Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game that blends strategy and fantasy together. The premise is this: you are a powerful wizard, called a "planeswalker" (planeswalker), who summons creatures, spells and weapons that will aid you in your destruction of other "planeswalkers". Magic can be a collection of trading cards, or a sophisticated strategy game to play with friends. Read on to find out how to play it.
Steps
Method 1 of 5: Part One: Background Information
Step 1. Choose the players
Two or more players - but usually only two - line up against each other. It is possible to play against two or more players, but the most common way to play is against a single player.
Step 2. Put several cards in the deck
Your deck is your army, your arsenal. In a “done” deck - one you play with friends - the minimum number of cards is 60, with no maximum limit. Players, however, usually choose the minimum of 60 cards.
- In a tournament, you could play with a "limited" deck of 40 cards, with no maximum limit.
- A 60- or 40-card deck is also called a “library”.
Step 3. At the start of each game, each player must draw 7 cards from his library
These 7 cards are a "hand". At the beginning of each turn, a player draws a card and adds it to his hand.
When a player discards a card, uses a card, or when a creature dies or a spell is destroyed, that card is put into the player's graveyard. The cemetery is to the left of the library
Step 4. You must know that each player starts with 20 health points
During the game, a player can win or lose these points. Obviously, having more life is better than having less.
- Players deal "damage" to creatures and themselves. Damage is dealt by both creatures and spells. Damage is measured by points.
- If a player inflicts 4 "damage" to the other, he loses 4 life points. If player two started with 20 life, he now has only 16 (20 - 4 = 16.)
Step 5. Avoid the three ways you could lose
A player has lost the game when the has lost all life, or runs out of cards in their deck, or has 10 poison counters.
- When a player's life is 0 or less, that player has lost.
- When, at the start of their turn, a player can no longer draw cards from the library, that player has lost.
- When a player has received 10 poison counters, that player has lost.
Step 6. Put different colors in your deck:
White, Blue, Black, Red and Green.
- White is the color of protection and order. The symbol of white is a white sphere. The strength of white are a myriad of little creatures that grow strong together; they gain life points, reducing the powers of enemy creatures and "balancing" the powers of very powerful cards.
- Blue is the color of deception and intellect. The blue symbol is a blue water drop. The strength of blue is to draw cards, take control of the opponent's cards, "counter" or cancel spells of opponents and make "flying" creatures flee or those that cannot be blocked.
- Black is the color of fall and death. The symbol of black is a black skull. Black's strength lies in destroying creatures, forcing opponents to discard cards, causing the player to lose life and return creatures from the graveyard.
- Red is the color of anger and chaos. The red symbol is a red fireball. The strength of red is to sacrifice resources for a greater strength; to cause "direct damage" to players or creatures and to destroy artifacts and lands.
- Green is the color of life and nature. The green symbol is a green tree. The strength of green are powerful "overwhelming" creatures, the ability to regenerate creatures, or bring them back from the graveyard, and get lands faster.
Method 2 of 5: Part Two: Learn the Different Types of Cards
Step 1. Figure out which cards are lands and which "mana" comes from
Lands are a type of card and are used to construct spells. There are five basic lands, each associated with a color. Lands produce magical energy, or "mana," which is used to cast other spells.
- The five basic lands are as follows:
- White, or flat, lands that produce white mana
- Blue lands, or islands, that produce blue mana
- Black lands, or swamps, that produce black mana
- Red lands, or mountains, that produce red mana
- Green lands, or forests, that produce green mana
- There are also different types of lands (double- and triple-lands, for example), but the most important thing to know is that basic lands produce mana of only one color, and that irregular lands can produce mana of two or more colors..
Step 2. Learn what “sorceries” are
Sorceries are magical spells that you can only invoke during "your turn". You cannot invoke one sorcery in response to another (you'll understand later). Sorcery ends immediately after using it and goes to the graveyard.
