Magic: The Gathering Drive to Work Podcast - #403: Color Pie Alliances

Episode Date: January 20, 2017

Mark talks about what an average day of his job is like.

I'm pulling out of my driveway. We all know what that means. It's time for another drive to work. Okay, so last time I talked all about the conflicts of the color pie. And I decided, you know, I should talk about the allegiances, the allies of the color pie. So today I'm going to talk about the other thing, is that last time it was about why colors don't get along. Today, why colors do get along. And I think this is just as important. I mean, the conflicts are key, and as I said, I spent a whole podcast talking about that. But today, let's talk about the alliances of the color pie. So we're going to start with white and blue. So I'm just going to go around the color pie, looking at pairs.

So once again, if you look at the back of a magic card, there's a circle. It goes white, then blue, then black, then red, then green. That is the color pie. And colors are next to the ones that they are allies of. So for example, white is allies with blue and green. Blue is allies with white and black. Black is allies with blue and red. Red is allies with black and green. Green is allies with red and white. So we're going to start, we'll go around. So I'm going to start with white-blue. So the key, the trick to alliances is start by looking at the shared enemy and understanding what the shared enemy represents.

Because a lot of way, the alliance between the colors is a connectivity that's opposite the shared enemy. Okay, so white and blue share red as an enemy. Well, what is red all about? Red is all about following one's heart and living in the moment and, you know, living spontaneously and taking action and stuff. So the opposite of that, that white and blue are very much about the idea of that you need to take great care in what you do. White is more about the idea that if people don't act, if people act impulsively,

then they often act against the needs of the group. That the needs of the group, your first intuition for a lot of people isn't thinking of the group. Your first intuition is kind of doing things that are more internal. And so White understands the idea that if you just sort of act impulsively, you're going to get in trouble. And so to protect everybody, White creates sort of rules to make sure you can follow them.

And White is very big on saying, okay, okay, I get it. If everyone just kind of acted impulsively, we'd get in trouble. But don't worry, I will make rules to keep you from doing that, to help create guidance for you. And that white likes to think long term. I mean, one of the big alliances between white and blue is the idea of the importance of the long vision. Red is about the short vision.

Red is about here and now. So white very much is like, okay, if we're going to get to where we want to get to, we have to create a system that allows us to do that. We have to create something that allows people, you know, we want to make sure the path is clear. And part of that is, look, people have impulses to do things that are, you know, selfishness exists. People are going to do impulsive things. Okay, in order to sort of keep that contained, let's think long term. Let's think. And so white is very much about strategy, about thinking about how do I get what I want

and how do I get to do, you know, if you're trying to funnel an entire group into something, you have to be careful. You have to, you know, very think things out. For example, white is big on military. Well, how does the military work? Well, the military has all these tiny pieces that together is stronger than the sum of its parts. But in order to do that, white has to be very strategic. White has to think things through. White has to figure out how best to use the pieces to create the overall effect that it wants. And so white is not fast in this regard. White really has to sort of take its time to think ahead and plot things out.

Now meanwhile, blue is all about the idea of trying to reach perfection, of trying to figure out what I can do that will get me the things that I want. And in order to do that, blue says, okay, if I am smart, if I acquire knowledge, if I look at all the things, collect all the data, and then using all the information at hand, carefully figure out what my next step is, I will make the right decision. So Blue is all about sort of taking great care and wanting to make sure that you're doing the right thing. Now the interesting thing is the reason that blue and white are opposite of red are different things. White is worried about red because the recklessness of red will interfere with the larger good of the group.

Blue is concerned with red because blue wants to make sure the right decision is made and the impulsiveness of red will also keep you from making the right decision. Now, in both cases, white and blue care about the offshoots of red's actions, the offshoots of red's short-term thinking. So they are united in the idea of we as a civilization, as a group, need to be careful and plot and plan what we do. So when white and blue get together, by the way, that's the most reactionary color combination in the game, or the 10-2 color combinations.

White and blue is the most reactionary. It is the slowest deck that a white-blue deck is really controlling. And the reason is you're playing into this facet, which is the reason that white and blue overlap is they are very much about control. They are very much about making sure that they are careful about what their decisions are and thinking long-term. They're the long-term colors. They're the colors that strategize, that plot, that plan. You know, that white and blue look at each other and say, okay, you know, they want different things, by the way. But where they overlap is blue very much does care

about the group in some regards, in the sense that it wants a perfect society. That it wants to perfect itself, it wants to perfect society. And so where blue leans toward white is this idea of understanding that, okay, if we're going to get what we want, we can't haphazardly do what we want. We have to be careful. We have to be very exact.

