Analysis / Magic: The Gathering — Wedges

White/Black/Green - "Abzan"

WHITE/BLACK/GREEN – "Abzan" - Change? Mortality? It’s something that happens to the lesser folk.\\ Article here

If the colors are in balance, this combination has the potential for great power tempered with spirituality and control. It can also manipulate the cycle of life and death like playing an instrument, and through that true immortality can arise. As might be expected, however, true immortality comes at some kind of high price. It also tends to value hierarchies and genetic elitism thanks to Green/Black social darwinism, Black/White religion influences, and White/Green interdependence structures. This is also the main color combo involved with spirituality, or at least religion, considering Black/White religion (again) and Green's (stronger than Red's) shamanism. This color combination also may take green's predetermination and conservatism angles to extreme levels, with white's rigidity and black's social Darwinism competing with green. So in essence, this color combination can be summed up in four words: hierarchies, spirituality, immortality, and conservatism. Another way to look at Abzan is contrasting it directly with its opposite: the blue/red combination of Izzet is focused on creativity, inspiration, and new ideas; Abzan, conversely, is concerned with preserving the status quo, and the ancient dragons' aspect of endurance.

Canon Examples:

• Doran, the Siege Tower: Even a wall of unliving stone or ice comes to life to lash out at your opponents.
• Ghave, Guru of Spores: You control the waxing of life and waning of death for your creatures.
• Karador, Ghost Chieftain: Even death cannot stop your army. Indeed, it makes it easy to get this guy out.
• Overgrown Estate: It’s not useful anymore? It will feed you. (The taxes were killing you anyway.)
• Teneb, the Harvester: Doesn’t matter who they "belong" to. They’re not done yet, because they haven’t served you.
• The Abzan Houses utilize these colors differently – White is dominant rather than Black, but the strategy is virtually the same: outliving the opponent. The Abzan are tightly-knit clans of various species, who survive the harsh desert by sticking together at all costs. White/Black is a controlling color pair known for slowly bleeding the opponent to death as it drags the game out. Green/White, on the other hand, is a more creature-based pair focused on building up an army. Combining these two strategies, the Abzan focus on stalling the opponent for as long as possible, controlling the game whilst building up their creatures over time with their Outlast mechanic, until the opponent is finally exhausted of resources and cannot stop the massive threats staring them down.
• The Indatha Triome has these colors, but is primarily aligned with Black. Their Boss Monster is a summoner of the dead that goes by the name Nethroi

Fanon Examples:

• Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes from Fate/stay night. He's an overwhelmingly selfish and arrogant man — even being called the most selfish person in the world — who believes that everything in the world belongs to him, from all the world's riches to all the world's women. Even in life, his famous legend was a Black one, a desperate hunt for immortality... but one that ends with the Green realization and acceptance that even he is mortal and must die. In his time, though he was an incredibly successful ruler, he was a monstrous tyrant who indulged his own desires and was despised by his people until he mellowed out following his acceptance of mortality, becoming a wise king who worked himself to the bone for his people and would sacrifice his own life for the greater good, as shown in Fate/Grand Order. But in Fate/stay night, he remains the monstrous king of his youth, believing that human worth has been diluted because there are so many humans on Earth, many of which have no purpose, saying that the golden age he ruled over was perfect, in which everyone, even the weakest slave, had a place. To return the world to this golden age, he wishes to use the Grail to wipe out most of humanity so he can rule over the strong survivors, showcasing the worst aspects of Green as the color of regression and Social Darwinism. He even goes so far as to say that equality is a lie and that there are people who are fundamentally better than others, a belief that is Black/Green to the core and captures him at his worst and most selfish, though he certainly has his more altruistic moments, only showcasing such malice thanks to his loathing of the modern era (another Green trait).
• Dwight Schrute wants nothing more than to increase his own standing within a certain social order. He prizes being the top paper salesman, and has his eyes on the position of regional manager — and he takes an equally ruthless approach to both. What stops him from being simply white/black is his background as a beet farmer, which keeps him down to earth, in an almost animalistic way. Dwight's color identity also tags him as a perfect foil to the very blue/red Jim Halpert.
• A heroic example is Gintoki Sakata, whose entire life philosophy is very Green - he knows his place in life, strongly values those who are true to themselves, doesn't strives for anything except living on the present with those he holds dear, keeps a strong sense of tradition throught the series and actively fought change represented as the Amanto invasion. That said, he's still a samurai with a strong sense of honor and duty and a desire to protect those he holds dear which gives him his White traits, while also having strong Black traits since he's a hired sword who will gladly use underhanded tactics or even kill to achieve his White goals and ignore the morals of the world around him if it aligns with his own ideals or offers him personal profit.
• Konrad Curze, the Night Haunter, spent his early years as a sadistic vigilante, bringing order and justice to his crime-ridden home planet through fear. He believed that justic was necessary for an orderly, peaceful, and stable society (White), but that these things could only be brought about through terror, and ruthlessly murdered criminals the planet over until the entire populace was too scared to commit crimes (Black). However, his real Fatal Flaw was fatalism: he saw visions of the future that he believed must come true, and never even tried to see if he could change them (he could've). It reaches a point where he allows himself to be killed by an assassin, because he foresaw his death that way, and believed he could "prove" he was right by letting her kill him.

