Magic: The Gathering guides
Learn the rules, formats and strategy of MTG with clear, beginner-friendly guides.
46 guides
Basics & rules
Understanding the stack and priority
How the stack, priority and responses work in Magic: The Gathering — the foundation of every interaction.
The MTG color pie explained
What each of Magic’s five colors does best — the philosophy and mechanics behind white, blue, black, red and green.
How to Play Magic: The Gathering — A Complete Beginner Guide
Learn how to play Magic: The Gathering from scratch, including the goal of the game, your starting life total, the flow of a turn, casting spells with mana, attacking, and how to win.
Core MTG Rules for Beginners — Everything You Need to Get Started
A clear breakdown of the core Magic: The Gathering rules for beginners, covering life totals, lands and mana, casting creatures and spells, summoning sickness, attacking and blocking, and key terms.
MTG Turn Structure & Phases Explained for New Players
A step-by-step guide to the Magic: The Gathering turn structure and its phases — untap, upkeep, draw, first main phase, combat, second main phase, and end step — and what happens in each.
How Combat Works in MTG — Attacking, Blocking, and Damage
A beginner-friendly guide to how combat works in Magic: The Gathering, covering the combat steps, declaring attackers and blockers, combat damage, and the basics of first strike and trample.
How to Read a Magic: The Gathering Card
A beginner-friendly breakdown of every part of an MTG card, from the name and mana cost to power, toughness, rarity, and collector info.
MTG Card Types Explained for Beginners
Learn what every Magic: The Gathering card type does, from Creatures and Lands to Planeswalkers and Battles, and how permanents differ from non-permanents.
MTG Game Zones and Card States Explained
Understand the seven game zones in Magic: The Gathering and key card states like tapped, untapped, and summoning sickness.
MTG Mulligan Rules: The London Mulligan Explained
A clear guide to the London mulligan in Magic: The Gathering, including how to mulligan, when to do it, and how to evaluate your opening hand.
Deckbuilding
How to build your first MTG deck
A beginner-friendly framework for building your first Magic: The Gathering deck — colors, the 60-card structure and the mana base.
How Many Lands Should Be in Your MTG Deck?
Learn how many lands to run in a Magic: The Gathering deck by archetype and curve, from aggro to control and Commander.
MTG Mana Curve Explained: Build a Consistent Deck
Understand the mana curve in Magic: The Gathering, what a healthy curve looks like, and how to fix a clunky deck for better consistency.
MTG Deck Ratios: Lands, Creatures, and Spells
A practical guide to MTG deck ratios for 60-card decks, breaking down lands, creatures, and spells by aggro, midrange, and control.
Budget MTG Deckbuilding: Build Strong Decks Cheaply
Learn how to build competitive Magic: The Gathering decks on a budget, with staple cards, where to save versus spend, and clear upgrade paths.
How to Sideboard in MTG: Win Games Two and Three
A beginner-friendly guide to sideboarding in Magic: The Gathering, covering the 15-card sideboard, when to swap cards, and common sideboard categories.
Strategy
Deck Archetypes Explained: Aggro vs Control vs Midrange vs Combo
A clear breakdown of the four core Magic: The Gathering deck archetypes, including each one's game plan, strengths, and how it actually wins.
How to Play Control Decks in Magic: The Gathering
A practical guide to piloting Control decks, covering sequencing, when to counter versus remove, building card advantage, and closing out the game.
How to Play Aggro Decks in Magic: The Gathering
A hands-on guide to piloting Aggro decks, covering curving out, racing versus trading, fighting through removal, and making the right mulligan decisions.
Card Advantage in Magic: The Gathering, Explained
An accessible explanation of card advantage in Magic: The Gathering, its main sources, why it wins long games, and what virtual card advantage means.
Tempo in Magic: The Gathering, Explained
A clear explanation of tempo in Magic: The Gathering, how it differs from card advantage, common tempo plays, and when tempo beats raw value.
