Richard Garfield and the Wizards of the Coast designed a card game. The game Magic: The Gathering became highly popular after 27 years and an expansion of Eighty-Four. Within these 27 years of slow and steady advancement, Magic became a giant in the card game world. Magic is basically a card game where there needs to be a plan of action. Similar to other fantasy games like Dungeons & Dragons or Hearthstone, Magic combines your fantasies and strategic plan. MTG has some simple rules and some ever-changing rules. These rules made Magic easy to learn and also hard to master. Magic the gathering will undoubtedly feed your thirst for card games and even fill your minds with tremendous stories. So, read the article to learn how to play magic the gathering and also know tricks to improve yourself.
Is Magic: The Gathering easy to learn?
Undoubtedly, Magic the gathering is effortless to play. You can ask me how to play Magic the Gathering when you are a beginner? Well, for beginners, the game restricts itself to a few rules only. Newbies can start by initiating with easy creatures and spells. The offline version of the game will also help beginners to improve their MTG strategies. The game started its journey with simple cards and then gradually progressed into making a full deck.
After the initial stage of Magic the Gathering, the player will slowly advance to more elaborate cards and planeswalkers. Furthermore, the game will also permit you to select locations to improve further. The Coaster locator’s Official Wizards will let you know about the game events and where it will happen. So, don’t get frustrated and install MTG on your device now and enjoy a world full of adventures and magic.
Play Magic: The Gathering
As a matter of fact, starting with Magic: The Gathering game is quite simple. To begin playing Magic fist of all, you would need to know how to play Magic: The gathering. You would need a Starter deck. Secondly, you can start by getting free “Welcome Packs” from samples. A lot of shops are offering a Sample card deck that consists of 60 samples, and that too totally free. Furthermore, numerous Arenas of Magic the gathering also offers free cards as you gradually improve.
Moreover, if you can spend a little money initially, you can get dual decks of cards from Magic: The gathering cards amazon. Though the standard rule of thumb is 60 cards, you can have up to four of the same card max. Similar to the Pokemon cards, MTG also needs to shift cards in matches. Players need approximately 60 cards to start. But when the competition is high, they need another deck of cards to compensate for their weaker cards. Finally, you will need only forty cards in booster draft or similar limited events.
Zones in Magic: The Gathering
Zone selection is a significant part of MTG. Zone selection is so crucial that you have to set up your zone correctly in order to play efficiently.
The zones are,
Library
The Library is the part where the cards are put face down on the table. You are not allowed to peek into any of your opponent’s cards.
Hand
The hand is the porting of your cards that you will draw. Basically, these cards are active in the MTG game. The highest number of cards you can hold is 7.
Battlefield
The battlefield is where all the permanent cards like Land, Creature, Artifact, etc. are active. You can summon any card from your Library into the battlefield.
Stack
Stacks represent the place where the spell cards are activated. You can counter-strike your friends’ attacks by placing new spells from Stacks.
Graveyard
The graveyard or the discard pile is the place where you discard used/ killed cards. These cards can be permanent or temporary cards.
Exile
There is a zone that is common for both players. This zone is called Exile.
How to play magic the gathering for beginners?
If you want to start playing magic the gathering, all you need to do is have about 60 cards. Now comes the best part. Firstly, you need to improve your imagination and think of yourself as a grand battle command. You have an army of mysterious creatures in front of you, and they will attack as you command them. You also have an array of spells that you can combine with your army and make them stronger.
Furthermore, you can use artifacts and enchantments to get an advantage in the matches you play. Your opponent wants to kill your army and finally win the match of MTG. So, you need to project your army and then defeat your enemies with precious accuracy. In the game, your initial health points will start from 20 and will be measured using dice of 20-sides.
Categories of Cards in Magic the Gathering
The MTG game has three types of cards that will let you play the game. The classes are Creatures, lands, and others (abilities and more).
Initially, let us talk about the Creature cards. Creatures are your front line of defense and offense. You make them attack your opponents and also block attacks from them.
Second comes the land cards in MTG. Mana is used to build everything, and they provide energy. Both players need to have land cards to start the battle.
In the other cards category, you will get spells, magic items, enchantments, and more. These cards provide additional benefits to all players and also make their army stronger. Finally, in MTG, the whole game is powered by mana, which is simply colored energy.
