Color

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Overview

File:Color pie.jpg
The Color Pie. © Wizards of the Coast

The Color Wheel also known as the Color Pie is how Wizards categorize mechanics in the game of magic. It is also how one differentiates the philosophies behind the colors.

File:Color wheel.jpg
The Color Wheel. © Wizards of the Coast


White

Flavor

White is an easy to define color, judging by the fact that you can simply grab a hand full of White cards and be able to get a feel for what White is about. To be clear, White puts value in the group, the community, and its civilization as a whole. White's ultimate goal is peace and harmony- a world where everyone gets along and no one seeks to disturb the bonds of unity that White had worked so long to forge. To govern and protect it's community, White makes use of and puts value in a number of broad concepts; morality (ethics, religion), order (law, discipline), uniformity (conformity), and structure (government, planning).

In White's belief, there is very little gray area in morality (as morality is defined, clarified, and guided by rules of ethics) and thus very little room for straying from the path. White does not focus on the individual, but instead on the whole. Individuals are indeed encouraged to act on behalf of White and stop those who oppose it, even inside its own borders, but their personal views and feelings are often disregarded and even discouraged in a manner, in order to preserve the health and bond of the group. To expand on that note, while Black can be perceived as an advocate of the underdog (the individual who stands against the group), White does stick up for the little guy, and feels that it deserves a fair share of the pie as much as anyone else. It doesn't care so much what the little guy has to say about anything, but it doesn't want anyone picking on the little guy, because that wouldn't be fair or moral.

One can view White as a large clock tower composed of many cogs, which is structured rigidly to the point that there is no room for divergence or deviation, and on the outside looks striking, beautiful, strong, and glorious, attempting to make others want to come into its fold and under its wing. White seems to say "Look at us, we're doing great in here, nothing could be better. Come join us, come be a part of this magnificence." Inside, every cog is content with it's job, because it's job is no more important than any other cog's job, and each cog is kept entertained by what it's supposed to do. However, not one cog can see outside those walls to see what the grass on the other side of the fence is like, so they won't ever know if they're truly happy as they can be. To the cynical on the outside of the tower, they recognize it as a symbol of fascism, lack of individuality or divergence, oppressive, and generally no fun.

Leaving that analogy, White cannot afford to allow the individual much power in its jurisdiction, for the individual inherently holds it's own well-being and satisfaction above all else. This is dangerous to White's way of life, and thus White uses more tangible civil laws, so that individuals do not disturb the whole with their ambitions (Black) or their craving for freedom (Red). This shows that White is very concerned with the society it watches over, in that the good of the society is much more important than the rights and welfare of a single individual. The term, "The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few", certainly applies to the White way of living. This again implies that any dissident will be dealt with swiftly, so that no opposition can form within the White society (where such a "cancer" is most dangerous and most difficult to remove).

To defend itself from such an occurrence, White creates a deeply immersed political system, a bureaucracy littered with taxes in the fees, in order to prevent much changing of the ways of its society from within. White is typically very open and honest about what it is doing, and tends to enjoy displaying its laws for all to see and to obey without question. The fact that these laws are so widely available and so often reminded justifies White, in it's opinion, to enforce them to any degree they deem fit and to warrant punishment of equal veracity. White is also very defensive, and chooses to strike only when struck first or when a significant threat is posed. However, it has been known to stretch this belief with the reasoning that a preemptive strike is the best way to defend itself- "the best defense is a good offense" one might say.

White also holds balance and equality in high regard in order to maintain it's society, likely based on the functions and workings of its enemies. Equality, if disregarded, can result in diversity and individuality. While not a clear problem to most, it is a worry on White's mind, because it fears that diversity and individuality will cause for tensions between people and make people uncomfortable with one another due to the fact they are no longer visibly united. Regardless of whether or not these fears and suspicions are grounded, White finds it smarter to play it safe and not chance it. Balance, though synonymous with Equality, is important for much the same reasons. If one citizen excels above the others, the others will desire to become something more (or worse, feel inadequate and suffer a loss of morale), which also leads to others fearing for their own positions with the threat of being replaced. White attempts to prevent this not only through Equality and Balance, but through intolerance for nonconformity. Of course, White's enemies are not expected to play nicely, so sometimes the scales need to be balanced by force.


