CCC: It's Sometimes Too Easy Being Green
I believe that Green is getting too much right now. I know, controversial statements, but for once in the history of CCC I want to get fully serious and actually talk about this because it’s been worrying me as someone who really loves this game.For a long time, Green has just been a powerful color in Magic. The nature of the color itself rewards players for just sort of doing things that you naturally need to do to win. At the most basic level Green gives you access to ramp in the form of dorks like Llanowar Elves and land tutors like Rampant Growth.
It then gives you access to payoffs from accumulating mana in the form of massive creatures like Craterhoof Behemoth. That is Green at the most basic, and even then it’s really good. When I teach people Magic I build little example decks, one for each color. The Green deck has always been tricky to put together because a lot of those basic cards are deceptively powerful when compared to what the others have to offer.
Now this basic level of Green isn’t an issue, I just want to point out why Green tends to be a powerful color anyway. To win this game you need mana and finishers, Green gives easy access to both.
Now Green has been branching out lately into the territory of other colors, and this is where problems start to crop up. Let’s look at Modern Horizons 2, the most recent set and one that features some great examples of this. Specifically, three cards stood out to a lot of players and I want to address them one by one.
Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth
To me this card is the one that makes actual sense. For those that don’t know, Black actually has a card that already does this but with Swamps instead of Forests. Personally, I say just make it a cycle and leave it at that. Even if they don’t though, Green does a lot with lands anyway so I’m comfortable saying I have no issue with this and moving on.
Gaea’s Will
Certainly the most powerful of the three, but not the one I have the biggest issue with. Green has a history of pulling things from the graveyard with cards like Regrowth being around since Alpha. But the thing is, just because it’s something a color can do, doesn’t mean it’s something a color should do. Sure the effect makes sense, but what does it actually do for Green? It doesn’t further any of the more established Green strategies and actually seems to encourage a more Spellslinger type playstyle that makes absolutely no sense. I don’t understand why Green was given this card and honestly I wish it hadn't been printed. I don’t expect it to break the game, but a Green Yawgmoth’s Will comes off as WOTC basically admitting it’s their favorite color.
Sylvan Anthem
This...this really annoys me. Sylvan Anthem is pretty much a strictly better Honor of the Pure/Crusade type effect, something White is well known for having in their slice of the color pie. It can be argued that this makes sense for Green, it is the color of creatures for sure, but the issue is that White has already been losing a lot of its unique effects. I’ve talked about it before but a lot of cards that could’ve been printed as White are often not, Opposition Agent is a great example of this. Green has barely any past anthem cards printed, and those that do exist are either multicolored, colorshifted, or very situational.All in all, Green is looking more and more like the color to play and as someone who actually enjoys playing White, I’m getting really sick of this. Please just stop printing cards like this WOTC, innovation is amazing but not at the cost of the other parts of the game.
Is Green getting too much or am I just overreacting? Let me know in the comments below!
You also can find me on Twitter @East2Westmtg or email me at East2westmtg@gmail.com.
As always I’ve been East2West, your resident Ajani fangirl and Green’s enemy color pair, and I’ll see you guys on the battlefield!
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