Magic: The Gathering

[SternuS]

As you probably know, Magic: The Gathering (commonly known as MTG or just Magic) is the first modern collectible card game, created by Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizard of the Coast. But it's from the 8th edition that it has truly became a popular game, envolving millions and millions of gamers. There are many tournaments, from the principiant to the Pro, everyone with a lot of money up for grabs.

 

It's not complicated, i started playing it at the age of 8, altough in an amateur form, with a deck of 60 cards instead of a tournament's 40 cards deck. There are some minimal cahnges with the 11th expanison ( known as M10 ), but nothing to worry about. If you already play it and have some questions, or you're interested to begin the adventure, check the official site

 

Now, do you play it? What are your thoughts? I'm even interested for purchase some cards, so let's talk!

[Mr Biggles]

i want to get it, but don't have enough MSP, isn't it similar to Yu-gi-Oh?

[SternuS]

Well, yes, i don't play Yu-gi-Oh, but i saw my school mates playing, and it's similar. Maybe more difficult. But the basics are simple:

-As you can see, the game is based on the Mana, an energy you can create with Land cards (White, Blue, Red, Green or Black); every creature, enchantment, artifact, spell, sorcery etc. etc. costs a certain amount of mana to be played, and you can't play it if you don't have enough mana.

-The game is based on the TAP - UNTAP sistem, meaning when you play a creature, for ex., that costs 2 Green Mana, you have to tap 2 Green Land cards: those lands are exhausted, and they will remain TAPped until your next turn. Another Ex. is the Attack phase: the creatures you want to attack with will TAP, and will remain TAPped until your next turn.

-The Turn is divided in Main Phase, when you put your land on the battlefield (just one for turn); the Maintaining phase, when you UNTAP your cards and put Creatures on the battlefield; the Attack phase, when you declare with wich creature and wich opponent are you attacking; the Defense phase, when your opponent (or you) declare wich creature he or she blocks and how he or she blocks; and the End Turn Phase, when every action is resolved and the damage is distribuited. Obviously these phases are splitted in others sub-phases, but we're talking about the basics.

-Each creature ( example ) has power and toughness. Its power (the first number) is how much damage it deals in combat. Its toughness (the second number) is how much damage must be dealt to it in a single turn to destroy it. Creatures attack and block during the combat phase.

-Every crature (or the most of them) has one or more abilities, like the Tiger in the picture: every ability has it's own effect, wich can help you or your creatures, or damage the enemy. In that case, the Tiger gets +1/+1 if it's blocked by another creature. Unlike other types of permanents, creatures enter the battlefield with “summoning sickness”: a creature can’t attack, or use an ability that has

in its cost, until it has started your turn on the battlefield under your control. You can block with a creature or activate its other abilities no matter how long it’s been on the battlefield.

- During your turn you can play other types of spells, like Sorcery, Instant, Enchantment, and Artifacts; you can play an Istant whenever you want, even during your opponents turn.

- The M10 Expansion introduced a new card type, the Planeswalker: they are powerful allies you can call on to fight by your side. They’re permanents, and each one enters the battlefield with the number of loyalty counters indicated in its lower right corner. Each planeswalker has abilities that add or remove loyalty counters to activate. For example, the symbol means “Put one loyalty counter on this planeswalker,” and the symbol means “Remove two loyalty counters from this planeswalker.” You can activate one of these abilities only at the time you could cast a sorcery, and only if none of that planeswalker’s abilities have been activated yet that turn.

Your planeswalkers can be attacked by your opponent’s creatures (if so, you can block as normal), and your opponent can damage them with their spells and abilities instead of damaging you. Any damage dealt to a planeswalker causes it to lose that many loyalty counters. If it has no loyalty counters, it’s put into your graveyard.

- The last basic rule you have to know is "The Zones":

Library

When the game begins, your deck of cards becomes your library (your draw pile). It's kept face down, and the cards stay in the order they were in at the beginning of the game. No one can look at the cards in your library, but you know how many cards are in each player's library. Each player has his or her own library.

Hand

When you draw cards, they go to your hand, just as in most other card games. No one except you can look at the cards in your hand. Each player has his or her own hand.

Battlefield

You start the game with nothing on the battlefield, but this is where the action is going to be. On each of your turns, you can play a land from your hand. Creatures, artifacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers also enter the battlefield after they resolve. You can arrange your permanents however you want (we recommend putting lands closest to you), but your opponent must be able to see all of them and tell whether they’re tapped. This zone is shared by both players.

Graveyard

Your graveyard is your discard pile. Your instant and sorcery spells go to your graveyard when they resolve. Your cards go to your graveyard when they're discarded, destroyed, sacrificed, countered, or put there by an effect. In addition, your planeswalkers go to your graveyard if their loyalty is reduced to 0, and your creatures go to your graveyard if the damage they're dealt in a single turn is equal to or greater than their toughness, or if their toughness is reduced to 0 or less. Cards in your graveyard are always face up and anyone can look at them at any time. Each player has his or her own graveyard.

The Stack

Spells and abilities exist on the stack. They wait there to resolve until both players choose not to play any new spells or abilities. Then the last spell or ability that was put onto the stack resolves, and players get a chance to play spells and abilities again. This zone is shared by both players.

Exile

If a spell or ability exiles a card, that card is put in a game area that’s set apart from the rest of the game. The card will remain there forever, unless whatever put it there is able to bring it back. Exiled cards are normally face up. This zone is shared by both players.

 

These, my friend, are the basics. There are many, many, many more rules for the Advanced and Pro Games, that you can find on the official site. But for now, learn these simple rules and you'll learn how to play Magic: The Gathering.

Don't worry if they seems complicated and unconceivable, in about a week you'll practise and you'll be able to play on an Advanced level.