Magic the Gathering players battle each other with their own decks. A deck is a collection of 60 cards a player can use at tournaments. This 60-card minimum is often used in most casual games. You may only have 4 of any one card in your deck other than basic land cards, unless a card states otherwise such as Relentless Rats.
Most cards have a cost that needs to be paid in order to play the card. This cost is called mana. Mana comes from land cards or other cards that also produce mana such as Gilded Lotus.
Start of the Game:
Both players start the game with 20 lives, decide who is to go first, then both players shuffle their deck and offer it to their opponent to cut.
Both players draw a hand of seven cards, the active player if unhappy with those cards, can mulligan the rule allows you to shuffle your hand back into your library and draw one less card. You may mulligan as many times as you like, however remember you draw one card less each time. Once the active player is happy with their hand, their opponent looks at his or her hand and decides if they need to mulligan or if they are happy with their hand, once they have confirmed they are happy with their hand you can proceed to the Start Phase.
Start Phase
Step 1: Untap where all the active players cards untap.
Step 2. Upkeep where abilities that trigger at the beginning of the active players upkeep go on the stack.
Step 3. Draw where the active player can take 1 card (unless a card in play states otherwise).
Main Phase
The active player can play every type of spell and ability, but their opponent can only play instants.
The active player can play a single land and use the mana it represents and all other unused mana to cast their spells or creatures.
Combat Phase
Step 1. Declare Attack: Active player declares which of his or her creatures will attack, (you don't have to attack), when the active player declares that a creature is attacking that creature becomes tapped. Creatures that came into play this turn can not attack unless they have Haste. Once the active player has declared all his or her attacking creatures, players can play instants and activated abilities.
Step 2. Declare Blockers: Your opponent decides which of their creatures will block you attacking creatures, once they have finished declaring their blockers then players can play instant and activated abilities.
Step 3. Combat: This is when creatures actually deal their damage and unblocked attackers attack the player itself. That player loses life equal to the power of the creature. Once a player has no cards left in their deck, or has lost all their 20 lives they lose the game, (unless they have a card in play that states otherwise such as Platinum Angel). Blocked attackers deal their damage to the creatures blocking them, if more than one creature blocks one of your attacking creatures then you decide how to divide the attacking creatures damage between the blockers.
Once you have decided how damage will be dealt, the damage goes on the stack. Players can then play instants and once these have resolved the combat damage is actually dealt.
Second Main Phase
The second main phase is the same as the first apart from if you laid a land in your first main phase then you can not lay another in your second main phase, and once again your opponent can only lay instants and use activated abilities.
End Phase
Step 1. End of turn: Both players can play instants and activated abilities.
Step 2. Clean Up: If you have more than 7 cards in your hand you must choose and discard cards until you only have 7 left in your hand (unless you have a card in play that states otherwise). Next all "until end of turn effects" end.
