To improve at Magic: The Gathering (MTG), it is essential to play a variety of games, both casual and competitive, to gain experience against various opponents. Regular practice will improve your understanding of the game, sharpen your decision-making, and boost your overall performance. The most dominant winning streaks in the game’s history have been put together by players who were simply eating, sleeping, and breathing Magic.
To become a better MTG player, there are several tips and strategies that can be found in various sources, such as Tolarian Tutor’s Role Assessment and Martin’s five simple tips. These nuances to the game can be realized after spending months playing.
For players of all skill levels and format preferences, there are five tips for improving their MTG game. Huey has some tips on setting realistic goals to mark your progress. To capture the gains of having a better deck, you might need to switch archetypes or create a new archetype of your own. Surrounding yourself with people who are better than you is one of the greatest ways to get better at magic.
In this Deep Dive, the author presents eight valuable short MTG tips to become a better player:
- Have a plan.
- Focus on decisions, not results.
- Think about what your deck is.
Magic: The Gathering relies heavily on strategy, so these pro tips can help you improve your gameplay and win even more. Learning your deck is one of the most important things any player can do if they want to play the game at a higher level.
📹 How To Be A Better Magic: The Gathering Player | Tips For Those New To The Game
Detailed MTG gameplay lessons can be found here, Tolarian Tutor: Role Assessment: https://youtu.be/2bMHoVaSBQA Midrange …
How to be a better MTG player?
Magic players can greatly benefit from learning from other players, as it provides valuable resources for personal growth and improvement. By listening to, asking questions, watching, and playing against others, players can learn from their experiences and opinions. It is essential to understand the concept of luck, as it can be challenging but crucial for success. Blaming bad luck can lead to blindness to mistakes, complacency, and a diminished desire to win and improve.
However, many losses in Magic can be due to bad luck, such as having a hand with no lands, being paired against the worst matchup, or the cards coming in an order that leads to loss. It is essential to recognize that not everything is in your hands, and understanding the unpredictable elements of Magic can help you overcome these challenges and improve your skills.
What age did Magic retire?
Evan “Magic” Johnson Jr., born on August 14, 1959, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. He is often considered the greatest point guard of all time and spent his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers. After winning a national championship with the Michigan State Spartans in 1979, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA draft by the Lakers, leading them to five NBA championships during their “Showtime” era.
Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing he had contracted HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award. After protests against his return, he retired again for four years, but returned in 1996 at age 36 to play 32 games for the Lakers before retiring for the third and final time.
Known for his extraordinary court vision, passing abilities, and leadership, Johnson was one of the most dominant players of his era. His career achievements include three NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, three NBA Finals MVPs, nine All-NBA First Team designations, and twelve All-Star games selections. He is the NBA’s all-time leader in average assists per game in both the regular season and the playoffs.
Johnson was co-captain of the 1992 United States men’s Olympic basketball team, “The Dream Team”, which won the Olympic gold medal in Barcelona. He was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996 and selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
How to become a pro Magic player?
The most common route to Pro Tour qualification is through performing well at Regional Championships (RCs), which are major Magic events with significant monetary prizes. These events occur three times per year and are scheduled approximately one to three months before their corresponding Pro Tour. Players can earn entry to an RC through Regional Championship Qualifiers, Magic Online Qualifiers, or holding a pre-existing invitation to the corresponding Pro Tour.
Each cycle of RCs awards 102 Pro Tour invitations and 15 World Championship berths, allowing qualified players from all over the world to represent their region at the highest level. The United States is the largest region, awarding 32 Pro Tour invitations per RC. The schedule for the 2023–24 premier play season is as follows: Cycle 1 (Pioneer): Regional Championships that fed into Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor took place in September–December 2023; Cycle 2 (Modern): Regional Championships that fed into Pro Tour Thunder Junction will take place in January–March 2024, awarding sweet promos; and Cycle 3 (Standard): Regional Championships that fed into Pro Tour Modern Horizons 3 will take place in May–June 2024, awarding sweet promos.
What is the 75% rule in MTG?
The 75 rule in MTG represents a foundational concept that informs both the construction of decks and the decision-making process during gameplay. The 75 rule suggests that a deck should be powerful enough to win against 75 opponents, thereby ensuring a balanced and effective deck.
What is the weakness of a magician?
The Magician archetype represents vision, innovation, transformation, and the ability to turn dreams into reality. It transcends time and culture, transcending ancient myths and modern advertising. Aligning with the Magician can set brands apart by embodying transformation and innovation, creating mesmerizing results. The Magician excels in narrative craft, as seen in Cirque du Soleil and Dyson. Visionary brands lead by anticipating future trends, like Dyson.