And both blue and white are like, okay, let's think about how people act and then act accordingly. Blue and white very much are about taking other people into account and trying to accommodate how, you know. Like white and blue say, okay, we can't trust people necessarily to always act in the best interest. So we need the proper incentives. And white and blue very much understand the idea of creating incentives. You know, trying to do, like now, how they do their incentives is very different. White is very proactive in the way it does things and says, okay, I'm just going to make

rules that say you can't do it. I'm going to punish you if you do the wrong thing. Where blue is a little sneakier. Blue is a little more manipulative, blue is kind of like, okay, I know the end result I want, what do I need to do to make you move toward that end result? And blue is a lot more willing, you know, white is a little more, white is a little more upfront at times on what it wants to do, right? White doesn't really hide its structure. It's like, I will be very bold about my structure. I will tell you what we're going to do, and I will explain why it's good for everybody, and then I will push that initiative. Where blue, blue says it doesn't really matter why they're doing what they do, as long as they do the right thing. And so blue definitely, blue and white come from a different

place. So like, where they align, this idea of long-term planning, the idea of sort of structure in, well, structure is a little more white, but the idea of understanding the system and working the system toward the direction that you want to see things is where white and blue overlap. You know, it's interesting when you get white and blue together, you tend to get bureaucracy, you tend to get government, you know, you tend to get people who take advantage of using systems as a means to advance. And when white and blue get together, it's like, okay, if I create a system that I understand, I can both make sure that people do what I want, and I can advance my own agenda. That's when white and blue get together. So white and blue very much have this quality

of wanting to make sure they think about and are careful about all the long-term things they do. Okay, let's move to blue and black. So blue and black, their enemy is green. Their shared enemy is green. Green is all about the status quo. Green is about, you know, green wants to have everybody

accept that the natural system is the right way. And as such, green is very anti-change. Now, not natural change. Green understands that things evolve. Green understands, but green does not like things that disrupt the natural process.

You know, the natural process will change slowly, carefully over time, but blue and black want change at a much quicker rate. Now, the key here is one of the differences between, in fact, the conflicts between blue and black and green have to do with green feeling like your decisions are already made for you. You are who you are. The blue-green conflict is you are who you are. And so acknowledge who you are.

Your genetics define you. Your nature defines you, not your nurture, and that you should accept who you are. Blue goes, no, I'm not going to accept that. I can be anything I want to be. I can gain knowledge. I can study. I can train.

I can get experience. I can get tools. There's all sorts of things I can do to make me better at things that I might not be good at in the first place. Green-black is much more of the idea of your role in life, of the role you fulfill. The green is like you have a destiny. You need to follow your destiny. It's preordained. You just need to fill the role that you're supposed to fill, that you serve a place in the great web of life. You need to respect that and fulfill that role. Black is like, screw place in the great web of life. You need to respect that and fulfill that role.

Black is like, screw that. Black is like, I don't need to do anything. I owe nobody anything else. I only owe me. And that if my taking my action disrupts systems,

then there are systems that will be disrupted. That it's not, I don't need to live a certain way to not disrupt other systems. And so where blue and black kick together is the idea of self-empowerment of you need to live a certain way to not disrupt other systems. And so where blue and black get together is the idea of self-empowerment, of you have the power to do the things you want to do.

Blue is a little more inward about how do I make myself better. Black is a little outward about how do I get the things I want. But both of them very much are about making change, embracing change, and embracing the idea that you can do what you want to do, that you are not restricted by outside forces, that you have within you the ability to do what you want to do, either to become what you want to become or to do the things you want to do. And so Bloom and Black, when they get together, very much are about this idea of a very self-empowerment sort of thing.

That, you know, you can be whatever you want to be and you can do whatever you want to do. Now, in order to do that, Blue believes, like, okay, I can be what I want to be, but I might be willing to, I might have to do things to get there. And Black is like, I can do, I can have the role I want. I can fulfill my place in society however I like, but I have to be willing to do the things to get there. Now, black is a little more opportunistic than blue. Black has less...

