I never took an official course in "how to teach Magic the Gathering" but I'm starting to think that if this someday became an elective in elementary education, teachers would be spending most of their time scratching their collective heads wondering where to start.
The other day, I'm at my local LGS playing some casual magic with a friend of mine when this very young kid (had to be about 12) comes in and the owner asks me to teach him how to play the game and throws me a starter deck.
By the way, what's with these starter decks? 30 cards? I mean I know I've been out of touch with the beginning player base and how they get introduced to the game, but 30 card decks? Can't WotC at least give them a legal deck to play?
Anyway, so here I am sitting there thinking to myself, where do I begin?
Do I start by showing him the cards and explaining the parts of each card?
Do I start by explaining the objective of the game?
Do I start by explaining the various steps of play?
Do I start by explaining the mechanics of playing and tapping lands and casting spells?
Do I start with a little history of magic?
Do I start by explaining the different colors and what each color essentially represents?
Fortunately for me, this kid plays Yugioh so I had a frame of reference for which to compare things. That DID make it a lot easier.
But what if he had no CCG experience at all.
Where do you begin?
Naturally, I was eventually going to let him watch a match between my friend and I, but he had to leave before we got to that point.
Whatever I did, he seemed to pick it up pretty easily and understood the basics. Kids are pretty bright when it comes to this stuff.
But make no mistake about it, and I taught in a business school for 2 1/2 years before moving on to other things, teaching magic is not as easy as it looks to a beginner. Sure, if he had played a while and wanted advanced tips on deck building, card evaluation, etc, that's easy. You just take each sub topic one at a time.
But starting from scratch?
I felt like a beginner myself trying to explain, "Okay, you know how with Yugioh you just drop creatures onto the battlefield? Well, in magic, you can't do that. You have to play a land first, tap it for mana and THEN play the creature...except not all the time. See, sometimes, creatures have NO cost so you can just dump them."
Yeah. magic has a lot of rules and a lot of crap that breaks those rules or makes them rather confusing.
All I know is this. I am NEVER going to apply for a job at an elementary school as a Magic the Gathering instructor.
The first real life cards I ever got were the starter decks and me and my wife starting playing with them and then later i got the deck builders tool kit....but the easiest way that i learned to play was downloading the demo for the xbox live one and it teaches you step by step how to play pretty much...but they make it for pc and playstation as well...without that i would never of known how to play...i've been playing in real life for a few months now and i have to say there is still a lot to learn about the game...but at least i can play and kinda know what i am doing with my own cards now.
It's not that hard. I usually just start a practice game with them with both of our hands revealed, walking them through the process of playing lands, then the process of playing creatures, then the process of attacking and blocking, then the process of playing other spells.
Years ago when I was in high school I did a speech on how to play magic in speech class. I probably couldn't have just taught someone how to play on the spot before that but after putting that speech together it's pretty easy. Just keep it simple. Start by explaining the colors and mana symbols. Then explain the different card types and when it's OK to play them. Then break down each players turn. Once someone understands how a turn works, when it's legal to play each card type and how to play them then you can get into all of the little nuances. Just let them know that if there's an exception that it will be printed on the card.
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Spike cares more about the quantity of wins than the quality. For example, Spike plays ten games and wins nine of them. If Spike feels he should have won the tenth, he walks away unhappy.
It's not that hard. I usually just start a practice game with them with both of our hands revealed, walking them through the process of playing lands, then the process of playing creatures, then the process of attacking and blocking, then the process of playing other spells.
So you throw them right into the fire, so to speak. Well, I guess that can work but with absolutely no background, it could be a little tough to follow.
Like I said, I'm not a trained instructor and trying to find the most logical and efficient approach, at least to me, is not exactly intuitive.
The parts of the card, the types of cards, the steps of a turn (ties into the types of cards (when you can play what)), how you play spells / abilities, steps of combat - that's the basics.
Play open handed with some basic cards / decks.
Keep in mind Wizards has done a lot of your work for you. Check out their site for how-to-learn material.
I put together a couple of decks that looked like typical draft archetypes from whatever block was current. Then I laid the cards out and explained their differences (land and spells, then splitting the spells up into creatures, other permanents, and non-permanents), then how combat works. Then I played a couple of games with open hands, and then a couple of proper games. If the person's interested, that should give you enough of a base to build from.
