MTG Exercises
In this section you can practice what you have learned reading the guide. A variety of ideas for different formats of playing MTG.
Life Gainers
Gaining life in MTG sounds like something you want to do. In fact, it's less good than it sounds. Cards whose entire utility is life gain have drawbacks that players…
MTG’s golden rule
Get to know the fundamental and most important rule in MTG, from which many other insights are derived: The Mana Exploitation Score [MES].
Creature Boosters
What's better than creatures in MTG? stronger creatures. But there are no free gifts. Using creature boosters involves certain prices and can be perceived a gamble. Is the deal worthwhile?
Combat Tricks
MTG is a game of cunningness and trickery, and the main tool that enables this is combat tricks. However, in order to master this tool skillfully, its characteristics must be…
The Secrets of Sealed, Part II
For MTG players, there are few joys in life greater than opening six boosters at a pre-release. But still a greater satisfaction is to build a competitive deck from the…
MTG Finishers
In MTG, there are cards whose sole purpose is to help you get the job done. Under what conditions should they be included in a deck? What are the advantages…
The Secrets of Sealed, Part I
For MTG players, there are few joys in life greater than opening six boosters at a pre-release. But still a greater satisfaction is to build a competitive deck from the…
The Craft of Playing, Part III
The principles of war that military thinkers such as San Tzu and Clausewitz put forward are not only relevant to military academies. They may also be useful in improving the…
Removals
Every new MTG player soon learns a rule of thumb: you see a removal, put it in your deck. What makes these spells so appealing? Are they all so attractive?
The Art of Drafting, Part III
Draft is one of the most favorite MTG formats. Although it changes frequently, to some extent it remains the same. Although the cards are constantly replaced and with them the…
The Craft of Playing, Part II
The principles of war that military thinkers such as San Tzu and Clausewitz put forward are not only relevant to military academies. They may also be useful in improving the…
MTG, Play it limited!
What are the differences between the different environments in MTG? How do these differences affect the role that randomness plays in the game? Let's get to know what a restricted…
MTG Life Cost
As MTG players we are used to thinking of life as a resource to protect. In fact, it is a resource that we can spend in order to gain an…
Mechanical Synergy
Mechanical synergy is taking a central place not only in constructed environment, where it has always dominated, but also in limited. That is why it is very important to put…
Creatures
Why are creatures such useful cards in MTG? This is closely related to the issue of stability/conditionality. However, not all creatures are the same as the chapter makes clear.
The Art of Drafting, Part II
Draft is one of the favorite MTG formats. Although it changes frequently, to some extent it remains the same. Although the cards are constantly replaced and with them the format…
The Craft of Playing, Part I
The principles of war that military thinkers such as San Tzu and Clausewitz put forward are not only relevant to military academies. They may also be useful in improving the…
Cost in MTG Cards
Most spells in MTG have a hidden cost – at least one card. New players tend to ignore this fact and this fact has negative consequences for their decision making…
Operational Synergy
In MTG, operational synergy is like greese in a car's gearbox – it helps everything move smoothly.
Stable versus Situational Cards
In MTG, it is not always correct to evaluate cards only by what they do. Equally important is the situations in which they do what they do especially considering its…
The Art of MTG Drafting, Part I
Draft is one of the most favorite MTG formats. Although it changes frequently, to some extent it remains the same. Although the cards are constantly replaced and with them the…
MTG Initial Decision
To play first or not to play, that's the question MTG players have to face wherever they are. To keep one's hand or not to keep is no less tormenting.…
Mana
Mana is the currency of the MTG world. Like currencies in the real world, it has a rate that changes from time to time. Let's get to know the characteristics…
MTG Functional Synergy
Synergy means a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. In MTG synergy is pretty much the name of the game. However, it includes many more components…
The Basics
The section examines playing MTG in limited environments, contrasting them with constructed formats. It addresses the common misconception among new players that limited success relies solely or mainly on luck. Skill in evaluating card strength, drafting, deck construction, and adaptation to limited formats are essential for success. The section delves into differences between formats regarding deck archetypes and randomness. Furthermore, it introduces the concept of Mana Exploitation Score (MES), emphasizing efficient mana resource utilization to gain advantages. Player skills, card quality, and luck are discussed as factors shaping gameplay outcomes.
Resources
Mana in MTG is a vital, evolving resource, crucial for spellcasting. Its scarcity early on contrasts with abundance later and this fact is very meaningful for the game dynamics. The one-land-per-turn rule ensures game balance. Spells’ power aligns usually with their mana cost, and this determines the rhythm of the game. Spells costing 5+ mana demand careful evaluation because they should regarded specially expensive in casting speed terms. Mana complexity, including color requirements, also affects casting. However, not all spells are sensitive to mana costs. Creatures and mana accelerators are relatively sensitive to man cost. Finishers are less so. Tempo, impacted by spell cost, can be managed through mana accelerators, alternative resources, and a balanced mana curve.