Step 3. Learn what "moments" are
Instants are like sorcery, except that you can invoke them during the other player's turn, as well as your own, and can be cast in response to a spell. Instants are usually no longer effective after they are used and therefore go straight to the graveyard when.
Step 4. Learn what “spells” are
Spells are like "stable manifestations" There are two types: connected to a creature, which affects only that card, and therefore is called "Aura", or they are placed around the battlefield, near lands, without being connected to some cards in particular, but they affect all of your cards (and sometimes all cards).
Spells are "permanent," which means they remain on the battlefield unless destroyed. They do not run out immediately after using them
Step 5. Learn what "artifacts" are
Artifacts are magical as well as permanent items. Artifacts are colorless, meaning they don't need to be invoked by a particular land or mana. There are three basic types of artifacts:
- Normal Artifacts: These artifacts are similar to spells.
- Gear Artifacts: These cards can be linked to creatures, giving them extra abilities. If the creature leaves the battlefield, the equipment remains untracked into the graveyard, even if it was attached to it.
- Creature Artifacts: These cards are creatures and artifacts at the same time. They are just like creatures, except they don't need specific mana to be summoned - you can summon them with any mana. Because they are colorless, they are also immune to certain spells that affect specific colors.
Step 6. Learn what creatures are
Creatures are one of the main elements of Magic. Creatures are permanent, meaning they remain on the battlefield until they are destroyed or eliminated from the game. The main feature of creatures is that they can attack and block. The two numbers in the lower right corner (4/5 for example) determine a creature's blocking and attack strength.
- Creatures enter the battlefield "invoking disease". Invoking the creature means you can't "exploit" it or use it on the turn it was summoned. This means that he cannot attack or use any abilities. Either way, the creature is allowed to block; this ability is not affected in invoking the disease.
- Creatures have many special abilities, such as "fly", "watch", or "trample" which we will learn more about later.
Step 7. Learn the role of the wayfarer
A wanderer is a powerful ally who is like an overloaded creature. It is very rare and does not always appear in the game and changes the rules of the game slightly when used.
- Each wayfarer is equipped with a certain number of loyalty tokens, indicated by a number in the lower right part. The symbol "+ X" means "to put X number of loyalty tokens on this planeswalker", while "- X" means "to remove X number of loyalty tokens from this planeswalker." These abilities can only be activated through a sorcery and only once per turn.
- Wanderers can be attacked by your opponent's creatures and spells. It is possible to block attacks on the planeswalker with your creatures and spells. In the event that your opponent deals damage to a planeswalker, this removes as many loyalty counters as the points of damage caused.
Method 3 of 5: Part Three: Learn the Game
Step 1. Learn to invoke a creature or spell
Summon a creature by looking at its cost which is usually a circled number followed by a color of mana - white, blue, black, red, or green. To summon the creature, you need to produce mana equivalent to the card's casting cost.
Take a look at the card above. You'll notice a "1" followed by a white mana symbol - the white sphere. To summon this card, you need to have enough lands to produce one mana of any color, and a land with one white mana
Step 2. Try other ways to invoke
Try to figure out how much and what mana it takes to summon the following card:
This card, "Sylvan Bounty", costs 5 colorless mana - mana of any type - with one green mana - mana produced by a forest, for a total of six mana. The second card, "Angelic Shield", costs one white mana - mana produced by a Plains - along with one blue mana
Step 3. Learn to do "tapping" and "untapping"
Tapping is how mana is "used" in lands, or how it attacks with creatures. It is indicated by the small arrow on the right. To do the tapping you have to put the cards side by side.
- Tapping means not being able to use some skills for one turn. If, for example, you tap a card for a certain ability, it will remain in this state until your next turn. It is not possible to do the tapping again on the same paper until the topping is done.
- To attack, you need to tap your creature. Each creature expends its energy in battle, so it's tapping. So you will, unless the card specifically says it is better not to. (Some cards don't have this ability.)
