Games in MTG are played in one order. Players prepare their decks, determine who goes first, take a starting hand and begin playing cards. The game lasts until one of the players loses or there is a draw.

A player loses the game when he has:

• 0 or less life points left,
• he received 10 or more poison counters,
• he cannot draw a card because there are fewer cards in his library than should be drawn (the library is empty),
• the effect dictates that you lose the game (or your opponent wins),
• At the tournament, the judge gave out a loss.

A draw occurs when the time for a game runs out, for example, in a tournament, and no one has lost at that moment. Another option is that the game has entered an endless loop with no way to interrupt it.

And, of course, the player can give up at any time.

Play areas

During the game, players sit opposite each other so as not to see other people's cards in their hands. During the game, several playing zones are used. The location is conditional - there is no mandatory order in which the zones should be placed. The library can be on the left or right, the cemetery can be above the library, or on the other side of the table. The main thing is that both players understand where each zone is.

This is roughly what the playing areas look like during a game. Battlefield - common player area

Library

- player's deck. From it he takes new cards during the game. Players draw a card at the start of each of their turns when an effect or ability dictates it, and draw a "starting hand at the beginning of the game." These are the cards that players start the game with. The zone is closed, you cannot peek at cards in the library without some kind of prescriptive effects for either the player or his opponent.

Hand

— is considered another zone. Here are the cards that the player can play right now if he wants and has enough mana to do so. The zone is closed, you cannot peek at your opponent’s hand.

Battlefield

— here are all the permanents: creatures, enchantments, artifacts, planeswalkers. It shows the balance of power. The zone is open, you can look at opponents' cards that are face up. For example, you can take and read what is written on your opponent’s card if the card is unfamiliar.

Cemetery (graveyard, discard pile)

— this includes played sorcery and instant cards, countered spells, destroyed creatures, or cards that were forced to be discarded from your hand or library by an effect. Some spells can return cards from the graveyard to the library, hand, or battlefield. The zone is open, players can look at cards at any time that are in their graveyard or from their opponent.

Exile Zone

- in some ways similar to a graveyard, but there are fewer cards in the game that can return cards from there back to the game, hand or library. The area is open.

Shuffling the deck

It is called "shuffle". Before the start of the game, all cards in the deck must be randomized, that is, placed randomly. To do this, the deck must be shuffled before starting. The better the deck is randomized, the better it is for the player - the cards of lands and everything else go evenly during the game and it won’t turn out that lands somewhere in the deck are in one pile, and then they go and go, but there are no spells - there is nothing to cast. Or, conversely, spells are cast, but there is no mana.

There are many mixing techniques. Players often arrange cards into piles, but this is not the only way to do it - it is not considered sufficiently random. It’s only good for counting the cards and checking their condition, in case some are damaged and will be regarded as marked. After this layout, you need to additionally mix the deck in another way.

Removal

After shuffling the deck, it is allowed to be “cut” by the opponent. He can either simply leave everything as is, without doing anything to the deck, or swap parts of the deck, or mix it well again.

After this opponent's action, the deck cannot be shuffled until the starting hand is drawn.

Who goes first

To determine who goes first, you can throw a coin or dice. Usually two six-sided dice are rolled. The winner decides whether he goes first or second (in some cases this is important).

If several games are played one after another, then the loser of the previous game chooses who starts first. If the previous game ended in a draw, the choice is made by the person who chose in that game. If the decks are changed between games, you need to determine the right to “move” again.

Taking hand and mulligan

Before the start of the game, players take a “starting hand” - these are 7 cards from the top of the library. Players evaluate whether they like the “hand” and decide to keep the cards or not. For example, your hand contains only lands and nothing to play. Or, conversely, there are no lands and you won’t be able to start a game. Or you got cards that are needed in the late game, when there is a lot of mana, but there is nothing to start the game with.

The player who goes first makes the first decision. If he decides to mulligan the hand, to make a “mulligan,” then he shuffles the taken cards into the deck and mixes it thoroughly again. After that, he takes one less card.

If you are not satisfied with the cards again, you can mulligan again and take one less card, and so on, until the starting hand is zero cards.

When all players have decided to keep a hand, if it is smaller than the starting hand size (7 cards), they can look at the top card (scry) and leave it at the top of the deck or move it to the bottom of the library. For example, there are enough land cards in your hand, and again a land on top. It is useful to put it down so that you can take something useful later.

After this, you can start the game and cast spells.

This version of the mulligan is called “Vancouver”. Until 2016, there was a “Parisian” one, which did not have a “skray”.