Back in the days of Ravnica, there used to be a flip chart that was used for demonstrations (I have one of these, courtesy of our LGS proprietor, who views us as his "ambassadors").
There also used to be a downloadable version of that.
At the time of M9, there was a "Starter Game" which included a blue-white deck and a red-green deck, arranged in a specific order, and walked you through the first several turns of play. The CD in the game also included a computer tutorial, where you could play a sample game with one color or two color decks.
Now, the best way to start someone out is probably with the Intro Packs. I would not use a deck of 30 cards. Worthless, IMHO. The starter packs associated with the Core Sets are usually available at your LGS, have a full deck, that can, as the player gets a bit better, be adapted and in some cases be actually a decent casual deck. None of them are going to win any Pro Tours, but they can serve as a base for a developing player. They also tend to focus on a single keyword in each deck, so there is the main game and one of the "advanced" mechanics.
Playing the first few games with hands revealed can help the player understand what is going on. Shows that you may have counterspells, combat tricks, whatever, and to not overextend one's self.
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Currently playing:
Standard: WBRG Aggro-Reanimator Humans GRBW
Modern: UR Twinning RU G Venus Fly Trap G U Artifacts Aggro U
Don't spend much time talking. They're trying to learn to play a game, not attending a lecture. Spend more time playing
Don't bother correcting their play mistakes, just correct them when they violate a rule. They'll fix their own play mistakes once they understand how the game works. If you correct them on every play they'll never gain any confidence and it will just make the game frustrating instead of fun
Make sure they are reading every card they draw and play completely
Always remember that they're trying to learn how to play the game, they're not trying to learn how to play the game like a pro
I've always explained how mana works then moved onto the parts/types of cards. Then we'd play a teaching game (where I give them a special newb deck and talk them through the game....correcting mistakes as we go)
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Current Decks
Standard BEtched Champion/InfectB WSoilders/knightsW WUVenser SplicerWU RRDWR GFeed the Pack comboG WUPool of ExhaustionWU
EDH GEzuri, Elf OverrunG BGeth, GraverobberB UThada Adel, ThiefU RUrabrask, Big RedR WElesh Norn, CrusadeW WUGAngus Makenzie, Bant ControlWUG
Typically when teaching someone new to the game, I'll start out by pointing out and explaining (in this order) basic lands, mana costs, spells and their timing (difference between instants and sorceries), creatures and P/T, enchantments, and artifacts. Other card types or activated/triggered abilities we'll approach if and when they come up, but it's really easiest to keep the preliminary information at a minimum so you can start playing quickly.
Then we'll start a hand-revealed game, where I'll mention mulligans. This is where you find out just how badly you did explaining the game during the previous stage.
Pointing out only rules mistakes is the best way to proceed, but remember that you're the one who knows all the rules and they're not - so be careful of your tone or it could come off as condescending. They will often ask for strategic advice at this point; give it to them! You're not out to win the game, you're out to teach someone to play this excellent game and enjoy it. You might even make a few play mistakes on purpose, in order to present the possibility of a new interaction or keep the game running longer. In one case, the guy I was teaching actually caught me doing that: "wouldn't it be better to sacrifice that guy after you attack so you can hit me for 2 more?" That's when you know you're doing it right.
I doubt there's a right way to teach magic, but there are plenty of wrong ones. I've taught probably a dozen people by now, and the thing that's made it easiest for me has been constructing five mono-color decks (one in each color, of course) and balancing their power level against each other. Pretty simple but they each showcase each color's main abilities, with some bleeding to show it's not strictly limited.
I've always been fascinated by the various "instructional" products WotC have come up with to teach the game to new players. The Quickstart set, Portal, the introductory set with the CD, the 10th edition starter game, and now the 30 card demo decks are products I've examined and enjoyed.
The stuff that seems to work for an introductory game:
- Duel: less cards to keep track of; turns come up more often
- Three kinds of cards: Lands, Creatures, Spells
- Simple Creatures and spells: Vanilla and French Vanilla creatures; no artifacts or planeswalkers. Keep enchantments and planeswalkers to a minimum
- Show, then tell: Start a duel open handed and explain things as you go along. The information becomes more relevant rather than explaining in a vacuum.
