Magic: The Gathering for Beginners

In August of 1993, Wizards of the Coast graced the world with a trading card game that quickly gained in popularity among strategy gamers. The name of this game was Magic: The Gathering. While many trading card games have come and gone, Magic: The Gathering continues to grow and remain popular among gamers. Magic: The Gathering is quite simple to understand and play, though the beginning player should know that it may take some time to develop their individual strategy.

Playing Magic: The Gathering is a relatively simple process. This game consists of at least two players. There can be as many players as you are comfortable with, but two is the minimum. Each player begins with a life total of twenty. The life total may be kept in various ways. Most players keep track of their life with dice, or a spin down life counter. Some players may keep track of their life using counters. You can even keep track of your life by using a pen and paper if you like. When a player is reduced to a life total of zero, that player loses the game.

There are numerous ways that a person may lose their life in Magic: The Gathering. There are cards such as "Drain Life", which directly affect a player's life total. Many people lose their life total if they are attacked with unblockable creatures, or creatures that affect their life total directly, and other methods are use to destroy the life total of a player.

Once you start your game of Magic: The Gathering, there are a few details, apart from life total that you need to know. The first thing that you need to know is that you will need to have a deck of at least forty cards. In your deck, you will need land, which is called "Mana" in order to cast the spells in your deck. Spells are anything in your deck that is not considered mana. You will also want to include various creatures in your deck that you can attack with, and block the attacks of others with. You may also choose to have various enchantments, sorcery cards, instants, and other things that will benefit your strategy in this trading card game.