Turn structure

The game consists of alternate moves of all players. Each turn consists of phases, and those of steps. They are always there and the game goes through them in a given order, even if nothing was played in them.

The structure of the move seems complicated, but in reality the process takes place quite quickly and dynamically. The main thing is to remember the sequence of phases and steps, and then all that remains is to think about which cards to play at what moment in order to gain an advantage. For example, do not play "swing" attacking creatures ahead of time, until the defending player has chosen whether to block them.

Untap step— we simply deploy permanents (cards) on the battlefield that were tapped before the start of the turn. For example, lands are tapped to generate mana, or creatures are tapped when assigning an attack, artifacts are tapped to activate their ability. To use them again on your next turn, you need to deploy them.

Nothing can be played during this step.

upkeep step- the first opportunity to play something. Most often, some abilities that refer to the “start of the turn” will trigger during this step.

Draw step— each turn players take the top card from the library, replenishing their hand. If a card cannot be taken at this step, that is, the library is empty, the player loses the game.

The player who goes first does not draw a card in the draw step of his first turn.

A large phase in which many spells are cast. For example, cards of sorcery, enchantments, artifacts, planeswalkers, creatures. And they play lands so that there is mana, which is used to pay for spells.

A player can play one land card per turn.

Combat phase

Beginning of combat step- when the combat phase begins, this is the moment when the opponent should cast instant spells or activate the abilities of permanents that will “turn off” the active player’s creatures (the one whose turn it is) so that he cannot attack.

Declare attackers step— the active player taps untapped creatures that go on the attack. You can attack either a player or a planeswalker under his control. You cannot attack creatures your opponent controls. The opponent himself decides what creatures he will defend with.

You can cast instants or activate abilities during this step. For example, the active player can pump up his creatures in attack, and the opponent can weaken or destroy them.

Creatures that entered the battlefield this turn cannot attack unless they have the haste ability. This is called "calling disease."

Declare blockers step— the defending player chooses which untapped creatures he blocks the attackers with. One creature can only block one creature unless an effect prescribes another.

Multiple creatures can block one attacking creature. For example, three small ones block one large one in order to destroy it.

A player is not required to block attacking creatures unless an effect instructs him to do so.

Combat damage step— attacking and blocking creatures deal damage equal to their strength to each other. If the attacking creature is unblocked, it deals damage to the defending player and he loses an amount of hit points equal to the damage.

End of combat step- the last chance to kill the attacking creature, for example, by casting some suitable spell. At this step, effects that last until the end of the battle cease to take effect.

Once again, you can cast a ton of spells. If a player did not play a land card in the first main phase, he may do so in the second.

During this phase, it is convenient to cast spells that will “finish off” the surviving creatures of the defending player who were damaged in the attack, since they still have marked damage hanging on them.

It is often advantageous to play creatures in the second main phase, so as not to reveal all the plans before the attack. First, the active player tapped his creatures to attack. The opponent decided that he would have nothing left to block on his turn (only untapped creatures can block), and the active player after the battle brought out new creatures that would protect him on his opponent’s turn.

End step— abilities that should trigger at the end of the turn trigger.

Cleanup step— the player discards extra cards so that 7 cards remain. Marked damage is removed from creatures. Effects that were in effect until the end of the turn expire. For example, "all creatures you control get +2/+2 until end of turn."

You cannot cast spells or activate abilities during this step.

But if triggers are triggered during the cleanup step (for example, the 8th card, which is a land, is discarded if the player has The Gitrog Monster, etc.), then the players receive priority.

Reminder on the structure of the course

• Beginning phase
  — Untap step
  — Support step (upkeep step)
  — Step of taking a card (draw step)
• First main phase
• Combat phase
  — Beginning of combat step
  — Declare attackers step
  — Declare blockers step
  — Combat damage step
  — End of combat step
• Second main phase
• End of turn phase
  — End step
  — Cleanup step

Calculating hit points

Players usually keep score using 20-sided dice. At tournaments, it is recommended to record the change in your own and your opponent’s hit points on paper. This makes it convenient to notice an error and roll back if necessary.

If you find an error, please highlight it and click Ctrl+Enter.

Magic: The Gathering Rules

Several people participate in the game, each with their own deck. Any number of people can play, but in official tournaments it is only one on one. An exception is the “Two-Headed Giant” format, introduced in the fall of 2005 - a two-on-two duel between teams.

