Wedge Philosophies
Lore forum
Posted on May 26, 2014, 4:55 a.m. by Anublet90
As a newer player who started right around the Theros release I don't really have much experience with tri-colour themes. There are a lot of articles and online discussions regarding the Shards, but Wedge-colours don't really get the same treatment. Has anything relevant even been officially released?
So, my question is what are the philosophies and/or fundamental play-styles behind each Wedge combo? Both discussion and links would be great.
For example, looking the attributes of Rakdos, Boros and Orzhov I came to the conclusion that Dega (RBW) is more or less Soviet Russia. Oppression, propaganda and corruption are rampant. The "Mother Land's" survival takes precedence and outsiders are looked at as something to be tolerated at the very best, and even then only if there's something to be gained, like in foreign trade. Harsh judgement and swift retribution make up the judicial system, while armies field high-power weaponry and ludicrous amounts of infantry both. Commoners are thoroughly expendable, while higher ranks are near-attainable without proper connections or insane skill and merits. Fanaticism and recklessness abound, ruthless methods for short-term gain at the expense of others is a perfectly viable strategy.
In summary: nukes, nefarious schemes and nameless fodder that is wantonly sacrificed "for the greater good" (read: to the whims and needs of the ones in power).
For example, cards that I think symbolize these colours' intentions and methods well would include Maw of the Obzedat because of the "for the greater good" spew. Spark Trooper in particular for swift, violent retribution that also sustains the Mother Land (you) by means of Lifelink - all this while sacrificing itself. Avenging Arrow is a vengeful piece of work while Havoc Festival is the radical method of gimping both yourself and the enemy while you have the home field-advantage - much like the Scorched Earth strategy employed by Russia during Operation Barbarossa.
May 26, 2014 6:13 a.m.
Oh, look, I got ninja'd.
Thanks, that does explain quite a bit. Waiting in anticipation for more!
May 26, 2014 6:16 a.m.
Anublet90 - You actually went in-depth on a particular wedge philosophy, I just went big picture. I wouldn't necessarily say I ninja'd you :p
For Dega (R/W/B) I really look at Tariel, Reckoner of Souls
for flavor, as Kaalia of the Vast
is really just a flavor general. Tariel has two White keywords in Flying and Vigilance, but has a very Rakdos ability in randomly Reanimate
ing a creature from a graveyard. While "Random=Red" is a very prevalent philosophy, it fits well here.
May 26, 2014 6:28 a.m.
Whilst the wedges havent been explored extensively it would be wrong to say they haven't been explored at all. Apocalypse even has names for all of them.
If you click Here then this should give you some idea.
These cards highlight some of the mechanics and sensibilities of the wedges.
May 26, 2014 6:34 a.m.
Most people call GBW 'Junk' but really it has been labelled as Necra.
May 26, 2014 6:39 a.m.
In fact, here's a list of them.
WBR - Dega
URG - Ceta
BGW - Necra
RWU - Raka
GUB - Ana
For reference.
May 27, 2014 5:27 a.m.
BlastercoolWeird says... #11
certainly those names exist but because they only appear on maybe two or three cards each the places from which those names arise don't have any real identity to them, hence why they haven't caught on as well as the shard names.
To speculate of Wedge flavor. if BUG is the antithesis of Boros (rw) I imagine it's a combination of patience, waiting. BUG waits and schemes in the shadows (Dimir) it slowly overtakes things and incorporates things (Golgari) and it acts in alien, ways towards a greater goal (simic) BUG would probably have a lot of biological alteration going on, as well as a lot of blurring between the lines of dead, alive and undead
I'll probably post more on my interpretation of the wedges in the next few days.
May 27, 2014 10:51 p.m.
BlastercoolWeird says... #12
a color combination representing waiting, holding back on action, I should say.
sorry my initial wording above this post was a bit unclear
May 27, 2014 10:53 p.m.
So what do you people think are the strengths of each colour-trio, gameplay-wise?
For example, I fell in love with Dega as I was writing the "Soviet Russia" -post. I've been trying to make a post-rotation deck since and I came to some conclusions.
