Colors and Character

Colors and Characters is a page dedicated to analyzing your favorite characters from fiction and folklore through the lens of the Magic: The Gathering color pie. From Gilgamesh to Harry Potter, Ahab to Danaerys Targaryen, none shall be ignored.

I’ve been playing Magic for a good decade and a half or so, and have always thought the depth of the color pie to be one of its most interesting features. It was somehow both philosophy and story-telling, all crammed onto the back of a tiny bit of cardboard.

My first introduction to the color pie, and still my go-to-bookmark.

 

The color-pie turns a social gathering PUN! into a conflict of philosophies: Each color has two ‘ally colors’ whose philosophies compliment its own and two ‘enemy colors’, whom it can’t stand and definitely wouldn’t room with even if it meant getting a great discount on a penthouse with a harbor view. For example, the fiery, passionate Red can’t understand Blue’s stoicism and logical manner, and hates White’s ‘the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few’ routine. Conflict is what keeps any narrative or philosophy interesting, and this is the brilliance of the color pie. There is always conflict, but there is also always compromise.

People are always interested in new ways to see old things, and that’s where the color pie is truly helpful. It helps us understand character motivations, what drives them and what they prioritize most when they act or don’t. A card is a trope in miniature.

For those of you who appreciate the briefest of the brief summaries, here are the breakdowns of what each color values and the philosophy that closest resembles its application in real-life:

 

White mana cares most about order and morality. Philosophy it resembles most: Socialism

 

 

 

Blue cares the most about logic and technology. It resembles Modernism in its philosophy.

 

 

 

Black mana is concerned with ambition and the individual. It resembles capitalism in its philosophy.

 

 

 

 

 

Red mana is concerned with chaos and emotions. It most closely resembles anarchy in its philosophy.

 

 

Green mana is concerned chiefly with interdependence and instinct. It most closely resembles Romanticism in its philosophical outlook.

 

 

For those of you who wish to read more about the color pie, this link may be helpful:

http://wiki.mtgsalvation.com/article/Color_Pie

 

ALL IMAGES USED IN THIS BLOG ARE COPYRIGHT THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. I reproduce them only for emphasis or the occasional off-color joke. All card art, mana symbols etc are copyrighted Wizards of the Coast 2014.