Each Magic: The Gathering player must have their own deck of special illustrated cards. There are usually restrictions on deck size: a deck can contain at least 60 cards, and each individual card (except basic land cards) can appear in no more than 4 copies. These cards are purchased either in the form of ready-made decks, which can later be completed by adding or removing cards to your liking; or in the form of special packs of 15 random cards (“boosters”). There are also "tournament sets" - larger booster packs of 45 random cards and 30 basic lands.

The specificity of all attackers is checked.

• If the player “forgot”, but there are creatures that are obliged to attack, only they attack.
• If a creature is required to attack, but there is another card that limits the attack, then the player is not required to implement the effect, and also has the right to assign another correct combination of attacking creatures when limiting (for example, with Crawlspace, no more than two creatures can attack. Thran War Mashine cannot attack if 2 other attacking creatures are assigned).

Once attackers have been declared, both players can play instants or abilities. Once all instants and abilities have been covered, players move on to the next step.

Blocker announcement stage

The defending player chooses which creatures will block and arranges who will block whom. Only tapped creatures cannot block. Creatures that have entered the defending player's control can block immediately unless they are tapped. A normal creature can only block one attacker; however, multiple creatures can work together to block a single attacking creature.

Declaring blocking creatures is a special action. All selected creatures immediately become blockers, and those they block become blocked. Now, no matter what happens to the defender's creatures, blocked creatures will not deal damage to the player (with the exception of creatures with trample). You cannot play anything “in response” to the announcement of blocking creatures. If the attacking player wants to return a creature from play to its owner's hand so that it cannot block, this should have been done in the previous stage.

Air "had flying" creatures can only be blocked by air creatures or creatures whose abilities indicate the ability to block flying "may block as though it had flying". Like, for example, Venerable Kumo.

Once blocking creatures are declared, players can play instants and abilities. Once they have all been dealt with, players move on to the next stage of the battle.

Combat Damage Stage

(if you have the First strike Double Strike ability, the stage occurs twice). Each player determines how their creatures should deal damage. Damage is only “assigned” at first. Each creature assigns damage equal to its power. Unblocked creatures assign damage to the defending player, blocking creatures assign damage to the attacking creature they are blocking, blocked creatures assign damage to the blocking creature. If one creature is blocked by several creatures, then the attacking player chooses how to distribute the power of his creature among these blockers.

All damage is dealt simultaneously, after which a simple calculation of the final damage is made, all triggers open the stack and the attacking player receives priority.

In the old rules, damage opened the stack, after which players were allowed to play instants and abilities in an attempt to "save" the creature, where the player could prevent the damage, strengthen their own creature (for example, with the Giant Growth spell), or weaken an enemy one. but this no longer affected the damage caused. After which a simple calculation of the final damage was made.

End of battle stage

All abilities starting with the words “At end of combat...” are triggered. Players can cast instants and permanent abilities. Often nothing happens at this stage.

Main phase, after the battle

From a rules perspective, this main phase is no different from the main phase before the battle. The active player can place a land if he did not place one in the main phase before the battle.

End of turn phase

1. End of turn step - at this stage, all abilities starting with the words “At end of turn...” are triggered. Players can also use instant spells and abilities.
2. Cleanup step - in this stage the following actions occur:
   • All effects that indicate that they last until the end of the turn expire.
   • At the same time, damage is removed from all creatures.
   • If the walking player has more than seven cards, he must discard the extra ones to the graveyard (there should be no more than seven left in his hand).

Victory conditions (according to the rules, they are included in the State-Based Effects)

State-Based Effects are checked:

• At the beginning of Upkeep
• When any player gains the right to move
• At the end of the Cleanup phase

The player is considered a loser:

1. When a player's life reaches 0 or decreases
2. If a player is required to take a card from the library, but it is not there
3. A player who has 10 or more Poison Counters (cards that form them are in the Mirage block, as well as in the Future Sight block)
4. In addition, there are cards that stipulate separate win/loss conditions (for example, Test of Endurance, Platinum Angel or Battle of Wits). If such a card is present in the game or is played, the victory conditions are considered in accordance with its text.
5. If both players lose at the same time, the game ends in a draw.

In addition, the game ends in a draw if during the game there is an endless loop that no player can break (For example, Grindstone if there are only two Serra Avatars in the deck).

Players can agree to a draw at any time, with the exception of an open stack, in which all effects can trigger one player to win, and also if it is necessary to determine the winner who will play in the next match.

