Magic: The Gathering: The Addiction

(Gasp! Too many words? Skip to the paragraph before the pictures, really, I understand. You can come back and read these big blocks of text later, you'll want to, honest. I'll even bold the first letter of the paragraph and make it fancy, so you'll recognize it easier.)

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Today, I'm going to be talking about a different color of magic each day (if I don't fall behind, which is unlikely), and talk about what each color means. What does this mean to you? Well, probably not much if you're not in the right mood. The color wheel (Which represents all 5 colors of magic) isn't just part of the game. The color wheel has a lot of psychology behind it. What colors do you like? Why? What does that say about your personality?

"But it's just a game!"

Hush, no, it's not. The color wheel, taken outside of magic, has become a big part of my philosophy on life and personality. Sounds like a lot huh? Well, it is, but trust me, if you read into each color, how they interact with the other colors, you'd understand too. If you play magic (or use to play), it's definately a plus.

Also, for the players, learning the color wheel will give you a new found respect for the game, and understanding of what the colors mean, how they work, and how to play. It has polished up my rusty game skills, and I know each color for what it is in game, and outside of the game. I doubt I have many readers who actually play Magic (I know of one that USE to, however), but trust me, everyone, these colors are worth understanding. I don't usually try to 'push' my ideas onto people, but if I truely like something, I'll sell it as hard as I can to try and get my freinds to understand it too, because it means a lot to me (For example, Fight Club, one of my favorite movies ever. WATCH IT <3). style="font-size:180%;">~First, I'll give a brief introduction to the color wheel itself. It's so simple, yet so deep, so elegent. Does so much with saying so little. What is it? Let me show you. The kind folks at Wizards provided this image:

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The "Infamous" Color Wheel

(PLEASE Click for larger image)

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So much to say, so much to say, but nowhere to start. The first question is, what does it all mean? The outer ring shows words that define it's core characteristics. Red is fueled by impulse and chaos, while Green is fueld by Instinct and interdependence. The smaller ring inside are some words to help illustrate what each color is; White is Uncreative, Peace activist, and Law abiding, while blue is Intellectual, omnicient, and enjoys inaction. This may seem like a random jumbling of words at first, but come back to this picture later, I assure you it will make more sense.

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Magic the Gathering Card (Back Side)

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Please note, that this is an edited picture, and the black 'circle' and white 'pentagram' isn't on the actual card itself, I added to show you where you get 'ally' colors and 'enemy' colors. Black lines point to each color's ally (adjacent) and white lines point to each color's enemy (opposite). We'll start from the top, and work our way clockwise (Color-coded for your convenience!):

White : Moral (Laws of God/Spirit), Order (Laws of Man). Uncreative, Peace, Law.
Allies: Green and Blue
Enemies: Black and Red

Blue : Logic (Intellectual Theroy), Technology (Intellectual Application). Intellect, Omniscience, Inaction
Allies: White and Black
Enemies: Red and Green

Black : Parasatism (Selfishness at the Expense of Others), Amoral (Selfishness Above All Else). Selfishness, Omnipotence, Paranoia.
Allies: Blue and Red
Enemies: Green and White

Red : Impulse (Emotional Action), Chaos (Spontaneous Action). Freedom, Action, Short-Sighted.
Allies: Black and Green
Enemies: White and Blue

Green : Instinct (Natural Descisions), Interdependence (Natural Survival). Naieve, Growth, Nature.
Allies: Red and White
Enemies: Blue and Black

What does this all mean? All I did was copy and paste from that picture earlier (gasp!). What does it mean? I'm glad you asked (or, read what I wrote, thanks either way). Well, it's all spelled out in front of you. Let's just take one or two as an example.

Red use to be my favorite, so let's use that. Red: Impluse and Chaos. What are it's enemies? White and Blue. What do they like? Logic and Order. Those are direct oppsites, right? (Impulse opposes Logic, and Chaos opposes Order) While Red enjoys causing chaos and doing what it wants, White wants to set rules and make sure everything is done at the correct place and correct time. Also, Red wants to do what it's heart tells them to do, and emotions don't wait. You're hungry, you gotta eat, right? You're mad, you show it, smash-scream-RAWR. But Blue doesn't think that's good, Blue thinks you should control yourself, think of what the consiquences later may bring, and plan ahead. Red does not like planning ahead.

What about it's allies? Green and Black. They like Instinct and Amorality. That sounds about right, doesn't it? Red likes to follow it's instinct (Green), and do what it likes to do (Black). The allies each have things in common. While Red does enjoy following his gut, and doing what he wants regardless of what others say, they're only ally colors. If they agreed on everything, they'd be the same color, right? They each have their differences as well, different philosophy.

Red is too destructive for Green, and thinks too small for Black. See, Black (who is Red's Ally) enjoys spending time with Blue, who understands planning ahead, and how it can be of use (something Red doesn't think about). Green (who is also Red's Ally) has an understanding with White. They both agree in equality, and that one should not be trying to control everything.

Then again, White and Green disagree on things as well. As does Black and Blue. In fact, each color has a lot that it doesn't agree with each other color. Each have two similar minds that understand them... to a degree, and two ideals that conflict a great deal. That's not to say Black and White, or Red and Blue can't be freinds, (because as I'll show you later, they can), but they have a lot of conflicts in their core beliefs. For a Red/White engagement to take place, it'd have to have a lot to discuss and work out, likewise for Green/Blue, or any enemy color.

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Now, I'm not trying to push some sort of belief or ideal onto you who happens to be reading this article. But, do take it seriously when I talk about it, because I am serious (well, as serious as I can be, discussing a card game, which is quite serious for a nerd). What color are you? We've all got a bit of each color in us. We are selfish sometimes (black), like to buy things on impulse (red), enjoy competition (green), understand the need for laws (white), and solve problems and plan ahead (blue). What color best represents you? I don't know, you have to ask yourself that.

What do you enjoy the most? What do you enjoy the least? What color best speaks to you? What color(s) turn you off more than the others? It's not an easy choice to pick just one, I know I have a problem picking just one. It's a fun exersize to do, and to share with others. I don't take the credit for designing, or writing about the Color Wheel. The good folks over at Wizards of the Coast and Magic the Gathering (and the creator of Magic, Richard Garfield *amen*). But what I do want to say, is that wether you play the game or not, anyone can appreciate the color wheel.

Also, I must mention, that while some colors may seem bad (Black and Red for example), they're not, there's no good and evil. Good and Evil can exist in any color. Red, while it stands for destruction, also stands for love, and emotions. Black, while it stands for selfishness, also is very important to each person's emotional state, and must think of themselves sometimes. Honestly, I use to be White/Blue, and that was bad. I was always thinking ahead (Blue), for the greater good (White), and never caring about myself (Opposite of White was Black), and my feelings were often taking a back seat so I can help others (Opposite of Blue is Red). And while some colors may appear as good, they've also able to bring evil. For white, the individual isn't as important, and no matter who you are, if you've done something wrong, you're held accountable, mistakes are unforgivable (very harsh indeed). Green, dislikes progress. If we were all green, we would not have researched science, DNA, build roads and houses, etc.

I hope you enjoyed reading today's post (which was actually yesterday's post, but it took so long it got pushed to today, Thursday, eeks!), and will hope you would like to read about the individual colors in details. I'll be taking requests as to what colors you would like to hear about first, and then work my way clockwise. Thanks all, and hopefully some of you read it.