How to review a student with ManaLab
Your student plays as usual and arrives with their games already saved. You spend the lesson on their decisions, not on asking for screenshots or rebuilding what happened.
Version 2.3.2 · ZIP · other versions
Your student needs ManaLab to create the report. You don't need it to read it.
Requirements: Windows 10 or 11. Unzip the file and open ManaLab.exe. Nothing to install.
Before unzipping, right-click the ZIP › Properties › tick Unblock › OK. If a warning still appears, click More info › Run anyway.
Session report with sample data.
More of the lesson on decisions, less on prep
ManaLab is a free tracker for MTG Arena and Magic Online. It saves opening hands, mulligans, play or draw, the opponent's deck and a replay of every game on its own.
Less prep
Your student picks the games and sends you one report.
Visible decisions
You see the hand, the mulligan and the key moments of each game.
Repeated mistakes
Tags show what keeps going wrong and how it changes over 30 or 90 days.
Sideboarding with data
Your student keeps a plan per matchup, and you see the changes they really made.
The app is free and needs no account. Your student needs it to create any of these files; you only need to install it for Team mode or to open exported games.
Pick how you want to work
Session report
- What you get
- One file with the chosen games
- Do you need ManaLab?
- No, it opens in a browser
- Best for
- One-off lessons
Export for my coach
- What you get
- Summary, matchups, mistakes and games with notes
- Do you need ManaLab?
- No, it opens in a browser
- Best for
- First lesson or a general review
.manalab file
- What you get
- A full match, with all its games and their replay
- Do you need ManaLab?
- Yes
- Best for
- Studying one match in depth
Team mode
- What you get
- Games, screenshots and notes in a shared folder
- Do you need ManaLab?
- Yes
- Best for
- Regular students
Send these steps to your student
It takes a few minutes if they already have saved games.
- Install ManaLab from manalab.es and keep it open while playing.
- Play as usual. To flag a doubtful decision, press F8 (the default key): it saves a screenshot of that moment.
- Tag mistakes. In each game's Notes tab, add tags and write down any questions.
- Choose what to review. In Games, open «⋯» › «Prepare session» and tick the games.
- Create and send the report. Press «Create session report», save it as PDF if you like, and send it to the coach.
The report includes hands, mulligans, key moments, a turn summary, notes and highlights. It works offline, and your student can hide their opponents' names.
For the first lesson, also ask for «Export for my coach», in the «⋯» menu of Statistics. It gives you their summary, matchups and tagged mistakes.
Before our lesson, install ManaLab (manalab.es). It's free and needs no account. Keep it open while you play and press F8 on any play you're unsure about. Then, in Games, open ⋯ › Prepare session, choose 3 games and send me the report.
Start with what repeats
Then move to specific games. This order works well for a one-hour lesson:
- Trends. Open «What repeats the most» in Statistics and choose one theme to work on.
- Matchups. The table separates game 1 from post-sideboard games. An asterisk means fewer than 10 games, so don't draw firm conclusions from those rows.
- Hands and mulligans. Review these before the plays: was it a keep?
- Replay. Jump to the key moments and discuss the decisions tied to your theme.
- Sideboard. Compare their plan with what they really brought in and took out.
«What repeats the most» in Statistics, with sample data.
With Team mode you see each game in the same detail as your student: hands, screenshots with notes (if they share them), replay and the opponent's deck.
Leave one or two goals, not a long list
The next lesson can then start by checking whether they improved.
- Tags: always use the same names, so «What repeats the most» tracks progress properly.
- Notes: in Team mode, write your note in the game's Notes tab.
- Follow-up: next lesson, check that mistake over 30 days before opening new games.
How to turn on Team mode
- Create a folder in Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive and share it with your student with edit access, because you both write to it.
- Each of you opens Settings › Team and AI and sets the folder, your name and your role: player or coach.
- Press «Sync now».
In Google Drive, a folder shared with you shows up under «Shared with me», which doesn't sync to your computer. Whoever receives it must add it to My Drive (right-click › Organize › Add shortcut) and make it available offline; otherwise ManaLab can't see it. With Dropbox or OneDrive, check that the folder is synced to the computer.
Each person writes only in their own subfolder. By default ManaLab publishes all of your student's games to the shared folder; they can hide opponents' names, turn off screenshot sharing or stop sharing altogether.
How your note reaches your student
Open the Team screen, choose your student and a game, and write in the box «Your coach note for this game…» of its Notes tab. The note is saved to the shared folder when you leave the box; you don't need «Sync now» for it. Your student sees it in that game's Notes tab once their folder service has synced the file and they open the tab.
What to keep in mind for Magic Online
Reviewing a student works with both games. For Magic Online, keep four things in mind:
- Sideboard: your student must confirm their changes between games with one click («Use this change», «No changes» or «Edit»). Games never confirmed don't count in the sideboard changes shown under Sideboard.
- Replay: phases and tapped cards that aren't confirmed are marked ≈, because they may not be exact.
- Deck names: a Magic Online deck usually comes out with the name your student gave it in Magic Online; if the list doesn't match exactly, it is named by its colors.
- Imports: importing a log doesn't correct the sideboard of games already saved.
In Arena, turn on Options › Account › “Detailed Logs (Plugin Support)” once and restart the game. Magic Online needs no setting.
Before you start
Does it cost anything?
The app is free. The only paid part is the AI loss analysis, which you don't need for anything in this guide.
Does my student share their whole history?
With a report or a .manalab file they share only what they choose. In Team mode, ManaLab publishes all their games to your shared folder unless they stop sharing; they can hide opponents' names and turn off screenshot sharing.
Do their games count in my statistics?
No. Games from another player stay marked and don't count in yours.
What does an imported game leave out?
Screenshots and AI analysis. It keeps the replay, hands, mulligans, deck, notes and tags.
What do I need?
ManaLab runs on Windows 10 and 11. Reports open in any browser, so you don't need to install anything to read them.
What if something's missing?
Write to manalab.app@gmail.com. The coaching tools are being built around what you ask for.
The app is free. Only the AI analysis is paid
The AI analysis of your lost games costs 5 € a month and pays for the AI service it uses. Everything else, including everything on this page, is free. Want to try it first? Ask for a free trial by email.