Magic's Hidden Narrative

In Magic: The Gathering card draw is the most universal mechanic we have access to, and subsequently its the kind of spell we are eager to put into every deck. Its what drives the game forward, adds an element of surprise and is just plain old fun to cast. But, have you ever just sat back and thought about the implications of this mechanic? Well I have spent weeks digging into it and I would posit that just like everything in Magic: the Gathering there is a greater narrative always at play, one shaped by the color pie, and in understanding why card draw is more than a mechanic you begin to understand how even such a universal action is something greater than the sum of its parts.
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[@DiceTry]

What is your favorite draw spell?

[@warpsterdash5420]

Mind Spring or Brain Geyser, for favorites. Most practical that I've used is Divination.

[@BinhNguyen-qr9jd]

Opt

[@danhatter6823]

CONSIDER!!!! YEAH BABY CONSIDER!!!! ONE MANA SURVEIL ONE DRAW ONE BABY!!!! CONSIDER GANG!!!! WE LOVE DRAWING CARDS!!!!

[@johanandersson8252]

The famous Treasure Cruise over the Carriebean.

[@hermesthenerd]

black player classic sign in blood. because of its modal abilities. i usually get the sign in blood your opponent for 2 life to kill them achievement once every couple of months. while using it as a burn spell is rare, its so cool that it CAN be a burn spell too!

[@EnordAreven]

Spice8Rack will find this video eventually

[@jan-timolobner]

I am saddened that Spice didn't yet reply with "Maybe I did".

[@RedClaw87]

The narrative Paradox of MtG card draw: In MtG a card/spell is in your library. Then you draw it and can cast it. Once you casted the spell it is gone for you unless you have another spell to gain excess to it again. In the Lore of MtG we encounter many magic user, but they seem not as limited as the players of the game are. They know certain types of magic. And if they have enough mana they can cast them as often as they want. The way magic is played it feels more like a Wizard in D&D having to prepare their spells. This would be the process of building your deck. And once the spell is cast they loose access to it. This system of magic is called Vancian magic. In Vancian magic spells are more akin to living things. They are things that live in your mind. And once you have uttered the words, they leave your mind and effect the world in a specific way. Learning them and "remembering" those spells isn'*t as easy as recalling a memory, because they are more akin to living things. Some spell are trickier and hide in your mind, while other hurt you while being in there. Which is all represented in the mechanics of playing MtG. This also explains the difference in card draw for the different colors. Red spells are fleeting, fickle creatures. They want to leave your mind and don't hide from you. They come to you quickly, but are gone as quickly. Black spells are nasty and don'*t care about you. They are selfish and don'*t care if they hurt you while being in their. They want to be powerful and take that power from you by force in form of blood, pain or more. White spells don'*t hide from you, but they want something from you in return. They oppose their morale code of fairness onto you to gain access to them. So if you want them to reveal themself, you either have to be in an unfortunate position or help those that are. Blue Spells love to be cast, so they give themselfs to you easily once you put in the effort to learn them. And green spells are probably the oldest spells, those that formed naturally and aren't pressed into any shape. So they come in many different forms. But while the rules and mechanics of the game enforce a vancian view of magic, there are no vancian magic users in the MtG Lore (as far as I can recall). The vancian magic system is seldomly used in work of Fantasy Fiction and MtG is no exception from that. So while the rules imply a vancian System of Magic, the Lore presents a non-vancian magic system.

[@DiceTry]

I really like this idea, well thought out as always.

[@andrewramlall3560]

I am fascinated by this perspective that spells inspirit and negotiate with you, like they're these abstract arbiters of facets of life

[@chiblast100x]

One thing to consider with the Vancian elements of MtG as a game is that as players we're magicians of a far later age than those in the narrative lore, possibly near the end much like those in _The Dying Earth_, and invoking powers from a greater age with our own much more limited understanding and ability.

