Twyla has set up a small outpost on her corner of the Arena, making herself more comfortable. It feels like the first leg of her journey has come to an end, and she's taking a moment to relax.
On her door, she's proudly tacked two sheets of paper: one's marked TWYLA NGUYEN, TIME JUMPER; the other is a research paper from home. It reads:
On Orange Mana
NEW RAVNICA RESEARCH — RAINBOW DIVISION
RESEARCH IN PROGRESS 14-17-320 NR
** THIS IS A DRAFT. CONTACT NADIJA SI7ION FOR CURRENT UPDATES. **Over the past three months, we've made breakthrough after breakthrough on the subject of the different types of viable mana available on Ilael (informally known as the "mana rainbow"). This is an informal recapitulation of three months of research, the formal counterpart of which will be published for public access on completion of our sixth round of tests.
You'll find that most of the information here is not scientific evidence, but rather observations of other communities here on Ilael and how their mana coincides with their ways of living. A more quantitative approach to the mana discussion is forthcoming.
§1―On OriginsOrange is one of the four colors of mana that are magically viable on Ilael, and, along with blue, orange is one of the only two naturally occurring colors of mana. While blue mana is tapped from the depths of the ocean and from our great islands, orange is tapped from the massive reefs that jut out along the seashore and throughout the ocean, forming an intricate maze of currents.
Reef
Basic Land — Reef
(
: Add ❦.)Unlike the two weak colors,
and
(which can only be produced synthetically), orange and blue resonate so strongly that tapping a single reef or island can produce enough mana to sustain a summon or a continuous enchanting spell for many months.
§2―On IdentityOrange is the color of evening sunsets, of autumn leaves, of salmon returning home. And, like all of these things, orange mana is endlessly cyclical, traveling in predictable spirals, slow and steady.
Notable are its focus on cycles of life and death, cycles of growth and decay. Orange systems of community are primitive, but that is not to say that they are driven only by instinct. Orange views civilization as oppressive, introducing limitless unnecessary complications to the lives of people and creatures who are better off living with the land.
Orange's strengths include stability, consistency, and clarity of purpose. Orange's weaknesses include stubbornness, narrowness and naivety.
Primary in orange:
- Undying
- +1/+1 counters
- Benefits for surviving combat
- Sustainability with very little; bonuses for having few to no creatures
- Survival-of-the-fittest effects (e.g. 3 damage to each creature)
- Direct damage (burn)
- Big creatures, lonely creatures (Exalted)
- Enchantments; enchantment-friendly
- Multityped cards ― land creatures, enchantment creatures, enchantment lands, and so on
Secondary in orange:
- Card draw
- Mana production & land love
- Animating lands
- Circle of life effects (whenever another creature dies, put a +1/+1 counter)
- Direct-from-hand effects
- Direct-from-graveyard effects
- Deathtouch
- Card wealth (and bonuses)
- Graveyard recovery
Orange pseudos:
-
Sunset ― If you have any unspent mana at the end of your turn, [effect].
-
Harvest ― You may play this as a land. If you do, it loses all other abilities and gains "
: Add [mana]."
§3―On RelationshipsIlael's mana rainbow looks like this:
❦. Accordingly, when put in a light chamber or refraction ward, blue mana will rotate to orange first, then green, then white. There are four magically viable colors of high resonance, with several niche colors (red, purple, etc.) whose uses are too fringe and difficult to use that they are not considered to be part of the main rainbow.
It should be remarked that, when used in combination with the other colors, orange has some interesting qualities. Its relationship to the other colors can be described as follows:
Orange and blue: While blue represents the active force of nature, the inexorable movement of the sea and of time, pressing on us all, orange represents the passive, material force of nature. Where orange and blue struggle, it is often because orange's need for permanence and certainty clashes with blue's ever-changing style of innovation. Because orange is so content with being stable, blue often sees it as naive and stubborn. On the other side, orange dislikes blue's emphasis on achieving, learning and changing, preferring to bask in the present, being one with the way of things, never wanting too much and never giving away too much.
Orange and green: Green is the sun rising, orange is the sun setting. Together, the two natural colors represent the calling and the hearing of instinct, orange fostering creation, sustenance, and patience, and green providing ambition, loyalty and community. Where orange and green struggle, it's often because orange favors artificial things that last, in the form of enchantments and artifacts, while green sees these things as shallow and offensive to the natural ways of the world. In addition, orange is absolutely fine being self-sufficient and thrives on its own, while green has the need for an expansive, supportive community.
Orange and white: Orange's and white's ultimate goals are the same―peace and long life. They both care about preservation and self-care. After that, though, their philosophies grow apart. Orange sees white's rigidity and conformity as oppressive, reductive and harmful. Orange is much more flexible, practical and trusting: where white would impose law and order, orange would simply let others live as they want, succeeding and learning only in small amounts that are necessary for their survival. White can see orange as stingy and selfish, but orange sees white's generosity as pointless at best and dangerous at worst.
§4―Conclusion
Our research has taken us far and wide, allowed us to observe countless societies where one, two, three or all four colors were present in the design and function of the community. Through this research, we have gotten a wealth of insight, most of which we've presented here, into orange mana, its capabilities and its limitations. We're still delving deep into the mechanics of orange mana―what we can make of it, how best to use it, and that kind of thing.
Updates forthcoming.
New Ravnican Research — Rainbow DivisionTwyla Nguyen, Research Head
Nadija Si7ion, Rainbow Division Leader;
Thelma Gio, Harriett Jynnis, and Charlie Clade, researchers.
Twyla has unlocked orange mana.
.
