If I had a nickel for every time somebody said, “I love to play Magic the Gathering! How can I teach (insert name of significant person here) ?” I’d have a lot of nickels!
It’s not easy to learn Magic if you’re an absolute beginner. It’s also not easy to teach Magic to somebody else if you’re an expert. But the Magic the Gathering Foundations Beginner Box is the cure for all these problems!
The Foundations Beginner Box includes everything you need for two players. There are 10 miniature decks of 20 cards each plus two playmats, two life counters and a variety of useful gadgets.
Start with the absolute beginner decks: Cats & Vampires. Each deck has a guidebook that walks you through the game so you can learn the mechanics turn-by-turn. The guide offers a very simple explanation. It tells you where to put your cards on the playmat, how to set up your life counter, how to draw cards, how to read Magic cards and how to use them in your game.
Each turn has *very specific* instructions. Follow the steps in order and, when you’re done, the guidebook will show you a picture of what your playmat should look like at the end of your turn.
A Magic deck usually has 60 cards but these 20 card mini-decks let you play short games that demonstrate the 5 types of Mana, which is the fundamental resource that powers everything in Magic: creatures, spells and abilities. Once you’ve played through the beginner Cats & Vampires decks, you can play more quick games with your choice of mini decks. As soon as you’re feeling brave, build a your own 60 card deck out of any of the included mini decks and battle away!
I’ve tried various ways to learn Magic over the years. Kendra and I both started as absolute beginners when we opened Gamemakers in 2020. Then I wandered off and she moved on to the Platinum level on Arena (which is the online version of Magic where you can learn and play; it’s here.)
Let me tell you, it’s no fun to be a dimwit beginner against somebody who’s spent a lot of time building powerful decks and learning every trick! No matter how gentle Kendra tries to be, I always end up sitting there saying, “Wait. What was that spell again?” while my life drains away.
But the MTG Foundations Beginner Box solves this dilemma! The mini decks lead you through all kinds of different games so you can really understand what’s happening while you play. This set is the perfect start for people who have never played before and — I can vouch for this — a great set for someone who knows the game well to use for teaching newbies.
Once you start playing, you’ll probably find yourself saying things like, “Boy! I could sure use more Lifelink in this deck!” (You’ll learn all about Lifelink and other types of spells as you play through the Beginner Box.) This is where you’ll get interested in collecting more Magic cards to perfect your deck.
One obvious next step is the Foundations Starter Collection, which is a 350 card collection with a surprising number of high value cards to use in building any number of decks. If you’re already a serious Magic player–and you’ll know what this means if you are–the cards in the Foundations Starter Collection will be legal in Standard until 2029.
Of course, you don’t have to start in any particular place, or with any particular set, in Magic the Gathering. You can start by shuffling two Jumpstart decks together or by choosing a theme you prefer. But, if you want a good start in playing Magic or in deck building and collecting Magic cards, you can’t do much better than the Foundations Beginner sets!
