Starting From Scratch - Breaking The New Player Ceiling

This and your previous video provide insight into the way the game operates on a level that's actually very deep from the perspective of a new player. Some of that took me years to figure out by myself. I really hope new players appreciate this because the advice you're giving not only goes way beyond the surface level but is actually useful in practice.

We love pulling the cards we planned to buy! That’s for the great video, wish I had it 4 years ago

Rude. I think my mono black deck is super interesting! You’re forgetting all my super friends and search! 😂😂😂

dont stop uploading! really good content :)

I love the way you explain the process of learning this game! I feel like your videos have helped me learn how to think about this game without feeling overwhelmed by all of the terminology and mechanics I haven’t learned yet. Thank you, this has really made magic much more approachable for me

I have similar experience with the game (first set was Ice Age in '95) and I have taught many, MANY players how to play. If you will allow me, a few critiques: 1. When teaching, I generally like to avoid edge cases and lead by telling players that "the text box on a card will break every rule I tell you, so pay attention to what the cards say" because there is always ALWAYS someone who likes to point out the edge cases. Yes, you CAN have multiple upkeeps if a card says so. Yes, you can untap that thing now if a card says so. Yes, you can play additional lands if a card says so. Stick to the basics: anatomy of a card, phases of a turn, combat basics and the stack. Everything else? Reading the card EXPLAINS THE CARD. 2. I vehemently disagree with teaching players to only concern themselves only with cards on the table that are 'bothering' them. I understand the idea is to keep the whole process straightforward, but it is building a bad habit that many players never break; pay attention to what your opponents CAN do - cards in hand, mana available, even graveyards. Be curious, ask questions. Challenge things you do not understand, but only so that you can reach an understanding and I guarantee you what beat you today will not beat you again tomorrow. 3. An addition of sorts, but I like to prime people for failure. We are here to enjoy the game, first and foremost. Winning is great, but I would caution against deriving ALL of your enjoyment from winning alone. Many of my best games I lost and lost spectacularly. Prepare to lose, to fail. I like to tell a story of a game I player during the Theros/Khans block - I was against a White/Red/Blue control deck that was consistently destroying every threat I deployed until eventually my opponent let one of my creatures stick... but they did something odd: they played an enchantment that doubled damage from all sources at my end step. What made this odd was that they had no creatures. The only thing on the table was my 4 power Doomwake Giant. He passes his turn without doing ANYTHING and I know he has a trick, but I need to know what it is, so I attack in - his response? He casts a second copy of the same enchantment at instant speed. This means my 4 power creature will double to 8, then again to 16. Then the coup de grace - he casts Deflecting Palm, a spell that negates all of the damage from a single source and hits the owner of that source for that same damage. But this is a new source of damage, and the enchantments see it - that 16 goes to 32 and then to 64, directly at my face. Beautiful. Enjoy your losses. Let other players have their moments in the sun when their deck is going off and doing the thing they dreamt up when they built it and learn to enjoy the spectacle of it all. After all, it's just a game.

Now I have to subscribe 😂

Criticisms; Should be noted that you DO NOT need to attack. There are "Evergreen" keywords that should be noted like Trample as it changes how you interact with the combat phase. One of the things that is overwhelming for someone to get into Magic the Gathering [Commander format] is the knowledge that there is a vast selection of cards available and then your told "there's a reserved list of cards" which makes you lose that much more interest in the game. i myself i do not have a Mox Diamond nor a Lions Eye Diamond and i refuse to pay over $100 for either of those cards but WotC made a promise to not print either card and i'm happy with Diamond Lion. And there are cards that are expensive like Mana Crypt, Mana Vault, Jeweled Lotus, Lotus Petal, Gemstone Caverns, Urza's Saga, Mox Opal, Chrome Mox and Dockside Extortionist (if access to red). in my opinion, every precon moving forward should have a Mox Tantalite, Lotus Bloom, and Sol Talisman. Doesn't matter how good Food Chain is players are going to see all those other cards i mentioned and think they will never achieve "playing with the big boys."

Untap, upkeep, draw, Amen.

Dude looks like the result of a collaborative wardrobe makeover of blade and Hugh Hefner