Blue/Red/White - "Jeskai"

BLUE/RED/WHITE – "Jeskai" - A smart man follows the plan. A wise man changes it as he goes along.\\ Article here

Masters of Confusion Fu, the Indy Ploy, and Xanatos Speed Chess, the Jeskai combine Red's fast-hitting and aggressive tactics with Blue's careful planning and White's versatility. They are the epitome of the Subversive faction in Faction Calculus, using unorthodox methods to radically alter the way the game is played and turn alliances on their head, all while being able to quickly adapt to any new situation. Blue/Red/White tends to be the more progressive color combination, rejecting the social darwinism of Black and Green while embracing the passion and freedom of Red, the intellect and self-actualization of Blue, and the justice and egalitarianism of White. Their adaptability and cleverness make this color combination a powerful ally — and an equally dangerous opponent.

Canon Examples:

• Lightning Angel: Miss America? No; the US Air Force — always ready and incredibly fast.
• Numot, the Devastator: Your opponents can't stop your plans if they don't have the resources to respond to them.
• Ruhan of the Fomori: Extremely unpredictable and skilled in combat, what at first appears to be a creature driven by conflict for its own sake (Red) quickly becomes a creature uniquely suited to political machinations and trickery (Blue and White) when combined with several key cards. Enchant it with one of the vow cycle and donate the vow with Zedruu, or use one of blue/white's numerous flicker effects to keep him from attacking someone you want alive.
• Zedruu the Great-hearted: Grant aid to other players and turn it into a mutual advantage. Or alternatively, give them a "gift" that will leave them with a headache.
• The Jeskai Way offers an alternative depiction of this wedge. Here, Blue is dominant rather than Red, and the focus is mainly one of trickery and deception. The Jeskai are an order of monks that live high in the mountains of Tarkir, studying mystic teachings in order to achieve enlightenment. Blue/Red and White/Blue are two color pairs that are traditionally more focused on spells rather than creatures; the Jeskai take this approach and add an aggressive element to it (i.e. creatures). The result is Prowess, the Jeskai mechanic, which can make a creature bigger for each non-creature spell that is played.
• The Raugrin triome in Ikoria has these colors, with an emphasis on Red; in fact, it seems to operate on Red Ones Go Faster. Its Boss Monster is Vadrok
• Guile...from Street Fighter. Sure, one could look at his color alignment and get a chuckle out of it because he's American, but there's more to it than that. Guile serves in the armed forces (White), and is a Pilot^note despite his creature type saying otherwise, as Pilot is a creature type as of Kaladesh block (Blue), and despite his Trash Talk towards his opponents suggesting they do so, he is very much a family man, as well as driven by fighting for his (at points) fallen friend Charlie Nash (Red).

Fanon Examples:

