Objective of the Game

Welcome, Planeswalker! Get ready to dive into the epic world of **Magic: The Gathering**, where you'll battle your friends by **casting spells** and **summoning angels, dragons, and monsters**. Your ultimate goal? To be the **last mage standing**! Each player starts with **20 life**, and the game ends when you successfully bring your opponent's life total down to **0**. It's a thrilling duel of wits and strategy!

Preparation (Setup)

Before you unleash your mighty spells, let's get the battlefield ready:

1. Gather your arsenal: You'll need **one other player**, **two decks of 40 cards** (or 60 for experts), and a way to **track life** (like **dice** or pen & paper).
2. Each player shuffles their **library** (deck) and draws a hidden **hand of 7 cards**.
3. Randomly determine who goes first. The player who starts won't draw a card on their very first turn.
4. If your initial hand has 0, 1, 6, or 7 **lands**, you can reshuffle and draw a new hand (this is usually for fun games, not competitive ones).

The Turn of Play

Players take turns alternating, always following these six crucial phases:

1. Untap Phase

First things first, you'll **untap** all your **permanents** (cards in play) by turning them upright. This refreshes them for your current turn. Any "upkeep" effects referenced on some cards happen right after untapping.

2. Draw Phase

Draw a card from your **library**. Remember, if you're the player who started the game, you skip drawing on your very first turn.

3. Main Phase 1

This is where the magic starts! You can **play one land** for free this turn. **Lands** are essential because they produce **mana**, which you use to **cast spells**. Non-land cards are called **spells**. To produce **mana** with a **land**, you **tap** it (turn it sideways). Tapping indicates it's been used this turn and can't be used again. You can use **lands** to make **mana** as soon as you play them. Just remember, **mana** doesn't carry over between phases, so use it or lose it!

Let's talk about **casting spells**: The **mana cost** of a spell is in its top right corner (lands don't have one, they're free!). Spells often have both colored and colorless (any color) costs. For example, a **mana cost** of 2B means 2 **mana** of any color + 1 black **mana**. You'd need a total of 3 **mana**, with at least one being black. You could cast this with 1 Island and 2 Swamps, or even with 3 Swamps!

Here's a quick rundown of basic **lands** and the **mana** they produce:

• **Plains** make white **mana**.
• **Islands** make blue **mana**.
• **Swamps** make black **mana**.
• **Mountains** make red **mana**.
• **Forests** produce green **mana**.

There are also different types of cards you'll encounter:

• Sorcery: These have an immediate effect when played and then go to the **graveyard** (discard pile).
• Creature: Your trusty allies! They can attack, protect you, and often have special abilities. Creatures have two numbers in the lower right corner (e.g., 2/3). The first is their **attack strength (power)**, and the second is their **toughness** (how much damage they can take in a single turn before dying). If a creature takes damage equal to or greater than its toughness, it dies. Creatures "heal" at the end of each turn, ignoring previous damage. Newly summoned creatures are "sick" for a turn and can't attack or tap, but they *can* block.
• Enchantment: These cards stay in play like creatures but cannot attack or block. They usually have powerful effects as long as they remain on the **battlefield**. Some are **Auras**, which attach to a single **permanent** and are destroyed if their target leaves the battlefield.
• Instant: Like sorceries, these have an immediate effect and are then discarded. The key difference? **Instants** can be played *anytime*, even during your opponent's turn, to surprise them!

4. Combat Phase

Time for battle! This phase has three steps:

1. Declare attackers: You, the active player, choose which of your creatures will attack and **tap** them.
2. Declare blockers: Your opponent, the defending player, chooses which of their untapped creatures will block your attackers. Tapped creatures cannot block. A creature can only block one attacker, but multiple blockers can team up on a single attacking creature. Blocked creatures don't deal damage to the player (even if the blocker dies). Creatures are never forced to attack or block.
3. Deal combat damage: Unblocked creatures deal damage directly to the defending player. This is often how you win! Blockers and blocked creatures deal damage to each other. If an attacker is blocked by multiple creatures, it distributes its damage among them. For example, a 3/3 creature blocked by a 1/1 and a 2/2 could deal 1 damage to the 1/1 and 2 damage to the 2/2, killing both.

5. Main Phase 2

After combat, you still have an opportunity to play your one **land** for the turn (if you haven't already) and **cast more spells**.

6. End Turn

Indicate to your opponent that you're done. If you have more than 7 cards in your hand, you must **discard** down to 7.

Reacting: The Stack

**Instants** and activated abilities are special! You can use them *anytime*, even in response to your opponent's moves. When this happens, the last played card or ability resolves first – this is called "the **stack**" (last in, first out). You can even respond to responses! For example, if your opponent casts a spell to kill your creature, you could respond by sacrificing that creature to another ability, making it bigger before it dies. If a spell or ability has no valid targets when it tries to resolve, it is **countered**. You cannot respond to **land** plays or to combat damage (all damage is dealt immediately and simultaneously).

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when a player's **life total** reaches **0**. That player loses, and their opponent wins! Simple as that – bring your opponent's life to zero, and victory is yours!

Tips for Winning

Becoming a Planeswalker takes practice, but here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Manage Your Mana: **Lands** are your engine! Make sure you play a **land** every turn if possible to build up your **mana** base. Knowing when to hold **mana** for an **instant** or an activated ability on your opponent's turn can be a game-changer.
2. Understand Creature Combat: Don't just attack blindly! Consider your creatures' **power** and **toughness**, and your opponent's potential blockers. Remember keywords like **Flying** (cannot be blocked by non-flying creatures) or **Trample** (excess damage goes to the player) to maximize your attacks. Using creatures with **Vigilance** allows them to attack and still be available to block!
3. Surprise with Instants: Keep your opponent guessing! Holding an **Instant** in hand can create powerful plays, whether it's removing a key blocker during combat, boosting your own creature, or even saving one from a removal spell.