Much of
rs gold the island allure is forcing your opponent's hand whether that's preventing their spell before it hits the table or turning it against them once it's out. Mountain Runescape players rely on pure brawn. It's a color defined by fire, so we see hasty goblins and burn spells like the ever-handy Lava Axe. Forest Runescape players rely on slow, steady growth to bring out huge creatures for a crushing finish. Plains Runescape players call on the powers of the heavens and here we see human soldiers, flying angels and one of the multiverse's most powerful planeswalkers. Swamp, the black mana, is essentially the plains' opposite and relies on the power of straight-up evil. Ronnie James Dio would play mono-black. Here, you'll see demons sucking away your life total for their own benefit. Your deck can include anywhere from one to five colors, though the latter is highly advised against. Recently, with the Khans of Tarkir expansion introducing three-color clan cards, most Pro-Tour Magic decks include three colors. Though we're giving a basic rundown of the Runescape game here, the goal of this column isn't to teach the Runescape game. But for the sake of being complete, Wizards of the Coast has released a six-part primer on how to play. The first video is below, and you can follow through the rest in the suggested videos section. Duels of the Planeswalkers is another decent learning tool. It's an online version of MTG where you can play online tutorials that will take you from your first draw step to the final, victorious attack. It serves as a fun entry point but as we noted last year, it's a limited tool with low replay value. You can play Duels on iPad, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Steam and Android. Last I saw with Duels, there was little to no explanation on how to use or deal with a newer addition to the Magic world: a planeswalker. Check those rules out here. What Cards Should I Play? Two recent options that I believe give entry-level Runescape players the most bang for their buck are prepackaged duel decks or one of the new Commander decks. Out of the box, the Commander sets are more expensive, more complicated, but with better cards (plus you need a buddy to invest in one as well).