Magic: The Gathering is a Trading Card game developed by The Wizards of the Coast. The objective of the game is to bring your opponent's life points down to 0, before they do the same to you. Each player starts at 20, or more, depending on how people set up the game rules. The minimum amount of cards is 60.
Card Types:
Lands or Mana -
To play any card in the game, except lands, it requires mana. Mana is made by 'tapping' lands. Once a land is tapped, the mana goes into your mana pool, free to use. At the top right of a card, there lies the mana cost. A tree-symbol represents forest mana, or green mana. A mountain-symbol represents mountain mana, or red mana. A skull-symbol represents swamp mana, or black mana. A wheat-symbol represents plains mana, or white mana. If there is a number in a circle of gray, that means you can use any mana to pay it. For example:
picture.
These guys go out on the battlefield and do the fighting. Some creatures, usually for a mana cost, have special abilities or powers. For example, the card above says that if you pay 1 swamp mana, you can regenerate this creature. Regenerate means to bring it back to life after it is killed, regeneration effect lasts one turn. On the bottom-right of the cards, shows the Power and Toughness of the creature. The left number shows the power, and the right the toughness. It's power is how much damage it will do to a creature or player. It's toughness is how much damage it can stand before it dies. Note*: It's toughness regains at anyones next turn*.
Instant: Instantly use an ability for mana cost.
Sorcery: Use during your Main Phase's.
Enchantment: Stays on the battlefield, doing its abilities on the card.
Artifact: Like a Enchantment, except more options.
Can't fit anymore. More information at: http://www.magicthegathering.com