When someone begins playing Magic: the
Gathering for the first time, they often find a color they like and
latch onto it. A developing mage finds a play style they like and
sticks with it. While this can help a newer player create a strategy
that they like and cultivate it over time. This also makes them rigid
and inflexible, unable to adapt to a new way of playing. New cards
are constantly released and decks always able to be improved. The
greatest step a new Magic player can take is to step outside of their
comfort zone and experiment with new colors and strategy. In this
essay, I will be exploring some of the advantages that can be learned
though experimenting with each color of Magic and what they have to
offer to a new player.
White
White
is possibly one of the more common colors chosen by a learning
player. It's relatively simple and straightforward, and can teach
players most of the basics relatively easily: how creatures work, the
importance of evasion, and combat tricks. However, someone who hasn't
started with white might not recognize just how useful a horde of
tokens can be. White is the color of tokens and large armies of small
creatures. With enough soldiers, White's armies can simply overwhelm
the blockers of their opposition. White also uses the most combat
tricks and anthems, surprising blockers and enhancing their strength
to overwhelm. White has a lot to offer a new player.
As
some recent examples of what White could offer to a developing
player, Soul of Theros offered White a lot of advantage in M15 drafts
this year, offering a massive power boost and a number of tricks to
it's controllers team. Triplicate Spirits was the format-defining
card of M15 limited, creating a strong army, even if they were only
three 1/1 spirits.
Blue
Blue
can teach a player that they can win simply though card advantage. Of
course, there are lot of other tricks Blue possesses: bouncing
creatures and permanents, countering spells, and possessing lots of
evasion, but it's greatest trick sheer card advantage. That is to
say, being able to draw more cards than their opponent, pulling more
answers out of their deck and into their hand than their opponent. If
their opponent has three cards in hand, two of which are creatures,
and Blue has seven cards; two lands, two counterspells, Unsummon, and
two creatures; blue is at an advantage over their opponent. They have
more answers and more ability to progress.
Some
recent examples Blue could offer to a newer player include Divination
and Opportunity. Divination has been a format staple to almost every
set, as a simple way to gain a few cards at relatively low cost.
Opportunity was a format-defining card in M14 draft, allowing Blue
players to gain massive card advantage over their opponent at Instant
speed.
Black
Black
can teach a new player one of the most important lessons they can
learn: that life is a resource, not a score. The game ends when one
player reaches 0 life, however much life the winner has left by the
end of the game doesn't matter, and sacrificing life for powerful
plays can be extremely important. Newer players can often be
suspicious of cards that cost them life, not realizing how
advantageous spending life for cards or killing creatures can be. The
perfect example would be the legendary card Necropotence, a card that
completely warped the format around itself in it's time. The card
advantage it generated was so staggering that the life spent hardly
mattered. As newer players experiment with Black, they are often
continually tempted by the great power at any cost it offers.
Some
recent examples of Black's advantage generated through life include
Sign in Blood, which allow the player to draw cards at a very cheap
cost, allowing players to then cast those cards quickly. Plus, it's
targeting clause can finish off an opponent. Ulcerate is also very
strong removal at a low cost, making it a strong early, though not
first, pick for M15 draft.
Red
Anyone
that has played Red understands how much it values burn cards, that
is to say cards that do direct damage to a creature or player. What a
newer player can learn though playing Red more often is how those are
best used, whether to use it as removal against creatures or to throw
it against the opponent's face to kill them. Cards like Lava Axe are
fairly simple: it only targets the opponent. A card like Lightning
Strike is a bit more complicated. It can remove a creature to clear
the way for Red's own beaters, or it can be thrown against the
opponent to bring their life down ever-closer to 0. Many players,
even veteran Magic players, might see Red-focused decks as being
rather simple, when in actuality there is a lot of math involved: Red
must calculate whether they can afford to clear out a creature and if
they will have enough cards and time to do so. Learning this math and
being able to calculate removal versus simply killing their opponent
is an important step for a new player.
Some
recent examples of powerful Red cards include Lightning Strike, a
useful removal or killing card in M15 and Theros, and can be used for
the purposes described above. Even more useful is M15's Cone of
Flame, possibly one of the best cards available in it's draft format.
The ability to remove up to three creatures or turn that against the
opponent makes it an extremely powerful tool available to Red.
Green
Green,
along with White, is probably one of the most common colors that new
Magic players learn though. On it's face, Green is relatively simple,
and it is in many ways. Green plays big creatures, ramps into them
with mana generating creatures and land-fetching spells, and uses the
occasional combat trick. Newer players usually learn these things,
but someone who was not taught on Green might not understand it's
importance. Sometimes simplicity is what you need to win games, and
Green's raw power can often win on it's own. While other colors are
playing small creatures or drawing cards, Green is playing much
stronger creatures for the same mana cost, or playing
equivalently-powered cards much earlier.
Some
recent examples of Green's powerful cards are relatively simple,
fitting it's color. Elvish Mystic can often be a first pick in pack
one in M15 draft, short of a particularly excellent rare or
Triplicate Spirits. Briarpack Alpha was also an excellent card in M14
draft, and could be used as both a combat trick on it's own, and a
useful creature for early on.
It's
important for a new player to experiment with colors, to learn new
methods of play. Learning what cards do and how to determine good
cards is what boosts a beginner Magic player into an good player, but
to learn how to do that at all, players must learn what makes the
colors good on their own. If you've never tried a color of Magic,
learn it! Combine colors and learn how they interact. I can guarantee
it will make you a better player almost instantly.
*All images taken from www.magiccards.info*
*All images taken from www.magiccards.info*
