The Color Pie Identity Project – Blue

Welcome to the second in our multi-part series of The Color Pie Identity Project. Last week was Black, and if you can read the title, you can tell this week it’s Blue. If you can’t read the title, then you can’t read what I’m writing. You’re just here for the art that looks great. Or, you’ve just translated this site into your native language and are reading this now in German (where I’m starting to get some reader base. Hallo meine deutschen Freunde.) See you’re being Blue now, the further search for knowledge. Not all Blue is “evil” and overpowered, right?

Philosophy/Flavor

For Blue, the pursuit for knowledge is the ultimate goal. That’s why you see cards named like Tolarian Academy and Mystical Teachings. If you don’t have the knowledge, you don’t deserve to survive in the Multiverse, says Blue. So, Blue sits in it’s libraries and schools and learns learns learns, until its brain is full. And just like an overconfident geek, it displays its knowledge in a cocky way taunting their opponents. It knows what it takes to counter spells, return creatures, and increase their spells that they can cast at the moment (drawing cards flavor wise).

Blue takes control of the non-physical world. It counters spells before they materialize, masters instant and sorcery spells, and even time itself. The only color to consistently have spells that allow them to take and give parts of, or even entire, turns to other players, Blue can dominate in ways other colors can’t touch. By playing Jedi-like mind games, Blue tricks other players into thinking something is there, not there (“These aren’t the droids you’re looking for”), or even controlling other opponent’s spells/permanents. Its cerebral understanding of the the way the multiverse comes from all that studying (see how that comes full circle?).

But just like the Jedis, they don’t really believe completely in combat nor destroying things. They will fight if they have to, but most of the time they want to avoid it. By removing creatures/or other objects in the way by dematerializing (ie bouncing) them to clear a path for their creatures. The powerful magic that Blue has, actually undoing their opponents spells that they cast earlier in the game. With all of this trickery, you can see why Blue is one of the most dangerous colors in the game.

Note: I am only talking about Blue in the past several years, ala Odysseyish forward. Before then, Blue had direct damage, and the ability to have opponents sacrifice permanents, and discard. Minus the madness of Time Spiral reprints, and the non-timeshifted Planar Choas cards, this has been the philosophy that Wizards have had for Blue.

How it deals with:

Every permanent. By bouncing (returning) it to their opponent’s hand. That’s one of the main weaknesses of this color. It has no “real” answers for anything, just trying to bounce it back and try and counter it the next time it is played. It tries to outsmart the opponent by drawing into more control cards (bounce/counter) and then slowly taking over the situation.

Relationship with:

Black – Though it respects the control that Black has on everything, it considers Black goes too far trying to do everything (the exact opposite that Black feels about Blue). It spreads itself too thin, and believes in the axiom “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Green – The “touchy feely” of the colors, Blue believes, is too natural. It sees Green like Greenpeace: trying to save every living thing without thinking too much about anyone/anything else. Sure, going with your gut is nice from time to time, but it won’t always save you.

Red – Blue sees Red as a two year old kid: not smart, keeps running around screaming at the tops of their lungs, and destroying things with no rhyme or reason. It’s wild, out of control and completely going with it’s emotions, not its thoughts.

White – Another contorlish color, Blue thinks White goes too far in trying to make everyone else think the same instead of trying to increase the pursuit of knowledge. Though, it admires the ability to make the rules that everyone has to govern (something that Blue used to do).

Cards that demonstrate the color:

Creature – Archivist for card advantage. Sure, it’s not very big and powerful, but it does allow for more spells.

Enchantment –Future Sight for taking knowledge to the extreme and expanding their playable spells in an interesting way.

Instant – Counterspell for defining Blue. There is no other card in any color that completely has its identity so personified in player’s minds.

Sorcery – Exhaustion for using that Jedi Mind trick on their opponents.

That’s it for this installment of Blue’s Identity on the Color Pie. Tuesday, I’ll take a look at the card/mechanic that MaRo reveals tomorrow, and later one, Blue’s time during craziness of Planar Chaos. As always, would love your comments and thoughts.