However, the path is not without challenges, as brands must consistently innovate and avoid overpromising to maintain credibility and trust. The archetype can boost appeal by leveraging mystery, pique curiosity, and foster deeper consumer engagement. Strategic integration is key, as the Magician archetype amplifies marketing efforts through digital campaigns or influencer partnerships. The concept of the Magician has captivated the human imagination, reflecting society’s fascination with the unknown and the power to effect change.
Is it too late to play MTG?
Magic is a game that offers a competitive edge for those who have put in the time to improve. Although starting out with a disadvantage compared to those who haven’t, the satisfaction increases as you become decent yourself. If you’re looking for a game to compete with top players, Magic isn’t for you. However, if you’ve been playing Arena since at least open beta, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
There will be a steep learning curve at the beginning, but everyone was there at one point. In summary, Magic is a game that offers both opportunities and challenges for those who haven’t played it yet.
What is a magician personality?
An archetype is a collection of patterns or psychic energy that includes thoughts, feelings, images, impulses, attitudes, and behaviors. The Magician archetype is a subpersonality within the psyche and a common motif in storytelling. The Magician is the bearer of knowledge, both ancient and new, and is synonymous with cognition. At its highest expression, the Magician is wise, thoughtful, understanding, reflective, healing, and contemplative. It is the archetype of transformation and mystery.
As a master of technology, the Magician knows how to manipulate elements and possesses great power to create. The Magician archetype carries hidden knowledge, not just of the “occult” variety. Variations of the Magician archetype exist, and it is crucial to bring the Magician’s shadow to awareness and activate it within.
What is a Magic player called?
Magic is a card game where players play as powerful dueling wizards called Planeswalkers, using each card from their deck to cast magical spells. Instant and Sorcery cards represent one-time effects, while Creature, Artifact, Enchantment, and Battle cards provide long-term advantages. Players must also include resource or Land cards to cast their spells. To defeat their opponent, they must reduce their life totals to zero through combat damage or attacking creatures. The game has a unique gameplay that differs from tabletop role-playing games but has more cards and complex rules.
Magic can be played by two or more players in person or on a computer, smartphone, or tablet with virtual cards through Internet-based software like Magic: The Gathering Online, Magic: The Gathering Arena, and Magic Duels. It can be played in various rule formats, including limited and constructed formats. Limited formats involve players building a deck spontaneously from a pool of random cards, while constructed formats involve creating decks from cards they own, usually with a minimum of 60 cards per deck.
Who is the 8 year old Magic player?
Dana Fischer, an American Magic: The Gathering player, is the youngest to make the second day of a Grand Prix tournament at age eight and the youngest to win cash at a Grand Prix at age nine. Born in July 2010, Fischer grew up playing Magic by memorizing cards, similar to how players learn to play with cards in a foreign language. Her sister lost interest in Magic over time, while Fischer continued playing. Fischer enjoys soccer, singing, hula hooping, and gymnastics, while her sister teaches her dance moves and life skills. Dana Fischer’s family lives in Carmel Valley, San Diego.
Who is the best MTG player?
Jon Finkel, a renowned American Magic: The Gathering player, is considered one of the two best players of all time, alongside Kai Budde. Finkel has more Pro Tour top eight finishes than any other player and has the most career money winnings in professional Magic history. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005. Finkel was introduced to Magic after the game’s release in Woking, Surrey, England. In 1995, his family moved back to New York, and he became acquainted with brothers Steven and Daniel O’Mahoney-Schwartz, later known as Team Antarctica.
Finkel made his Pro Tour debut at PT New York 1996, making the top eight and earning a $1, 000 scholarship. He made his senior Pro Tour debut at the 1996 World Championships, finishing ninth. Finkel finished in the top sixteen three times in the 1996-97 Pro Tour season.
📹 The 5 Stages of Becoming a Better Magic Player
Hi. My name is Jake and I believe that Magic is a game that has a place for everybody and we all start as beginners. Today I want …
The big thing I have found that new players need to get a good grasp on is the idea of holding creatures that can tap for abilities so they can block if needed and then tapping for abilities just before your turn, such as creatures like Imperious Perfect that can tap to create tokens and such. This keeps creatures open to block and when you create creature tokens before your turn they lose summoning sickness when your turn starts. The idea of creatures being able to block and then tap for an ability is also one that gets left out of a lot of explanations before it comes up in gameplay and can cause a lot of frustration.
One of the important things for me was realizing that Magic is not a race to widdle your opponents life to zero, but a race to create a board state where you cannot possibly lose. Any player can tell that cards like Ancestral Recall and Black Lotus are probably useful, but it becomes clear how broken they are once a player has this mindset.
