Magic the Gathering: An Overview

Here is an overview of Magic the Gathering board game, including expectations and methods to play the game.


It was 1993 when Magic the Gathering was launched. The game was so popular that billion cards were sold within 18 months of the launch.

Being known as a fantasy trading card in earlier days, the game was created by mathematician, Richard Garfield who seemed to draw inspiration from his favorite game, Dungeons and Dragons. The game is still enjoying popularity after 25 years.

Magic The Gathering is known for magic, battles and creatures. The game requires you to play the role of a wizard who controls a realm. The Realms are represented by colors: Blue for Islands, Green for forests, Black for Swamps and White for Plains. The playing style varies from color to color. You can play more than one color and even mix and match, but make sure you have enough Mana to play a card.

In the game, Mana is created from lands and each card comes with a Mana cost, meaning that you have to pay the Mana cost to play a card.

There are many ways you can play Magic, from Basic, Commander and Casual. Commander is a popular version, and the rules are slightly modified. Although basic is almost similar to the casual style, it is more intense. The basic version of Magic is a 60-card deck of one or more colors and some cards can serve other purposes.

Each player starts with 7 cards in their hand with the aim to minimize the opponent to 0 Health. However, they have risky cards which can backfire, instead of damaging the other person.

Commander is a bit different. You get a 100-card deck and a Commander card based on what color/colors your commander is. It also determines the color of the cards you can play, and you can only have 1 of each card, besides Mana. The aim is the same with the exception that you have 40 HP instead of 20. It is a bit more wild and slightly more casual. It is a great way to play.

This was a quick introduction to Magic the Gathering. We recommend trying the game yourself to see how enjoyable it is!