Each era of Magic the Gathering can be defined by a color. The mid-nineties were full of competitive decks built around Black cards like Necropotence and Dark Ritual. The late-nineties saw similar success with Red decks focused on playing lethal Fireblasts as quickly as possible. The pendulum is always swinging between colors at WotC, and it has swung as far in one direction now as it ever has. White has become the most powerful single color in MTG and the field isn’t even close. One look at the poll ending this article and we see Magic 2010’s impact on white. M10 is the current core set, and the most lop-sided example, but the story of White dominance is seeded further back. Perhaps even to Lorwyn.
When Lorwyn introduced planeswalkers two of them immediately caught everyone’s eye. Garruk Wildspeaker and Ajani Goldmane. Garruk because as a stand alone he was clearly the best. But Ajani caused an entirely different stir. By the end of the Lorwyn cycle Ajani / Spectral Procession / Windbrisk Heights decks were everywhere. WotC had basically drawn a map to the next great tournament deck and asked us all to follow along. That was only the beginning. Towards the release of Shards of Alara few people would agree that white was the dominant color. Enter Elspeth, Knight-Errant.
Pro Tour veteran and WotC lead developer Mike Turian once said, “there is always going to be the best card in Magic.” Best in this case meaning a combination most sought after, valuable and useful. For years it was Tarmogoyf, then Reflecting Pool. Now it was Elspeth. This meant a few things. First, the most sought after card in Magic was White and looked to stay that way. Second, in an impartial ranking of all ten planeswalkers based on popularity and effectiveness white would now likely place two in the top four. Before any planeswalker with black or red and maybe even blue anywhere in the casting cost.
The one card, Baneslayer Angel, that looms close to competing for that top spot in 2009 also happens to be white. Without context the best creature Magic has ever produced. Even if one argued that Tarmogoyf is still valued more than Baneslayer it is a fact white has given us the most desired card in consecutive sets. Perhaps it was a superfluous twist of fate that these two cards so caught the attention of the average duelist. Perhaps another card from M10 will eventually trump Baneslayer in both usefulness and interest. But neither are likely. And let’s not focus solely on the very tip of the iceberg. Instead we should plunge down to greater depths where the lurking mass of white’s rule awaits.
During the Alara expansions White produced the best planeswalker, the best removal card (Path to Exile), the best enchantment (Sigil of the Empty Throne), the best anti-combo card (Ethersworn Canonist), the best defender (Wall of Reverence), the best anti-planeswalker card (Oblivion Ring), and a freaking counterspell (Lapse of Certainty). Exalted, one of the two best new abilities from Alara, is almost entirely white. Of course it is tough to accurately rate colors within a set containing so many mutli-color cards. How do we judge cards like Blightning? As both red and black, and still no color appears quite as dominant as white. The color was already becoming peerless within the wheel and then M10 stepped in to complete the process.
Magic 2010 leaned so far towards white that many casual gamers were almost baffled. The poll referenced above gives an example of the reaction to seeing this new core set. The cream of the crop has been referenced but not completely detailed. A popular MTG internet card seller has six M10 cards selling at more than $10. Four of them are white: Baneslayer, Ajani, Honor of the Pure, and Silence. Most of the chase cards in M10 are white, so what? Again it doesn’t stop there. The uncommons are flooded with former rares like Righteousness and Elite Vanguard (replacing Savannah Lions). In fact white has the best creature drops at one, two, four, five and six mana. Only a specialized sideboard card (Great Sable Stag) prevents the clean sweep.
Even the tweaks that came with M10 helped white an inordinate amount. As mentioned above some cards that were once considered rare were now uncommon making them much easier to get. And making room for newer and better rares. White had three such cards, EV, Righteousness, and Serra Angel. No other color had more than one. In addition cards like Soul Warden and Stormfront Pegasus were downgraded to common after years as uncommon. (Ed note: Soul Warden was originally released as a common, and Mistral Charger was uncommon in Dissension.) Fog re-replacing Holy Day was a moment for green, but then WotC gave white a replacement: Safe Passage. A fog effect on HGH. Along with the previously mentioned Lapse of Certainty this is an assertion from white that anything they can do it can do better.
Not everything has been roses for the new power color. Changes to the wording of Lifelink during the infamous M10 rules changes hurt quite a few white cards. Not nearly as much as red and black were damaged by changes in combat and the stack. The rules changes barely brushed White as they wisped by to wreak havoc on other colors. The other pox white has been forced to suffer during these bright days is the lack of competitive mass removal. The absence of Wrath of God has made a serious impact on the Standard format meta-game. However with unmatched creature production and buffing why would white want to clear the board anyway? Besides, white still has the market corned with Hallowed Burial and Martial Coup. With both Damnation and Evacuation out of Standard for the foreseeable future players are left with only one option anyway.