The match is won by the player who has won two (less often three) duels, and when time runs out, who simply has larger number victories

Using instants and abilities in response

When a player plays a spell card, it does not immediately go into play or have an effect. First it is placed in stack. While it's on the stack, you and other players can cast instants and abilities. If a player does this and uses a spell or ability, it will also not immediately have an effect, but will end up on the stack on top of the first one. Players can add spells and abilities to the stack until no one else wants to add anything; then the last spell or ability put on the stack is considered. If it was a one-time spell, it has an effect and is put into the graveyard. If it is a creature, artifact, or enchantment, it is put into play. If it was an ability (activated or triggered), it has an effect and disappears from the stack. Players can then replenish the stack or consider the next top item. When the stack is empty and neither player wants to replenish it, the current stage of the turn ends and the next one begins.

Example: Player A has a Knight Errant creature on the field with “2/2” written on it. This means that the creature has power 2 and toughness 2. Player B has a Shock spell in his hand, which reads: “Shock deals 2 damage to target creature or player.” ). Player B plays Shock. To do this he:

• Shows "Shock" to the opponent so that he can read what Player B wants to do, and places the card in the place that the players have allocated for the stacking area (it is recommended to allocate a place in the middle of the game table).
• Selects the target of the spell - you need to specify a creature or player. Player B chooses Knight Errant as his target.
• Pays for the spell - it costs one red mana. He taps one mountain to gain red mana and immediately spends it on a spell.

The shock spell is on the stack and Player B doesn't want to add anything else to it (passes). Player A can now use instants and abilities. He has the Giant Growth spell in his hand, which reads: "Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn." He plays it, specifying his Knight Errant as the target. “Giant Growth” is placed on the stack, on top of “Shock”. If no players cast instants or abilities beyond this, Giant Growth is considered and completes its effect. The knight becomes 5/5 until end of turn. Shock is then considered and does 2 damage, but not enough to kill a creature with toughness 5. At the end of the turn (during the cleanup phase), the creature will become 2/2, but all damage will be removed from it at the same time, so it will not die.

Example: If the players had cast the spells in a different order, things would have been different. Player A plays Giant Growth, which goes on the stack. Player B plays Shock. Shock is dealt first, dealing two damage and killing the knight. The knight is placed in the cemetery; by the time Giant Growth is considered, its target is no longer on the field. “Giant Growth” is interrupted (goes to the cemetery without giving effect).

Activated, triggered, and static abilities

The text field of the map indicates its distinctive features which are called abilities. Text in italics is artistic or evocative and does not affect the course of the game. Typically, abilities only work on permanents in play, and although there is a large number of other options, exceptions to this rule are stipulated in one way or another.

There are three types of abilities:

• Activated abilities. A card with an activated ability expands the player's choice of actions, since now he can use the activated abilities of his cards in addition to playing cards from his hand and moving creatures to attack. An ability is activated if its text contains a colon. This ability always has the form: “Activation Cost: Effect.” Everything before the colon is the price that must be paid to gain the effect of the ability. The text to the right of the colon describes what the ability does. The activation price may include mana; tap - To activate this ability, you must tap the permanent (this usually means that the ability can only be used once per turn). A player can choose to use an ability more than once - as long as they can pay the activation cost again. Activated abilities can be used at the same time as instants. To use an ability, the player must assign the ability to the target (if required) and pay the activation cost. The ability is then placed on the stack: now it will be considered and will have an effect regardless of what happens to the permanent that generated this ability.
• Triggered abilities. The text of the triggered ability always begins with the words "when...", "every time...", "at the beginning" or "at the end" ("When", "Whenever", "At"), followed by the trigger condition. The player cannot use (or not use) such abilities arbitrarily - every time the condition is met, the ability is triggered and goes on the stack, regardless of the players' wishes. If an ability's text specifies one or more targets, the choice of targets is made by the player who controls the permanent with the ability. If the abilities of several cards are triggered at the same time, then the abilities controlled by the active player are placed on the stack first, in any order at his discretion, and then, on top of them, the abilities of his opponent. The effect of a triggered ability occurs while it is being considered, allowing instants and activated abilities to be played in response to triggered abilities.
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Rules of the game Magic the Gathering”, on the one hand, are quite voluminous and seem confusing, but on the other hand, they are clear, every step is described in them. Detailed knowledge of the rules and the ability to use them are the basis of a winning strategy.

Those interested history MTG world can get acquainted with it in the article:

Cards(the main element of the “hoe”) are described in the article

Let's start the game

The game begins with a draw. If the game is not the first, then the right to choose who goes first is given to the loser of the last time.

Players draw seven cards from their library into their hands. If the set is not satisfactory, you can change it, taking six cards, and so on. The one who goes first on the starting turn does not draw a card into his hand to compensate for the advantage.

