Your First Magic Store Night: Academy, FNM, Commander

Playing Magic at your kitchen table is great. Playing at a game store is how a hobby becomes a habit. You meet people who already love the game, you see decks you would never build, and you get a reason to show up again next week. The first visit is the only hard one.

Find a store

Stores that run official Magic events belong to the Wizards Play Network. The Wizards store and event locator lists them, with their events by date and format. Look for three things: Magic Academy, Friday Night Magic, and Commander nights.

Start at Magic Academy

Magic Academy is the new-player program, and it is the right first event. Wizards’ Magic Academy page describes two kinds:

• Learn to Play events teach the basic rules with simple decks.
• Deck Building events show you how to build your first deck.

They run about one to two hours, including the tutorial and games. You do not need your own cards; the store provides the product. Kids can join too. If a Magic Academy event is not on a store’s calendar, call and ask. Many stores are glad to walk a new player through a game on a quiet night.

Friday Night Magic

Friday Night Magic, or FNM, is the Friday evening event at local stores. Wizards says it welcomes players of all levels. The format depends on the store. It is often Commander, Booster Draft, or Standard, and some stores rotate. Prizes vary by store too.

Before you go, check which format your store runs that week:

• Commander: bring your Commander deck.
• Booster Draft: bring the entry fee. The store supplies the packs, and the prerelease lesson covers how a draft works.
• Standard: you need a deck of at least 60 recent cards. As a new player, try one of the other two first.

Commander nights

Commander nights are the most relaxed way into store play. Players form pods of three to five, usually four, and play one long multiplayer game. What changes from the two-player rules:

• Each player starts at 40 life.
• Your commander starts in the command zone. You can cast it from there, and each time you do, the next cast from there costs 2 more mana.
• A player dealt 21 or more combat damage by the same commander loses.
• In a multiplayer game, your first mulligan is free: you draw a fresh 7 and put nothing on the bottom. Later mulligans count as normal.
• You may attack any opponent, or several, in the same combat.

Before the game, the table usually has a short conversation about decks. Wizards suggests asking which bracket each deck is in. If yours is an unchanged ready-to-play deck, say so. That tells experienced players a lot.

Some stores also run Commander Party events tied to a new set, with a small set-themed twist on the game.

What to bring

• Your deck, in sleeves. Sleeves protect the cards and make shuffling easier. Most stores sell them at the counter.
• A way to track life: the spindown counters from the Beginner Box, a die, or a phone app.
• Dice or small tokens, if your deck makes creature tokens or counters.
• A pen and paper, for life totals in long games.
• The entry fee, if the event has one, and a little extra for a drink or a pack. Buying something supports the store that hosts the night.

How a night runs

At a one-on-one event, you sign up, then the organizer pairs players for each round. Some stores take sign-ups and post pairings in Wizards’ free Companion app; others use a sheet at the counter. Rounds are often a match of best two out of three games, with a time limit. You report your result, then play the next round.

Table etiquette

• Shuffle well, then offer your deck to your opponent. The rules let each player shuffle or cut an opponent’s deck before the game.
• Say what you are doing. “Playing a land, casting this, attacking with these two.” Clear play prevents most arguments.
• Keep your cards visible and tidy on the battlefield, and your graveyard in a neat pile.
• Say “go” or “your turn” when you are done.
• Ask for help when you are unsure. Calling over the organizer or a judge for a rules question is normal and nobody takes it personally.
• Shake hands, win or lose. Thank people for the game.

At a Commander table, two extra habits make you welcome: do not pick on the newest player just because they are easiest to beat, and announce a big turn before you take it. Our piece on Commander politics goes deeper.

If you live near Indianapolis, our guide to where to play Magic in Indianapolis lists stores by area, and the Indianapolis list gets first word on local learn-to-play nights as The Ludarium grows.