Admittedly the future is blury for white’s reign. Lorwyn/Shadowmoor rotating out will leave some massive holes to fill including the best one-drop ever (Figure of Destiny) and the best token creator ever (Spectral Procession). Those losses do not make up for the massive boost from M10, but they do make a difference. Especially in competitive level play. Knocking out the Lorwyn/Shadowmoor block is Zendikar, a new set about which little is known. What is known however, are the planeswalkers. In an unprecedented move WotC has chosen not to include a mono-white walker in the Zendikar expansion. Will this herald the rise of another color in our near future? One that is able to contend in quality and quantity with White. Maybe and maybe not. Time will tell. One thing we do know: that is the future and this is the present. Like it or not, this is white’s era and we are simply living in it.
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Love the article: Except Blue was the most powerful in Alpha, which means by your logic, Green will now proceed to become the best color, and that is never going to happen
As a general thought, I’m very happy that white’s power has swung. In TS/Lor, and a little into the Shadowmoor block. W was still considered the ‘worst’ colour in standard, since all it contributed was a budget deck for non-serious players (WW Kithkin pre-Shadowmoor) or the off-card that were just used to help out a decks main goal (Wrath). You might get a splash for Oblivion Ring — which by the way is a much better enchantment then Sigil of the Empty Throne in my opinion — but that was it and W was a joke. Mono W was considered even worse, which did net me a few surprise wins with my MWC at FNM. I’ve only been playing for a couple of years, but the swing in the balance of the game is really one of the more interesting facets to me. I see the same people laughing at how bad W is a few blocks ago now saying its too over-powered because it’s problems they mocked have been addressed. White’s kind of good right now, but honestly, the majority of its cards in the standard pool are just as janky and bad as the cards each other colour has.
Awesome article! I recently purchased MTGO since I never have time to play in FNM. To get started I purchased 2 packs and the We Are Legion theme deck. My deck is a 70/30 white/red ratio. Even with a slightly modified “white-out” theme deck I’ve been winning 70% of matches and I suck at Magic.
If any of you have Astral Processions or Honor of the Pure on MTGO, holla!
Im not a designer myself so its hard for me to speak to the difficulty of this but…
Isn’t it possible for the game to remain balanced at all times? We can get into “which color’s turn it is to be the best?” all day but that’s not really the point. The point is that it should be possible to design sets such that each color is viable and generally equal in power even if we’re talking about splashing said color.
I think the fact that people are responding with “well blue used to be the best and red used to be the best..” etc just proves Leaf’s point.
Contrary to popular belief, its possible for it to be balanced ALL THE TIME. I think that huge imbalance lately has been hard to see because of all the multicolored cards and lands.
The confusion leads people to say silly things like “That fae deck isn’t black.. its blue red and black!!” When really.. its just some faeries, Bitterblossom, Thoughtsieze with two Firespouts thrown in. It blurs the line about what color a deck really is and fools a lot of people into thinking they’re playing a color they’re not.
White just has the overall best cards at the moment, and is the only color you can feasibly play mono-colored competitively right now.
Its hard to balance the game for all colors and all play styles at all times. But I think there needs to be more priority on at least balancing the 5 colors within the block.
We need to look beyond individual cards and into sets and blocks. As a base set, I would agree that white got too much of the pie but it can’t really be compared to a block.
Odyssey was a time for Black-Blue to rule, and Torment sure helped with that but then White-Green came along in Judgment and changed stuff.
Designing sets to be balanced when in the block format is a mistake. Ravnica block would have been a mess if all the guilds were represented clearly from the get-go.
Base sets serve a different purpose then expansions and this time I think there were mistakes in 2010. But we still don’t know what Zendikar is going to bring…
I think Wizards has made the right choice to let the ‘pendulum of power’ move across colors.
A player like me, who generally doesn’t play white (except in draft or sealed… i know good cards when I see them.) loves the challenge of making a deck to beat off those white hoards. Not to mention its always nice to know your color has the ‘power cards’ in that era.
I also believe that, as you stated, this only effects Standard, and that population of players is a bit lower compared to the whole.
I would agree that white got some great cards but I think everybody is blowing it out of proportion. Sure white has great cards but every one of them has an answer. And I can’t tell you how many times somebody has pathed a creature of mine and handed me the mana I needed to win. Baneslayer dies to a doomblade, terminate, tendrils, path to exile… oh yeah everything, you can even put an ice cage on her. She’s not all that. Just a better serra angel and people have been dealing with serra for a long time.
I thought it was strange too that they had two really good mono white planeswalkers but how lame would it be if every new set had one for each color and we grew to expect it? Sorin Markov could potentially be game changing and I’m sure he won’t be white at all.
If white proves to be the most powerful color will you change the background on your page from Jace to Ajani?