White individuals

When pulled apart from the rest of its kin, any individual can be observed to discover similar traits to its color or guild, yet toned down to a smaller, more 'realistic' scale. For such an example, White as a group works toward peace, harmony, and unity for the world. However, for White as an ordinary individual or citizen, these goals can easily be considered "too large" for their day-to-day life. To clarify the difference, a White group would believe in order and ethics, and would enforce its belief by enacting rules, ordinances, and laws. However, a White individual would do something on a much smaller scale, like prefer that his or her family eat at the dinner table and not in front of the television, would put value in etiquette and proper manners. A White group can outcast a troublesome individual, but an individual has little to no power in doing such a thing on his or her own. (See Gaze of Justice for a perfect representation of this.)


(For the sake of not overusing the term, the White individual in question will be named Charlotte. The two terms are interchangeable.)

Strengths: Charlotte typically acts in conjunction with the group, and thus (for a rough example) if you were to get into an argument with her, you would likely be the underdog in the fight, since it's not a 1-on-1 argument anymore; it's you versus everyone. The group is not Charlotte's only strength though- Religion may often play a strong role in her views, resulting in a dangerous situation in which the argument can quickly grow uncomfortably heated. In that sense, standing against Charlotte can seem much like standing against the majority, in addition to any profound higher power that may or may not exist.

Aside from the argument example, a White individual is also very easily accepted by groups. Charlotte is into what's popular and what is well-accepted by everyone. Charlotte's image (e.g. style of dress) often reflects that of the general populace, and unlike the ugly duckling that was not accepted by its "family", Charlotte fits in well with her friends. That said, getting into a fight with Charlotte (or any popular person for that matter) will likely result in more of Charlotte's friends joining in the fight against you, which brings us to another example. Charlotte will not act out against the law or the rules. This puts a White individual's enemies at a disadvantage- though they are both restricted by the same laws, Charlotte is accustomed to them and they do not bother him.


Attributes: A White individual is often proper, has a strong sense of morality and religion, is faithful, loyal, and honest, and is typically willing to help others before he or she helps themselves. A White individual is not only comfortable with the law, it encourages its enforcement and is very cooperative. Charlie is optimistic and strives for purity of all forms (spiritual, physical, and a clean living area). Charlie is also organized, and prefers a sense of balance to things. Remember, however, that all traits of an individual reflect the color but to a lesser, more humane degree. Unless an obsessive compulsive disorder is present, if there isn't an exactly even number of bristles on Charlotte's toothbrush, she will probably shrug it off. White is also somewhat focused on appearances, both of itself and of others since appearances can be used to generalize, group, and categorize others, thus preserving a feeling of order. Charlotte's own appearance is focused upon in order to attract others to the group and to increase it's numbers and thus it's strength. Card examples of this would be Celestial Convergence (which also displays unity and conformity) and the flavor text in Cyclopean Snare (Orzhov's focus on appearances).


Weaknesses: Charlotte, being a part of a likely similar group, will have difficulty developing significantly new ideas (or trends, if you must) due to a lack of exposure to individuals unlike herself. In addition to this, there is a certain fear and caution amongst White individuals that if they take any ideas or suggestions from outside sources they may be cast out from their group for dealing in such things (an extreme example would be the Salem Witch Trials, a common example being a popular girl who talks to a nerdy girl because she's wearing a nice skirt, and loses the respect of her friends as a result). That said, Charlotte is rather uncreative, though note that this trait shows up in other colors in other forms and for other reasons (Spike in Black, for example). However, a White individual without a group is often a helpless cog without a spindle or other cogs to hold it in place. That said, a White individual without a group, if offered companionship by someone (e.g. a black individual) looking for a subordinate (not an equal) would surely accept this offer, in need of a group like an orphan to a family. With that, Charlotte is impressionable, and will adapt to current popular trends in order to fit in and belong- even if they are in opposition to her other traits and beliefs.

