Magic the Gathering collides with a card database allowing for the first collectible card game to become more accessible to the planeswalkers (players) of the world. The goal of Magic the Gathering is for one player to reach a total of zero points. This presentation presents some facts regarding Magic the Gathering, the parts of a card, a brief introduction to Scryfall, and how to use the syntax of Scryfall to search for cards to complete a deck with the use of a Commander.
Scryfall is a database for the fantasy collectible card game Magic the Gathering. With a search engine homepage, users can search in five different ways: search bar, advanced search, syntax guide, all sets, and random card. Each way creates different results. Users can go from a basic search to refining the search, using keywords and expressions, different sets from the games, and a sense of pure randomness.
Information found from these searches are the parts of the card themselves which is explained in more detail on the database with a brief description in the presentation. Parts of the card taught in the presentation include mana, subtype, supertype, and effect. Mana is the price of the card in order to play and contains the color identity, which is helpful when creating a deck.
Following the introduction to Scryfall and the parts of the card, users watch a screencast that demonstrates how to use the syntax guide to look for specific cards to complete a deck. The screencast looks at color, type, and mana cost.
Following the presentation, the facilitator could pose discussions questions to a conversation to the presentation or even present a challenge for learners to solve. Discussion questions could include “How you might be able to use Scryfall to execute the first step of this process- finding a commander?” There could be multiple answers with how to start a search. The parts of the card, different types of creatures, color identity, and effects are just a couple of starting points. An activity that could be complete would be one of asking learners to search for a similar card on their own using the syntax shown in the screencast.
This presentation is a companion to a lesson draft. Here is the link if needed https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hPK0iLFezsdjoP5dFgkA0mQKmP-7_Ylfg3Cph_BJuqQ/export?format=pdf