Additional tips:
- Focus on basic rules, not on strategy: If the student decides to play the game again, there'll be plenty of time to learn strategy. Right now is not that time.
- Hold back: if you have a winning play early on, let it slide. The point is to let the student get accustomed to the flow of casting spells and playing through the turn phases. Crushing the student on turn 4 does not facilitate this.
"A rich man thinks all other people are rich, and an intelligent man thinks all other people are similarly gifted. Both are always terribly shocked when they discover the truth of the world. You, my dear brother, are a pious man." - Strahd von Zarovich
If the store owner says that I can't trade in the premises, I'll just go outside. If he says that I can't trade within 10m of his premises, I'll go to 11 meters. If he says that he doesn't want to see me trading, I will put a basket over his head and continue trading.
Yes, he's a local legend. He's only known to take his clothes off before he goes into the Ladies' Lockerroom. Nobody knows what he does in there because he's invisible, but it's almost certainly tons of masturbating.
I did this recently lol, but my method was based off the fact that the person I was teaching was actually intelligent. Anyway, he had played card games like Yu-Gi-Oh, so he knew the basic idea that you attacked with creatures and aimed to bring your opponent to 0, so we started explaining the mana system first. Tapping lands, adding mana, using mana, casting spells. Then, we went over the different card types and what they did. At this point, we explained the flavour behind the game because we had to explain why enchantments and artifacts differed. (also flavour is a damn stupid word)
Then we explained the stack in its simplest form. Don't blame me, okay, the other guy decided to be clever and accidentally pulled out Counterspell to explain what an instant was. Student picked it up really quickly, actually, and he got how it worked in general.
At that point, there was a basic grasp of the game, so we demonstrated by playing a game, and then let him try. It really didn't take long, tbh.
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If you're having creature problems I feel bad for you son
You got 99 attackers but I'm blocking with 1.
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Usually when teaching a new player it goes something like this:
1.) When starting from scratch, I start out by explaining the the colors represent first in the most basic high-fantasy terms possible and try to use little game terminology that they won't be able to understand the context of. I also explain that you can include more than one color in a deck and that there are allied colors that compliment each other, and enemy colors, which thematically are opposed to each other, but still often work well together when using the right strategies (I still struggle finding a way to elegantly explain the concept of "enemy colors" to a new player, because the term makes it sound like it'd be bad to pair them together when it's quite the opposite)
2.) Build a deck for them out of my spare Core Set cards, usually with about 20 creatures, 16 non-creature spells and 24 lands so there's a nice balance of things to explain to them during the game. I have a few decks already made for this purpose.
3.) Shuffle decks and explain the different zones. I play through a game with them step by step, teaching them as they go. I explain that there are multiple steps to a turn, but on their first turn I leave it as is after I tell them to draw 7, and have them show me their hand and explain why they may or may not want to keep it. After they get a hand worth keeping, that they can only play 1 land a turn and it's a resource for mana to cast their spells, which they "tap" by turning sideways for that resource. Generally try to keep it simplistic and say that they want to try to have something to do every turn so they don't fall behind (I don't get all technical and refer to it as tempo or anything). I introduce steps as they're needed, starting at their 2nd turn so it's a hands-on thing. At this point the new player usually wonders so I explain that what the number/colorless mana cost in spells means, and when they can play certain types of spells.
3. As soon as I end my 1st turn, I explain to them that there is an untap step where you untap everything unless there's a card or effect that says otherwise. Then I explain that after the untap phase there's an upkeep phase where a lot of effects on creatures, enchantments and other things on the battlefield take place, and that after that is the draw step where you draw for the turn. After they draw, I tell them that they are technically in what is called the main phase where you usually start casting spells (obviously ignoring that in more competitive games you wait until the 2nd main phase to cast spells - that is something I elaborate on later).
4. Past this point, I sort of explain things as they come. When they get a creature in play, I'll explain the combat steps, and afterwards why the second main phase exists. If I have a creature in play as well we'll go over blocking and assigning combat damage. Usually by now I've already explained what the difference between a Sorcery, Instant, Artifact and Enchantment are. I wait until later to introduce Planeswalkers because to new players they seem to often be mistook for a type of creatures.
