M:TG Duel of the Planewalkers

[The Succubus]

Howdy,

My online gaming group decided to buy this off steam last night and I'm finding it horribly confusing with all these mana, lands, creatures and all the rest of it. Does anyone know of a "Clueless Newbie's Guide to Magic: The Gathering" that I could read for more info?

[Brother Oni]

There's a good tutorial of the card version at the main WOTC website: Beginner's guide to Magic (http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/newtomagic.aspx).

A very brief flow of the game:

The game is divided into phases and they flow in order:

Untap
Upkeep
Main Phase 1
Attack Phase
Main Phase 2
End of Turn

Once you go through all the phases, it's your opponent's turn.

You start with 7 cards in hand and 20 life points.
Cards are usually turned sideways 90 degrees to indicate they're tapped. This means they've already used their ability for this turn and can't be used until your next Untap phase.

During your Uptap, you untap or make ready all your cards in play.

In your Upkeep, there are some effects that need to be dealt with, like damage over time abilities.

At the start of your first Main Phase, you must draw a card from your deck.
During your Main Phase (either one), you may play 1 land a turn. You may activate, or tap, a land to produce 1 mana of the type listed on the card. Plains produce white mana, Swamps produce black, Mountains produce red, Islands produce blue and Forests produce green.

You may use this mana to play a spell. Spells have a casting cost in the top right corner and you must have this mana available at the time. Usually there are restrictions on their casting cost, some require mana of a specific colour, and some have generic mana costs (doesn't matter what colour) or a combination of both.
Spells can be Sorceries, Instants, Creatures, Enchantments or Artifacts.
Each spell type has their own restrictions on when they can be played, what effects they have, etc.

Creatures have a Power and Toughness value. When they take damage equal to their Toughness, they're dead.

In your attack phase, you may send some or all of your creatures to attack your opponent. Your opponent may then use his creatures to block yours. Creatures that stop each other, deal damage to each other equal to their power. Creatures that are not blocked, deal damage to your opponent and they lose 1 life point for each point of damage.

When a player has 0 life, or they do not have any cards left in their deck and must draw a card, they lose the game.

During the End of Turn phase, creatures heal any damage they've taken and any lingering effects usually end.


There are many, many cards which have special abilities which affect the basic rules and/or change the rules entirely. Keeping track of all these interactions can be very tricky, so if you get stuck, just ask on the main Magic thread here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149503).

[The Succubus]

Ummmm....I have Belkar levels of Spot, can you link me to th main Magic thread? -.-

[krko]

Or you know, download the demo (http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/newtomagic.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/newtomagic/learntoplay)

[Brother Oni]

Ummmm....I have Belkar levels of Spot, can you link me to th main Magic thread? -.-

The link is at the bottom of my last post. I'll repost it here:

Main Magic the Gathering thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149503)


Or you know, download the demo (http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/newtomagic.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/newtomagic/learntoplay)

I don't have access to gaming websites at work, so the best I can do is cobble the main website link off google.

That said, it's always better to learn from someone who knows how to play, so if you're confused at any point, they can answer you directly.

[The Succubus]

The link is at the bottom of my last post. I'll repost it here:

Main Magic the Gathering thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149503)



I don't have access to gaming websites at work, so the best I can do is cobble the main website link off google.

That said, it's always better to learn from someone who knows how to play, so if you're confused at any point, they can answer you directly.

I stand corrected - even Belkar has more ranks in Spot than me. Yes, you were right - I need text info rather than demos at work. Remember the mods are always watching, especially while you sleep.

[Brother Oni]

I've had a go at the Duel of the Planeswalkers demo and it's not very intuitive. The game plays too fast and until you get used to the interface, it's difficult to work out how to play (and I know the rules about as well as you can get without being a judge).

A lot of the time, I end up trying to click things too quickly, simply because I know what I want to do (respond to the Incinerate with Giant Growth, etc) and I keep on getting told "you can't do that yet".

It's a lot cheaper than getting involved with Magic Online, but I'd prefer MtGO for actual gameplay - less graphical bells and whistles, but clearer to understand interface.