• A concrete, yet non-MTG character example would be Solf J. Kimblee. He embodies the Mad Artist personality so visceral to Blue/Red, yet the extreme relevance of his code of honour firmly aligns him with White (no matter how bizarre said moral code is, he is far too fervently devoted to it to be just Blue/Red). Add in Blue Lack of Empathy and White Moral Sociopathy, and you have a villain that even your average Black-aligned overlord cowers in fear from. Besides, these three colours most invoke Light Is Not Good.
• The Protomen interpretation of Dr. Light uses his intellect in order to create robots for the betterment of mankind, supported by a strong moral center and a willingness to help the people of the city. He is also very passionate about liberating the city once Wily takes his work and uses it to create a dystopia, determined to set the people free even when he's nearly lost all hope.
  • Dr. Light in general seems to be this. He believes in creating a better, peaceful world (white) through the use of robots and other technology, but also values free will (blue) and emotion (red), which he wants to pass on to robots.
• The Demon King is another example. Her intelligence and propensity for scientific and non-confrontational solutions to problems marks her as Blue. Her passion for her work, empathy for her fellows, clear delight in relationships, and her bouts of insecurity and jealousy mark her as Red. Finally, her strong moral compass and belief in peace, stability, and order are unmistakably White.
• As explored here, Lord Shen is a good example of a Jeskai villain, since he is driven by his own whims, is reckless and short-sighted, and ultimately all he's doing is sticking it to his parents and the Soothsayer (red), is a perfectionist that rejects fatalism (blue), and has a moral code that only furthers him, trying to justify all he's done as necessary sacrifices (white).
• While most of the protagonists from Jojos Bizarre Adventure would qualify for at least some of the colors in the combination, Joseph Joestar fits perfectly well into the Jeskai color combination, especially in his youth. A naturally impulsive individual, he appears at first glance to be not much more than a delinquent with a very hot temperament and a very laid-back attitude (red), he is still just as honourable and selfless as his grandfather before him, and just as willing to fight for a just cause (white). Beyond this, he is also a bit of a geek, and a Genius Bruiser who makes a catchphrase out of correctly predicting what his opponent is going to say next (blue). Combine this with a healthy dose of Indy Ploys, a trickster nature (Blue/Red), and channeling of The Power of the Sun through his attacks (White), and you have Joseph Joestar during his younger years. And while he may have mellowed out a bit with age, he still fits pretty well, even in his 60s.
• On his blog, Mark Rosewater has noted that he considers Iron Man, Ant-Man, Indiana Jones (previously defined as just blue/red by him), and Leonard "Bones" McCoy to be examples of Jeskai colored characters.
• Jean-Michel Roger, the chess-obsessed head of Security, starts off as almost pure White-Blue, constantly having to be in control and going to extremes to keep the social status quo, even if that means imprisoning innocent people or planting mind-control chips in his underlings. He also develops extremely advanced technology to further his goals. However, when things don't go his way, oh boy, do we see his emotional Red side come out.
• Twilight Sparkle generally fits this color combination in most of her appearances: her love of learning and general aptitude towards logic-based thinking place her squarely within blue, while her sometimes obsessive focus on order and organization place her within white's domain. Like red, however, she also has a tendency to live very closely to her own emotions and is readily willing to let them guide her actions, whether it be extending compassion to a former foe or freaking out over the smallest frustrations and anxieties.
  • There's less canon material to work from, especially as the writers intended her as a one-note one-shot, but Sunset Shimmer has developed along these lines as her villainous behaviour needed to be explained. As much as she initially seemed to follow straight black, especially by avoiding friendship... so did Twilight. Hard. The difference was that Twilight was raised to see herself as an isolated student and researcher whose life's work would be used by "the system" to benefit ponies. Sunset was raised aware of politics, the flaws in the system, and the need for leadership. She thought she knew her future place, kept falling short of her standards for it, kept misunderstanding being pushed towards ponies who either couldn't keep up with her or would just be at risk of getting hurt (maybe by her). It isn't until recovering from her slow, long breakdown that we can see it as a breakdown and the levels of responsibility she'd been prematurely trying to take on. She's more red while Twilight's more white, but they share the same colors.
• Undyne from Undertale. A fishwoman/merfolk who is the leader of the Royal Guard (white), she initially comes off as cold and single-minded in her pursuit of the player (blue). But then you get to the first big monologue from her and you find out she's a very red wannabe Shonen Hero, complete with bombastic speeches and loud, over-the-top displays of emotion. Hell, even her theme is Hot-Blooded.
• Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man is a Jeskai-flavoured hero if ever there was one, especially the PS4 version, which places a greater emphasis on his Blue use of high-tech gadgets to fight crime than most other versions of the character. He's also a very promising budding young scientist in his somewhat-neglected civilian life as Peter Parker, but also displays a very Red enthusiasm for his work as a vigilante who wins fights through the aforementioned combination of Confusion Fu and Indy Ploy. In fact, he's so enthusiastic that his personal life as Peter is kind of a mess due to being shoved aside to make room for his super-hero work. The game also highlights his White aspects by making him more actively involved with the NYPD thanks to his Friend on the Force Captain Watanabe and a desire to work with the police whenever possible. The very end of the game also showcases the more extreme White methodology when he has to choose between using the Devil's Breath cure he got from his fight with Doctor Octopus to either save the life of Aunt May at the cost of not being able to use it to make a vaccine for the thousands of other people Otto infected, or to let her die so the vaccine can be created. While he is naturally tempted to give in to selfishness and save May, in the end he chooses to let her die (with her blessing) so that more people can be saved. This is what distinguishes him from his former mentor Otto Octavius, who by the end of the game has placed his selfish, petty desire to "beat" Norman Osborn at any cost above all other concerns.
• Aelita in Code Lyoko is a sympathetic example, but also one that shows some of the weaknesses of this wedge. She is extremely intelligent, with superhuman computer programming abilities and a brilliant tactical mind. She is also very selfless, entirely willing to die to save the world or her friends. Finally, she is deeply passionate, with a deep enjoyment of life's pleasures, a fierce loyalty to her friends, and a sweet love of Jeremy. However, these traits frequently cause problems for her. Particularly in season 2, Aelita is often a Martyr Without a Cause who will give up her own life for pointless reasons. A mix of red recklessness and white self-sacrifice leads her to devalue her own life and put herself in unnecessary danger. Blue secrecy and deception worsens this, as her friends will often be in the dark about Aelita's plans until it is too late. Character Development gradually reduces Aelita's impulsiveness and selflessness.
• Sayori heavily values emotions and connections with others (Red), regards others as a whole community to selflessly help (White), and can be surprisingly manipulative (Blue) in pursuit of these goals. Her depression causes her to overthink about how good and selfless of a person she really is. The "raincloud" metaphor helps with this additional touch of Blue.

