Magic: The Gathering isn't always the easiest game to get into, whether it's due to the economics of building half-decent Standard or Commander decks, or the difficulty of finding someone who can teach you the game without passing on their own quirks and inaccuracies.
Well, alongside the launch of the Marvel Super Heroes set, Wizards of the Coast is doing something to make it easier to get into Magic. It's launching Avengers Academy, a week-long initiative to get new or lapsed players back into local game stores and play the game for free.
What is Avengers Academy in MTG?
Avengers Academy is a week-long event that takes place exclusively at participating WPN (Wizards Play Network) stores, where brand new or lapsed Magic players can walk into the store and learn how to play the game for free. You'll even walk away with one of the new Marvel Super Heroes welcome decks.
These 40-card decks are ideal for learning to play Magic, and each one comes with a new and original Mythic Rare card.
There's a good reason these decks aren't at the 60-card mark to begin with: it promotes a simpler teaching experience while leaving room to develop decks and add other cards in the future, teaching players about deck building and card synergies.
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What to do if your local gaming store sells welcome decks
A common problem when Spider-Man Welcome Decks were released was that game stores sold the decks instead of giving them away.
If your local store is part of WPN, you can report them via the WPN website and WotC bark take quick action on selling free promotional items.
But if you're not sure if a store is part of WPN, or you know it's not, then unfortunately there's not much you can do other than warn other players from falling into the trap.
While you can still report non-WPN stores to Wizards of the Coast, action is unlikely to be taken.
If you're desperate to join Avengers Academy but want to be sure you're guaranteed a stock of a deck, it's best to approach your LGS as soon as possible to let them know you're interested and ask for a deck to be held for you.
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