Now that you understand the role of lands and how
\ndifferent colors or schools of magic approach the game, take a look
\nat the types of spells you will be casting over the course of a Magic
\ngame. For the purpose of learning the game, there are effectively
\ntwo categories of spells that you to know:<\/p>\n
One-time spells.
\nPermanents.<\/p>\n
While mostly self-explanatory, this section will explain each
\ncategory and begin going over the different kinds of spells that fall
\ninto each.<\/p>\n
One-time spells are exactly like they sound like: Spells that
\ncan only be used once. After they\u2019ve been cast and their effect is
\nresolved, they go to a special game zone called the graveyard
\nwhich is analogous to a discard pile in other card games. There
\nare two kinds of one-time spells and how they play differs quite
\nsubstantially.<\/p>\n
The first type of spell is what is known as a Sorcery. Each
\nturn of a game of Magic is broken down into several phases, which
\nyou will learn in greater detail soon. For now, though, just
\nunderstand that you and your opponent each take turns
\nthroughout a Magic duel and any Sorcery card can only be played
\nduring your own turn and when there are no other spells being
\nplayed. Due to their timing restrictions, Sorceries are often more expensive to cast and have larger effects.<\/p>\n
Our second type of one-time use spell is called an Instant. As
\nopposed to Sorceries, Instants can be cast any time you have
\npriority. That means on your turn or on your opponents turn
\nwhen they are trying to cast their own spells! There are many
\ntypes of Instant spells from offensively boosting your own
\ncreatures to defensively stopping your opponent\u2019s spells. Since
\nthey can be played anytime, most instants are cheaper and have
\nsmaller effects.<\/p>\n
Two important terms that relate to these card types are
\nSorcery speed and Instant speed. In Magic talk, the first refers to
\na spell that can only be played during the main phase of your own
\nturn with no other spells attempting to resolve. The latter refers to
\nanything that can be played on both your or your opponents\u2019 turn
\nas long as you have priority.<\/p>\n
This is also relevant to Permanents because, with rare
\nexceptions, these can only be played at Sorcery speed, though
\noften once a Permanent is in play it has abilities that may be used
\nat Instant speed.<\/p>\n
There are several types of Permanents that can be played
\nonto the battlefield. These have lasting effects that will change the
\ngame until they are removed from play. The different Permanent
\nt}pes are as follows:<\/p>\n
Artifact.
\nEnchantment.
\nCreature.
\nPlaneswalker.<\/p>\n
Each type of Permanent has its own abilities and features.
\nHere is a breakdown of each.<\/p>\n
One of the more common types of Permanents you will see
\nin play is the Creature type. Especially in beginning duels, the
\nmost frequent route to victory will involve creature combat. In
\naddition to that, only the creature cards in Magic have the ability
\nto attack and block, making their usage more complex and
\ninteresting. Let\u2019s break down a creature card to get an idea of how
\nto read Magic cards and use them in game.<\/p>\n
To begin, you need to examine each part of the card and what
\nit means in game. From the top-left corner you will be able to get
\nthe creature\u2019s name. This could be an individual’s specific name
\nor a general creature type. In our example (above), the card in
\nquestion is Ancient Hellkite. Beneath the artwork is the type line.
\nHere you see that the type of card is a creature and, more specifically, a dragon!<\/p>\n
Moving back to the top of the card (the upper-right corner
\nthis time), you will see a very important part of every Magic card:
\nThe casting cost. This is the amount and type of mana you will
\nneed access to cast each spell. If you look back at the basic land
\ntypes, you will notice each one has a different mana symbol on it.
\nThis symbol corresponds to the type of mana it produces and
\nshows up again here in our casting cost.<\/p>\n
Using this analysis, you can see that in order to cast the
\npowerful Ancient Hellkite, you will need access to at least three
\nMountains in order to produce the three red mana symbols to the
\nfar right of the casting cost. The number four in the gray circle
\nshows you that in addition to those three Mountains, you will also
\nneed four additional mana sources. These sources, however, can
\nbe from any land type you hc ve access to.<\/p>\n
Now take a look at the cards text. The first thing you see is
\nthe word \u201cFlying\u201d. This is a Magic keyword that is used in all sets.
\nKeywords are frequently added to expansion sets but some are
\n\u201cevergreen,\u201d which means they will appear constantly. You will
\nlearn more about them later, but for your dragon, Flying means it
\ncan only be blocked in combat by other creatures with Flying.<\/p>\n
Ancient Hellkite also has a secondary ability that allows you
\nto pay one red mana to deal one point of damage to one of your
\nopponent\u2019s creatures as you attack. This is a repeatable effect and
\nyou can pay as many times want as long as you have Mountains to
\nproduce red mana.<\/p>\n
The final thing worth noticing is in the bottom-right
\ncorner. There you will see two numbers divided by a slash. In this
\ncase you have 6\/6. These numbers designate the creature\u2019s power
\nand toughness, respectively.<\/p>\n
Power is the amount of damage a creature will deal in
\ncombat to another creature, player, or Planeswalker. Its
\ntoughness is how much damage the creature can take between
\ncombat and spell damage over a single turn before it dies and is
\nmoved to the graveyard.<\/p>\n
When you summon a creature, you are basically pulling
\nthat creature from its natural area to fight by your side. This
\nmeans that unlike other types of permanents, creatures are
\naffected by \u201csummoning sickness\u201d.<\/p>\n
In game terms, this means that the turn you summon a creature, it cannot attack or use any ability preceded by a tap symbo in its text.<\/p>\n
The creature can block an opponent\u2019s attack, but the rest of
\nits abilities will not become available until it begins a turn under
\nyour control on the battlefield.<\/p>\n
Tapping is something that comes up often in Magic. It
\nshows that a resource has been used up for that turn. Whenever a
\nland is used to produce mana, a creature attacks, or an ability
\npreceded by the tap symbol is used, turn the card ninety degrees to
\nthe side to denote it is tapped for the rest of the turn.<\/p>\n
The other types of permanents are not nearly as complicated.