White individuals are stubborn for varying reasons; partly due to faith and partly due to the belief that the majority is often or always correct. In Charlotte's eyes, "everyone's doing it" is a solid reason to do something, and if everyone jumps off a cliff, Charlotte will do it too, because Charlotte wants to belong. It's important for parents to note this when a child engages in questionable behavior because his or her friends also engage in said behavior- it is based upon a need to belong, and belonging should be encouraged, but not if it opposes other White traits, such as ethics and morality. If this occurs, then a conflicted (enemy color) personality will likely develop, which can result in confusion and self-conflict. Charlotte can also be considered shallow, due to her focus on appearances and lack of will to consort with outside forces so much as it wants to conform them to it's community. Appearances are also used to hide Charlotte's weakness as an individual by intending to look as if it belongs to something greater (the popular crowd).


What White loves about its allies and hates about its enemies

White and Green: White and Green converge due to what represents their common enemy; Black. Black represents the need of the individual, and at it's worst, selfishness. White enjoys the companionship of Green because it agrees that the value of the group outweighs the value of the individual. White also enjoys the idea of an agrarian society, which both serves to employ many of White's citizens while simultaneously feeding everyone, further encouraging the idea of selflessness and extending it to a concern for nature as well. Green also values other White ideals, such as peace and tranquility, which White strives to work toward. White and Green both seek to protect Order, though of different forms. White can see that Green cares as much for the denizens of the forest as White is concerned about its people, and most fascinating of all, Green puts as much emphasis on Spirituality as White, though it is admittedly more free-form than Religion.


White and Blue: White and Blue join to quell and control a common enemy; Red. Red fights for personal freedoms, for the right to express its emotions, whether it be through screaming as loud as it can or through a pen or paintbrush. This threatens both Blue and White's ways of life, because together they find common ground in thought, planning, and discipline, both in the form of self-restraint and rules. White enjoys the company of Blue because of it's thoughtfulness, it's recognition of the importance of law, structure, and rules, and it's ability to plan for the future. All of these traits are undoubtedly useful for White's society, and thus it values Blue's assistance. Blue would prefer things be done in a quiet, neat, and orderly fashion, and though it may lack the warmth that White would occasionally like to display, such is the price it pays to control its citizens and to prevent them from getting too comfortable. White seeks peace and Blue seeks prosperity, together falling hand-in-hand for what they believe to be the common good of the people.


White versus Black: White and Black do battle on several premises that divide them; many of which are obvious, some of which that are more subtle. In Black, White sees a foe who spits on the moral laws that White proudly displays, making a strong statement about itself and where it stands. In White's opinion, Black selfishly disregards morals for its own benefit and must be destroyed lest Black set a dangerous example for White's impressionable citizens. This is not the only issue at hand, however, as Black and White despise one another not only because of what they fight for, but how they act. Black's amorality and dishonesty means Black uses underhanded tactics in fighting, while White fights with honor and respect. White sees Black as deceitful, malignant, and believes it to be a cancerous seed, while White believes itself to be open and honest. However, the most subtle but most intrinsic difference is Black's value in the needs individual over the needs of the group, which flies directly in the face of all that White holds dear. After all, how will White ever maintain and uphold a civilization if it must tend to the whims and needs of every citizen within its borders, one at a time? To White, the ideal is absurd, and its believers must be vanquished.


White versus Red: White and Red clash on simpler, but much less recognized grounds. White looks at Red and sees an enemy that does not respect civil laws and does at it pleases with little regards to the rules and well-being of the community, let alone itself. Red is unnecessarily aggressive and its brash and unthinking action often leaves White's citizens injured, homes burnt, and crops ruined. As a contrasting defensive figure, White will not tolerate such action. In combat, White favors strategy, structured ranks, and planning while Red prefers not to plan ahead and strike without warning or lines, before the opportunity leaves. Red claims to be an advocate of Freedom, but in White's ears the word is synonymous with Chaos. White believes that if Red is to be allowed freedom to express its often radical and inherently selfish emotions, it will incite similar emotions in others within White's community, leading to unrest, or worse, insurrection. If White is to ever achieve Peace and Order within its community, the forces of Chaos must be destroyed.