Black/Green/Blue - "Sultai"

BLACK/GREEN/BLUE – "Sultai" - I'm gonna hit you in ways you can't even comprehend.
Article here

What happens when you have a hard core of Green's naturalistic brutality coated in Blue planning and Black ambition? You have a savage in a well-tailored suit, who can pass for civilized in a good light, and can outthink or outwit many "smarter" foes thanks to killer instincts — but those instincts come from the primal nature of the person. G/U/B makes the perfect hunter, able to use its intelligence to adapt to any environment, with a mean streak a mile wide.
Canon Examples:

• Damia, Sage of Stone: No, really, don’t look her in the eye.
• Fungal Shambler: Smash and grab.
• The Mimeoplasm: Anything you can be, it can be greater. Sooner or later, it’s better than you.
• Vorosh, the Hunter: OM NOM NOM NOM NOM
• The Sultai Brood shows what happens when Black dominates the trio rather than Green. The Sultai are a lavish empire of conquerors, slavers, and necromancers living in the jungles of Tarkir who scheme on dominating the entire plane. Black/Green is associated with graveyard matters, and Blue/Black is home to the most powerful “milling” spells in Magic (putting cards directly into a graveyard from a library). Combining these two creates a strategy revolving around a player milling themselves, and then using that massive graveyard as a resource. The Delve mechanic turns the Sultai's graveyard into a mana pool; the more cards exiled, the cheaper a spell becomes to play.
• The Zagoth triome is this, and is dominant on Green. Its Boss Monster is a Brokkos, a hard-hitting beast with Resurrective Immortality.

Fanon Examples:

• Queen Chrysalis has the savagery that makes her unable to comprehend love (aside from being a food source) of Green, the manipulation skills and adaptability (thanks to shape-shifting abilities) of Blue, and the ambition for conquest of Black.
• Victor Creed aka Sabertooth, the Arch-Enemy of Wolverine. He's a savage beast at heart with no regard for anyone else. He also effortlessly manipulates everyone around him to his advantage. The worst mistake anyone can make when dealing with Victor (aside from dealing with him in the first place) is to assume he's just Dumb Muscle. It's also usually the last mistake they ever make.
• Frankenstein's creature is a tragic example of this color trio. Born of green/blue's natural-plus science, he begins his life insatiably curious about the world and the sensations around him (blue). He also begins as a peaceful creature desiring only harmony with others and the satisfaction of his instincts (green). After growing to understand more and more, he begins to delve into thoughts of his own purpose and self-identity, which turn to bitter despair when he realizes that humans will never accept him because of his appearance (black). When he resolves to be the monster humankind sees him to be, he proves himself devious, calculating, and ruthless to Victor, the target of his revenge (blue/black).
• DIO Brando is an excellent villainous example, reaching this point in his colors by the time of Stardust Crusaders. Originally Black/Red with elements of Blue, Dio during Phantom Blood was driven by ambition and spite, seeking to rise up to the top of the world at any cost, using his guile to succeed, but falling into pointless violence, drinking binges, and fits of blind, childish rage. However, after being defeated by Jonathan, Dio begins to change, growing to believe that the brother he had once viewed as below him was a fated opponent of his, and by the time of Stardust Crusaders, this belief has spread to the entire Joestar bloodline. He has also dropped his Red in favor of focusing on Blue, becoming increasingly pragmatic, rational, and calm, fighting using his power over time — a Blue power — in pursuit of his dreams of power. The potentially non-canon light novel Over Heaven expands on his belief in fate and establishes that Dio's ultimate goal is to find some way to seize control of his own destiny, potentially by gaining the ability to see the future and therefore avoid any undesirable fates so that he may always win — a goal just as Black as it is Blue.
  • While Yoshikage Kira is also Blue/Black/Green, his colors showcase themselves much differently than Dio's. A paraphilic serial killer spoiled by his parents, Kira is obsessed with blending into society, even going so far as to compare his ideal life to that of a plant, left to mind its own business, but his need to kill consumes him and prevents him from doing so. He blames his murders on his own miserable fate as being born with an obsession with women's hands, and cares little for the morality of what he does, rationalizing it as all perfectly fine. What drives him into further Green depths is his intense belief that both fate and luck are on his side, but he does not completely depend on either, using his own intelligence to think his way out of desperate situations, believing that so long as he stays calm and rational, he can get out of any bad situation. His ultimate power, Bites the Dust, is both Blue and Green, an ability that allows him to reset time for up to a day and make it so that whatever happens in each loop is destined to happen again in the next... including death.
• Megamind is what happens when you add fatalism to an Evil Genius.
• Voldemort of Harry Potter can be considered this. He is very selfish and an example of Ambition is Evil, which would make him Black, while also being a competent schemer who is good at setting up traps (which is Blue). However, Voldemort's pureblood supremacy is a green philosophy. It is concerned with the supposed "natural order" and people's "proper" place in society. While the black is probably dominant considering Voldemort's extreme self-interest and occasional hypocrisy (to the point where Mark Rosewater considers him to be an example of a Mono-black character in popular culture), Voldemort is a Sultai villain through and through.
• A much more heroic example is the Receiver organization. They value the bonds and interdependence between humans (Green), the bond between the mind and body (Blue/Green), the lifetime refinement (Blue) of Mindtech, and the use of mental strength to safely handle even the most dangerous of tools for advancement of the self (Black).
• Calvin's character is deep enough to defy easy classification, but he most strongly falls into these colors. He's a textbook Brilliant, but Lazy character, smart and full of imagination but who despises boring classwork and the demands of adults, is frequently shown to be a jerk to Susie, is cunning enough to circle around Moe (or at least make the resulting beating Worth It) and trick Rosalyn into being locked out of the house, and can produce some brilliant written work when it's about a subject he likes (such as tigers or dinosaurs), as well as masterfully crafted if disturbing snow sculptures, all of which would put him into the Dimir camp normally. What adds Green to the mix is his philosophical introspectives and reflections on the state of the world and society, wisdom which goes far beyond his years (Green is the color of wisdom, compared to Blue's knowledge), and he is shown time and time again to have a fondness for nature and the outdoors. And while he may clash with his parents, he still loves them and looks up to them in times of need. And of course, he really, really cares about Hobbes.
• The world of Scorn is a horrifying example of this combination. It's set in the ruins of an old civilization that's implied to have been obsessed with the process of reproduction and the creation of life. This civilization relied heavily on advanced biomechanical structures, to the point where its technology is made almost exclusively of organic tissue. Humans (if we can call them that) were mass-produced in an automated process, which continues in the present, even in the hellish and clearly dysfunctional state of the world. In the game, the player characters face the consequences of the world's disrepair and are forced to torture and sacrifice other creatures in order to find a way to escape it.
• Sergei Kravinoff, better known as Kraven the Hunter, a ruthless and deviously cunning man who has devoted his life to the hunt, seeking continually greater and greater challenges, all while running his own private army/cult of personality equipped with cutting edge technology and vast resources. When he's diagnosed with a fatal brain tumour, Kraven refuses to die on any terms other than his own, and comes to New York hoping one of the city's many superhumans will be able to give him the death he desires, but instead ends up killing a good portion of the first game's villains in disappointment. While he eventually focuses on Spider-Man after the webslinger gains the Black Suit, and stops at nothing to arrange a showdown, Peter manages to rise above the symbiote's influence and discards it, an act which leads inevitably to the creation of Venom. Kraven ecstatically takes the monster on, and after a long and brutal fight, gets exactly what he wanted; death at the hands of a superior hunter. Kraven's philosophy, planning and tactical skills, and dedication to his ambitions at the cost of all else, make him easily one of the darkest examples of this colour combination in recent memory.

