How to Play Magic: the Gathering

Magic: the Gathering is one of the most intricate and rewarding gaming experiences there is. Unfortunately, that means it's also very complicated. Here is a quick primer to get you acquainted with the very, very basics.
MTG Comprehensive Rules: magic.wizards.com/en/game-info...
Stalk me on Twooter: / expoint140
Get cool stuff on Patroon: / explanationpoint

[@Beaster724]

As a Magic judge i have to say you explained the game better than most people do, explaning a little the "logic" behind the game and some of the most common interactions. And thank you for making clear that Llanowar elves doesnt fetch forest from your deck to the battlefield.

[@ExplanationPointAnime]

Thanks! That means a lot. And yeah, the Llanowar Elves thing is infuriating, but it's a really easy mistake to make, so I figured I would point it out.

[@paladia_gorom1973]

Angel H. Imagine if it did...sends chills down my spine

[@nanchoparty]

Even after all that, I still don't get it.

[@matthhiasbrownanonionchopp3471]

Angel H. please explain rotation to me like how card come in and out if rotation and standard would be nice to I can't find anything clear enough maybe you can

[@Beaster724]

Once a year, with the release of the fall set, the four oldest sets legal in standard rotate out of the format and stop being legal anymore. Thats the proper explanation. In other words, the "magic year" starts in october with the release of the fall set and finishes right before the release of the set of october of the following year. Standard consists of the cards printed in the last two "Magic years". Right now, the following sets are legal in standard: Battle for zendikar, Oath of the gatewatch, Shadows over inistrad, Eldrich moon, Kaladesh, Aether revolt, Amonkhet and Hour of devastation (coming soon). Next october, with the release of Ixalan, the four oldest set will leave the format and Standard will only contain Kaladesh, Aether revolt, Amonkhet, Hour of devastation and Ixalan. For a quick reference: whatsinstandard.com/ Rotation is a standard-only concern, other constructed format like Modern, Legacy and vintage dont have rotations so cards never leave the format (except in the case of bannings). If you have any other question I will gladly try to answer.

[@D-Skotes]

"Unless you don't" the most important rule.

[@seraf8297]

"But your life is below zero!" *laughs in Lich's Mastery*

[@D-Skotes]

@@seraf8297 "Ha you're about draw out." Laughs like a Laboratory Maniac.

[@torysaccount5753]

Technically it is, since the “golden rule“ is, that when a card contradicts the rules, the cards win. (You can't have more than 7 cards at the end step, but Relic Tower, Relic Tower wins)

[@Someone-sq8im]

The BG9 it actually is. The one unoverridable rule is the “card rules text trumps over written rules”

[@blackblood9095]

@@Someone-sq8im except for “you can concede at any time”

[@RhysticStudies]

this is the hardest I've laughed in a week.

[@bradybern6458]

Same

[@dmaster1213]

When he explained the attack step i just died

[@bornedestiny8179]

Me to

[@bornedestiny8179]

Me to

[@bornedestiny8179]

Me to

[@l0ker507]

"Lick the top card of your library for luck" So that's what I've been missing.

[@DrunkHobbit]

15+ years of playing it wrong.

[@ethanlai2050]

Remember Emrakul can be killed by 15 squirrels But the entire gatewatch failed

[@SusanBoots]

Well the entire Gatewatch does have 0 combined power so I guess it's only accurate.

[@Dctr-mg8km]

Susan Boots Actually, they could potentially have a collective power of 6, depending on which Gideon they use.

[@umbra9997]

@@Dctr-mg8km Ah yes. But does Gideon compare to 15 squirrel? I didn't think so.

[@IntreusTheTraveler]

tho Gideon has either indestructible or prevents damage dealt to him, so he'd just eat all of those squirrels

[@royalmushroom4688]

They didnt fail, Emrakul fleed into the Moon like a Coward. Probably now timetraveling

[@Archangel4981]

I didn't know Cancel requires your opponent to rip the offending spell in half. Brutal.

[@oom-3262]

Damn all those modern decks gotta run cancel then

[@frostfox851]

Nothing compared to the tragedy which ensued on the day I decided it would be a good idea to swing at someone who ran both knowledge pool and Mana maze in the same control commander deck... Terrible things occurred that day

[@jevry4307]

that's nothing compared to early magic, back then we had to BURY our dead cards, i mean wtf?

[@samuelmeyer4119]

jevry very true, but at least back then they could stick together in bands. Hold on, I need to go vomit.

[@takeru3159]

There were also the days of mana burn when your opponent got to burn you with their cigarette just because you didn't spend all your mana.

[@daridon2483]

Magic in a nutshell: "The game works like this, unless it doesn't"

[@kingturboturtlednoc5722]

This reminds me of my friend explaining JoJo to me

[@robertahearne423]

That's a foundational aspect of its design. Garfield said he was inspired by the game Cosmic Encounters.

[@soleo2783]

Same with yugioh

[@carverthestud]

"By now you should have over 400 cards and not know where most of them came from." Best joke in the whole video because it's so true

[@andriypredmyrskyy7791]

I started last Friday and I now have 320 cards send help

[@fenster666]

@@andriypredmyrskyy7791 The number has gone up since then, hasn't it?

[@Guccibear100]

@@fenster666 It's been 7 months... He's probably got a couple of shoe boxes full of commons and basic lands now.

[@Goingus345]

Are you a fan of rwby I happened to notice your icon

[@oom-3262]

The "these do this unless they don't" really made me laugh as I was gonna say the exceptions.

[@mudamuda6093]

Despacito

[@Tehwhitekity]

Honestly "unless you don't" could be put after basically every sentence

[@talkingsink200]

He that is You need lands to play (pulls out manaless dredge) or you don't.