[@VultureXV]

Card draw is your preparation, the library is your potential or full arsenal. Going into a new plane you would probably only bring essentials, stuff to get you off the ground. Drawing a card is almost like whatever narratively your character is doing to find out what your opponent is up to and the best way to deal with them. You could simply just get bad draws which means your opponent is doing well to hide their tracks, or very good draws that show just luck in finding key information. Black can simply negate a few thoughts, mill cards remove your access to other tools and arsenal items. The graveyard is just tools expended past their use, exile removed from the plane your character is currently at. In this sense, it makes sense that people with more cards have the advantage, it essentially means that they are putting in more work to discover what your plans are. Even then, they might have been 'misled' through bad draws and might not have a response somehow..

[@Amaterasu2511]

As someone who atarted with yu gi oh and Pokemon as a kid, becoming an adult and realizing that mtg is the perfect tcg is everything

[@AkukAkuku]

I've become very jaded about MtG, so it's been very refreshing hearing you pour so much thought and passion, thank you.

[@ipsumquaerere6927]

Great video. I love the eloquence with which you shine a light on the more narrative layers of magic, that are neighter lore nor mechanic. Imo it's this that sets MTG apart from other tcgs, so it's nice when it's discussed more.

[@DiceTry]

I couldn't agree more. I've played all sorts of tcg's, and it's things like this that make it my favorite.

[@fenrirsilver6441]

@@DiceTryI would say the one that comes the closest to it may be Legends of Runeterra… but MTG is still just on a whole other level

[@viniciuscatais8126]

Bro... Watching your videos it's becoming a Color therapy. It impels me to dive deep into a life analysis. Just beautiful your work ty

[@jongailey85]

Cool to see someone do a deep-dive in the actual philosophy of essential mechanics like this. One thing I’ve gleaned from playing a lot of white in EDH is that white’s card draw comes from building and sustaining a reliable engine that places a lot of value on creating and maintaining the “status quo” and the “little man”. All of the seemingly minor effects are working together to realize the bigger picture. Every little cog in the engine matters. And this of course very much encourages aggressively committing to the board often times.

[@DiceTry]

I would totally agree with you. White is about momentum, as I noted, that is why drawing and digging isn't as important as creating the structures of victory.

[@jongailey85]

@@DiceTryyeah, I think that’s a good way to put it too. I’ve thought about this type of stuff with all the colors, but I feel like you definitely brought an interesting perspective that I hadn’t thought about before, so this was cool.

[@The_Young_Lion]

@DiceTry I’m an avid Yugioh player, however, your videos always leave me wondering about what colors I’d align with if I were to pick up MtG. Great work as always!

[@Will_Morand]

Would love to see a video on the philosophy of color pie breaks

[@DiceTry]

That is a topic I will have to cover for sire

[@TheJamesGamel]

Color pie "breaks" ? What do you mean?

[@Will_Morand]

@@TheJamesGamel Cards that do something the color pie doesn’t technically allow, like Beast Within.

[@johanandersson8252]

Dicetry, i’ll give you this Boros white chocolate and raspberry pie 🥧. If ya pay the 1 😉

[@Bryan-uq4jg]

😁

[@GoingOffTopical]

Drawing a card is turning a page in your spell book, Mill is tearing the pages out and discard is forgetting what you read, burn is igniting the pages and hoping the ink burns, returning to deck is rewriting the pages At least that's my headcanon for why it's called the library, some mages focus on certain spells which is why it's 4 ofs

[@migsmigs2425]

Sylvan Library. Because it grossly and unapologetically violates the color pie. It's a big FU to both black and blue. Edit: Would like to see a video about color pie offenders. Also, very cool content, as always! Keep it up!

[@Unnonamus]

Amazing work going in-depth into why the mechanic works the way it does for each color. I hope there’s more of this type of content to come.

