We will explore the fantastic world of Magic: the Gathering by delving into its gameplay, lore, strategy, and many other factors that all shape the game’s complexity and awesomeness. Students will have the opportunity to design their own decks, participate in tournaments, and learn how to evaluate and advance their play decisions using probability. By the end of this course, students should become more confident Magic players and gain both a deeper knowledge and greater appreciation for the game that will last a lifetime!

Whether you know nothing about the game or have been playing since Alpha, this course welcomes both new and experienced players alike.

This is a 1 unit course that meets weekly for 2 hours, where the first hour is dedicated to lecture and the remaining hour is reserved for free play. The first half of the course (pre-mid-semester tournament) will introduce the basics of Magic, and the second half (post-mid-semester tournament) will touch on more advanced topics of the game.

We will be doing a sealed league throughout the semester using the most current block (Ixalan) keeping track of match statistics every week. Students will be given 6 booster packs in Week 2. The Mid-Semester Tournament will be an in-class Ixalan draft tournament where students will open 3 booster packs in a draft format to build their deck from. The End-of-Term Tournament will also be an in-class draft. Don’t worry if you do not know what a draft is, you’ll learn what it is in the class! These tournaments are meant to be fun, friendly, and low-stake measures to test the student’s knowledge, so don't be intimidated! This also means by the end of the course, students will own, have made, and leave with three completed limited decks.

We will be choosing to focus gameplay primarily within the limited formats for two reasons. 1. To keep the card pool accessible and to ensure all students are on even footing. 2. Other formats would most likely require proxying, and playing with real Magic cards feels infinitely better than playing with proxies.

Grades:
The course will be on a Pass/Not-Pass scale. There are 13 assignments throughout the semester. Students must complete all thirteen assignments in order to receive a passing grade. In other words, homework counts for 100% of your grade in the course. See the next section regarding the relationship between attendance and homework.

Attendance:
Attendance is mandatory. We want to give you guys the best experience with Magic, but that also means you have to come to class. Each student will be allowed two unexcused absences for the semester for any reason; they do not have to tell the instructor. However, after two absences, any absence after that results in requiring to submit a make-up assignment. Remember, a student needs to complete all weekly assignments and any make-up assignments to pass the class.

Prerequisites:
Magic is fun but it does cost money! There will be a total fee of $40 to purchase the booster packs we will be using for our Sealed League, Mid-Semester Tournament, and End-of-Term Tournament. Of course, all cards purchased are yours to keep, trade, alter, or whatever it is you do with your Magic cards forever.

Sealed League: A course fee of $20 to receive 6 booster packs.

Mid-Semester Tournament: A course fee of $10 to receive 3 booster packs.

End-of-Term Tournament: A course fee of $10 to receive 3 booster packs.