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Since its inception, Magic has used exceptionally high quality art on its cards. Each card has a fantasy-themed picture related to what the card represents. Each picture usually includes elements of the colour of the spell, contains the background of the set it is published in, and relates to the flavor of the spell as given in the flavor text or title. The art proved so popular that Wizards of the Coast released a book titled The Art of Magic: The Gathering (BooksEnthsiast.com) in 1998. Notable artists who have contributed art for Magic cards include John Avon , John Coulthart, Kaja Foglio, Phil Foglio, Frank Kelly Freas, Rebecca Guay , John Howe, Bill Sienkiewicz, Bryan Talbot, Christopher Rush and Michael Whelan.
Three to four new sets for the game are published each year, adding 600-700 new cards annually. Competitive players of the game, especially those that participate in tournaments which use DCI-sanctioned format known as Standard or Type II, must frequently adapt their constructed decks because the competitive environment changes each time the list of allowed sets is changed. To collect the cards needed, players either purchase un-opened packs or specific cards from stores, or trade with other players. In Standard, new sets are added shortly after the official release date, and removed after approximately two years. Other formats, such as Extended and Type I, allow sets to be played for much longer durations, but many older, hard-to-find, or widely-used cards increase in price dramatically over time because they hold higher competitive value.
In Limited formats, such as sealed-deck and draft, players are provided un-opened packs at the start of the event and must construct decks using only the cards received. Costs for individual events are relatively steady because deck preparation is negated, but frequent play or practice does require investment in un-opened packs.
Magic is based on a system of basic resources called lands from which mana is drawn so that spell cards can be played. Drawing too few or too many of these resources during the course of the game can have a detrimental affect on the player's game — a situation known colloquially as "mana-screw". Although a player is able to choose which cards to include in their deck, they cannot choose the order in which the cards are drawn — each deck is shuffled prior to the duel. A player must determine the optimal number of lands to include in their deck, usually by fine-tuning after a number of practice games.
A " mulligan" rule was later introduced into the game, first informally in casual play and then in the official game rules. The "mulligan" allows players to shuffle their hand back into the deck at the start of the game, and re-draw the hand less one card. This action introduces a skill component into this random element of the game. A player can choose to mulligan a hand with too few or too many lands. An excellent source for information on the "mulligan" can be found in the article "Starting Over" by Mark Rosewater.
Some casual play variants of the game allow basic lands and spells to be shuffled separately as two "decks", and players can draw from either deck.
The presence of these random factors cause great debate amongst players who argue whether luck or skill is a more significant factor in play, especially in tournaments, when match pairings are important (since some types of decks may be better or worse at handling others). It's generally agreed that the game has elements of both; even Limited tournaments tend to have the same core players winning consistently. It is the ratio of these two factors, as well as how significant luck is in the game in general, that is contested.
A good portion of the skill in playing Magic lies in the ability to build good decks. In order to do this a player must conceive of a strategy, and pick the cards that they wish to use in pursuing that strategy. It is an ability that involves balancing statistical mathematical considerations, evaluations of card efficiency, and metagame strategy. It isn't a skill that is trivial to pick up, and it can take people years to master.
For better or worse, the information age has altered things. Now, a relatively inexperienced player can find lists of decks that have won national tournaments posted on the Internet, and simply copy them. This is referred to as net decking. While they won't have the same playing ability as a world-champion Magic player, this makes the game in a competitive play environment more random by eliminating the variable of a player's deck-building skill. There are some players who advocate Limited formats of competitive Magic over Constructed formats as a result.
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