Red/White/Black - "Mardu"

RED/WHITE/BLACK – "Mardu" - Vengeance is mine, sayeth the player.
Article here

White's desire for order and community, Black's drive and ambition for greatness (at any cost), and Red's passion and emotion. Combine these, and you have a recipe for a for war, and that's exactly what you'll find in the Mardu Horde, a clan constantly engaged in warfare and raids on other clans, bound by the Edicts of Ilagra: To conquer is to eat, To rule is to bleed, Victory or death. Among other things, this combination embodies vengeance, justified or otherwise. Hypocrisy is likely, but so too is fervent sincerity. Honor is also something that can fill up the agenda of someone that follows this combination, with Black's selfishness, Red's emotional (in)stability, and White's bigotry. Finally, White's authoritarianism, Black's selfishness, and Red's emphasis on passion can come to represent brutal dictatorships. On the flip side, it can result in the opposite; a violent protector, guided by White's morality, driven by Red's passion, and wielding Black's pragmatism to see justice done, and damn any rules that say otherwise.
Canon Examples:

• Fervent Charge: Your creatures hate your opponents so much.
• Oros, the Avenger: He punishes the "unrighteous". Indiscriminately.
• Tariel, Reckoner of Souls: Your opponent’s previous attempts to harm you come back to haunt him.
• The oldwalker Lord Windgrace is a heroic example, combining White's morality and zeal, Red's empathy, and Black's pragmatism to achieve great good in the storylines he was involved with. Though ferocious, closed-minded, and power-craving at times, he was a very reasonable and honourable man, er, panther, a massive contrast to the usual stereotype associated with this combination.
• Kaalia of the Vast: As presented in the two-part Uncharted Realms story "The Stonekiller", she was a child from new Bant whose family had been taken by Grixis hordes, and had been rescued by Naya Nacatl. Losing both, she is now on a righteous crusade against Grixis.
• The Mardu Horde provides a different take on this color trio, with the dominant color being Red rather than White. The Mardu are a legion of roaming mercenaries and bandits who live to fight, plunder, and conquer anyone they can find. They combine the two most aggressive color pairs in Magic, Red/White and Black/Red, into a hyper-aggressive, super-fast strategy intent on beating the opponent before they can even get started. This strategy is built upon their Raid mechanic, which rewards a player for attacking with a creature every turn.
• Edgar Markov, grandfather of the oldwalker Sorin Markov, and Innistrad's very first vampire. As something of a Shadow Archetype of Sorin, Edgar shares his grandson's Black/White nature; after all, order is necessary to keep the Markov clan alive for thousands of years. But unlike Sorin, whose White alignment lets him believe enough in order to create Avacyn and stop the vampires from driving Innistrad extinct, Edgar is instead just as influenced by Red, which shows in the Markov clan's hedonistic desire for blood and their resentment of the system enforced by Avacyn.
• The Savai of Ikoria have this color scheme, and have a very aggressive playstyle. Their Boss Monster is the giant cat Snapdax.