Game process

Each player's turn consists of certain stages that occur in strict sequence. This is regardless of what format you're playing in, whether you're using a DIY deck or a duel set, or whether you're playing in the Oath of the Guardians, Rumble for Ixalan, or Aether Rebellion block.

Initial phase

There are three steps in the Initial Phase. The step of turning cards turned on the last turn (by turning the card on its side, the card is activated - the Earth gives mana, and the creature goes on the attack; you can turn back only in the initial phase of the next turn). A support step in which some cards can work. The step of taking a card from your library. During the second and third steps, you can cast instants and activate abilities.

Main phase

Subtleties

Magic the Gathering is a card game that was published in 1993 American company Wizards of the Coast. Currently it has more than 20 million players worldwide. Since the first release, the appearance of the card backs has not changed, which allows players to use cards from any year of publication in their deck. Magic the Gathering (MTG for short) is beloved by board game fans for its depth of gameplay, uniqueness, and card trading. It exists in the world too computer games for everyone who wants to play its electronic version.

Mana in Magic The Gathering

Mana is the magical energy required to play a card from your hand. It is ensured by the presence of land cards in your deck, which come in 5 types: mountain (red), forest ( green color), plain (white), island (blue) and swamp (black).

Card cost

According to the rules of Magic The Gathering, in order to cast a spell, you need to pay the cost in the lands indicated in the upper right corner. Cards can cost, for example, 2 forests or 1 gray mana and 2 forests. Gray mana means the cost can be paid by a land of any color.

There are land cards that only give gray mana, but have some unique properties. There are dual land cards for multicolor decks.

Information on the map

What is each MTG card about? For example, let's take the Shivan Dragon, a Magic The Gathering card in Russian.

• The top line contains the name of the card and its value. To play Shivan Dragon, you need to pay 4 gray mana (land of any color) and 2 red (Mountain cards). Turn these 6 lands into horizontal position in your playing area and place the card on the table.
• Below the card image is a line describing the type of card (artifact, land, creature, spell) and the specific subtype of creature (dragon, human, vampire, etc.). Next to it is a card issue symbol, which classifies it as a specific edition and indicates its rarity (gray symbol - regular card, silver - unusual, gold - rare, red - legendary). The example creature card is a dragon, a rare one, from the ninth edition, which was released in July 2005.
• In the text field describing the card's active and passive abilities, information from the MTG world that does not affect gameplay in any way is highlighted in italics. For example, a dragon with flight, which cannot be blocked by creatures without such an ability. He has an active ability: for one red mana he gets a +1 bonus to attack. According to Magic The Gathering rules, active abilities are played at the same time as instant spells. The phrase “The undisputed master of the Shivan Mountains” carries only a fantasy load and is not taken into account in any way during the game.

• Below the text field at the very bottom you can find the name of the artist who painted the image (Donato Giancola) and the collector's number of the card (219/350).
• The numbers at the bottom right indicate strength and endurance: the first shows the amount of damage the creature deals when attacking, the second shows the number of lives it has. This dragon deals five damage when attacking, and in order to kill it, it also needs to be dealt 5 damage. For planeswalker cards, this corner displays a counter for the tokens the card enters the field with.

Card Abilities

A large number of cards in Magic The Gathering have a variety of abilities, which are explained either directly on the card or in a glossary. Among them:

• passive ones, which last as long as the card remains on the playing field (for example, “Flying”: the card cannot be blocked by non-flying permanents);
• triggers that take effect when a condition described on the card is met (for example, "When a creature adjacent to this permanent dies, draw a card": you will draw new map from the deck every time this condition is met), etc.;
• active, which are performed if the cost indicated on the card is paid (using the example of the Shivan Dragon, this is an attack buff that costs one red earth).

Keywords or card abilities

In addition to passive abilities, Magic The Gathering cards can have special keywords that also determine their behavior on the battlefield.

Using the Avacyn card as an example, consider the Vigilance keyword: this means that when you attack, this card does not tap (when your opponent attacks you on your next turn, you can still block with this card, even if you attack with it on your turn). Among the keywords you can find such interesting abilities as:

• first hit - the card always deals damage first;
• trample - if a card is blocked by several creatures, it continues to deal damage after the first blocking card to all subsequent ones until the attack number ends;
• death touch - if the card attacked the target creature during the battle, then the number of lives of the creature that took the damage drops to zero.

MTG Spell Cards

Any card that is not a land card is a spell type according to the rules of Magic The Gathering. The spell can be cast instantly or at a specific point in the turn; can be placed on the board as a permanent or go to the graveyard after it takes effect. Spells are divided like this.

