How to Play ‘Magic: The Gathering’: The Complete Series

In my journey as a GeekMom, there’s one lesson I’ve learned above all else. Lifting others up lifts all of us up! Geek culture is a way for us to share our spirit with each other, to create healthy competitive spaces and safe exploratory spaces. As a big believer in the power of games, my heart is overjoyed whenever I see a person find their community in nerd spaces. This was the driving force behind this series on How to Play Magic: The Gathering. The goal was to create a space for people to learn (or relearn) how to play a favorite game of my own. MTG is a part of our everyday life. It’s how my kids learn math. It’s how we get out our frustration, use our brains to strategize, and create environments of health competition where no one in our household is above another. It’s how we create safe spaces for our kids to level the playing field with us as we teach them how to best their opponents. It’s so much more than just a card game. By the end of this series, you’ll have a basic understanding of how to build your own Magic deck, take your turn, a basic understanding of the Stack, and some direction on where to practice these new skills. 

All the articles a GeekMom needs to start playing Magic: The Gathering are right here, separated by categories! This way, you only need to save this one post or share this one post with that mom friend who keeps saying she’ll play with you but keeps putting it off… 😏  This is an ongoing series, so check back for updates! 

How to Play Magic: The Gathering

• Baby’s First Magic Deck Part 1 – The series starts with a breakdown of a basic standard Magic deck. Inspired by my love for food mixed with my love for info-dumping about MTG, we start with creating a deck centered around food. You’ll learn the basic framework of a Magic deck, along with categories of cards, as we build Baby’s First Magic Deck! 
• Baby’s First Magic Deck Part 2 – In this installment, we continue our breakdown of game terminology and how we take that into consideration while crafting our Magic decks. We go more into depth on substituting cards from builds you find online to help you get ideas on different types of decks you can build. By the end of this post, you’ll be ready to play with your first Magic deck.  
• The Turn – This post focuses on how to take that deck and use it in a match against others. We break down all the parts of a turn and what can and cannot be cast during those turns. We also talk about how to use each stage of your (or your opponent’s) turn effectively, to create strategies to maximize your mana use. 
• The Stack – This post covers all the basics concerning the Stack. If you’re not quite sure what that is, it is the purgatory space before your spell hits the battlefield. In this stage, you should be familiar with using a deck and taking a turn. This post covers the basics of Stack rules and how card combinations would resolve. 
• The 5 Mechanics You Need to Know for Kaldheim – The newest release for MTG is Kaldheim, set in Norse-inspired worlds. With every new expansion comes new mechanics, and whether you’re a returning Magic expert or a new adventurer, here is a breakdown of the most recent mechanic developments and how to play them. 

Where to Play Magic: The Gathering

1. How to play Magic: The Gathering at Home for Free – Even though we can’t play in person, it doesn’t mean we can’t play! Here is everything you need to get started completely free and from the comfort of your own home. We breakdown the best ways to play MTG from home, before investing any of that cash, without needing any space for card storage. 
2. The Breakdown of Each $4.99 Bundle in MTG – Here we give you the breakdown of the best way to spend your five-dollar bill in Magic: The Gathering so you can make the decision before you invest the money. Take the trial and error out of the decision-making process, and start playing whichever way supports your playstyle. 

There you have it! All the things you need to start playing Magic: The Gathering in one place. Join me on Mondays and Fridays over on Twitch.tv to play some MTG Arena and be part of the conversation. Do you have a friend who’s hesitant about embracing their inner nerd? Send them this post, or send them my way! Have a question or idea for a post? Connect with me on social media! Let me know if this was helpful or if there are other games you’d like breakdowns of to send to your friends. 🤗