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The paradox of Magic: The Gathering, for so many players, is that despite its whopping size as a franchise, you may find yourself as the only one of your friends who knows how to play. Fortunately, the Magic: The Gathering creatives are well aware that you may need to take on the role of initiator to get a Magic circle going, and at PAX Unplugged 2024, they shared some of the most helpful hints for you as an instructor.

Specifically, those creatives were Gavin Verhey, a principal game designer on Magic: The Gathering (also the lead designer on the upcoming Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set), and Maria Bartholdi, host of the MTG podcast Good Luck High Five. Verhey and Bartholdi were hosts of the Magic: The Gathering Foundations Power Hour, an event that took place on the Main Stage at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia on Saturday, December 7. Foundations, an all new MTG set, is all about bringing new players into the fold, and that day's panel hosts had the same mission in mind.

Tip One: Don't Only Teach One Learner

"My top tip, Number One," began Bartholdi. “Teach two people at the same time. It's wonderful because then both people that you are teaching are learning at the same time they're on the same playing field. It's not just you, who have all the expertise and all of the information, and somebody has none of that. That imbalance can be a little bit off-putting to someone learning the game."

"Sometimes," she continued, "People have a question that the other person didn't think of, so they learn from each other as they’re learning the game from you. Then, they can play each other, which I think is so important because they're going to be making the same mistakes and they're going to have similar and different questions."

Bartholdi told the crowd that her and her Good Luck High Five cohost, Meghan Wolff, actually learned the game together themselves, "The other benefit you get from teaching two people at the same time," she joked, "is that eventually they will start a Magic: The Gathering podcast together."

Tip Two: Use Mono-colored Decks

Bartholdi continued, "My second top tip is this: Use mono-colored decks to teach your friends. Some of you already know this, but it is so important to reinforce [the idea of] ‘Why not keep things simple at the beginning?’ [...] Keeping simple keywords for strikes - “fly, trample, etc” - keeps it easy on your friends."

Tip Three: Keep it Simple

After agreeing with both of his fellow panelist's tips, Vehey offered his own. "Keep the rules up front and the explanation small," he advised. 

"Talk about how you have 20 life," he expanded, "How are you going to play lands and creatures, but you don't need to go into every detail on everything. I know, If I'm being taught a new game and I have to go through a half hour's rules, I just end up wondering when it's over [...] Give only the bare bones of what you need to play."

Well, there you have it. That's certainly not the only things you'll need to be prepared for as you're teaching Magic: The Gathering (for example, you'll have to explain to at least one very confused why they're attracted to a lion in armor), but it's great advice to get started. And hopefully, it's a first step on the journey to not being the only one of your friend group that plays Magic: The Gathering. Who knows? Maybe you'll bring a few of them to next year's big MTG panel at PAX Unplugged.

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Popverse's Ashley Victoria Robinson was recently at MagicCon: Las Vegas, treating us all to the opening of a new Duskmourn: House of Horror booster pack.