There are lines that blue won't cross that black will cross. But also, blue very much sort of is I mean where blue and black definitely overlap in addition to

sort of a willingness to change is the understanding of how you get what you want has a lot to do with how others

perceive things blue and black are definitely the two colors like when blue and black get together they are the sneakiest colors. They are the colors that are the most duplicitous.

Because what they realize is they both understand the value of misdirection. You know, and that blue will say, okay, blue values information. Blue says, if I know something that other people don't know, I can gain a tactical advantage because I know something that they don't know. Black says, if I'm willing to do something other people aren't willing to do,

I have an advantage because I have more options available to me. And you kind of combine that and you get a very sort of, a quality of, okay, you know, I'm going to act in such a way

wait a second sorry then when blue and black get together, they sort of appreciate the idea of that others you neither blue or black have this belief

that you must share all your information with others. And in fact, blue and black are both in the camp of part of the way to take advantage of a situation is taking advantage of inequality between things. Blue's inequality is more that I know things you don't know, and black's inequality is I have things you don't have or I'll do things you won't do. But each one of them, they don't have a problem with the inequality.

Each one of them says there's advantages. Blue's like, I studied, I learned things. So I should be able to take advantage of the fact that I know things you don't know. Black says, look, I'm willing to do things you're not willing to do. I should take advantage of the fact that I'm willing to do that. And so blue and black are definitely more willing to take advantage of the situation, more willing. They don't need, there's no sense of fairness. Well, the sense of fairness to blue and black is, hey, anybody could have studied this. Hey,

anybody could have done the things I've done, but you didn't and I did. And so blue and black definitely are more merit-based, are more on the idea of people earn what they can earn. They're very much on the idea of people are a very self-empowerment sort of theme. That blue and black believe that you have the ability to do things that can get you an advancement, that you can learn things, you can do things that can get you an advancement, that you can learn things, you can do things that puts you ahead of others and that, hey, part of staying ahead is making choices and thinking about that.

And so in Blue and Black Get Together, very much so, their alliance is based on the idea of the self-empowerment of you do what you got to do, you learn what you got to learn, and you can take advantage of the fact that you know things that other people don't know and that they embrace the idea that you have the power within you to make changes happen internally, externally you have the power to make changes happen

and that you must be willing to embrace those things that allow that to happen I think blue and black must be willing to embrace those things that allow that to happen. I think blue and black, you know, don't, are much more willing to say, to question, they're more willing to do things that others aren't willing to do, and they're willing to take advantage of those things. Okay, black and red. So black and red's enemy is white. black and red.

So black and red's enemy is white. Well, white is very much about the good of the group. About the... Thinking about the overall... All society. And black and red definitely have the more selfish bent. Black is very much about,

like I said, self-empowerment. Black is like, okay, what do I need to do to get myself ahead? Black is like, you, what do I need to do to get myself ahead? Black is like, you know, black philosophically believes that each person is supposed to look out for themselves. Black is like, okay, who's looking out for me?

Better than me. Nobody. So if each person looks out for themselves, then there's a person looking out for everybody. Now red, Red is selfish, but in a different way. Red is very much guided by its emotions. It's not that Red necessarily doesn't want to think about those. Red does think about those. Red cares. Red has friends and family. Red is passionate and loyal, and Red very much can help others. But Red's guidance,

where Red gets its core, is looking within. That Red has emotional feelings, has impulses that stem from itself. And so Red's actions are very much about sort of embracing how it feels, which is somewhat selfish. I mean, like I said, Black is more inherently selfish in that Black just believes that its needs are more important than others. Red doesn't believe that. But red does believe that the goal of life is for each person to sort of follow their own passion, follow their own impulses. And that is very selfish by nature of I'm listening to myself.

So black and red, where they align, is like I'm listening to myself. So black and red, where they align, is like, I am listening to myself. You know, I'm going to do what needs to be done so that I am fulfilling my needs. And black and red very much are the two selfish colors. They overlap in the idea of, I need to do what I need to do. And like I said, the reasons for doing that aren't the same. You know, red selfishness is more guided by how it propels itself and how it's motivated. But at its core, black and red, I mean, the reason that white has problems with black and red is white sees them as both being irresponsible. In different ways, black is irresponsible in its morals

and red is irresponsible in its actions. But both black and red are colors that take actions that are often not for the good of the group. And then black and red look at each other and say, okay, hey, there's nothing wrong with understanding that I have needs. I should be able to accept those needs and act on them. And so red and black really rely on the idea of, you know, there's taking care of yourself.

