MTG head designer Mark Rosewater says that Green is “historically” the weakest color, and Wizards of the Coast is taking steps to try and bring it back on par with the other four. This was revealed on the designer’s blog, in a response to a fan’s complaint about ‘pushed’ removal spells the color has recently received.
That’s specifically for Limited MTG formats like Draft and Sealed, we should say. Green isn’t exactly abundant across the best MTG Arena decks for Standard, where right now Blue seems the most dominant color, but it still sees a very strong showing in Modern across decks like Yawgmoth, Amulet Titan, and Domain. Plus, we reckon Green is one of the top two MTG colors for Commander.
But it seems Wizards of the Coast is concerned about the horticulturalist hue’s performance in MTG Draft. “Green historically has been the weakest limited color”, Rosewater said, in a post on April 25. “We’re trying to help fix that”.
Examining a few recent MTG sets on the draft-tracking tool 17 Lands, the statement seems to hold up. For instance, in The Brothers’ War, Simic was the weakest MTG color combination by far, and Blue/Green performed equally dismally in Phyrexia: All Will Be One, where it was followed by another Green pair, Golgari.
You can certainly find sets where Green does well, like Dominaria United, where Green-based Domain decks were prevalent, but it appears that the color has been a rough spot for quite some time. Pick a set from the last five years at random. Look it up on 17 Lands. Chances are, its worst color pair includes Green.
One of the big problems is that Green removal – the traditional ‘fight’ or ‘bite’ spells – is reliant on having big creatures on board. Which is great when you’re already ahead, but it can mean Green decks struggle to turn the tide, especially if their biggest creatures get taken out.
Not so in Outlaws of Thunder Junction, however, where it seems Wizards has made good on its aim to make Green great again. The top color combo in this set is Selesnya, whose mounts (and bomb rares) can easily carry you to victory. In second place comes Golgari, whose traditional graveyard theme is for once not dead on arrival.
Green is an incredibly deep color in Thunder Junction, with essentially zero unplayable cards. Everything from MTG mana ramp spell Dance of the Tumbleweeds (which can also make a massive creature) to Voracious Varmint (fine two-drop that doubles as niche removal) has its place.
For more Magic content, check out our picks for the best MTG commanders, as well as the best MTG cards of all time.