Fanon Examples:

• The title character from The Count of Monte Cristo is a classical example. He views himself as God's instrument of judgement against the wicked, but everyone he targets is someone who was personally responsible for his unjust imprisonment. On the bright side, he's also intensely loyal to those who stand by him, even going as far as to rescue the one person who sincerely petitioned for his release.
• Satsuki Kiryuuin from Kill la Kill fits this well. Her desire for order and hierarchy are an expression of white, but her pragmatism and unashamed embracing of Junketsu to achieve her goals are black. The red comes from the fervor that shows through her Hot-Blooded speeches and demeanor...and her burning hatred for her controlling, abusive mother, Ragyou Kiryuuin. Righteous indignation, laser-focused selfish desire, and boiling rage unite to make her a force of vengeance against her mother and Life Fibers.
• Similar to Kaalia above, Samus Aran was twice orphaned, first from a Space Pirate attack on her home colony, and second by Space Pirate infiltration of Zebes, driving away her Chozo foster family. Aside from her Chozo-enhanced DNA and her biotechnological power suit, her fervent desire for justice and strong sense of morality (white), her rebellious and stubbornly defiant nature (red), and her pragmatism and drive (black) are what make her The Hunter, an absolute nightmare for the Space Pirates that made her life a living hell.
• Rainbow Dash is a brash, arrogant, hot-blooded speedster (red) that rarely misses an opportunity to stroke her own ego (black). But at the same time, she is fiercely loyal to her friends and loved ones, willing to sacrifice anything, even her own desires, to protect them (white).
• Megatron (well, most of them) is a freer of slaves from oppression, eventually forming them into his armies and turning into a conqueror in his own right. The conquest (black), absolute authority and hierarchy in the Decepticons (white), and rage (red) that drives him (especially noticeable in recent games) make him a fine example of Red-White-Black mentality.
• Handsome Jack is a fine example of this color combination, especially in the sense of his pride and his authoritarian business model. Black ambition? To the core. White authoritarianism? Evident. Red bitchyness? Definitely. (He gets bonus points for his veil of righteousness (that he himself seems to believe in) that does little to conceal his utter selfishness — essentially, the use of White imagery to (attempt to, key word being "attempt") conceal a Black core, with both the pseudo-righteous shell and his true evil drives being fueled by a grandiose Red ego.)
• Kenshiro is a great example (and coincidentally would fit in well with the actual Mardu). He's the originator of Manly Tears, so quite emotional. He will always stop to help a stranger in need and will refuse food from those who need it more than he. Yet, as Rei points out (albeit subtly), Kenshiro is ultimately selfish for pursuing Raoh. As much of a monster as Raoh is, he's not by far the worst man in the Wastes and people under his rule are better off than many others. Not only does pursuing Raoh put Yuria in greater danger, if Ken dies, then the wastes just lost their savior. Ken ignores his advice.
  • He is also very proud of being an assassin (Black) and claims that his strength comes from the sadness of losing loved ones (Red).
• One of the odder examples has to be Sans, from Undertale. During the Pacifist storyline, he's more or less mono-red, just being a lazy jokester more interested in slacking off and making friends with the protagonist than anything else. A hint of his interest in morality shows when he confesses that the only reason he didn't kill the protagonist was due to a promise he made to Toriel and judges the protagonist's actions throughout the game, which would leave him at red/white... unless the protagonist persists in a No Mercy run, in which case Sans decides that he can't afford not to care any more and unleashes every single dirty trick in the book in one last-ditch attempt to frustrate the protagonist into giving up.
• Undyne (at least on the Genocide route) is a more straightforward example from Undertale. She still maintains the passion for fighting and leading the Royal Guard, but Taking the Bullet for Monster Kid, being fatally wounded in the process, and staving off death through sheer Determination to put up a Last Stand against the player are very much black. It doesn't hurt that she comes at you with everything she has in this fight. And, of course, she maintains her Red/White zeal for justice.
• Garrosh Hellscream is a classic example of a White-Black focus on one subgroup, in his case, the Orcs of Orgrimmar, and their betterment, at the cost of everyone and everything else, and going for the direct, vicious, and immediate solution of waging war on anyone not aligned to the Horde to take their resources and land by force, and culling any members of the Horde that dare refuse him, as well as allying with whatever force he needs to claim victory, up to and including consorting with the Old God Y'shaarj and becoming its Willing Channeler.
• In contrary to the above interpretations, Mark Rosewater considers Batman to be this. His goal is to rid Gotham of crime, he works with Commissioner Gordon, builds a small community of like-minded individuals around him, and has a strong moral code he won't break (White), but is trying to accomplish this goal by working outside the law and is driven by his emotions (Red), but also his main motivation is vengeance, he has incredible levels of pragmatism, and openly cultivates an image that allows him to use terror against his enemies (Black).
• Prince Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender. When he first appears in the show, he's consumed by his anger and impatience (Red), as well as his pride and entitlement as Prince (Black), but driven by a desire to serve his country and regain his honor in the eyes of his father (White). What's more, Zuko genuinely believes his country's war is just, as that's what he's been taught (White), and he is willing to use unsavory means, like working with pirates and attacking villages, to get what he's after (Black). His Character Development largely comes from a clash between what he has been taught is right (loyalty and obedience to his country, very White), versus what he believes is right (that innocent people are being hurt by his country's tyranny, Red). He ultimately finds a way to reconcile them when he realizes that the war is just as destructive to the Fire Nation as anywhere else, and decides that overthrowing his father is the best way he can serve his country. Even then, he doesn't completely lose his Black traits, maintaining enough of the Black pragmatism to encourage Aang to kill the Fire Lord, because he believes that it's the only reliable way to bring peace.
• The Assassins Brotherhood from the Assassin's Creed franchise are a nice example of this combination. They believe that only the individual has the ability and right to decide what is best for themselves (Black) and should be permitted to strive for it as long as it doesn't hurt anyone (Red). From this, we have a part of their creed: "Nothing is true (Black). Everything is permitted (Red)." But this is only one part. The Assassins follow strict codes of honor and discipline (White). The bulk of the creed is about that. "Stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent. Hide in plain sight, be one with the crowd. Never compromise the Brotherhood." (Super ultra White)
• Wataru Kurenai is a heroic example, embodying positive traits of all colors, even Black. He starts the show as a firm believer in Rousseau Was Right (White) while also being pretty wimpy when not fighting. As the story progresses, we see more of his Red in his feelings for the people he loves and his passion for music. The addition of Black gives him the backbone he needed so much while also making him ambitious (in a healthy way). Since he is a half-human/half-Fangire, he wants to find a way for the two species to coexist (White) while also seeking his own path in life, without being trapped by the limitations of both races (Black).
• Tomura Shigaraki of My Hero Academia develops into this over time. He actually starts out as a standard Rakdos villain, with no real motivation beyond death and destruction for their own sake, something that other villains deride him for; with time, however, he gathers a group of True Companions to whom he is fiercely protective and loyal, and the foundations of a real ideal and goal: destroy the hero-centric society, and rule over the anarchy as king with his friends and followers by his side.
• In the Green Day album American Idiot, the protagonist Jesus of Suburbia is this. He is severely rebellious, hating the "city of the dead" he lives in and wanting to radically change society. He is a hedonistic drug user, but he also has a devotion to changing the world for the better, if not a good plan for how to do this. In the end, JOS is too rebellious for his own good and accomplishes nothing, making him the true "American Idiot." This character demonstrates how the blind rage of the Mardu can prevent their good intentions from accomplishing anything.
• It's gradually revealed that the Dark Knight class in Final Fantasy XIV is intended to be this; for all their cynicism, the Dark Knights were formed as vigilantes aiming to bring justice to those the law wouldn't, channeling their passion and rage against societal injustice into power, especially against those who hide behind law and authority.
• The musical Hamilton portrays the titular founding father as this, showing the flaws of the warlike Mardu once the war is over. He has a strong moral code and wants to set up an effective government for the fledgling US, but he is also very ambitious and wants to secure his personal glory in the new nation. He is also a Rebellious Rebel with a nasty temper that flares up at inopportune occasions. Unlike the passive Burr, he is aggressive and draws attention to himself, which helps his political ambitions quite a bit. However, his sharp temper makes it hard for him to work with others, and leads to him making problematic impulsive decisions. As Washington says, "winning is easy, governing is harder;" Hamilton's aggressive Mardu philosophy is well-suited to war but not to government.