\nArtifacts are powerful relics created by Planeswalkers to contain
\nand use magical energy. Unlike creatures, these can generally be
\nused the same turn that they are played, assuming you have the
\nmana to do so. Their uses are varied and vast, so experimenting to
\nfind the best way to augment your strategy is essential!<\/p>\n
Enchantments are long-lasting effects that generally help you
\nturn the tide of battle by either hindering your opponent or
\nboosting your own creatures. There are two types of
\nenchantments: Those that go directly onto the battlefield and
\naffect the entire board and those that attach to a specific creature.
\nThe latter are known as Auras and can be beneficial to your own
\nforces or catastrophic for your opponents\u2019.<\/p>\n
Another very powerful type of card is the Planeswalker.
\nThese cards allow you to bring forth other sorcerers as allies to
\nassist you in your quest for Victory. Instead of toughness like
\ncreatures, Planeswalkers measure their strength in loyalty. This
\nshows how Willing they are to stand by your cause.<\/p>\n
Each Planeswalker you summon has a starting loyalty printed
\nin the bottom-right, where you would find a creature\u2019s power and
\ntoughness. They then have abilities that allow you to either gain
\nor lose loyalty based on your needs. When their loyalty is used up,
\nthe mage will abandon you to your own deydces and be placed in
\nthe graveyard.<\/p>\n
Planeswalker\u2019s abilities may only be used at sorcery speed and
\nthey may be attacked or targeted by your opponent. You may use
\nyour creatures and spells to protect your allies in the same way you would use them to protect yourself<\/p>\n
Now that you have the basic idea of What the card types are
\nand how to use them, take a look at the zones of play before
\ngetting into what makes up a turn. There is no official game board
\nfor Magic: The Gathering. This allows you to take your cards
\nanywhere and set up a game.<\/p>\n
As discussed earlier, the game starts with a randomized
\nlibrary. Each format has its own rules for deck building that speak
\nto the size of your deck, but for this example, the minimum is 60
\ncards. Those 60 cards will make up your library, which will
\nremain face down in front of you. From the library, you will draw
\nthe top seven cards to comprise your opening hand. Seven is the
\nmaximum number of cards you can hold in your hand at any given
\ntime.<\/p>\n
All the action of a game takes place on the battlefield. Most
\nplayers define their battlefield by playing their lands out directly in
\nfront of them and all other types of permanents (creatures,
\nartifacts, enchantments, and Planeswalkers) above their lands.<\/p>\n
This is not defined by the rules of the game, so layout your
\nbattlefield in a way that is most comfortable for you and your
\nopponent to read. Auras should be placed atop the creature they
\nenchant. All of your permanents must be accessible to you and
\nyour opponent, so you can both easily see if they are tapped or
\nnot.<\/p>\n
The graveyard is your discard pile and is where things will
\nmove from your hand or the battlefield most often. If any
\npermanent you control is destroyed, if a spell or effect causes you
\nto discard, or if anything is sacrificed or countered, the card in
\nquestion will go to the graveyard. This zone should also be Visible
\nto both players, so place cards in this area face up.<\/p>\n
Remember, if creature dies in combat by taking damage
\nequal to or more than their toughness in a single turn, they will be
\ndestroyed and must go to the graveyard. This is also the same for
\nPlaneswalkers that use up all of their loyalty counters.<\/p>\n
Some cards will mention a specific effect known as
\n\u201cexiling\u201d. When this comes up, the card exiled is not placed in the
\ngraveyard, but instead removed from the game. This can be
\nshown by turning it face up somewhere away from the boundaries
\nof your battlefield. Unless a specific effect alters the rules, the
\nexiled card is inaccessible to either player for the remainder of the
\ngame.<\/p>\n
The final zone is one of the most important: The stack. The
\nstack is where spells you cast go in order to resolve. For now,
\nrealize that both players get an opportunity to respond to every
\nspell cast over the course of a Magic game. The order in which the
\nspells resolve is handled by the stack, which is a public zone
\nshared by all players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Now that you understand the role of lands and how different colors or schools of magic approach the game, take a look at the types of spells you will be casting over the course of a Magic game. For the purpose of learning the game, there are effectively two categories of spells that you to … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/500"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/500\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}