Beginner's guide
How to play Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering is the game that invented the trading card genre in 1993, and it's still the deepest one on the shelf. You play a powerful wizard — a planeswalker — casting spells, summoning creatures, and slinging removal to knock your opponent from 20 life down to zero. At Holo Hunting we mostly play Commander (the casual 4-player format) and casual 1v1, so new players fit right in.
- Players
- 2 (or 3–4 for Commander)
- Game length
- 20–60 minutes
- Deck size
- 60 cards (100 for Commander)
- Great for ages
- 13+ (younger with help)
What you need
- A 60-card deck — a preconstructed deck or Jumpstart packs are perfect for game one
- A way to track life totals (dice, phone app, or pen and paper)
- A handful of dice for counters and tokens
- Sleeves for your cards (optional, but your holos will thank you)
Setting up
- 1Each player shuffles their deck and draws an opening hand of 7 cards.
- 2Set your life total to 20 (40 in Commander).
- 3Decide who goes first (roll dice). The first player skips their first draw step in 1v1.
- 4Not happy with your hand? You may mulligan — shuffle, draw 7 again, then put one card back for each mulligan taken.
How a turn works
01Untap & Upkeep
Straighten (untap) all your tapped cards. Some cards have effects that trigger 'at the beginning of your upkeep.'
02Draw
Draw one card from your library (your deck).
03First main phase
Play a land (one per turn) and cast spells: creatures, artifacts, enchantments, sorceries. Lands tap for mana — the resource that pays for everything.
04Combat
Attack with your untapped creatures. Your opponent chooses blockers. Unblocked attackers deal damage to the player; blocked ones fight the blockers.
05Second main phase
Cast anything you saved for after combat — often the best time for creatures you don't want to risk.
06End step
'At end of turn' effects trigger, then damage wears off and the next player goes. If you have more than 7 cards in hand, discard down to 7.
How you win
- Reduce your opponent's life total from 20 to 0 — the classic route
- Your opponent must draw a card but their library is empty ('decking out')
- Deal 10+ poison counters, or win instantly with cards that literally say 'you win the game'
- In Commander: 21 combat damage from a single commander also kills a player
Words you'll hear at the table
- Mana
- The resource used to cast spells, made by tapping lands. Comes in five colors: White, Blue, Black, Red, Green.
- Tap
- Turn a card sideways to show it's been used this turn — for attacking, mana, or abilities.
- Creature
- A permanent that can attack and block. Has power (damage it deals) and toughness (damage it survives).
- Instant
- A spell you can cast at any time — even on your opponent's turn or in response to their spells.
- Sorcery
- A spell you can only cast during your own main phase.
- The stack
- Spells don't resolve instantly — they go on the stack, and players may respond. Last spell cast resolves first.
- Commander
- The multiplayer format: 100-card singleton decks led by a legendary creature. The most-played format at our Friday tables.
- Planeswalker
- A powerful ally card with loyalty abilities — and also what YOU are in the game's story.
Beginner tips from the shop
- 1.Start with a Commander precon or two Jumpstart packs — they're built to be playable out of the box.
- 2.Play your land every single turn. Missing land drops is the #1 new-player mistake.
- 3.Attack more. New players hold back too much — trading creatures is usually fine.
- 4.Read the card out loud. Magic does exactly what the card says, in the order it says it.
- 5.Come to Friday open play (3–9 PM) — tell us you're new and we'll teach you at the table with a loaner deck.
Ready to play for real?
Magicopen play runs every Friday 3–9 PM at the shop. Tell us you're new — first game's on us, loaner deck included.