• Creature cards. They are played in the main phase of the battle if they do not have the passive ability to be cast instantly. You can post several per turn.
• Artifacts. Gray cards that can be played using lands of any color. Have permanent or instant magical effects. May also refer to a creature card type.
• Instant and sorcery spells. When cards of this type have been played, they are sent to the graveyard. The sorcery card is laid out in the main phases of the turn. In almost any phase of the battle you can cast instant spells.
• Planeswalker. Hero permanents that fight on your side.

Planeswalkers and their function

In Magic The Gathering, the rules for planeswalkers are similar to the rules for casting permanents. Placed in the main phase, they have a token counter that changes depending on the activation of the abilities they have. Can be attacked by other players. If after an attack the plainswalker has zero tokens left, he is sent to the graveyard.

Spell cards, especially magical effects, often have a target, which can be any card on the board. The spell specifies the type of target. To cast it, the target must be available at the time of its activation. The spell will wait on the stack (see below about the stack) for its casting phase. If at this point the target of the spell becomes inactive (for example, leaves the battlefield), then the spell cannot be performed and nothing happens.

Start of the game

How to play Magic The Gathering? At the start of the game, each player usually has a pre-built deck of 60 cards and a 20-life counter. The deck is shuffled and 7 cards are dealt. If you get less than 2 lands, it is recommended to mulligan. When you mulligan, you already deal yourself 6 cards, the next mulligan - 5.

Tip: out of 60 cards in a deck, a balanced composition is considered to be 24 lands, 15-25 creatures with different costs, the rest are sorcery cards or artifacts.

Player locations

According to the rules of Magic The Gathering, if you are playing one-on-one, place your deck, life counter, graveyard, and lands in a mirror on the table. During the gameplay, you need to monitor not only your cards, but also the number and location of your opponent’s cards.

Tip: it’s convenient to use a d20 die as a life counter; don’t forget about additional counters that, for convenience, can be used directly on the playing field. They can also be d6 dice.

Playing field zones

• Hand - cards in your hand that you can play for mana. Their number cannot exceed 7.
• The Library is your deck from which you draw a card at the beginning of your turn (if it is not the first turn of the gaming session).
• The cemetery is the place where killed creature cards from the battlefield and played spell cards that are not permanent (do not remain on the battlefield) are sent.
• The battlefield is the place where the players' lands and "armies" are located. Permanents are actively used (tapped) at certain stages of the turn.
• The stack is a place on the battlefield where spell cards are placed in the order that spell cards are played. For example, after declaring the attacking phase and the blocking card phase, you can cast instant spells that stack. In the next phase, this stack is played starting from the last card. After each spell from the stack is cast, you have the option to cast instants or activate abilities again. They also go on the stack, which is played again from the last card.
• Exile is a place on the battlefield where you can go instead of the graveyard. After its death, a card can be banished by a special spell or ability. In exile, the cards are also face down.

Stages of the game

Each player’s move according to the rules of the game Magic The Gathering in Russian is described in the following several stages.

1. The initial stage consists of the steps described below:

• Turning step. At the very beginning, all your permanents lying on the battlefield (lands, artifacts, creatures) rotate to their original vertical position. (If this is the first move, this step is skipped).
• Support and draw step. You can now take a card from the deck. During this phase, you can cast instants and activate abilities. (If this is the first move of the game, then the player does not take a card, since he already has an advantage.)

2. Main stage (1) - playing any cards of lands, creatures, spells, planeswalkers, the cost of which you can pay. At the same time, the second player can also cast instant spells and activate card abilities.

Advice! It is not necessary to play creature cards in the first phase of your turn (unless they provide bonuses to other cards when they come out). It's better to attack, see how your opponent responds, and then play creatures. This means there is a chance that your spell will not be countered by another player's instant spell.

3. Combat stage. Its stages are as follows:

• Starts combat to cast instants and activate abilities.
• Announcement of attackers. Cards you use to attack your opponent unfold horizontally (unless they have the Vigilance special ability, which allows you to attack without unfolding). Instants can be cast again. Cards that attacked will remain tapped at the end of your turn (you cannot block your opponent's turn with them).
• Announcement of blockers. Your opponent announces which attack cards he will block. If one card is blocked by several, then you decide in what order. You can cast instants and activate abilities.
• Battle damage. After determining the order in which instants are blocked and cast, combat damage is dealt simultaneously to all cards after casting spells from the stack. If a creature takes damage that is greater than its toughness, it is sent to the graveyard. Unblocked creatures deal damage to the opponent, which should be reflected on his life counter.
• End of the battle. Cast instants and card abilities.

