Editor's note: This article has been updated to show the correct image of the Magic Community Tutor pin, and clarify the distribution of the gift-with-purchase promo card.

The coolest school is about to be in session—Magic Academy events kick off November 15 at your store. These two new events take the place of Open House as the prime way to introduce new players to the Gathering. Be sure to schedule both events ahead of time and engage your experienced players to be community tutors for family and new friends alike.

During the Foundations play season, your store will receive Magic Community Tutor pins. Please hand these to the most experienced, friendly staff and members of your community who are willing to teach Magic to new players.

For new players getting into Magic for the first time, or for experienced players who want to bring a friend to learn, Learn to Play is the event to sign up for. First, welcome new players with a fun, flavorful learn to play video you’ll play in-store, then pair players up for friendly practice games.

The Deck Building event is the place to be for new players who are ready to level up their game. First, our engaging kick-off video starring Gavin Verhey will show players the ropes of building a 40-card deck using the Sealed format. Next, players will crack six Magic packs and try their hand at building a 40-card deck, and pair up for friendly practice games.

This overview article covers both Magic Academy events, Learn to Play and Deck Building; to jump right to a specific segment of this article, click the following links:

• Magic Academy: Learn to Play
• Magic Academy: Deck Building
• Magic Academy Marketing Material Support

Of course, you may always reference our event pages for full details on upcoming events.

Magic Academy: Learn to Play Details

Event scheduling window: November 15, 2024 – February 6, 2025 (with a key play weekend November 15 – 17); use the Magic Academy: Learn to Play scheduling template

You may schedule as many Magic Academy: Learn to Play events as you'd like during the event period of November 15 – February 6, but we recommend scheduling one during the kickoff weekend of November 15 – 17; we will drive players to stores for that weekend to celebrate the launch of Foundations, and we want your store to be the top of your community's list for a place to play!

Promotional materials for this event will arrive with your Magic: The Gathering Foundations promotional material kit. All promos are available while supplies last; please reference the Promo Usage & Policy Hub for full details regarding promo usage.

Promotional materials include:

• Welcome Decks for participants (English-language only; non-English stores will support the event with the Magic: The Gathering Foundations Beginner Box)
• Learn-to-Play Brochure and pocket reference card for participants
• Gift-with-purchase promo** for players who purchase Magic: The Gathering Foundations Beginner Box, Magic: The Gathering Foundations Starter Collection, or any Starter Kit
• Sticker Sheets for new and experienced player participants
• Magic Community Tutor pins by Pinfinity AR for the most experienced and friendly staff members or players willing to teach new players (given at your store's discretion)

Magic: The Gathering Arena Rewards for Participants*:

• 1 deck on Magic: The Gathering Arena
• Welcome Deck Cosmetic Sleeve on Magic: The Gathering Arena

*Please note, players must be registered for the in-store Magic Academy event with the same Wizards Account connected to their Arena account to receive rewards to their in-game inbox.

**Gift-with-purchase promos should only be distributed during Magic Academy events.

How to Run Magic Academy: Learn to Play

Before beginning the event, 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.

Start your Magic Academy: Learn to Play event by showing your participants the introductory video. It reviews mana colors, anatomy of a card, and basics of combat, and showcases what makes Magic the world’s premier trading card game.

After the video, provide each player with the following:

• Welcome Deck or Beginner Box guided deck experience, depending on language support
• Learn-to-Play brochure
• Pocket reference card
• Sticker sheet

Upon checking in with the event organizer, players will rate their familiarity 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 level whenever possible—to practice Magic using their Welcome Decks. Brand new players may prefer to stick with the mono-colored 30-card Welcome Decks; more advanced (or adventurous!) players can shuffle two 30-card Welcome Decks together to try color combinations in a 60-card deck.

Players using the Beginner Box guided deck experience should not shuffle their decks; help them set up to play by using the included decklists to ensure the cards are in the proper order before playing.

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. Make sure they’re proudly wearing their Magic Community Tutor pin!

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 more events, or playing more practice games with friends at the kitchen table. By downloading the Magic: The Gathering Companion App, players can reference learn to play videos right from their phones, making it easier than ever to build their skills.

Let your participants know they'll earn a copy of the gift-with-purchase promo for purchasing any of the following products:

• Magic: The Gathering Foundations Beginner Box
• Magic: The Gathering Foundations Starter Collection
• Any Starter Kit

Guide them to the next event, Magic Academy: Deck Building, and invite them to return with a friend to keep learning.

