What Should MTG Beginner Buy?

So, you want to start playing Magic the Gathering, but don’t know which products to buy? That’s quite common, as there are so many products to choose from. But there’s no need to worry, as this Buyer’s Guide for new MTG players is here to help you. We’ll explore the best products for beginners, and find the perfect one for you.

Which Format Will You Play?

Not every MTG product is made with a new player in mind. Even those that are, won’t necessarily work for every beginner. The reason for this is that there are various ways to play Magic, which are represented by different formats.

Each format has specific rules, mostly about which cards are legal in that format, and how many cards you can play in the deck. You can find all official MTG formats here.

In order to keep this article simple, we’ll only discuss some of the most popular ones, that would be a nice fit for beginner. If you already have a play group, just pick the format that they play most often. If you don’t, we’d recommend you to pick one of the following ones:

• Commander
• 60-card casual
• Competitive

If you already know which format, you’re going to play, you can jump ahead to the next section.

Commander

Commander deck contains exactly 99 card + 1 commander (a legendary creature, that you always have access to). All cards in the deck have to be different, except for basic lands.

This format has a high learning curve, which isn’t great for a new player. However, it’s probably the most widely played format in many game stores. If you’ll want to play Magic with players outside your playgroup, you should likely start with Commander.

If you want, you can learn more about this format in Commander Beginner’s Guide.

60-card Casual

This is the original way to play Magic, and still a very popular one. Players build decks with 60 (or more) cards. You can’t have more than four copies of the same card in the deck, except for basic lands.

This is probably the best way to learn the game, as you don’t have to learn so many different cards and interactions as with Commander. It’s also a great way to play at home with your friends, and that’s why this format is also called kitchen table Magic.

Competitive

There are many formats that fall under the term Competitive. (Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, etc.) These formats have strict rules about which cards are legal, and use 60-card decks, with a 15-card sideboards. The matches are played in a best-of-three fashion.

Picking a competitive format is probably best for a player who wants to play tournaments, and possibly has some experience with other card games.

Among the many competitive formats, we’d recommend going with Pioneer. It has the smallest pool of cards from all non-rotating formats. (Non-rotating means that your cards never rotate out, but remain legal in the format, unless banned.)

Best Buys for New MTG Players

So, if you’ve decided which format you want to play, it’s time to pick the best product for that format! The products are ordered based on which format you’ve decided to play.

For New Commander Players: Starter Commander Decks

We talked about how Commander is not the most beginner friendly format, as there are so many different cards and interactions. Even when a player buys a single preconstructed deck, there can be many complex interaction within it.

Thankfully, Starter Commander decks come out on December 2nd, 2022. The decks are, as the name suggests designed with new players in mind. They are somewhat less complex, yet they still contain good and solid cards, and are easy to upgrade.

Since all the cards in these decks are reprints, their price is significantly lower than those of the other Commander precons. This is great, if you’re a new player, and unsure whether you’ll like Commander (or Magic), and just want to try the game.

There are five Starter Commander decks:

• First Flight
• Grave Danger
• Chaos Incarante
• Draconic Destruction
• Token Triumph

You can learn more about their contents, and how to upgrade them in this Starter Commander Decks Guide.

These are a great starting point for a new Commander player. If both you and a friend, are getting into Magic, you can purchase a couple of decks, as they are relatively balanced against one another.

Best for Casual Beginners: Game Night Free-for-All 2022

If you just want to learn and play some Magic in its purest form, then you should just pick the Game Night: Free for All 2022. This is a box that contains five 60-card ready-to-play decks. They aren’t too complex, but at the same time, they also aren’t boring.

There is one deck for each of the Magic’s colors (White, Blue, Black, Red, and Green.) All decks are balanced against one another.

Many great things can be said about this product. First, it isn’t that expensive, especially since you’re getting five decks. Second, you’ll get to experience all five colors, so you’ll be able to find out which play style you enjoy the most. Last, but not least, you can play this, right out of the box with 2-5 players. This way you’re basically getting a self-contained board game.

You can find more information about Game Night: Free For All 2022 here.

Alternate Casual Option: Arena Starter Kit 2022

An alternate option to the Game Night box is the Arena Starter Kit. It comes with two decks, that contain newer cards. The decks also come with a code that can be redeemed in MTG Arena (online client for MTG), and can be used twice. This is a cool product, if both you and a friend are looking to get into the game.

You can split the price, each get a deck, and a code for both online versions of the decks.

For Competitive MTG Beginners: Pioneer Challenger Decks

If you’re want to start playing tournaments right away – or at the very least – very soon, then you should pick up one of the Pioneer Challenger decks. While these aren’t the best decks in the format right out of the box, they will give you a fighting chance. If you decide that you like them, you can always upgrade them into a very good decks over time.

