Customer Reviews

Pojo's Magic: The Gathering: Beginner's Guide and How to Play

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you are truly a beginner, then this book is pretty good.

It does a decent job of explaining all the different formats (Type 1, Extended, Type II, Sealed Deck, Booster Drafting ... etc.). If you have no clue what that stuff is, then you should pick this book up.

There's a nice walk-thru of a complete game with preconstructed decks which was pretty cool. And there is also a nice introduction to Magic The Gathering Online, which can be intimidating to newbies as well.

Overall, I give it 5 stars for newbies. If you ain't a newbie, then this book isn't targetted for you, but it still can be fun to read on the can. ;-)

For starters, anyone with any experience might as well avoid this book; there's nothing here for you.

This is a decent book for beginners. It covers the basics well. It mentions a few deck types and frequently seen cards, so that beginners start off with some knowledge. It is also a nice feature to have a short article for parents whose kid have just discovered Magic.

However, this book does have problems. First, it is written in an April 2003 mindset, but it has not seen wide release until August 2003. Much has changed. Beginners should be immersing themselves with 8th Edition, not retrograding themselves back to 7th. Also, it chooses some strange things to cover. For example, beginners don't need much coverage of Type I or Rochester, and they should not even be told about Solomon drafts. Why the heck mention Solomon drafts? In nine years of playing Magic I have only seen one done, and it was unsanctioned and over six years ago. The space dedicated to these topics would have been better served preparing beginners for local tourneys and for trading, giving them advice about how to tell a good trade from a bad trade. This book does a fine job of illustrating why Magic advice has been concentrated on the internet, and not in an hard form like magazines or books.

Those just starting will do OK with this book ...

This is not actually a book per se but a collection of poorly written articles. It displays a few of the standard decks, but gives no strategy about deck building. It also does not explain or elaborate on the basic mechanics of the game. So if it is aimed at introducing the game, it fails. For the experienced player it is nothing new or interesting.

One of the best books I've seen on Magic written for the casual and just starting out player. Gives some great hints and tips on what to look for in a deck, and how to plan and build winning decks and strategies. Goes over main concepts and the ideas behind each color, the best cards to look for and how to build to beat your opponents. Also gives insight into tournaments of all types and what's required. I really liked it and would recommend it highly.