<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Professor of Symbology" href="#" target="_blank">Professor of Symbology</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.jasonrainville.com/">Jason Rainville</a>
If you've played Magic for any length of time, you know all about the proliferation of stuff that comes with the hobby. You've got your desk towers, closet boxes, draft leftovers in the glovebox...all of it is basically a rite of passage. Largely, the vast majority of any Magic collection is worth next to nothing and only really takes up space, but most of us keep it around. Why? We all have our reasons, but for many, it might boil down to simply not knowing what to do with all those cards.
MagiKids has an answer, though. The organization collects donated bulk and assembles it into free kits for classrooms, libraries, and after-school programs. If you've been at any large event, you've likely seen their setup — a booth or table crowded with families of Magic players, plenty of buzz and activity, and of course, big bins of donated cards.
We spoke with <a href="https://magikids.org/">MagiKids</a> about the philosophy behind the program, and with Alex, a teacher at Eagle Rock Middle School who offered his own experience with that donated bulk, but on the receiving end. In honor of educators everywhere, and in the season of students worldwide returning to school, let's talk Magic's educational value.
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<h2 dir="ltr">MagiKids</h2>
Speaking for MagiKids is Natalie Rosin, Administrative Lead for the organization since May of last year and veteran of the nonprofit sector. Natalie, also known as <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/giraffanat.bsky.social">Giraffa Nat</a>, is also a cosplayer, content creator and Magic player.
MagiKids talks about supporting the "<a href="https://magikids.org/mission">intellectual health</a>" of young people rather than test scores or grades. What does that phrase mean to you, and why is it the right way to frame what Magic does?
Intellectual health, for us, really embodies the vast number of skills that go beyond just standardized curriculum and classroom learning. We have seen how Magic can develop critical thinking, socialization, confidence, problem-solving and more. One of the beautiful things about the complexity of Magic is that it provides so many components. Just looking at the cards themselves, there's math, reading, art, language, history, and science. Once you get into the actual gameplay, you start bringing in the social aspects, decision making, and so on. Everyone has a different way of learning, and something like Magic allows people to utilize those preferred methods.
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Walk me through Sort, Build, Play. Why those three steps, and what happens for a kid as they move through them?
The Sort, Build, Play curriculum is designed to provide a template. We chose these three steps because we found they are very applicable and flexible to all skill levels. As a veteran Magic player, you think about sitting down for a draft — once you have your cards you go through this same process. You sort your cards by color, type, or function, then you build your deck, and you play it.
For a new player, sorting through the bulk cards first allows them to start recognizing patterns and allows them to discover interests. Which card is your favorite so far — why is that card your favorite? Maybe it's the art, maybe it has really big numbers, maybe it has an interesting name. Once they've done that, they start building their decks. For brand new players, this could be a basic monocolor deck of ten lands and ten creatures. As they advance they can start adding in other cards, another color, until they reach the level of comfortably building a normal deck. In this step, we are applying those patterns and themes and thinking about things like mana cost — math, in other words.
The last part is play, which is where the kids get to learn, play, and engage with their peers through the game. That's where the magic happens.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Donate"></div></div>
The whole model runs on donated cards that would otherwise go unused — turning bulk nobody wants into free kits for classrooms. How did that idea come together?
The concept stems from the idea that while something may not have a use to you, it can have a use to someone else. For us, education and the future generation is something we care deeply about. Many of the groups that we provide these kits to are groups that don't have the funding for something like an after-school Magic program. Teachers already spend so much money out of their own pockets for their classrooms. So we decided to take cards that would be otherwise thrown away and put them into the hands of teachers and educators.
As we've grown, we now do the same with unused donated industry products, so that these programs aren't just receiving cards in their kits, but all the accessories that go along with the cards to make it a fuller experience.
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What's a moment from the past year that made you certain this is working?
I wouldn't say there's just one big moment from the past year, but all the small moments that happen adding up together. Demand is incredibly high and our organization continues to grow. We've had an average of a 49% increase in kit applications this year compared to last. Every time we receive an email or a letter from teachers and students that demonstrate how important these resources are to them is a success for us. These teachers explain to us how they've seen growth in their students throughout the year.
