Magic: The Gathering is a trading card game where you work to summon incredible creatures and cast powerful spells to take victory over your foes.
This guide will discuss the basics of playing Magic: The Gathering, including the different types of cards and how to play them to win.
When did Magic: The Gathering come out?
Magic: The Gathering is a collectable trading card game. It was first created by designer Richard Garfield and released by Wizards of the Coast in 1993.
What is Magic: The Gathering?
Magic: The Gathering was widely considered the first-ever trading card game, allowing two or more players to compete to defeat their opponents by spending mana that enables them to play creatures, spells and other items and abilities.
Before each battle, players can customise their deck by choosing cards from their library and occasionally their current legal pool of sets and expansions once they become more experienced.
Some of Magic: The Gathering’s most popular cards often see reprints in new sets, while others can be considered too powerful, which results in them being banned or restricted to help keep the game’s competitive scene fair.
The sets permitted for tournament play in the standard format periodically change only to include the four most recent sets released for the game, known as rotation.
How many Magic: The Gathering cards are there?
With more than 20,000 cards to choose from, you will always be able to find a way to express yourself on the battlefield.
How to play Magic: The Gathering?
Get into character and imagine you're the grand battle commander (silly voice and hat optional). Creatures are on your frontline. Monsters on your table can also defend you by taking damage in your stead.
What is mana in Magic: The Gathering?
Alongside creature cards, you’ll also have a range of mythical spells, artefacts, enchantments and much more.
Mana is the coloured magical energy that fuels the spells of spellcasters and flows along the leylines of any given plane. Mana can exist at specific positions in physical space and flow through particular routes. Some points in space can have more mana than others, and mages can draw on specific "wells" of mana.
Starting up playing Magic: The Gathering
You will have a 60-card deck (although the number of cards in this deck can change depending on the Magic: The Gathering format you’re playing.
The deck could be made of the type of ‘land’ or colour theme (red, black, white, green and blue). Then a combination of colours, such as red/blue or black/green, for more advanced magic.
What is a mulligan in Magic: The Gathering
At the start, players will draw a hand of several random cards. If your hand looks bad due to no ‘land’ cards, you can take a ‘Mulligan’, which allows you to discard your hand and draw a new set of cards, but this new hand will be reduced to six.
Taking rounds in Magic: The Gathering
Once you have decided on the round you would like to take, you should continue drawing cards with each round of play.
Magic: The Gathering cards will first be split into three types: lands, spells, and creatures. These are the most basic cards, with advanced decks including planeswalkers and mighty wizards, each with special abilities and a health pool.
Magic: The Gathering land cards
With every turn, you will need to lay down land cards; these allow you to power anything else you need. The more powerful the card, the more mana will be required to run it. Depending on the card, different types of mana are needed, often in specific colours.
This results in smaller units, like goblins or fire kittens, being used until the game progresses, and gigantic dragons and mythical horrors can be used.
Land cards are split into different Magic: The Gathering mana colours such as red, green, blue, white and black. They are the powerhouse, with every unit in the game needing them.
Spell and creature cards in Magic: The Gathering
You ‘tap’ your mana (turn it 90 degrees) to summon monsters or spells. All cards can only be ‘tapped’ once per round. Creatures and spells also get ‘tapped’ but for different purposes. For example, a creature receives ‘tapped’ when it attacks, meaning it can't block on the next round.
Beginner decks are built around one type of mana when first starting. Over time, more mana can be summoned to create unique units, with players able to develop their own Magic: The Gathering decks.
Creature cards display their defence and attack stats, what's required to summon them and any special abilities they might have.
Spell cards are the same, although some are ‘instants’, allowing them to be used anytime, such as when responding to another player's move. This is when the bluffing element of Magic: The Gathering comes to the fore, with some spells used to boost battlefield control whilst you're being attacked.
In simple terms, you draw random cards from your deck, lay down mana, and then decide how to use that mana. The better you build your deck, the luckier you'll be in-game.
How to get into Magic: the Gathering
After a few matches, you will understand the basic rules of Magic: The Gathering. It is important to remember that all players need to begin somewhere.
Start with simple creatures and spells before moving on to planeswalkers and more complex cards. There is also a range of beginner-friendly events at local game stores to help you meet a community that will help you learn the basics.