Threat Assessment in MTG: What to Kill, Counter, and Ignore
Learn how to evaluate board states, prioritize threats, and decide when to attack or defend in Magic: The Gathering.
How to Play Midrange Decks in MTG: Flexibility and Grinding Value
Master midrange in Magic: The Gathering by trading early, grinding card advantage, and adapting your role to each matchup.
Commander / EDH
Commander (EDH) Rules Explained
A clear beginner's guide to the core Commander rules: 100-card singleton decks, color identity, the command zone, 40 life, and commander tax.
Commander Color Identity Explained
Understand how color identity works in Commander: which mana symbols count, why rules text matters, and why a card can be excluded from your deck.
Commander Power Levels, Brackets & Rule 0
Learn how Commander power levels work, how the bracket system groups decks from casual to cEDH, and how Rule 0 conversations set expectations before a game.
Best Commanders for Beginners
Learn what makes a commander beginner-friendly, with example archetypes by color, so you can pick a forgiving leader and build your first deck with confidence.
Budget Commander Deckbuilding
A practical guide to building a strong, fun EDH deck on a budget, covering budget staples by role and where it pays to save versus spend.
How to Upgrade a Commander Precon Deck: A Step-by-Step Framework
A practical framework for upgrading a Commander precon by cutting weak cards and adding ramp, draw, and removal.
Formats
Rules deep-dives
The Layering System in Magic: The Gathering, Explained
Learn how Magic: The Gathering applies continuous effects in a fixed seven-layer order so overlapping buffs, type changes, and control effects resolve predictably.
Triggered Abilities in Magic: The Gathering, Explained
Understand how 'when', 'whenever', and 'at' triggered abilities fire, go on the stack, check intervening if conditions, and get ordered when several trigger at once.
Replacement Effects in Magic: The Gathering, Explained
Learn how replacement effects like 'instead', 'enters with', and prevention change events before they happen, why they don't use the stack, and how they differ from triggered abilities.
State-Based Actions in Magic: The Gathering, Explained
Learn what state-based actions are, when Magic: The Gathering checks them, and how they handle 0 life, dead creatures, the legend rule, and other automatic game checks.
First Strike, Double Strike & Deathtouch Interactions in Magic: The Gathering
Master how first strike, double strike, deathtouch, and trample combine in combat, including the famous deathtouch plus trample and first strike plus deathtouch cases.
Collecting & economy
Where to Buy MTG Cards: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Learn the best places to buy Magic: The Gathering cards, from local game stores to online singles vendors and the secondary market.
How to Spot Fake MTG Cards: A Counterfeit Detection Guide
Learn reliable tests to identify counterfeit Magic: The Gathering cards, from the light test to print patterns and the blue core.
MTG Rarities Explained: Set Symbols, Power, and Price
Understand Magic: The Gathering card rarities and set symbols, from common to mythic rare, and how rarity relates to power and price.
The MTG Reserved List Explained
Understand the Magic: The Gathering Reserved List, why certain old cards are never reprinted, and how it affects prices and eternal formats.
Best Budget MTG Staples: Cheap Cards That Punch Above Their Cost
Discover the best budget Magic: The Gathering staples and the key roles they fill, from removal and ramp to card draw across formats.
Draft, Sealed & Arena
How to Draft Magic: The Gathering
A beginner's guide to booster draft in Magic: The Gathering, covering pick order, signals, staying open, and deck building.
Reading Draft Signals in Magic: The Gathering
Learn what draft signals are, how to tell when a color is open, and when to cut, force, or wheel cards.
The BREAD Method for Drafting in Magic: The Gathering
Master the classic BREAD pick-priority framework: Bombs, Removal, Evasion, Aggression, and Duds for better draft decisions.
How to Build a Sealed Deck in Magic: The Gathering
A step-by-step guide to building a 40-card Sealed deck from six booster packs, choosing colors, and prioritizing bombs and removal.
MTG Arena for Beginners
A beginner's guide to MTG Arena: starting free-to-play, earning cards and wildcards, the Color Challenge, and how Arena differs from paper Magic.