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If you could tell every teacher in the country one thing about what Magic can do for their students, what would it be?
Magic will help provide your students a sense of fulfillment. The beautiful thing about Magic is that it can be enjoyable for everyone, it helps create a sense of belonging, and the skills they gain will make an incredible long-lasting impact.
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<h2 dir="ltr">Alex, Eagle Rock Middle School</h2>
If Sort, Build, Play is MagiKids' philosophy in the abstract, middle school teacher Alex is the trio of verbs in action. Alex was one of those educators looking for a jumpstart through MagiKids to acquire the means to use Magic in the classroom, and he's got a lot to say on the subject.
How did you get started teaching Magic, and how did MagiKids come into it?
I started the Magic club here at Eagle Rock Middle School because I'm a huge Magic player. I found out that the only clubs we had available at our school were fishing (part of the year), skiing (part of the year), and sign language club. So, I brought in all of my old cards, built 40-card decks for the students, and started the club.
I came across MagiKids when I was Googling how to run a school Magic club and, more importantly, how to get more cards. At the time, I only had enough cards to make four decks. I was initially going to just print out a bunch of cards, but something told me the kids wouldn't have enjoyed that nearly as much.
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When it comes to using Magic as an educational tool, what are the kids actually doing, and what are they getting out of it?
Right now, we are facing a literacy crisis with students, and Magic: The Gathering has been a phenomenal tool for encouraging not only reading, but comprehension.
Students have to read and understand what their cards say and then figure out how those effects interact with the other cards in their hands and on the battlefield. It encourages students to read and reread, talk, discuss, and even argue about whether or not they misunderstood an effect.
Those are all skills that are difficult to replicate with a workbook. Our students weren't just reading because they had to, they were reading because they wanted to understand what was happening in the game and how to win.
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Which skills do you see Magic building, both rote skills and soft skills, and which one surprised you most?
Magic builds a surprising number of skills. On the academic side, students practice reading comprehension, critical thinking, problem-solving, math, planning, and following complex rules. They are constantly making decisions, evaluating consequences, and adapting their strategies based on what happens in the game.
On the soft-skills side, I've seen students develop communication, sportsmanship, patience, teamwork, and confidence. They have to explain their decisions, communicate with their opponents, resolve disagreements, and learn how to win and lose gracefully.
The skill that surprised me the most was confidence. I expected the students to improve at the game, but I didn't expect to see some of the quieter students become leaders within the club.
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Magic can look intimidating from the outside. How do you get a brand-new kid over that first hump and into the fun?
The biggest factor was having physical things to give the students. We found that when we gave a student a physical deck, they would fall in love with having "their very own" deck. They would bring it back week after week and show it off to their friends, even if they didn't quite know how to play the game yet.
Having a welcoming environment was also incredibly important. Giving students a place where they could bring their friends and interact with adults they trusted encouraged them to give the club a chance in the first place. Once they had that initial connection to the game and the club, learning how to play became much less intimidating.
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What do you say to a parent or colleague who wonders whether card games belong in a classroom?
It can be difficult to keep things creative and engaging in a classroom. My advice would simply be: give it a try before you make any judgments. You might be surprised by what students can learn when you give them something they genuinely want to engage with.
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Is there one specific student who changed what you thought this could do for kids? Tell me about them.
We had one parent pull us aside and explain that his student really wanted to participate but was struggling with anxiety. He described his son as a very shy, quiet student, but he still made the effort to come to the club.
After just three days, this particular student was practically helping lead the club. He was welcoming new students, explaining rules, and even helped organize a fundraiser so our club could draft a set.
By the end of the first trimester, the other teachers on his team had noticed that his normally quiet demeanor had shifted. He had become a much more confident student.
While that was the most notable and drastic change we saw from the club, I can honestly say that all of our students left the end of the year a little brighter than when they came in. That, more than anything, is what made the club worthwhile.
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<h3><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cori Mountain Monastery|TDM|393" href="#" target="_blank">Come to learn. Stay to teach.</a></h3>
Next time you're lamenting all the space your draft chaff and bulk boxes take up in your house (and car, locker, desk drawers, and anywhere else you stack up cards), head on over to the MagiKids booth at an event or visit their website to learn about how to donate.