There's looking inward. There's saying, what do I want? Black and red are big on want. So when black and red get together, they have a good time. You know, they very much are willing to embrace taking action. I mean, black and red are very much about action.

They're very much about what can I do. They're very much about, you know, advancing things and making sure that they get the things they need. And then black and red, when they get together, are very... What's the word I'm looking for? They're very hedonistic. They're very sort of getting the things that it wants.

And red's sort of impulsive nature with blacks willing to do whatever it takes, when you combine those two, you get a very sort of devil-may-care sort of attitude to it. But definitely they overlap in the sense of, hey, I have needs, let's meet those needs. Okay, red and green. So red and green's enemy is blue. And blue is all about sort of

thought. I'm going to think things through. I'm going to be careful in what I do. Red and green are all about action. All about, you know, red is impulsive, green is instinctual, but both one of them are sort of anti-thought. Both one of them are, you know, that the key to life is not to sort of sit back and overanalyze things.

The key is to act. Now, red's source of impulse is emotion, and green's instinct is more of its nature. more of its nature, but each one of them is very anti-intellectual, very much, you know, not worrying about, I mean, red believes that if you follow your heart, you know, things will work out. Red is like, things will work out. And green has this attitude of things are preordained. If you instinctually are supposed to do something that's your role in life. That's what you do. Both of them sort of embrace the idea that they're living in the

moment. That red and green are the two colors that live in the moment. The two colors that sort of embrace the now. Blue is about the future. Red and green are about the now. And acting in the now. You know, blue is about the future. Red and green are about the now and acting in the moment. You know, like I said, red... Whenever you look at alliances, why they do something, it's a little bit different. You know, living in the now for red

is about embracing its sort of... Red is all about I. I mean, the interesting thing about red and green is both of them feel like there's things that come from internal that they need to listen to. Blue is very external. Blue is very like, okay, I'm going to go outside myself and figure out the things I need. I'm going to read and learn from others. I'm going to seek information to see if that information can help me. Red and green look inside. Red goes, I know what to do. I have a

sense of what to do. Green goes, I know what to do. Because they both instinctually or impulsively from within. They get messaging from within. And they understand themselves. And they are very in the present. They're very sort of gut reactionary. Red and green also have sort of a wild side. That red and green sort of overlap in the idea of, you know, that they understand that there's actions you take that you can't quite think through. That red is like sometimes you have feelings that just need to express themselves. And green is sometimes you have instincts that you have no help but to act upon.

And so red and green very much have a feral, overlap a little bit on the wild side. You see sort of, you know, red has sort of a berserker quality at times, and green has a feral side. And those two very much overlap and that I'm sort of giving in to what's inside. There are a lot of reasons that red and green are both kind of wild is they're just giving in to what's internal.

So they are the internal colors or the wild colors. They're the act first, think later sort of colors. Okay, the last alliance is green and white so the way to understand green and white is look at its shared enemy black black is super selfish well white and green are the two colors that very much embrace the community but they do it in different ways so white as we talked a lot about white's all about the idea of the good of the group white's like i want to create a civilization where everybody has what they need. Not what they want, but what they need by sort of thinking about everybody as we act. Green, meanwhile, green looks at community a little bit different. Green says, okay, we all live on this planet together. Part of the natural

order is we are interconnected, and that if I take actions, it affects others. And so I have to be careful when I do things, because I got to think about the interconnectivity of everything. And the reason that black really has issues with both white and green is when black does something, black promotes selfishness. As far as white is concerned, white's like, you are undermining the good of the group. That when you get somebody to act out of their interest rather than the group interest, you start making people do dangerous things, things that will hurt the group. Now, when Green looks at Black, Green says, well, Black does not respect the interconnectivity of things.

That if you just kill off, you know, let's say you slaughter a whole race of animals, all of a sudden the ecosystem's off. Maybe they were prey that needed to keep the population in check. Or maybe they were the predator keeping in check. Or maybe they were the predator keeping in check. Or maybe they were the prey, they were the food source, and that if you get rid of the food source, now the predators are starving. You know, that the ecosystem is carefully balanced and that everybody matters.

