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Magic: The Gathering
Starters

For all the starters out there, i hope some of this helps you...

All of you starters:

You can usual buy seventh edition decks that come with CD-ROM and starter decks that will help you learn how to play. They come with a seventh edition Thorn Elemental which is a 7/7 green creature. It's a good start. If you have problems with making dekcs you can buy premade decks. they usual come with one foil.

Rules To Trading




This article was written to help the newer players in magic become more informed. about trading, and some of the intermediate players might gain some knowledge from this article. Everyone who plays magic knows that part of the game is trading, so I'm going to give you rules to trade by.

1. Know what your cards are worth.
2. Value everyone else's cards lower.
3. Pay attention to what cards are in demand.
4. Pay attention to what everyone is playing in their decks
5. Keep an eye on all the good players.

here is a general overview on how to tell what the goods you have are valued at. Now you are probably telling yourself, "what's wrong with this guy, I know what my cards are worth. I have a price guide." If you are going by a price guide STOP RIGHT NOW. I'll admit that price guides are good at getting a general idea of what your cards are worth. Price guides are two months behind (at best) because of their publishing process and the way they gather their information. Not every card is worth the same as it was the day before. So I have some simple pieces of advice when valuing your cards. here they are: if five people come up to you and want the same card ITS WORTH SOMETHING. if no one has ever asked you for a certain card and now wants it GIVE IT TO THEM AS FAST AS YOU CAN. if you want the card for yourself KEEP IT. What you are basically doing is pricing your cards on demand, if there is a high demand for a card it will tend to be worth more (unless there are a lot of them) and if there is a low demand for a card it will be worth less.

Rule #2
always value everyone else's cards lower. Its all about bargaining. if someone comes up to you and says let me get that Orim's chant (good card) and you look at their stuff and you see 2 phyrexian scutas (good card as well), and you say, "I'll give you the chant for those two cards" now this guy might look at you like an idiot and say "hell no" or he might say "Sure," if he says sure you just ripped someone off and if he says "hell no" just respond, "how about just one then," which he will probably end up doing. always try to get the most out of your cards by making the other person get the least. I know this sounds bad, but magic is a tuff game (sarcasm).

Rule #3
You have to pay attention to what's going on. You have to look at peoples trade binders and see what they have in them, if they have a lot of something then it must mean they are good, because I hope they wouldn't have 10 ancient spiders in their binder. This is just an extension of what I said in Rule number 1. If everyone wants a card It must mean its good. 10 people Arnet going to be asking for ancient spiders.

Rule #4
Same as Rule #3 but look at what decks are hot, and if you can try to predict what decks are going to be hot, God knows that there isn't going to be an ancient spider 4th turn kill deck, so we can safely assume that it isn't going to be the next BIG thing in a combo deck. always find the good players when you need decks to look at, and while you are talking to the good players you can practice rule #5.

Rule #5 Always keep one eye on the good players, they know everything you don't. They are the ones that decide what cards are going to be of value so when they want something that means its good, and when they don't want something its bad. Never trade with good players unless you really need something, because they do know the trading game well.

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My Background

I started collecting around IV edition. It took me about seven months until I was good enough to play in tournements and other experienced players. I have seen the newest starter decks and their great for begginers.

Guide to the Beginning Player's First Tournament



Be Prepared

Have transportation well in advance, and play your deck often. If you are familiar with it, you will often be able to beat players that just copy a deck off of the Internet. After you are done making you deck, don't be timid to ask for advice. Many internet message boards and mailing lists are full of friendly, helpful people. In addition, always try out an idea before discarding it. Most importantly: get enough sleep the day before. Otherwise, you wil start making foolish mistakes.

At the Tournament

You may not do so well initially. If this is the case, don't drop out! Your first few tournaments should be about gaining experience, not winning. The more experience you have, the more likely you will win. Be careful about foolish mistakes, but don't blame yourself if you lose. One of the most important things you can learn at a tournament is to pay attention to what your opponent plays, and make your plays regarding his. After a game, you should ask for advice from your opponent. They can often give you some of their experience, so you will do better in the future.

In between rounds, be sure to take a rest. Magic is a game that takes a lot of mindpower, so you will need to let your brain recuperate. One activity that is popular for breaks is trading cards with other players. You can get extremely cheap cards in this manner. Of course, it is wise for you to know the values of cards. This is to ensure you do not get ripped off, and that other people do not laugh at you because you want to make a foolish trade.

Remember that the most important thing is to have fun, and good luck!



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