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How to Start Playing MTG – A First Purchase Plan That Works
How to start playing MTG is a question with a short answer and a long explanation. The short answer is that you buy one complete deck, learn the turn structure with it, and find one other person to play against. Everything else, from formats to foils to sealed product, can wait until after your first ten games.
The long answer is this page. It covers the free ways to learn the rules, which of the formats is friendliest to a beginner, the three products that count as a first deck, how to build a 60-card deck out of a bundle if you would rather build than buy, and where to play once you can shuffle without thinking about it.
On this page
How to start playing MTG without wasting money
The most common first mistake is buying sealed product before owning a deck. A booster box is a wonderful thing to open once you play, and a pile of random cards with no deck around them is not a way to learn. Buy something that is already a deck, then buy packs to improve it.
The second mistake is buying for a format you will not play. If nobody in your area plays Standard, a Standard deck is an expensive ornament. Ask what people actually play before choosing, and if the answer is Commander, buy a Commander deck.
The third is buying too much at once. Two decks and a bundle is a reasonable starting point for a household; four boxes is a storage problem. The game is cheap to start and expensive to complete, and the first purchase only needs to get you to a table.
Knowing mtg for beginners is mostly a matter of buying in the right order rather than buying more.
The first mtg deck advice that matters is about the first three purchases, not the thirtieth.
Learn to play Magic for free, in an afternoon
The rules are free. The official rules documents are published online, and the free-to-play digital client, Magic: The Gathering Arena, includes a tutorial that teaches the turn structure, the stack and combat through play rather than through reading. An afternoon there is enough to understand what a card does.
The core loop is smaller than it looks. You untap your permanents, draw a card, play a land, cast spells with mana from lands, attack with creatures, and pass. Damage happens, creatures die, and life totals go down. Every complicated interaction in the game is a variation on that loop.
The one concept worth learning early is the stack: spells and abilities resolve in reverse order, and a player can respond before something resolves. That single rule explains most of what confuses new players in their first game, and it is easier to see in the digital client than in a rulebook.
Knowing learn to play magic is mostly a matter of buying in the right order rather than buying more.
The mtg beginner guide advice that matters is about the first three purchases, not the thirtieth.
MTG for beginners: which format to try first
Magic is played in several formats, and they differ mainly in deck size, card pool and how often the card pool changes. For a beginner the choice is simpler than the list suggests: a 60-card constructed deck for one opponent, a draft for a group, or a Commander deck for four players.
| Format | Deck | Good first choice if |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 60 cards, 20 life | your local shop runs Standard events |
| Draft | 40 cards built from packs | you like a level field and a group |
| Commander | 100 cards, 40 life | your friends already play it |
| Modern and Pioneer | 60 cards, 20 life | you want a non-rotating deck |
| Pauper | 60 cards, commons only | you want the cheapest entry |
If you have no idea, choose the format your friends play, and if you have no friends who play, choose Commander or attend a prerelease. Both put you at a table with people who expect to explain things, which is worth more than any deck choice.
Knowing first mtg deck is mostly a matter of buying in the right order rather than buying more.
Most people who ask about how to start playing mtg have already downloaded the rules and stopped at the stack.
Your first MTG deck: three ways to get one
The first way is a starter product. These are usually two complete 60-card decks sold together, designed for two players to learn against each other. The Final Fantasy Starter Kit is an example: two 60-card decks, one led by Cloud and one by Sephiroth, ready to play out of the box.
The second way is a Commander deck. One purchase, 100 cards, legal as sold, built for four players. If your group already plays Commander, this is the shortest route from buying to playing, because there is nothing to build and nobody has to lend you a deck.
The third way is a starter collection, which is a large box of cards plus lands designed for building rather than for playing immediately. The Foundations Starter Collection contains 387 cards and three Play Boosters. It is the right purchase for someone who wants to build decks, and the wrong one for someone who wants to play tonight.
Knowing mtg beginner guide is mostly a matter of buying in the right order rather than buying more.
We wrote this mtg for beginners guide for someone who has never shuffled a Magic deck.
Building a 60-card deck from a bundle
If you would rather build than buy, a bundle is a workable starting point: 9 play boosters give you roughly 126 cards, plus the basic lands you need. A 60-card deck wants about 24 lands and 36 spells, and a bundle supplies enough of both to build something playable, though not competitive.
Pick two colours rather than five. Two colours give you a mana base you can actually cast, and the cards in a single set are designed to support a handful of two-colour pairings. Sort by colour, choose the pair with the most playable cards, and accept that half the box will not make the deck.
Then set a curve: roughly eight one-cost and two-cost cards, eight at three, six at four and a couple of expensive finishers. A beginner deck that curves out beats a deck full of powerful expensive cards, because it actually does something on every turn.
Most people who ask about mtg for beginners have already downloaded the rules and stopped at the stack.
We wrote this learn to play magic guide for someone who has never shuffled a Magic deck.
Lands, mana and why the mana base decides games
Lands are the least exciting cards and the most common reason a beginner deck loses. Too few and you cannot cast anything; too many and you draw nothing but land. Twenty-four lands in a 60-card deck is the standard starting point, adjusted down for a very low curve and up for an expensive one.
