Where Do I Start?

Welcome, new players of Magic! I'm pleased you've taken an interest in our game.

Unfortunately, Magic is very complicated, but don't worry! You may have even been to a local game store and seen a plethora of products to buy and had no idea where to begin. That's what this blog is for! I'll help you out!

What is Magic: The Gathering?

Magic is a card game created by Richard Garfield in 1993. It has been going strong ever since then. Unlike traditional card games, Magic is collectible. You collect cards and use them, rather than just shuffling a standard playing card deck.

How do you play this game?

If you need to learn the rules, the basics are explained on this page of the blog. If you don't know how to play the game, please be sure to read that before reading this page, as it is likely to be confusing to you if you don't know at least the basics of how to play.

What product should I buy?

If you're completely new, I recommend downloading the video game Magic Duels. Don't worry, it's totally free. It's available on Xbox, Steam, and iOS. Once you've done that, play around for a bit. It's a lot more simple than "real" Magic, to aim for a new player experience. If you'd rather use physical cards, that's fine too. See the next question for more info on that.

I'm done with Magic Duels. What physical cards should I get?

Go to your local game store and ask for a Welcome Deck. Much like Magic Duels, a Welcome Deck is a simplistic set of cards aimed at new players. It's supposed to be freely given out to new players, but some stores do insist on charging you money for it. If your store is charging you money, see if you can locate another store in your area. If not, then I wouldn't bother unless they are extremely cheap (don't pay more than $2). Welcome Decks are not worth getting if you have to pay significant amounts for them. Magic Duels is the better "new player" option because of the fact that it will always be free. If you can't play Magic Duels, but need a starting point, and can't get a free Welcome Deck, then buy a Booster Battle Pack. This is $10, so it's a bit more expensive, but it comes with a Welcome Deck, as well as two booster packs (see below if you don't know what that is). The booster packs normally cost $4 each, so you're effectively paying $2 for the Welcome Deck if you go for this option.

I'm ready for more complex stuff. What next?

Next, I'd pick up a Planeswalker Deck. Planeswalker Decks are more complex and more powerful than Welcome Decks, and you can get them for $15 each. Each one also comes with two booster packs. Magic releases a new expansion every three months, and each expansion brings with it two new Planeswalker Decks. Be sure to get the latest versions.

What is deck-building?

Deck-building is one of the most complicated parts of Magic, which is why I recommend that new players avoid it. Simply put, deck-building is where you make your own deck using any cards in your collection. There are many different ways to play Magic, but the most common rules state that your deck must contain at least 60 cards or more, and cannot contain more than 4 copies of any given card, except for basic lands. Only build your own deck if you feel that you are ready. In the meantime, I suggest improving your Planeswalker Deck, rather than starting from scratch.

How should I improve my Planeswalker Deck?

That's what the majority of this blog is for! Every time a new Planeswalker Deck comes out, I will make a post offering suggestions on how to improve it. I'll limit all suggestions to commons and uncommons, and only those in the latest block and the block before it, so that you can make the improvements for cheap, and you aren't too overwhelmed by complexity.

I'm ready for deck-building. What should I do?

Go buy the latest Deck Builder's Toolkit. It's $20 to purchase, and will contain a plethora of cards to use. This is a good starting point. The cards are semi-randomized, so you won't be getting a pre-constructed product, allowing you to build your own deck. It also will come with four booster packs. Finally, the box that it comes in is ideal for storing your cards.

When building a deck, a good tip to keep in mind is that you want to have roughly a third of your deck be land cards, and you want to not have too many non-land cards of a single mana cost. Have too many cards with a high mana cost, and you won't be able to do anything until the end of the game when you have played all that land. Have too many cards with a low mana cost, and you won't be able to compete against an opponent who plays a strong card with a high mana cost.

What's a booster pack?

