How Strixhaven Changed the Color Pie

[Music] hello returning fans and new viewers alike today we have a topic that i'm very excited to talk about you see we get to talk about a new way of viewing the colors of magic the gathering that is because we're talking about strix haven and its five colleges it's not very often that we get a set or block that is color first in its design think back to shards of alara cons of tarkir and of course each visit to ravnica each time we are given these types of sets or blocks we're shown a new way to look at the color pie such as fleshing out shards creating wedges and defining pairs in the case of strix haven the fresh new element is its way of tackling and bringing something new to the enemy pairs you see each college is a balanced culmination of both its enemy pairs and a building up of the individual colors within all without breaking that union what this means is that once combined the single colors within can take more or less control depending on the individual it's officially stated that once you join a college students either tend to lean more or less into a single color or become a balanced version of the two this is really cool because it plays within the combination all while showing how taking more or less from either side can create something new from the pairing we already know in this video we will discuss each of the five colleges i will explain their driving ideologies and back that up with the cards themselves once that is covered i will show you how new ideals can be created when we take those combinations and lean more or less into one side of them it's honestly going to be a ton of fun and i hope you're as excited as i am i wanted to start the analysis off with the college that i found to be the most intriguing and that is lore hold this is a college that focuses its studies on the past and how to utilize it in the present it aims to uncover civilizations of old in a manner that will not only preserve these societies but maintain the societies of the present day we see this represented in cards like countaurus field historian every life has a story to tell i won't let them be forgotten as we can see it's the side of white that is mindful always of those who need their aid of civilization and the betterment of society all while marrying it to red which seeks adventure action and discovery the feature that drew me to lorehold right away was my desire to understand how white and red could possibly be a combination of archaeology when we know that green is the color of tradition and the old way but therein lies the reason you see green wishes to hold on to the past and keep things as they are but when a civilization does die out and its people are gone it will try and carry on their traditions but it will leave it to its fate it will not rustle up the dead to feed its curiosity nor will it dig up old ruins to see how it may utilize them when something passes on and is living no more its passing must be respected but to white if something is useful to its people now it won't hesitate to use it and to red nothing trumps the desire to feed its thrill-seeking yearning and satiated sense of adventure lorehold students have a strong sense of duty and discipline they believe they're doing work that is bigger than them it's a service to those long forgotten and to those who remain we see this sense of discipline all too common in white but discipline is nothing if it's not focused and this is where red comes in with a strong sense of duty a call to action that white can sometimes miss this is best displayed in the card make your mark those who do learn from history may still choose to repeat it with what we've covered so far it's no surprise that lorehold puts to action its findings in a manner that is in service to others its allegiances aren't to a particular plane but to the broader sense of society as a whole both past and present so how does this mindset change when students choose to lean more or less into either side of the two colors present luckily the magic team has us covered there with the planeswalker's guide to strixhaven within this document we're told about the magic and ideals of each primary single color within the combination keep in mind that the colors are still combined and that for stricthaven it's a matter of one of the two colors taking precedence over the other let's start things off with a white focused side of lorehold mages a white-based lorehold student will be one who concentrates more on the preservation of long-lost cultures and the knowledge and relics that were important to them what we see here is white's need to act for those who are either too weak to act or simply cannot in the case of long dead civilizations it becomes the latter another facet along the same lines is those lorehold mages who bring back the spirits of the dead and bind them to relics in order for others to learn from them and in turn making it so that their deeds are never truly lost we see this in the cards spirit summoning books are fantastic but if you're really curious about the distant past why not ask someone who was there the primary thing that's important to white focused lore hold mages is utilizing the knowledge and artifacts of those who came before in order to empower those who live now on the other side of this combination we have red these mages are driven by adventure it's in their passion to uncover the past that they make their discoveries it's a side of red that cannot simply sit on its hands it must act and follow its heart some of these mages relish in the chaos of the hunt and delve deeper than their white focused counterparts always driven further by the rush of adventure and discovery to them the traps and monsters in their way are more of a bonus than a hindrance we see this in the card thrilling discovery this must be the lost city of zantavar where my people lived before becoming nomads think of the history we'll learn lore hold to me was the college that had the most change from what we've seen in the pairings thus far and it took a look at the classic combination of red white in a fresh new way making it one of my favorites instantly from here i want to move on to a college that i felt was the opposite in this regard yes it's still engaging and interesting but it didn't feel like it brought anything new to the table regardless this college is still worth discussing and that is the college of witherbloom here we have a college that doesn't find anything off limits it deals in both life and death in potion and poison as well as rot and bloom it's the college that isn't afraid to get its hands dirty and dabble in magic that others might be too afraid to utilize the card rush for birth is a great example of this mindset witherbloom students learn to see death not as tragedy but as opportunity now it must be said that this college isn't really anything new it's as golgari as it gets and that's fine but unfortunately it isn't as inspired as some of the other colleges i think wizards of the coast has a bit of trouble expanding on green black and are pretty set with this singular outlook i do find that wizard bloom's obsession with and understanding of the cycle of life to be quite interesting though and you do have to give them credit for really showcasing the positive found in darkness as shown in the card witherbloom apprentice all we are every feeling every action powered by a single delicate little organ life is so terrifyingly beautifully fragile it's the side of green that views the whole picture paired with black's tendency to find beauty in the morbid it takes a certain kind of mage to be witherbloom one who both respects and manipulates nature now let's take a look at the main two colors of this college and see what grows from their pairing when we lean more into witherbloom's black side we get a mage who exploits nature in a way that benefits itself whether that manifests itself as draining the essence of the living or the raising and manipulation of the dead as seen in the card necrotic fumes when live specimens aren't readily available witherbloom mages make creative use of ragged spirits clinging to long dead bodies this shows us that while black is the driving force behind utilizing forbidden magic it still lies within green's margins as it takes from the world around it giving form to death and run instead of letting it go to waste now on the green side we see that it goes from manipulation to encouragement in that it cultivates life instead of raising debt true beauty is found in what is around us as opposed to what we need it's a matter of appreciating what grows i think the flavor text for lissette dean of root explains as well life is as fleeting as it is vibrant embrace the brief blessing of a flower before it withers what's important to note about the green side of witherbloom is that it looks to allow life to blossom caring for nature over its own ambitions while still allowing death its place in the cycle like i said in many ways witherbloom isn't the most groundbreaking or original school but it does still contain interesting talking points stemming from the fact that these colleges take on the idea of combinations a bit differently let's now move on to the college that probably would have wished to be at the front of the list and that is the college of prismari this is the college of passionate self-expression through magic it's the combination of both form and fluent chaos it takes something quite red and gives it the motivating and improvement focused side of blue i really enjoyed this interpretation of red blue over what we've seen in the past with for example the is it prismari shows us that a focus on art and form