The last spell cast resolves first. This is called the stack, and it is the concept that really separates Magic from other card games. Nobody understands it the first time, and that is fine.
The five colours
Each colour has a personality: what it can do, what it cannot, and the kind of player it speaks to. A deck can combine several, at the cost of a trickier mana base.
White
Order and numbers. Small creatures that get stronger together, protection, and board wipes that reset everything. Plays patience and structure.
Blue
Control and knowledge. Drawing cards, countering opposing spells, bouncing permanents back to hand. Rarely wins fast, but sets the pace.
Black
The price paid. Destroying creatures, stripping the opponent's hand, raising the dead — often paying with its own life total or its own cards.
Red
Speed and risk. Direct damage, cheap aggressive creatures, unpredictable effects. Wants the game over before it gets complicated.
Green
Mass and growth. The biggest creatures in the game, and the mana acceleration to cast them earlier than you should be able to.
What to buy first
What works
Something built for beginners. Starter boxes and beginner kits contain two ready-to-play decks, simplified rules, and everything a first game needs. It is by far the best first purchase, and the cheapest.
A preconstructed Commander deck, if you already know you want to play in a group. It is playable straight out of the box, it improves one card at a time, and it is the most-played format in the shop.
A draft night. You pay entry, we hand you packs, you build on the spot. Everyone starts level, nobody has a financial advantage, and you keep your cards. It is the fastest way to learn.
What disappoints
Buying loose packs hoping to hit something. On average a pack is worth less than it costs — that is how the model works. Opening packs is a pleasure in itself; it is not a purchasing strategy.
Buying expensive cards before you know which format you will play. A hundred-dollar card that is perfect in Modern may be illegal in Standard and mediocre in Commander. Pick the format, then the cards.
Rebuilding a deck you saw online as your first purchase. Those lists assume an existing collection. Play first, work out what you enjoy, buy after.
What next
Once you know whether you would rather play head-to-head or in a group, in tournaments or among friends, choosing a format becomes the real question. Bring your questions to the shop — it is quicker than a forum.
Formats