Magic: The Gathering is a popular collectible card game that has been around for over 25 years. If you're new to the game, it can be a little overwhelming at first, but with a little guidance, it's easy to pick up and a lot of fun to play. In this post, we'll cover the basics of how to play Magic: The Gathering.
The Object of the Game The object of Magic: The Gathering is to reduce your opponent's life total from 20 to zero. Each player starts with a deck of 60 cards, consisting of spells, creatures, and lands. Players take turns casting spells, summoning creatures, and attacking each other until one player is defeated. It's important to note that life and card totals may vary depending on the format played.
Setting Up the Game To set up the game, each player shuffles their deck and draws seven cards. Players can then choose "mulligan" their, which means they can shuffle their hand into their deck and draw another 7. The first mulligan is free then you must discard a card from your hand for each subsequent mulligan. Once all players have a starting hand, the game begins. You can roll a die to see who goes first.
Playing the Game There are 5 phases to each turn: beginning phase, pre-combat main phase, combat phase, post-combat main phase, ending phase. It is important to pay attention to each card you have because they may impact specific phases of the game. - Beginning Phase The beginning phase consists of the untap step, upkeep, and draw step. In this phase, you will untap your lands, creatures, and any other tapped cards. You will also be able to play cards that have "instant" speed such as instant spells or creatures with flash. Then at the end of this phase you will draw your card for the turn. - Pre-Combat Main Phase This is one of two main phases of a players turn. This is the point in your turn where you are able to play your spells and creatures from your hand that don't have "instant" speed. You also are able to play a land each turn. In this phase specifically you will set yourself up for combat. - Combat Phase This is where things get exciting! During this phase, you start by declaring attackers, if you want to attack. In order to attack, you must tap an untapped creature that wasn't casted this turn (unless they have haste). Once you have declared your attackers and target, you move to the next step. In the next step, your opponent is able to declare their blockers. Blocking doesn't tap the creature like attacking does. Creatures can only block blockable creatures, some creatures may have special abilities that prevent them from being blocked by certain types of creatures or other creatures completely. Once all blockers are declared, you move to the final step of the combat phase, combat damage. In this step all damage is dealt in the way that it was assigned in the blocking step. If an attacking creatures damage is higher than the defending creatures toughness, then the defending creature dies; and vice-versa. Any extra damage dissipates unless the attacking creature has an ability called "trample" that allows the damage to go through the blocking creature. An important note is that if a blocking creature is removed, the damage is still assigned to that creature so unless the attacking creature has trample, no damage is done. - Post-Combat Main Phase This is the second main phase of a players turn. Here you prepare for your turn to end, so you can play creatures to defend with, or you can cast an enchantment to protect you during your opponents next turn - End Phase The first part of the end phase is the end step. Here cards with "until end of turn" effects will end and any "at the beginning of your end step" effects will trigger. Finally, you go into the cleanup step where you will discard down to your maximum hand size (7),
Spells and Abilities Spells and creatures in Magic: The Gathering have various abilities that can help you win the game. For example, some creatures have abilities that make them stronger, while others have abilities that allow them to fly or block attacks. Some spells can destroy creatures, while others can give you extra life or draw extra cards. We've touched on a few previously like trample and haste, but we will save the rest of them for another blog post when you feel like it's time to learn the more complex mechanics of the game.
Winning the Game Players can win the game by reducing their opponent's life total to zero. Players can also win if their opponent runs out of cards in their deck, or if their opponent can't draw any more cards.
Tips to Success
Build a balanced deck that includes a variety of spells, creatures, and lands.
Pay attention to your opponent's moves and plan your strategy accordingly.
Don't be afraid to use your spells and abilities to defend yourself, even if it means sacrificing a creature.
Keep an eye on your opponent's life total and try to reduce it as quickly as possible.
In addition to the basic game, Magic: The Gathering has several different game formats you can play, each with its own rules and requirements. Some of the most popular game formats include:
Standard: A format that only includes cards from the most recent sets.
Modern: A format that includes cards from the last 15 years.
Legacy: A format that includes all cards ever printed, with a few exceptions.
Commander: A multiplayer format where players build a deck around a legendary creature called a "commander".
Draft: A format where players "draft" cards from a pool of random cards to build a deck on the spot.
Each format has its own unique challenges and strategies, and it's important to choose a format that suits your play style and skill level. We will go over the formats like Draft and Commander in a different post since they have a few nuanced differences than the others, mainly Commander.
In conclusion, Magic: The Gathering is a fun and challenging game that's easy to learn but difficult to master. With a little practice and strategy, you can become a skilled player and enjoy this popular game for years to come, whether you're playing the basic game or one of the many different formats. Remember, the most important thing is to have fun.
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