What White dislikes about its allies and respects about its enemies

White and Black: White respects Black on several different issues, some obvious and physical, and some not so apparent. White respects Black because it puts importance on religion- Black individuals are not necessarily godless, and thus not without aim or sense, like Red. Black's faith also demonstrates loyalty and a desire for self-improvement- aspects White can relate to. They, too, are fighting for the values they believe in, and that deserves acknowledgment and respect. White respects Black's affinity for sacrifice; the grim necessity for death in order to achieve one's ultimate goal. White also understands Black's stance in terms of its conflict with Green, Parasitism vs. Interdependence, working together as opposed to leeching from others. While within it's walls, White encourages cooperation amongst it's citizens and will work together with allies, but on larger scales outside of the community, it understands that in order for it's nation to win another nation must lose, the grim facts of life that Black has already grown well-accustomed to.


White and Red: White respects Red for the simple similarities that the two share. White can see that Red is very driven and that it's followers are willing to die for the cause it fights for, and can relate because White's followers can be equally zealous and will proudly die in the name of Religion or Morality. White is fascinated by Red because it shows respect for the power of numbers and the group, while Black stands alone and for itself. Red also has a "strike first, ask questions later" mentality that White can understand, because it recognizes a preemptive strike as an effective strategy for self-defense. White also respects Red because of the importance it places on emotion, because White wants to show its followers that it cares and is concerned for them. White is also aware of the dangers of inaction and realizes that to achieve peace, it must prepare for war- truths that Red embraces.


White versus Green: Like all allies, differences rarely surface but will surface none-the-less. Between Green and White, the conflict is thinking versus feeling. White believes that Green should spend more time thinking on its actions and not act so brashly at times. Green acts based on instincts (a word White generalizes as being synonymous with Emotion), which will heed to no law and knows nothing of morality. This ruffles White's feathers, because Law and Morality are fundamental to White's working. If Green were to have it's way, only the strongest and the fittest would survive, and the weak and those with no natural purpose would be consumed. This goes against White's interest in giving everyone a fair chance, no matter what the size.


White versus Blue: White and Blue do not always see eye-to-eye either. The conflict between the two is interdependence versus parasitism. White is very interested in working with the community in order for it prosper and succeed, but what Blue sees when it looks at the community are merely subjects to be observed and notes to be recorded. The people are merely a means to acquire the knowledge Blue seeks and it's not particularly concerned about them beyond that. This upsets White, because it believes that Blue should be more actively involved and open about its projects, but Blue is secretive and often deceitful, which makes White even less comfortable. Above this, Blue sees value in the individual, but White feels that putting any value in the individual can only serve to devalue the group, which is simply intolerable.


Misconceptions and Controversies

A common misconception is that White stands for Good and it is a fact without doubt. Granted, if you take a random lot of White cards and compare them with Black cards or Red cards, they will likely give off more of a "Good" feel than the others. However, taking the time to really look into what White is based upon, then you will see that White is not always good. There have been several popular movies where White has been the fascist oppressor, the overpowering government, and the antagonist. Daimyo Konda from the Kamigawa book cycle was a prime example for a White antagonist, obsessed with the mysterious disk he held and bringing his nation glory, but losing sight of the individual; his very own daughter. In many movies White has been an antagonist in the form of law enforcement, government, or a cult (The Fugitive, 1984, and the Wickerman, respectively).

For the sake of a real life example, however, fascism is very White in essence, and many would argue that fascism is quite evil, though others would certainly disagree. Suicide-bombers are also very White, demonstrating self-sacrifice and zealotry for their Religious beliefs, and it's certainly difficult to say that they demonstrate "Good," though there are people who would also contest this as well.