What's your experience with Magic as an educational tool, on either end? Can you point to a time when playing Magic had a noticeable impact on your own skills, social or otherwise? Or, if you're a parent or teacher, have you used Magic as a way to teach a kid? Let us know below!

Magic in Schools: Inside the MagiKids Curriculum

Header photo by Nick Wolf
When Paul Stayback set up a table at MagicCon: Las Vegas earlier this year, he wasn't sure how it would go. The organization he created, Veterans: The Gathering (VTG), was less than a year old, still running entirely on donated money, and the Gathering Grounds space where they'd be set up put VTG alongside Trans Lifeline, Women of Wizards, Birds of Paradise, and Pendragon. "We, at first glance, presented as different," he says. "I was worried that we wouldn't be so well received."
What he found was the opposite. Every group there was welcoming. And then the veterans started showing up at the table; not to play, just to stand there for a moment, surprised to find something that looked like them in this particular room.
"I can't tell you how many vets came up and said they were shocked to see us there," Stayback says. "It's something they never expected to see."
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Stayback joined the Army Reserves in 2001. He was in Basic Training on 9-11. He served as a surgical tech for six years before becoming a medic, deployed to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anbar_campaign_(2003%E2%80%932011)">Anbar Province during the surge</a>, and left the Army in December 2009.
"Once out, I struggled to connect with people and transition to civilian life," he says. "It has taken a lot of work and support from people close to me. I know what it's like to be out there as a vet and feel alone and unconnected."
That experience eventually led him to counseling work with veterans. When funding for his contracts was cut, the veterans he'd been working with were at risk of becoming isolated; the resource they'd had was gone. VTG was his answer.
"I recognized my time there was limited and tried to find an alternative for them to get out of the house, reduce isolation, and socialize," he says.
VTG launched in May 2025 at Core Cards &amp; Collectibles in Wenatchee, Washington, initially under the umbrella of Combat Veterans International, a veteran motorcycle nonprofit. It has since incorporated as its own nonprofit to have more flexibility and reach. The MagicCon appearance, funded through a New Perspectives grant from Wizards of the Coast, was its first time on a national stage.
<div id="attachment_186231" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/5838748583552197716.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-186231" class="size-full wp-image-186231" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/5838748583552197716.jpg" alt="VTG1" width="640" height="480" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/5838748583552197716.jpg 640w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/5838748583552197716-300x225.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></a>Members of Veterans The Gathering during a scheduled play session. (Photos provided)</div>
What Stayback understood, both from his own transition back to civilian life and from his work as a counselor, is that veterans don't typically come to support through conventional channels. The culture of the military: the directness, the ribbing, what he describes plainly as talking "shit to your face and nice behind your back," doesn't translate easily to a therapist's couch.
"When we talk good about you behind your back, we are protecting your reputation and defending your character," he explained. "These are things we might not say to your face; that could be too vulnerable, too uncomfortable."
So he didn't build a support group, but rather a Magic: The Gathering night.
"VTG is not a support group in the traditional sense," he says. "The game is the vehicle used to create the social connections and support networks that we hope will form organically. We set the stage for the vets to have fun and allow them to connect at their own pace." It's like taking medications disguised in cheese, he adds. "You're doing it, building support networks, adapting to social norms, without knowing it."
<div id="attachment_186228" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_2957.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-186228" class="size-full wp-image-186228" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_2957.jpg" alt="VTG4" width="640" height="480" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_2957.jpg 640w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_2957-300x225.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></a>A VTG meet-up in full swing at a local LGS.</div>
The game does some of that work by design. Drawing on his clinical background, Stayback points to the neuroscience: engaging the logical parts of the brain, the planning and decision-making required by a Commander game, keeps participants out of fight-or-flight response.
"When you're in a fight-or-flight mindset, you're not thinking, you're reacting," he says. "By engaging the part of the brain for logical thought, you can't be in fight-or-flight. You need to be present." A physically safe, low-stakes environment reinforces that by showing vets there's no danger. The result is something that serves to lower self-built barriers without announcing the deconstruction.