A booster pack is the most common way to obtain more Magic cards. Depending on your store, a booster pack will be around $4 or so. You can also buy a booster box, which contains 36 booster packs, for around $100, making it slightly cheaper for you to buy the box, to get booster packs in bulk. Each booster pack contains 10 random common cards, 3 random uncommon cards, 1 random rare card, and 1 random basic land. One out of every eight packs contains a random mythic card instead of a rare card. One out of every six packs replaces one of the common cards with a random premium card of any rarity. Note that some expansions mix it up a little bit and don't necessarily always have this distribution, but this is the default that most expansions use.

What do those rarities mean? And what's a premium card?

Mythics are the rarest Magic cards. Rares are the next-rarest. Uncommons are the second-most common. And Commons are just that, common. Because commons and uncommons are so plentiful, they are often very cheap to purchase on the second-hand market. Rares and mythics can vary wildly from being worth only a dollar or two, to being several hundred dollars, depending on the individual card and how much play it sees in tournaments. A premium card (colloquially referred to as a "foil") is a card that has a glossy foil over it. These are rarer than their normal counterparts, so collectors often value them higher, and you can sell them for more money than a normal version. However, in gameplay, there is no difference between a premium and a non-premium card.

How can I tell my card's rarity?

The easiest way is to look at the expansion symbol on the card's type line. If it is black, your card is a common. If it is silver, it is an uncommon. If it is gold, it is a rare. If it is orange, it is a mythic. If you still can't tell, look at the bottom of the card. It will say the card's collector number, rarity (C, U, R, or M), the set it came from (a three-letter abbreviation), and the language that it is in. In between the set and the language is a dot on non-premium cards, and a star on premium cards. This will tell you all you need to know.

Is it worth it to buy booster packs?

For building a deck, absolutely not. Booster packs sometimes have cards of great value, but this is very infrequent. Most of the time, you spend about $4 to get about $2 worth of cards. It's not worth the purchase. However, you should absolutely buy booster packs if you intend to draft.

What's drafting?

In a draft, you sit at a table with a number of other players (usually seven), and you each get three booster packs. Everyone opens their first booster pack, takes a card from it, and keeps it. Then they pass the remaining cards to their left. They then have received a set of cards from the player to their right, so they look at those now. They take a card from that set, keep it, and then pass the others to the left. This continues until all of the cards have been taken. Then, they open their second pack, and do the same thing, except this time, they pass the cards to the right instead of the left. Then, they open their third pack and do it again, except this time, once again, passing to the left. After this is done, the players then take a look at all of the cards that they obtained in the draft, and, using only these cards and an unlimited amount of basic lands, they make a deck of at least 40 or more cards. Then they use these decks to play against each other. It's quite fun, and it doesn't require you to even own any Magic cards prior to playing.

What's the best card to take from a pack when drafting?

It depends on the pack and the draft itself. For new players, here's a rough guideline. Go in this order:

• If you see a planeswalker in the pack, take it. These are the cards worth the most money, they're often powerful, and they are super-good. Even if it's a planeswalker of a color that you aren't using in your deck, I'd still take it, just because of its monetary value. (Remember, after the draft is over, you get to keep whatever cards you took.)
• If you see a legendary creature, there's a chance that it is worth money too, but except in extreme cases, I wouldn't take it unless you are using its color in your deck (try to use exactly two colors in your deck, referred to as "your color" from now on). On the other hand, if you are using the color, take it.
• If you see a powerful creature in your color, take it.
• If you see a powerful non-creature spell in your color, and it has the ability to potentially end the game, take it.
• If you see a card in your color that will stop your opponent's creature from attacking you (probably by destroying it, but it could be other things like keeping it tapped), take it.
• If you see a creature in your color that can't be blocked except under certain conditions (such as flying or menace), take it. This also applies to creatures that have abilities that discourage the opponent from blocking, such as trample and deathtouch.
• If you see a creature in your color that is immune to an opponent's spells (usually because it has hexproof), take it.
• If you see a creature in your color that will primarily be used by attacking, take it. Don't take creatures if they won't attack (due to having defender or due to having a tap ability that you want to constantly use).
• If you see a card in your color that makes your creatures stronger, take it.
• If you see no other cards above, but you see a card in your color, take it.
• If you see no cards in your color, look at every card and ask yourself which one you least want to see an opponent play against you. Take that card.

