The ultimate Magic: the Gathering question, one that is sure to cause heated debate and send players (old and new) into frantic arguments. Planeswalkers have been debating this question for ages and there are not enough counters in your pouch to count the blows that have been dealt to back one’s claim at an answer.

 

Yet, here we are, about to throw ourselves into yet another such debate.

 

Before going about our business, let me voice a mild disclaimer stating that I am your average Joe player - having played the game since its release, having played most formats (if not all of ‘em), having played some tournaments (but not a whole lot) - and that I consider myself more of a “jake of all trades” player and not at all a specialist or much less a pro. Curiously enough, that might be the best position to speak from to formulate an answer that both encompasses playstyle, time and context.

 

Let’s take a dive and start by pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of each color, as seen by your humble servant.

 

 

BLACK

 

Black is the color of necromancy and dark magic. It is one of the two best colors for card advantage, having both draw and discard in its repertoire. Its creatures encompass efficient and annoying weenies as well as strong mid-range and endgame beaters. Graveyard manipulation allows for a never ending onslaught against your opponent. It has tremendous creature and planeswalker removal, some gain life and to back it all up, black tutors will deliver the one card you need when you really need it.

 

While black has a lot of strengths, it seems to have very few weaknesses. The only obvious one is that black has a hard time dealing with artifacts and enchantments. Besides cards that will force the other player to sacrifice permanents, black has no spell or ability that specifically targets them. The only other weakness, one could argue, is that with black you often have to give something to gain something. In other words, black can be tricky. It is a color best suited for experienced players and complex strategies can backfire if not played correctly.

 

BLUE

 

Every Magic: The Gathering player quickly learns, often at their expense, that blue is the color of illusion and manipulation and that its strengths lie with tempo and control. Between the dreadful counter spells, the bounce or tap mechanisms and the many “take control of” effects, blue packs a wide array of tools that will make your life miserable. It also has the best card advantage spells in the game, some of the best avoidance creatures (flying and unblockable) and almost every good combo deck will include staple blue cards. All in all, blue is known as a major powerhouse and it’s been the case since the very beginnings of Magic.

 

This said, blue also has major weaknesses. It has almost no removal (besides a few transmutation spells) and blue decks can sometimes be easily overrun by creature heavy strategies. It’s a color that is tricky to play, if only because tempo and control requires players to make a lot of key decisions, each of which can result in disaster and a game loss. Better suited for experienced players, you will have to go through a somehow steep learning curve to master this one.

 

GREEN

 

Green is the color of growth and nature, it is home to both fey and wild beasts. Its main strength lies within the power of its creatures - no one can pack a punch like green! And those high mana cost tramplers are bound to hit the battlefield much quicker than you could anticipate due to green’s ramp spells and abilities. Almost every toolbox deck will have green staple cards at the core of its mechanism. Green also has the second best removal tools in the game (next only to white), being able to target every type of permanent but planeswalkers. All in all, it’s a color that can be pretty straightforward and easy to play.

 

This said, green has some serious weaknesses. Once you start casting spells, it is not easy to replenish your hand. More often than not, you will end up having a serious card disadvantage playing other colors. Its creature removal might be solid but the fight ability requires you to have creatures in play. In some matchups, this might be a big problem. Last but not least, green is a bit vulnerable to flying creatures. Creatures with the reach ability somehow counters that weakness but let’s be honest: who plays reach?

 

 

RED

 

Red is the color of fire and lightning, of everything that exemplifies chaos and fury. Nothing says red like “burn baby burn”! Its main strength lies with the almost innumerable amount of damage dealing spells. We can’t count how many players have died to lightning bolts and/or fireballs. It is the color of speed, some deck lists rightfully earning the name “Red deck wins”. It has overall decent removal and great tools for combo decks.