If you’re into other trading games, be sure to check out our guide on how to play Pokémon, the trading card game, here.
What do you need to play Magic: The Gathering?
To get involved, you’ll need:
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A starter deck, such as a duel deck.
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Accessories, including a pair of d20 dice
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Tokens for when things get a little more advanced, but a d6 dice can also count as these fine tokens.
How many cards do you need to play Magic: The Gathering?
As a standard amount, you will need 60 cards, with a limit of four of any one particular card; this covers all types of cards.
Regarding events and in Magic: The Gathering Arena, a minimum of 60 cards is needed, plus an optional sideboard of 15 cards, allowing you to switch them out between matches.
This isn't the case for all events, though. During limited events such as a booster draft, you’ll only need 40 cards. And with Magic: The Gathering Commander sets, you will need more advanced decks based around one big card, featuring 100 cards.
Which card should I buy for Magic: The Gathering first?
At Asmodee, the Magic: The Gathering: Foundations Beginner Box is a great first option.
You’ll find everything in this box to start your Magic: The Gathering adventure. It includes a tutorial game guided by two step-by-step booklets, plus a variety of ready-to-play card packets to explore once you get your head around the basics.
The cards include a 20-card cats tutorial deck, one 20-card vampires tutorial deck, two learn-to-play quick start guide booklets, eight 20-card themed jumpstart packets (shuffling any two together for a ready-to-play deck), 1 rule reference booklet, two playmats and two spindown counters.
How do you use a planeswalker card in the Magic: The Gathering card game
Mentioned throughout this guide, the planeswalker card is for those with more experience with Magic: The Gathering.
This card is great to bring in once you decide which element to play. A planeswalker is a cross-dimensional magic-user with unique abilities to do all sorts of wild things on the battlefield. They play a big part in all the Magic: The Gathering’s ongoing lore, and are so powerful that it's almost like having another player sit beside you.
Although you can immediately start with one of these cards, we have recommended you wait a little because it is an easier learning curve to progress onto a planeswalker card slowly.
They come in sets of one and two and correspond to one element, meaning all the other cards in the deck operate off the same mana.
Alongside various special abilities, they also get their hit counters and are treated as separate from you and the line of defence.
Overall, these cards give your game versatility and a mechanical crunch, whilst being easy to pick up once you have learned the basics. They can be found in the Magic: The Gathering- March Of The Machine Draft Booster, here.
How do you play a booster draft of Magic: The Gathering
Now that you know the basics of Magic: The Gathering, you may want a card booster pack to expand a starter set at a minimal cost.
Magic: The Gathering sealed draft event
Alternatively, you can pool together to set up a sealed draft event, which is a competitive way to play.
How many people can play in a Magic: The Gathering draft event
You will need three booster packs per person and ideally eight players, but as few as two can play this way.
To do this, you must open the packs, shuffle them together, and pass the cards to each other until you have a 40-card deck. Lands can also be added as you go along.
How many cards do Magic: The Gathering booster packs contain
Booster packs usually contain 15 randomly selected cards based on one of the many Magic: The Gathering expansion themes.
What Magic: The Gathering booster pack themes are there?
These themes include one rare, ten commons, three uncommons, and one basic land.
Current popular Magic: the Gathering themes include the Greek mythology-inspired Theros: Beyond Death, the Grimm fairy-tale-themed Throne of Eldraine, and cards from the 2020 Core Set. In addition, the expansion Guilds of Ravnica draws from a world that has also been adapted into a sourcebook for Dungeons & Dragons 5E.
Some booster packs provide mixed mana, so bear in mind that not every card will match your chosen scheme. Others are split up by ‘theme’, meaning they’re all guaranteed to be a particular mana colour.
If you want to spend all the money (or get together for a draft), thematic decks often come in beefy 10-pack sets. If not, treat yourself to a few boosters in your preferred theme and enjoy.
Check out our range today if you’re looking for Magic: The Gathering boosters.
Where to buy Magic: The Gathering cards
Now that you know the basics of Magic: The Gathering, explore your local game store and buy a copy today to try with you and your family or some friends.
If you have further questions about this trading card game or any other games, please feel free to contact our friendly team, who will be happy to help.
