Magic The Gathering: Rules and Getting Started, Strategy Guide, Deck Building For Beginners

It is a very helpful guide for beginners who want to know more about the rules and guidelines of Magic The Gathering. A player must learn the rules such as Formats, The Turn, The Cards, and Preparing for Play. Every rule has a set of rules that players should follow. This book is not just about the rules of the game but it will also tell you what attitude you need to show whenever you're playing. Although I am not yet an expert of the game at least I can now be confident to play because I already have the knowledge on the rules and guidelines that I learned from this book.

DO NOT PURCHASE. The physical quality of the book itself was bad. The text on the back cover was misaligned and cut off. It's still readable but it looks terrible. As for the book itself, it reads like one of those cheap, garbage "you can do anything" books that tries to hypnotize and trick the reader into thinking they can accomplish anything but doesn't actually offer any advice. There's no substance to the book. There are also grammatical errors and misspellings. It asks the reader "Do you want to learn the strategies for winning tournaments?" but offers very little information in terms of strategy and advice besides saying build a deck, find people to play test with and look on the internet for a card database. The book also recommends buying the most expensive and powerful cards which is not a good idea for beginners. There a no examples besides very vague ideas surrounding deck building, the color pie and the mana curve. The author asks "What happens if you ignore your poor strategies?" and offers no strategies besides very, very generic advice. For example, "If you want to play a control deck, you will need counter spells." Then that's it!!! Nothing further, no explanation, no examples, no "if this happens, then this...", etc. The author of these manuscripts doesn't demonstrate their actual experience with the game itself and therefore comes across as having a general lack of knowledge about Magic: the Gathering. The author probably doesn't play the game and is not DCI certified but instead, compiled their information from the internet and somehow managed to vomit this horribly written, lack-of-content, piece of garbage. The way some paragraphs were written almost sounds like the author's native language wasn't English and were translated from another language. Which isn't terrible but it messes with the continuity and flow while reading. DO NOT PURCHASE.Instead, read the basic rules from Wizard's of the Coast. Then download the comprehensive rules in PDF. Try Magic: The Gathering Arena to really learn the steps and phases. Don't worry about winning or losing. Don't pay for anything in Magic: the Gathering Arena or Magic: the Gathering Online until you have mastered the steps and phases and can go through them comfortably without hesitation. Listen to podcasts. Read about the mana curve online, what curve current decks are using in tournaments and what the optimal curve is based on data and statistical analysis. As far as deck building goes, there are many sources on the internet to consult. DON'T run out and buy a bunch of boosters. If you really want to increase your card collection for casual play, ask your local game store if they can sell a bulk box. Buy singles. Make "proxies" to test with. Wizard's of the Coast encourages making "proxies" and calls them "playtest" cards. You only need the official product if you're competing. Even then, a judge might ask you to use a "proxy" in certain situations in a tournament.You can tell someone over and over again that they can play Magic: the Gathering but that doesn't help them improve their skills. DO NOT PURCHASE. This book offers nothing substantial even for a beginner.

Very helpful to a novice player like myself. Interesting and insightful....thank you very much for this little manual of dos and dont's.

This is a good introduction to MTG, but it could use a little more explanation. There are some basic terms and abbreviations you see on lots of cards that it is hard to find an explanation to what the term means. Examples are scr, tokens, treasures and lots of words and abbreviations you see on cards that it is hard to find what they mean or do.

…then I am sure that this is a fine book for you. If you are a complete beginner, and have never played the game and/or have virtually no idea about the game, then this is NOT the book for you. It does not explain the basics at all, and jumps right in to terminology with no explanation at all.

I purchased this book explicitly for the rules section and boy was I disappointed to see the "rules". I wanted a rule book so my kids and I had reference material to play the game accurately for attacking, blocking, and card effects like death touch, meance, and trample. What I got instead was a self help book on how to play like Timmy (yes Timmy is in the book) I do not reccomend purchasing at all

my son loved it

This book is not very helpful. All of the information in this guide is available for free online. Don't waste your money.

This does not really explain how to use play, what the balance is between the different abilities and classes of cards - the stuff you need to inform you on what to chose. Just glad I didn’t buy the hard copy. Pretty useless.