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Preparation for a game takes place far in advance of actual play. Serious players spend hours acquiring cards and putting then together into a deck of cards that work well together. The selection of available cards far exceeds the normal size of a deck (sixty cards), so individual players' decks often differ considerably. |
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In detail, casting works like this: the player taps a number of land cards. Each of these contributes mana of a specific color (an Island generates one blue mana point, a Swamp one black mana, etc.). Then the player lays down the spell card from his or her hand, designating any targets the spell may have. The pooled mana must match the requirements of the spell -- for example Dirtwater Wraith needs one black mana and three additional mana of unspecified color to cast successfully. The general rule for spell cards is that once cast the effects (one-shot or permanent) on the card happen. Some spells have effects that override normal game rules (for example allow you to hold more than seven cards in your hand). Spell effects may contradict each other, and it is one of the more difficult aspects of gameplay to resolve these conflicts. |
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Game play is turn-based. During a turn, the active player draws one card, plays at most one land from his or her hand, casts as many spells the player wants and can afford (with mana), and may attack one other player with one or more creatures. An attacked player may declare some of her or his creatures as blockers. Blocked attacking creatures deal damage to their blockers and are in turn damaged by them. A creature that amasses more than a specific number of damage points (its toughness) in one round (complete cycle of turns) dies and goes to its owner's graveyard. Unblocked attackers deal damage to the player they attacked, reducing that player's life points. Damaged creatures that do not die return to full strength (heal) after one round. This is not true of players. |
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Game play is turn-based. During a turn, the active player draws one card, plays at most one land from his or her hand, casts as many spells the player wants and can afford (with mana), and may attack one other player with one or more creatures. An attacked player may declare some of her or his creatures as blockers. Blocked attacking creatures deal damage to their blockers and are in turn damaged by them. A creature that amasses more than a specific number of damage points (its toughness) in one round (complete cycle of turns) dies and goes to its owner's graveyard. Unblocked attackers deal damage to the player they attacked, reducing that player's life points. Damaged creatures that do not die return to full strength (heal) at the end of the turn. This is not true of players. |
Deck BuildingPreparation for a game takes place far in advance of actual play. Beginners may start out owning only a starter pack of sixty cards -- which is also the normal deck size and can serve as a first deck. Usually though, more and more cards are collected and traded so that serious players have a large trove of cards from which they have to select sixty (normally) for their next deck. Due to the many possibilities, two players never enter duels with the same decks (unless they both used the same reference). Building a deck is mainly about balancing various aspects. First you should be aware of the principal probabilities involved. Decks must contain sixty cards minimum. Larger decks are possible, but usually will not buy you much except unreliability (imagine that one useful card being buried in a library of 40, 80, or 100 cards). One normally cycles through the deck one card per turn. Most spells have a color, which means that they require a number of mana points of a specific color to cast (they may require additional mana of unspecified color as well). Some spells (mostly artifacts) need only unspecified mana; very few spells require more than one color. Normal land always produces the same color of mana. These two facts immediately lead to the prime rule of deck building: Balance mana sources (spells) and sinks (spells). Having a lot of black spells but few or no Swamps will do you no good. More generally, there needs to be enough land to support your spells. Since land can be reused a rule of thumb is to include one (suitable) land per two spells. When using all five colors it is quite probable to end up with lands of two colors, and a hand filled with spells of the other three colors, and thus being unable to cast anything. Therefore it is recommendable to restrict one's deck to a smaller number of colors -- for example only including Island and Swamps, as well as only black and blue spells. Relying on only one color may be unwise, though, as there are cards that take effect on a whole color which could render one completely powerless. |
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