When casting spells, additional costs like discarding cards or sacrificing permanents are sometimes required. While new players often prioritize mana over those alternative costs, the significance of spells’ card costs is equally important. In Magic:, most cards are balanced, making card advantage―the ratio of cards spent versus those of the opponent―central. Life points sometimes reduce costs in mana but carry risks, especially in advanced stages, impacting battlefield control. The degree of control over life payment varies, affecting the risk associated with cards.
Card Evaluation
In Magic, card power isn’t just about its impact but also how often it’s useful. We judge cards based on how often they come in handy and how adaptable they are. Some cards are great in certain situations, like strengthening creatures, while others are more flexible, fitting various scenarios. We look at different game stages and actions to see when cards shine. Understanding these helps players pick the best cards for their decks. In MTG, stability means a card’s lasting value, not just its immediate impact. Different types of cards are analyzed using the stability criteria.
Synergy
Synergy is the secret ingredient in both baking and Magic. Just as quality ingredients alone do not ensure a delicious cake, high-quality MTG cards do not guarantee a winning deck. Synergy, the interaction between cards, creates a greater impact than their individual impact. Players must grasp the right mix of cards to achieve the three types of synergy: functional, operational, and mechanistic. Strategic ideas like blitzkrieg or hammer-and-anvil shape deck construction, while operational synergy balances mana and spell ratios to minimize unusable cards. Mechanistic synergy empowers cards with shared mechanics, enhancing overall synergy.
Limited Game Formats
Drafting, a popular format of MTG, involves players selecting cards to construct decks. In this process, participants receive packs, choose cards, and pass the rest, seeking synergy and quality. Signaling plays a crucial role in the draft, requiring mastering a common language that allows cooperation. Players aim to select less-picked colors and strategically manipulate their neighbors’ choices. Approaches such as late color selection emphasize reading signals, while early selection prioritizes influencing neighbors. Skillful interpretation of signals assists in securing optimal card pools.
Sealed Format (SF) requires players to build decks from a limited pool of cards, setting it apart from other formats. Unlike constructed play, where players draw from a vast card pool, SF restricts them to 90 random cards. This constraint intensifies the balance between card quality and synergy, a dynamic absent in constructed formats. SF demands strategic color selection, and balancing card quality with consistency.
Playing the Game
Principles of adjustment, resourcefulness, and initiative are as crucial in Magic as in warfare. Players often struggle with inertia, sticking to ineffective strategies despite changing battlefield conditions. Recognizing critical shifts from standstill to attack or race to defense is key. Resourcefulness demands calculated risk-taking, shifting from cautious to gambling strategies when necessary. Initiative, seizing control with timely plays, and leveraging mana advantage, can tip the balance in combat.
The concentration of efforts directs players to focus on reducing opponent life points regardless of the card balance, emphasizing tempo and creature utilization. Reserve principles advocate strategic retention of spells and creatures for pivotal moments. Security ensures cautious play to mitigate opponent surprises and maximize creature abilities. Intelligence involves knowing cards, opponent tendencies, and game dynamics, while cunning embraces deception to outmaneuver opponents. Flexibility dictates deviation from standard strategies when circumstances demand adaptability. Coolness under pressure prevents emotional pitfalls like despair, smugness, and fear of regret, ensuring clear-headed decision-making and optimal gameplay.
Exercises
Here you can test your skills by playing several variants of the game. Also, some tools for those who wish to teach Magic.
He was teaching a course at a school for gifted children about strategic thinking, and the way he taught them this was by teaching them how to play and strategize in Magic the Gathering.
This book is an attempt to formalize his experiences teaching and playing there. As we play the game we go from the initial stage of… wow look at all these cool life-gain cards, and these 4 color legendary expensive monsters, to understanding better and better concepts like mana curve, synergy, tempo, card advantage and more. Gadi’s book is an attempt to formalize and bridge that gap for people in a more didactic way.
I still remember the first time I played limited in an international setting:
The world championship in Seattle, 1998, had 7 rounds of Tempest block draft.
In round 2 I played vs then player of the year Olle Rade, and he beat me 2-1 in very close games. After the match I had him look at my deck. My deck was chock-full of value – green-black, 14 lands, and a ton of fat 5-drops – probably 10 or more of them, as well as card advantage engines that generated extra value for the late game.
He advised me to take out some of the expensive cards, add some lands and cheaper stuff.
What an idiot, I thought. Take out my 5/5 for a 2/2? That makes no sense!
Over the years I learned these concepts organically through playing and talking to others, but I’m sure had I read Gadi’s book, I’d have had better results in that tournament.
Uri Peleg
Admin
The section examines playing MTG in limited environments, contrasting them with constructed formats. It addresses the common misconception among new players that limited success relies solely or mainly on luck. Skill in evaluating card strength, drafting, deck construction, and adaptation to limited formats are essential for success. The section delves into differences between formats regarding deck archetypes and randomness. Furthermore, it introduces the concept of Mana Exploitation Score (MES), emphasizing efficient mana resource utilization to gain advantages. Player skills, card quality, and luck are discussed as factors shaping gameplay outcomes.