[meko]

For a newbie you only need to navigate, copy/paste/delete. Then you learn how to manage (multiple) buffers. It took me about a year of regular use to really feel like I could "use" emacs. Full disclosure: emacs fan. Once I started getting used to lisp prompt (M-x) or w.e its like a portal opened up to another level of understanding, realizing that you can write and execute elisp functions from right there in the editor: ex. `replace-string` or `rot13`. it has a great undo system (multiple undo histories) and a effectively unlimited copy paste delete history. search ( C-s ) is also a pleasure to use. Magit is on a whole diff level and offers the most comprehensive and organized git interface I've ever seen shy of CLI git. And all these things are interacted with common controls, so knowing the basics from the beginning of my comment opens up the rest of the fancy stuff relatively quick.