Now that you have the basic idea of what the card types are and how
to use them, take a look at the zones of play before getting into what makes
up a turn. There is no official game board for Magic: The Gathering. Tliis
allows you to take your cards anywhere and set up a game.
As discussed earlier, the game starts with a randomized libraiy. Each
format has its own rules for deck building that speak to the size of your
deck, but for this example, the minimum is 60 cards. Those 60 cards will
make up your libraiy, which will remain face down in front of you. From
the libraiy, you will draw the top seven cards to comprise your opening
hand. Seven is the maximum number of cards you can hold in your hand
at any given time.
All the action of a game takes place on the battlefield. Most players
define their battlefield by playing their lands out directly in front of them
and all other types of permanents (creatures, artifacts, enchantments, and
Planeswalkers) above their lands.
This is not defined by the rules of the game, so layout your
battlefield in a way that is most comfortable for you and your opponent to
read. Auras should be placed atop the creature they enchant. All of your
permanents must be accessible to you and your opponent, so you can both
easily see if they are tapped or not.
The graveyard is your discard pile and is where things will move
from your hand or the battlefield most often. If any permanent you
control is destroyed, if a spell or effect causes you to discard, or if anything
is sacrificed or countered, the card in question will go to the graveyard.
This zone should also be visible to both players, so place cards in this area
face up.
Remember, if creature dies in combat by taking damage equal to or
more than their toughness in a single turn, they will be destroyed and must go to the graveyard. This is also the same for Planeswalkers that use up all of their loyalty counters. 32 A lot can happen on a tvpical battlefield at anv given time Some cards will mention a specific effect known as “exiling". When this comes up, the card exiled is not placed in the graveyard, but instead removed from the game. This can be shown by turning it face up somewhere away from the boundaries of your battlefield. Unless a specific effect alters the rules, the exiled card is inaccessible to either player for the remainder of the game.
The final zone is one of tlie most important: The stack. The stack is where spells you cast go in order to resolve. For now, realize that both players get an opportunity' to respond to every spell cast over the course of a Magic game. The order in which the spells resolve is handled by the stack, which is a public zone shared by all players.
Please send email to [email protected] if you have any questions.