4. Main stage (2) - the same actions as in the main stage (1): you can lay out a land if you haven’t laid it out (you can only lay out one land per turn), play a creature card, an artifact, a sorcery.

5. The final stage is the cleanup step, returning and healing cards from the battlefield, casting instants and activating end-of-turn card abilities, ending effects that last one turn. According to Magic The Gathering rules, if you have more than 7 cards in your hand at the end of your turn, you need to discard the extra ones.

The golden rule of the MTG game

So, you've gone through all the stages of the move, passed the turn to your opponent... and all over again! Despite the fact that the rules in Russian Magic The Gathering seem a little complicated and too categorical, the gameplay is endlessly varied. A large number of cards have been published that allow you to vary it and change it. And here we are faced with the golden rule of Magic The Gathering: if the text of an MTG card contradicts the rules of the game, then the card is given preference.

How to play MTG with three, four, five players?

One of the very popular formats of Magic The Gathering games is the Two-Headed Giant. A two-on-two gaming session where you and a partner represent a team of two. They can see each other's cards and discuss the strategy they will use against the enemy team. You have 30 lives, walk, attack and block at the same time. Each of you has your own deck, your own permanents, for which you pay with your lands. Needless to say, this is a very fun format for a board game.

Another Magic The Gathering game mode in Russian is called Commander: it can be played by 3 to 6 people. Each player has his own deck, headed by a legendary creature, and the deck is selected taking into account the characteristics of its commander-in-chief.

Number of players
2

Party time
From 30 minutes

Game difficulty
Average

How to start playing Magic: the Gathering

It’s easy to play MTG, because the order is the same. It all starts with preparing the decks and determining who will go first. Next, they begin to play cards with the starting hand. The game ends either in a draw or in the defeat of one of the players.

How to understand that a player has lost?

The participant received ten or more poison counter tokens, which means poison;

• The player has no lives left;
• The card cannot be taken because the library is empty;
• The judge gives a loss in the tournament;
• The effect instructs to lose.

How to understand that there is a “draw”?

• The time allotted for the game has expired (no one had time to lose);
• The game may reach a dead end, and there will be no way to interrupt it;
• The player gave up. This is possible at any time in the game.

Play areas

No playing area is used during the game. But before they are described, it is worth considering that players must sit opposite each other so as not to see other people's cards. It is also important that players understand where each zone is located. There are no specific rules regarding the location of a separate library or cemetery, and so on.

library

The library is a separate deck for each player, from which he draws cards during the game. Before walking, the participant takes a card. Also, a card is drawn at the beginning of the game, it is called the “starting hand”. This is how the game begins. It is important to take into account that you cannot look at your opponent’s cards, and you cannot look at your deck either, unless, of course, there is some effect that can affect this.

hand

The next zone is the hand. It involves storing those cards that will be played at the moment. But you can play them only when you have enough mana. This area is also closed, so you won't be able to peek.

After the battle (battle field)

The “after battle” zone is an open zone, so you can easily see those cards that are face up. This deck involves storing permanents (artifacts, creatures, enchantments, etc.). If you are not familiar with the participant card, you can take it and read the information on it.
cemetery

Sorcery and spell cards that have been cast go to the graveyard. Also, canceled spells, discarded cards from the library due to the effect, as well as creatures that were destroyed can go here. This zone is open, so you can view the cards stored in the graveyard zone both for yourself and your opponent.

exile

The exile zone is considered open, but there are too few cards in the game that could bring back another card from this zone.

Shuffling the deck

Shuffling the deck or shuffling is a mandatory step before starting the game. Why? Firstly, this way the game will be fairer, and secondly, the random arrangement of cards is the key to a successful game. No one wants lands or spells to end up in a separate pile in the deck and not be seen for a long time.

You can shuffle the cards different ways. For example, the most common one, that is, to rearrange the cards, stirring them in this way for several seconds, perhaps a minute.

It is important to note that you should not place cards in piles, unless, of course, you want to check their integrity and presence. For shuffling, this option loses, because instead of a random arrangement of cards, you will get the same piles that were mentioned above.

Removal

Skimming is the next step after mixing. What does it mean? After you have shuffled the deck, you need to give it to your opponent so that he can “raise” it. This means that your opponent will swap some parts of the deck. But he may not do anything. This stage is not mandatory, but it is often taken into account to ensure that everything is fair.

