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12 months ago ::
Jun 18, 2012 - 6:27AM
#11
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Date Joined:
Jun 21, 2010
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Some players are bad at teaching just because of how competitive they are-- at times they'll let their student make a mechanical mistake because it benefits themselves, and it's pathetic.
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12 months ago ::
Jun 18, 2012 - 6:50AM
#12
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Date Joined:
Jul 19, 2004
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It really is all about keeping their interest. Forgive a long post here, but I think my own experience learning Magic is relevant: My first encounter with Magic was at school when I was about 13, a few of my friends played it. I expressed an interest, ended up getting taught how to play it by one of them but he did a really bad job of it - he's the kind of guy that can't handle not winning, and so not only did he tend to avoid informing me of rules until it gave him an advantage, but he also played a deck really substantially stronger than mine and repeatedly beat the tar out of me. Classic example of how not to pique someone's interest - I gave up pretty quickly. Didn't really give it any further thought until I was at university, aged 18 or so. Again, some of the people I lived with played it, and I ended up watching and getting interested. Fortunately, I vaguely remembered the principles and structure of it from my initial experience with it, but they were also far better at integrating me into games, and they really knew what they were doing. I set myself up with a pretty basic mono-blue fliers deck to get the hang of it. The decks I was playing against were complicated and varied - these guys had played for many years, and so I was playing in 4-5 player chaos multiplayer games against all sorts of weird things - monoblack Zombie control deck full of things like Call to the Grave  , a Broodstar  affinity deck, a weird Jokulhaups  / Underworld Dreams  repeated board-reset deck... it was a really steep learning curve but because of their excellent ability to keep me involved and interested, it all worked. When I went home during the first vacation from university I ended up playing against some of the guys that had previously taught me and failed - I was a much better player with a much better deck than any of them in a matter of months thanks to better teaching. This isn't an opinion of mine, it's empirical (albeit anecdotal) data: players get interested in games by watching real play, not by being taught like a child. (And yes, that includes most actual children!)
I have run into this myself, too - but remember it's one thing to get interested in a game, and then another to learn it. Once you've seen people playing games it may still be easier to learn the game roughly in the way Maro's referring to in the article - as Magic is indeed quite complex. Everyone does learn differently, but there are a lot of good tips in the article as to general things to remember.
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12 months ago ::
Jun 18, 2012 - 7:30AM
#13
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Date Joined:
Feb 22, 2005
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This isn't an opinion of mine, it's empirical (albeit anecdotal) data: players get interested in games by watching real play, not by being taught like a child. (And yes, that includes most actual children!)
Oh, definitely. Most people I introduce to Magic get interested by the sheer amount of action in a 6+ person Commander game. That said, when it's time to start teaching I start with my set of decks from the most recent set made out of mainly commons/uncommons. (Innistrad block was actually perfect for this because most people can easily 'get' the idea of Zombies/Vampires/Werewolves)
So when teaching I of course go piece by piece, but after the first couple games, once they get the hang of the basic mechanics, I like to give them a chance to test drive a Commander deck in order to give them a taste of the sheer power and number of options offered by it. Even little things like using dredge to recur Shambling Shell  off of a Skullclamp  multiple times in one turn are really cool to a new player. Even if they lose, they've then had the chance to see a 'real' deck in action, and Commander games with my group tend to be slow enough that they give a new player a chance to have a serious effect on the outcome, unlike in a 2 player Standard game.
Incidentally, I'd like to see some sort of Commander deck always in print. It was really nice for the first six months where I could tell new players to go grab themselves a Commander deck from Target or Wal-Mart in order to get started with the format. Unforunately the Targets and Wal-Marts in my area no longer have any of the Commander decks, which leaves the game stores, all of which are already charging at least $40 per deck, which is a high barrier of entry for a college or high school student, which is who I'm usually playing with.
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12 months ago ::
Jun 18, 2012 - 7:49AM
#14
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Date Joined:
Jan 11, 2010
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June, 2012
...and here we shall dwell, over the rising lessons and the fresh noobs!
A day may come when Magic Religion shall reach the corners of this world. With M*Ro as our preacher we shall be MTG missionaries in the name of WotC Church! Let it begins with this article!
Farewell brains...hello M13! =/
I'm afraid of what to expect from RTR...and what to expect from the 20th B-day in 2013 (I wish some Dominaria nostalgia block but I wish the world peace too).
JV
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12 months ago ::
Jun 18, 2012 - 7:49AM
#15
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Personally, I've found the single best thing you can do to maintain interest is to play a handful of games with someone, and then give them a stack of cards to take home. Maybe even let them pick the color: "You want to make a green deck? Here you go!"
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12 months ago ::
Jun 18, 2012 - 8:03AM
#16
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Date Joined:
Apr 14, 2012
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I liked this article. Why? Because it was practical. Other things that happen on this column (while they are most certainly interesting) are just interesting diversions. Also, the best way to teach someone is to grab an unedited intro deck. They usually are already tailored for teaching. That is how I really got interested.
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12 months ago ::
Jun 18, 2012 - 11:09AM
#17
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Date Joined:
Aug 11, 2008
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For me, I got interested in playing when I saw a group of kids in middle school playing at lunch. I was curious about the game and one of the players encouraged me to sit and watch. He did ask me to not interrupt during the game, since they wanted to finish before lunch ended, but the casual way of playing among friends was helpful. Winning was secondary to having a good time. He did take time to help me understand a few points after, then showed me the rulebook, which at the time had a game played in it as an example that they would go back to from time to time. This was also helpful as it helped illustrate the points they were making at the time. Finally, after I'd had a chance to go through some of it, he let me use one of his decks and we played one on one with hands face up to see if there were areas I didn't understand. Mark is right about patience, but that patience has to go both ways. With Magic, learning takes time too.
Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.
I've seen angels fall from blinding heights.
But you yourself are nothing so divine.
Just next in line.
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