In short, I start out with what they need to know to draw and walk them step by step through their first game, go onto another game answering any questions and elaborating on more complex stuff like the stack as time goes on.
The challenging thing I've found when teaching someone new to the game, is reflecting how complex and interesting it can be at a higher play level in order to hold their interest.
Some of my friends, in their lower to mid 20's have shown a little bit of interest in playing when they see how intense matches can be between me and friends in competitive play. When I go to try and teach them using Core Set cards, they seem to get rather bored of it pretty fast yet obviously can't swallow all the rules and stuff I use in your average Modern game. It's kind of difficult as a competitive player to teach others because as much as I'd like to, when they get bored with basic mechanics it frustrates me to know end the amount of time it would require for them to see the game as I do at my personal level of play, or at least understand it so that they know how much strategy can really go into it.
I remember a few years back, WotC had specific decks built for people to learn that came with little playmats that had each zone labeled. The decks were pre-ordered in a way that for the very first game you were not supposed to shuffle and were just supposed to open the decks and use them as they were. I wonder if they still give those out.
Anyways, I recently just taught someone to play, and I ended up grabbing an M11 deck and one of the "Duels of the Planeswalkers" decks. They were a little harder in terms of abilities (had to explain first strike, trample, regenerate, flying), but I avoided blue on purpose and specifically picked 2 aggro decks to ease things in.
In terms of actually teaching the game, I found the best way was break the game down to the absolute basics and work up. Start by explaining the basic card face and where to find information on it (mana cost, type, color, etc.). Then move up to the different card types. Then move up to the different zones. Then move up to the turn order. Then break down each phase/step and what happens in it. Run through 1 or 2 intro games (allow takebacks, explain all your moves and give hints as to what would be the sound thing to do on their turn), then try a closed hand game and see how they do. And save teaching about the stack for after a few games. It'll only confuse them if they don't have an understanding on the basics of the game structure.
The biggest thing I will say though is be patient and go easy on the beginner. Make a few play errors on purpose. If you're holding a blowout hand, purposefully hold back a few creatures. If they've only got 2 cards in hand, maybe hold off on that Mind Rot. I've found it's extremely hard to get someone to like a game if all they do is lose at it.
If 100% new people ask what the game is about, I tell them it's very loosely like chess with a fantasy motif (in terms of being a thinking man's strategy game which involves maximizing advantage while minimizing losses through pieces that serve different offensive and defensive functions), except you have hundreds or thousands of different pieces and you customize your "board" with them, and there are multiple styles and strategies to victory (aggressive, defensive/control, tempo).
I always then just point curious potential newcomers to Dual of the Planeswalkers on Xbox/PC/PS3. It teaches all the basics pretty well and the demo is free. I have noticed recently that 80% of newcomers to FNM say they got started from trying Dual of the Planeswalker so obviously it is doing something right.
Magic is so big and complex that it's very difficult to teach from the ground up unless you have a well detailed "lesson plan" or some frame of reference (other games - even stuff like RPGs or RTS games like Starcraft sometimes work) to make concepts more easily digestible.
Yea duels of the planeswalkers has been doing good work for FNM attendance. It actually had a couple of really nice decks too from what I could tell (loved the Simic deck to death for example)
I've taught so many people how to play Magic that I've lost count. Here is the method I've settled into:
I first explain that both players are powerful spellcasters, and both start at 20 life. The winner of the game is the one who reduces his opponent's life total to 0 first.
I show them the back of the card and explain that there are five colors of Magic, and each of them does a different thing (White is the magic of protection and defense; green is the magic of nature and balance, etc.). Then I explain that if you look at any color in that design, the two colors next to it are its allies while the two across from it are its enemies, etc.
I tell them that the deck of cards is your "library," while your discard pile is your "graveyard."
I next explain that there are two types of cards: Lands and spells.
I then break down the individual types of lands and spells, showing them where on the card it tells them what it is. I make ABSOLUTELY SURE to tell them that it's okay if they don't memorize all of these right off the bat.
