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== Overview ==
This guide intends to help you figure out how to make the best of your MTGPQ ''[[Magic: the Gathering Puzzle Quest|MtGPQ]]'' experience. It aims to help you navigate the various pitfalls which a newer player will face and give you a better idea of what to expect for your time and effort.
== Basic Routines & Good Habits ==
* Collect your Free Booster (refreshes every 6 hours and is found in the Vault)
* Win 4 games in each [[Training Grounds]] (TG) every day for {{crystals|30}} and some Runes (TG is found on the Events page)
* Play through [[Portal:Story|Story]] mode to get a feel of the game and to earn some Crystals {{crystals}} and Runes {{runes}}
* In particular, play through the Story Mode Training introducing new set mechanics to get the free [[Card|cards]] from completing the training
* Try to participate in [[Portal:Events|Events]] to the best of your abilities
* Save your UID somewhere (this is the number at the bottom of the Settings page and is greatly important for recovering your account in case anything bad happens) or better yet, take a screenshot of the Settings page
The unfortunate fact is that MTGPQ MtGPQ has a few pitfalls which can drastically worsen a new player’s play experience. The ones to highlight are:
* Spending your in-game currency on obtaining the wrong cards
* Levelling your [[Portal:Planeswalkers|planeswalker]] too quickly or levelling the wrong planeswalker
Always bear in mind that your chances of victory will be influenced by a multitude of factors. These include your [[card]] collection, your [[Portal:Planeswalkers|planeswalker]] collection, your Colour Mastery tier, your opponents and RNGesus. The main factors you can control are your card and planeswalker collection, and your Colour Mastery tier.
With that in mind, we will first cover the significance of the distinction between [[Standard]] and [[Legacy]], followed by suggestions how to spend your in-game currencies, an overview on Colour Mastery, and what the ‘Wall’ is. Hopefully after reading through the next few sections, you will understand why the aforementioned points are pitfalls and how to avoid them. That will then be followed by looking at the value of spending money in this game and some useful statistics on card drop rates to round off the general areas one should know about in MTGPQMtGPQ.
== Standard and Legacy ==
In MTGPQMtGPQ, there are [[Standard]] and [[Legacy]] events. Standard events are restricted to cards from [[Origins ]] and the sets from the two newest MTG MtG years. The MTG MtG year starts from the Fall release, so when the next Fall set is released, the oldest four sets will rotate out of Standard.
For example, the Fall sets of the current two years in Standard rotation are [[Ixalan ]] and [[Guilds of Ravnica]]. When the Fall set of 2019 is released in MtGPQ, [[Ixalan ]] and the other three sets in its year ([[Rivals of Ixalan]], [[Dominaria]], and [[Core Set 2019]]) will rotate altogether out of Standard.
When you tap the info button for each event, Standard events will have a display circling the sets which are valid. Legacy events will not. Also, Legacy events and card packs will have a blue banner on the top left. Note that all cards from Free Boosters will be from Standard sets.
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== In-Game Currency and What to Spend On ==
There are 4 primary currencies in MTGPQMtGPQ. <br \>
'''Runes {{runes}}:''' These are used for levelling your planeswalkers. They are also used for unlocking an additional deck slot when your planeswalker is at level 60.<br \>
'''Crystals {{crystals}}:''' This is your primary currency for obtaining new cards. Crystals are used for purchasing most card packs, for purchasing planeswalkers [[Planeswalkers]] and as the entry fee for [[Trial of the Planes ]] and [[Rising Tensions]]. Deck slots can also be purchased with Crystals. Once in a blue moon there may be special offers which can be purchased using Crystals.<br \>
'''Jewels {{jewels}}:''' This is the currency designated by the developers for end-game players to have an easier path to pursue the [[Card pack#Rarities|Mythics]] and [[Card pack#Rarities|Masterpieces]] available in-game. They are used mainly for purchasing packs from the Masterpiece Collection although there are occasionally special offers available for purchase by Jewels.<br \>
'''Orbs {{orbs}} (shown on the Booster Crafting page):''' This is the currency that enables everyone to eventually work towards a complete collection. Whenever you open a duplicate card, they are automatically converted into Orbs and Runes.