[@DiceTry]

This video seems to be doing well, so looking into other mechanics is something I will do more of

[@revanreborn7626]

“As if looking towards multiple futures and finding the most optimal path forward” While I’m an anti blue player, I liked hearing that a lot

[@goncaloferreira6429]

Amazing video. The colour pie is the core of the amazing game we know as mtg. It offers many important things and ultimately sets the game apart from others that tryed to follow its example. 5:58 "green is the basis to all things". Interesting though. If we equal greeen to life and go back in the colour pie we go from the gift of life, simply existing, to acting to survive by following our needs and impulses, to understanding that life is more than surviving and manaining a body, to seeing knowledge as a tool to gain an advantage over others, to reachinga state when one can surpass our more basic selves and build a fair community, improving nature itself.

[@kingmostofall5921]

Yeah dude. I deal in the abstract nature of life, and this vid hit home. I would love more stuff like this.

[@garak55]

6:00 ok but more realistically, Mark rosewater is a green mage and he just wants his pet colour to do everything.

[@makeitmeta4039]

You should do a video like this. But about life gain. And what it actually truly resembles in the game & on cards like "Nissa's renewal" "angels mercy" and "heroic reunion" I feel it's less about phisical heath and more about sanity to some extent Love to see your take on it

[@DiceTry]

Yeah with how well this video did, I am thinking a new series is in order, one where I break down other mechanics

[@Ktjnn]

A classic card that displays the concept of cards relating to knowledge is the Artifact Scroll Rack. You put your scrolls down, take new scrolls out, and put the ones you were studying away.

[@TheJamesGamel]

Being honest, this isn't my favorite video, but I do see the detail and beauty in this discussion you present to us all. I do think you did a very good job with this topic. Being as thorough and as mindful as you have been in this video, it definitely shows growth and learning on your part. Looking back at your original videos (before being hidden away), you really have improved and contributed quite a bit to this often overlooked side of a game we all love.

[@yairgomez9090]

This video is such an incredible piece of content, congratulations on such a Nice work

[@DiceTry]

Thanks, a lot of work went into it.

[@VultureXV]

Card draw is an important mechanic in this game because it turns typical "luck of the draw" into a strategic minigame involving you and unknown variables. The more consistent your ability to draw, the more you can cycle through potential outcomes or pull a response to something previously unknown out of nowhere. It is why this game feels more like a challenge of "skill" or "intellect" rather than dealing with what you have on hand.

[@multicraft8319]

When talking about the best card, blue shouldn't count. I think the best is red and black, do to how well it works with theme.

[@simplysage3562]

Phenomenal vid i really enjoy how you break things down into digestible pieces If i may ask what art did you us at 3:16 would like to get that on a playmat on a white deck inspired by ur white colour identity episode

[@rexo5269]

Dawn of a New Age from the lord of the rings set

[@MariMari-mz8mp]

This is really interesting, wish to see more like this

[@DiceTry]

I will be doing more of these for sure, if you haven't seen it yet, I did a similar video for life gain

[@SWNJim]

Blue is black without the secondary cost or consequence. In fact, it really doesn’t have any consequences anymore. It used to be tired to islands in play (landhome) but the mechanic hasn’t been printed on a new card since Planar Chaos (and it was black, not blue). In fact, since this game’s inception the development has often overlooked blue when it comes to checks and balances. The only Power 9 outside of artifacts, all blue cards. They gave counter spells, universal answers, to a single color. Free casting is primarily in blue, out pacing red almost 2:1 and again where red is limited to certain conditions that must be met, blue has no such limitations. What is blue’s downside?

[@vicio19995]

One of the best card draw i saw is Glimpse from Beyond. Simple but have a lot of uses edit : Corrupted conviction

[@BouncingTribbles]

Have you read any of the novels? Arena was a formative book for me. Any of the oldest magic novels are great, though they might be hard to find now 😂

[@pokegard]

I think green has the most uncertain future because of the amount of reshuffles, basically the lands are certain but not anything else

[@arrowrandoman]

So, how does milling or discrading work in this narrative? Blue cuts people off from their destiny in milling. Black forces others to choose what to give up in forcing discarding. It could even lead into conversation into how the graveyard plays into a relationship with the present of the hand and battlefield and the future held in the library.

