Welcome to Magic Academy, where new planeswalkers get their first spark! We’ll kick things off with a quick how-to-play video, then everyone picks one of the two decks from the Magic Arena 2021 starter kit and gets right into some friendly games. We’ll be floating around the tables helping you learn the ropes, from tapping lands to remembering that yes, your creature does have summoning sickness.

You’ll keep your deck and a code card that unlocks both starter decks on MTG Arena, so you can keep playing at home. And if you’re feeling brave, come back the following Tuesday for our deck-building class, then finish the month strong with our Final Fantasy draft and, three weeks later, the Lorwyn Eclipsed prerelease. December’s busy here at Bards & Cards—just how we like it.