Im glad you mentioned that. One little known easter egg about this site is the ability to “choose your destiny” check out the top right of the header just above the RSS Dice. Choose your color
PS: I only use Jace because its the most “general” Magic picture of the 5. Feel free to change your own default anytime you want though .
Serra Angel is also an uncommon card returning to its rightful rarity.
White is only good turns 1-8, plan your game accordingly.
Oh, well then nevermind. . .
I don’t know what’s your site’s policy on publishing cards spoiled on other sites but this one seems to be 100% on topic:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=94045&d=1250889658
Wrath is Back… with a new name. Is this more “flavor?” lame.
Its true… back.
Also.. we don’t have a policy. Its all about getting the info out there.. just give credit where credit is due! MTGSalvation is a great source for spoiler info as well. Major props.
I agree with most of the article, but I don’t think white is dominant enough to prevent people who play other colors from winning.
I completely agree. There is one difference though. With the other color regimes, I had fun playing. (I even enjoy playing against Life of the Loam decks.) When I play against white decks, I’m not enjoying the game. I’m not even playing a game. I’m watching my opponent make me waste my time. White is beyond powerful to the point where you don’t even have to try hard to make a power white deck. I personally am feeling like I am no longer enjoying the game after 14 years of playing because of the shift. In an earlier article on this site, a shift toward creature based games was mentioned. Well the deck that can do the best at removing those creatures is going to win. White seems the only color that does it at all. I was looking forward to Zendikar until I saw that spoiled card. Wizards is losing me.
I agree, It’s not that hard to play a power white deck, but most of the seemingly unfair cards cost over $10. That should at east prevent it from dominating casual play, at least for now.
I am going to disagree, I love playing multi-colors over mono colors. For instance my red and black Goblin Deck is rockin. If it was either red or black only, it wouldn’t be as versatile to changes (staying standard) as it is at the moment. Each new color adds a new distiction and flavor that you just can’t get from mono. The trick here is utilizing the cards available to produce the mana you need in the shortest amount of time.
re-making wog in zendikar
I don’t hate white, it is the color I am least likely to play right after green, however you are 111% correct.
Path to exile is just enough……
If baneslayer wasnt enough having all her crazy abilities she can also easily deal with the other colors best creatures just by being a 5/5 let a lone having protection from it (broodmate)
I am terribly sick of playing against kithkin and or soldier decks and am thrilled with spectral and most of the kithkin going away with zendikar coming in but i doubt it will be enough.
[...] don’t get these Gathering Magic guys. First I hear white is far too powerful, then green is apparently too cool for school. Seemingly endless rantings of tiny and ultimately [...]
Yeah, white is clearly the best. Just look at all those white cards in Jund.
I’m going to have to disagree with this article. While I am posting with the advantage of Zendikar already out and making it’s impact on the scene, I think the pre-zendikar info this article is based upon is flawed.
Faeries was the cornerstone deck. You played it or you played to beat it. BW tokens certainly was one of the few decks able to compete with it, but certainly did not dominate. 5cc used baneslayer instead of broodmate in many builds.
So a couple of top-tier decks used white (but were not mono) but the number-one deck used no white at all. Hmm.
With Alara Reborn came the initial rise of Jund, giving it terminate, bloodbraid elf, bituminous blast, maelstrom pulse, and putrid leech; then m10 giving it lightning bolt and better lands.
No white there.
White doesn’t seem to be able to say “I can do anything they can do better” without them laughing in white’s face. White has good spot removal (swords to plowshares-path to exile) (disenchant-o ring), board creature sweep effect (wog-doj) good cheap wheenies (Figure, Savanah lions, white knight/other knights) and a big flier with other abilities (akroma/baneslayer).
better one-drops: sol ring, ancestral recall, dark ritual, brainstorm, sensei’s divining top, lightning bolt, goblin welder, disciple of the vault… I’m sure others can add more and/or argue. Figure is hardly “the best one drop ever.” Best token generator? Too narrow to bother arguing. Garruk seems pretty good at making 3/3’s I hear though. Sprouting Trinax does a great job for similar cost and similar quantity of tokens made, but also has many more uses.
White is hardly overpowered at the moment. Red/Black seems to have -way- more power. Blightning is currently the most powerful card in type II, and/or Bloodbraid Elf. There is a reason why Jund is the most popular deck… it runs the most powerful cards, in the most powerful colors. Seems to me that white is 3rd place at best, possibly 4th place in overall power (poor blue in 5th…)
Seems to me the writer of the article picked out some good white cards, then turned a blind eye to the torrent of other stuff around. Elspeth and Baneslayer are expensive because they are popular -and- mythic rares. Not because they’re worth (strictly from power level considerations) that much more than the competition.
The comparison of baneslayer to ‘goyf is just laughable though.
Good try, bad result. Written well, but the article simply doesn’t hit the mark.