What Is Magic: The Gathering?
Magic: the Gathering is a trading card game designed by Richard Garfield and published by Wizards of the Coast (WotC), the company that publishes the popular tabletop role-playing game: Dungeons and Dragons. As the original trading card game, it pioneered a new concept of blending collectible cards with a robust strategy game to make a revolutionary new genre that continues to inspire new games to this day. Creative deckbuilding, chaotic shuffling, and an immense library of potential cards means every game is a new experience. From kitchen tables to the world stage, Magic has established itself as one of the most popular strategy games ever created.
What Makes it Special?
Magic is designed around five distinct color identities represented by the colors: White, Blue, Black, Red, and Green. These five colors make up the “Color Pie”, and each color has its own mana type that is produced mostly through land cards. Since the lands needed to generate mana are mixed into the library with the spells there is a degree of unpredictability to each game of Magic. Every Magic card also displays unique artwork from a plethora of artists. It is widely acclaimed for having some of the best artwork of the fantasy genre.
WotC has released over 100 unique sets of magic, each with its own storytelling and worldbuilding. Every world (Plane) introduces new characters through cards and while reintroducing old favorites with new stories. More recently, WoTC has been releasing sets known as Universes Beyond, that take media franchises from outside of WotC and adopts them into the rules of magic. Cards feature iconic characters, items, and locations from famous books, movies, and video games.
How the Game Works (The Simplified Loop)
In Magic, players represent Planeswalkers; Wizards capable of traversing the different realms of the Multiverse. Your deck of cards represents the spells you have learned and the places you have visited in your adventures. In battle, you will use these spells to try and defeat the opposing Planeswalker by reducing their life total to 0. To do so, you will cast spells, summon creatures, and even enlist the help of other powerful Planeswalkers at your side to outwit your opponent.
For the most part, decks can be made up of any color(s), but to cast colored spells, mana of their respective type must be made from different lands. This restriction is what helps drive the diversity of deckbuilding as players strive to find the strongest combination of colors in just the right ratios.
Players begin the game with seven cards drawn from their shuffled deck (library). Turns are divided into phases that each determine which cards you can play and the actions you can take. One land can be played per turn limiting how many spells you may cast. As more turns pass more lands are played, increasing the complexity of spells you can cast and the size of creatures you can summon. During combat you will choose which creatures attack your opponent and which of them block to defend you. There are more ways to win than just damaging your opponent. For instance, if you deplete your opponent’s library, you will win when they cannot draw a card!
Card Types and Rarities Explained
Creature cards represent most beings in the Magic Universe. From tiny kittens all the way up to towering eldritch horrors. They are cast using maa specified in the top-right corner of the card. They can usually attack and block, and may have abilities printed on them. The damage they deal in combat is determined by the left number in the bottom right corner, and their toughness is the number on the right. If a creature’s toughness is reduced to 0 in a turn, it dies and goes to the graveyard.
Instants and Sorceries are what most players think of when they think of magical spells. These are played for immediate effects like drawing cards and playing additional lands. Instants can be played in any step, even on your opponent’s turn! Sorceries however, are only played during their caster’s main phase. These cards can quickly turn the tide of battle in your favor!
Most cards will require mana to be played, and that’s where the lands come in. With the exception of some older printed cards, all lands will have at least one way to generate mana. They are tapped to do so, but are untapped at the start of every turn, so your available mana will replenish. Deckbuilding requires thinking of how much mana and of what colors you will need to cast your spells, your lands must be chosen carefully to give you the best chance of executing your battle plan.
Enchantments and artifacts cards work similarly to creatures, in that once they are cast, they remain on the battlefield. But unless they are also creatures, they cannot attack or block. They simply provide the benefits printed on them. Some enchantments (auras) and artifacts (equipment) become attached to creatures, bolstering them in some way.
Planeswalkers from the vast lore of Magic can join you on the battlefield when summoned and will remain on your side as long as you keep their loyalty, (represented in the bottom right corner). You can active one ability they have each turn as long as you have enough loyalty points to use them. Your opponents can also send creatures to attack your Planeswalkers instead of you. Damage dealt to Planeswalkers removes that many loyalty counters.
Rarities
The expansion symbol on the right side of the card, underneath the art depicts what set the card was printed in and its rarity. Rarity was traditionally used to throttle the power levels of cards so not all cards in a pack are equal. Generally cards will either become stronger or more complex in how they impact the game as their rarity increases. They start with Common, then Uncommon, Rare, and finally, Mythic.
While scarcity does play a role in the real-world value of a card, the rarity does not necessarily dictate its value. Some commons are valued higher than some mythics! The value of cards is also determined by the version. Cards can have a traditional border, an extended border, art that completely covers the card, have different foil treatments, etc. Do not always be discouraged if a card you see has a high price, there may be another more affordable version of the card!
