Magic: The Gathering
Build your own deck, develop mana and creatures, and decide when to commit a spell or hold a response in a head-to-head magical duel.
Magic: The Gathering supports 2–6 players; community best: 2 players; playing time: 20 minutes. A WANGO browser trial has not been confirmed.
Background & introduction
Basic two-player Magic connects deck construction before the game with decisions during play. Lands provide mana, permanent cards such as creatures, artifacts, and enchantments develop the battlefield, and instants and sorceries change the position. Colors, costs, and card combinations shape your deck's pace.
A turn is not reserved entirely for the active player. Priority lets players cast instants or activate abilities at permitted times. Most spells and abilities use the stack, making responses an essential part of deciding when to act.
In combat, the attacking player chooses attackers and the defending player chooses blockers before combat damage. Committing creatures, keeping resources available, and timing removal depend on both the board and your hand. Different card pools and formats can produce very different games.
Core rules & scoring
This introduction uses ordinary two-player Constructed: at least sixty cards, normally no more than four of a nonbasic card with the same English name. Start at twenty life with seven cards; the first player skips their first draw step.
To mulligan, shuffle your hand back and draw seven again. When keeping, put cards on the bottom of your library equal to your mulligan count. The multiplayer first-free-mulligan rule is outside this scope.
A turn has beginning, precombat main, combat, postcombat main, and ending phases. Beginning includes untap, upkeep, and draw. Both main phases share the normal allowance of one land played per turn.
Normally play a land from your hand during your own main phase, with priority and an empty stack; this does not use the stack. Lands and other sources produce mana. Casting a spell requires its targets and full costs; unspent mana normally disappears at the end of each step and phase.
Normally cast noninstants during your main phase with priority and an empty stack; cast instants when you have priority. Consecutive passes by both players resolve the top stack object. With an empty stack, consecutive passes advance the step or phase.
A creature normally must have been under your control continuously since your latest turn began to attack or use an ability with a tap or untap symbol in its cost. Haste and other explicit permissions can change this. A newly entered creature can normally block.
Declare attackers, normally tapping them, then the defender declares legal untapped blockers. Creatures assign damage equal to power, normally dealing it simultaneously within a combat damage step. Unblocked creatures damage the player or other legal object they attack.
A creature marked with damage at least equal to its toughness is normally destroyed when state-based actions are checked. During cleanup, the active player normally discards to seven, marked damage is removed from permanents, and until-end-of-turn effects end.
Zero or less life, an attempted draw without enough library cards, or ten or more poison counters can cause a loss. Concession and explicit card effects can also end a game. Card text, abilities, and the Comprehensive Rules can alter these defaults.
Rules & gameplay questions
Are lands single-use resources that I discard after spending them?
Usually not. Lands remain on the battlefield; a typical basic land taps for mana and untaps during your untap step. The mana itself normally does not remain across steps or phases.
Can I cast any card during my opponent's turn?
No. With priority and the relevant permissions you may cast instants or activate abilities. Ordinary creature and sorcery spells require your own main phase and an empty stack unless flash or another permission changes that.
Does responding make the entire stack resolve at once?
No. Consecutive passes resolve just the top object, followed by another opportunity for priority and responses. You normally cannot insert another spell midway through a resolving spell.
Can a new creature block immediately?
Normally yes. Summoning sickness restricts attacking and activated abilities with tap or untap symbols in their costs. It does not itself prevent blocking, though tapped status and other abilities still matter.
Does Commander also use sixty cards and twenty life?
No. Ordinary Commander uses exactly one hundred cards including the commander, singleton names except basic lands, and forty starting life, alongside color-identity and other rules. This introduction does not cover full Commander rules, format card pools, or banned and restricted lists.
Rules & introduction sources
- Edition
- Covers the core flow of ordinary two-player Constructed with at least sixty cards and twenty life; this does not specifically define the named Standard format. Based on current official basic teaching and relevant sections of the Comprehensive Rules effective September 25, 2026. Commander, Limited, multiplayer variants, complete keywords, card-specific rulings, tournament policy, card pools, and banned or restricted lists require their own current references.
- Rule references
- Introduction source
- BoardGameGeek
WANGO editorial
| Parameter | Recorded value |
|---|---|
| BGG overall rank (snapshot) | #169 |
| Complexity Weight | 3.29 / 5 |
| Best player count (community) | 2 |
| Player range | 2–6 |
| Playing time (minutes) | 20 |
| Core mechanisms | Betting and Bluffing · Closed Drafting · Deck Construction · Hand Management · Income · Interrupts · Player Elimination · Tags · Take That |
| Chinese publication | Unconfirmed |
| WANGO browser play | No confirmed WANGO trial |
| Year published | 1993 |
| Suggested age | 13+ |
BGG statistics are stored snapshots, not live rankings. Source checked：2026-09-27
Player questions
What is the best player count for Magic: The Gathering, and can I play online?
Magic: The Gathering supports 2–6 players; community best: 2 players; playing time: 20 minutes. A WANGO browser trial has not been confirmed.
How complex is Magic: The Gathering, and which mechanisms does it use?
Weight: 3.29 / 5. Mechanisms: Betting and Bluffing · Closed Drafting · Deck Construction · Hand Management · Income · Interrupts · Player Elimination · Tags · Take That. Chinese publication: Unconfirmed.
Where can I learn Magic: The Gathering?
No rule guide, strategy article or WANGO trial has been confirmed for this record.