One thing very important about sequencing is to keep a cool head. When you have a great number of triggers or actions happening in your turn you must stay calm to not mess up your play and eventually fizzling some of your triggers. This can happen a lot with value generation deck engines, for example.
You sir have ascended to highest level of magic instruction. Making a article that is so packed with vital fundamental strategy and nothing else, it was like perusal poetry in motion. I would and will share this with anyone who plays magic, brand new or been playing forever. It’s easy to miss all the different lines available to you, especially in multiplayer, when you don’t consider the nuances of priority, phases, etc.
Thanks for the great info. I’m a new player who has been playing Arena. The upside is becoming familiar with the format and cards. The downside/upside is that Arena automatically highlights the cards that can be played. That is really helpful as a new player, but I think I would be unsure in a tabletop game.
I don’t know if you have ever covered this but percentages of a point of anything does exist for purposes of calculations unless you are able to bring the percentages up to a whole number. For example if you had a city of ass and you tap it for mana by itself you will only take one damage and only get one mana from it but if you have a mana reflection in play you will be getting three total mana for one damage but if you have a furnace of wrath or something like that you would be taking three damage from the land and depending upon if you have the mana reflection in play you will get only one mana or three respectively. This rule change was made because of a certain snake that had firststrike and death touch people would give it a lure like effect and wipe out the entire creature base of the opponents and not lose anything and they would still have whatever other creatures that were attacking to go unblocked. After the rule was changed people would just start adding rampage to the creature and then doing it anyway but it did make it more difficult to win and as a whole it made the game better in my opinion. They made fun of it with the un-sets because someone won a world tournament with the combo and now they never will again. If they try to use percentages of points to do it.
Honestly I love the inclusion of using second main phase more than first. Had a few friends get into the game a year or so ago and that was a thing I tried to hammer home. “If it won’t affect combat then cast it later.” They kept dumping in 1st main and then were upset when I would deal with what they did and were blown out.
Trust me, even after playing for almost three years I still sometimes sequence things in ways that aren’t optimal. Sometimes you have new developments, like a card you just drew or something your opponent was able to do, and it takes a lot of practice and experience to know how to make the most of what options you have at any given time
Ahh this took many years and many losses to learn these advanced in and outs. Just play against a someone who runs a blue deck and you’ll start to see the big brain plays that can be made. Learning when I have priority and the Stack were very complicated to learn at first, but it eventually made sense.
Something that you only partially addressed, when you have multiple abilities into the stack at the same time, you get to determine the order. But what about when you and your opponent each have an ability that is triggered at the same time? For example if both players have a meathook massacre in play and a creature dies… Who determines the order of those abilities entering the stack?
TCC Exam question: Excerpt from the Comprehensive Rules (September 24, 2021): “104.3b If a player’s life total is 0 or less, that player loses the game the next time a player would receive priority. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.)” Consider following scenario: You just got attacked by an opponent and the resulting combat damage brings your life total to 0. However, during the resolution of combat your Serrated Scorpion dies with the triggered ability: “When Serrated Scorpion dies, it deals 2 damage to each opponent and you gain 2 life.” a) Do you lose the game? b) Why?
Sorry, Prof. The example with Tezzeret is not entirely incorrect. You cast Tezzeret, you retain priority to respond to yourself casting Tezzeret. You choose not to use it and priority is passed. Your opponent chooses not to play a counterspell or otherwise respond to you casting Tezzeret. Now Tezzeret enters the battlefield and creates a stack where players can respond to Tezzeret entering the battlefield. The player who is playing Tezzeret has the opportunity to cast spells at instant speed or activate abilities during this time, but cannot cast a sorcery or creature spell (bar flash), or activate a loyalty ability. Then, if the Tezzeret player decides not to cast anything, priority is passed to the opponent who CAN then cast Lightning Bolt on Tezzeret before you have a chance to activate the loyalty ability. Alternatively, after your opponent chooses not to cast Lightning Bolt, then priority is returned to the Tezzeret player who can then activate Tezzeret’s ability at sorcery speed. The counter is gained immediately and the ability is put onto the stack. Then any triggered abilities which would respond to Tezzeret gaining a counter are put onto the stack. Then Tezzeret’s player retains priority to activate instant-speed spells and abilities. Otherwise, great article. Also, the homage to IHYD was beautiful.
