Magic: The Gathering Color Guide, part 5 - Blue

Magic: The Gathering is a very complicated game, and one of the hardest initial decisions is choosing which color or colors of cards to use in creating a deck. My previous posts have covered red, black, green, and white. Here we are at the fifth and final color of the Magic color circle: Blue.

Blue represents knowledge and control. Blue spells tend to focus on changing the circumstances to suit the blue player, whether by copying spells, taking control of an opponent's cards, removing an opponent's cards from play, or preventing an opponent's spells from resolving. Blue also features the most opportunities to scry and draw cards. Blue creatures include vedalken, merfolk, sea creatures, birds, and drakes. Blue creatures tend more than any other color to be evasive, whether through flying or simply having the keyword "unblockable."

To build an effective blue deck, you must first choose how to take control of the game and prevent your opponents from winning, then choose the cards that allow this to occur, and finally choose how to create your own victory conditions. This is the reverse of the priority order for most other decks. One option would be to use cards that allow you to keep more options available throughout the game, and then attack with unblockable creatures. Another might be to return your opponent's creatures to his hands before attacking with your own. A third might be to cancel the most threatening spells your opponent wants to cast before attacking with creatures he cannot block. This list is by no means comprehensive. Whatever deckbuilding strategy is chosen, blue needs to find a way to (sometimes literally) stack the deck in its favor.

Blue and white work together to create a controlled and effective battlefield. Blue and red combine destruction and control, and can create decks that rely almost entirely on instants and sorcery spells to achieve victory. With green, blue can fill its gap in evasion and prevent an opponent's defensive spells from resolving. Blue and black can combine to create the most effective mill strategies to eliminate an opponent's draw pile.

If the colors were represented by wizards, red is the destruction mage, black is the necromancer, green is the druid, white is the cleric, but blue is the conjurer who manipulates the very fabric of the ether. If you ever want to see a long game, watch two players using blue decks countering one another until one of them runs out of cards to draw.

As always, I recommend using Pucatrade to help you find the tools you need to build your deck by trading cards online with other players.