[@jeannebouwman1970]

He that is you can only put one land *plays any ramp* unless you don’t

[@ozfan6]

you can cast instants at any time *Teferi* unless you can't

[@Skyhighjettalone]

He that is Until one of you stops plays Abyssal Persecutor followed by Platinum Angel unless you can't

[@kaisburg2450]

You can't interact with other players if they aren't playing in the same game as you. Unless you can.

[@mildbasilplays]

I literally work at the game store in the video. We have a different sign now though. That is sort of cool. ❤️

[@iceanate1894]

Woah

[@YouTubeMeTubeUsTube]

I used to go there no way! I’m not the only one!

[@ksad96]

That's awesome!

[@TecDax]

As someone who played Yu-Gi-Oh for many years, my impression of Magic is that it's a balanced, well-managed, consumer-friendly, easy to understand and fun game.

[@HK556]

As a seasoned Magic player, I find that unamusing of sarcastic, and terrifying if serious.

[@pst5345]

its a luxury hobby. it wasnt till 2000.

[@FuseiYudo21]

@@HK556 terrifying

[@ZaoJin]

You should be terrified, it’s really that bad in YGO atm

[@commandercaptain4664]

EP: "Magic... most complicated trading card game on the market." YuGiOh: Hold my Pendulum...

[@seanmurphy3430]

"*Except when it doesn't" can be applied to pretty much every sentence in this video. What makes Magic so complicated is that it has exceptions to everything.

[@ramonangel18]

But that doesn't really matter tho, if a card is going to contradict a rule, it is always expressed very clearly in the text. And to that there is no exceptions for real. Reading the card explains the card.

[@Blackswatman99]

At least it's not like yugioh, where you need a magnifying glass in the base kit of the game to read the text. And even then it's a crapshoot

[@sethb3090]

The Golden Rule: the card is always right (except when it's not) (errata)

[@mm-gy5ir]

Except when it doesn't

[@voldemort008]

@@littlecr0w Pendulums drove me off.

[@quiquenet1756]

"opens the video" Video: you need friends "closes the video"

[@julianlastname5730]

I enjoyed the example with 40 wurms beating the everliving crap out of Nicol Bolas

[@Iruka1991]

What the gatewatch should be

[@soup-flavored-soup6613]

It was a resonance option

[@ryanchurchill5081]

Should of used squirrels

[@KlavierMenn]

@@ryanchurchill5081 This reminds me of a tag game I was in, which ended in a multiplication of goblins (At the end there were more than a 1000 on play ) and a weird hydra card that gained a 1/1 head token everytime a new creature was cast (so said hydra had 1000 heads), While I had a Jarad above 30/30 (Used Varolz, Scar Stripped effect on on Death's Shadow, Granting Jarad +13/+13) Imagine the slugfest

[@dissolution9843]

Funnest part of Magic is that it makes you learn its rules only to give you the thrill of being able to break them with cards. Most empowering thing ever is when you do something you've never been able to do in Magic because a powerful card allows you to do so. Anyone else remember the first time they saw an alternate win condition card? Mind blown. Anyone remember the first time they saw a card that says "You can't lose the game"? Underwear soiled. This game taught me to think like a novice lawyer, looking for the minuscule verbal loopholes and carefully scanning text for hidden benefits and negatives.

[@seraf8297]

I remember seeing platinum angel for the first time and thinking "holy shit, how can a card like this even exist?". I'm currently experiencing the unbridled euphoria of running thousand year storm in standard, cackling like a madman every time it manages to work. Discovering alternative win conditions exist outside of fat green beaters trampling each other into submission is probably the most enlightening part of moving to magic from something like yu-gi-oh. But I'm a Johnny, so I live by the jank and die by the jank.

[@CaptTelnet]

@@seraf8297 You want some real high level jank? This is only really viable in commander, but Eye of the storm + Hive mind + grip of chaos leads to some rather crazy games. Fun fact, did you know that time warp reads *target player* takes an extra turn? You can even add thousand year storm for extra... fun?

[@Aaronlcyrus]

abyssal prosecutor

[@wigwam12]

my freind has this great saying, the rules of the game are simple but every card is an exeption to the rules.

[@7someone]

Yeah I played one of those cards but it said I couldn't win the game either so we just called it a tie.

[@Kraigon42]

As a fan/player of Magic for the last 10+ years... You have a marvelous way of explaining just how unnecessarily complicated this game is.

[@user-tr7ty7ik5w]

Lord LunaEquie is me isnt that complicated. Took me a week

[@cz1822]

Took me a day, but I play a lot of games, so I learn rules quicker than most.

[@RubensBarrichello.]

you think this is complicated try keeping up with the annual changes to yugioh

[@Gab8riel]

Unnecessarily complicated? All the basic rules are pretty intuitive and the rules in general make perfect sense (with very few exceptions). If kids can learn fucking Yugioh which is the apotheosis of unnecessarily complicated (just look at those text boxes), anyone should be able to learn how to play Magic.

[@sethb3090]

@@Gab8riel The only major rule he didn't lay out here was the Golden Rule (if a card disagrees with the rules, the card wins)

[@colby3896]

“Unless you don’t” could literally be said after almost every sentence in this video

[@Volkbrecht]

I still painfully remember that part of the learning experience. "... but I thought that... Nope."^^

[@ChevronSeven]

...and have fun! Unless you don't.

[@TheLangenator]

Aaron Schwindling Playing against blue/white control

[@ThorsShadow]

@@TheLangenator Playing against mono red aggro and dying on like turn 3 or 4. Welcome to the current Standard format, a control player. A coin always has two sides. You want to win against control? Play aggro, it will increase your chances significantly. In Magic, there is a light rock-paper-scissors thing going on, where certain archetypes have an inherent advantage against others. Aggro has the advantage against control, control against midrange, midrange against aggro. Of course, these aren't set in stone, more a "rule of thumb". Not sure where combo decks fit in there. Have a nice day.

