First Casts

Learn Magic

A guided primer on turn flow, combat, and the stack.

Magic: The Gathering is a turn-based duel of resources, timing, and reading the table. You build a deck around a strategy, summon creatures, cast spells, and try to reduce your opponent to zero life — or run them out of cards. The complexity rewards careful sequencing, and the elegance is in the rules.

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Basics

Turn structure, card types, zones — the bones of the game.

  • · Turn phases: Beginning · Main 1 · Combat · Main 2 · End
  • · Zones: Library, Hand, Battlefield, Stack, Graveyard, Exile
  • · Card types: Creature, Artifact, Enchantment, Sorcery, Instant, Land, Planeswalker, Battle
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Combat

Attack, block, deal damage. The clock you build at the table.

  • · Declare attackers — they tap unless they have vigilance
  • · Declare blockers — multiple blockers can block one attacker
  • · Combat damage uses power, dealt simultaneously per damage step
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Stack & Priority

Spells resolve last-in, first-out. Master priority and you master Magic.

  • · Active player gets priority first each step
  • · Pass priority to let the top of the stack resolve
  • · Mana abilities don't use the stack — they resolve immediately
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First Game Checklist

  1. 01Build a 60-card deck (or use a precon)
  2. 02Shuffle, draw 7, mulligan if needed
  3. 03Decide who goes first — winner of a coin flip chooses
  4. 04Untap, upkeep, draw — then play
  5. 05Track life with TheStack.gg's Life Tracker
  6. 06Lookup unknown cards with Card Lookup

Learning Tips

  • Read the card. Then read it again. Most rules questions are answered on the card.
  • When in doubt, the active player has priority first in each step.
  • Tap mana before casting; declare targets last so opponents can respond.
  • Triggered abilities use "when" or "whenever" — they go on the stack the next time priority is passed.
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Life TrackerCard LookupGlossaryDice