Note that this is just a rough guideline and shouldn't be taken as concrete fact.

What's the best way to build a deck with cards that I drafted?

For a 40-card deck, you typically want your deck to look something like this:

• Always use exactly 40 cards. Never use 41 or more.
• You should have exactly 23 non-land cards, and 17 land cards. Once you get more experience with draft, you can deviate from this slightly, but for a new player, stick to this.
• You should have around 16 to 18 creatures, but that can be adjusted depending on what you drafted.
• Stick to two colors. Don't force yourself to stick with one, and don't try to go to three. For new players, two is ideal.
• Keep in mind that you should have creatures at a variety of mana costs. While you will likely never get it down to an exact number, the ideal deck has 0-2 creatures that cost 1 mana, 4-6 that cost 2 mana, 3-5 that cost 3 mana, 4 that cost 4 mana, 3 that cost 5 mana, and 2 that cost 6 or more mana.
• Don't be afraid to ask the other players for deck-building advice. If you're new, they'll understand, and will often be willing to help.

Drafting is fun, but I'd rather build a deck out of my own collection. How do I get more cards if I shouldn't buy booster packs?

Go buy individual cards from players who have already gotten them. Try TCG Player or Card Kingdom for best results.

People are telling me that I can't use my cards! What's going on!?

Most tournament players tend to play Standard Format, which only allows you to use cards that were released in expansions during the past eighteen months. You can click here to see which expansions are currently permitted.

What's a "sideboard"?

When you make a 60-card deck of your own, you also have the option of creating a sideboard. The sideboard must contain 15 cards or fewer, and the deck and sideboard combined are not allowed to have more than four copies of the same card, except for basic lands. While you cannot modify your deck mid-tournament, you can swap around cards between your deck and your sideboard freely in between each game, so long as, at the start of each game, your deck is 60 cards or more, and your sideboard is 15 cards or fewer. As a result, you want your sideboard to have cards that you will want to use against some people, and not use against others. Then, when you see who you're playing against, bring the appropriate cards into your deck. Note that a sideboard is not required to compete in a tournament. Also note that if your tournament involves drafting, then literally every card that you obtained in the draft that you didn't put in your deck is a part of your sideboard (even if this would exceed 15 cards), so you can swap those in and out as well. A sideboard in a draft also contains an unlimited amount of basic lands.

Is there any way that I can play Magic digitally?

Yes. You can pay $10 to make an account on Magic Online, and then start building up a collection of digital cards there too. Note that it is not free-to-play, and you will have to buy cards in the same manner that you do in the physical world, by buying them from players who already have them or by purchasing booster packs.

What other Magic products can I buy?

 Here are the remaining Magic products:

• Bundles - These cost $43, come with ten booster packs, a bunch of basic lands, a spindown die, and a booklet. The box is ideal for storing cards, but not quite to the extent of a Deck Builder's Toolkit. Overall, not a good purchase if you're paying $43. However, some stores do sell them for cheaper, but it's still really not worth it. Unless you're drafting, you don't really ever want to buy booster packs. Take that $43 and use it to buy $43 worth of singles.
• Duel Decks - These cost $20 and provide you with two pre-built 60-card decks containing lots of good cards from throughout all of Magic's history. The idea behind them is that you and a friend each take a deck and use it, so the decks are designed to be played against each other. Do note, though, that if your friend is a new player, these decks are fairly complex. Start them out with Magic Duels or a Welcome Deck instead. Duel Decks tend to have high value, and are overall a great purchase. However, because they contain cards from throughout all of Magic's history, they are not legal in Standard Format, so if you want to compete in tournaments at your local game store, these will not allow you to do so. If you'd rather just stay at home and play with a small group of friends though, go right ahead.
• Commander Decks - These cost $30, and give you a pre-built Commander Deck. Commander is a very fun format that allows you to play a 100-card deck, with no two cards being identical, except for basic lands. It also includes a commander as one of those 100 cards, a legendary creature that restricts further what cards can be put into your deck. During the game, you may cast your commander at any time, making it the card that you want to build the deck around. Five new Commander Decks are released each year. However, old decks can still sometimes be found at the same $30 price tag, because they printed a lot of them. The pre-built decks are usually powerful enough to play against a Commander player, and they often contain very valuable cards. They also offer many options of how to upgrade them. If you've never played Commander Format before, and you are looking to try it, this is all you need. Just spend $30 once and you're good to go. However, it requires that you find a group of people to play with that play Commander Format, which is not nearly as common as Standard Format (though it is still somewhat common). Additionally, for new players, the Commander Decks can be pretty complex. Still, if you've recently joined a play group, and they seem extremely interested in Commander Format, just buy a single Commander Deck, and you'll be all set.