[@RiseInAfterlife]

@@ThorsShadow Unless is doesn't. Currently Aggro wins against Control Aggro also wins against Midrange (Monored I hate you) Control wins against Midrange Midrange loses to Monored. Midrange does not exist anymore. Ramp, Restock, Removal, Burn, you name it, Red has it. However RNA Meta almost murdered Aggro and Midrange with Cry of the Carnarium into Kaya's Wrath. Played Monowhite and lost almost every single game against Esper. They always had that turn 3 Cry...

[@Someone-sq8im]

That means the unbeatable Zur deck this one guy plays

[@aleksasbc1617]

Unless you Tron

[@StoneEdge555]

How is your content so good after only 5 videos?

[@jayblade2000]

IKR?

[@MessatsuGoshoryu02]

This channel growth rate doesn't make sense really

[@theirishviking9278]

Messatsu Goshoryu he released both an sao and hero academia video it kind of does

[@chrisbendross6229]

his first video is godly for a first video. editing so simple yet so good

[@thedevilstoaster1755]

Messatsu Goshoryu its Astonishing how well he's doing, but hey, good for him!

[@DivineXdarkness]

I know full well how to play this game, but I could listen to you talk about anything...

[@vailynbanks9147]

Angel Crossroads Yeah, I know how to play MTG and still came to watch this

[@benjaminwilliams2859]

I like listening to people teaching how to play magic, and this video was even more entertaining than I usually find that to be, gotta agree

[@KuroAcedia]

Sounds like you have a crush ~

[@jas_bataille]

This makes me want to go in my local gaming store and yell : I HAVE WIZARD CARDS

[@chrishansen1842]

Me going to locals with a Dark Magician deck thinking I'll break the Meta.

[@fairerplayz4759]

Is it friendly though?

[@2000sDigitalBoy]

Nitpick: Damage doesn't actually change toughness in any way, unless it does (e.g. infect).

[@FloxPepper]

@M Rosenthal 119.6 Damage marked on a creature remains until the cleanup step, even if that permanent stops being a creature. If the total damage marked on a creature is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed as a state-based action (see rule 704). All damage marked on a permanent is removed when it regenerates (see rule 701.14, “Regenerate”) and during the cleanup step (see rule 514.2). Toughness is not changed by damage.

[@Magistarorian]

wiiiiither

[@richardadams7667]

Omg yes this hurt me

[@GetTooasted]

whither

[@justinfritz1839]

Dude, wtf are you talking about, if you don't know how it works don't talk shit.

[@zaistephens9377]

Thanks for teaching me about the game also that image in the old apartment that your landlady had was of a ballerina dancer who worked under communist leading Chairman Mao who fled the nation when he performing overseas. (I had to do a book report on this, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao%27s_Last_Dancer_(book) )

[@teacup4561]

Zai Stephens why did she have a poster of that???

[@zaistephens9377]

idk maybe she dislikes communist china or loves ballet or maybe read the book. its one of the great mysteries of our time

[@cutecommie]

Zai Stephens I dislike capitalist China more than communist China.

[@drangc0bex119]

Why are you making these videos, you should be a professional singer. Your singing is fucking majestic

[@artofzaromi]

This has to be one of my favorite videos on the internet. I watched it for the first time maybe 3 years ago when I started getting into Wizardry the Happening. And maybe once every couple of months since. I show it to all of my friends when I start teaching them Magic and they love it too.

[@artofzaromi]

Watching this again, oh my gosh I love it

[@tlof19]

"...and your army of wurms deals 245 damage to Nicol Bolas." Omg

[@zinogrevz7389]

Unless they don't

[@masterofhippos1395]

i once kept a primordial hydra alive long enough to get over 11000 damage and toughness in magic 2013 on xbox 360

[@jayblade2000]

1. Buy a starter deck, and a builders tool kit 2. Realize you can't win a game, because you have almost no experience compared to the people who have been playing for years, and turns out Standard play changes in two weeks 3. Cry.

[@Lunacorva]

Alternatively: 1. Build a Starter Deck. 2. Hone Starter Deck through repeated battles with friends and colleagues. 3. Decided to play the deck in official play. 4. Realise that no matter how skilled you are, or how well put together your deck is, it is guaranteed to lose beause everyone in official play is using the decks that use the SHINY NEW MECHANIC(tm) and can only be beaten by decks that ALSO use the SNM, or the THING THAT IS SPECIFICALLY THERE TO COUNTER THE SHINY NEW THING. 5. Is your deck one of the SHINY NEW THINGS or the THING SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO BEAT THE SHINY NEW THING? No? Because you actually wanted to be creative and add some personality and originality to your deck and not just copy the "Here Is The Deck That Wins" deck? CONGRATULATION! You lose every game! 6. Cry.

[@kradrol]

I think you are confusing magic with yugioh.

[@Lunacorva]

Yu-Gi-Oh! Does it worse, but I've still see it happen in Magic, such as with the poison mechanic.

[@gilroyscopa]

I think wat lunacorva said is exaggerated but still pretty accurate. Since around 2014 or so the power creep has increased exponentially and decks using older cards are almost universally worse

[@SecretRevelation]

things are slowing down i feel. 3 mana lightning bolt? yea.

[@willowterra402]

so i'm not the only one who'se gone through a yu gi oh tournament just to see who goes first in a game of magic the gathering

[@erikburzinski8248]

So how did you decide who goes first in the yugioh tournament

[@MineCraftrules17]

@@erikburzinski8248 I imagine with a mtg tournament

[@davidvanmeelis3159]

@@MineCraftrules17 it's a vicious cycle

[@PoeticallyTwizted]

It’s been 3 years and my wife and I are still playing to see who goes first...

[@justinfritz1839]

@@erikburzinski8248 I guess you do a Pokemon tournament?

[@stupidfakename5661]

.*licks top card for luck* Opponent: eww? wtf are you doing? .*leaves in disgust* Me: .*wins by Default* Me: "Damn it actually worked.."

