Magic the Gathering (also known as MTG or Magic) is a tabletop and digital collectible card game. It was originally created by Richard Garfield and released in 1993.

Players in Magic the Gathering take on the role of a Planeswalker – a powerful dueling wizard who controls elements and creatures in a game of strategy against other opponents.

I have dabbled in the past (1 or 2 games), but recently with family members really getting into the game and a strong following near me – I decided to take the plunge.

My family bought me an Atarka deck for Christmas (which is a Commander Deck) and Battlefield Hobbies (my local gaming store in Daventry, UK), had a spare set of the Red and Green welcome packs and asked if I would like to use them. I happily accepted!

Deck Colours

The colours are important, of which there are five:

• White (Representing: Peace, law, structure, selflessness and equality)
• Blue (Knowledge, deceit, caution deliberation and perfection)
• Black (Power, self-interest, death, sacrifice and uninhibitedness)
• Red (Freedom, emotion, action, impulse and destruction)
• Green (Nature, wildlife, connection spirituality and tradition)

Each of these colours signifies a faction and defines how the deck usually plays.

What’s Inside a Welcome Pack?

You have everything you need to start playing Magic the Gathering inside each Welcome Pack. It typically contains:

• Two decks for you and a friend to play.
• A code for Magic the Gathering Arena which is to use your deck online and help learn the game digitally.
• A guide explaining the basics of Magic.

The Basics

Each player selects a deck of 30 cards. These are then shuffled, and players take 7 cards from the top of their deck.

Each turn is split into a number of phases.

1. Beginning Phase

Untap Step: You untap all tapped permanents you control (lands, creatures, etc.).

Upkeep Step: Some cards have abilities that trigger during upkeep.

Draw Step: You draw a card from your library.

2. Main Phase 1

You can play a land (one per turn).

You can cast creatures, enchantments, artifacts, instants, or sorceries.

You can activate abilities of cards you control.

3. Combat Phase (If You Attack)

Beginning of Combat: Some abilities trigger at the start of combat.

Declare Attackers: You choose which creatures attack.

Declare Blockers: The opponent decides which of their creatures block (if any).

Combat Damage: Attacking and blocking creatures deal damage simultaneously.

End of Combat: Any abilities that trigger at the end of combat resolve.

4. Main Phase 2

You can play another land (if you didn’t in Main Phase 1).

You can cast spells and activate abilities, just like in Main Phase 1.

5. Ending Phase

End Step: Any “at end of turn” effects happen.

Cleanup Step: You discard down to your maximum hand size (7), and damage is removed from creatures.

Next week, I’ll go over some of the basic skills and also introduce the different Magic formats, including Magic the Gathering: Arena