I kinda have a followup question, I don’t know if this is a subjective question but I feel like everyone has been through this enough times. I’ve always wanted to get into Magic since I was a kid but would get absolutely trounced by better players in occasion of me being able to do the bare minimum and my opponent being able to pull off every strategy under the sun. I’ve started to play Commander which I do “enjoy” more than standard but I’ve been doing many 1v1 games and have once again been annihilated by my opponents with them having every piece they need and me being able to do nothing but play like 2 creatures all game. I know the answer, build a better deck, learn your deck more. But how the hell am I supposed to have fun in Magic when I can’t even put up a fight? I have no problem losing, but it’s losing when I can’t even offer a challenge is what gets to me. I guess you could say it’s a psychological issue I have with the game that disheartens me from pursuing the hobby further. I know this issue seems easy to decipher but I wanted to throw it here so any players that have had this issue can offer my advice.
My friends always get on to me for removing what is in their eyes “the wrong or least threatening thing” In my mind I want to get rid of a problem before it becomes a problem. Like killing a mana generator to keep your opponent from getting ahead in the mana curve, or destroying that small creature to prevent it from becoming a 20/20 deer that swings in for the win…… yes this has happened to me before
Thanks for this article, Professor. I watched through your Tutor series when I was first getting started and it really helped me unpack and process the things going on around me (my friends play Commander and the learning curve was a bit steep). Still lots of learning moments with sequencing and threat assessment but I’m enjoying every game and learning in-game with helpful suggestions and reminders from friends 😊 cheers!
I’m not sure to get the exemple with tezzeret at 6min. If the turn player chats Tezzeret and immediately uses it’s ablity, it will resolves after the red spell (which is cast in second) since the stack is first in and first out 🤔 So, Tezzeret should die since its loyalty will goes up after the 3 damage, isnt it ?
What I don’t fully understand is this part: 5:22 So if you play Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas, you get a priority round. No one counters it, great, Tezzeret resolves. Then Tezzeret enters the battlefield. You get another priority round, in which the stack is empty, so you, as the active player, are immediately able to activate Tezzeret, even before it gets bolted. This I understand. HOWEVER… If Tezzeret entering the battlefield would cause a triggered ability to trigger (for instance, Kodama of the East Tree’s ability), you can not activate Tezzeret, as you can only activate loyalty abilities when the stack is empty. So Kodama’s ability will go onto the stack and your opponent will get the chance to react to that by bolting your Tezzeret before you can activate it. Am I correct or is there a fault in this logic?
So what happens if two players have an effect that triggers at the same time? I keep getting told different answers for this. Same thing with playing copy magic to copy my spells, do I need to let my opponents have a chance to respond? Been told yes and no. What about Maelstrom Wanderer? When I can I respond to that?
Why does the planeswalker at 5:19 dont die? Activ player have priority after casting the planeswalker. Planeswalker use ability. And also the stack? (Ability on Stack). Priority to the other player who casts Lightning Bold. Spell going on the stack and resolves first (LIFO). Planeswalker is on zero and dies. Where is my mistake?
I always enjoy these articles – even if some facets don’t apply. My friend and I play “House Rules”: 1. Wild – All cards from any series are legal; all other rules apply. The game is too expensive to only play the new Core set and expansions every year, and our collections are too big to just sit there. Plus, the creativity and meta of the game is a lot better without “set” limitations. 2. No stack, no Priority – Instants are instant. If I cast a lightning bolt, only a Counter or Regeneration (other exceptions, of course) will save your creature. You’d have to cast Giant Growth before I cast the Lightning Bolt. The same goes for Combat – if you attack me with a 1/1 and I block with a 2/2, you can’t cast Giant Growth after I’ve already blocked it; you’d have to cast it while declaring attackers. If I attack with my 2/2, however, you can cast Giant Growth on your 1/1 and then block with your now 4/4. It just makes more sense. 3. Defense Decides – The attacking player declares attackers; he can cast buff spells (Giant Growth) at this point, or spells to prevent the defending player from blocking. Then, he’s done. The defending player declares blockers, AND who blocks whom. In the case of multiple creatures blocking a single source, however, if the combined total defense is higher than the attacker’s power then the attacker decides how the damage is spread among them. 4. Be Happy With Your Hand – If you don’t like your hand, shuffle it back into your library and draw a new one; no loss of cards.
What is this? no. Let me fix your suggestion with my 5 pro tips. 1st: Don’t be consistent with how you place your cards. Put some upside down and some right side up, tap to the left tap to the right. This small change will aggravate so many people. 2nd Give every card a cute name. Vampire night hawk, more like Vampire night boy. Swoon 3rd. Use an abacus to track your life, if your opponent can’t read it scoff at them and complain about the education system now in days. You get bonus points if they are older than you. 4th. Play control, slow slow slow game. Build for the slowest game you can make. Maybe you will lose, that’s not the point. Just keep them tied down for 20mins. 5th. Don’t be afraid to flip a table! Not any table your cards are on, flip the table behind you. This will be exciting and burn calories. Speaking of calories, Cheetos dust! Your fingers need them. You don’t have to eat them just have a bag that you finger wiggle every few turns. Stay dusty my friends!