You have to think about how you connect to other things. Black does not do that. And so when white and green get together, it's white and green said, okay, we understand that your relationship and how you function is not do that. And so when white and green get together, it's white and green said, okay, we understand that your relationship and how you function is not in isolation. That how you function in the world is tied to how you are connected to the things around you. Now, white is a little more formulaic, or not formulaic, more structured in how it does

that, you know, or better yet, white structure is made by white. Green structure is not made by green. It is a natural structure that green respects. But in each case, there is a core structure that they follow. And that both white and green are like, okay, let me understand the proper structure and then make decisions to do that. Now, interestingly,

another place that white and green overlap is white is very big on morality and green is very big on, what's the word I want, on spirituality. That green believes that there is, white and green believe in the idea of eternal truths. So white is that there is a morality that exists. There is a right and a wrong, an absolute right and an absolute wrong. And that is not something, as far as white is concerned, white's like, that is just a thing that is,

and I have to believe in that. You know, white and green very much overlap in the sense of faith. That white is like, okay, I believe that there is an absolute right and wrong, and I have to live my life accordingly. I have to act accordingly. Green, meanwhile, says, look, there's a higher being, nature. There is a system in place that I have to respect the system,

and I have to believe that the system is good. And so both white and green have this idea of that I need to sort of accept certain things on faith. That white is sort of like, look, morality is important. That I need to truly believe that there's right and wrong. Because if I don't believe in right and wrong, I will do things that will harm the group. And if I believe in right, then that won't happen.

And green believes, like, look, I have to believe in the natural order. I have to believe in the system. I have to believe that we're all interconnected. Because if I don't acknowledge that and respect that, I'm going to take actions that's going to disrupt that. And one of the biggest problems in general is both white and green see black as disruptive in that, you know, there's a system set up

that is a perfect system. Now, white and green see different systems, that's fine. But they see a system that is perfectly set up that if they can respect the system, things will be good. And then black comes along and doesn't respect the system and wants to break the system. In fact, both white and green see black as being anti the system.

You know, black looks at morality and says, there's no morality. You know, I can act immoral. You know, and black doesn't acknowledge the system morality. Black looks at nature and says, I don't respect the natural system. I can do what I want to do. If I at nature and says, I don't respect the natural system.

I can do what I want to do. If I kill something and it dies and it disrupts the natural cycle, whatever. So it was meant to be disrupted. Black feels that its actions are, whatever it means to get what it wants, it doesn't matter the consequences. And so I think white and green

very much are based upon this idea of seeing the group, of looking the group, and looking how it's interconnected. And they're the colors that are very faith-based, that sort of like things are the way they are and you have to have faith in what they are and believe them and follow them and be guided by them. So the one thing when you look at the different alliances between the colors, in each case, one of the things you will find is the colors, where they overlap is they believe in certain things that are true to both of them. It's not that they're the same. Like, for example, the reason that white and blue both are very careful in how they plot and plan things doesn't come from the same place.

It's not that they want the same end state. It's just that there's some overlap. Now, here's another interesting thing, by the way, real quickly. One of the neat things is if you look at a color, each color has within it its own internal conflict. And the way you find the internal conflict within a color is to look at its two allies and say, okay, white says, you know, on one sense, or what's a good example? I'll have this. Let's take blue. Blue says, on one hand, I'm allied with white.

I understand the importance of the group. I want a perfect society. I want to think ahead. I want to take plans. I want to make sure that I'm doing things that advance the larger picture. That if I want to be perfect, I need to live in a perfect society.

But blue looks at black, and blue says, okay, I get the need of desiring change. I get the idea of self-empowerment. I get the idea of, I have to believe that I have the power to do the things I need to do. And that blue looks at black

and sees the key of self-empowerment, the value of looking within and understanding your individual needs. But blue looks at white and says, I understand looking at the needs of society. And so blue's inner struggle, I mean, the idea is all you need to do to find the inner struggle of a color is look at its two enemies. And what you'll see is blue does agree with white does ally with white does want to get together with white white and blue have a lot of connections and a lot of overlap but blue believes with black and blue agrees with black and so blue gets together with black so the key idea of within with in between these alliances is each color is

allied with two colors that don't agree with each other. And that is where within colors you get interesting conflicts. Because blue has internal conflicts. Blue believes in the power of the individual and believes in the power of the group. And so blue is the inherent

conflict of trying to balance those two needs. And so one of the neat things of looking at the alliances, you also start to see where the conflicts come. And the conflicts within the colors come from having two alliances and realizing that those alliances, who you're allied with, have fundamental differences. I mean, blue looks at, it's not blue, black looks at blue and says, okay, I understand the need of thinking things through.

