Scheduling: Between June 13 – July 24; 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*
• Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY Starter Kit for stores to use as a demo experience in place of Welcome Decks
• Learn-to-Play Brochure and pocket reference card for participants
• Sticker Sheets for participants
• Gift-with-purchase promo** for players who pick up any Starter product or 6 Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY Play Boosters during the event
• Promotional materials will be included with your Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY seasonal promotional materials kit. Promo cards will be included in your Tarkir: Dragonstorm promotional materials kit.

All promos and promotional materials are available while supplies last. For complete promo details, refer to the Promo Usage & Policies hub.

*Welcome Decks are only available in English. Please use the Welcome Decks sent alongside your Tarkir: Dragonstorm promotional kit to support this event series, as new Welcome Decks will not be sent for the Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY play season.

**This promo will be from the supply that arrived with your Tarkir: Dragonstorm promotional kit.

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.

For this Magic Academy event, we encourage you to use the Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY Starter Kit in place of the Welcome Deck for the demo experience for players who register as a result of their interest in FINAL FANTASY. This helps to provide an immersive learn-to-play experience where players can learn the ropes of Magic through the lens of their favorite characters and universes!

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* (or Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY Starter Kit), 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®—FINAL FANTASY Starter Kit instead. Please let your players know they will not be able to take this Starter Kit home with them, as it is intended for your store's continued use for future demos.

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.

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 FNM, 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.