 

Red deck wins, but not always. The biggest weakness of red is obviously card disadvantage: once you have thrown all you have at your opponent, you are often left with no cards in hand and no board presence, looking at your opponent’s 3 remaining health and hoping your next draws will be spells and not lands. Red also has next to nothing to show to deal with enchantments, leaving it vulnerable to both control and prison decks.

 

WHITE

 

White represents order and justice, it is the color of righteousness and protection. It has the best removal repertoire in the game (having spells that can destroy or exile any type of permanent). Its creatures are well rounded (some would even say it has the best weenies). It has excellent board protection. It has amazing gain life, some reanimation and a few ramp-like cards (Land Tax, Tithe and others). It also has spells that allow it to lock the board or put the opponent in prison-like situations. It is the most versatile color and is generally straightforward when it comes to playing its basic strategies.  

 

On top of being well-rounded and all around solid, white has very few weaknesses. The only obvious one would be card advantage but crafty players will find ways to replenish their hand (as white still has some drawing engines or draw-like abilities). The prison-like strategies are a bit harder to pull off and will require players to be smart. Besides that, white does not have a lot of chinks in its armor. One could argue that it could be overrun by heavy aggro decks.

 

 

AND THE WINNER IS (INSERT DRUM ROLL)

 

It is pretty obvious that preference and play style has a lot to do with one’s opinion when it comes to choosing which color is best. The best color is assuredly bound to be the color that you are the most comfortable with, it would only make sense. How can we define a winner then?

 

The best color ought to be the one that does not only do great on its own, but also improves other colors significantly when paired with. It should be versatile, have significant strengths and minor weaknesses. It should be a color that is played easily by most players and generally liked (although that last point might be hard to demonstrate or back up). All in all, the best color should stand above the rest, even if only slightly.

 

Let’s start by removing the colors that we think are not contenders: green and red. Although these two colors bring good things to the table, they do not check most of the boxes in regards to the things we said should be defining in selecting the best color. In my experience, red is often the less picked color in cube sessions or drafts. Same would be true for prerelease and sealed. Although green has improved tremendously over the years (it used to be the weakest color in the early years of Magic), it is still pretty weak when not paired with other colors. Commander is where green truly shines, but that can’t be enough to have it climb above the others in ranking.

 

We are hence left with black, blue and white.

 

A strong argument could be made for blue if only because it is the only color that has made its way into the mythic power 9 (having 3 cards in it, while the other 6 cards are colorless artifacts). It is a color that can be pretty solid when played on its own and it always brings something to the table when paired with other colors. It does great in most formats and has been a powerhouse in tournaments since the early days. This said, it is a bit hard to play and is definitely not everyone’s favorite (some actually hate blue).

 

Black might be the color that I have the most difficulty judging. For some weird reason I have a tendency to play it less often than the other colors. For me, black was the color that I would splash in to either get the benefit of a tutor here and there, to improve my overall removal or to benefit from its overpowered cards (like Yawgmoth’s Will). I know it is amongst the most powerful colors, I know some even think it is the strongest, but I can’t see it climbing the top step of the podium. Sorry you devoted necromancers.

 

 

So the winner would have to be… white! In my book, white is by far the most versatile color of Magic. No other color covers as much ground as white: removal, creatures, reanimation, ramp-like spells, flicker and protection, control and prison, draw - you have but to list all it does to quickly realize it is a color that stands on its own. It has been strong and reliable from the early days of Magic to now. It does good on its own or paired. It does great in any format. It is straightforward enough to be played by all. And I have never heard anyone say they disliked white (well, maybe except after someone played Armageddon).

 

Ok I might be a bit biased: my favorite color combination is blue-white (Azorius control baby!) with black-blue-white being my favorite 3 colors combination (Esper control for the win). I like the occasional black-green-white (Abzan) reanimation decks (I remember having a blast playing one in a Team Unified Constructed tournament). I also used to like playing black-blue (Dimir), blue-red (Izzet) or blue-red-white (Jeskai) American control.

 

So what do you think: is white worthy of claiming the best color in Magic title? If not, which color do you think is the strongest?