You're a lucky man.  You've finally found a group of  "Magic Buddies" who'd absolutely love to get together once or twice a week to geek out.   The stars have somehow aligned and you finally have some of those "friend" things people are always telling you to get.  You've struck gold- never forget that.  As the geekiest member of this crew it is your job to ensure your Friday night nerd fests occur regularly and that everyone continues to love, collect, and play Magic the Gathering.

It is important to realize that each of your new friends comes to the table with a different quantity of skill, cards and experience.  Assuming none of you are attending the Pro Tours anytime soon you'll probably be entering the game as "casual" players.

[caption id="attachment_474" align="alignright" width="288" caption="You and your new friends!"][/caption]

Fear not! - Most of us are "casual players" and that certainly doesn't mean you and your crew can't play advanced or even "tournament level" Magic the Gathering.

The gaps in skill and experience between players can ultimately put a damper on your epic duels.  More advanced players tend to feel like they need to "tone it down" while the newer players sometimes feel overwhelmed and outmatched.  After an initial learning period it is up to you to get the entire group up to that advanced level.  The level you've always dreamed of being a part of.

[caption id="attachment_496" align="alignleft" width="220" caption="The most effective way to convey information is to let one experience things for oneself."][/caption]

Getting even a small group of players up to snuff is a complex task.   Mission #1 should be to continue to play Magic as often as possible.  Many make the mistake of toning down their games in an effort to keep the game more "casual".  Putting this kind of restriction on your games will never get you that elite MTG group you've always wanted.  So how do you avoid this dismal purgatory of mediocrity?  By letting a type of "natural selection" take place where players who make mistakes and lose games continue to do so until they find their own solutions.   Keep playing your A-Game and don't think about gimping your own decks.  The best way to show them what a good deck looks like is to show them one in action.  Be there before, during and after the game with helpful suggestions and cleverly dropped hints,  but do not be afraid to let them feel the stinging sensation of a loss.  Hopefully, after a few of these situational setbacks they'll alter their decks to compensate for the deficiencies.  Eventually they'll be able to catch and correct these on their own, but early on the more experienced players in the group need to carefully nudge the others in the right direction.  Heck, you could even direct them to an article or two on this site!  Keeping their head in and around the game is half the battle.  However nothing kindles that competitive fire more than a suffering a preventable loss.  This goes for even the most experienced MTG players.

You should always bring your best.  Even when you're  chilling out in your college dorm room, drinking diet bawls and munching on some Blazin' Buffalo & Ranch Doritos.  It just isn't a game otherwise.  You'll be playing against sub-par opponents for the rest of your days if you continue down that path.  You wouldn't ask your friends to "tone it down" for a friendly game of poker would you?   Its a natural selection that happens when players lose over and over.  They tend to learn from their mistakes and evolve their decks and skills for the future.  If we attempt to artificially intervene by encouraging horrible deck making you'll always be playing with buddies who will never be on your level.  You'll also miss out on that high level thinking and discussion about Magic (found in abundance here at GatheringMagic.com) that comes when you hang with veteran players.

[caption id="attachment_506" align="alignright" width="292" caption="Your crew after letting "Natural Selection" take its course..."][/caption]

Most games of MTG are considered "casual" but don't let the connotations of that word lul you into playing sub par decks for the sake of "keeping it casual".  Keep pushing the envelope of your own Magic group.  Help each other get better by bringing your A-Game to every encounter, even in a casual atmosphere.   No one has fun being or playing against a gimped player.  Let your local group evolve by allowing nature take its course.  Honing and sculpting more advanced Magic the Gathering players.  Both you and your crew will be better for it.