Knowledge is powerful. I want to get advantage of my enemies. Knowing things they don't know is very valuable. So intellect is good. But black also looks at red and says, you know what? There's a lot of power in embracing one's emotions, in capturing stuff.

Sometimes to do the things you need to do, you need to sort of dig down deep and not think but act. And so Black looks at it and says, look, I get following your head. I get following your heart. And Black sort of says, you know what? Each has advantages.

Sometimes the correct thing to do is the intellectual thing. Sometimes the correct thing to do is the emotional thing. And sometimes the correct thing to do is the emotional thing. And black sort of embodies the idea that there's a meeting between those two. That each color sort of looks at its allies and says,

okay, I have found a way to take that conflict and internalize it. Obviously, move one down. Red looks at black and says, okay, I get the need of forging who you are, of being your own person.

But red looks at green and says, you know, but I also get there's a natural system. I understand that. That, you know, I look within me

and like, what are my emotions but an inherent natural system? And so, black, you know, I'm sorry, red looks at black and looks at green

and says, okay, I get that. I get the conflict. I do believe I'm self-empowered. I do believe that I can do what I want to do. But I do get that I'm part of a system. I do get there's internal things that I need to understand. You know, green looks at red and green, you know, very much embraces the ferocity of red,

the needing to look inside and take action. But green looks at white and sees the importance of the community and saying that I have to be careful, that I can't just be reckless. And so green sort of takes the calmness with white and the ferocity with red and finds a way to live that together. And meanwhile, white says, okay, I understand the idea of I can take actions to do things, that there is

nurture to what is going on, that I can shape things and change things, that if I'm careful with knowledge, that I can use that information to make things better. But white looks at green and says, oh, but I understand the need of faith. I understand the idea that you just have to believe things and there's a system

and you have to believe in the system. And White is like, yes, I want to plot and plan ahead and I want to use my intellect to think about things. But in the same sense I want to believe and have an inner serenity of understanding that the group will come together. And so White embodies its

two sides. So one of the neat things, if you think of the last podcast and this podcast, one of the cool things about the color pie is it is so neat to think about the colors in isolation. And I did a whole podcast on what each of the colors does and why it does and why it believes what it believes and why the mechanics that come from the color stem from this ideology. But I want the last podcast and this podcast to really hammer home is the color pie is not just about

what the colors believe. It's about what the colors believe in context, in contrast, in connection with the other colors. Like today is saying, you know what? The colors really do find a bonding, an overlap between its allies.

You know, that white looks at blue and looks at green and says, yeah, I get you blue, I get you green. That each of the colors does that. Each of the colors finds that connection. And so one of the fun things about the color pie that I find very fascinating is it's fun to take colors and really sort of say,

okay, where is this overlap? Where do they happen? And the place for design that happens is I have to make either a multicolor, well, multicolor cards, either traditional multicolor cards, like two-color cards, like a white and green card, or I've got to make hybrid cards, which is a white or green card.

And in each case, when you're designing those cards, you've kind of got to embrace, okay, where do they overlap? What do white and green do together? So anyway, I'm now driving up to Rachel's school. So that, my friends, that is sort of, in a nutshell, why the colors get along with each other, why there are alliances,

why they need each other and use each other. In the same sense, it starts to play up the idea of why there's inherent conflicts, why each color within itself has found a way to come to peace, that they represent, they are the center of two inherent conflicts. Why each color within itself has found a way to come to peace that they represent, they are the center of two different conflicts. So each of the conflicts

I talked about in the last podcast, you know, the color through its alliances is the meeting of those two conflicts and kind of the solution of those two.

But anyway guys, that is the color pie. I'm now at Rachel's school so that means I've got to end my drive to work. So instead of talking magic, it's time to end my drive to work. So instead of talking magic, it's time for me to be making magic. So anyway, I'll see you guys next time. Bye-bye.