- It is not possible to block a creature with tapping. When a creature is tapped, it doesn't have the ability to block.
Step 4. Learn the strength and endurance they represent
Creatures have one number for stamina and another number for hardness. The Phyrexian Broodlings creature, has a power of 2 and a resistance of 2. So a 2/2.
- Strength is the number of points a creature can deal with in combat. If a creature has a power of 5, it deals 5 damage to any creature that chooses to block it in combat. If that creature isn't blocked, it deals 5 damage directly to the opponent, who subtracts that number from their vital points.
- Resistance is the number of points a creature can withstand in combat before it dies and is taken to the graveyard. A creature with a resistance of 4 can withstand 3 damage in combat without dying. Once it receives 4 points of damage, the creature goes to the graveyard at the end of the fight.
Step 5. Learn to score points for damage
When a player decides to attack another player in combat, the attackers and blockers are chosen. Attacking creatures are chosen first. The defending player then chooses the creatures he wants to use as blockers, along with the attacking ones.
- Suppose Anathemancer is attacking and Magus of the Moat is blocking the attack. Anathemancer has a strength of 2 and a stamina of 2. So a 2/2. Magus of the Moat has a strength of 0 and a hardness of 3. So a 0/3. What happens when they collide?
- The Anathemancer deals 2 damage to Magus, while Magus 0 damage to the Anathemancer.
- The 2 points of damage that Anathemancer deals to Magus are not enough to kill him. Magus can take 3 damage before it's put into the graveyard. At the same time, the 0 damage score that Magus deals to Anathemancer is not enough to kill him. The Anathemancer can take two damage before being placed in the graveyard. Both creatures survive.
Step 6. Learn to activate certain abilities that creatures, spells, and artifacts have
Normally, creatures have abilities that players can activate. Using these abilities is like invoking the creature, in that you have to pay a "cost" in mana. Look at the following example.
- Ictian Crier has an ability that reads: "Play two 1/1 city tokens." But there are also some mana signs and scriptures before that. This is the mana cost needed to activate this ability.
- To activate this ability, tap (tapping) a basic land of any color (for colorless mana), and a flat land (for white mana). Now touch the card, Ictian Crier - to finish the procedure after satisfying the mana. Finally, discard a card from your hand - everyone will, of course discard the lowest value card. You can now play two 1/1 city tokens. These function like 1/1 creatures.
Method 4 of 5: Part Four: Understanding Shifts
Step 1. Learn the different phases of a turn
Each player's turn has five phases, or steps. Understanding what these five stages are and how they work is an essential part of the game. In order, the five steps are:
Step 2. Get started
The initial phase involves three different steps:
- The “Untap” step: the player untap all his cards, unless the card remains “tapped”.
- The Maintenance Step: Rare, but sometimes a player has to pay mana - that is, he has to tap lands - in this phase.
- The draw step: the player draws a card.
Step 3. First main phase
During this phase, a player can draw a land. Also in this phase, a player can choose to play a card from their hand by tapping the lands to produce mana.
Step 4. Combat Phase
This phase is divided into five steps.
- Attack: The player declares war. The defender can invoke spells after the attack has been declared.
- Choose Attackers: After the attack is declared, the attacking player chooses which creatures they want to attack with. The attacking player cannot choose which defense creatures he wants to play with.
- Choose Blockers: The defending player chooses which attacking creatures he wants to block. Multiple blockers can be assigned to a single attack.
- Assign Damage: Creatures deal damage to each other during this phase. Attacking creatures with equal (or greater) power to the blocking creature's resistance destroys it. Blocking creatures with equal (or greater) power to the attacking creature's resistance destroy it. It is possible to destroy each other.
- End of the fight: nothing happens during this phase, both players have the possibility to invoke the "instants".
Step 5. Second main phase
After the fight, there is a second main phase, identical to the first, in which the player can cast spells or summon creatures.
