Magic has been around since 1993. And almost from the game’s start, there has been a story. When a story’s been going for that long, it’s bound to become complex and hard to follow. This article seeks to remedy that by summarizing the most important aspects of the Magic story into a single digestible read. If you’re a new player, …
Essential MTG Definitions: Priority and The Stack
Players who pick up Magic: The Gathering for the first time face an intimidating learning curve, that’s for sure. But the first and most important step is mastering the game’s unique language: an arcane vocabulary of keywords, rules terms and specific phrasing that holds the key to understanding every card from the last thirty years of Magic. Some of the …
Magic: the Gathering Basic Definitions: Part 2
Players who pick up Magic: The Gathering for the first time face an intimidating learning curve, that’s for sure. But the first and most important step is mastering the game’s unique language: an arcane vocabulary of keywords, rules terms and specific phrasing that holds the key to understanding every card from the last thirty years of Magic. I already got …
Magic: the Gathering Basic Definitions: Part 1
Players who pick up Magic: The Gathering for the first time face an intimidating learning curve, that’s for sure. But the first and most important step is mastering the game’s unique language: an arcane vocabulary of keywords, rules terms and specific phrasing that holds the key to understanding every card from the last thirty years of Magic. It would take …
Beginner Tips for Playing Combo in Commander
Playing a Combo deck in Commander can be a daunting choice for beginners. Combo decks are generally seen as more competitive, more fragile, and requiring a deeper well of gameplay know-how to pull off. If you’re wanting to have a go at playing a Combo deck in Commander for the first time – or you just want a few tips …
An Introduction to Magic: the Gathering’s Formats
Magic is a very popular game, so it’s no surprise that the game is always getting new players. In fact, the potential for new players might be at its highest ever as Universes Beyond sets have become commonplace. Whatever you may think about those types of sets, which are based on non-Magic intellectual properties, it has to be acknowledged that …
Five Best Magic Sets for New Commander Players in 2025
So, you want to play Magic: the Gathering? You want to play Commander? Well, you have good taste — it’s an enduringly popular way to play. Commander is the format that lets you unleash your creativity, play with your favorites, and enjoy a relaxed and casual group experience, whether with friends or across the table at your Local Games Store. …
Deck Builder: Craft Your Next Deck
Deck building is fundamental to the game, but we know how tedious it can be to search up each individual card and add each to your cart. We built the Deck Builder tool to make finding the cards for your deck easier and faster. Keep scrolling to find more about this tool, and how to use it! What is Deck …
Map Tokens and Explore – MTG Mechanics Explained
Map tokens join treasure, food, clues, and blood as a predefined token. Map tokens come with an ability that lets you (at sorcery speed, so in your main phase with nothing else on the stack) pay 1 mana, tap the map token, and sacrifice it. When you do, a target creature you control explores. And, well, that means we’re asking… …
Craft – MTG Mechanics Explained
Craft is a double-faced card transforming mechanic that’s first appearing in Lost Caverns of Ixalan. While it could theoretically appear on any permanent type, for now (as of the time of me writing this script), it appears solely on artifacts. Like most double-faced transforming cards, cards with craft will normally enter on their front face – which in this case …