Color Pie

The color pie is a set philosophies that inform much of the mechanics of Magic. Each color has certain themes and gifts that they are good at, as well as weaknesses that they cannot overcome without splashing into another color. If a card in a certain color does something that is generally considered outside of the Color Pie, it is called a Color Bend, or in the most severe cases, a Color Break.

White

White embodies law, order, community, healing, and light. White is the color of goody-two-shoes, as well as the zealous and totalitarian. The White mana symbol is a sun, and its land is plains.

White characters include:

• Elspeth Tirel
• Gideon Jura
• Elesh Norn
• Konda
• Gerrard Capashen

White creatures include:

• Angels

White classes include:

• Soldier
• Cleric

White Keywords include:

• Lifelink
• Vigilance
• First/Double Strike

White is really good at:

• Gaining life
• Wiping the board
• Preventing damage (either by straight-up negating damage or tapping down creatures)
• Exiling things like artifacts and enchantments
• Pumping the board
• Making tokens

White is really bad at:

• Drawing cards and accruing card advantage
• Doing direct damage
• Ramping

The Dark Side of White

Don't conflate White with "good". White is Order, and there are plenty of Lawful Evil types in White. White is also frequently the color of hypocrisy, and not the kind born of weakness or ignorance, either.

In other words: More Lawful than Good.

Blue

Blue embodies logic, thought, observation, prescience, and arcane magic. The Blue mana symbol is a droplet of water, its land is islands.

Blue characters include:

• Jace Beleren
• Jin-Gitaxias
• Richard Garfield
• Teferi

Blue creatures include:

• Aquatic life
• Changelings

Blue classes include:

• Wizard
• Pirate

Blue Keywords include:

• Scry
• Flying
• Flash

Blue is really good at:

• Drawing cards
• Bouncing threats
• Counterspells
• Mind control
• Tapping and untapping things

Blue is really bad at:

• Dealing with threats after they resolve (enchantments and Planeswalkers are particularly sore for blue decks)
• Doing direct damage

Black

Black embodies self-interest, moral relativism, and power at any cost. Black is the color of demons and undead, but also respect of the individual over the collective. The Black mana symbol is a skull, its land is swamps.

Black characters include:

• Liliana
• Drana
• Sheoldred

Black creatures include:

• Demons
• Undead

Black classes include:

• Cultists
• Necromancers

Black Keywords include:

• Deathtouch
• Menace
• Lifelink

Black is really good at:

• Sacrificing others for your own gain
• Killing creatures and Planeswalkers after they resolve
• Discarding your opponent's hands
• Card advantage... at a cost
• Reanimating the dead

Black is really bad at:

• Dealing with artifacts and enchantments
• Preventing threats from coming on the board
• Disrupting non-creature related gameplans

Non-Evil Black

One frequent argument is whether Black is "Evil" by definition; usually, the answer is taken to be "No, but only barely". For example, according to Mark Rosewater, Black is explicitly the color of the Constitution of the United States, creating an unusual situation where America is Black (Individual) Red (Freedom) and Blue (pursuit of perfection through knowledge).

The way this circle is usually squared is to note that Black is also a color of Realism and Pragmatism, of Trades, and of Individualism. It is the color of the rational check on White's more... let us say Lawful Evil tendencies.

Red

Red embodies passion, freedom, and rage. The Red mana symbol is a ball of fire, its land is mountains.

Red characters include:

• Chandra Nalaar
• Jaya Ballard
• Squee
• Urabrask

Red creatures include:

• Dragons
• Goblins
• Elemental

Red classes include:

• Barbarian
• Shaman

Red Keywords include:

• Haste
• Trample
• First/Double Strike

Red is really good at:

• Direct damage (which is good against creatures, Planeswalkers, and your opponent's face)
• "Chaotic" card advantage (through random effects or by exiling cards and allowing you to play them for a limited time)
• Destroying artifacts
• Destroying lands
• Going fast with hasty creatures and short term bursts of mana
• Temporarily stealing creatures

Red is really bad at:

• Dealing with enchantments
• "True" card advantage (you often have to discard cards if you want to draw cards, which is not true card advantage, it's card selection)
• Long term games (chances are you'll fizzle out if you don't win fast unless you're playing Chonky Red)
• Subtlety

Green

Green embodies destiny, nature-over-nurture, the food chain, and really big, angry green monsters. The Green mana symbol is a tree, its land is forests.

Green characters include:

• Nissa
• Vorinclex

Green creatures include:

• Non-Aquatic Animals
• Most Elves

Green classes include:

• Druids

Green Keywords include:

• Trample
• Reach
• Vigilance

Green is really good at:

• Ramping and fixing your mana
• Making huge creatures, either through combat tricks, auras, or just ramping into a big boy
• Dealing with enchantments and artifacts
• Making tokens
• Drawing cards (but not as good as blue or red)
• Fighting creatures with other creatures (either through fight or bite effects)
• Uncounterable threats
• Dealing with fliers

Green is really bad at:

• Direct damage
• Straight up removing creatures without having a board presence
• Dealing with Planeswalkers
• Non-creature interaction in general

Colorless and Devoid

Basically the "color" of Artifact Creatures (though some colored ones have appeared) and eldritch abomination, as well as a decent chunk of artifacts. Colorless costs can be paid with any mana, which means they can be put in any deck with room for them. Blue does this the most, as it has weak creatures on its own and many abilities which interact with artifacts. Once had an empty diamond as a symbol and "wastes" as a land, but this was dropped after the one set that used it as a gimmick.