Step 6. Final stage or cleaning
During this phase, abilities or spells that are "unleashed" come into play. This is the last chance for a player to invoke instants.
During this phase, the player whose turn it is discards up to 7 cards if he has more than 7
Method 5 of 5: Part Five: Advanced Concepts
Step 1. Learn what "flying" is
Creatures with "flying" can't be blocked by creatures without the same ability. In other words, if a creature has flying, it can only be blocked by another creature with flying or a creature that can explicitly block creatures with flying.
Creatures with flying, however, can block creatures without flying
Step 2. Learn what the “first strike” is
The first strike is an attack concept. When a creature is attacking and a player chooses to defend the attack with a blocker, they measure their strengths and stamina against each other. The strength of one is measured against the resistance of the other and vice versa.
- Usually, the damage is assigned at the same time; If the attacking creature's strength wins the defending creature's resistance and the defending creature's strength wins the attacking creature's resistance, both creatures die. (If neither creature's strength is greater than the opponent's stamina, both creatures remain alive.)
- If, on the other hand, a creature has the "first strike", that creature is given the opportunity to kill the other creature without mercy: if the creature with the "first strike" can kill the defending creature, the defending creature dies immediately even though the defending creature could have killed the attacking creature. The attacking creature remains alive.
Step 3. Learn what "vigilance" is
Vigilance is the ability to attack without tapping. If a creature has vigilance, it can attack without tapping. Normally, attacking means tapping your creature.
Vigilance means that a creature can attack and block in subsequent turns. Normally, if a creature attacks, it can't block the next turn. With vigilance, a creature can attack and then block the next turn because it has tapping
Step 4. Learn what "haste" is
Haste is the ability to touch and attack a creature in play on the same turn. Normally, creatures have to wait a turn to tap and attack, this is called "invoking disease." So this doesn't apply to creatures with "haste".
Step 5. Learn what "overwhelm" is
Trample is an ability creatures have to do damage to opponents, even if the creature is blocked by an opposing creature. Normally, if a creature is blocked, the attacking creature deals damage only to the blocking creature. With "trample," the difference between the power of the trampling creature and the stamina of the blocking creature is dealt to the opponent.
For example, let's say Kavu Mauler is attacking and Bonethorn Valesk decides to block him. Mauler is a 4/4 with trample, while Valesk is a 4/2. Mauler deals 4 damage to Valesk, while Valesk deals 4 damage to Mauler. Both creatures die, but Mauler manages to deal 2 damage to the opponent. Because? Because Valesk's stamina is only 2 and Mauler has the "trample" ability, which means that 2 of his 4 damage is dealt to Valesk and 2 is dealt to the opponent
Step 6. Learn what "shadow" is
Shadow is an ability creatures have - creatures with shadow can only be blocked by other creatures with shadow. If a shadow creature is attacking and the opponent has no shadow creatures, the attacking creature can't be blocked.
Step 7. Learn what "infect" is
Infect deals damage to creatures in the form of -1 / -1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters, instead of ordinary damage. These -1 / -1 counters are permanent, unlike damage, which goes away at the end of a turn if it's not lethal damage.
- Let's say Hand of Praetors attacks and Kresh the Bloodbraided blocks. Hand has “infect”, which means it deals damage in the form of permanent -1 / -1 counters. Hand deals three -1 / -1 counters to Kresh, killing him. Kresh deals 3 damage to Hand, killing him as well.
- If Kresh had been a 4/4 instead of a 3/3, the three -1 / -1 counters would have remained permanently on his strength and stamina, making him a 1/1.
Advice
- If you don't like your hand of cards, you can mulligan your deck or library again and draw a new hand with fewer cards than before. Be wary, as skills are lost whenever you choose to mulligan.
- It takes practice, if you don't understand the game at the beginning, keep playing it. The game becomes a lot of fun when you understand it well.
- Try to have as many cards of the same mana as possible, to invoke spells and creatures more easily.
- Get a container for your cards.
