Learn and Play guide

How to learn the game

Currently, there is no better way to learn Magic than with the game "Magic: The Gathering Arena," because it does an excellent job of teaching the rules, gameplay concepts, and advanced basics. No matter what I write here, I couldn't explain it as well and intuitively.
The game offers a free tutorial for learning the basics and at least 15 hours of free gameplay. Available on Steam or any handheld platform. Steam: Magic: The Gathering Arena

Magic: The Gathering Game Modes

Standard: Every year, new Magic sets are released and added to Standard. Once a year, when the fall set is released, the four oldest sets rotate out of the Standard format. (Tournament mode) Your deck consists of 60+ cards.

Booster Draft: Players open booster packs and take turns picking cards (Draft) to build a 40+ card deck.

Sealed Deck: Each player opens six booster packs to build a 40+ card deck and play with it.

Modern: All cards from the 8th edition to the latest can be used. Your deck consists of 60+ cards.

Commander: Each player builds a deck around a legendary creature with an additional 99 cards.

Depending on the mode, there is a card sideboard (15 cards) that belong to the deck but are kept separately and can be added to your deck between rounds of a match (e.g., during a Best of 3/5 to have a chance to counter specific aspects of the opponent's deck).

All other available formats (some very specialized) are explained here: Magic Formats

FridayNightMagic or Game Night

Magic has its own tournament system played in many card stores, game stores, and comic bookstores. Here you usually find helpful support from experienced players as long as you arrive friendly and with basic knowledge.

Game Night: A Game Night is a date set by a store for itself, outside of business hours (Note: without sales), as a Close-In Event (Note: after the start time of the event, the store door is closed to avoid legal issues) where Magic is played. I participated in this at two stores for a while, which helped me quickly connect with the community because the players are locally quite consistent (Note: like a friend group). Sometimes we ended up not sitting in the store but moved to the store owner's apartment with the whole group (Note: when only familiar faces were present, the owner lived directly above the store).

FridayNightMagic: FNM is an official event series by Wizards. Any store that wants to can register for FNM. The stores then receive shipments from Wizards for the events in the form of special cards that serve as prizes (Note: usually metallic foil cards). One card is raffled among all participants, and the other card wins the winner in the respective format of the evening. FNM works like a local mini-tournament; the prize you can win creates a friendly competitive atmosphere. The store and the interest of local players determine the formats played. Standard and Booster Draft are typical (allowing the store to make some profit).

In the Standard format, it used to work so that participants registered by creating a DCI number. DCI required a few personal details and is a player account with Wizards. You participated in the event by registering in the store with your DCI. Then random opponents are assigned, and you play against each other independently. The store owner keeps track of the results.

DCI no longer exists since Dec. 2022; this now works through the Wizards account and the MtG Companion App on the phone. The accounts are the same as in MtG Arena from PC or phone. You can also create an account in the Companion App. It makes sense to bring it into the modern age. This way, players can track their results directly for the event, and the app offers some comfort functions, like matchmaking and tracking life points.