{"id":882,"date":"2020-03-17T01:57:47","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T01:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/?page_id=882"},"modified":"2020-03-17T01:57:47","modified_gmt":"2020-03-17T01:57:47","slug":"how-to-get-into-magic-the-gathering","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/how-to-get-into-magic-the-gathering\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Get Into Magic: The Gathering"},"content":{"rendered":"

Magic: The Gathering\u00a0<\/em>is experiencing a bit of a renaissance, and you don\u2019t have to look at publisher Hasbro\u2019s financials to prove it. The 26-year-old strategy card game is alive, kickin\u2019 and as accessible as ever to those curious about picking up a new hobby.<\/p>\n

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Part of what\u2019s fuelled the game\u2019s resurgence is a shift in how it\u2019s viewed.\u00a0Magic: The Gathering<\/em>, like its sister franchise\u00a0Dungeons & Dragons<\/em>, is no longer an activity targeted at children and basement-dwellers. Really, it never has been.\u00a0Magic: The Gathering\u00a0<\/em>is a card game to play Sunday morning at a coffee shop or Saturday afternoon in a draft at a friend\u2019s house with some beers. A game of\u00a0Arena\u00a0<\/em>is a quick lunch break.\u00a0Magic\u00a0<\/em>is a community-building tool and a brain challenge on the level of chess or poker.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to get into\u00a0Magic: The Gathering<\/em>\u00a0if you\u2019re curious but don\u2019t quite know where to start.<\/p>\n

Misconceptions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Before we get started, a quick note: There\u2019s a prevalent idea that\u00a0Magic: The Gathering\u00a0<\/em>is a game won by kids with rich parents who buy them fancy cards. It\u2019s true that it can be a money-sink. Hell, infamous price gouger Martin Skhreli was\u00a0in the market\u00a0<\/a>for a rare Black Lotus card, one of which went for\u00a0$166,000<\/a>\u00a0earlier this year. Lots of people have invested big money in\u00a0Magic<\/em>, turning the game into a deck-measuring contest.<\/p>\n

That said, there are cheap ways to play that won\u2019t burn a hole in your wallet. I\u2019d say that\u00a0Magic\u00a0<\/em>is significantly more fun this way. The advice I offer is aimed at players who aren\u2019t looking for the three pricey cards that will win them every game. It\u2019s for people who want as low a barrier as possible to ease into a new hobby.<\/p>\n

Pick Your First Deck<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You have two options here: physical cards or digital ones.<\/p>\n

Physical<\/h4>\n

If you want to play with your IRL friends, I suggest purchasing a premade deck online or at your local hobby shop.\u00a0Challenger Decks<\/a>\u00a0include 60 cards (the minimum deck size for standard play) and can be played immediately after opening the box. They\u2019re a great way to get started and cost $30 each. They also come with something called a \u201csideboard\u201d: 15 cards that you can exchange with cards in the premade deck for a more customized play experience.<\/p>\n

You can also buy premade decks from third-party sites like\u00a0Cardkingdom<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Ebay<\/a>. Cardkingdom\u2019s\u00a0Battle Decks<\/a>\u00a0are a great place to start.<\/p>\n

Lots of hobby shops have something called\u00a0Welcome Decks,<\/a>\u00a0which are free if you ask for one, too.<\/p>\n

Digital<\/h4>\n

Magic: The Gathering Arena\u00a0<\/em>is free-to-play on PC (with a Mac version said to be on the way), and it comes with a huge number of premade decks that you can play endlessly against bots and other players online. You can download it\u00a0here<\/a>. I\u2019ve played with these decks a lot and they\u2019re majorly fun and varied, so you can taste-test all sorts of deck strategies and mechanics. To build your own decks, you can earn packs of cards by playing, purchase packs or exchange \u201cwild cards\u201d for specific cards you want.<\/p>\n

Deck Colors<\/h4>\n

Magic: The Gathering<\/em>\u00a0cards generally belong to one of five colors, each with its own theme: white, black, blue, green and red. A lot of\u00a0Magic\u00a0<\/em>decks, including the premade ones, include cards from two of these colors. It\u2019s good to envision what sort of play style you\u2019re interested in pursuing before making a big purchase.<\/p>\n

