✦MULLIGAN MAGE Start here
Digital fantasy card game setup beside friends playing cards at a local game store

Step 2 • How to play

Learn the game.
One turn at a time.

Start with the goal, learn how lands pay for spells, then follow the same turn sequence until one player wins.

The goal

Turn your cards
into a winning plan.

You bring a deck of lands, creatures, and other spells. In a typical two-player game, each player starts at 20 life. Reduce your opponent to 0 life before they do the same to you.

1

Draw from your library.

Your deck begins face down as your library. Draw seven cards for your opening hand, then draw one card on most turns.

2

Use lands for mana.

You may normally play one land each turn. Turn—or tap—lands sideways to make mana, then spend that mana to cast cards from your hand.

3

Cast creatures and spells.

Creatures attack and block. Instants and sorceries create one-time effects. Artifacts and enchantments usually remain on the battlefield.

A map of the table

Know where everything lives.

This is a common paper Magic setup, viewed from your seat. Exact placement can vary—the important part is keeping each group of cards clear.

Opponent20 life
Opponent's handHidden from you
Mana poolTemporary mana made by tapping lands—not a pile of cards
Creatures & other permanents
Lands
LibraryFace down
GraveyardFace up
ExileSet apart
Shared battlefieldCreatures meet here during combat
You20 life
Creatures & other permanents
Lands
LibraryDraw from here
GraveyardUsed cards
ExileSet apart
Your handCards you may play
Mana poolTemporary mana made by tapping lands—not a pile of cards
Your library, graveyard, and exile pile usually sit together to one side. Your lands sit behind your creatures so the battlefield is easy to read.

Cards move: draw from your library into your hand, cast permanents onto the battlefield, and put destroyed or used cards into your graveyard.

Mana disappears: unused mana normally empties from your mana pool at the end of each step and phase.

The rhythm of a turn

Ready. Draw. Build. Battle.

You do not need to memorize every rule. Learn this loop first, play a few turns, and let the details arrive as you need them.

  1. 1
    Untap & draw

    Ready your cards, then draw for the turn.

  2. 2
    First main phase

    Play a land and cast spells you can afford.

  3. 3
    Combat

    Attack your opponent. They decide which creatures block.

  4. 4
    Second main phase

    Cast more spells or prepare for the next turn.

  5. 5
    End step

    Finish end-of-turn effects and pass the turn.

How combat works

Attack the player.
Defend with creatures.

Creatures usually cannot attack the turn they enter. On later turns, choose attackers and tap them. The defending player chooses blockers, then creatures deal damage at the same time.

1

Declare attackers

Choose which ready creatures attack. They attack your opponent, not individual creatures.

2

Declare blockers

Your opponent chooses which untapped creatures stand in front of the attackers.

3

Deal damage

Unblocked attackers damage the player. Blocked creatures damage one another; lethal damage destroys a creature.

Choose where to learn

Same game.
Different doorway.

MTG Arena teaches the rules as you play. Paper Magic adds face-to-face conversation, collecting, and local events. Both use the same strategic foundation.

Digital and tabletop fantasy card play

Fast feedback. Zero bookkeeping.

Learn by playing.

Arena automates rules, tracks triggers, and includes a guided tutorial. It is the easiest place to see how mana, combat, and card effects fit together.

  • Free to start
  • Desktop & mobile
  • Guided rules

Step 3: find the strategy that feels like you

Explore the five colors →