Hello all. For my whole life i have wanted to learn this game but its been so difficult. Being 26 now i went out n bought a starter deck for me my gf and her 9yr old son. Nothing ive looked up has shown simple basic means to play the game. Im unsure about most of it. Unsure exactly how to fully go about turns. How many lands yu can have on field.....im noob as **** so i get it i sound like a <snip> but ive always wanted to know n learn and aftwr all these years. ..here i am. I am the fuss.
Ask around and see if a coworker or friend also plays or have played. Often times, many Magic players "retired" from the game but will sometimes be more than happy to give you a play by play of the basics. I hid my collection for almost 15 years before my son discovered mine. I never advertised or talked about the game during that time. Pretty quickly, I found two coworkers who played and we just started playing once a week.... until they left. Oh well....
Here's an image I found that I use when I'm playing with the kids at my job.
I just print it out and use it throughout the game as a nice reminder. If you've got the turn order down, it will help smooth out a lot of the games, trust me.
If you really want to go super far one time I printed out and laminated a card that said *PRIORITY* so they could pass it around to advance the turn lol.
Is there a certain amount of land cards i can have in battlefield ? We r all unsure if we r doing things right. Im truly interested in getting very good at this.
Sadly now our only local game store shut down. And they had many mtg gsmes i heard go on. Now i feel like an idiot asking n stuff . im 26 and want this to be a family night thing we do but its confusing
Is there a certain amount of land cards i can have in battlefield ? We r all unsure if we r doing things right. Im truly interested in getting very good at this.
So if there's no restriction on something outright written in the rules, there's no restriction on it at all.
You can, for example, only play one land per turn but there's no limit to the number of lands you can control total. You can cast as many spells per turn as you have the cards and mana. Ditto for using your permanents' activated abilities.
The core mechanics of Magic are pretty simple imho; it's only when you get exceptions to those (i.e., most abilities) that people get confused. Here's the absolute simplest summary of how an actual game of Magic goes but in more accurate detail a turn goes like this:
Untap step - Untap all your tapped permanents
Upkeep step - Trigger all your "At the beginning of your upkeep..." abilities (you can easily ignore this when you have no permanents with abilities like that)
Draw step - Draw a card
Main phase - Play up to one land and any of your spells that you want (almost all spells - ones that aren't instants/don't have flash - can only be played here)
Beginning of combat step - Combat starts
Declare attackers step - Choose which of your available creatures you want to attack
Declare blockers step - Your opponent chooses which of their available creatures they want to block and which creatures they block
Combat damage step - Your opponent gets dealt damage by your unblocked attackers. Your blocked attackers and their blockers deal damage to each other
End of combat step - Combat ends
Main phase 2 - Same as the first, except you can't play a land if you already have (if you didn't play a land in the first main phase you still can)
End step - Some abilities trigger
Cleanup step - You discard cards until you have seven cards in hand if you have more than seven. "Until end of turn" effects end and damage gets removed from all alive creatures. Your turn ends
If you're still feeling out of your depth, there's a free-to-play & download PC game called Magic Duels which contains some pretty good tutorials.
It's not 100% perfect, has its own deck construction rules, and is now a little out of date.
But if you've the time and inclination it makes for a pretty good learning experience in terms of "how to play the game".
another important note is the colors in the game. each color has strengths and weaknesses but it's not per-se rock-paper-scissors. this means you can create your deck to your taste. glass cannon type of guy? you can do it, control freak? you can decide what your opponents get to play (they wont like it though), prefer resilience? its very possible.
so try each color and see what you like
green mana, red mana white mana generally orientate around getting cards on the table on your side of the "battlefield"
while black mana, blue mana, and white mana (again) generally can control what your opponents have on the table.
each color also has something it is incapable of doing in any way
-Wwhite is olmost 100% completely unable to draw more cards, but ignoring this aspect of white it is a jack of all trades.
-Ublue is olmost completely incapable of putting things your opponents control into their graveyard or exile. but in return they can stop spells from ever happening (countering them) and returning cards that got past into your opponents hand, blue is also adept at drawing more cards but blue creatures generally cost 1 mroe mana than if they would have been in another color.
-Ggreen believes it does not need to remove it's opponents creatures and instead focuses on creating bigger creatures.
-Rred is olmost completely unable to draw more cards. well it can draw cards but you always have to discard a card for each card you draw. red is the most fast and aggresive color so it doesn't feel like it needs more cards. it tries to win before it gets to point of wanting more cards
-Bblack has a tough time removing enchantments and artifacts and instead tries to win the game by destroying creatures very efficiently and sacrificing it's own life total and creatures to demons in exhange for more strength
colorless cards can do anything but are less efficient in result of this (unless they come from an artifact focused set, in which case they are way to strong for what they cost)
Is there a certain amount of land cards i can have in battlefield ? We r all unsure if we r doing things right. Im truly interested in getting very good at this.
