Preservation edition · October 3, 2026 · Geekenstein Editorial
Historical source: Jake Petersen; January 3, 2013. This is a newly written, condensed account of the retained coverage, with original opinions attributed to their writer. It is not a full-text reproduction or a new firsthand review.
The historical coverage
The second instalment of Petersen’s beginner series continued beyond the initial introduction toward playing and making card choices. It followed the December 2012 article rather than replacing it with an unrelated advanced format guide.
For a newcomer, the series’ lasting value is its order: acquire enough vocabulary to follow a game, then use that knowledge to understand decisions. A deck’s plan, mana requirements and the timing of its plays are more useful starting questions than chasing an impressive individual card.
The historical January 2013 context is retained. Present card legality, product availability and competitive recommendations require current sources. The linked KLX lesson supplies new teaching examples and an explicitly illustrative deck shell; those examples are not attributed to Petersen and are not claimed as his missing original list.
A present-day reading note
The following is new editorial analysis, separate from the historical writer’s words and play report.
For Standard, check the current legal sets and banned list before buying singles. A historical deck is not made legal by appearing in an old beginner article. Commander uses a different construction model; learning a 60-card duel first can make that larger multiplayer format less overwhelming.
Continue with a sourced reference
For the wider topic and primary references, read How to start playing Magic: The Gathering on KLXCards. The historical assessment above remains a separate, dated source.
Source and omissions
The original article container was retained in a Common Crawl capture dated 2015-09-02. Original prose, biography, advertisements and images are not republished. Named recordings are linked only where the original public upload is verified. Missing full deck quantities and media are stated rather than invented.
Common Crawl source record · Historical capture 20150902103046.