hey Dave thanks for being a chill and good dude. do you have any advice for beginner mtg players?
At the beginning of a game, ask which player is going to be your coach/teacher during the game. If it’s a two-player game, ask if you can both play with your hands revealed so you can ask the other player questions before playing a card, and so they can explain what they’re doing, and why.
Also, demand that experienced players explain what the crap they’re actually doing. Especially in a multiplayer game, and ESPECIALLY if you’re playing Commander. Way too often, more experienced players will use shorthand, take complicated turns, or just generally do stuff during their turns that they think should be obvious.
Don’t let them get away with this. Don’t let them brush you off or make you feel like you’re the one messing things up just because they are being unclear. Be willing to “pause” the game and slow things down. This can feel embarrassing or uncomfortable for some people, which makes it especially helpful to have someone designated to be your teacher/coach who will back you up on this.
In short, don’t put up with players who try to steamroll you.
I saw this happen just last week when I went to my local game store to buy my son a birthday present…
A couple of guys were teaching their friend how to play Commander for the first time, and I saw this new player with a look of horror and utter confusion on his face as his opponents just took their turns, wrecked his board state, passed the turn to him, and then told him the spell he tried to play was wrong, told him what spell he should play, tapped the mana for him, and then passed the turn back to Stupidly Complex Town.
I walked over to the table, said hi, and asked if I could watch for a bit. They said sure, and continued to steamroll this new player. During one opponent’s turn, they used Swords to Plowshares on the new player’s commander (which that opponent had insisted was the right thing to cast the turn before) exiling it. “Don’t worry about it,” the opponent said, “you can just cast it again for two more mana.”
“What? Play again? It says to remove it from the game.” This new player looked at his two opponents, completely confused. “OK, I’m totally lost. What just happened?”
“What is there to be confused about?” the other player said.
The new player just stared at them. He didn’t even know where to start. And besides, the other players didn’t wait for him to respond. They just kept moving forward with their turns.
When it finally got around to the new player again, the other players immediately tried to take his turn for him again. Before they could, I got the new player’s attention, looked at him in the eye, and asked in a calm quiet voice, “Can I help?”
“Yes please!” he replied.
“OK, so you asked what they meant about playing your commander again. In the Commander format, the strategy of your deck is typically built around your commander. Because of that, if your commander dies it goes to the Command Zone instead of your graveyard. Same thing happens if it gets exiled or shuffled into your library. And you can always cast it from your Command Zone, but to keep it from being broken, you have to pay an extra two generic mana for each time it goes back there.”
“Ooooooh! OK, that makes sense!” he says with a look of relief.
At this point, the other players are silent and trying to avoid eye contact. I’m not sure if they’re embarrassed for their earlier behavior, or annoyed that I’m slowing down the game. I really hope it’s the former, but I suspect it’s the latter. It seems clear they want to get back to taking their turns and setting off big combos.
“Can I look at the cards in your hand?” I ask.
We look through the cards in his hand. They aren’t great, and he doesn’t have many permanents on the battlefield for so late in the game, but there’s some potential. I talk him through the three cards he can play, and what they do. I explain what Convoke and Affinity do. I don’t worry about his opponents being able to guess what his cards are based on the hints in my explanations. I also point out why the spell he tried to play on his last turn is one that’s better to hold onto to maybe play defensively on an opponent’s turn.
After we go through it, he chooses the card he wants to play, casts it, and then finishes his turn. He still has a lot to learn, but seems considerably less overwhelmed at this point.
“Well, I have to head out and get back to my family, but it seems like you’re getting the hang of it,” I said. “Thanks for letting me watch for a bit.”
“Thanks for the help,” he said. “It made a really big difference.”
I say goodbye to the other players, walk up to the store counter, and make my purchase. Just as I’m walking out the door, I hear one of the new player’s opponents say, “Hey, did you hear me? I just wiped your board.”
Advice for Experienced Players
Now obviously, the guys teaching this new player were making LOTS of mistakes. In their defense, they were just teenagers, and I’m sure they were doing the best they knew how to do. I don’t think they were TRYING to be mean to this new player, they just took for granted the speed and complexity they’re used to in their games. They were acting like players, but nobody was acting like a teacher.
For those of you who are experienced players wanting to teach new players how to play Magic, here’s an article that I wrote a couple years ago that I think may be useful. The article is about lessons I learned while teaching my kids to play, but I think the lessons apply to teaching people of any age, not just kids.
Experienced Players: Make teaching the first priority, overall fun the second priority, and winning a distant third priority.
New Player: Be prepared to call out experienced players when they’ve offered to teach you, but their priorities are out of order. Never be afraid to ask them directly, “Is your priority here to teach me how to play, or to prove you can beat me?”
