Basic Guide to Magic the Gathering: Card Info

Name:
Using the card name lets you and your opponent know what's happening- you can't expect them to know what you mean when you refer to every card as "that card." For our example card, its name is "Shivan Dragon."

Mana Cost:
Most cards in Magic can't be played for free: they require you to pay mana. To summon or "cast" Shivan Dragon, you need two red mana and four genaric mana (mana of any color.)

Type Line:
The type line tells you the type of card it is as well as any subtypes it might belong to. In this case, Shivan Dragon is a "creature" type, more specifically, a dragon creature.

Expansion and Rarity:
This small icon shows which expansion/set the card is from and its rarity. The rarity is decided by the color of the symbol: black for common (lowest rarity), silver for uncommon, gold for rare, and orange-red for mythic rare (highest rarity.) From this info, we can say that our Shivan Dragon is a rare from the "Welcome Deck 2017" expansion.

Text Box:
The text box is where card abilities and effects are listed. Shivan Dragon's ability is flying, so he can't be blocked by creatures that don't have flying or reach. He can also temporarily increase his power (more on that later) if you spend one red mana.

Flavor Text:
Flavor text is the italic text that's there just for fun- it gives a description or small story about that individual card. Shivan Dragon's flavor text states that he is the "undisputed master of the mountains of Shiv."

Collector's Number and Artist Information:
That little fraction tells you where that card belongs in its set. The little letter that follows is the first letter of its rarity. On the second line, it states the abbreviated expansion name and the language. Finally, the name that comes after the paintbrush icon is the artist's name. Our Shivan Dragon is card twenty-two out of the thirty cards in its expansion, "Welcome Deck 2017." It is a rare, it's language is English, and its artist is Donato Giancola. Note that not all the information given will be on each card as there are cards from earlier expansions when they didn't include as much information.

Power and Toughness:
By now, you probably know that Shivan Dragon is a creature. Every creature has a power and toughness at the lower-right corner. The first number is its power and the second is its toughness. When a creature has zero toughness or less, it dies and is sent to the discard/graveyard. Shivan Dragon is a 5/5 creature, so its power is five and its toughness is five.