Do you love trading card games? Perhaps 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Magic: The Gathering is your go-to game? While older than many of its players today, having first launched in summer 1993, this deep and complex game is more welc𝐆oming to new players than ever. Wizards of the Coast is making a sincere effort to open the entrance ꦡgates wide, and many products are tailored to new players just getting a grasp on how to be a Planeswalker.

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Once a player has learned the rules and practiced a few games, they may wonder how they can push their game to the next level. There are many tips and strategies to pursue, and the pro players may know them all. A comprehensive list would be pretty long, but the following strategy suggestions may be a fine place to start. They are general enough that any player, using any so🌱rt of deck, can follow them.

Updated by Chris Stomberg on August 24, 2022: The Magic: The Gathering field has changed quite a bit since the game's inception, but the game's tumultuous pro scene seems to have had nearly no effect on players' ambitions to be the best. There is no shortage of articles regarding becoming better at Magic, and many such topics are complicated to say the least. Nevertheless, there are some general guidelines you can follow which will increase your play skill exponentially. This list contains the most important of them.

14 🍬 🌠 Know When To Mulligan

magic Arena mulligan starting hand

There are some decisions to make even before you take your first turn. Sometimes, it's totally clear when you should mulligan, such as when you have no lands in your hand or your hand is almost entirely land cards. But what about borderline cases? Things get fuzzier here. If you're considering a mulligan, a good rule of thumb is to go ahead and take one.

Another rule is to see if your current hand lets you be proactive early on, or works well against your opponent. If not, take a mulligan. Also, if you cannot easily cast more than one spell in your opening hand with the lands you see, a mulligan may be in order. Fina𒊎lly, you may take a mulligan if your opening hand does not represent your overall strategy.

13 Know Your Role ๊ ꧟

A woman wielding a crossbow shooting at a target, artwork from Magic: The Gathering (MTG)
Apprentice Sharpshooter, by Steve Prescott

This tip refers to perhaps the most famous Magic: The Gathering article of all time: . If you haven't given this article a read before, we highly recommend doing so, as it goes a bit more in depth on this specific and very important point. The short version is that in any given game of Magic, one deck is going to end up being the aggressor and another deck is going to end up being the defender.

For example, in an aggro versus control matchup, the aggressor is obviously the aggressive deck and the defender is the control deck. The goal of the aggressor's deck is to win the game before the defender's deck can stabilize. In contrast, the goal of the defender's deck is to stymie the aggressor's attacks for long enough that its superior resources can win the game. The point is that you should always know what role you are playing in a matchup so that you can gear your play towards that role.

12 ꦏ Build A Sideboard ✤

Magic: The Gathering Wrenn and Six by Donato Giancola full art
Wrenn and Six by Donato Giancola

New players will soon learn that a deck is not 60 cards, but 75. A sideboard may have up to 15 cards, and they can be swapped with the main deck to adjust to your opponent's strategy. Some sideboard cards are broad and generic and are great inclusions, such as Pithing Needle, Ghost Quarter, Spellskite, and Wasteland.

Others are geared for a specific strategy, or even a particular deck. Learn which decks and strategies are the most popular in your chosen format and game store, and use that as a reference. But your opponent will side in cards too, and you may try to side in cards for that. Don't be afraid to use your sideboard for your opponent's sideboard, as well as their main deck.

11 Master Card Advantage�🧸�

Gyome, Master Chef from Magic: The Gathering (MTG)
Gyome, Master Chef by Steve Prescott

This is a deep topic. Any card has an inherent -1 card advantage, since you lose the card to get the effect. Find cards that can destroy more than one permanent at a time, to make your opponent lose more cards than you did. Or, you can try cards that cantrip, such as Remand. Scry 2 may act as a subs🌄titute, such as on Magma Jet.

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"Grindy" cards think long term, and they may cost your opponent many cards over time or let you draw many more. Huntmaster of the Fells, for example, is a Werewolf that makes 2/2 Wolf tokens and can burn away creatures more than once, as it transforms back and forth. Or, you may play a creature or a token-creating spell that your opponent will need more than one removal spell tꦉo deal with. Think of Lingering Souls or Kitchen Finks, for example. Your opponent will lose a lot of combat blockers or removal spells in dealing with such threats.