Interested Players Can Try the Magic: The Gathering Arena New Player Experience Next

To keep practicing, you may consider encouraging players to download Magic: The Gathering Arena and sign in with the same Wizards Account they used to play at Magic Academy: Learn to Play in store. When they complete the first five games of the new player tutorial, they'll be rewarded with 5 monocolor New Player decks in the game.

Combined with the Welcome Deck they got from your store, that gives them six decks to play and practice with before the next event, Magic Academy: Deck Building.

Magic Academy: Deck Building Details

Event scheduling window: Between November 15, 2024 – February 6, 2025; use the Magic Academy: Deck Building scheduling template

Promotional materials for this event will arrive with your Magic: The Gathering Foundations promotional material kit. All promos are available while supplies last; please reference the Promo Usage & Policy Hub for full details regarding promo usage.

Promotional materials include:

• Learn-to-Play Brochure and pocket reference card for participants
• Sticker Sheets for new and experienced player participants
• Gift-with-purchase promo** for players who purchase Magic: The Gathering Foundations Beginner Box, Magic: The Gathering Foundations Starter Collection, any Starter Kit or to players who purchase 6 Play Boosters at the Deck Building event
• Magic Community Tutor pins by Pinfinity AR for the most experienced and friendly staff members or players willing to teach new players (given at your store's discretion)

Magic: The Gathering Arena Rewards for Participants*:

• 6 Magic: The Gathering Foundations packs on Magic: The Gathering Arena

*Please note, players must be registered for the Magic Academy event with the same Wizards Account connected to their Arena account to receive rewards to their in-game inbox.

**Gift-with-purchase promos should only be distributed during Magic Academy events.

How to Run Magic Academy: Deck Building

Before beginning the event, we strongly encourage that you let players know that they must register with their Wizards Account to receive the 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.

Start the event by playing the deck building instructional video, which explains how to put together a 40-card Magic deck. Topics include:

• What is Sealed format play?
• Sorting cards by color
• Identifying key cards in the pool
• Mana curve planning
• Color combinations

After playing the video in store for participants, provide each player with six Play Boosters (or one Prerelease Pack if available) to use as their sealed card pool, a Learn-to-Play brochure, pocket reference card, and sticker sheet. We encourage you to run this event using Magic: The Gathering Foundations Play Boosters, however you may use other product you have on-hand.

Players will sort out their cards into piles, identify the cards they want to build around, then build their first 40-card deck. Before event organizers split players into pairs for casual one-on-one matches, include a deck review phase where new players show their deck to experienced staff or players who can provide advice to those building a deck for the first time.

Event organizers will then help split players into pairs to play against each other. Run this as a free-play event and assist players in finding new opponents as needed. Players should share their decks with each other before beginning each game, and keep the conversation going while they play to help build understanding of different colors and strategies.

Players who purchase six Play Boosters, a Starter Kit, a Magic: The Gathering Foundations Beginner Box, or a Magic: The Gathering Foundations Starter Collection at the event will earn the gift-with-purchase promo. Gift-with-purchase promos are only available at in-store Magic Academy events, while supplies last.

Magic Academy Digital Marketing Support

Beyond each awesome video and the promotional material support you're receiving in your kit, we're providing you with an array of digital marketing materials to help you prepare your community and staff for these new player focused events.

You'll have ready-to-post social media assets for each event, plus images advertising the gift-with-purchase promo, a "Start Here" sign with QR codes that leads your players to download the Magic Companion App and sign up for a Wizards Account, and an image showcasing the Magic Community Tutor pins.

The digital marketing materials will be shared on our marketing materials page during Foundations debut and the following previews season, allowing you to keep the conversation going with your community right as they're learning about what the set has in store. The supporting videos will be posted on the page and made available on YouTube in early November.

Retailer Run & Report Rewards

WPN retailers that run and report at least one of each Magic Academy event with a minimum of two players—Learn to Play and Deck Building—between November 15 and February 6 will receive a sales incentive item to be used during a future play season after Foundations. The reward will be delivered with the promo materials kit for a future play season after Foundations.

Schedule Your Events Today

Magic Academy: Learn to Play and Deck Building both kick off on November 15, just one month away. Scheduling your events earlier means your players can find your events in the Store & Event Locator sooner, and you have more time to get new and interested players signed up with a Wizards Account.

Don't delay another minute—open Wizards EventLink now and get your Magic Academy events on the books!