Some Magic keywords — like flying, trample, first strike, or deathtouch — have names that are pretty self-explanatory. But, as you dig deep into the history of the game, you find some pretty enigmatic entries. Take epic: a mechanic introduced in Saviors of Kamigawa. Sounds pretty impressive, but what does it do? Today, we’ll share what makes epic so — …

Last week, we introduced the suspend mechanic: an ability that lets you trade mana for time. When you suspend a spell, you exile it with a number of time counters on it and cast the card once all the time counters are removed. But suspend isn’t the only ability that uses time counters. There are some permanents in Magic that …

One of the most important skills to master in Magic is mana efficiency. Using as much of your available mana as possible each turn will allow you to have a big impact on the game, and it’ll serve you well in future turns. There are a number of abilities in Magic that allow you to maximize your mana efficiency — …

Last week in this series, we covered storm: a mechanic that allows you to copy spells and often win the game with them. But storm isn’t the only keyword that allows you to copy spells. This week, we’re learning about a little-known mechanic called ripple! What is Ripple? Ripple is a triggered ability that goes off when a card with …

We’ve covered dozens of Magic: The Gathering mechanics in this series this year. Over the past several months, we’ve helped new players understand the building blocks of Magic and the latest additions to the game’s lexicon. We even gave a lesson on banding! As we ring in the new year, we wanted to cover another Magic keyword that many new …

Many Magic: The Gathering players feel a strong affinity for specific colors: white, blue, black, red, and green. Perhaps you identify with one of these colors and load your decks up with your favorite basic lands. (If you’re new to the game and still trying to figure out which color is right for you, check out our article here!) But …

Earlier in this series, we talked a bit about artifacts and their ability to buff your creatures in combat. Artifacts in Magic represent a variety of different objects in the Multiverse, from weapons and armor to trinkets and treasures. Some artifacts even represent cars, airships, and other vehicles that can get your creatures across the red zone. Like equipment, vehicles …

A game of Magic: The Gathering ends when you reduce your opponents’ life total from 20 to 0. And, consequently, many games of Magic are won and lost based on creature combat. But sometimes the best offense is a good defense. If you like to play a slower and more defensive game, there’s a certain type of creature that might …