Rules

White is an inherently defensive color, which can bee seen throughout the color, and if one looks closely is what motivates nearly all of white's mechanics.

One of these defensive mechanics is Life Gain and its ilk. This comes in the form of life gain directly to the player, life gain to a creature (also know as healing) and damage prevention. Examples of cards that do this are: Healing Salve and Heart of Light.

Furthermore, White can be quite rough on attackers, which all of its newer removal targets. Cards that exemplify this includes: Chastise and Condemn.

White is also the foremost color of protection, show in cards such as White Knight, Paladin in-vec and Absolute Grace.

White also features defensive enchantments that again punishes attackers, such as Teferi's Moat and Worship.

White is the bane of enemy enchantments, which serve to prevent White from having its way. This comes in the form of Demystify, Erase and Scour and more.

White also uses "taxing", which are spells that stop an opponnent from doing something unless they pay a price. Examples of this are Kataki, War's Wage and Ghostly Prison.

As the most political of colors, White also uses rule-setting enchantments that change how the game of Magic is played. Cards like Rule of Law and Humility do this.

White is also, historically, the global resetter, which means that it has ability to reset the board so that all sides have an equal playing ground. Cards like Wrath of God, Armageddon and Balance show this mechanic, which comes in many different forms.

White's army is made up of small individual pieces, which mechanically explains why White has the most small (weenie) creatures. The color can, however, use its organizational skills to build a massive, united whole. Most of the mechanics the white creatures have makes them work better together. These mechanics include First Strike, Vigilance and damage prevention. It also include, what Mark Rosewater calls "Rangestrike", which is {T}: deal damage to target attacking or blocking creature, and boosting from creature to creature ({T}: Target creature gains +x/+x).

(To be expanded.)

Blue

Flavor

Blue is the colour that looks out on the world and sees one thing, though it may encompass all: Opportunity. In Blue's eyes, the world is a vast place with countless things to learn and to do. Blue wants to become a part of that perfectly running machine which is the universe. To do so, it learns to value one commodity - knowledge. Knowledge gives order to the universe. Knowledge allows one to make an informed decision. Knowledge is the supreme good, at least to Blue. With all knowledge (omniscience), Blue can shape the universe into its perfect form, and mold itself to fit perfectly into that perfect universe. Recurring themes in Blue are artifice over nature, inaction over action, nurture over nature, and the future over the past or present.

Blue is the enemy colour of Green and of Red. Green opposes Blue on the viewpoint that Blue is obligated to shape the universe. Green sees that as an affront to Nature and highly presumptuous. Blue looks on Green's resistance and sees someone stuck in the past. This appears mechanically in the game where Blue tends to construct complicated board positions and uses interesting effects from nonliving sources, while Green tries to destroy those complications and substitute more basic, primal, living creatures.

(Please expand this if you have the info.)

Rules

There is only one sacred rule to Blue's mechanics in the game - destroy nothing. What can be learned from a shattered machine, a dead body, or a broken enchantment? Nothing. Blue's abilities tend to be focused on manipulating time and information. The three central mechanics which have made Blue what it is today are: 1) Card drawing
2) Counterspells
3) "Return to hand" effects (informally called bounce effects)

Blue can draw cards simply by paying mana because cards represent knowledge, and Blue knows how to gain knowledge. This sets it apart from other colours because Black has to pay some life to draw cards, Green needs to draw cards by using its creatures, and White and Red have very little card drawing at all. Because Blue can draw cards at any time regardless of how it is doing in the game, this allows it to climb out of seemingly hopeless game situations, representing how the right information can solve any problem.

Blue has the ability to counter spells if it reacts to them at the time they are cast. This represents how Blue can prevent people from taking action and causing chaos; some may see it as keeping things the way they are so you can study it fully.

