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Level One: The Complete Course
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 23, 2021
This is a strategy guide for the game Magic: The Gathering. This is one of the most popular strategy card games in the world, with new sets being added for 30 years, a pro tour and entire retail establishments just dedicated to this game.
As a new player to the game, I thoroughly enjoyed this strategy book. It has specific examples, strategic principles, and even some of the amazing graphics that Magic: The Gathering is famous for.
If you're a player of this game, this is a must read.
As a new player to the game, I thoroughly enjoyed this strategy book. It has specific examples, strategic principles, and even some of the amazing graphics that Magic: The Gathering is famous for.
If you're a player of this game, this is a must read.
May 30, 2020
As a returning player (not that I was much of a player before), this book was the perfect medium to really grasp how deep and strategic Magic is. Through it I could follow the thought process of the game's best players, understand how they balance their decisions given the available information, and plan ahead to outsmart the opponent.
The thing that stroke me the most, and that I missed the first time around, is how many of the heuristics and situations that arise in-game are parallels to my day-to-day work. I have found that I am more pondered and assertive at decision-making now that I have been familiarizing myself more with Magic and am able to abstract away the heuristics I use in it. One simple example is the acquiring information vs taking action dilemma: you should seek to collect all the information you can prior to taking action, while forcing the opponent to take action with an information deficit. This might seem too simple, and a message well conveyed in other kind of mediums. But if you know anything about learning, you'll know that when the time comes you, more often than not, resort back to your "instinctive" knowledge, and the way to build something into that "section" of our mind is to repeat the process to reinforce the neural pathways.
Reid Duke is an amazing strategist. While this "book" is a collection of articles in some way stuck in time, they might spark in you the curiosity to know more of this great game and find the joys in and outside the gaming table.
The thing that stroke me the most, and that I missed the first time around, is how many of the heuristics and situations that arise in-game are parallels to my day-to-day work. I have found that I am more pondered and assertive at decision-making now that I have been familiarizing myself more with Magic and am able to abstract away the heuristics I use in it. One simple example is the acquiring information vs taking action dilemma: you should seek to collect all the information you can prior to taking action, while forcing the opponent to take action with an information deficit. This might seem too simple, and a message well conveyed in other kind of mediums. But if you know anything about learning, you'll know that when the time comes you, more often than not, resort back to your "instinctive" knowledge, and the way to build something into that "section" of our mind is to repeat the process to reinforce the neural pathways.
Reid Duke is an amazing strategist. While this "book" is a collection of articles in some way stuck in time, they might spark in you the curiosity to know more of this great game and find the joys in and outside the gaming table.
April 26, 2025
This book is great in the sense of all that it teaches regarding game mechanics and what you should be looking for strategically when playing Mtg. He uses examples which makes it easy.
Only thing I didn’t like was some information felt repetitive or very niche for specific cards or decks. But I also understand this is a compilation of all his articles put into a book.
Regardless, this is best book on Magic: The Gathering essentials and for learning tips to enhance your game play and strategy.
Only thing I didn’t like was some information felt repetitive or very niche for specific cards or decks. But I also understand this is a compilation of all his articles put into a book.
Regardless, this is best book on Magic: The Gathering essentials and for learning tips to enhance your game play and strategy.
March 14, 2020
Contains essential Magic the Gathering knowledge, and I would highly recommend it for beginning players. However, contains a lot of news-y content which has probably made sense when this was released in blog format, but doesn't anymore. Also it's a bit too long and the information could be presented in a shorter format.
September 1, 2024
Some of the content’s a little dated and the Tarkir previews are a little awkward this far in the future, but all the strategy info’s basically gold
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews