How to Play Magic: The Gathering: Complete Beginner's Guide

Magic: The Gathering (MTG) — 2+ players, 60+ card decks, 20 life each. Goal: reduce opponent to 0.

Turn Structure

1. Beginning Phase
   • Untap — untap all permanents.
   • Upkeep — triggers.
   • Draw — draw 1 card (skip first turn if first player).
2. Main Phase 1 — Cast sorceries, creatures, artifacts, enchantments, planeswalkers; play 1 land.
3. Combat Phase
   • Declare attackers.
   • Declare blockers.
   • Damage.
4. Main Phase 2 — Same as MP1 (no additional land).
5. Ending Phase
   • End step — triggers.
   • Cleanup — discard to 7, damage wears off, "until end of turn" ends.

Card Types

• Land — Tap for mana (W U B R G).
• Creature — Power/Toughness; attack/block.
• Instant — Cast anytime (priority).
• Sorcery — Main phase only.
• Artifact / Enchantment / Planeswalker — Permanents with abilities.

Core Mechanics

• Mana curve: Balance costs (1–4+).
• Color pie: W=protection/order, U=control/draw, B=death/power, R=chaos/damage, G=growth/creatures.
• Stack: LIFO resolution; respond to spells.
• Keywords: Flying, Trample, Deathtouch, Lifelink, Haste, Flash, etc.

Best Ways to Start

• MTG Arena (Free, PC/Mobile) — Tutorial, starter decks, ranked, draft.
• Foundations / Starter Kits (Physical) — 2 balanced 60-card decks + guide.
• Commander Precons — 100-card singleton; social multiplayer format.
• Jumpstart — Shuffle 2 half-decks → instant deck.

Learning Resources

• Magic.rules (official) — Comprehensive rules.
• MTG Wiki / Scryfall — Card lookup, rulings.
• Tolarian Community College (YouTube) — "How to Play," deck tech, finance.
• Judges' Corner / MTG Judge Academy — Rules deep dives.

Golden rule: "When a card contradicts the rules, the card wins."