For creatures, I explain what "power" and "toughness" are and demonstrate the numbers you compare when any two creatures meet in combat.
Then I explain what a casting cost is and how it relates to land.
I then show them what "tapping" means, explaining that it's nothing more than an accounting method to show each player what's been used and what's still available for use.
Then I show them the steps that are taken in a turn, in order.
Next I write up a list, showing them what spells can be played during whose turn and during which steps. I give them the list afterward for their reference.
I am careful to explain that the game isn't so much about buying up all the best cards; it's about synergy: Finding out which cards work together to enhance each other's effects. In other words, the idea behind deckbuilding is to make 2 + 2 = 5 or more.
Last of all, I play a sample game with them with both players' hands plainly visible. I walk them through what they can do and advise them what they SHOULD do and inform them why they should do it.
Repeat that last step until the person feels comfortable playing on his or her own with our hands concealed, like normal. Even then, I ALWAYS let him or her take back obvious mistakes and tell him or her why it was a mistake and give them suggestions for better plays. I keep doing this until he or she is comfortable living with his or her mistakes and insists on learning the hard way.
If you're unsure of the best way to teach people Magic, hopefully the above list will come in handy for you.
So you throw them right into the fire, so to speak. Well, I guess that can work but with absolutely no background, it could be a little tough to follow.
Like I said, I'm not a trained instructor and trying to find the most logical and efficient approach, at least to me, is not exactly intuitive.
It is almost always easier to learn by doing than to try and learn everything before starting to play. Just starting a game will also naturally reveal things that you might have forgotten to mention otherwise. Finally, it will keep the kid interested since he actually gets to play instead of listen to a lecture.
Two things: First, I work in a shop so my final goal is to get the student to buy something afterwards and second the point of this kind of lesson is to get them to the point where they can buy an intro pack and play against someone who is using a deck that isn't too complicated not teach them how to win a pro tour.
Personally I start by having them choose a color for their starter. Wizards has been very good lately with giving use these 30 cards single color decks to use for beginners. This includes a quick intro into each but I won't get into anything too technical its more about the colors' attitudes over their in game power.
Next we sit down and do the pregame work, shuffle, maybe cut, then draw 7 and I'll go first.
I'll show them a land and explain casting spells and the differences between each card type in as simple terms as possible. Then we play, I correct rules mistakes and depending on the player I might throw some strategy in especially if they are playing Blue because counter magic is a little harder to play correctly but I make it as easy as possible.
If they are looking mana screwed I'll cheat for them by tossing land off the top onto the bottom until they get something. I'll explain that cheating is wrong but its okay just this once for the sake of the lesson.
After we are done I ask for any final questions then sell them an intro pack and let them also keep the 30 card deck they used.
You have to understand that they is an age limit on this game, it isn't as old as 13 (which is the suggested age on the box) but they have to be at least 7 or 8 to be able to read and understand things like a hand and some of the rules. We do after school activities for Pokemon and often we get stuck with kids too young to even learn that game (way easier than Magic in case you didn't know) and it hurts the whole experience for everyone.
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The other day, I'm at my local LGS playing some casual magic with a friend of mine when this very young kid (had to be about 12) comes in and the owner asks me to teach him how to play the game and throws me a starter deck.
By the way, what's with these starter decks? 30 cards? I mean I know I've been out of touch with the beginning player base and how they get introduced to the game, but 30 card decks? Can't WotC at least give them a legal deck to play?
Anyway, so here I am sitting there thinking to myself, where do I begin?
Do I start by showing him the cards and explaining the parts of each card?
Do I start by explaining the objective of the game?
Do I start by explaining the various steps of play?
Do I start by explaining the mechanics of playing and tapping lands and casting spells?
Do I start with a little history of magic?
Do I start by explaining the different colors and what each color essentially represents?
Fortunately for me, this kid plays Yugioh so I had a frame of reference for which to compare things. That DID make it a lot easier.
But what if he had no CCG experience at all.
Where do you begin?
Naturally, I was eventually going to let him watch a match between my friend and I, but he had to leave before we got to that point.
Whatever I did, he seemed to pick it up pretty easily and understood the basics. Kids are pretty bright when it comes to this stuff.
