To start this off, it would make life easier to simply describe the programs and terms involved for all those who haven't heard exactly what's what:

Apprentice - a free program made originally by Dragonstar Studios (www.dragonstudios.com). Dragon Studios has not made any updates to their website in well over a year however. Current set patches are produced by individuals and distributed by various websites. A current version with the latest patches is available here.

IRC - Internet Relay Chat - another free program, this is used by a large number of users to hang around, chat, set up trades and find games. MIRC is the most commonly-used platform, and is available to download at www.mirc.com. IRC is used not only by online magic players, but by users of every shape and variety: For example, during the last World Cup, soccer channels on the EFnet IRC network had well over a hundred users. IRC is also an easy way to find people with MP3s, software, and other semi-legal bits of data.

EFnet - An IRC Network. Simply put, a group of servers that decided to link together to form one larger audience. EFnet is where the majority of magic players hang out in the various channels. Other large networks include DALnet and Undernet. You can find a list of working EFnet servers here.

#apprentice, #mtg and other channels - Channels on IRC are designated with the number sign - #. I have no idea why it is done this way, but it is. #Apprentice is the home to E-League (www.e-league.com), which is the oldest running online Magic league. It's very easy to find games there. If you know which formats you want to play, you should say so when you ask for a game. Tournaments are run periodically - and entry to these is, once again, free.

Channels that might interest you other than #apprentice include #mtg and #mtgwacky. As each of these channels has its own special rules, it is probably a good idea to ask about them when you get there. Most notably, they frown upon asking for games. They prefer to chat, and are enthusiastic about keeping the channel free of users who request games.

Netdraft - another free program put out by Dragonstar and since left to be updated by the efforts of individuals, this small utility is the easiest way to Booster or Rochester draft online. Available at the same link that you got Apprentice from, this program features basically two features:"Host a draft" and"connect to a draft." The IRC channel #e-draft is the quickest spot to find people hosting a draft or waiting for one to be hosted - all you need is an IP address (the host's) and you're set to go - click on a card and click the Draft button. It saves your file as a .dec so that you can immediately load Apprentice and play your games afterwards.

This should be all anyone would need to know before attempting to play Apprentice... So let us introduce to you the basics of Apprentice, the program itself.

First of all, let me be very frank with you - Apprentice is a freeware program that the designer has stopped updating. There are bugs, some of them quite major if you don't know how to get around them. Some of the most common ones will be explained later on - but for now, let's get you all started in building a deck.

I would spend my time making a lot of nice screenshots for you, but the kind folks over at E-League already have a walkthrough set up, so all I need to do is to point you over there and summarize what you need to look for.

When you first load Apprentice, you'll see a bunch of icons up top, a box for your hand on the left and a chat window on the bottom. You can access all the features on the icons by clicking on the standard Menu options up at the very top - File, Game, Help, etc. but the icons are merely shortcuts. See the one that looks like an open book, second from the left? That's the icon for the Deck Editor. By adjusting the filters on this, you can find almost anything you need to help you build your deck. Looking for Green Enchantments from the Mirage Block that make creatures larger? Go filter Green in card color, Enchantment in Card type, Mirage Block in the Format box, and where it says text box, put in a plus sign - + - as anything in Magic that makes things bigger will say +*/* for the power/toughness.

For the record, there are two enchantments that produce such an effect, Afiya Grove and Cycle of Life. Right clicking on any card will produce a pop-up window detailing what the card does, its Casting Cost, rarity, flavor text, etc.

The New Game feature happens to be the other main one you will use - it is that Wand directly to the left of the Deck Editor icon (also available via File, New Game or CTRL + N). Basically, go into the IRC channels and say something like"I'm looking for a game of Type 2, please message me with your IP." Unless you're on at four in the morning, you should be able to find a game within minutes. Even then, given the large number of people from places like Australia, Singapore and Europe who frequent these channels, you should be set in no time.

As for IRC, it is a fairly simple, text-based chat program... That Walkthrough I told you about that told you how to play Apprentice also has one that details how to get connected on IRC. In short, load IRC, connect to an EFnet server, and type /join #apprentice (or whatever channel you wish to join). The two EFnet servers that seem to be the most popular are IRC.Prison.net and IRC.Qeast.net

Tournaments for E-League have two categories - minis and masters. Once again, the Walkthrough has some simple references as to what these are, but to summarize:

"Minis" are small tournaments held whenever an E-League judge feels like running one. They are single-elimination tourneys run under the equivalent of Rules Enforcement Level (REL) 2. Masters are larger, swiss-style tournaments that are scheduled in advance. These are at REL 4 - a good comparison is the difference between a PTQ or GP and your weekly tournament at the local card shop.

I did promise to look at some of the problems that Apprentice has, so I will post for you what are probably the three most common bugs.

PROBLEM: Did you get an error message almost as soon as you loaded Apprentice?
SOLUTION: Don't click on anything until it has finished loading - this includes the chat window at the bottom of the screen.

PROBLEM: You're attempting to play a new game and suddenly you get a thousand and ten error messages?
SOLUTION: Try to avoid shuffling more than two or three times. Just tap the CTRL+S keys; holding down the shuffle mechanism can cause Apprentice to overload. Randomization for your deck is no greater or less after one or two shuffles. Close Apprentice and start a new game. Also, if you have an old/slow computer without a lot of RAM, you should ask your opponents to go a bit slower when doing a lot of things. Basically, don't try and do a hundred things at once and it won't crash on you. This isn't a Ferrari you're driving here, it's an SUV - make too many sudden turns and you can roll it over.

PROBLEM: You're trying to play 5-Color or a Battle of Wits deck.
SOLUTION: Don't. Apprentice can't handle decks larger than 181 cards safely. It's the same principle as above - trying to do too many actions at once (shuffling).

Since Apprentice is known to be somewhat buggy, you might want to consider trying Magic Online (MODO). I'm not here to write about MODO, but various other writers have articles already. I point you to Geordie Tait's article and Jeff Zandi's article for a good sampling of what people have to say about it. (See also Abe Sargent's slightly terrifying article on the MODO legalese , for those who are worried about cash expenditures - The Ferrett)

The main differences between Apprentice and MODO are:

• You don't have to pay a cent other than your electric and maybe phone bill.
• You can take back any error as long as your opponent is cool with it - no need to fight the Artificial Intelligence of the program to get something done the way you intended.
• No one will ever be able to hack into the database and cost you all of your cards.
• You will never need to worry about not having the proper cards for your deck and having to spend money to get them.
• You can play Extended, 1.5 and Type 1 along with all kinds of great variants.
• You will never have to click OK to pass priority a hundred times a game.
• It doesn't take hours to install and update.

Pro Magic Online

• You get pictures
• You have Rules Enforcement Level 5 at all events.
• (It's more intuitive finding a game - The Ferrett)

Yes, Apprentice can be a jalopy sometimes? But is it worth your time and money to play an online game of Magic? Or just your time?

Cory Braiterman
KrmtDfrog on IRC
DCI Level 1 Judge
E-League Level 2 Judge
President of E-League