when paired with emotion and creativity can lead to beauty unimagined i think the flavor text from expressive iteration says it all prismari students dance in the tension between passion and perfection we've seen on ravnica what can happen when red blue is applied to science but it's something else entirely when it's applied to the visual arts instead when i think about the prismari mage what comes to mind first is that true art cannot exist without red but an artist who stands above the rest and is remembered cannot hone its craft without blue it's the perfect conjunction of strengths that form into a system of magical art that is driven by an insatiable need to express and learn let's take a look at the card rutha mercurial artist for some insight art is never finished merely abandoned now a balanced prismari as impressive as it is is not the whole picture what happens when this balance is shifted more into blue or red well let's find out beginning with the red dominant prismari the red side of the prismari mage is one that goes all out in the pursuit of self-expression it leans heavily into chaos and finds inspiration in new experiences four nothing new can be found when you just practice upon what came before so instead they wish to be avant-garde mages who dazzle delight and shock to the red focus prismari playing it safe is not an option you must let inspiration take the reins and follow each movement even if you don't know where your body will go prismari apprentice is a card that expresses exactly what i need to say about this ideal no one ever created great art by playing it safe now what do we get when blue is focused instead well i think it's no surprise that these mages take to training studying and the perfecting of their technique above all else prismary mages who feel blue more heavily are those who wish to find out what heights they can reach through their own mastery and creativity the flavor text from waterfall aerialist sums it up form and function in perfect unity what's more is that they take to studying things that are still aligned with red in some ways because remember that red still exists within all prismari this is what makes them still lean into the abstract study of things like beauty art and honest action they still see the value of emotion it's just that they take to these concepts in ways that only blue would now let's move on from expression through the body onto expression found in verse and voice with the college of silverquil they say the pen is mightier than the sword and in the hands of the college of silverquill the pen is a weapon like no other this college uses the magic of prose poetry word and verse they can take you apart with a perfectly crafted insult or bolster an army with words of encouragement they can create insults that pull out your insecurities creating monsters of ink that take the form of your fears it's the side of white that is always concerned with the people around them and how they may influence them and it's the side of black that needs to be center stage having its words heard by all as shown in the card exhilarating allocation his words poured forth on waves of golden light scouring all fear from his audience's hearts and minds silverquill understands that words can both harm and heal it's just a matter of their use they stand on the perfect duality of human expression and no matter which side you find yourself on in silver quill it is in your words whether written or spoken that your power lies often the silver quill train to be leaders which is no surprise with the combination present in white we have a color that does what it can for its people often raising the strong to lead the weak and in black we have a color that is never satisfied sitting idly in the back it wants to be the center of attention the one that others look to this is shown perfectly in the flavor text of silverquill apprentice she had spoken the words a hundred times under the spotlight in front of everyone something new emerged and the crowd went wild honestly these apprentice cards all have some of the best lines to sum up their respective schools so we know that silver quill well balanced is a matter of duality of the spirit but what happens when we lean more into white than black well simply put it sheds any need to put others down it only wishes to lift others up with its words as stated on lyon and lightscribe all who hear his inspiring words are filled with hope and pride through the use of compliments inspiring speeches and uplifting verses it creates power in others while shedding light on darkness now of course it's no surprise that when we lean into black more than white we get a poet and a speaker who stabs through people's shells striking at their insecurities the black aligned silver quill relishes in pointing out the weakness of others always happy to put others down in order to lift itself up it can manifest inklings out of your anxieties and make you weak with words as showcased in the card inkling summoning think of an insult so vicious so vulgar that you hesitate to speak it aloud the strongest most aggressive inklings are born from such corn it's easy to see what power silverquill has as almost no one is immune from their own weaknesses but at the same time we can all draw strength from encouraging words silverquill is an interesting case for a mage in that it shows the true power of words especially when aided by magic alright we have one more college left and a damn fascinating one at that and that is the college of quandricks here we have another combination just like lorehold whose relation to its core concept seemed not fit at first glance but soon became obvious the more i thought about it how are math and geometry green well it's simple really math and geometry are everywhere they make up everything and are constant in our lives whether we notice it or not green on its own might not be able to explain this concept even if it is aware of it but that's where blue comes in and is able to understand study and relay it in a manner that is only possible in this color combination just look to the symmetry of our own planet the patterns that emerge in all things and the ever-present mathematical calculations that take place every second let's take a look at the card eureka moment to see what i mean at first the equations were simply numbers but in those numbers i saw a story and in that story i saw a pattern and suddenly it all fit together quandrick's being still quite blue along with its screen is looking to take this understanding and learn from it adapt and then make new discoveries which will lead to new understandings it uses the ever-present patterns of the natural world to comprehend infinity and uses the equations to unlock the underlying secrets of the plane just as math and physics lead to understanding they also lead to new questions it becomes an endless source of study and insight into the perfection of nature and is so completely green while still being a subject of fascination for blue it's infinity and understanding this simple line of flavor text from biomathematician says it all quite simply i will reach infinity so what then does a quandrix mage who focuses more on green study these mages are more concerned with the pursuit of biological perfection they cause growth and duplication of what nature provides they look to magic that floats all around us studying ley lines and the truth of mana itself it stays within green in that it focuses solely on the tangible yet it needs to understand the abstract concepts that make everything work let's look to the card quanjix pledge mage for what i mean the first step towards transcending physical limitations it's discarding assumptions about what is possible it's the simple desire to help nature along to find out what is possible now let's step towards blue leaving green as the secondary color and see what happens in blue the quandrick's mage looks to things less tangible studying concepts that exist and can be proven yet not touched they manipulate on concepts of time and space of math and fractal beauty they can see that a pattern never truly ends it just becomes more complex as it goes and it is in that complexity that quandricks finds its motivation a mage's work is never done and quandrix especially a blue focus quadrix this is a good thing the school of stricthaven is a cool experiment in new ways to look at colors it not only just gives us fresh representations but it shows how a color combination can both be perfectly balanced or what can happen when you lean more or less into each side in turn creating nuanced philosophies that are more than the sum of their parts i'm always excited by these kind of sets as they show that even if we have ingrained perspectives of any combination it's only a small fraction of the complete picture like i always say there's always more to discuss and discover when it comes to color philosophy and with sets like strix haven the future looks bright hey thanks again for joining me in another one of my dissections and rants about color philosophy if you want to learn more about the colors of magic and you are new here be sure to subscribe and check out more of my content on the subject also i want to give a special shout out to the content creators who left their voices for this video aether hub grey merchant lorebrarians mtg lore seeker and slow unpacking i'm sure you recognize some of their voices that were featured here but if you don't be sure to check out their content as well i'll leave a link to each one of their channels in the video's description so if you want to feed your magic curiosity then head down there with that i'll catch you in the multiverse bye

