The Structures of Prosperity [Abzan MTG Color Philosophy]

[Music] now that i've covered all five shards of magic the gathering i'm excited to move on to the second half of the slicing the pie series by exploring the philosophies of the five wedges as i did before i once again put the question out to you as to which wedge we would dissect first but unlike shards each platform came up with a clear winner which honestly put me under a bit of pressure as i knew this was a wedge loved by most and you know what i can see why so sit down get comfortable let's talk absent the wedge of peace through structured self because of their composition wedges are well intrinsically different than shards so it becomes a matter of necessity to change the framework of our discussion to better suit those wedges what i mean is that i'll be tackling the next five videos a little bit differently than the last five at least in its initial setup the new framework will be built in three steps first we'll begin by discussing the pairing of allied colors that make up the wedge this is because within the wedge we have two colors that already find common ground and because of this they'll have the strongest influence over what the wedge is i think of it this way you have a group of three people two of which seem to agree on most things while the third in this case the enemy color just doesn't seem to agree with either of their decisions in the end the enemy color will have influence over the group but it will always have trouble being the focal point of any philosophy even if it's the color we're leaning into green white's presence will always be strongly felt in the case of absent our three colors are white black and green with green and white being the allied pairing so i think it's important that we dive into the pair of green white and see what sort of philosophy comes when these two colors are brought together the pear green white is the combination of peace and unity through acceptance it takes green's core ideal which states we're all just small imperfect pieces of one whole perfect ecosystem and then combines it with white's need for peace through order thus creating a philosophy which aims to craft a society where all can find their place and no one is an outsider it is a combination that sees the value in both total acceptance of our nature and the structures that hold it all together now that we've established our pairing i would like to move on to the second step by bringing in the outsider the color that is the enemy of the pair we just discussed in the case of absent that color is black this does make things a bit tricky but at the same time is a great practice in understanding color philosophy so what is black black is the color that follows its ambition to its final conclusion it sees strength in itself and rejects anything that goes against its best interest to some it may seem selfish to black is prosperity of self in the context of absent this self-interest is widened a bit due to the presence of green and white in the end it tells us that absent isn't concerned with the betterment of all through acceptance but instead prosperity of the group it finds itself within okay let's move on to the final step which is one that is shared by the shards and that is picking out the two colors that are not present in the wedge and figuring out what their absence tells us about the wedge we're discussing in the case of absent those colors are blue and red so let's break them down and see what it tells us blue is the color of learning discovery and self-improvement so without any blue present it tells us that absent finds strength in traditions and in keeping with the old ways making only slow changes to its way of thinking next up we have red the color of passion emotion and impulse with the lack of red mana we know that absan will not make decisions based on its heart but rather proven paths which makes its ideals come off as cold and at times heartless alright there we have it the framework for the discussion of the wedge of abzan this time around i just want to give a special shout out to the community over on the dice tri discord it's just such an awesome and ever-growing community so if you would like to be part of the discussion then be sure to join up i'll have a link in the description alright with that out of the way let's dive into the first and i would say primary ideal of absent in most people's minds and that is unity in tribalism it's what happens when you take green white's perspective on community and twist it in a way that is influenced by black resulting in a philosophy of us versus them now it isn't abandoning the idea of community driven prosperity but instead is saying that it's just the group you belong to that deserves to prosper this of course makes it so that anyone outside of the group is lesser or an antagonist absence sees all that it has created as an already perfect ecosystem and one that it wishes to keep safe at all costs now this doesn't mean it's not willing to bring others in it's just that in doing so you must prove an unwavering loyalty no matter the cost you see absent does not have an ounce of patience for those who would deteriorate what they have built it's a philosophy bred from a survival mindset and to that end is very successful it takes green's fervent protection of its own ecosystem white's sense of order and duty and black's focus on what is good for the self now this is not to say that absent does not have sights for wider swaths of control no quite the opposite unity and tribalism doesn't solely mean that absent is focused on simply keeping what it has safe it's still looking outward to other people's and other lands to absent it's simply not enough to keep your own kin in a structure of prosperity you must always pursue the true ideal and that is placing all under the shade of your banner to this end abzan will use its large and varied military force full of devout soldiers to spread its influence as far as it can all the while enveloping others into its society what becomes of these new additions to absent you may ask well even though green white is willing to bring others into the fold all in order to find harmony through unity absence still sees those who belong to its core group as special abzan will always take in other people of course but those people usually will find themselves as lesser citizens sure they may often enjoy the structures of peace that absent provides but they are still considered lesser than i believe it is here where we see a true face of absent philosophy one that takes acceptance through order and asks what more can this be now i don't like to always paint things in a dark light so let's look at this from a perspective that allows us to see its value as a society it