Standard is the everyday way to play Magic: The Gathering. Build a 60-card deck from cards currently legal in Standard, start at 20 life, and win by reducing your opponent to 0. If you've never played Magic before, this is the format most people learn first. This guide walks you through it one step at a time, with no experience needed.
Download the free printable quick guide (PDF)
Two pages you can print and keep next to your cards while you learn.
Want the full official rules? Visit Wizards' official How to Play page (magic.wizards.com).
What do you need to play?
- 1 deck of at least 60 cards, built from cards currently legal in Standard.
- No commander, no singleton rule, build it however you like.
- 20 starting life, the standard Magic total.
Not sure what's Standard-legal? Ask us at the counter, we're happy to help.
What are the deck-building rules?
- No more than 4 copies of any single card, basic lands are the exception, run as many as you want.
- 60-card minimum main deck, no maximum, plus an optional sideboard of up to 15 cards to swap in between games.
What are the 6 zones?
Every card in the game is always in one of six zones.
| Zone | What's there |
|---|---|
| Battlefield | Lands, creatures, and everything else in play. Public. |
| Hand | Cards you've drawn. Private to you. |
| Library | Your deck, face down. Nobody looks at its order. |
| Graveyard | Your discard pile, face up. Anyone can look through it. |
| Exile | Set aside, usually for good. |
| The Stack | Where spells and abilities wait before they resolve. |
How do you set up a game?
- Shuffle your deck. Decide who goes first (a die roll, or however your group likes to settle it).
- Draw 7 cards. Don't like your hand? You may mulligan: shuffle it back in and draw 7 again, then put a card on the bottom of your library for each mulligan you've taken.
- The player going first skips their first draw step.
What happens on your turn?
Every turn has 7 phases, always in the same order.
- Untap: untap everything you control.
- Upkeep: any "at the beginning of upkeep" triggers happen.
- Draw: draw 1 card.
- Main Phase 1: play a land, cast spells.
- Combat: attack.
- Main Phase 2: play more spells, or your land if you haven't yet.
- End Step: end-of-turn triggers, then cleanup.
You can only play 1 land per turn, in either main phase. Most creatures and sorceries are sorcery-speed: they can only be cast during your main phases, with the stack empty.
How do you pay mana costs?
A cost like 2R means: pay 2 generic mana (any color you like), then 1 red mana specifically. Tap that many lands to pay it, in whichever order you want.
How does combat work?
- Declare attackers: turn your attacking creatures sideways. Pick a target: your opponent, or a planeswalker of theirs.
- Declare blockers: the defending player assigns any of their untapped creatures to block.
- Combat damage: attacker and blocker deal damage equal to their power, all at once.
- After: lethal damage destroys a creature. Unblocked damage hits the defending player.
What is the stack?
Spells and abilities don't happen the instant you play them, they go on the stack first. The most recently added one resolves first, like a stack of plates. Players get a chance to respond before anything on the stack resolves.
How do you win?
| Life hits 0 | The most common way. Everyone starts at 20. |
| Empty library | Would you draw with 0 cards left? You lose right away. |
| An effect says so | Rare, but some cards have their own win condition. |
A match is best 2 of 3 games. Lose game 1? You may swap in sideboard cards.
Common keywords
| Keyword | What it means |
|---|---|
| Flying | Can only be blocked by creatures with flying or reach. |
| Trample | Extra damage beyond lethal spills past a blocker. |
| Deathtouch | Any amount of damage from it is lethal. |
| First / Double Strike | Deals damage before other creatures, or twice. |
| Vigilance | Doesn't tap when it attacks. |
| Removal | Community term for a spell or ability that destroys or neutralizes a creature. |
What makes it "Standard"?
Standard uses a rolling pool of the most recent sets, not every card ever printed. Older sets rotate out roughly once a year as new ones release, so the legal card pool changes over time. Ask us at the counter or check Wizards' official Standard page for exactly what's legal right now.
What are the best tips for your first game?
- Aim for about 17 lands in a 60-card deck.
- Read a card you haven't seen before you play it, and ask if you're unsure what it does.
- Play your land every turn if you can, missing land drops slows you down.
- Card text always wins if it ever differs from these basics.
Quick reference
| Deck | 60 cards minimum, no more than 4 of any card (basics excepted) |
| Start | 20 life, draw 7 (mulligans allowed) |
| Your turn | Untap, upkeep, draw, main 1, combat, main 2, end step |
| Playing cards | 1 land per turn; tap lands to pay generic then colored mana |
| Combat | Declare attackers, declare blockers, deal damage at once |
| Win | Reduce your opponent to 0 life, or outlast an empty library |
Printable quick guide
Everything above fits on two printable pages. Print it double-sided and keep it at the table.
Download the printable guide (PDF)
Official Magic rules (free)
Wizards of the Coast posts the official rules for free.
- How to Play: Wizards' own beginner walkthrough.
- Standard format page: the official overview of the format, including what's currently legal.
- Comprehensive Rules: every Magic rule in full detail, for when a card does something tricky.
Where can you play Standard near Newport, TN?
Landfall Outpost hosts Standard events for players of all experience levels at 138 North St, Newport, TN 37821. New players are always welcome, we'll help you find your footing. Pick up singles, sealed product and supplies in our Magic: The Gathering collection, and check our events page for our current schedule. Free on-site parking.