The deck cannot be shuffled again until the starting hand is drawn. This is an important point that cannot be neglected.
Who will go first

The question “Who will go first” is controversial in any game. Here you can solve either with six-sided dice or a coin. If you play several games in a row, then the first player in the next games will be the one chosen by the player who lost the last game. If the decks were changed between games, then the first walker can be determined in the same way as before the first game, that is, with a coin or dice.
Muligan and hand taking

The first 7 cards from the library are called the “top hand”, which is what players take before starting the game. After players have taken 7 cards, they must evaluate them. There are situations when you have nothing to play, for example, when the hand includes only a land or, conversely, there is no land.
“Bad hands” or in what situations cards need to be mulliganed

The player who is awarded the right to go first will make decisions at the very beginning. He may keep the hand, or he may decide to mulligan it, that is, make the so-called mulligan. If he decides to mulligan, then the cards are shuffled back into the deck, re-shuffled, and then the “starting hand” is taken. The hand is selected until the players are satisfied. But, in this case, you should take one less card, so you can reach zero.

Beginning of the game

The game begins after players decide to keep their starting hand. If there are less than 7 cards in your hand, then you have the right to open the top one and remove it to the bottom of the deck, or leave it at the top. For example, it can be useful to move a card down when you have a lot of land. Then you can start casting spells. This is one of the variants of mulligan, which was previously called “Parisian”, and now has become “Vancouver”.

Turn structure

During the game, all players take turns. Each move can be divided into certain phases, which in turn are divided into steps. In fact, walking is very simple, the main thing is to understand when which phase is which and when is which step. You will have to think about which card is best to play at a certain moment in order to come to a win.

Beginning phase. We start with the untap step, that is, we unfold our cards. For example, you can tap a creature or land. If you want to use it again, you will have to unfold the card. This step does not involve acting out.
The next step is support (upkeep step). Here you can already play something. After it comes a step that involves taking a card, it is called the draw step. The name speaks for itself. The player must take a card from the library (top) and add it to his hand.

If the library is empty at this point, you lose.

First main phase

Next comes the first and most important phase, which is called the main phase. This phase is large enough that many spells can cast. One turn means one land card played, no more.

Combat phase

The next phase is the combat phase. The combat phase can be divided into 5 steps:

• beginning of combat step;
• declare attackers step;
• declare blockers step;
• combat damage step;
• end of combat step.

The first is the initial step of combat, which involves casting either instants or activating creature abilities to prevent an attack from your opponent. The second step is to declare the attackers. The active player (the one who has the right to move) turns those creature cards that were not tapped. Then they attack. The attack can be directed at a player or a planeswalker under the player's control. Those creatures that are under the opponent's control cannot be attacked. The opponent chooses the creatures with which he will defend himself, this is entirely his choice. This step involves casting spells and activating abilities.

The next step is called “declaring blockers.” Here the player who is being attacked chooses who he will defend with. You can only select one blocker per attacker. If there are no effects that require you to block a player, then you are not required to do so.

The final step is the combat damage step, which involves dealing damage that must be equal to the strength of both players. The last step is called the end of battle step, after which comes the second main phase.
Second main phase

Here you can play both spells and lands if, for example, you didn’t succeed the first time. Many take advantage of the moment and cast those spells that can finish off the remaining surviving creatures of the opponent. This phase is very convenient for combat, real and bloody.

To start, one player turns a creature to attack, then his opponent turns his creatures to defense.

End of turn

The turn ends with a phase called the ending phase, which means the final phase. There is only one step - end step ( last step), which implies the discovery of abilities that were required to open at the end of the turn.

We end the turn with a cleanup step, which involves discarding cards. Here the player must keep only 7 cards in his hand, the rest must be discarded. Also, this step involves removing marked damage from certain creatures. At this point, the effects that were active until the end of the turn also end. Take for example, all the creatures you control, let them get +2/+2 right up until the end of the turn.

It is important to note that this step does not imply either casting spells or activating any abilities. According to the rules this is prohibited.

You need to end your turn by counting the lives you have left. Counting is done using dice that have 20 sides. But, if you play in any tournament, then most likely the calculation will be done on paper. This is done in order to easily find errors in controversial situations, which, by the way, arise quite often. The results on paper will help you analyze the game and roll back in order to correct all the unpleasant moments.

As you understand, the game is very exciting, interesting and unusual, it includes many bright moments and requires your ingenuity, dexterity, and observation. If you don’t know how to spend time with a friend, then feel free to arm yourself and play, train and understand all the intricacies of the game, which at first may seem beyond your control, but after a few moves you will definitely figure it out and give your opponent a head start.