[@r3zaful]

*strategy*

[@yvngshaggy2229]

Even better today than ever

[@thefandom6243]

"Green is the most rare set symbol" I mean you're technically correct which I guess is the best kind

[@PiedMang]

I missed a few sets is there really a green now or was it a joke?

[@thefandom6243]

@@PiedMang joke

[@whatdoiputhere4150]

@@PiedMang blackest Mox lotus

[@ethanuys6903]

And the red

[@tylerritchie2736]

@@PiedMang it only kind of exists. It's used in references to indicate special alternate cards, like masterpieces. However it isn't on the cards themselves.

[@aly2833]

Didn't think it was possible but I love this channel even more

[@drewdavis6411]

Aly Aboumansour Same

[@tabbygale5430]

Wow the stack is... way easier and more intuitive to explain than spell speeds in yugioh.

[@PlutoDarknight]

Wonshuan 6 Because we have no different spell speeds. All cards and effects run on the same highway track and all drive at the same speed, unless they don't. There is a keyword called Split Second (a bit older) that prevents other cards and effects to go on the stack, so basically if someone plays something with split second, the stack ends and is resolved immediately. Also, remember the ability of the Llanowar Elf, that makes one mystical floating mana? Abilities that produce mana don't go on the stack.

[@kintsuki99]

Except that after the spell with split second finishes resolving you can play a card before the next card in the stack resolve.

[@racom_4844]

i think you mean chaining

[@sethb3090]

Yeah, there are only three speeds: sorcery speed (you can play this during your main phase when nothing else is happening), instant speed (you can play this basically any time a spell or ability is not resolving, except not during combat damage step), and mana speed (you can use abilities that add mana basically whenever you need mana).

[@Avatarbee]

@@sethb3090 Basically all manaproducing abillitys have split second. You can't repsond to them ever. And only after they resolve can you do something again.

[@picklevigilante94]

Thank you for making this video. I have recently been coerced into playing magic, and to exact my vengeance upon my friends for making me play a game I never had any interest in, I want to get so good at the game that they hate playing with me. Your video has brought me closer to accomplishing that goal.

[@Bonavire]

You want them to hate playing you? Give infect a try

[@kilo3989]

How's the quest to become infuriatingly good at MTG going, btw? Have you learned about Storm yet? 😂

[@electricbluetiramisu3713]

I do not remember the game being this complicated 20 years ago. But then I was only 7 lol

[@thedocblock6421]

"Damage happens at the same time" ... Unless it doesn't

[@elizabethhicks4181]

The Doc Block yep! First Strike!

[@alertArchitect]

Didn't damage originally go on the stack? With that, damage NEVER happens at the same time, and it sounds like it was absolutely nuts during games.

[@larsonbuchholz6490]

DOUBLE STRIKE!!!

[@Huschel1988]

@The alertArchitect: Not originally. I believe the stack got introduced in 6th edition. Also, all combat damage was put on the stack as one item so it's not like every creature's damage was on there separately. It was what it was and what I was used to. I do think we're better off without it though.

[@HavikRPG]

COUNTER STRIKE!!!!

[@pontus6002]

This is the first KZbin rap i've watched all the way through

[@dracocrusher]

Why hasn't Explanation Point taken up the Anime Rap challenge again???

[@ExplanationPointAnime]

Because nobody's tagged him.

[@petrelli231]

I tag you now! (I hope that's how it works, I don't really make videos, I just want more rap :P )

[@yuks_nodad]

Explanation Point I love your cover of (if I remeber right) world was wide enough?

[@tomasroque3338]

Yuki Homura Nope, it's of "10 Duel commandments".

[@jessherselfable]

Ripping a card in half for a joke = serious commitment to video making. This was awesome and I want to see more!

[@chrisgould5699]

Unless you play storm. DONT PLAY STORM. 😂

[@irradiatedslagheap7933]

Are you kidding me? If I can summon 60 goblins with a single spell, you can bet I’m gonna.

[@BinaryDood]

@@irradiatedslagheap7933 my strategy. Anf the tendrils too

[@Caleb-er7ux]

@@irradiatedslagheap7933 two words. Dragon Storm. In a gruul dragon deck. It's terrifying

[@Someone-sq8im]

Crow Storm.

[@luisarturo3860]

Storm Crow

[@therealeightabove]

Wizardry the Happening™

[@TheLangenator]

Wallet: the Emptying

[@johnivanoplimo5172]

Tragic the Garnering.

[@GenghisKane2911]

Dimir the god dammit I hate this game

[@whatdoiputhere4150]

Y'all forgot ™

[@doublekoseki]

Havoc the bothering

[@aguywithalotofopinions412]

10:20 you just ripped that giant growth you monster

[@c4p4c1t1v3]

he just increased the value of all other giant growths, you should be thanking him if you have one

[@guyperson754]

As a mono green player, that hurt me too.

[@franki1990]

@@c4p4c1t1v3 Ahahah, such a great response ;')

[@jessicalepins1433]

That's the comment i was looking for !

[@Fennaixelphox]

Giant Growth is common as shit though

[@nexont0132]

I love how i learned more in less time with this crazy video than i learned watching entire series trying to explain magic

[@showingthelinks8441]

I think the best advice you give is the "except when you don't"

[@richypiper4518]

"Things do things... sometimes, you win if you... except sometimes you don't. You lose if you run out of... never mind sometimes you don't!" I came out just as confused as I came in, but it was a really fun video to watch!

[@TrueRaijin]

Richy piper that whole gag is pointing out that there are cards that say "ignore this rule" allllll over the place.

[@seangoldman6833]

The Golden Rule of Magic is that if a card's text disagrees with the rules then the card wins the argument between cardboard and digital rule book. Every time he did that gag he threw up an image of a card that counteracted the rule he was trying to explain.

[@firebrain2991]

Basically everything he said is true until someone plays a card that says it isn't. If you've ever played fluxx, it's just like that.