I remember the first time I played my younger step brother in MtG. He had a lot of cards and swore up and down he not only knew how to play, but was very good at it with an “unstoppable” deck. Things were going ok until He’d played some rather big creatures. On his next turn he immediately moved into the attack phase, tapped them all and then declared “BOOM! You’re dead!”. I told him he hadn’t given me a chance to use my Master Decoy’s (this was a long time ago, ha!) abilities before declaring attackers. He said I couldn’t tap his creatures before he attacked with them. I realized right then and there that he had NO idea how instants worked. Turns out, it was the last game we played as well as the first. 😇 So yeah, understanding the phases, the “stack” and timing is critical.
Really helped me out to start playing magic, store gave me a deck (I chose it from the presented list, to be exact) to start playing with in Pioneer format. Its White and Blue focusing on middle and late game, relying on foretell mechanic and recovering health, setting up board wipes/counterspells beforehand to stall the opponent until I slowly gain control over the board. Games take longer than average (either cause I’m new or its the deck itself, maybe both) but I really like this deck, the only thing that bothers me now is the fact that some players keep talking about power-level, better cards, what I could change, etc. Yes, I could change my deck to fit their advice, but it wouldn’t be my deck after that, it’s like chasing “the meta” only to lose the whole identity of the deck while doing so. Cause of that, I prefer to slowly and carefully consider what cards to purchase before commiting to the change, sometimes I use proxy’s (but always ask permission for it first from the store, to make sure they are okay with it) if a card is expensive and I’m unsure of the overall value that it brings to my deck and enjoyment of the game. Overall great advice can be found in this article, everytime I get better at the game I feel like I get a deeper understanding of the rules explained in such simple terms here. Also started reading some stories, right now arguing with friends if Urza is just a psychopath, love it!
I’ll be honest. I’m terrified to play mtg at a game store. I want too. I don’t have the time or money to constantly invest so I have mostly decks that I guess qualify as modern (oldest card in any of them is mtg14 I think). I played in one tournament over 12 yrs ago and sorta got laughed at an intimidated by the hard-core folk, lost every game, left early. I just wanna play a casual pick up game and learn more strategy. I don’t even care about winning I just like summoning things and seeing what the opponent does, it’s the physical act of playing I like most. Sorry for ranting. Sincerely, 34 yr old Mono Red Aggro Wannabe
I would add some basics about Combat too. Beside the trade/race concept with the 3/2 and 2/2, we should address that new players tend to not attack unless they are 110% sure their opponent won’t block or straight up miss attack phase with a big creature or creatures with evasion like flyers or just the chunk bodies 1/1 or 2/2 that had their ETB done earlier and may attack if not needed for chunk block. Many time you can attack with those creatures even if you like it for some reasons because you know they won’t block with their 2/2 commander or they won’t block you 1/1 with a Gemhide sliver or wtv. You can make that gamble and 90% time win your bet and deal damage unblocked! Same things when you throw your endgame/last swings, attack also with your small buddies if not needed for blocks. Like people laugh when I ping them for 1 dmg turn 2-3 but by turn 6-7 it added up to like 8 dmg because of another 1/1 and 2/2 that ends up to be relevant. Also even if they block, it may be bad for you loosing a 2/2 wolf token or maybe something better even, but you make that gamble when you know they just lost something way more valuable so it’s not likely to happen unless they misjudge the situation and prefer to make you lose that attacker or they just had a trick up their sleeve (which you can anticipate when you play in the same group and not every decks has combat tricks, like you know when you play against a deck like that) So yes this was a perfect lesson and reminder for many of us. The threat assessment is a constant thing to learn because of the new cards/mechanics that adds up and you have to learn to live with a few threat in play and how to politic in that manners so you don’t have to always remove it to save yourself for a turn or two by making alliances or staying under the radar.
Thank you for the vid as always Prof! I can’t tell you how many times threat assessment conversations had to be started by me at our table. Like, yeah….I have this Chromatic Lantern, but I already have 4 or my 5 colors on mana base out anyway….Did that really need to go, when there was a Master of Cruelties out at the table?
One of the best ways to be a better Magic player is to make sure that you think objectively and never give in to the dogma that sadly is present in the culture of Magic. Remember that it’s not “Magic or bust”. There are plenty of other games out there, including in this very genre, so don’t support negative things in the game out of habit, addiction, or both. Take a close look at what you’re spending in this game and what exactly you’re getting. These things won’t make you a better Magic player in terms of skill, but they will make you a better Magic player in various other ways.
