Recently, Wizards of The Coast hosted an event for the press where we got to look at their upcoming Duskmourn: House of Horror and MTG Foundations products. As we were going around, introducing ourselves, it turned out that nearly every guest got their start in Magic: The Gathering thanks to some older relative (one person was actually introduced to it by their YOUNGER brother), and now many of them had children of their own they were teaching, or nieces and nephews. I have fond memories of sitting down with my dad and older brother learning how to play (mono green Treefolk deck, with every card I could find simply because more cards equaled better deck to my seven-year-old brain) and in a handful of years, my own son will be asking me to learn how to play. At this point, after more than 30 years, it has crossed generations to become one of the best card games, and is putting in place tools to make sure that it is around for a few more generations of players to come.
Magic is a fun game, but it isn’t quite the easiest thing to teach to new players. I’ve found that the tutorials in many of the digital versions of Magic do a pretty good job at teaching someone the ropes of the game, but the prospect of telling someone, "download this game and play the tutorial," or "just watch this YouTube video" isn’t exactly practical. This is especially the case when you’re hanging out with someone in person, and they just want to try out the game. But, at long last, it looks like Wizards is tackling the issue of having a good (physical) learning tool head on with what I think could be one of their most important releases in a long time - the MTG Foundations Beginner Box.
The MTG Foundations range will hit shelves this November 15, and there are a few options to choose from; the Beginner Box mentioned here, a Starter Collection with everything you need to build decks, the usual Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, a new range of Jumpstart Boosters, and a Bundle.
Touted as "the best way to learn and play," the beginner box is an all-in-one learning tool that contains two instant play decks, two step-by-step guides for "playing" a game with those two decks, and then eight Foundations Jump Start decks to continue the learning with. When I say "step-by-step" I mean every single step, every step of the stack going through in proper order and done in such a way that, by the end, even new players should have a solid understanding of the flow of and how to play Magic: The Gathering.
Each guide is designed and written specifically for the player of the two instant play decks , one a cat-themed deck and the other vampire. For all the experience and know-how that longtime players may have, I think many of us go into teaching the game with certain unintended assumptions that a new player simply won’t have – such as what "tapping" means, or when your turn officially ends. Even for the digital versions, many of the systems are automated so new players may see what is happening, but not necessarily know why it’s happening. This isn’t an issue with the Beginners Box, with the guide providing wonderful explanations alongside the play-by-play turn breakdowns, and after holding their hands for the first number of turns, the experience sets both players loose to see who will win in the end. A feature that I was initially hesitant about was a pre-ordained winner of the game, but turns out you won’t have to worry about that.
If this was all that was included in the box, it would be a wonderful resource but would quickly lose its luster, but with the inclusion of additional small Jump Start decks in the box, that isn’t the case. All players will have to do is take two decks, shuffle them together, and you’re off for another rather beginner-friendly match. The whole product is just a wonderful approach to teaching the game that can still be fun for experienced players too. It isn’t something you should crack open in hopes of getting some rare cards or to turn a profit, but a tool to get into this hip game called Magic.
As someone with a toddler, Foundations made me imagine the day, five or so years from now, when I will be able to sit him down and teach him the same game that I learned when I was a boy. I have tried to teach Magic before with varying level success and have also been the person to tell friends "just play the tutorial in Magic: Arena and you’ll be all set," but now I will happily keep a copy of the Beginner Box on my game shelf for that next time a friend comes by and shows interest in slinging some spells. Between this and MTG Bloomburrow, perhaps I will finally have that chance to get my wife to try Magic! One can only hope.
Magic: The Gathering continues to shine after more than 30 years and has become a multi-generational game. Where once our parents or older siblings taught us, our children and nieces and nephews now ask us how to play. With releases like this, I could see Magic sticking around for another generation or two to come.
The Foundations Beginner Box releases this November at a price right around $30 – perfect for the holidays and a gift for prospective planeswalker in your life.
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