How to Start Playing Magic: The Gathering: Beginner Boxes, Jumpstart Packs & Commander Precons
New to Magic: The Gathering? Here's the Easiest Way In
So you've decided you want to give Magic: The Gathering a go — great choice. If you missed it, we broke down what Magic actually is and how formats like Standard, Modern and Commander differ in our last post. This time, we're getting practical: what should you actually buy to start playing, and what does each option get you?
The good news is Wizards of the Coast has put a lot of work into making Magic approachable for brand-new players, and there are a few clear starting points depending on how you like to learn.
Beginner Boxes: The Complete Starter Kit
If you want everything you need in one box — two ready-to-play decks, a rulebook, tokens, and accessories — a Beginner Box is the simplest way to get two people playing their very first game of Magic tonight.
Magic: The Gathering Foundations Beginner Box – $54.95 AUD
Built around Foundations, Magic's dedicated entry-point set, this box is designed specifically to teach the core mechanics of the game from scratch. Inside you'll find a substantial pool of cards (387 in total, including a strong helping of rares and foils), a deck builder's guide, reference cards, tokens, a life counter, and a storage case to keep it all organised. It's less "two decks and you're done" and more "everything you need to learn the rules and then start building your own deck," which makes it a great option if you know you want to stick with the hobby long-term.
Shop the Foundations Beginner Box
Magic: The Gathering – Avatar: The Last Airbender Beginner Box – $59.95 AUD
For anyone who grew up with Aang, Zuko, and Katara, this box is a genuinely fun way into the game. It comes with two 20-card tutorial decks — Aang vs. Zuko — plus step-by-step guide booklets to walk you through your very first turns, so two players can sit down and start straight away with no deckbuilding required. Once you've got the hang of it, the box also includes eight Avatar-themed Jumpstart half-decks to mix, match, and keep building new 40-card combinations. It also comes with a rules reference booklet, two playmats, and two spindown life counters — a great pick-up for a friend or family member you want to teach the game to at the same time.
Shop the Avatar: The Last Airbender Beginner Box
Jumpstart Packs: The Fastest Way to a Playable Deck
If a full Beginner Box feels like more than you need right now, Jumpstart packs are the lighter, cheaper entry point — and honestly one of the most underrated ways to try Magic.
Each Jumpstart Booster Pack contains 20 themed cards built around a specific strategy or character. The trick is simple: grab two packs, shuffle them together, and you've got an instant 40-card deck ready to play. There's no deckbuilding knowledge needed — the packs are pre-designed so that any two you combine will work together reasonably well, which makes them perfect for casual game nights, teaching new players, or just trying out a theme that catches your eye.
Magic: The Gathering – Avatar: The Last Airbender Jumpstart Booster Pack – $10.00 AUD
Each pack is themed around one of the Four Nations or an iconic Avatar character like Aang, Zuko, Katara or Toph, and includes one to two rare or mythic rare cards along with foil treatments. Pick up two different packs, combine them, and you've got a deck built in minutes. At $10 a pack, it's one of the most affordable ways to see if Magic clicks for you — and a great grab for a spontaneous two-player game at the store.
Shop the Avatar: The Last Airbender Jumpstart Booster Pack
Commander Precons: Your Bridge Into the Most Popular Way to Play
Once you've got the basics down, a lot of players naturally graduate toward Commander — the 100-card, multiplayer format we covered in our last post. The good news is you don't need to build a Commander deck from scratch to try it. Wizards of the Coast regularly releases preconstructed Commander decks that are ready to play straight out of the box, built around a specific strategy and led by a powerful legendary creature.
A great current example on our shelves is the Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck range — five different 100-card decks, each led by its own legendary Commander and aligned with one of Strixhaven's five colleges: Lorehold, Silverquill, Prismari, Witherbloom, and Quandrix. Every deck comes ready to play with a foil-etched Display Commander, tokens, a life tracker, and a deck box — no deckbuilding knowledge required. At $84.95 AUD, a precon like this gets you a complete Commander experience straight out of the box.
We're planning a full, dedicated post that goes much deeper into Commander — how the format works at the table, how to pick a precon that matches your playstyle, and how to start upgrading a precon into something truly your own. Keep an eye out for it if Commander sounds like your kind of Magic.
So, Which Should You Buy First?
- Want everything in one box to learn the rules properly? Grab a Foundations Beginner Box.
- Want two ready-built decks so you and a friend can play tonight? The Avatar: The Last Airbender Beginner Box has you covered.
- Want the cheapest, fastest way to try the game? Grab a couple of Jumpstart Booster Packs and shuffle them together.
- Already keen on multiplayer, casual Magic? A Commander precon is the format's easiest on-ramp.
Best Played in Person
Every one of these products is designed to get cards in your hands quickly — but Magic is at its best across a table from someone else. That's exactly what you'll find at our Fairfield store: a place to bring a beginner box, sit down, and actually learn the game with people who play it every week. We run regular Magic game nights and are always happy to help a new player pick their first deck, explain a confusing rule, or just get a casual game going.
Come see us at 30 Ware St, Fairfield NSW 2165 — Thursday 7–9pm, Friday 9am–9pm, Saturday 9am–5pm, or Sunday 9am–4pm — or browse our full Magic: The Gathering range online anytime.