may seem that absent is harsh and to those outside of its core people it may be but think for a second how powerful of an idea this is absent is the philosophy of conquerors of great nations i think of rome which had a diverse population because of its vast expansionist ideals it was a vast nation that saw a time of great prosperity even if some suffered under its rule absent sees its way of thinking as practical and in the end better for all those who fall under its rule whether they like it or not okay now i think it's time to take a look at another way of seeing the combination of green white and black one that reflects a better understanding of life and death the tendon i will cover next is one that i actually touched on in my green black video and that is an idea i call oneness with the cycle i do believe that pairs are a great way of finding a variety of interesting philosophies but here we have an example of why three color philosophies can make a concept more complex and yet refined what i'm talking about here is what happens when we take green black's view on death and then build upon it by bringing white into the fold this cycle which focused more on death initially now becomes a perfect circle so what does this all mean well absent is the wedge that sees the whole picture of life and death in equal parts white represents life and light green as the affected plane of existence and black as death and darkness itself absence states that it is through the acceptance of the whole picture that we may find true understanding of our place and how our actions affect it physically and spiritually we see this represented perfectly with the three colors present white represents the realms of life light and of the heavens green is the natural plane the basis for all things and then finally we have black which takes on the role of death darkness and of what one might call hell itself if we can accept the circle as continuous we can then find peace in our own existence there's no longer a fear of death or a wish for something better beyond our own life because to absent it's all one equal picture an absent philosophy might then believe in ideals of reincarnation or of a second life found in death perhaps it will tell us of how the forms beyond our material plane is the state in which we will find true harmony think for a moment of what is bred from the lack of understanding in why we're here and to what ends are the meaning of life and death think of how many conflicting religions or anxieties spring forth from this lack of knowing absence states that this is a foolish endeavor and if we could simply just see the cycle for what it is we would finally be one with ourselves and everything around us i think it's finally time that we talk about how absent could apply to our own lives with the concept i call inner peace through structured self i believe that absent is a combination that is able to achieve inner peace through routines which benefit it by creating structures in its own life in this way absent is able to fulfill its daily needs and from there it may achieve its ambitions where others may look outward to find what they need absent can find it within themselves all by forming routines and values that facilitate balance within think about how each of the core ideals within each color can be applied to your own life what you get is a philosophy that is more about structure balance and achieving your goals in white we have a color of order designed to facilitate peace in green there is a balance in all things and in black there are the actions taken to find satisfaction in self-preservation and prosperity what this entails is that absent fashions routines and structures in its life in order to find satisfaction in the balancing of one's self it may not be so great at bringing that peace to others but it may weather any storm around it by finding peace in its routines and by allowing things out of its control to pass by an absent person might be one who wakes up and meditates to find its calming center for the day then works to achieve its goals benefited by the rigid routines it has set up for itself you see by removing the fear of the greater forces that are out of your control and by building up structures that bring about the means for you to achieve your goals you'll find that your mind is able to achieve true wholeness and from that state your ambitions will be within reach i think in a lot of ways this version of absent is better off alone and can sometimes come off as an introvert but this isn't always the case it's more a matter of taking care of yourself first and then applying it outward in a way that serves your goals absent is an interesting case in that it has to reconcile ideas of acceptance and order all while making sure those functions serve it in this regard black's influence forces green and white to ask themselves what's important to them in some cases this means taking care of your tribe first abzan believes that it's only in this way that peace can be cultivated it is only from there that your ideas can then be extended to the rest of the plane even if this transition happens by force don't worry they'll thank you for it later in other ways it's the structure of white and balance of green applied to the self in a way that breeds inner peace but from there your ambitions may be achieved interestingly though the colors present may instead take on a wider concept and showcase themselves as all of known reality it's in understanding our place within the cycle and how we're able to affect it that we may achieve a oneness that other colors may fall short of whatever the case absent is the combination of the structured approach to harmony built to serve those important to you four we cannot hope to shape the rest of the world if we cannot first find peace within ourselves hey thanks for the patience on this one wedges are proving to be an interesting case in color philosophy so far and you know what that does have me excited for the future be sure to follow me on twitter to stay up to date with everything i'm working on as always all the links are down in the description with that i'll catch you in the multiverse bye

Channel: DiceTry

Views: 28,758

Keywords: abzan color, abzan, abzan color philosophy, mtg color abzan, mtg color philosophy, dicetry, mtg color, mtg colors, mtg colors explained, mtg color combination, mtg color combinations explained, magic the gathering, mtg color pie, magic the gathering colors, magic: the gathering, magic the gathering colors explained, mtg color combinations, color pie, colorpie, magic the gathering color pie, mtg color pie explained, khans of tarkir, color philosophy

Id: xG1wMgLb2oM

Length: 15min 12sec (912 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 10 2020