The choice of Magic specifically isn't incidental. "I like chess," Stayback says, "but there are only so many ways to get creative. MTG has such a plethora of options for people to express themselves through the cards they use, the strategies they use, it's essentially unlimited." There's also the physical dimension. "You don't need to be the fastest or the strongest to play Magic, and that allows people with physical limitations to participate. Whether it's a missing limb, a bad back, or one eye, you can play Magic, be creative, have fun as an equal at the table, not seen for your disability, and be yourself, or who you want to be."
Josh Madland, co-owner of Core Cards &amp; Collectibles, has watched this play out from behind the counter. "As a shop owner, I see lots of new players struggle to interject themselves into the community or approach strangers in order to play games," he says. "The VTG group members have a different bond and seem to be able to sit down and play games together immediately." His advice to other shop owners considering hosting a VTG group is simple: "It's more about the gathering than the Magic."
Newcomers start with simple 40-card decks. As they keep participating, they receive a full Commander deck, booster packs, sleeves, and a storage box, all at no cost. The program is entirely donation-driven, with no corporate support, which is part of what makes the next chapter complicated.
<div id="attachment_186229" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_0160.jpeg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-186229" class="size-full wp-image-186229" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_0160.jpeg" alt="VTG2" width="640" height="480" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_0160.jpeg 640w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_0160-300x225.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></a>VTG members go over a line of play during a game of Commander.</div>
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The response they received tabling at MagicCon made the scale of unmet demand concrete for VTG. Interest has arrived from around the country and from military bases overseas. For a group still running on donated money with no institutional backing, that's not just an opportunity, but a risk, too.
"I really worry that the demand is too big for us and we will let people down who already feel let down by systems that said they would take care of them," Stayback says.
Among the messages that came in after Vegas was one from a female veteran who had felt edged out at a table and, looking at VTG's events, saw what she expected: a male-dominated space. The message stayed with Stayback.
"She's a vet. She has a place at the table," he says. He's thinking about what it would look like to build something specifically for female veterans, acknowledging that the systems designed to support vets have historically been oriented toward men and that female veterans are often overlooked entirely. "I wish it wasn't needed, as I see them as my peers, no better or worse, but I also recognize they may have different needs and I want to try and meet them if I can. MTG has room for everyone. Sometimes we just need to be conscious to hold space for everyone."
As for Stayback himself, he still plays. He runs multiple elf decks, including two different <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Voja, Jaws of the Conclave" href="#" target="_blank">Voja</a> builds in varying states of development, and a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="High Perfect Morcant" href="#" target="_blank">Morcant</a> poison deck. He was taught on <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/elves">Elves</a> and keeps coming back to them. "Elves are easy to understand, straightforward, and can overwhelm the board," he says. "They're not 'too cute' with 30-minute turns."
Of course, how he interacts with Magic has shifted over the course of building VTG. "My own relationship with the game is still a bit of escapism; I can leave the pressures of work behind me," he says. "But my relationship is evolving. I'm seeing it less as an escape, and more as a tool to better things and help people, to connect others."
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<div id="attachment_186230" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_2827.jpeg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-186230" class="size-full wp-image-186230" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_2827.jpeg" alt="VTG3" width="640" height="480" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_2827.jpeg 640w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_2827-300x225.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></a>New members of VTG receive everything they need to start playing.</div>
For more information on <a href="https://veteransthegathering.com/">Veterans The Gathering</a>, be sure to check out their website, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/people/Veterans-The-Gathering/61581139897063/">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/vets_gathering">Instagram</a>.
Estimated minimum start-up costs for a new VTG group is $4150 per year per 12 veterans. That money provides durable materials that are used when every veteran presents at VTG to teach them how to play. It also provides each veteran the materials to play with the group but remain engaged, at no cost to them. Every veteran gets a new, 100-card preconstructed Commander deck to play with, two packs of cards to augment their decks, sleeves and a deck box, and a bag of dice. Additionally, each veteran currently gets two packs of cards every month as long as they continue to engage.
If you'd like to support Veterans The Gathering, <a href="https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/improve-veterans-mental-health-and-community">follow this link</a> to set up a one-time or scheduled donation. Any money donated will go directly toward supporting the above endeavor.

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Magic in Schools: Inside the MagiKids Curriculum

Veterans The Gathering Brings Vets and Magic Together