Colour Mastery is both a boon and a trap. Its intention was to differentiate players of different skill levels to allow players to compete with others of similar levels by splitting everyone into 4 tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. You earn Colour Mastery points by using a card repeatedly in your decks, with [[Card pack#Rarities|Common]] ({{Rarity|C|18}}) / [[Card pack#Rarities|Uncommon]] ({{Rarity|U|18}}) / [[Card pack#Rarities|Rare]] ({{Rarity|R|18}}) / [[Card pack#Rarities|Mythic]] ({{Rarity|M|18}}) / [[Card pack#Rarities|Masterpiece]] ({{Rarity|MP|18}}) giving 2 / 4 / 8 / 16 / 16 Mastery points when mastered to the colour(s) of the card (or half the points to all colours if Colourless) respectively. However, the implementation was not done in the best of ways.
Consequently, what happens is that players are lured by the prospect of greater rewards in higher tiers and some choose to intentionally master cards to reach a higher tier only to find that they cannot compete as their card collection is way weaker than what is needed to compete at that tier. And the biggest problem is that there is no way to drop back down to a lower tier, so these players are stuck having to fight against opponents with decks that outclass theirs completely. This can be the deathblow that kills any fun you might have in MTGPQ MtGPQ (at least for quite a long while) so avoid making this mistake.
Another consequence of this system is that it somewhat discourages experimentation with cards as mastering too many cards will push you more quickly towards a higher tier. This is unfortunate but the only option at the moment is to try to avoid mastering bad cards and to consciously only master the better cards you currently have, especially when your collection is small and you are still gaining new cards at a decent rate.
== The ‘Wall’ ==
At some point (primarily if you are a Free-to-Play player) you will find that you are not getting that many new cards but your collection still isn’t good enough to compete for top ranking within your tier. This is in part due to MTGPQ MtGPQ not having a surge of packs for newer players like many of the other Gacha games do, and also in part due to the sheer number of cards that are available in the game (Standard stands at 1,123 cards as of the end of January 2019, Legacy has 2,353).
Don’t be too worried about this. At this point you would hopefully already be in a coalition with people whom you can identify with or share similar goals with. Take this time to better learn the intricacies of the game rather than feeling like you have to rush to process new cards all the time. At some point, you will break through the wall and maybe you will find that you are then ready to take on greater challenges in MTGPQMtGPQ.
Also take heart that the introduction of Booster Crafting and Orbs means that your duplicate cards will now gradually contribute to you getting to open a new card for your collection. The in-depth details of the system and the conversion rates can be found here.
No. As previously mentioned, your card and planeswalker collection play important roles in determining how competitive you can be. Your desired planeswalker can take weeks to cycle into the Vault for purchase. You may not get a particular card you want from a set regardless of the number of packs you open from the set. Instead you may only be able to craft it with Orbs much further down the road. Even with Booster Crafting, there is still an element of luck involved if there are other cards in the crafting pool of the card which you want.
Luck is a factor which will persist throughout your time with the game. There will also be luck involved in the card draw, board generation and opponents faced for each match. This is an important aspect of MTGPQ MtGPQ that one has to be comfortable with.
==== Will spending money help you be competitive more quickly? ====
==== Other useful information relating to spending money ====
The new planeswalkers out for cash will only be released for Crystals in the Vault at least three weeks later, giving those who pay for the planeswalker an exclusive period to utilise a planeswalker whose abilities are typically built to synergise with the latest card set and help greatly in hitting the objectives in coalition events. However, remember that planeswalkers will eventually be available in the Vault for Crystals.
== What’s Next? ==
The advice in this guide should provide you with a strong foundation for MTGPQMtGPQ. For more advanced discussions, I recommend to seek out an active coalition and/or the MTGPQ MtGPQ communities available (primarily the rest of this wiki, the official forums, Reddit, Discord and Slack).
I would like to add a caveat that this guide is for players who are still finding their footing in the game. Certainly, some points will remain valid while others will not as you progress on in the game. One example being that if you are in the end-game phase for MTGPQMtGPQ, [[Trial of the Planes]] actually becomes your best option for spending Crystals {{crystals}} on as opposed to being an absolutely terrible option for newer players. May you enjoy your time playing MTGPQMtGPQ!
[[Category:Guide]]
