Of the few truly original creature abilities, color protection is one of the most complicated, controversial and beloved of them all.  There's nothing quite like a 2 drop creature that you know won't easily be destroyed if your opponent is playing the wrong color.  I can even remember slipping a few "protection froms" into my deck after losing to my buddy's old school red deck (I'm a changed man now, I promise!)  But color hate isn't limited to "protection from X".  Back in the day, plopping down a 2 drop Circle of Protection that just so happened to match your opponent's color of choice was a favorite tactic of Johnnies and Timmys all around the world.  Those were the days, eh?  Think again!  Color hate is not only alive and well in the latest Magic the Gathering expansions, its absolutely thriving.  One need only browse through tenth edition to find a cornucopia of color hate.  From Voice of All to Story Circle, color hate is a cornerstone of the game whether we like it or not.

[caption id="attachment_1500" align="alignright" width="251" caption="Keep the Pie, ease up on the hate."][/caption]

While color hate isn't something most tournament players normally turn to (defensive plays aren't common in a 4-turns-to-win strategy) it is certainly employed by the casual player.  Because most casual decks, by their very nature are mono-colored, color hate can cause some animosity between players if employed too liberally.  On the one hand, you are assuming an element of risk by putting in a "protection from X" creature or an enchantment that only works against a certain color.  You're paying an extra one mana per creature for that specialty and you'll be wasting precious early game mana if you're not playing against that particular color.  But today, with certain cards giving protection from most colors, mono-colors or even all colors, that element of risk is removed and that is where the "hate" in color hate comes into play.

Earning that protection by paying outrageous amounts of mana or comboing and prevailing to get it is one thing, but having protection from three or your choice of colors is something else.  In many casual circles, a lucky 2nd turn circle of protection or even a seemingly innocent enchantment on a white knight can ruin a game in a casual atmosphere.  You may be thinking - "Why not Cruel Edict, Wrath of God or Evacuate your way out of this scenario?" and I tend to agree.  I believe in being prepared for everything, particularly in my casual mono-colored decks.  But how can a mono green deck prepare for protection from green?  Or a red deck from red?  Green gets its creatures chump blocked while red can do no damage to those creatures with protection.  Once they're out you're taking X damage a turn where X = that creatures power.  But lets take a look at the  hard numbers shall we?

Luckily, what I consider to be the color least effective at killing creatures has only 12 creatures to worry about.  But red comes in strong with 34 immune beasts.  This point may be moot because some of the cards are old, restricted or otherwise unplayable.  The obvious caveat here is that the colors that can more easily kill creatures are protected against more frequently.  The problem for casual players is that it only takes one playset of one color hating card to completely counter their mono colored decks.  And while a black or white deck may be able to handle this, a casual green or red deck most certainly cannot.

With the recent popularity of multicolored cards, the concept of color hate takes on a whole new facet.  Protection from black not only gives you protection from terror and unmake but also shields your creature from the likes of multicolored behemoths like Nicol Bolas and Hellkite Overlord.  In this arena, color hate becomes infinitely more powerful and (as I predicted earlier) will become more playable in a tournament setting.  No longer do you run a large risk of not encountering a player using blue magic when chances are (since most players post Alara Reborn will be playing 3-5 colors) you'll see a blue spell or two fly your way in any given game.

[caption id="attachment_1494" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Red Vs White - Turn 3 white drops this.  Having fun yet guys?"][/caption]

The point here isn't to naysay color hate.  It certainly has its place and can be a facinating aspect to the game.  Its simply that casual players need to think twice before spamming that Story Circle  in a casual, mono-colored game.  It can not only mean the difference between a win in a loss, it can mean the difference between having fun and not having fun.  With M10 just around the corner and the promise it brings of a more mono-colored, classic, accessible format, WotC really needs to think twice about releasing cards that let you choose a color and throw up an inpenatrable shield.  These are the cards that keep the casual, mono-colored loving, fantasy driven players out of competitive play.  Any self-respecting player will be sideboarding some color hate to throw in if he notices you're playing that special color he's prepared for.  If Wizards is serious about relating to new players with recognizable, presumably mono-colored spells then they'll have to keep color hate under control in future releases.