
For example, counterspells are mainly blue cards, so when a red or green counterspell is printed, that’s considered a color pie break. I’m going to go through what exactly these color pie breaking cards look like and some of the best ones you can find in Magic.Įsper Sentinel | Illustration by Eric DeschampsĪ color pie break is when a card’s mechanics seem more suited for a different color of mana than the one it costs. But sometimes a card is printed that seems to deliberately go against the established mechanics of the color pie. Keyword abilities are often found in a few different colors instead of just one. There’s always some flexibility when it comes to Magic’s color pie. Blue gets more control spells like counterspells or bounce spells that slow down your opponent’s game. Red gets aggressive cards like direct damage spells and creatures with haste. More importantly for our purposes, each color also has certain abilities that define it mechanically. Each color represents a certain ideology, which is why some characters are aligned to a specific color of mana. The color pie is influenced both by the game’s lore and its mechanics. A more complex look at the color pie can also tell you how colors tend to interact with one another when paired together on cards, creating common archetypes like Golgari ( ) sacrifice or Simic ( ) ramp mechanics. The five different colors of mana and their unique identities within the game are a core part of its balance. Magic’s color pie is an essential part of its game design. Curse of the Swine | Illustration by James Ryman
