Why are green and blue the only good colors.
General forum
Posted on April 1, 2015, 9:26 p.m. by mzl
Green is ramp. Blue is mill/counterspell. What are the good parts of say, red? Besides Kaalia of the Vast.
LightAndDarkness says... #3
Fast creatures (Goblin Guide)), burn spells (Lightning Bolt)). Red decks excel at winning before the opponent gets a chance to stabilize, which is why it is generally considered the weakest color in Commander; quick damage isn't enough against 40 life.
April 1, 2015 9:28 p.m.
Also I think it should be pointed out that Kaalia's ablilty reflects all 3 of here colors (
) and not just
April 1, 2015 9:35 p.m.
also, listing mill as a credit to blue is incorrect. That is a terrible mechanic. Addressing other colors, white has nice small dudes, and black has amazing removal.
April 1, 2015 9:43 p.m.
Quite to the contrary, I don't think that there are necessarily any, "good," or, "bad," colors in this game - rather, when you stop to consider all of the different ways in which people play Magic, one man's Tarmogoyf will often be another man's Chimney Imp. It's all about what you personally enjoy, which may not necessarily agree with the overarching will of the, "Tier One," masses.
That being said, yes, each color has had its high points and low points in terms of competitive viability over time - Vintage is more-or-less dominated by Blue, for example, and there isn't much to be done about that at this point. However, this is much less of an issue in rotating formats like Standard and newer formats like Modern, because Wizards puts a lot more work into balancing the color pie than they used to.
But, I digress.
To answer your question:
- White has life gain, protection, and damage prevention.
- Blue has mill, counterspells, and bounce.
- Black has discard, deathtouch, and the ability to pay life for useful things.
- Red has direct damage, haste, and cheap creatures.
- Green has mana ramp, trample, and reach.
This is naturally a gross oversimplification, but the idea here is to demonstrate some of the various lines of play available to each color.
April 1, 2015 9:55 p.m.
I encourage you to check out Mark Rosewater's Drive to work Podcast, in some of which he goes over the different colors/color combos and their strengths/weaknesses
April 1, 2015 10:09 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #8
I disagree with this thread. "Why are green and blue the only good colors"? Simple answer: they're not.
April 1, 2015 10:19 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #9
never seen blue get the "good color" label for mill. more about that counter/draw.
April 1, 2015 10:55 p.m.
Green is most certainly not a bad color. You just need to be playing the right decks and in the right formats.
Given that mana is one of the single most important resources in the game, ramp (one of green's biggest advantages) is a critical one. Green isn't just "big dumb creatures", it's efficient creatures. And when you're in a creature-based metagame then creatures are...well, important.
Not having access to efficient or prevalent fliers is one of green's weaknesses, and having "bad" removal is a hindrance, but you don't see decks splashing for Tarmogoyf for no reason.
April 2, 2015 12:13 a.m.
LightAndDarkness says... #16
Doom Blade dies to Doom Blade, so it's terrible by your logic. Thank you FRF!
April 2, 2015 12:19 a.m.
Haha, well, as you can see by the many differing opinions expressed in this thread, there really are no definitive, "best," or, "worst," colors. Just play whatever you want to play, and have fun!
Also, I highly recommend reading the Making Magic articles on the Color Pie. If you favor Green and Blue, then you will especially enjoy Improving Upon Nature, which explains the philosophy of the Simic Combine.
ThisIsBullshit says... #2
Lightning Bolt
April 1, 2015 9:27 p.m.