Land Cards
Land cards create the energy of Magic that is mana. Once you use a land card on a match, you can not remove the cards. So, the cards will stick with you until the game ends. That is the reason why people consider land cards to be permanent. In the game, one land card will count as one mana. Again, the land cards are there permanently because all cards need an amount of energy to be in the game. The required energy is the mana, and it depends mainly on the strength of the cards.
You will need specific colored Mana to initiate the game. In fact, all creature cards need their suitable mana from White, Blue, Black, Red, or Green to work effectively in matches. Many cards will even stay dormant if you don’t choose the right cards.
Creature Cards
Creature cards are basically the functional units cards that attack and defenses. Similar to the land cards, the creature cards are also permanent. But these cards can be destroyed by the opponent, i.e, killed. Furthermore, you can summon or activate these cards only after using the land cards on the battlefield.
To use another creature card, you would need to wait for your turn. The best part of these cards is that you can utilize them directly on your enemy’s life power. You will initially see that every card will display two numbers in the bottom corner to the right. The first number represents the creature’s power, and the send reflects its toughness. You have to send a creature to the discard pile if their toughness is lower than your enemy. In the end, if your creature’s toughness stays put, then you will win the match.
But some creatures in MTG stay active at any point in the game. The manufacturers of MTG cards engraved these features below the card. As a result, these cards can add an added advantage in the game and destroy your enemies. Unfortunately, these abilities of the card will cost you mana from the game.
Other Cards
In the game, there are up to 5 cards that are not creature cards or land cards.
Sorcery cards
The first is the sorceries card. Depending on the card’s abilities, you play with them in the game. Each sorcery card is different, and if you want to get the best result, then the combination is important. You have to discard the temporary cards after one time use.
Instants
Instants are cards that are similar to the sorceries card, but with an added benefit of using anytime you want. Using these cards is very effective as you even use them when your opponent is playing. Unfortunately, you have to discard it at the graveyard after using it.
Enchantments
Enchantments are permanent cards that can assist you in battles until they are destroyed. Many players also call the enchantments as auras, but only some of them are called auras. It is because these cards can stick with other permanent cards. So, resulting in an improved army.
Artifacts
Similar to enchantments, the artifact cards help to boost the power of your army. In fact, they are permanent cards, can stay in the battle filed until your enemy kills them. Artifact cards are basically colorless, and so you can activate them with any mana you like. Creatures also use artifacts as equipment, but this feature will cost mana. Again, you will have to drop them if the creatures leave the battlefield.
Planeswalker cards
These cards are not like any other cards in the MTG. These cards have a loyalty feature represented in the bottom of the card. Your enemies can attack your Planeswalker cards, and their loyalty will work as toughness. Finally, when you use an ability to these cards, then their loyalty score will increase proportionally.
Phases of Magic the Gathering
There are about five stages in the MTG turn-based game. The phases are,
Beginning Phase
In this phase, the play has to untap any card that they have tapped earlier. Then they have to stimulate a Once per turn effect and then draw a specific card.
First Main Phase
In this phase, players can place a land card and remove any non-land cards.
Combat Phase
In the combat phase, you are allowed to place attackers, blockers, and so on. Furthermore, you can calculate the damage given by your opponent or apply damage to them.
Second Main Phase
Similar to the first main phase, you can apply spells or even a land card in the second main phase. Your enemy can also do the same.
Ending Phase
In the ending phase, you can toss any unwanted card from your deck. You can make room for new creatures by removing damaged creatures.
FAQs
How much does it cost to play MTGO?
Magic: The Gathering will cost you about ten dollars or less depending on your location. Fortunately, there are no monthly fees, but you might have to pay for events as a single ticket will cost about one dollar. I would say that you should learn how to play Magin: The gathering first and then spend money on events.
Is Magic The Gathering luck or skill?
Magic: the gathering is a combination of both skill and Luck. when you start knowing how to play Magic: The Gathering you have to improve your skills. Then you have to hang on to it and practice.
Is MTG dying 2020?
No. MTG is not dying in the year 2020. MTG is a highly popular game, and its developers want to continue it furthermore.
Is Magic expensive?
Not at all. MTG is quite cheap when compared to games with similar scores.
Conclusion
I hope this article helped you know a few things on how to play magic the gathering. In conclusion, I would say that the game is straightforward to play. But mastering it is not possible even if you spend years on it. So, start the game now and learn the ways of the master through practice and regularity. Have a good day.