The four newest Pioneer Challenger decks are:

• Orzhov Humans
• Gruul Stompy
• Izzet Phoenix
• Dimir Control

Each deck comes with a 60 card main deck, and a 15 card sideboard. You can find out more about the decks, and which one is the best to pick up, in our Pioneer Challenger Decks 2022 Guide.

These are also great, if you want a stronger version for your casual 60-card games. If you’re joining a play group that’s been playing for a while, you’ll do better with these decks, then with the ones from Game Night and Arena Starter Kit.

Accessories & Free Stuff for MTG Beginners

We talked about the most typical stuff that an MTG beginner should get. However, there are other items that can improve your first steps into the amazing game of Magic the Gathering. Some of them you might even be able to get for free, or at least for a cheap price. Let’s take a look!

Welcome Booster

First up, there’s a Welcome Booster. If you’re just starting out with MTG, you are eligible to get it for FREE.

Each Welcome Booster contains the same exact 10 cards, including three rares. For example, the Welcome Booster from Dominaria United has three rares Blackblade Reforged, Phylath, World Sculptor, and Ajani, the Greathearted. It also contains an MTG Arena code, that can be redeemed for a 60-card digital deck.

So, how and where can one get the Welcome Booster?

Since Wizards of the Coast doesn’t ship these directly to players, you can’t order them online. You can, however, stop by a local game store and ask the staff if they have any Welcome Boosters available for new players.

Ask More Experienced Players

Older players can have a lot of bulk cards. Bulk cards are cards that are essentially worthless for an enfranchised player. However, these can still be useful and fun for a beginner.

So you can tell a more experienced player, that you’re just starting out, and if they might have any expendable cards that you could get. Many Magic players will be happy to help you out, whether by giving you cards or by giving you helpful tips about the game.

If you don’t know any MTG players, you can probably find some at your local game store. To find the store, you can use Wizards’ Store Locator.

Bulk Cards

If the previous option doesn’t work for you, you could always buy bulk MTG cards on Amazon. While this option isn’t great for a more enfranchised player, it’s can be fun and useful for a new player. Getting from 60 cards to 1,060, really gives you a lot more possibilities.

Usually, an okay deal would be to get 1,000 cards under $20. You could also go for a slightly pricier options (like this Collection from Star City Games), which will also contain some rares. However, do not expect to get any money rares in these.

This is probably best as an one-time purchase, as you really don’t want to end up with tons of bulk cards.

Boosters

Let’s talk about boosters quickly. This isn’t a product that we’d recommend as a first purchase for a beginner. Even if you buy a lot of them, you might not necessarily be able to build a deck from them, especially, if you didn’t build one before.

Instead, you should at least get one deck before you start purchasing boosters. These way, you’ll be able to swap weak cards from your deck with the better ones that you might get in the boosters.

There are many different type of boosters available, and that’s why we made this MTG Booster Guide. In it, you’ll find all the information you need. If you’re deciding to get some boosters to open, you should go with Set boosters.

Basic Lands

So, you’ve got a bunch of cards, and now you’d like to start building some of your own decks. One problem that you might encounter is that you don’t have enough basic lands for your new decks. The easiest way to get a bunch of lands is to simply buy the so-called Land Station.

It isn’t too expensive and it comes with 400 basic lands, 80 for each color. Additionally, you can find other ways to get basic lands here.

Sleeves

There are many MTG accessories out there. While you don’t need any of them to play the game, there are two that can greatly improve your experience. The first one are card sleeves.

These serve two functions. First, they make your deck much easier and enjoyable to shuffle. Second, they protect your cards from wear. Some Magic cards can be quite expensive, but their price can fall drastically, if they’re in a bad condition. Since you often don’t know which cards are expensive when you’re new, it’s best to just sleeve the ones that you play with, and be done with it.

Our favorite sleeves are the ones from Dragon Shield, but you can find other great MTG sleeves here.

Dice

The other important accessories are dice. They really do a lot of things in a game of MTG. You can roll them to see who goes first, you can use them for tracking life total, representing tokens, various types of counters (+1/+1, loyalty, infect,…), and so on.

Our recommendation would be to get a set of 36 six-sided dice from Chessex. These will last you your entire Magic career, and are of the perfect size to use on Magic cards.

What to Buy for MTG Beginner – Recap

Now, you’ve hopefully found the perfect product for you, and you’re ready for your MTG journey to begin. If you aren’t 100% decided yet, here are our top recommendations:

• Starter Commander decks (if you want to play Commander)
• Game Night: Free for All 2022 (for casual 60-card Magic)
• Pioneer Challenger Decks (if you want to play in tournaments, or if you want a stronger 60-card deck)

Finally, we’d like to recommend you some articles, that might be useful to you:

• How to Build Your First Commander Deck (100 card decks can be a real challenge)
• How to Build Better Decks (learn how to improve your deckbuilding skills)
• Tips on Getting Better at MTG (it’s a hard game)

Until next time, have fun, and enjoy playing this amazing game!