Green/Blue/Red - "Temur"

GREEN/BLUE/RED – "Temur" - Passion for understanding the world is how we become stronger and wiser.
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Take Blue/Green desire for growth and add Red's emotions. Mix to a consistency where the process of growth becomes fun and engaging. This combination seems to represent dreaming, souls, illusion becoming reality, and surrealism. Unusual ways of gaining card advantage or gathering more powerful creatures abound. Recreational exploration is also something that Temur tends to be interested in, with Green's direct representations of the concept on the cards themselves and Red/Blue desires for experimentation. Conversely, Temur is unconcerned with white ideals like the rule of law and sense of community, and similarly lacks the dedicated planning and goal-focused ambition of black.
Canon Examples:

• Animar, Soul of Elements: Anything that isn’t one of the more primal elementals can go away. We’re makin' big creatures.
• Guided Passage: Yes, you know everything I know. You still have to give me something for it.
• Intet, the Dreamer: My dragon had a dream. It was about a secret way to beat you up.
• Maelstrom Wanderer: ...okay, what the hell was that?
• Riku of Two Relections: Which one’s the real one? (Hint: both.)
• The Temur Frontier represents this wedge differently, with Green being dominant rather than Blue. The Temur are a group of nomads and mystics who live in the icy wastes of Tarkir, battling wild beasts and communing with their ancestors via a mystic art called “whispering”. Green/Blue and Red/Green are the two best mana-ramping color pairs in Magic; utilizing both, the Temur can summon the biggest creatures imaginable faster than any other color combination, and then proceed to smash the bewildered opponent’s face in with them. Their mechanic, Ferocious, makes spells more powerful if the player controls a creature with power 4 or greater.
• The Ketria triome shares this color. Their Boss Monster is the reality-warping wish-granting Illuna.