Green<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Green is governed by instinct and interdependence. Lots of green decks ramp up to powerful behemoths that swing at enemies for big damage. Green also includes reinforcement spells that give creatures strength and the ability to trample over opponents\u2019 defenses.<\/p>\n

White<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

White is governed by order and morality. Defense and life-gain are big tenets of white cards\u2019 strategy, and a lot of white cards help reinforce a larger group dynamic. Sometimes, those groups include swarms or \u201cweenie\u201d creatures, which are cheap and effective.<\/p>\n

Black<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Black is governed by parasatism and amorality. Its cards are full of abilities that let you destroy or leech from creatures, return creatures from the dead and sacrifice smaller creatures in the name of greater strategy.<\/p>\n

Blue<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Blue is governed by logic and technology. A lot of people offhand refer to these decks as \u201ccontrol\u201d decks, as blue strategies are often less focused on creatures than on spells: countering opponents\u2019 moves, drawing cards, trickery or\u00a0milling decks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Red<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Red is governed by chaos and impulse. Red decks tend to do direct damage to opponents and throw out aggressive, fast creatures with a burn-fast-and-bright strategy.<\/p>\n

Do A Draft<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are two ways to play\u00a0Magic<\/em>: constructed and limited. Constructed play is when two or more people play decks they\u2019ve already made against each other. We covered that.<\/p>\n

Limited play is when two or more players\u2014generally many, many more\u2014open packs of\u00a0Magic\u00a0<\/em>cards and assemble decks on the fly. It\u2019s best not to get attached to a certain color before starting a draft, since in this format, you\u2019re just going to have to work with what you get. One version of that deck assembly process is called a \u201cdraft.\u201d In a draft, players open a pack, take out one card and pass it to their neighbor.<\/p>\n

In what is called \u201csealed,\u201d players can assemble decks using several packs. This may be a better first step for new players, since it\u2019s a more solitary endeavor and doesn\u2019t rely on your knowing immediately what the best card in a pack is. (That\u2019s actually a hard skill to pick up!)<\/p>\n

Hobby shops host drafts and sealed events, but I don\u2019t recommend jumping into one there without having ever played. There are a lot of X factors that could lead to a bad time, since at hobby shops, there are established rules and manners that may be intimidating to a new player. If you still want to give it a go, pre-release events tend to be more newbie-friendly.<\/p>\n

The safest option is to grab 4-10 friends and a\u00a0booster box<\/a>\u00a0and do a draft or sealed event at someone\u2019s house. (Remember to split the cost.) Or, you can play a draft in\u00a0Magic Arena<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to make a draft deck:<\/p>\n

Learn The Rules<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The basic rules of\u00a0Magic: The Gathering<\/em>\u00a0are relatively simple. If a player\u2019s health, which starts at 20, is knocked to 0 or below, they lose. A player can also lose if they have to draw a card from their deck when their deck is empty.<\/p>\n

To play a card, a player must pay its mana cost, designated on the top right corner. Mana is a resource that can be white, black, red, blue, green or neutral. There are several card types, including creatures, instants and enchantments. Creatures can attack opponents for damage and opponents can block with their own creatures.<\/p>\n

Magic Arena\u00a0<\/em>has a great rules\u00a0tutorial that\u2019s slow and patient. There are parts of\u00a0Magic: The Gathering\u00a0<\/em>that are more easily learned in the digital card game, like the combat phases, because they\u2019re more clearly delineated.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s a link to the\u00a0basic written version<\/a>. (Here\u2019s the longer,\u00a0official<\/a>\u00a0version.)<\/p>\n

While the basic rules are easily ascertainable,\u00a0Magic: The Gathering\u00a0<\/em>games get complicated fast. On top of special abilities lots of cards have, good strategy for the game can be harder than chess. I definitely recommend sitting down for a couple games with someone who knows how to play. Playing is the best way to learn.<\/p>\n

Learn Some Basic Strategy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are exceptions to almost every rule of\u00a0Magic: The Gathering\u00a0<\/em>strategy, so along with learning the most important play guidelines, make sure to learn those exceptions, too.\u00a0Magic: The Gathering\u00a0<\/em>had a series of blogs some years ago called \u201cMagic Academy<\/a>\u201d that still really hold up!<\/p>\n

Some important ones to hit:<\/p>\n