New to Magic: The Gathering? Start here

The path

1. Step 1 Play your first game

   Two ready decks beat any amount of reading. Set up a game of two, keep a hand, and learn the ways a game ends.

   Read your first game

2. Step 2 Learn what a card does

   A Magic card names its cost, its type, and what it does. Read those three parts and you can play a turn.

   Read the card anatomy guide

3. Step 3 Understand combat and the stack

   Attacking, blocking, and responding are where a new player loses games they could win.

   Read the combat guide

4. Step 4 Build your first deck

   Pick one or two colors, count your lands, and give the deck a way to answer a threat. BinderLoot measures all three for you.

   Read the deck building guide

5. Step 5 Play with other people

   A local game store runs beginner nights. Commander is the format most tables play, and a preconstructed deck is ready out of the box.

   Read the formats guide

Not sure which format to play?

Three questions name the format that fits the people you play with and what you want to spend.

Heard a word you do not know?

The glossary reads in five parts, and every term carries an example of the word at work.

• Colors and rarity
• Card keywords
• Rules of the game
• Deck building
• Words you hear at a store

Every guide

• Your first gameSet up a game of two, keep a hand, and know when the game ends. 5 min
• Reading a cardThe cost, the type and the text tell you what a card does and when you can play it. 5 min
• Mana and colorsLands make the mana, and the symbols in a cost name the colors it needs. 5 min
• How a turn runsFive phases, always in the same order. Each card type has its own phases. 6 min
• Attacking and blockingCombat decides most games. Learn who can attack, who can block, and how the damage falls. 7 min
• Abilities and keywordsTell the three kinds of ability apart, and read the keywords that change a fight. 7 min
• The stack and respondingA spell does not happen at once. It waits on the stack, and your opponent can answer it. 6 min
• Building your first deckBuild a legal deck, count your lands, and give the deck a way to answer a threat. 8 min
• Colors and mana baseCount the color sources each color needs, then split your lands to give them those sources. 8 min
• Which format to playA format decides which cards are legal and how a deck is built. Pick the one your table plays. 7 min
• Your first night at a storeWhat happens at a game store, what to bring, and how to join a table. 6 min
• Mistakes every new player makesEvery warning of the guides in one place, each under the guide that explains it. 4 min