[@tcoren1]

Richy piper it's actually really simple when you play the game. For example, if at the end of the turn you have more than 7 cards, you need to discard cards until you have 7 cards, unless you played a card that quite literally has the text "you have no maximum hand size" written on it. So you just play by the rules, and the only exception is if one of you played a card that says you have to ignore a certain rule, in which case you know the rule is no longer in effect

[@brightorangepants]

The 'sometimes you don't' bits were just inside jokey jabs referring to specific cards that allow exceptions to those basic rules

[@Jormelli]

is... is this a fanfiction about Tomoki and Bakuko or an actual beginners guide to magic ?

[@connorharrison7160]

Yes

[@Max-qx4kl]

welcome to the internet pall

[@jonathancunnane1200]

The whole video This happens! Unless it doesn't! Nice video btw

[@LoneSolace]

I LOVED IT! As a player my self you pretty much summed it up exactly, i especially love your use of the "when you don't" lose cards

[@juangee7676]

The First Golden Rule of Wizard Cards: When in doubt, follow the card text (the card does what it says!!!). The card text trumps the rulebook. You can watch this video and read up on the latest cards that Wizards has released, which pretty much gives you a feel of how the game should be played. Play a bit and then sell your soul to MtG in a desperate attempt for more cardboard pieces!

[@dmaster1213]

Juan Gee not all cards say what they do though. Flavor text is just lore about the card or plane that the card is from and other abilities just say "lifelink" with no reminder text.

[@dyciefisk2535]

Give someone Glorious End, and see what happens

[@PlutoDarknight]

Dycie Fisk To be fair, Glorious End has reminder text so it isn't as difficult to understand.

[@dyciefisk2535]

Twisted Fate. I was more thinking one of two things would happen. 1: They never use it out of fear of the downside. 2: They accedently lose because of it.

[@aaronhinkle4112]

I just though I should let you know, this video was a big part of me starting to play magic.

[@LoverOfMuch]

This was my first Explanation Point video, which had me hooked in ~15 seconds. It is now one of my comfort videos.

[@Jay-ei4cr]

This is by far the best video my friend has shown me and I've shown a bunch of people this video multiple times, the humor is absolutely brilliant!

[@Andrewligan]

watching this as an ad nausem player is fun "and you lose the game... unless you dont!"

[@richardvera721]

Ad nausum is an amazing deck for new players to be like the fuck happend

[@youngthinker1]

@@richardvera721 Any legacy deck would blow a newbie's mind. Oh, I have these expensive cards, and my opponent goes first. They cast a lotus petal, play an ancient tomb, cast show and tell, and now I am dead. Or They cast lotus petal, lotus petal, rite of flames, rite of flames, mana morphous, pyritic ritual, vampire, flip their deck, sacrifice three creatures to bring back another creature, Angel of Morning Glory, brings with it several human friends, and then taps one of the humans to win! Glad I spent several thousand dollars on this deck!

[@cubiccalico5019]

@@youngthinker1 Oops! All Spells is only like 500 though?

[@TheLangenator]

15:45 I find it amusing how when talking about how evil your opponents planeswalker is, he used Nicol Bolas (Probably the evilest planeswalker there is)

[@Saint-8]

"I destroy lands to gain loyalty" *can you not?*

[@talkingsink200]

TheLangenator Wrong Gideon is obviously the most evil planeswalker, he stole elspeth and ajani's place as the face of white mana.💁

[@TheLangenator]

It’s also really funny that, if you read the lore, Nicol Bolas's entire motivation is that he is salty that he got nerfed by the universe

[@talkingsink200]

TheLangenator It was literally a joke (maybe a bit to inside to my playgroup), I'm familiar with the lore. The emoji should have tipped you off bud, or even the fact I called one of the main heroes in the story at the moment evil.

[@RubrDuky1]

This is BY FAR my mostest favoritest "how to" video of all time ever ever ever of all time...ever. I have had it saved for literal years and watch it at least once a year...long enough for me to forget most of the details, so it is like I am watching it anew.

[@JonNuclear]

Ive been watching this channel sense that SAO video almost 4 years ago, but only got into magic about 1 year ago and today when trying to get my friend into the game found this video i had somehow never seen from you before and it was of great help to me, so yeah....very cool wizard friend

[@nacoto180]

But how do we decide who goes first on the yu-gi-oh tournament?

[@bobthegamingtaco6073]

Leon Maxwell Duh Duh duhhhhh!

[@crusty.kamikaze]

Leon Maxwell a pokemon tcg tournament

[@Yal_Rathol]

pokemon battle.

[@Yal_Rathol]

Not Safe For Work Gaming dammit, we had the same thought at the same time.

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

But how do we decide who goes first in the Pokemon TCG tournament?

[@alertArchitect]

You forgot the most important unwritten thing on every single card in Magic - "if your opponent doesn't immediately concede the game,"! ... I find that happens a lot when I play storm, so I think it's a little important.

[@PandoraSystem]

4:17

[@blam9360]

I loved all the extra pictures you used to help explain what you were talking about. It actually helped me, so good job.

[@LoverOfMuch]

I played Magic once in my life. I have watched this video at least three times in the last month, and I expect to watch it again soon

[@sternenwind00e]

drinking game rules for magic "unless y dont"

[@tygonmaster]

Secondary rule: "Drink every time you get screwed for mana."

[@xXNoFateXx]

I like playing casual with my best good friends, we drink every time we make a play mistake. Like miss a trigger or a better lane of play we overlooked....... Needless to say the more you drink, the more play mistakes get made. By game 4 or 5, we're all shmammered beyond recognition.

[@zarcothecheese]

Really good explanation video! Just want to nitpick that damage does NOT reduce toughness. Damage gets marked on stuff until end of turn, then if the damage on something is greater than its toughness, it dies. This is certainly a nitpick, but it matters with Indestructible, as reducing toughness to 0 kills indestructible creature but damage doesn't kill it. I generally just say toughness is "the amount of damage you have to do to kill something," more like a threshold.

