Please help me with understanding

Lore forum

Posted on Sept. 15, 2016, 8:11 a.m. by Sim_Will_CMcantfindmehopefully

I simply cannot grasp any flavour of four colour things. It can't simply be the opposite of the colour it is not, because for example, white s not anti-every remaining colour. Yet the four qualities just do not mix. They don't.

RicketyEng says... #2

When it comes to abilities at least, sometimes a four colour card will be able to do something that its missing colour does not do well. In white's case that could be drawing cards. It is because of how 4 colour cards are better defined by what they aren't rather than what they are that Wizards doesn't generally like designing them. They have been kind enough though to give us EDH players something to play with later this fall.

September 15, 2016 8:36 a.m.

MindAblaze says... #3

Yes, Rickety hit the nail on the head. MaRo constantly states that four color is tricky to design for because its defined by what it lacks.

You could, in theory design your card flavorfully for yourself as a melding of two guilds and their goals, (however you want to finagle that in your head) but mechanically you have to remember colors intentionally have limitations to make them feel different.

September 15, 2016 10:18 a.m.

MagicalHacker says... #4

White, black, red, and green all have cards than can board wipe all creatures from the battlefield to the graveyard/exile/library. Blue can only move all to the hand. Thats non blue. No "combining" required.

You just have to find the biggest similarity for the four color combos, like enchantment voltron for non black, control for non green, tutoring for non red, and drawing for non white.

September 15, 2016 10:18 a.m. Edited.

Aztraeuz says... #5

I can't grasp the flavor for 4 color either. I think it's wasted time. I think the logical jump from 3 colors is 5 colors. If you are going to complicate your deck, why leave out one color?

With the new 4 color Commander products coming in November, I don't think I will use them much for their colors, I will only use them if the Commanders have great abilities.

September 15, 2016 4:12 p.m.

MindAblaze says... #6

I think most commanders could benefit from having an extra color while still doing what it is that they do.

I guess my question is when you're saying flavor what are you talking about? Most people are WUBRG, in that they can be loyal, curious, self-interested, passionate and naturalistic. But in any given narrative that person is not usually all of those things, and when it serves the purpose of the narrative you drop colors based on what you're ignoring of the usual human condition, to provide emphasis on their current situation.

Mechanically, the colors are only allowed to do certain things but that has less to do with flavor and more to do with design/development.

September 15, 2016 5:40 p.m.

Not to disagree with you iAzire, but the EDH fanbase has been clamoring for 4-color commanders for a very long time. I'll probably toy around with the non-red stuff, but generally I find three colors is where I want to be.

I think WotC is just trying to cater to their fanbase, which is a perfectly logical and reasonable thing to do as a business. I can't answer as to why so many people want 4-color commanders, but I can assure you that they very much do.

September 15, 2016 6:36 p.m.

Aztraeuz says... #8

I see your point, I just personally don't see the need for it. I mean I understand Wizards is giving fans what they want, but I can't figure out why people want them. If 5 color Commanders aren't doing it for you, beg for new 5 Color Commanders.

4 color is just like......why?

This of course isn't factoring the abilities the new Commanders will offer.

I guess I would just prefer to get 5 color Commanders with new abilities than waste time with 4 colors. I'm just not seeing a logical reason to have 4 colors.

September 15, 2016 8:04 p.m.

Thank you! 5 interesting five colour commanders would ve so much cooler!

September 15, 2016 9:31 p.m.

MagicalHacker says... #10

I think the reason we don't see the point for four color decks is because we don't have it yet.

September 15, 2016 9:32 p.m.

bennybubbles says... #11

Yeah I'm super keen for 4 oolour. I'll always love Scion of the Ur-Dragon but being able to make a deck without blue but that includes all the other colours is so exciting to me. I do feel however, that this fits a little more casual players than serious ones, because as a few people have already said, most serious players see 5 as the logical jump from 3 to give more mechanical freedom.

September 15, 2016 10:42 p.m.

Vicarian says... #12

I think there may be a good number of people who absolutely hate a particular color. They're fine with the other 4 for whatever reasons. A lot of people I run into say they hate blue. I personally despise red and refuse to play it, period. I chuck all red commons in the circular file, and vendor the ones that people actually pay money for, for some unknown reason.

September 30, 2016 7:50 p.m.

Aztraeuz says... #13

I'm just curious to see what abilities these new Commanders have. I'm really curious as to how they will try to fit the theme of the 4 colors.

I seriously doubt I will try to build any of these. Unless they have awesome abilities of course. I'm not sure I would have ever built Mardu if it wasn't for Kaalia of the Vast. So ability matters, I just hope they are good.

October 1, 2016 1:03 a.m.

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