Product to teach someone to play Magic

[TeenieBopper]

I'm thinking about teaching someone to play, but I can't find my little box of base set cards that I use. I remember a few years ago WotC used to sell a product to teach someone how to play Magic. It was essentially two precons and a scripted first game. Do they still have anything like this? I did a quick google search and nothing really came up. If there isn't anything like this, are the Duels decks any good (Dragons vs. Elves, Garruk vs. Liliana, etc)?

[colo]

I don't think those kind of super-preconstructed, not-for-shuffling sets are still being made.

That said, I taught my girlfriend to play the game by using an "Elspeth vs. Tezzeret" duel deck. Worked quite fine.

[lukegothic]

The product you are talking about is the first edition of portal. They aren't making anything similar to it recently, but in my experience you can teach the game very easily by building two decks only with cards from a core set (better if you use the latest one) and avoiding complex cards like phylactery lich or something on the same level as that and playing some games explaining the basics.

Another option is to buy a duels of the planeswalkers game because they make it so simple to learn to play magic that anyone can learn very easy.

[Kuma]

I wouldn't use Duel Decks to teach someone Magic. They've got a lot of keywords and fairly complicated cards for someone who isn't familiar with the game. Duels of the Planeswalkers is a fantastic way to teach someone the basics. Let them play/play a few games with them to learn the basics and then play some games with decks made from simple cards (creatures with one keyword, spells that do one straightforward thing, etc.)

[bfeingersh]

Duels of the Planeswalkers is really great

[ImpinAintEasy]

I was actually at the local shop last night with my 9 1/2 year old ( yes the 1/2 is important to him). He really wants to learn the game and I had previously told him when he was 10 I would teach him. I decided to buy him the deckbuilders kit (19.95). It includes several commons, uncommons and lands as well as 4 booster packs. It also includes a rule book. I wrote out the game steps on a piece of paper for him, we went through a mock game and it didn't take very long for him to catch on. The biggest problem for him was shuffling the deck, that might take much more practice than learning the easier steps of the game.

[Nihil Credo]

Maro just wrote an entire article on how to teach Magic to others. Link in case it was a coincidence that this thread was posted today.

[Parcher]

So, Edinger finally found someone to teach him how to play.

Good luck, buddy!

[TeenieBopper]

Yeah, I knew about Duels of the Planeswalkers. My problem with that is that you're not actually playing Magic. I'd much rather use physical cards (or even the learning room on MODO if they've got a rudimentary understanding of the terms). I guess I'll just pick up a Duels deck; the guy I'm teaching used to play poker at a fairly high level, so some keywords will probably be fine as long as there's reminder text.

[KevinTrudeau]

Intact 7E starter for sure; no substitutes.

$16 listing on eBay w/free shipping— must have Windows '98 or earlier for disc playback (just kidding about that last part).

[dahcmai]

Intact 7E starter for sure; no substitutes.

$16 listing on eBay w/free shipping— must have Windows '98 or earlier for disc playback (just kidding about that last part).

That game is simple, but actually quite excellent for teaching. I was always sad they didn't keep up with the format that game is in and push it over to MTGO.