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This predicament has cropped up before and it will do so again. Most abilities and mechanics can theoretically be placed somewhere on the color wheel. In the Odyssey block we saw graveyard manipulation which is very much black's territory. In Mirrodin, blue was at a theoretical advantage because artifacts fall under it's sphere of influence. And now with Zendikar, we're looking at a land based / mana-changing block that most undoubtedly favors green.
Take landfall for example. Of course wizards has put the ability in all of the other colors as well. Fetch lands are also available in every flavor. But which color is going to be able to trigger the most landfalls? Of course you could splash green to trigger another colored card's landfall ability but that isn't my point. If you're going to use landfall and make the most out of Zendikar's land based theme you're going to have to at least splash some green.
[caption id="attachment_4855" align="alignleft" width="235" caption=" If cardfall were a new mechanic, I'd be writing the same rant about blue in a new expansion."]
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Green has always been the king of mana fixing, land ramping and color changing. But in a set whose very theme is mana fixing, land ramping and color changing it would be hard to argue that green is not unilaterally advantaged by this turn of events. If there were an expansion based around drawing cards and bouncing permanents with abilities called "cardfall" I doubt anyone would hesitate to give blue the crown for the block. Sure everyone draws cards each turn and could benefit greatly from "cardfall" but honestly which color would you give leverage to in this hypothetical situation? The one that easily draws extra cards of course.
The idea here isn't to say that the best individual cards in Zendikar are green. Though with Lotus Cobra now on the top of everyone's Christmas list, I think green would be in the running. My point is that, even if the useful cards themselves were perfectly distributed throughout the colors, green would naturally dominate Zendikar. Harrow, Scute Mob, Oracle of Mul Daya.. these cards rule the plane as a matter of course. I really do appreciate the color balance in the individual rares and mythics we've seen thus far but the fact remains that each of these cards could be enhanced or at the very least- played earlier with the help of green.
Pro players have always loved to splash green. On the tournament scene, speed kills and no one does mana acceleration quite like green. It's versatility with cards like Birds of Paradise and now Lotus Cobra is unmatched. In the world of Zendikar, all of Green's strengths are exacerbated. Combine all of this with the unrelenting power and speed of elves and you're bound to see green make it's mark on the tour this season. In what other color, in what other set could you imagine playing an ultimatum on turn three?
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="235" caption="One of the best cards ever printed, period."]
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With some of the huge bombs now floating around in standard, players are going to want to play them before turn eight or nine. One fallacy many newer players fall prey to is the ever persistent "9 CMC = Turn 9 Card". Of course, most of us math gurus understand that you'd have to be playing a deck with over 50% land to even have a chance at nine land on turn nine. Without acceleration or substantial draw you'll have seen 16 cards on turn nine and you're telling me you're expecting nine of those to be land? A highly unlikely and ultimately erroneous assumption. Only green can hope to get those Timmy-sized creatures or spells out in a timely fashion. As spells get bigger and nastier players will turn to green and it's Lotus Cobra, Noble Hierarch, Birds of Paradise trifecta to help forge any colored bomb.
Sure white and blue can stall for time and mana, while red and black can just blast the cobra but the point is that green is the backbone of Zendikar. The quick, deadly, infinitely versatile monster that must be stopped at any cost. While the other colors are reduced to either simply "dealing" with green or playing / splashing green themselves. Often one color or another will take center stage for a few months in Magic the Gathering. That is the blessing and curse of the game we love. But I've harped on this before and I'm sure I'll do it again: It is indeed possible for each color to shine in its own special way, all the time. You don't look back at the Starcraft and say "well in Starcraft I the Zerg were the best.. in Starcraft II the Terran are the best.." There is a consistent balance that remains constant even as the game changes in big ways. Sure we all have preferences and opinions but any of the three races could be beaten by the other at any time. Surely magic can do the same. There is no need for "payback for the era of blue" or "green's time to shine". If you read everything I've ever written on Magic and take nothing else from me know this: balance is possible; and necessary; all the time.
What I'd like to see in the remaining unspoiled half of Zendikar is something to assure me that landfall and (yes, I'll say it) mana acceleration are effective in colors other than green. With landfall you can certainly play the pain-fetches and Terramorphic Expanse to get a little extra landfall bump. But green has all of those cards in addition to it's already impressive arsenal of land fetch and mana storm cards. How about a few color-centric cards that help lands hit the table? For example: red is no stranger to chaos or the destruction of lands. How about, "each player chooses three target lands, destroy those lands. Each player searches their library for three basic land cards and puts them onto the battlefield tapped"? Or a white sorcery that allows each player to search their library for a basic land and put it into play? I could go on but I think its clear that it is indeed possible to make landfall more effective in colors other than green.
For mana acceleration, how about a mini dark ritual? "Pay one black, sacrifice a creature and add two to your mana pool." Surely not overpowered but it could really help get Sorin out a turn or two earlier and at a fair price to boot! My point is that green's strangle hold of the horribly vague and all encompassing genre of "land and mana" is fine when we're not in a set dedicated to "land and mana". As design space grows thinner, the lines between the colors continue to blur. Surely green could ease a bit of control over mana acceleration. If I were to force you today to choose a color for drafting at the Zendikar pre-release next week, would there be any question which color you'd choose? Even if you pulled a Sorin or Lorthos, you're going to want to be able to put them out before you die, right? All things being equal, green is the default champion of Zendikar.
Perhaps it is naive to think that an expansion will ever be completely devoid of one color bias or another. Wither and Unearth certainly felt and played black, artifacts will always feel blue and land/mana manipulation in Zendikar are green's realm. But with the examples I've given I hope I've been able to show that it is indeed possible to share the love with strategically designed, color honoring fillers. Zendikar is looking to be a great set and I definitely don't want to poo poo on anyone's enthusiasm about it. I voted in the aforementioned poll and I'll have you know that I enthusiastically clicked the "9" button shortly after the poll opened. I've been counting down the days (and spoilers) until the pre-release this weekend.
I think everyone has a little bit of a soft spot for green because it's the color most people enter the game learning how to play with. It has a wonderful flavor and is a great "splash option" in Zendikar or any other set. The aim of this article is to prepare you for the road ahead. I hope everyone is ready to play with, play against and splash a little green this season.