But make no mistake about it, and I taught in a business school for 2 1/2 years before moving on to other things, teaching magic is not as easy as it looks to a beginner. Sure, if he had played a while and wanted advanced tips on deck building, card evaluation, etc, that's easy. You just take each sub topic one at a time.
But starting from scratch?
I felt like a beginner myself trying to explain, "Okay, you know how with Yugioh you just drop creatures onto the battlefield? Well, in magic, you can't do that. You have to play a land first, tap it for mana and THEN play the creature...except not all the time. See, sometimes, creatures have NO cost so you can just dump them."
Yeah. magic has a lot of rules and a lot of crap that breaks those rules or makes them rather confusing.
All I know is this. I am NEVER going to apply for a job at an elementary school as a Magic the Gathering instructor.
That pretty much sums it up...
So you throw them right into the fire, so to speak. Well, I guess that can work but with absolutely no background, it could be a little tough to follow.
Like I said, I'm not a trained instructor and trying to find the most logical and efficient approach, at least to me, is not exactly intuitive.
Play open handed with some basic cards / decks.
Keep in mind Wizards has done a lot of your work for you. Check out their site for how-to-learn material.
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Erebos B | Ghost Council WB | Grimgrin UB | Jhoira UR
Jor Kadeen RW | Melek UR | Mimeoplasm GUB | Rasputin WU
Savra BG | Sisay GW | Teneb BGW | Thada Adel U | Wort BR
I draft and play EDH. If a Standard player can't understand who a card is for, it's probably for me.
I also write things about good films.
There also used to be a downloadable version of that.
At the time of M9, there was a "Starter Game" which included a blue-white deck and a red-green deck, arranged in a specific order, and walked you through the first several turns of play. The CD in the game also included a computer tutorial, where you could play a sample game with one color or two color decks.
Now, the best way to start someone out is probably with the Intro Packs. I would not use a deck of 30 cards. Worthless, IMHO. The starter packs associated with the Core Sets are usually available at your LGS, have a full deck, that can, as the player gets a bit better, be adapted and in some cases be actually a decent casual deck. None of them are going to win any Pro Tours, but they can serve as a base for a developing player. They also tend to focus on a single keyword in each deck, so there is the main game and one of the "advanced" mechanics.
Playing the first few games with hands revealed can help the player understand what is going on. Shows that you may have counterspells, combat tricks, whatever, and to not overextend one's self.
Standard:
WBRG Aggro-Reanimator Humans GRBW
Modern:
UR Twinning RU
G Venus Fly Trap G
U Artifacts Aggro U
Legacy:
B Reanimator B
WU Stoneblade UW
EDH
WBGGhave, Guru of SporesGBW
URGRiku of the Two ReflectionsGRU
WUBRGScion of the Ur-DragonGRBUW
Casual
Far too many to list
Don't bother correcting their play mistakes, just correct them when they violate a rule. They'll fix their own play mistakes once they understand how the game works. If you correct them on every play they'll never gain any confidence and it will just make the game frustrating instead of fun
Make sure they are reading every card they draw and play completely
Always remember that they're trying to learn how to play the game, they're not trying to learn how to play the game like a pro
Standard:
GU Prophet
Legacy:
WBU Shared Fate
Trades
BEtched Champion/InfectB
WSoilders/knightsW
WUVenser SplicerWU
RRDWR
GFeed the Pack comboG
WUPool of ExhaustionWU
EDH
GEzuri, Elf OverrunG
BGeth, GraverobberB
UThada Adel, ThiefU
RUrabrask, Big RedR
WElesh Norn, CrusadeW
WUGAngus Makenzie, Bant ControlWUG
Extended
WGElvesWG
Legacy
RGoblinsR
UBGFariesUBG
UBGRaffinityUBG
Then we'll start a hand-revealed game, where I'll mention mulligans. This is where you find out just how badly you did explaining the game during the previous stage.
Pointing out only rules mistakes is the best way to proceed, but remember that you're the one who knows all the rules and they're not - so be careful of your tone or it could come off as condescending. They will often ask for strategic advice at this point; give it to them! You're not out to win the game, you're out to teach someone to play this excellent game and enjoy it. You might even make a few play mistakes on purpose, in order to present the possibility of a new interaction or keep the game running longer. In one case, the guy I was teaching actually caught me doing that: "wouldn't it be better to sacrifice that guy after you attack so you can hit me for 2 more?" That's when you know you're doing it right.
