This is the first of many installments of my guide to MTG, in this first edition, I will be talking about a brief history on MTG and turns. From flying spaghetti elder gods to immortal goblins, Magic: The Gathering is a game of fantasy and fun.

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But What is Magic: The Gathering? Magic: The Gathering, commonly known as MTG or Magic, is a trading card game created by Richard Garfield. It is now made by the company Wizards of the Coast. Magic is based around five different types of mana. These types are represented by five colors: red, white, blue, black, and green. You can use these mana types to cast spells and summon powerful creatures.You get this mana by playing land cards. Each mana type has a land that represents it: islands for blue, mountains for red, swamps for black, plains for white, and forests for green. There are also things like multi-color lands that can be used for different colors.  But before you can play lands, you must learn how turns work. Each turn is split up into phases: first phase, upkeep, untap, draw, main phase, combat, second main phase, and end step.

In detail, in upkeep you manage any upkeep abilities, untap is where you untap tapped creatures and mana. In draw phase, you draw one card unless you have an ability that says otherwise.

The main phase is the most important phase. It’s where you can play lands, cast spells, or play creatures. Combat phase is where you can declare to attack with creatures you have. Second main phase is like the name says, with any remaining mana you can play spells or summon creatures. End step is just the end of your turn.

You can determine the order in which you take your turns by doing a high roll. You roll two dice and whoever gets the higher total roll can choose whether or not they play or draw first.  

After you decided who goes first, you need to know what you can do. You can only play one land per turn unless you play a spell a circuitous route where you search your deck for two land cards and put them into play tapped.

The word tapped is a common form of slang in the MTG community. Tapped means you’ve already used them, in regards to the cards. For example, you can tap lands for mana of a color and that’s what you use to play cards, and whenever you attack with a creature they get tapped, but more on that later. After you play a land in your first main phase you can play sorceries, creatures, or enchantments. You can also play instants but they are usually better used in your opponent’s turn.

Next, we’ll be talking about card types.