Scheduling: Between February 14 – April 3; use the Magic Academy scheduling template

Format: New Player Event

Rules Enforcement Level: Casual

Pairing Method: Player List Only

Material Support:

• Welcome Decks for participants, available only in English; new decks will be sent to English-language WPN stores for Aetherdrift
• Learn-to-Play Brochure and pocket reference card for participants
 
• Sticker Sheets for participants
• Darksteel Colossus – gift-with-purchase promo for players who pick up any Starter product or 6 Aetherdrift Play Boosters during the event

Please continue to use the promotional materials and promo cards you received with your Magic: The Gathering Foundations promotional material kit.

Gift-with-purchase promos should only be distributed during Magic Academy events. All promos and promotional materials are available while supplies last. For complete promo details, refer to the Promo Usage & Policies hub.

What is Magic Academy?

Magic Academy is the primary demo experience your store has to offer so that you can run as many times as you like. It takes Welcome Decks and additional material support to create an awesome new player experience. Brand new players will learn how to play with a video demo then be paired up to play friendly games.

Experienced players can use this event as their opportunity to teach family and friends and help welcome the next generation of Magic players into the Gathering! Whenever you demo Magic to a group of 1-3 players or more, add them to this event and report the results in Wizards EventLink.

How to Run Magic Academy: Learn to Play

Before beginning the event, we strongly encourage that you let players know that they must register with their Wizards Account to receive the free-of-charge event materials and participate. If the player doesn’t yet have an account, help them register, set up the Magic: The Gathering Companion App, and enter the event using their Wizards Account.

By registering with a Wizards Account, players will be directed to return to your store in the future through the Companion App and Wizards of the Coast marketing. In addition, they can begin receiving rewards through Magic: The Gathering Arena whenever applicable.

Start your Magic Academy: Learn to Play event by showing your participants the introductory video. It reviews gameplay basics and showcases what makes Magic such an awesome game. Check it out below:

For international WPN stores, please refer to the international version of the video above instead, containing information accurate to your region. This video is also available on our marketing materials page.

After the video, provide each player with a Welcome Deck*, a Learn-to-Play brochure, a pocket reference card, and a sticker sheet.

*As Welcome Decks are only available in English, if your community prefers to learn in another language, we encourage you to use the Magic: The Gathering Foundations Beginner Box instead. Please let your players know they will not be able to take this product home with them, as it is intended for your store's continued use for future demos.

Upon checking in with the event organizer, players will rate their experience with Magic on a scale of 1-3:

1. Brand New – "I’ve never played Magic before"
 
2. Intermediate Beginner – "I’ve played a game or two, but I'm still learning as I play"
 
3. Advanced Beginner – "I've learned the core rules of the game, and am ready to hone my skills" 

Event organizers will pair players—by experience level whenever possible—to practice Magic using their Welcome Decks or Starter Kits. For brand new players using Welcome Decks, they are encouraged to stick with the mono-colored Welcome Decks; more advanced players can shuffle two Welcome Decks together to try color combinations.

If possible, have a staff person or experienced player available to answer questions or even play a friendly demo game with a new player if there is no one else for them to play with. If you still have Community Tutor pins from the Foundations season, use them to signify staff or community members that new players can come to with questions.

At the end of the event, encourage new players to keep playing—whether that’s taking home a Beginner Box, practicing on Arena, coming back to check out Friday Night Magic, or playing more practice games with friends at the kitchen table. Let them know about the next event and invite them to return with a friend to keep learning.