I doubt there's a right way to teach magic, but there are plenty of wrong ones. I've taught probably a dozen people by now, and the thing that's made it easiest for me has been constructing five mono-color decks (one in each color, of course) and balancing their power level against each other. Pretty simple but they each showcase each color's main abilities, with some bleeding to show it's not strictly limited.
The stuff that seems to work for an introductory game:
- Duel: less cards to keep track of; turns come up more often
- Three kinds of cards: Lands, Creatures, Spells
- Simple Creatures and spells: Vanilla and French Vanilla creatures; no artifacts or planeswalkers. Keep enchantments and planeswalkers to a minimum
- Show, then tell: Start a duel open handed and explain things as you go along. The information becomes more relevant rather than explaining in a vacuum.
Additional tips:
- Focus on basic rules, not on strategy: If the student decides to play the game again, there'll be plenty of time to learn strategy. Right now is not that time.
- Hold back: if you have a winning play early on, let it slide. The point is to let the student get accustomed to the flow of casting spells and playing through the turn phases. Crushing the student on turn 4 does not facilitate this.
It was easier to teach back then when we had more vanilla creatures & cards aka Craw Wurm & scathe zombies, mountain goat etc
Then we explained the stack in its simplest form. Don't blame me, okay, the other guy decided to be clever and accidentally pulled out Counterspell to explain what an instant was. Student picked it up really quickly, actually, and he got how it worked in general.
At that point, there was a basic grasp of the game, so we demonstrated by playing a game, and then let him try. It really didn't take long, tbh.
You got 99 attackers but I'm blocking with 1.
The Winner is Judge | 7
This Winner is Also Judge | 6
Club Flamingo | Lots
1.) When starting from scratch, I start out by explaining the the colors represent first in the most basic high-fantasy terms possible and try to use little game terminology that they won't be able to understand the context of. I also explain that you can include more than one color in a deck and that there are allied colors that compliment each other, and enemy colors, which thematically are opposed to each other, but still often work well together when using the right strategies (I still struggle finding a way to elegantly explain the concept of "enemy colors" to a new player, because the term makes it sound like it'd be bad to pair them together when it's quite the opposite)
2.) Build a deck for them out of my spare Core Set cards, usually with about 20 creatures, 16 non-creature spells and 24 lands so there's a nice balance of things to explain to them during the game. I have a few decks already made for this purpose.
3.) Shuffle decks and explain the different zones. I play through a game with them step by step, teaching them as they go. I explain that there are multiple steps to a turn, but on their first turn I leave it as is after I tell them to draw 7, and have them show me their hand and explain why they may or may not want to keep it. After they get a hand worth keeping, that they can only play 1 land a turn and it's a resource for mana to cast their spells, which they "tap" by turning sideways for that resource. Generally try to keep it simplistic and say that they want to try to have something to do every turn so they don't fall behind (I don't get all technical and refer to it as tempo or anything). I introduce steps as they're needed, starting at their 2nd turn so it's a hands-on thing. At this point the new player usually wonders so I explain that what the number/colorless mana cost in spells means, and when they can play certain types of spells.
3. As soon as I end my 1st turn, I explain to them that there is an untap step where you untap everything unless there's a card or effect that says otherwise. Then I explain that after the untap phase there's an upkeep phase where a lot of effects on creatures, enchantments and other things on the battlefield take place, and that after that is the draw step where you draw for the turn. After they draw, I tell them that they are technically in what is called the main phase where you usually start casting spells (obviously ignoring that in more competitive games you wait until the 2nd main phase to cast spells - that is something I elaborate on later).
4. Past this point, I sort of explain things as they come. When they get a creature in play, I'll explain the combat steps, and afterwards why the second main phase exists. If I have a creature in play as well we'll go over blocking and assigning combat damage. Usually by now I've already explained what the difference between a Sorcery, Instant, Artifact and Enchantment are. I wait until later to introduce Planeswalkers because to new players they seem to often be mistook for a type of creatures.