10 ꦿ Tech For The Metagame𒈔

Ob Nixilis from Streets of New Capenna
Ob Nixilis, the Adversary by Yongjae Choi

A lot of players are familiar with formatting their sideboard to beat the metagame, but what many people don't realize is that you can change your mainboard to accomplish the same thing. Granted, there are decks where changing the mainboard to accomplish this becomes more difficult, but most decks are capable of being changed in such a way.

For example, imagine you're playing in a super heavy control meta. While the best advice would probably be to just play a hyper-aggressive deck, you could also tech a midrange deck with more aggressive cards that lower your curve to accomplish a similar result.

9 𓄧 Bait Out Cards🍌

koma cosmos serpent mtg
Koma, Cosmos Serpent by Jesper Ejsing

Many decks have counterspells and/or r𓂃emoval spells. Reduce their impact by creating a smooth curve of how powerful your creatures are. Start with creatures that are weaker, but still pose a threat, and pressure your opponent into usin🧜g counterspells and removal on them.

With any luck, your opponent's answers have run dry for the time being, and now it's safer to play your biggest threats yet. Your 3/3 may bait out your opponent's Terminate, and on your next turn, that Terminate isn't around to deal with a sudden 5/4. This works especially well against control decks, which are afraid of creature pressure of any kind. Play conservatively at first, then bring out your big guns a turn or two after that. Don't wait too long, though; control decks love the long game.

8 Bluff W🔴ith Dead Cards

mosaic of woman with staff
Elspeth Conquers Death by Ryan Yee

Chances are you're going to draw a card that's not useful in most games of Magic you play. However, that card can become useful if you hold it up like you're waiting to play it — MTG will reward players who bluff and mislead their opponents. If you draw an unneeded land, feel free to hang onto it, and play as though it were a juicy removal spell or counterspell. Back this up with some untapped lands or other mana sources, and your opponent may get the totally wrong idea about what you're doing.

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This works best if you're using reactive decks such as control, or Jund (black/red/green) in the Modern format. As for aggressive decks, hang onto a dead card, and then make a bold attack while your lands are untapped. Your opponent may get the impression that you're preparing to cast a devastating combat trick.

7 🃏 Think Ahead 🍬

Ajani's Influence by Sidharth Chaturvedi
Ajani's Influence by Sidharth Chaturvedi

The best Magic players are able to see three, four, or even five turns ahead. Before they cast a card, they have already considered the ramifications of playing that card now for many turns in advance. This is a rather general tip, but it's an important one nonetheless.

The farther you can see ahead in regards to the actions you're taking, the better chances you have of avoiding making a mistake. It's easy to think about what your next turn might look like, but things get more complicated and more beneficial the farther ahead you can see in advance.

6 🌄 Familiarꦫize Yourself With The Metagame

Jace, Wielder of Mysteries by Anna Steinbauer
Jace, Wielder of Mysteries by Anna Steinbauer

Teching (preparing) for the metagame is one thing, but actually getting to know it is another entirely. A good Magic player knows🦋 wh𝓰at other popular decks are in the format they are playing. A great Magic player has played those decks, knows how they work, and understands their weaknesses.

With this knowledge, you know what is coming next and can predict what your opponent may do next based on their current cards, the mana they have available, and the current board state. Experience makes this easier to do, and this might even help you see through bluffs or know when to m🐼ulligan a hand that is weak against a particular deck.

5 ღ Three Resources, Not 🎃One

necromancer worshipped by undead minions
Liliana, Defiant Necromancer by Karla Ortiz 

Mana is not the only resource in this gam𒊎e; life points and cards are the other two, and all three must be m♍anaged well. How? Life points can be spent to pay for effects or spells, and black mana, in particular, is savvy with that.

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Meanwhile, do whatever you can to advance your strategy by using as few cards as possible, and try to make your opponent spend more cards than they normally would in order to keep up with you. Blue does t🧜his best, but any color offers grindy cards or strategies to pull ahead, such as board wipes, two-for-one removal, cantrips, and creature threats that are impossible to completely negate with just one card. If your opponent runs out of cards, they will run out of steam, too.