Channel: DiceTry

Views: 24,001

Keywords: strixhaven colors, strixhaven color philosophy, strixhaven house, what are the colleges of strixhaven, dicetry, strixhaven colleges, strixhaven, strixhaven analysis, strixhaven school of mages, what are the houses of strixhaven, strixhaven lore, color pie, color philosophy, mtg, magic the gathering, magic: the gathering, mtg strixhaven, mtg mana, tolarian community college, Wizards of the coast

Id: Qm-0Z1I1X7w

Length: 21min 2sec (1262 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 05 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

loving how you're unafraid to think of the color pie from new percpetctives without being a contrarian for the sake of it, keep up the good work!

[u/TheSwedishWizard]

This video is amazing! But I have a.. hypothetical question for you good sir. If strixhaven had a rival school with the allied color combinations and they had similar concepts, what do you belive each color would reprecent and what would there "gimmick/maskots" be?

[u/8th_House_Stellium]

I first and foremost see myself in white-focused Silverquill, but I also see myself in blue-focused Quandrix. I'd probably join Silverquill over Quandrix, though.

[u/MishrasBogle]

The discussion of Lorehold's view of the past versus Green's view of tradition was such a eureka moment for me. It's long bothered me that Green's sense of the natural order is going to be very limited to a specific time and place. It doesn't focus on the Deep Past, be in geologic ages with long extinct species or lost civilizations that have faded from local memory. It's sense of the past is only to appeal to tradition as it justifies its view of balance.

I am generally mono-Green in my outlook of the colors, but have always thought of my personal interest in the Deep Past to be an expression of Green-Blue in wanting to know more about the causes of the current natural order. But I could also see it being a splash of Green with Lorehold, as I also feel more drawn to Lorehold than any of the other colleges.