[@michaelturniansky7959]

Not to mention that cards that care about toughness (such as bolster ability, or StrangeInversion, etc) don't care about damage onthe card.

[@shayneweyker]

This was my main problem with an otherwise great primer for the game. Especially since there are a lot of real toughness reducing cards out there right now. One thing I would I would have liked to see added is an example of how simultaneous triggered effects can get ordered on the stack when they're all controlled by the same player vs when they aren't (AP/NAP).

[@shayneweyker]

Also a creature dies when damage on it is equal to or greater than it's toughness. Not just greater than.

[@zarcothecheese]

of course.

[@jaguarj1942]

It actually reduces toughness An example is if I attack my opponent with a 2/2 card and he blocks with a 0/4, his wall goes to a 0/2 and then I play a phakira’s cure and deal 2 damage to it it will die

[@SentinelsHXC]

I'm about two years late to this video, but I'm new to the game and that was hilariously informative. And the rap at the end was the cherry on top. I've also been trying to figure out if you searched your deck for Mana while ramping. Thanks for that. You've earned the sub my friend.

[@fabritziosantana3091]

The rap part at the end goes hard af, damn! Best maic explanation ever broski keep it up, subbed and shared

[@redactdead]

That rap just made my day.

[@benjamin_burke]

One minor nitpick. When creatures take damage, their toughness doesn't actually drop, damage is just marked on the card. For instance, ol' wurmy doesn't go to -4 toughness; his toughness stays at 6 but because 10 damage is marked on him, he goes to the graveyard when state-based actions are checked. Good vid tho.

[@DeathxThexKid100]

Rather complicated for the casuals, but yes I do understand and appreciate the nitpick.

[@DeathxThexKid100]

Well, in the context of this video, yes you are correct Orochi. But there are some cases where the knowledge of state based actions really change how the game continues forward. For example: My opponent has a 3/3 creature that has a skull clamp on it, I can kill it but my opponent draws 2 cards and he has the advantage I also don't want him to have a 4/2, or 3/3 beater killing me. I have a fiery confluence in my hand (If you don't know the card, Check ScryFall) I obviously have other options but I want to kill the creature and not have him draw cards. So I deal 2 damage to each creature and I destroy target artifact, what happens? (P.S. I know the answer)

[@DeathxThexKid100]

I know it's been a month, but for the individuals who want to know the answer (who didn't explicitly ask) I will explain the interaction. First we need to understand what state based actions are. 704 *State Base Actions* 704.1. *State-based actions are game actions that happen automatically whenever certain conditions (listed below) are met. State-based actions don’t use the stack.* So when a creature has enough damage marked on it for it to die, state based actions say that it goes to the graveyard (so when a 7/5 attacks you and you block with a 1/1 the 1/1 doesn't go to -6 toughness. it has 7 damage marked on it and since it needed at least one point of damage to die state based actions put it into the graveyard. Marking damage is different than subtracting toughness since they are different and do affect different things, look at Indestructible on Blightsteel Colossus.) State based actions also say that when a player reaches 0 life or goes to draw a card(s) and there are none, they lose the game. State based actions basically clean up the game, there are more actions (like reaching 10 poison counters for example) but I'm just explaining that these actions exist and that they have a huge impact on how the game is played. Now we need to talk about spells, specifically Fiery Confluence. When a spell is put onto the stack, other players are passed something called "priority" (a fancy way to say its your turn with the story stick) in their appropriate turn order. When a player has no response, priority is passed around until priority is passed back to the active player (the player whose turn it is/playing a spell or ability) the newest spell or ability is now attempting to resolve. So while Fiery Confluence is trying to resolve after each player has passed their chance to respond/react no one can interact with it, play spells, or activate abilities until the newest spell has resolved or the stack is empty. I choose three modes with the ability to choose the same mode more than once, deal 1 damage to each creature (twice), and destroy target artifact. So Fiery Confluence first deals 2 damage to each creature, marking 2 damage on the 4/2 with skull clamp attached. But the spell isn't finished resolving since there is a second ability from Fiery Confluence (meaning no state based actions), then it destroys target artifact. The 4/2 in question was only a 4/2 because skull clamp says *equipped creature gets +1 -1, when equipped creature dies draw 2 cards*, so Fiery Confluence destroys the artifact and turns the 4/2 back into a 3/3 with 2 damage marked on it. Fiery Confluence is now finished resolving and state based actions are now checked, the 3/3 (previously a 4/2) still lives since it needs one more point of damage to die. I hope this grants some newer players insight as to how the game works on a technical level.

[@rayvnekieron8587]

A Guy Thank you for explaining! I really appreciated it.

[@DeathxThexKid100]

No problem (hoping that this isn't sarcastic)

[@nonothinGG6]

i've been playing mtg for 5 years and still watched this entire 20 min video lol. definitely subbing!

[@marieli3547]

Also love the concept of Tomoko and Bakugo causally playing magic the gathering

[@ProtagonistOfficial]

Not sure why I clicked on this video saying that I already know how to play magic, but man am I happy that I did. Love your sense of humour.

[@oblvionprophet64]

10:17 *Clutches hand to chest* DEAR GOD YOU MONSTER

[@alertArchitect]

Alex Jeffrey it's just a common, not like all of the Mind Sculptors I want to incinerate in front of the 'people' that play him mainboard... Free PSA: Don't play Jace, the Mind Sculptor, kids. It's literally worse than drugs. Because at least drugs mean you're still a person, deep down inside, and not a fun-hating husk that feeds on the tears of despair that your opponents will produce.

