What do you think about mtg alignment system and what it does

I like it, more subjective than D&D alignment, even if black is pretty much the asshole color.

White/Red best combo.

>>50801509
Well, first off, the Color Pie isn't an alignment system. It's an attempt to reconcile game mechanic choices with flavor. The color pie does not consider any color to be good or evil (though some colors might have a predilection towards actions that our society would consider to be evil). White, for example, is certainly life and order. but it could just as easily be fascism. While black dabbles in death and sacrifice, it's also the color of personal freedom, of realizing that without taking care of yourself you can't be much good to anyone else.

It is versatile, though, within its bailiwick, because any combination of colors is a valid choice, and it's set up so there's natural tension between all the colors.

A color's neighbors are its allies, while the colors across from it are its enemies. So a red aligned creature, paired up with a green creature and a black creature sees itself with allies: two creatures that value freedom from rules and restrictions. However, the green creature and the black creature stand opposed because black is too self serving, too willing to salt the earth to win its goals, while black sees green as too concerned with the health of the herd over the health of the one.

Check out these articles, stretching all the way back to 2002, for info on what became the modern color pie.

http://magic.wizards.com/en/content/color-pie

>>50802816
Thanks, gonna check it out

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>>50802816
You take it a step too far.

The color system isn't absolute, but
>The color pie does not consider any color to be good or evil
is flat out wrong. You can even see that in the pie image, with White having Morality and black having Amorality.

While White can have evil villains (like Elesh Norn or Konda) and Black can have noble heroes (arguably Liliana), they are still tinged with their color, with both Elesh and Konda acting in a way they consider was for the betterment of their people, while Liliana's good deeds come from selfish motivations and use deplorable methods. White is Good, Black is Evil, and this can be seen with cards like Repentant Vampire, Sorin, Wayward Angel, Garruk, and the like, in a similar fashion to how being overcome by emotions leads to cards being tinged with Red in the case of Ajani and Nahiri.

There are few cards that can be considered to be a pure, singular representation of single color, with most exhibiting a mix that ends with one or several colors dominating the rest. Ultimately, while there are circumstances (like the Phyrexian plane being suffused with black mana) that make an evil creature be represented with a white card, White is Good and Black is Evil.

>>50803755
You're wrong. Actually, the funny thing is that the only thing in MTG that's inherently evil are generally cards that have no color: Eldrazi, Phyrexians. Other than that there really aren't any colors that is purely evil because you can always interpret it in another way.

This is further proved by the fact there are enemy colored cards and lands too. There isn't an evil in the story if even enemy colors that say " I am the good guy, the other guys are evil " are allies against other threats in the planes.

>>50803808
Wrong again. Eldrazi are not evil, they're beyond morality, in the vein of Lovecraft cosmic horrors. They don't act out of malice, but simply their existence does terrible things to planes. They are beyond mortal comprehension.

And, Phyrexia isn't colorless, but black. Even their germ tokens are black. The whole story is about how Yawgmoth infused the plane with way too much Black Mana.

Also, "enemy' and "ally" colors are not as strict as you imagine them to be, and you can see that with Wedges.

>>50803997
>>50803808
>>50803755
Colors have a perspective of what is evil and what is good.

The color-pie does not.

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If you go with the classic non-Manichean "evil is the absence of good/love" morality, then Black would probably count as evil: it may not do evil things, but it doesn't care about you and wouldn't mind doing them to you if it was profitable.

>>50803755
Morals are merely rules - specifically ones that are handed down as cultural norms. Jews not eating pork is a moral. "Morality" doesn't incline a society toward good - for example it could be a "moral" to always sacrifice ten slaves a year to the sun god. "Amorality" doesn't incline an individual or society toward evil, pragmatic rules can still exist and be set in place.

>>50807163
>>50806981

The White/Black conflict is between external/collective moral codes and internal/individual moral codes. Honestly, black better represents freedom than red.

>>50807221
Sorta. Red supports freedom on principle. Red believes everyone should be free. Black is totally fine with having people beneath it, be they minions, slaves, etc.

>>50803755
That's selfless vs selfish, not good vs evil.
"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions" and all that.

Amoral doesn't mean acting against morals because. That brand of "lol, evil" is "immoral"

Amoral is not concerning yourself with morals because you don't believe in them. Realpolitik.

Black says act in your self interest because that's what matters. White is the only color that goes: "Nooo, that's wrong and evil!!!" at literally every other color, while also being the color that decides what's good and evil.

I know jack shit about Magic. Do the colors have anything to do with chinese elements beyond the color and the number 5?

>>50809270
Nope. In fact, most of the elements can be found in just two colors, either red or blue.

>>50807276
Agreed. Red is the one breaking down barriers and screaming FREEEEDDOMMMMM, while Black is the politician who breaks down barriers to him, and then putting barriers right back up to keep himself in power.

>>50809319
srsly. Blue has wind, water, and ice. Red has fire, lightning, earth, and lava. Green has plant-matter and anything giant.