So, this kind of article is great, it really is but it feels like it should be on it’s own website with other articles for new/inexperienced/low skill (whatever you call them, this article’s target audience) players since the audience is so completely different from your other articles. I’m pretty sure that the youtube algorithm punishes websites who produce articles for two distinct audiences on one website. That’s why so many other content creators have one website for each type of content.
At 5:10 I feel the given explanation mixes different concepts in a potentially confusing way. It is of course correct that the turn player has priority at the beginning of a phase and that any player can hold priority after casting a spell or activating an ability, but this is not actually what the following example illustrates. When a Planeswalker spell resolves (or any other spell or ability (that uses the stack) for that matter), priority reverts to the turn player, so the turn player can then activate a loyality ability of the planeswalker that just resolved before the opponent receives priority again. This has nothing to do with being able to hold priority after casting a spell. (To expand upon this example: If the planeswalker spell resolving causes some ability to trigger, that ability would be put on the stack and the turn player would receive priority. At this point they cannot activate the loyality ability of the planeswalker because the stack is not empty. If they pass priority, the opponent then has an opportunity to cast Lightning bolt on the fresh planeswalker. If both players now pass priority, the Lightning Bolt will resolve and cause the Planeswalker to die before the turn player ever had the chance to activate its loyalty ability.)
I had a disagreement when I played a game of commander, I hope someone can help me resolve it. Player 1 played meathook massacre and wiped the board. Player 2 controlled a creature that let each player search their library for any card, this creature died to the board wipe. I wanted to play aven mindcensor(has flash and only lets players tutor from the top 4 cards of their library) after the meathook resolved but before the death trigger. I was under the impression that triggered abilities went on the stack and I could put aven mindcensor on top of the stack.
Something I’m surprised you didn’t mention when talking about how knowledge is power: always ask for public information that’s not readily apparent. In decreasing order of importance: “How many cards in hand?” “Can I read that card?” “What’s in your graveyard/exile?” And least important but still sometimes relevant, “How many cards are in your library?”
I’ve only been playing Magic for about 6 or 7 months and was pleased to learn something in this article. The Stack works similarly to how Chains work in Yugioh but with one difference. Once a Chain in Yugioh starts to resolve no other cards can be played until the Chain has finished resolving. This is a difference that may have been able to win me games if I knew that cards could still be played while The Stack was resolving.
This is cool, keep on coming with this kind of articles cause’ I’m learning a lot of and things and ideas from you.. since pandemic I’ve been learning how to play mtg and and it’s really a great game and now I’m using my own build of mono white deck, keep it up man. It helps fight of my depression and how to deal with a toxic partner, hehe. Thanks prof, keep safe and God bless 🙏♥️
5:18 Is this not incorrect? Tezzeret resolves. Tezzerets controller plus one’s Tezzeret, the ability now on the stack. Then their opponent casts bolt targetting tezzeret. Does the bolt not resolve first, killing tezzeret before his ability can activate? If for some reason Tezzeret’s controller’s opponent casts bolt on an empty stack targetting tezzeret, tezzeret’s controller cannot respond to the bolt by doing an ability.
Im really glad i subbed to you prof. Your articles are enjoyable and also very helpful. As someone who has only been playing the game for roughly 2-3 years and is helping others get into the game as well, articles like this make it easier to learn things about the game i may not understand all the way (like the stack) but it also helps me teach these to others as I’m showing them how to play the game. Keep up the great vids prof, you’re awesome.
I have a question no one seems to be able to answer! Say you play lightning bolt on an opponent’s creature, but didn’t realize they had hexproof. It was an informational mistake, aka a beginner’s mistake. What happens to that lightning bolt? Can you just back up and put it back in your hand? (now being at an informational disadvantage) or does the spell go straight to the graveyard? Maybe it is up to the players and whether or not they can agree to undo the move? Person 1: “I’ll use lightning bolt on this guy here” Person 2:” He’s hexproof until end of turn remember?” Person 1: “Oh, right.” Then what?
That was a really good article straight to the point no sponsors no filler puns and word play just precise easy to understand and just really felt like it opens up the other side of the mind but the way you explained being able to control the order it goes on the stack is when multiple effects activate simultaneously then about sequencing and being able to use technical plays to maximize efficiency and overall effectiveness was eye opening like magic players need to watch this just because it won’t do any wrong in doing so it can only help and even possibly improve thank you sincerely
Here’s a question that even experienced players may not know: what order do effects resolve when both you and an opponent have triggered effects that go on the stack at the same time? For example, it’s beginning of your upkeep and you have a Tovolar, Dire Overlord and two other werewolves, but your opponent has a Sheoldred, Whispering One. Who’s trigger resolves first? Do you get to transform your werewolves or not?