You can play one land per turn from your hand. The timing restrictions on playing land are that you can do it during your turn, during a main phase, when the stack is empty. So the same time you could play a sorcery.
There is no maximum number of lands.
Though there will be exceptions to this as you get deeper into the card pool and strategy, in general what you'll want to do is play a land as the first thing you do during your main phase.
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Yoi don't need to look at the Comprehensive Rules yet. They're a wonderful, almost-sacred text but not for reading in one sitting.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Or find your local game store and ask when they have an Open House which is specofically for people to learn to play.
We're there, just no one ever asks.
I just print it out and use it throughout the game as a nice reminder. If you've got the turn order down, it will help smooth out a lot of the games, trust me.
If you really want to go super far one time I printed out and laminated a card that said *PRIORITY* so they could pass it around to advance the turn lol.
BGGRock
Modern
BRGJund
BBGRock
You can, for example, only play one land per turn but there's no limit to the number of lands you can control total. You can cast as many spells per turn as you have the cards and mana. Ditto for using your permanents' activated abilities.
The core mechanics of Magic are pretty simple imho; it's only when you get exceptions to those (i.e., most abilities) that people get confused. Here's the absolute simplest summary of how an actual game of Magic goes but in more accurate detail a turn goes like this:
Untap step - Untap all your tapped permanents
Upkeep step - Trigger all your "At the beginning of your upkeep..." abilities (you can easily ignore this when you have no permanents with abilities like that)
Draw step - Draw a card
Main phase - Play up to one land and any of your spells that you want (almost all spells - ones that aren't instants/don't have flash - can only be played here)
Beginning of combat step - Combat starts
Declare attackers step - Choose which of your available creatures you want to attack
Declare blockers step - Your opponent chooses which of their available creatures they want to block and which creatures they block
Combat damage step - Your opponent gets dealt damage by your unblocked attackers. Your blocked attackers and their blockers deal damage to each other
End of combat step - Combat ends
Main phase 2 - Same as the first, except you can't play a land if you already have (if you didn't play a land in the first main phase you still can)
End step - Some abilities trigger
Cleanup step - You discard cards until you have seven cards in hand if you have more than seven. "Until end of turn" effects end and damage gets removed from all alive creatures. Your turn ends
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
It's not 100% perfect, has its own deck construction rules, and is now a little out of date.
But if you've the time and inclination it makes for a pretty good learning experience in terms of "how to play the game".
humorous but informational
another important note is the colors in the game. each color has strengths and weaknesses but it's not per-se rock-paper-scissors. this means you can create your deck to your taste. glass cannon type of guy? you can do it, control freak? you can decide what your opponents get to play (they wont like it though), prefer resilience? its very possible.
so try each color and see what you like
green mana, red mana white mana generally orientate around getting cards on the table on your side of the "battlefield"
while black mana, blue mana, and white mana (again) generally can control what your opponents have on the table.
each color also has something it is incapable of doing in any way
-Wwhite is olmost 100% completely unable to draw more cards, but ignoring this aspect of white it is a jack of all trades.
-Ublue is olmost completely incapable of putting things your opponents control into their graveyard or exile. but in return they can stop spells from ever happening (countering them) and returning cards that got past into your opponents hand, blue is also adept at drawing more cards but blue creatures generally cost 1 mroe mana than if they would have been in another color.
-Ggreen believes it does not need to remove it's opponents creatures and instead focuses on creating bigger creatures.
-Rred is olmost completely unable to draw more cards. well it can draw cards but you always have to discard a card for each card you draw. red is the most fast and aggresive color so it doesn't feel like it needs more cards. it tries to win before it gets to point of wanting more cards
-Bblack has a tough time removing enchantments and artifacts and instead tries to win the game by destroying creatures very efficiently and sacrificing it's own life total and creatures to demons in exhange for more strength
colorless cards can do anything but are less efficient in result of this (unless they come from an artifact focused set, in which case they are way to strong for what they cost)
you can play one land per turn. so for example, on turn four you might have four lands.
you turn the land sideways to "spend" them like money. at the start of each of your turns you turn them back upright ready to "spend" again.
You can play one land per turn from your hand. The timing restrictions on playing land are that you can do it during your turn, during a main phase, when the stack is empty. So the same time you could play a sorcery.
There is no maximum number of lands.
Though there will be exceptions to this as you get deeper into the card pool and strategy, in general what you'll want to do is play a land as the first thing you do during your main phase.