[@sintheemptyone8108]

Nah... I'll just put Mind Sculptor into a Commander deck along with all the greatest hits of OPness I have like Green Sun's Zenith, Sword of Body and Mind, Emrakul and Ugin. Because my lacking skill will surely compensate for all the broken stuff I might abuse. That, and people will be busy spamming counters, burns and kill spells on me while the silent one of the group sneaks in and wins.

[@guyperson754]

As a mono green player, it hurt me too.

[@arzangofthebrothersoflightario]

This video had been recommended to me, for over a year. For one reason or another, I neglected to click on it because I already knew how to play Magic. Today, I finally relented after seeing this on my recommended for the hundredth time. I clicked on the video and watched it all the way through. I must say, I am not disappointed by the end result. You were quite funny and entertaining, throughout the whole presentation. I originally thought this was going to be more of a skit, where you trained actual newcomers on how to play the game. You earned my thumbs up.

[@Zaron_Gaming]

This is surprisingly useful for getting back into the game and remembering everything. I've forgotten a handful of things and now I don't have to worry

[@lock1863]

Good Lord this is some of the best content I've ever seen. The sheer amount of nuanced jokes while still remaining informative was crazy, instant sub

[@stavingewart]

Wait... Green rarity? Have I not been playing long enough?

[@glitch3141]

JUGGERNAUT _ GAMING Green rarity is so rare that not even experienced players have green rare cards. It only appeared on one card (Blackest Mox Lotus) that was never printed.

[@DerickTheHeroV2]

He actually forgot about a rarity color even then! Time shifted cards from Time Spiral were purple. They were basically a second rare in every pack, and were eternal cards (Pre-8th edition cards). Magic is too complicated, man. It cracks me up thinking about an outsider trying to learn how to play.

[@guinsoo5459]

Gavin Stewart you dont know about it because its rare (implied duh)

[@mystacit6486]

Derick Lee just started today with this video...I’m so lost....

[@DerickTheHeroV2]

@@mystacit6486 I know you probably didn't intend for me to start a full blown conversation and some extra tips, but here I go anyways. I would argue that Magic: The Gathering is one of the best games of all time. That is largely an opinion, but it has actually been confirmed to be the most complex game ever. Interactions between cards is very subjective to different situations. It is absolutely okay to be confused. I want to steal a bit of your time to go over some common mistakes and general tips. 1. Mana dorks, cards like Llanowar Elves, Birds of Paradise, Noble Hierarch, or cards that accelerate one's mana are very strong. There is a mantra just for them, "Bolt The Bird." Which is just shorthand for "Cast lightning bolt targeting Birds of Paradise" both of which are as old as the game itself. This mantra basically means that it is often if not almost always a good idea to use a low mana cost removal spell to kill an opponent's mana accelerant. Turning turn two into turn three is absurdly powerful. 2. The 4 basic archetypes that most decks fall under are: Aggro, Control, Midrange, and Combo. Aggro is basically built around early game plays, attacking, and killing your opponent before they get to do much, and red is arguably the best color for aggro, hence "Red Deck Wins" builds are prevelant in all formats except Commander/EDH. Control is all about controlling what your opponents do, keeping most answers in hand and slowly winning the game through attrition. Blue and Black are probably the best colors for control, but black does control in a much more evil way. Mono-Black discard or 8-Rack can really mess with unprepared decks and people. (Thoughtseize is an amazing card.) Midrange is all about adjusting to your opponent, and I would argue it is the hardest to get right, especially for a new player. Any color can play midrange really, because midrange is very versatile by design. I dont really have any good examples of this one. Combo is pretty self explanatory. Basically, the deck has one or a few things it wants to do and it uses unique card interactions to try to win the game. Sanguine Bond and Exquisite Blood is the most obvious and easy to understand combo I can think of at the moment, and again all colors can combo off in different ways in different formats. I reccomend picking up MTG Arena since it is free to play and it will basically hold your hand in the tutorials to make sure you understand the basics. If you really want to get into the game and explore different archetypes, decks, concepts, whatever, I reccomend Tolarian Community College or "Prof", Rhystic Studies for more in depth specific analyses along with a delightful format, and the Command Zone for EDH/Commander gameplay. Also, Challenger decks are still pretty great and the Commander Precons you will see on the shelf at large retailers are terrible. Guild Kits and Challenger decks are your best bet for sealed decks if you just want to pick up a deck and play. If you have any questions, which you definitely will, Google is your friend, or I can blow this comment section up even more if you ask me directly. I hope you enjoy your time with Magic, it's a fantastic game.

[@rafael3646]

This is probability my favorite video on KZbin

[@lizabrook1181]

This video was really informative and hilarious, thanks for all the effort and time you put into making this!

[@MicroBihon]

I ship Bakugo and tomoko now BakuKo for life

[@ImaginativeCorndog]

Poppy Is my Waifu I mean, they are both sociopaths...

[@TheBaldingPied]

Do you know how to trigger a Yu-Gi-Oh player? "when..."

[@gamingmilk829]

I was ready for a stupid meme but then I read this and actually got upset *Cries in Yang Zing*

[@matyasfekete8341]

I DonT GEt iT

[@xolotltolox7626]

@@matyasfekete8341 If a card says in its activation requierement "When", it has to be chained directly to the fullfillment unless it's a mandatory effect, but most of those received Errata to say "If" instead of "When"

[@thegayghost872]

MST negates

[@SalvationKH]

@@xolotltolox7626 r/whoosh

[@oogaboogabe3464]

This is actually the best explanation of MTG I have ever seen.

[@aahansen82]

I'm brand spanking new to MTG and this video really makes me want to find people to play with all the more! Loved this!

[@randomusername1735]

I recommend getting the free official online game, Magic: the Gathering Arena. It does not have a friend or trade system yet, but you can directly challenge people or play online against random people to gain more experience with Magic.