5:26 Hi Professor, as a newer player I had a question regarding this example. Don’t loyalty abilities go on the stack? If that’s true, then wouldn’t casting the loyalty ability pass priority to the other player before it resolves, allowing them to cast a lightning bolt and kill the planeswalker before they gain enough loyalty to survive the hit. As I wrote this, I thought about it slightly differently and think I may have answered my own question. Loyalty gain or loss is the cost of using loyalty abilities; it’s just like tapping mana to cast a spell. That portion of the ability wouldn’t go on the stack, it’d just happen (as a cost to cast the ability). Is that right?
How To Be A better Magic Player: Play. Once upon a time…there was no Youtube….and we Magic Players did just that….Played Magic. That is how we got better. You learn by virtue of losing…and winning…not perusal Youtube articles. You can watch this article and netdeck the best deck in the world….if you don’t know how to play…you will lose. The only way to learn is by playing. Hope that saved you 12 minutes you could have spent playing.
I enjoyed the article, but I don’t like the use of the phrase “reading the card explains the card.” I’ve played Magic for close to a decade now, and it’s simply not true. Many magic the gathering cards don’t do what they say they do, even with up to date oracle text. Take for example the bestow mechanic. The oracle text for bestow reads “If you cast this card for its bestow cost, it’s an Aura spell with enchant creature. It becomes a creature again if it’s not attached to a creature.” Imagine you’re a new player, working your way towards intermediate in skill. You sit down for a Theros draft and your opponent casts a Leafcrown Dryad for its bestow cost, targetting a Nessian Asp. Okay, that snake is about to be really big, really fast. Calm down, think. I know, Prof told me reading the card explains the card! So you read the card and realize that, even though it’s an enchantment creature card, on the stack it’s an aura spell with enchant creature. You’re new, so you know all too well what happens when a spell that targets has its targets removed before it resolves. It “fizzles.” In fact, the jerk you’re up against blew you out this way last week! Oh, if only you were able to gain that 2 life from your Tandem Tactics! If only! But the shoe is on the other foot today. You’ve got a Voyage’s End in your hand, and you’re not afraid to use it! Unfortunately, your opponent raises their eyebrow and gives you a smug smirk. “Alright, I’ll return Nessian Asp to my hand.” He says, as he moves his Leafcrown Dryad from the stack to the battlefield.
Your delivery is excellent! I’m an audio producer (radio) and you’ve got that covered well enough for YouTube. But your camera is out of focus for most of this, fix that and keep improving. Your delivery is very solid! The flaws are very fixable! I see great things coming from this website. Keep it up man! You’re doing great!
One of the best ways I have found to get better at the game is to play Blue! Its the bastard color, sure, but I think only the most obviously, since it just directly draws out the deck and counters spells. The others are their own bastards. But, on topic- playing Blue helped me learn sequencing, which i think is the most important aspect of the game beyond understanding the basic rules. Having a lot of instants and reactive spells in Blue makes you more aware of other turns and the steps involved. It really forces you to interact with the stack in a less orthodox way and think proactively about whether other players are on-tempo. This allows for more efficient interaction because you learn to snipe value engine pieces before the motor starts. Playing Blue puts you in that mindset to really think about when to spend your mana. Thats another conversation though, though I think it is tied very closely to the other parts of deckbuilding- particularly your mana curve.
My wife and I play commander typically with a few friends, we both got into it together about a year ago, with the difference that I used to play when I was younger. We’ve obviously both grown as players, but she often gets frustrated by the slower growth she’s experienced. I keep trying to figure out a way to explain there’s no real linear path to becoming a “good” magic player, it just kinda happens over time, but didn’t know how to really articulate that properly. Guess I can just show her this now! Thanks bud!