Blue can return things to their owners' hands. Flavourfully, this represents how Blue dabbles in magic which manipulates time. Mechanically, it is a way for Blue to have "removal" (control over what is affecting the game) without actually destroying the unwanted card. Blue is simply delaying the problem until it has a more permanent solution. Sometimes Blue may even find ways to turn a powerful card to its advantage.

Other signature mechanics of Blue include "stealing" (gaining control of opponent's cards or effects) and copying (duplicating effects, plagiarism, cloning). This represents how Blue is also amoral much like Black. The only difference is that Blue is much more inclined to a lawful, orderly sort of amorality than Black. Furthermore, copying your enemy is the best way to understand what he or she is like.

Black

Flavor

(To be written.)

Rules

A black card is defined as any card that has {B} in its mana cost. Black is oriented on obtaining power - ultimate power at any cost. In the game of Magic, this means that black cards sometimes uses resources that other colors don't dare touch. Sacrificing permanents and paying life is certainly do-able for the right effect. A simple card such as Greed exemplifies black's determination to get any advantage.

Up until and including Mercadian Masques black had acces to temporary mana boosts, primarily in the form of Dark Ritual. This mechanic has since moved to the color Red.

Black is the color which uses every resource it can get, which is exemplified in cards such as Grinning Demon, Phyrexian Negator and Dark Confidant.

Black is the only color that causes a player to discard as an effect, not a cost. (Certain other colors use discard as cost, but that is different.) Notable discard cards are Hymn to Tourach, Wrench Mind, Persecute and Cabal Therapy.

Black is the foremost color in spot destruction, illustrated in cards as Terror and Dark Banishing. Recently black has been attributed several "weakness" type spells that gives creatures -x/-x (Last Gasp, Hideous Laughter and Sickening Shoal). A possible reason for this is that Wizards have obsoleted the term Bury (="Destroy, no regeneration") and is phasing out destruction spells that does not allow regeneration, such as Terror, and this is a different way of avoiding Regeneration, in that a creature with 0 or less toughness is put directly into the graveyard.


(Please expand this if you have the info.)

Red

Flavor

(To be written.)

Rules

The following keywords are primarily associated with the color red:

Red is the color that has the most direct damage (e.g. Lightning Bolt and Fireball) and is often used in aggressive decks. The creature types Goblin and Ogre are primarily red, and severeal decks based on Goblins have been created.

(Please expand this if you have the info.)

Green

Flavor

(To be written.)

Rules

(To be written.)

Off color - Artifacts

Flavor

(To be written.)

Rules

(To be written.)

Multicolor

Some cards can be multicoloured, meaning they require more than one type of mana to use. Until recently, that was about all that the players could really know about multicolour. Though Invasion Block, the first set to introduce widespread multicolour-ism, was a smashing success (as evidenced by a definite spike in tournament attendance), in Mark Rosewater's words, it wasn't really a mechanic they explored much. The card pool was dominated by "Chinese menu" cards, meaning they took one ability from two colours, scrunched them together on one card, and saw what happened.

Recently though, with the finalization of the Ravnica block, the "guild model" has given way to a new era of understanding colour combinations. Mark Rosewater boldly campaigned to showcase all ten two-colour combinations equally. Those combinations, and the names of the guild associated with them in Ravnica block, are: [[1]]

White-Blue Azorius Senate

White-Black Orzhov Syndicate

Blue-Black House Dimir

Blue-Red Izzet League

Black-Red Cult of Rakdos

Black-Green Golgari Swarm

Red-Green Gruul Clans

Red-White Boros Legion

Green-White Selesnya Conclave

Green-Blue Simic Combine

According to a new set of "colour pie philosophy" articles by Mark Rosewater (which isn't yet finished), each two-colour combination is defined as the intersection of the two colours.

(Please expand this article using the appropriate info)

"Sources" or "Things I Should Read Before Writing in this Article and Learning to Love the Wheel'o'Color"

(These should be deleted when the article is complete, and references have been made properly.)

Color wheel

Black

Blue

Hosing of Blue

Green

Red

White

Artifacts

Color hate

Multicolor

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