Fanon Examples:

• Fran Madraki shows how the colors intersect, the blue part of her manifests in her constant studying to attain green goals of preserving and improving life whatever the cost, and the red part of her manifests in her passionate dedication and ability to come up with unorthodox solutions; this also shows the downside of this combination as she gets so caught up in her experiments she can't stop what she is doing and she tends to be focused more on being able to do things rather than the long-term consequences of her actions.
• Professor Ratigan is meticulous and clever enough to stay one step ahead of Basil until the very end. He also displays classic narcissistic traits omnipresent in Blue/Red, and is very refined. Post-Villainous Breakdown, though, we get to see the primal rage that drives him.
• An older example would be Victor Frankenstein. While MaRo sees him as green/blue, a reading of the original novel casts him as far too emotional to be such. Every single decision he makes is based on how he feels, and it's this rashness and lack of regard for the long-term that both creates his creature and prevents a happy ending when he refuses to be the father that the creature needs. In addition to his desire to improve upon nature, he has a sublime appreciation for natural vistas, and it's noted that just seeing the beauty of nature is enough to lift his spirits. He's also intensely appreciative of his family and friends, a trait the creature takes advantage of when executing his revenge.
• The Dragon from The Secret World represent a very peculiar strain of Temur that is best described as "organized chaos". The core of the faction is ostensibly Green - they are very much manipulators of chance and take predestination and chaos theory very seriously, seeing predetermined outcomes as achievable while likewise entirely immutable, on top of being the most "neutral" of the three Conspiracies and the most likely to leave itself independent of the other factions (all traits that are very Green). However, they also take a lot from the Templars' Red and Illuminati's Blue as well - they harness this predetermination through both having plans that hinge on both chance, action, and unpredictable variables (very Red) with meticulous, almost-intentional planning through harnessing the immutable fates of others to pull the strings and pull ahead (very Blue). As noted, nine-times-out-of-ten, their variables of prediction are both hard-fixed yet constantly in flux, meaning they can practically pull ahead and foresee whatever there is to come from the future. It's the one-time-out-of-ten that doesn't go as planned for anyone involved.
• The Beast Titan, otherwise known as Zeke, is a fascinating instance of how the emotional sincerity of Red can be suppressed and masked by philosophies which would invalidate its worth (but not its presence) — an exercise in self-delusion that effectively dilutes one color alignment with the principles of another. To elaborate: From all outward appearances, the Beast Titan is plainly Black/Green/Blue — utilizing the keenly amoral scientific curiosity of Blue towards the affirmation of Green's naturalistic tenets, especially as it relates to eugenics (Green is also rather self-evident in the Titan's bestial nature, but that's beside the point). This core is shrouded by what would appear to be Black's inwardly-focused nihilism and lack of empathy, tying a pretty bow on a neat, reprehensible package. However, at the heart of Zeke's character is something far more complex. In essence, Zeke is an adherent to antinatalism — that it would be better to have never been born at all, resulting from his childhood in an environment where, as an Eldian, he was demonized for existing. Born to parents of a secret ethno-nationalist movement and raised in Marleyan society, two contradictory worldviews were impressed upon Zeke Jaeger. Should Eldians be put to death for the safety of the world at large, or freed from their apartheid oppression? Zeke, who Used to Be a Sweet Kid, yearned more for his father to play catch with him instead of treating his royal-blooded son as the lynchpin for their rebellion. It was only the enjoyment of playing ball with a Parental Substitute that kept Zeke afloat, but ultimately, the boy was forced to betray his mother and father to public security and topple their rebellion to protect himself and his grandparents. The once inquisitive, empathetic youth consolidated those antithetical philosophies to form a cruel Social Darwinist who sees death as freedom and the only meaning of life as biological reproduction, and nothing more. But the Red inherent to his nature did not vanish, as Zeke's strong sense of self helped guide him down that fatalistic road. In actuality, the Beast Titan is driven through the atrocities he commits out of empathy for the people he affects — in his mind freeing them and any children they would have had from what he sees as a cruel, pointless existence. His supposed sociopathy is, in fact, a coping mechanism of his rather than something inherent, and his Gallows Humor and spur-of-the-moment cruelty is more a manifestation of repressed impulsivity. Also spurring Zeke to unprecedented lengths is his brotherly devotion, and it is here that raw emotion clouds Zeke's judgement most noticeably. In the end, it takes a profound philosophical discussion following a prolonged exile amongst PATHS to remind Zeke that even if life's purpose is devoid of sentiment, its small, unimportant pleasures like the action of throwing a baseball to a friend are insurmountably precious. His philosophy shed somewhat, Zeke as The Anti-Nihilist is able to be wholly true to himself and his feelings, basking in appreciation of the world's beauty (a Red/Green sentiment) seconds before his decapitation.