🧙♂️ How to play Magic: The Gathering? Step-by-step tutorial
🎴 How to play Magic: The Gathering? A quick guide to get started without going crazy
Have you heard about Magic but don't know where to start? Don't worry, you're not alone. It might seem confusing at first, but once you understand the basics, the game is incredibly addictive. In this guide, I'll explain the essentials so you can play your first game without getting lost mid-turn.
🧙♂️ The basics: What is Magic?
Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game where you and your rival become wizards — well, actually, planeswalkers — who battle by casting spells, summoning creatures, and using magical artifacts.
The goal is quite clear: make your opponent lose all 20 of their life points before they lose all 20 of yours. To do this, you need a deck with your best cards and a good dose of strategy. And yes, a bit of luck too.
🔁 And what's this Mulligan thing?
Before the game starts, you draw 7 cards at random. If your hand is a disaster (too many lands, no lands, all very expensive spells…), you can mulligan.
Under the current rule, called the London Mulligan , you shuffle your entire hand, draw seven new cards, and then place one card on the bottom of your deck for each time you mulliganed. You can repeat the process, but each time you lose one more card. The idea is that you start with a decent hand—not perfect, but at least playable.
🃏 What types of cards are there?
Here's a summary of what you'll find in a Magic deck:
- Lands : These are your source of mana, allowing you to play the rest of your cards. You can only play one per turn.
- Creatures : These are your allies on the field. They attack, block, and have various abilities. Their strength and resistance are indicated in the bottom right corner.
- Spells : Spells that you can only cast on your turn, usually during your main phase.
- Instants : Like sorceries, but you can cast them whenever you want, even on your opponent's turn. Very useful for surprising your opponent.
- Enchantments : They remain in the field and have effects that last as long as they are there.
- Artifacts : Magical objects. They can do anything, depending on what they say.
- Planeswalkers : They're like mini-bosses that help you turn by turn. Each one has different abilities and they can be quite powerful.
⏱️ How's a shift going?
Each turn is divided into several phases. It might seem like a lot, but in practice it's quite smooth. Here's a summary:
🔄 Initial Phase
- Straighten : All cards that you had turned face down (from using them) are straightened.
- Maintenance : Activates effects that occur at the beginning of the turn.
- Draw : You draw a card. Easy.
🛠️ First Main Phase
Here you can put a land into play if you haven't already this turn, cast spells, play creatures, set artifacts, enchantments, etc. Basically, you set up your game.
⚔️ Combat Phase
This part has several steps, but the essentials are:
You say which creatures attack.
The opponent decides whether to block and with what.
The damage is done between the creatures.
And effects that occur during combat are resolved.
🧱 Second Main Phase
Very similar to the first one. If you didn't do anything before the battle, you can do it now. You can also use ground if you didn't do so before.
💤 Final Phase
"End of turn" effects are activated.
If you have more than 7 cards in hand, you discard until you are left with 7.
Temporary effects end (“until end of shift”).
After this, the turn passes to the next player.
🎯 And that's it?
More or less, yes. Obviously, there are many more rules, tricks, and cards with very strange effects, but if you understand the phases, the card types, and how to manage your hand... you already have the basics to start playing without feeling lost.
🧙 Where can I start?
If you're up for an adventure, head over to Akiba Loots , where we have decks, booster packs , and single cards so you can build whatever you like. Whether it's your first game or your thousandth, we have everything you need to play with friends or start competing.