Magic Formats
Constructed Formats
Standard
60 Card Minimum
Up to 4 Copies of Each Card (Except Basic Lands)
2-Players
20 Life
Standard consists of the latest sets printed specifically for the standard-legal pool of cards. The sets rotate out after a specific number of years in the format. This is the constructed format of choice for most high-level competitive events leading all the way up to the World Championship.
Modern
60 Card Minimum
Up to 4 Copies of Each Card (Except Basic Lands)
2-Players
20 Life
Modern consists of all main printed sets from 8th edition onward. Sets do not rotate out once included in the format. Many supplemental and commander products are not allowed. This is the second most common constructed format outside of standard for high level competitive events.
Pioneer
60 Card Minimum
Up to 4 Copies of Each Card (Except Basic Lands)
2-Players
20 Life
Pioneer consists of all main printed sets from Return to Ravnica onward. Sets do not rotate out once included in the format. Many supplemental and commander products are not allowed. Wizards of the Coast has been trying to spin this format up as the new Modern to mixed results. There are some competitive events that use this format.
Legacy
60 Card Minimum
Up to 4 Copies of Each Card (Except Basic Lands)
2-Players
20 Life
Legacy consists of virtually all printed sets of Magic with few exceptions. Sets do not rotate out once included in the format. This format has been steadily declining in competitive events due to availability of cards and therefore, their prices.
Commander/EDH
1 Commander
99 Cards Exactly
No Duplicates (Except Basic Lands)
2+ Players
40 Life
Commander also consists of virtually all printed sets of Magic with few exceptions. Sets do not rotate out once in the format. Deck construction is based around the color identity of a chosen “commander” card which is kept separate from the player’s library in a Command Zone where it may be played from at any time. This is Magic’s most popular format by a significant margin.
Limited Formats
Draft
3 Booster Packs
40 Card Minimum
2 Players
20 Life
Draft is a popular format that can be played with almost any set of Magic. When drafting, players open 3 boosters, make selections, and pass cards in a circle. Then they build decks with the cards they drafted. Due to the randomness of limited, there is no restriction for duplicates of cards in a deck. Players can add any number of basic lands to their deck. This is the most common limited format when deep in high level competitive tournaments.
Sealed
6 Booster Packs
40 Card Minimum
2 Players
20 Life
Sealed can also be played with almost any set of Magic. When playing in a sealed event, players will open six packs each and then build decks with the cards they opened. Due to the randomness of limited, there is no restriction for duplicates of cards in a deck. Players can add any number of basic lands to their deck. This is the format for Pre-releases when new sets come out.
Online Versions
Magic the Gathering: Online
A long-standing virtual tabletop version of the game where players can play almost all formats online with opponents using cards from their virtual collections. Cards can be bought/sold/traded with other players/bots.
Magic the Gathering: Arena
A relatively newer digital version of the game, Arena is an extremely popular way to play with others from computer, smartphone, or tablet. Players still have libraries of cards they have collected, but these cannot be traded like in Magic Online. Most formats are available, but a significant number of cards printed before 2018 are not available yet. Some formats are unique to Arena, including a 25-life rotating version of Commander called “Brawl”.
Sets and Releases
Magic releases new sets of cards multiple times a year. Most will be included in standard once released, but some products are designed specifically to inject new cards into other formats like Modern and Commander. Almost all sets will include new-to-magic cards and some cards reprinted with new art and even different rarities as the game evolves and cards are rebalanced. They almost never change the way a card works in game except for the rare occasions where a change of the rules requires an update to how the card is written. If a card is legal in a format, all copies of the card are legal regardless of which art/treatment/set it is. You do not have to rebuy cards you already own if they are reprinted into standard.
How to Start Playing
1. Find a local card store
Use the Wizards Store and Event Locator to find a store near you officially supported by Wizards of the Coast. Talking to a store owner or checking out a Friday Night Magic event is a great way to get a feel for how magic is played. If stores are supported by Wizards of the Coast they should be prepared to give out free Welcome Decks to get you started. These 30-card decks are designed so you can mix two together and play right away.
2. Download Magic the Gathering: Arena
It’s free to download and sign up for an account. The tutorials provided are a great way to learn the mechanics of the game. Completing them and other milestones will net you more free decks to play as well! There is absolutely no cost to free-play with opponents using your decks. You can even play against the computer. This is a great way to find out what colors are right for you.
3. Buy a deck
Once you are ready to really jump into the game, there are a variety of starter decks and prebuilt commander decks available from any set. Look up what cards are included and buy one that fits your style, then get to customizing!
Where to Buy and Learn More
Official Magic: How to Play Guide
Shop, scan, and track Magic: The Gathering using the Rare Candy App!