[@BuddMcAwesome]

00:00 - 00:04 the introduction 00:04 - 00:08 How you really play magic. 00:08 - 00:12 how to play Yu-gi-oh 00:12 -00:22 Valid argument 00:22 00:31 insert Illuminati Ad here 00:31 00:35 Avoid interaction with actual human beings 00:35 00:42 Instead find anime cosplayers that look remarkably like Joey and Tea from Yugioh 00:42 00:41 totally not sponsored. 00:53 01:03 worst life tip ever. 1:03 1:29 worst impression of friend-a ever plus reenactment of how people actually make friends (it's how i made mine, it went exactly like that... ) actual time stamps this time: 01:38 Explaining life points 01:50 card count and Deck 02:10 decide who goes first with an actual trading card game 02:26 Card info or "anatomy" -02:37 limit of copies of the same card 03:31 explaining card types 03:47 Field spells 04:09 usage of Mana 05:27 Continuous spell cards 05:50 Equip Spell cards 06:04 More continuous spell cards that look like monsters but they're not actually monsters? 06:14 Explaining counters/ Xyz material 06:45 Monster cards 06:54 overly complicated Stat points. (like ATK and DEF in ygo but there is no DEF. it's like ATK and ATK + a shitty rule about ATK deduction in battle) 07:10 explains Summoning lag (another unnecessary ruling) 07:39 explains a ridiculous design flaw (it's like if every card you play in YGO counts as summoning) 08:00 introduction to handtraps/spells 08:09 Normal spell cards 08:14 explaining Quick-play spells >08:22 chain links 09:57 negate effects 10:35 Turn phases, (there isn't a standby phase. i don't know why it exists in YGO either, nobody does) 10:45 Draw phase + standby phase 11:28 Main phase 1 11:43 Battle phase 16:24 Main phase 2 16:35 End Phase 17:49 COUGHYU-GI-OH!COUGHHACKHEEKCOUGH 17:57 Awesome hamilton song parody

[@alineortolan6110]

#upvote

[@Vinicius-Bigode]

And then Metaphys were created to make the standby phase kinda relevant.

[@macabre_and_cheese]

Only thing wrong with that is yugioh is more complicated than wizard cards

[@stefilordofsmugness4108]

Ygo is easier

[@FinnishArsonist]

@@xXxEzzaHxXx username works

[@cdphenix9007]

I already knew how to play magic but this looked hilarious

[@nerd_universe]

Great explanations! I just started MTG a week ago and I am already totally hooked on it, but there´s still much to learn - thx! :)

[@EloquentTroll]

Saving this video for the next time I teach a newb to play Magic. Also the best way to teach MtG is to teach 2 new people at the same time, that way you basically just have to be a judge, and they can ask you more strategic questions without informing their opponent. Also thank you for illustrating the importance of the Friendly Local Game Store.

[@Baconator1313]

Can I favourite this video more than once. This is fantastic. The explanation was good and funny and figured it would go fine entertainment for my magic friends. Then the ending hit, and I was blown back. Hamilton is awesome, and you are more awesome!

[@jackmanleblanc2518]

Magic in a nutshell: You have to do the thing, unless you don't.

[@uffu2490]

*this is comprehensive* you explained the logic so well and I’m impressed.

[@6slade]

I see many people that have watched this video already knew how to play MTG, but still enjoyed it because editing and narration are fucking hilarious. Great job helping new players! Welcome poor soon-to-be-broke souls!

[@capdahat2598]

Dude I'm lovin all the Hamilton slipped in to your videos. Your little thing at the end made my day and was very much appreciated. As someone who's always wanted to get into this kind of stuff this video was really helpful, now I just have to get past the friends step and I'll be good! Super excited for the videos to come and out of curiosity since we've beaten PedRo (even though I'm subbed to him as well as you but shhh I promise I love you more) who's next to beat in the subscriber count based Tenkaichi Budokai that's only going on in your head?

[@rickxhoshinji]

They said, “Don’t go to the Friendly Local Game Store.” “How bout I do anyway!”

[@lookatthepicture4107]

what I learn with this video: *this is a card game... right?*

[@spennyspectacular353]

Same. Too much info at once for your average clueless pleb

[@Beaster724]

Its a lot of information, but you get it after a few games. Its not complicated to play magic at casual level.

[@RandomGuy-ll9uz]

kami no Ryu Magic is a card game. Except when it's not.

[@tempestandacomputer6951]

It just takes a handful of games to get it going.

[@matthhiasbrownanonionchopp3471]

Tempest and a Computer except when it doesn't shows overly complicated cards (there are a lot)

[@Sm1ley1987]

I got huge picnic face skit vibes with this video, but as a brand new player who's just picked up a deck and playing for the first time tomorrow with some friends, this helped me out a ton and was humorous along the way - cheers dude!

[@1Bloka]

"On the end step, you have to do o- (TWO!) things..."

[@enchantedspider8842]

As a cheapskate: DID YOU JUST FUCKIN RIPPED THAT CARD IN FKIN HALF

[@Lexender]

Aron Szegedi Both those cards come in the free starters decks so they don't really have any value

[@caladbolg777]

On the contrary lightning bolt is quite good and has value

[@Lilyvex]

Its only growth its fine

[@jadedtrekkie150]

You forgot the mulligan rule, the banlist, and how to download the ebook of rulings for hypnotic siren that is a better read than twilight.

[@drawwithbeektor6329]

The narration in this is pure gold.

[@emilsvahn5400]

As a macicplayer for 5 years I have to tell you that your way explain THE STACK is is amazing

[@sancturillore]

Oh god, I'm just at the beginning of the video, at 2:08 , and your mention of a Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament as a choice of a pure test of luck made m laugh for far longer than should've.

[@blu3113]

magic the gathering It does except when it doesn't

[@AleHernandez]

Almost 20 years as a MTG player and this was the best and funnier explanation I ever seen, GZ.

[@MakDemonik]

Congratulations. I found this by total accident, and am now digging up my old Black Red Goblin deck from years ago.