Spot-removal in unmatched. Everything from Magma Spray and Chained to the Rocks and Asphyxiate , to Lightning Strike and Reprisal and Hero's Downfall . Then there's slightly different ones like Banishing Light and Cast into Darkness .
I haven't tried it yet, but all three colours have it pretty well when it comes to weenies, so you'd think that would work.
Recycling. Flame-Wreathed Phoenix , Underworld Cerberus , Tymaret, the Murder King and Athreos, God of Passage all fool around in or with the graveyard. There's also Gift of Immortality and who knows how many graveyard-digging spells Black has. The amount of Instants and Sorceries is also of relevance to some Red spells, such as Spite of Mogis .
Life-gain is greatest in both Black and White, which actually complements Black's and Red's reckless combination rather nicely.
One way to put it is that this is the colour-combo - excuse my language - of getting shit done. Self-harm is irrelevant as long as you wrap things up ASAP. If things do get stretched out you have a lot of means to stabilize and stomp right in anyway. The battlefield (zone) is your battlefield (area of expertise), and I really need to make this deckrightnow,ciao!
May 28, 2014 6:52 a.m.
forestlore44 says... #14
Anublet90: I really like your take on the BWR shard. Flavor wise, To me it really does seem like a very oppressive, warlike and violent shard. Mechanics-wise it seems more control or midrangey oriented.
My take on the RUG shard:
Combining flavor of izzet, simic, and gruul, I get the impression that this shard is a weird and chaotic one but not in the same way as BWR one. It seems to be a shard dominated by the elements: geologic earth (R), biological earth (G), and water and air (U) . It conjures up the idea of the setting being a remote volcanic tropical island a bunch of wizards working on a secret project (izzet/simic) , some strange creatures, and a few tribal natives (gruul), where a lot of weird and mysterious shit goes on. Mechanics wise this shard seems oriented towards combo-esque strategies and outside the box abilities backed up with a lot of unique spells and intriguing creatures.
May 31, 2014 11:08 p.m.
Hazzardteen says... #15
I find this thread quite interesting. I like the idea of dega being soviet Russia and the "get stuff done" mind set. I believe I shall go over my view on Necra then. Necra: This shard has no true death, everything is reused or recycled into bigger creatures (green black). White means that you have all sorts of small annoying creatures running about and big angels who can play around with the dead as well without the prospect of the usual black zombification. Moving on from that you have the necromancers who are using all of the plentiful life from white green to amass an army of dead things. Ghave, Guru of Spores fits this theme quite well actually. He makes small creatures, sacrifices them for a greater good or uses someone else 's greater good for more bodies on the field, even going so far as to use his own body as the means of which to do it with. Apologies if this seems a bit rambling and disconnected, I'm a touch tired as of the time I am posting this.
June 1, 2014 12:30 a.m.
Hazzardteen says... #16
Alright, it's morning and I shall post my final view on the last wedge we haven't gone over here. Raka (or american) seems to have a theme of control and an enforcement of justice. You control the field by denying your opponents much like the azorius, but you also aren't afraid to take action with creatures like the boros. However, you also have a tendency to be a bit random, and every now and again everything goes the way of the dodo and you end up burning everybody (yourself included), such is the izzet way. Ruhan of the Fomori fit this quite well, all he knows is that someone has to pay for their transgressions and nobody is to be trusted, everyone dies simply because they are there to fight you and don't agree with you. You may make friends, but more likely than not you'll get a lot of enemies. Or you can go the way of Zedruu the Greathearted and certain people your friend while gaining an equal benefit from helping somebody else. Phew, that was a bit long winded. Anybody else have another way of looking at this? Or perhaps another view of my other interpretation of Necra above?
June 1, 2014 9:49 a.m.
FatherLiir says... #17
I think your take on Necra/Junk/GWB is spot on honestly. A few things I see differently is that the color combination says it controls all shades of life, rather than no true death. Instead of things dying and coming back, the death of something is used to fuel the life of another living organism, like how when a tree dies and fungus starts growing on it.