Step 1: get an internet connection Step 2: get $3000 Step 3: instead of buying 1 Mox Ruby, buy a whole Modern deck, a whole Pioneer deck, and the shell of a highly rated Commander Deck Step 4: draft a lot and try to plus on prize packs Step 5: repeat for 10 years Step 4 is worth doing but it won’t get you far if you can’t afford a meta deck
I think it’s great that you don’t have a bunch of distractions in your article you get right to the point in your delivery is great keep going you can only improve. I really loved what you said about some people playing for 6 months can be better than some playing for 10-20 years. I think some pros get caught up too much in making sure they get all the lingo in magic right, rather than the core concepts, or say certain colors just “suck”, well anything can be amazing if you build it right and try to know who you’re playing against. I had heard more than a few times that orzhov isn’t a very good combination for whatever reasons. I’m happy to say that I have a very good pain gain and drain deck thats black/white. Great job man! Also I’m wondering did you happen to get the shirt you’re wearing off of Etsy? If so I must have purchased it from the same person i got a faerie shirt haha
I had a deck idea recently that was actually pretty fun to play. I opened three packs of MotM jumpstart boosters to figure out what kind of deck i was building. What i opened was a Bant deck (G/W/B) so with those three packs I had 60/100 cards for a commander deck since each pack only came with a single copy of each card in the pack. It was up to me to figure out the 40 remaining cards to tie the rest of the deck together. On the plus side, since the packs came with no artifacts, that was where my mind went to make sure i could try to build it and tie everything together. It was an incredibly fun experience when i decided to make Galadriel, Might of Valinor my commander. Also, i found myself particularly hating werewolves
@ Jake Another great vid in my opinion……definitely material there to flesh out the steps into a deep dive series if you want. One step I would add is ‘know your opponent(s)’. Personally I love the challenge of commander since it is rare that any one deck has enough resources at its disposal to stop the other 3 so the strategies I have evolved are more so playing mental judo with my opponents than managing my own decks resources, which is almost second nature aka I rarely have to put much effort into my decks plan of execution. I believe I am true dimir player who uses subversion, manipulation and diversionary tactics like a weapon to clench more wins than my own deck’s power persea. It’s ultimately a battle of resources in my opinion and generally my goal is to get my opponents to expend theirs on each other. Another key factor is timing. Just bc you can make a play on turn 6 doesn’t mean you should……for example I find that often it’s better to wait until one of your opponents tries to make an explosive play then after the other opponents use their resources to stop that play on say turn 8 then, THEN I swing for the fences. And if you are really cunning then you have been enabling that said player who is the least threatening to you to make that particular play by subtlety suppressing the other opponents reactions to allow the player you want to pull ahead to do so. Lastly, in regards to knowing your deck and timing it’s also best to understand the speed of your deck. Aka I generally use midrange decks BUT sometimes a midrange deck can get an aggro hand where you have 3 pieces of land 2 pieces of ramp, 1 power card and 1 piece of synergy/interaction.
One thing I found that helped me make a jump was when a new set came out, I’d try to evaluate cards myself. Pick a format or a specific deck, pick 5 or 10 cards per color I think will be good in the format, and 5 or 10 I think were not. Not just knee-jerk “this seems good,” but more “this seems good bc of this line of text, which will work well with Deck A/against strategy Y.” Then, compare my thoughts to some content creators/pros, and look back later, maybe a set or 2 later or a year later, and see how right/wrong I was, and try to figure out why. Was there something I misread? Did a new card come out in the next set that changed everything? Did it not fit the meta? Did I actually get one right and call a card being good when I saw a lot of people calling it bad or overrated? Doing this really changed the way I thought about cards and improved my ability to choose what did or did not go into my deck
My advice for new players is to read the definition of “draw” in the comprehensive rules, then read what the Explore mechanic does and recognize it is not considered “drawing” a card, and then decide if they are comfortable with a game that introduces such unnecessary complexity and ambiguity. If they are, then I recommend the dive head first into Magic. But, if like most people, they recognize that a game designing mechanics specifically to subvert the rules is utter bullshit, then I suggest they spend their time and their money on more worthy endeavours.
If you told em you know what a deck is wanting to do based off of the commander then i would ask ya to explain to me Phage the Untouchable as commander. And if you were to say Torpor Orb or Platinum angel you’d be wrong as they could have K’rrik Netherborn Alter Sundial of the Infinite Witchbane Orb Endless Whispers Pithing Needle Lethal Vapors then playing Phage That’s right it’s a 8 card you win combo with Phage, but be sure to name Lethal Vapors with Pithing Needle before playing Lethal Vapors otherwise they can use Lethal Vapors 0 cost activated ability to destroy it by skipping their tur. Now Sundial is only because when Endless Whispers triggers to make a delayed trigger that activates at the end of the turn you then activate Sundial just ending the turn bypassing the end step thus the next end step the delayed trigger of Whispers activates which would be on the opponents turn killing them, but with the way the stack works APNAP or active player non active player the Phage killing them trigger would come out near last as Endless will trigger to then make a delayed trigger giving Phage to the next target player ect. Witchbane Orb gives hexproof so they can’t give Phage to you Now it is debatable if this will work or if Phage will simply remain in your gave however there are some abilities or delayed triggers that do persists after it’s controller leaves the game so it can easily be argued that the other person will get Phage at their end step unless Phage is somehow removed from your grave as cards you own goes into YOUR grave which is why it is a you win combo.