A two-colour deck needs lands that produce both colours, and a bundle or starter collection provides the basics to do it. If you are short, run more basic lands of the colour you need most rather than fewer lands overall, because the deck stalls without them.
One land per turn is the rule that shapes everything else. A card that costs four is not playable on turn four unless you have made your land drops, which is why the first four turns of a game are mostly about lands and cheap spells rather than big ones.
Most people who ask about learn to play magic have already downloaded the rules and stopped at the stack.
We wrote this first mtg deck guide for someone who has never shuffled a Magic deck.
Your first event: why a prerelease is the best start
A prerelease is the friendliest event in Magic. Every player opens six play boosters and builds a 40-card deck from what they find, so nobody has a better card pool than anyone else. Nobody needs to own a constructed deck, and the person next to you is building from scratch too.
For a beginner that removes the two barriers that matter: cost and card pool. You pay for the packs, you keep the cards, and the deck you build is yours afterwards. Shops usually run a short rules briefing, and players are expected to help rather than to win at all costs.
The only preparation is knowing the turn structure and bringing sleeves and dice. If you can play a game on the digital client, you can play at a prerelease, and it is the cheapest way to find out whether you enjoy playing with strangers.
Most people who ask about first mtg deck have already downloaded the rules and stopped at the stack.
We wrote this mtg beginner guide guide for someone who has never shuffled a Magic deck.
When to move from 60 cards to Commander
Commander is the format most players end up in, because it is social, it is played everywhere, and a deck lasts for years. Move to it when you understand the turn structure and own a deck you enjoy, which is usually after ten or twenty games rather than after the first one.
The difference in play is real: 40 life, four players, and a deck built around a single commander. Games last longer, politics matter, and a single card can change the whole table. That is either the best thing about the format or the worst, depending on what you enjoy.
You do not need to choose permanently. Most players keep a 60-card deck for one-on-one games and a Commander deck for group nights, and the two purchases support each other rather than competing.
Most people who ask about mtg beginner guide have already downloaded the rules and stopped at the stack.
The how to start playing mtg advice that matters is about the first three purchases, not the thirtieth.
The three extras worth buying with a first deck
A deck on its own is not quite a playable kit. Sleeves protect the cards and make shuffling possible without marking them; a deck box keeps the deck together; and a set of dice covers life totals, counters and tokens. None of the three is expensive and all three are annoying to play without.
Sleeves matter more than beginners expect. Unsleeved cards pick up edge wear within a few games, and marked cards are a rules problem as well as a cosmetic one. A single pack of sleeves for a 60-card deck, or a hundred for Commander, is the cheapest insurance in the hobby.
Dice replace pen and paper for life totals and are also how counters are tracked on creatures. A bundle includes a spindown die, which is enough for one player; a small set of six-sided dice covers two players and every counter a beginner deck is likely to need.
Knowing how to start playing mtg is mostly a matter of buying in the right order rather than buying more.
On mtg for beginners, the honest answer is that the rules are free and the cards are the cost.
An MTG beginner guide to spending in order
The order that works is: learn free, buy one deck, play ten games, then buy the second thing. The second thing is usually lands or a second deck for a friend, and the third is packs. Buying in that order means every purchase is driven by something you noticed while playing rather than by a list you read.
A bundle is the best second purchase for a new player, because it adds packs, lands, dice and a box in one go. A booster box is the best third purchase if you have a group, and a draft night box is the best purchase if your group is exactly four people.
What to avoid is the collector end of the catalogue until you know what you want. Collector boosters, Secret Lair drops and scene boxes are for players who already know which cards they are chasing; they are a poor first purchase and an excellent fifth.
The mtg for beginners advice that matters is about the first three purchases, not the thirtieth.
On learn to play magic, the honest answer is that the rules are free and the cards are the cost.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to start playing MTG?
One complete deck is the minimum, and a starter product or Commander deck is the cheapest complete option. Rulebooks and the digital client are free.
Do I need to know the rules before my first game?
No. Learn the turn structure and the stack, then play. Everything else is learned faster at a table than from a rulebook.
How many cards are in a starter deck?
Starter products are usually two 60-card decks. The Final Fantasy Starter Kit is two 60-card decks, ready to play.
What is the easiest format for a beginner?
Commander if your friends play it, and a prerelease if you are starting alone. Both put you at a table with people who expect questions.
Can I build a deck from a bundle?
Yes. A bundle gives you 9 play boosters, basic lands and dice, which is enough for a casual 60-card deck.
How many lands should a 60-card deck have?
About 24 as a starting point, adjusted for how expensive the spells are.
Do I need to buy singles?
Not to start. Singles matter once you know which deck you are improving, which is after you have played it a few times.
Is Magic suitable for children?
The publisher’s age guidance is 13 and over, and the complexity suits that age upwards.
The learn to play magic advice that matters is about the first three purchases, not the thirtieth.
On first mtg deck, the honest answer is that the rules are free and the cards are the cost.
Sources and further reading
Where a fact on this page comes from somewhere else, this is the source.
- Magic: The Gathering Arena – free-to-play client with a rules tutorial.
- Magic: The Gathering products – official product contents and starter products.
- Wizards Play Network – prerelease events and event scheduling.
Buy the first deck, then the second thing
Starter products, decks and the guides that come next.
