Magic the Gathering Advice,

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I wanted to get my young nephew (9) and his friend into the card game magic the gathering. I thought it might improve his maths. (I am a sneaky aunty)

Is there any starter packs or books you can recommend that I could buy and they could share out between them?

 

[ddrfr33k]

Start with the Core Sets. The 2012 edition just came out last friday, and the intro packs are a great place to get started. Upon further inspection of the mtg website, that would definitely be a good place to start. White and green can be the easiest colors to grasp initially, and I think they're fantastic places to start. WotC tests these decks with the intent of making them easy to understand and start playing with them. I'd say get one for you and one for your nephew and sit down to teach him how to play. It would also be prudent of you to read up on the latest rules updates (mana burn was removed in 2010, and combat damage stopped going on the stack at the same time) so your nephew doesn't make you look bad when he finds a card that does something different than you think it does.

 

[aba1]

I wanted to get my young nephew (9) and his friend into the card game magic the gathering. I thought it might improve his maths. (I am a sneaky aunty)

Is there any starter packs or books you can recommend that I could buy and they could share out between them?

I recomend starting them from the coresets (m12, m11, m10) they have cards that tend to be decent and work by themseves rather than being dependant on other cards to much so it makes it easier to customize decks. There is also premade decks you can buy which are always good for beginers also its good to know each colour in magic represents a different play style.

green = power (lots of mana excelleration to get out huge powerhouses fast)
red = speed (lots of direct damage and fast spells that are weak but add up quick)
black = sacrafice to get ahead (lots of discard and creature removal)
blue = control and manipulation ( tends to copy and steal creatures or counter spells)
white = midrange (white tends to do a bit of everything but is strong at getting alot of creatures and getting armys set up)

I agree with above tho green is ussually the best colour for getting started since it tends to be a little more straight forward.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Okay thanks I thought if I learned to play then sat down and showed them would be the best method but the products were a little overwhelming. Thanks for the advice about the white and green packs it gives me somthing to narrow it down to

 

[ddrfr33k]

I'd say skip the M10, because they were still making 40-card intro packs at that time. If he takes it to another casual event type shindig, they'll probably look at him kind of funny for using a 40-card deck in constructed. IIRC, Zendikar was when they made the change over to the "60-card + booster" intro pack format. Both M11 and M12 will reflect this change.

 

[ddrfr33k]

Here's a link for ya. [http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/productarticle.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/magic2012/themedeck] Start with Mystical Might, Blood and Fire, and Entangling Webs. If your sister is really conservative, avoid grab for power entirely. I like the Mystical Might deck, and I want to play around with it myself, but counter magic is difficult to grasp at first. This is compounded when you don't have someone to demonstrate how it works.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Thanks for the link I'll check it out. I have heard the blue is a nice one to play but complicated. They are only little so I don't want to overwhelm them hehe. She not really conservative but yeah I don't want to give them nightmares lol.

 

[Johnny Impact]

Base sets are best: M10, M11, M12. Expansions are just that, elaborations on an existing theme. Start simple. They'll grow into it.

If there's a hobby store near you, the clerk is the best person to ask. He almost certainly will be well versed in the game. If he isn't, he can point you to a Magic nerd (probably in the store at that moment) who can tell you a whole lot more than you would ever want to know.

Magic is a great game. I started playing just as Fallen Empires came out and kept up with it until around Apocalypse. Gave it up as there were too many cards to keep track of, and too much power creep. Haven't touched my cards in years, but I still have them.

 

[Sandernista]

I think YGO would also be good game to power level math skills. Very easy to get into, but can be a bit more competitive environment than MTG.

 

[ddrfr33k]

I think YGO would also be good game to power level math skills. Very easy to get into, but can be a bit more competitive environment than MTG.

Not necessarily. Younger kids can have a difficult time grasping large numbers. Pokemon and Magic are definitely a lot easier to work with from a child's mind. Speaking from experience. When I'm not working at Gamestop on saturdays, I'll usually be teaching kids how to play the pokemon card game at this local game shop. Two years ago, I played with a three and a half year old girl who had just learned how to flip a coin. She didn't even know how to read. Her dad was over her shoulder, helping her along. She was having the time of her life, and was learning how to add, subtract, and multiply in the process. Even so, adding tens can get difficult for younger children.

I'm also hesitant to include YGO because some of the cards are inherently confusing. That's not to say magic or pokemon aren't, it's just that it's easier to keep the confusing cards to minimal levels in the other two mentioned games.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

It was my concern that it would be too complicated but looking at the rules it seems to be pretty straightforward once you have the basics down. His friend is a little girl who is quite mature so I think she will keep them right if anything.

 

[Sandernista]

I think YGO would also be good game to power level math skills. Very easy to get into, but can be a bit more competitive environment than MTG.

Not necessarily. Younger kids can have a difficult time grasping large numbers. Pokemon and Magic are definitely a lot easier to work with from a child's mind. Speaking from experience. When I'm not working at Gamestop on saturdays, I'll usually be teaching kids how to play the pokemon card game at this local game shop. Two years ago, I played with a three and a half year old girl who had just learned how to flip a coin. She didn't even know how to read. Her dad was over her shoulder, helping her along. She was having the time of her life, and was learning how to add, subtract, and multiply in the process. Even so, adding tens can get difficult for younger children.

I'm also hesitant to include YGO because some of the cards are inherently confusing. That's not to say magic or pokemon aren't, it's just that it's easier to keep the confusing cards to minimal levels in the other two mentioned games.

I was just thinking the math is more intense in YGO, but I definitely agree if he's more on the younger side of 'kid'.

ETA: an 's' D:

 

[Kahunaburger]

Get a pre-made deck. I haven't played that game since I was around his age, so I can't speak to what's out now, but back in my day there was a set called Portal which was basically an introduction into the game. And yeah, I definitely agree with you that it's going to help teach him strategy, planning, etc. (Not sure about math, though.)