In short, I start out with what they need to know to draw and walk them step by step through their first game, go onto another game answering any questions and elaborating on more complex stuff like the stack as time goes on.
The challenging thing I've found when teaching someone new to the game, is reflecting how complex and interesting it can be at a higher play level in order to hold their interest.
Some of my friends, in their lower to mid 20's have shown a little bit of interest in playing when they see how intense matches can be between me and friends in competitive play. When I go to try and teach them using Core Set cards, they seem to get rather bored of it pretty fast yet obviously can't swallow all the rules and stuff I use in your average Modern game. It's kind of difficult as a competitive player to teach others because as much as I'd like to, when they get bored with basic mechanics it frustrates me to know end the amount of time it would require for them to see the game as I do at my personal level of play, or at least understand it so that they know how much strategy can really go into it.
(Also known as Xenphire)
Anyways, I recently just taught someone to play, and I ended up grabbing an M11 deck and one of the "Duels of the Planeswalkers" decks. They were a little harder in terms of abilities (had to explain first strike, trample, regenerate, flying), but I avoided blue on purpose and specifically picked 2 aggro decks to ease things in.
In terms of actually teaching the game, I found the best way was break the game down to the absolute basics and work up. Start by explaining the basic card face and where to find information on it (mana cost, type, color, etc.). Then move up to the different card types. Then move up to the different zones. Then move up to the turn order. Then break down each phase/step and what happens in it. Run through 1 or 2 intro games (allow takebacks, explain all your moves and give hints as to what would be the sound thing to do on their turn), then try a closed hand game and see how they do. And save teaching about the stack for after a few games. It'll only confuse them if they don't have an understanding on the basics of the game structure.
The biggest thing I will say though is be patient and go easy on the beginner. Make a few play errors on purpose. If you're holding a blowout hand, purposefully hold back a few creatures. If they've only got 2 cards in hand, maybe hold off on that Mind Rot. I've found it's extremely hard to get someone to like a game if all they do is lose at it.
I always then just point curious potential newcomers to Dual of the Planeswalkers on Xbox/PC/PS3. It teaches all the basics pretty well and the demo is free. I have noticed recently that 80% of newcomers to FNM say they got started from trying Dual of the Planeswalker so obviously it is doing something right.
Magic is so big and complex that it's very difficult to teach from the ground up unless you have a well detailed "lesson plan" or some frame of reference (other games - even stuff like RPGs or RTS games like Starcraft sometimes work) to make concepts more easily digestible.
The Great Creature Token Project
It is almost always easier to learn by doing than to try and learn everything before starting to play. Just starting a game will also naturally reveal things that you might have forgotten to mention otherwise. Finally, it will keep the kid interested since he actually gets to play instead of listen to a lecture.
Proud member of Fires Rf Salvation
Currently Playing:
BPack RatB
Modern:
WURRWU ControlRUW
Legacy:
UHigh TideU
UGTurbo EldraziGU
EDH:
RWURuhan Planeswalker ControlUWR
RGBProssh, Skyraider of KherBGR
Personally I start by having them choose a color for their starter. Wizards has been very good lately with giving use these 30 cards single color decks to use for beginners. This includes a quick intro into each but I won't get into anything too technical its more about the colors' attitudes over their in game power.
Next we sit down and do the pregame work, shuffle, maybe cut, then draw 7 and I'll go first.
I'll show them a land and explain casting spells and the differences between each card type in as simple terms as possible. Then we play, I correct rules mistakes and depending on the player I might throw some strategy in especially if they are playing Blue because counter magic is a little harder to play correctly but I make it as easy as possible.
If they are looking mana screwed I'll cheat for them by tossing land off the top onto the bottom until they get something. I'll explain that cheating is wrong but its okay just this once for the sake of the lesson.
After we are done I ask for any final questions then sell them an intro pack and let them also keep the 30 card deck they used.
You have to understand that they is an age limit on this game, it isn't as old as 13 (which is the suggested age on the box) but they have to be at least 7 or 8 to be able to read and understand things like a hand and some of the rules. We do after school activities for Pokemon and often we get stuck with kids too young to even learn that game (way easier than Magic in case you didn't know) and it hurts the whole experience for everyone.