One thing I notice is that take away Teneb, the Harvester and then the only other three Necra Mana cost creature is Karador, Ghost Chieftan, Ghave, Guru of Spores and Doran, the Siege Tower which gives us two Shamans and the ghost of what could almost be a Gruul Chief. Perhaps the most advanced technology you would find in a Necra Shard/World would be only what you could hand make with your brawn and with a few hand tools. You could have large gatherings of individuals but they would very much be like a tribe or nomadic caravan. To me that also says that while some things you have to ask for permission to use, there isn't a sense of ownership to objects. Everything belongs to everyone and there is enough to go around for all. I could see groups of individuals being inviting but protective of their own, and should you make one of them mad or hurt one you hurt the whole so it will come at you with all it has.
June 5, 2014 3:35 p.m.
gheridarigaaz says... #18
I think Ana covers information brokery to a tee... the focal point would be green which favours instinct and nature while the secondary colours, blue and black hold back on instinctual behaviour and natural progression... as a result you have a combination that is able to utilize any zone that holds information, (library, hand, graveyard, battlefield and exile [both yours and your opponent's zones]), more effectively than the other wedges might. While blue and black hold back green from doing what it does well in the early game all three colours at least share one thing in common. Very large threats, which seem to be the ultimate goal of the colour combination and collectively have answers to most problematic situations that might hinder their overall plan.
Ceta is chaotic... while blue favours logic, green emphasises instinct and red focuses on passion. You wind up with a combination of colous that seeks to bewilder opponents by doing something unexpected (even unexpected to you) or, as Guided Passage demonstrates, gives opponents a series of choices that damn them any way they might look at it. While the combination might condemn you for trying to work reactively it rewards the player for playing a deck that always seeks to make the first move as Intet, the Dreamer and Maelstrom Wanderer can demonstrate. While green and red can be proactive by affecting boardstates i think blue's purpose is to fuel the amount of action put forward with a Rush of Knowledge or at least force opponents to squabble between each other by alleviating spell casting with something like Arcane Melee
June 9, 2014 9:47 a.m.
BlastercoolWeird says... #19
looking at the guilds that make up the Junk shard I think you can make a case for a theme of community. Orzhov (b/w) is a system that draws strength from disparities within an established power-structure, Selesnya (G/W) values community and harmony as the means and the end. and Golgari (G/B) also exhibits ideas of community, b/g gorgons in Theros can take in and heal the sickly, the actual Golgari in Ravnica also accept the lost, sick and strange, their guild mechanics draw strength from the dead. Perhaps in the wedge of GWB we can see a subtheme of ancestor worship?
While I really like the shamanistic feel mentioned above I think you can see Junk more broadly as a wedge of numerous communities, some more wild than others, some more accepting or more quick to disparage nonconformity in others, but the point remains, it's the the wedge most distinctly opposed to the quirky impulsive loner genius that is the UR combination
JWiley129 says... #2
The reason why there's a lot about the shards, and not the wedges, is due to Shards of Alara block having a focus on the shards. If we want to look at what the philosophies of the wedges are we have to look at what cards are printed that use all three wedge colors.
This kind of restricts the cards we can look at, because Apocalpyse and Planar Chaos are the only expert sets (to my knowledge) that has cards in the wedge colors. Those cards being Fervent Charge , Fungal Shambler , Guided Passage , Lightning Angel , and Overgrown Estate from Apocalypse and Intet, the Dreamer , Numot, the Devastator , Oros, the Avenger , Teneb, the Harvester , and Vorosh, the Hunter from Planar Chaos. Lorwyn does have Doran, the Siege Tower who is Junk (B/G/W), but no other wedge cards exist outside of those listed in expert expansions. There are the wedge legendaries from the first Commander product to look at, which you'll kind of have to since there are no more than 6 cards for any wedge combination.
And, to piggyback off of Maro, the philosophies of the wedges probably stem from the philosophies of the enemy color pairs, which are based off of conflict. E.g. the Izzet philosophy is based off of the conflict of Emotion vs Logic, Action vs Thought. I've already written a lot, so I'm going to stop now and take a break. I'll probably get back to this a little later and flesh out some of these philosophies a bit more.
May 26, 2014 6:09 a.m.