Where can I learn how to improve my gameplay?

The official Magic website posts articles each weekday that I would recommend reading. Beyond that, get involved in the Magic community. There is a great community on Reddit that often posts interesting things.

How do I compete in tournaments?

For new players, the best tournaments to compete in are Friday Night Magic events. Just go to your local game store on a Friday night, and they will likely have a tournament going, with a group of already-established players that go to that store frequently. Tell them you have an interest in competing at FNM, and they will oblige you. Depending on the store, the event may be Standard Format, or it may be drafting. It can also be another format, but that is much less common. Signing up for FNM does cost money, but if you do well in the event, you can win booster packs or promotional cards. If you don't do well, there's still a random chance that you'll get a free promotional card anyways. And of course, you'll get to meet new people to trade cards with and play with.

Outside of FNM, I highly recommend attending prereleases. As mentioned above, Magic releases a new expansion every three months. On the weekend before each new expansion, each local game store hosts an event known as a prerelease. Here, you get to play with the new expansion despite it not being out yet! It's also incredibly cheap and cost-effective, costing somewhere between $20 and $25, depending on the store. You'll receive six booster packs of the new expansion, plus a random premium rare card or premium mythic card, and then be asked to build a 40-card deck using only those cards and as many basic lands as you like. It also comes with a spindown die, and a box for storing your cards in (though it only has enough room for what you get at the prerelease, and not much room for anything more than that). You'll then be able to sit down and play with other players using the deck that you just built. And since no one has ever played with these cards before, you won't be at a disadvantage by being a new player. It's quite a fun experience, but be warned that it can take all day and really eats up your weekend, so make sure that you don't have any plans before attending. If you do well at the prerelease, you'll earn additional booster packs of the new expansion. Trust me, that entry fee pays for itself really quickly. One downside, though, is that a lot of players tend to want to sign up for this event, and so space quickly fills up. Talk to your local game store about registering early so that you can get your name on the roster beforehand.

After that, Game Days happen about a month after each expansion is released. It is a Standard Format tournament held at your local game store, and is also pretty good. It's not as "worth it" for new players, because Standard Format includes five or six of the previous expansions, and you may not have access to the best cards from those, if you're just starting out.

I'm ready to do more! What's next after FNMs and prereleases?

Grand Prixes are events that happen only at specific major cities all over the world. There's one or two weekends every month when they happen, and they happen in about three cities each time. They offer a wide variety of formats and a huge cash prize if you win. Grand Prix Trials are smaller events that some local game stores will offer (ask yours for details). If you win a Grand Prix Trial, then you can automatically skip the first two rounds of a Grand Prix.

Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifiers are events that a local game store might sometimes have. They're fairly rare on each specific store though. They come in a variety of formats, and if you win, then you can compete in a Regional Pro Tour Qualifier, against the top players from your region. Win that, and you can compete in the Pro Tour, featuring the best players of the world. Winning here will really make you a big name in the Magic community, and you can basically just make a living off of winning these tournaments at this point.

World Magic Cup Qualifiers are where you can play to earn the right to represent your country at the World Magic Cup. However, the only way to compete in a World Magic Cup Qualifier is if you are invited to one, you can't just sign up.

Finally, if you've been doing so well at all of the above events that you've managed to become one of the top 24 players in the world, you'll be invited to the Magic World Championship. This is a very rare honor, and you'll be able to potentially become the Magic World Champion.