[@EnordAreven]

This video convinced me to subscribe

[@DiceTry]

Thanks a lot of work went into it.

[@Altorin]

you can have a Green Harmony But you won't ever have a green Stroke of Genius.

[@csudab]

Damn there’s so much great full size art I don’t know

[@Jewels___]

I would say that the cards are representations of power, and that's it. Cards in had are the power you can leverage now, as long the proper conditions are met and you have the means to put said leverage to work (mana). The cards in the library are representatives of the power you might acess. The means for acessing such powers varies from color to color. I don't like to see cards and the library as mere "knowledge" because it makes things very confusing with the nature of the blue color. They are the knowledge guys, and for the most part they are pretty much the only ones who god decent card draw with no strings attached or very good card draw when conditions are met. Viewing it all as simple and raw "power" opens up the fantasy-mythological system within Magic in a way that every color can express their ways for harnessing more and more power. White does it through "strenght of the masses" and through balance. Green does it through raw physical strength and size and through communing with nature. Red achieves card advantage through rummaging through their clutter (library lol) and through brash impulsivity (exile top card and one turn to cast). Black will acess more power through working with dubious forces, even by getting hurt in the process or sacrificing those who work for you. And blue are the knowledge guys, who will but their effort (mana) to get more knowledge and therefore power. At least that's how I envision it all in my head and I have my delulu fun with it lol

[@midnalight6419]

White has no card draw because it's cards are just better. White is the color of brutal efficiency. Swords to plowshares, hero of bladehold, stoneforge mystic, wrath of god. White's advantage is right there on the board. Hero is an army in a can, drawing cards by making 2/1 tokens that trade up or just kill your opponent. Wrath of god is an x for 1. Swords is another form of advantage in tempo so you can play more of your better cards.

[@empty5013]

funny that you'd call white the color of brutal efficiency when wotc refuse to print cards like swords or wrath for white any more lol

[@biorage6670]

In the original Magic The Gathering one measure, among others, was the Boon Cycle. One mana instant for 3 of something. They got it right except for blue and the Ancestral Recall and its card advantage. But did they get it wrong..!

[@raigom8691]

In magic lore, who are we as players?

[@noahdapp8423]

Constructive criticism, I think that the background music is too loud. I found it really distracting.

[@Kydrou]

Mine is Accumulated Knowledge

[@cowgirlqueen2636]

They have blurred the color lines and messed up magic with the horizon sets and lotr.

[@iBenjamin1000]

16:39-16:45 Leovold Jumpscare

[@forresttoyne8559]

what card it the art from at 1:20

[@devilzelink]

Thanks for the video! May I ask what the name of the music from we can hear at 13:27 ?

[@joseptrota9731]

And the one in 23:20 as well please!

[@TheBroLuke]

What is the card whose art is shown at 16:54 called?

[@sir_quirkus7206]

“Rezource”

[@BlairsVaultOfStarsAndDreams]

This video basically just confirms for me that MTG Arena partially eliminates the RNG of actual play because the online game *equally* distributes your mana through your deck, so there's no chance of mana pockets or drawing the same card twice. I can't play the online game because it doesn't feel or flow right, because there is no *real* RNG with an online card game.

[@xXSamir44Xx]

As someone that's played a lot of Arena I can tell you that's 100% false.

[@Helldragon789]

What are you on about? Mana flood and screw is absolutely 100% in the game

[@jabulanirobinson4620]

I am jarolifhtfeather!

[@AttackOnTitanlover1999]

??????????????

[@MrCenturion13]

You lost me when you said "impactful".

[@DiceTry]

?