A very late revelation (for you MtG-heads)

[Zaq]

So, I'm sure that I can't have been the first person to notice this, but I just realized that the five colors of standard chromatic dragons match the five colors in Magic: The Gathering. I see that the original 1e Monster Manual (copyright 1978) had the same five chromatic dragons, and Wikipedia tells me that MtG came out in 1993, so the dragons definitely came first. Somehow, I doubt that this is a coincidence. However, I don't actually play MtG and never have—folks have tried to introduce me to it, so I know the barest basics, but I've never built my own deck or anything, and I can't have played more than maybe a dozen matches in my life (and that's generous).

The point is that I don't know to what extent the five colors in MtG bear any relation to the five colors of chromatic dragons, but the realization that they match on the surface has piqued my curiosity. However, I know that there tends to be rather a bit of overlap between D&D players and MtG players, so I figure that it's worth discussing. So, for those of you familiar with both games, to what degree (and in what manner) do the personalities and fluff of the MtG colors match the personalities and fluff of the dragon colors? How deep does this go?

[Theroc]

White Dragons IIRC are big dumb brutes. White in Magic represents Law and Order and at best is Good. (Angels are typically White Creatures).

So, that one at least does not match well at all.

[Cespenar]

Color-coding is a staple of the fantasy genre, but that doesn't mean that one source is copying the other. Although they share the five colors, the reasons behind those colors differ a lot.

To summarize: Chromatic dragons are colored for their elements, while MtG colors represent alignment (at its base, at least).

For example, White Dragon is white because of the ice element, while the white color in MtG is white because it represents life, light, order, etc.

In the same vein:
Green: Poison in D&D, all things natural in MtG
Blue: Lightning in D&D; general wizardry, trickery, air and water in MtG
Red: Fire in D&D; chaos, war, destruction (fire and lightning) in MtG
Black: Acid in D&D; death, evil, etc. in MtG

[Arcanist]

Interesting, I remember once I figured that Nicol Bolas would be a Red Dragon (Half-Shadow/Half-Blue) with the Dragon Breath feat and Loredrake... Worked out pretty well...

Anywho! Yeah its pretty well know that colors in magic don't very well effect colors in D&D even though they exist debatable in the same Multiverse...

[grarrrg]

Actually, the 5 colors aren't (necessarily) chosen because they "mean" something.
They are chosen because they are easily identifiable, and distinct from one another. This extends to virtually ANYTHING that is color coded

Obligatory TV Tropes links: Color Coded Multiplayer (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ColorCodedMultiplayer) Chromatic Arrangement (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChromaticArrangement)
And Wikipedia for added Color-ing-ness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_color)

If 2 colors are needed, then they will almost always be Red and Blue.
If 3 or 4 colors are needed, add Green, then Yellow.

You'll notice that we have the Primary Colors of Pigments (RBY), AND the Primary Colors of Light covered (RBG)

Going up to 5 colors is where the first differences usually appear:
In the case of D&D and MtG, both decided to add Black as the fifth color, which prompted the replacement of Yellow with White.
In the case of Captain Planet's power rings, they added White to RBGY.
Alvin and the Chipmunks/Ducktales Nephews/Powerpuff Girls all use RBG (yes, technically the one Powerpuff Girl is pink, but it's a "girl approved" subset of Red)

Only after the 'main colors' are determined, do we proceed to decide which color means what (i.e. Red = Fire).
Take Avatar: The Last Airbender for example,
Red=Fire, Blue=Water, Green=Earth, Yellow=Air (in the case of Earth/Air it is more prevalent in the Colors the matching Benders wear then the element itself).

[Essence_of_War]

In the same vein:
Green: Poison in D&D, all things natural in MtG
Blue: Lightning in D&D; general wizardry, trickery, air and water in MtG
Red: Fire in D&D; chaos, war, destruction (fire and lightning) in MtG
Black: Acid in D&D; death, evil, etc. in MtG

Awwww I wouldn't call black 'evil'! No color in mtg gets the monopoly on the good vs. evil fight.

Black IS amoral. And while black is probably the most likely color to commit murder, rosewater is pretty sure that white is a close second. Yay fascism. :smalltongue:

[Dimers]

No, no connection beyond a few scattered coincidences. I don't find it hard to believe that two systems (two that became popular, anyway) both used red green blue black white for their five colors.

MtG is much more definitely the inspiration for the five colors/classes of magic in the computer game Master Of Magic. Nature magic was represented by green spell effects and books and nodes, and it focused the most on summoning creatures. The other four follow every bit as well.

If nWoD had color printing in their main hardback books, I'd be curious to see whether (e.g.) covenants or clans also ended up color-coded the same way ... there being five "races" and "classes" in each system.

[Salanmander]

Awwww I wouldn't call black 'evil'! No color in mtg gets the monopoly on the good vs. evil fight.

Black IS amoral. And while black is probably the most likely color to commit murder, rosewater is pretty sure that white is a close second. Yay fascism. :smalltongue:

I think most players would tell you that white is the most closely tied with "good", and black is the most closely tied with "evil". Likewise, red is most closely tied with "chaos" and blue with "law" (or order).

Anyway, looking at the dragons.

Black: Black dragons have skeletal appearance, hang out in swamps, breathe acid, etc. Would probably be a black creature in Magic.
Blue: Hangs out in deserts, the rest of the fluff in the srd is like "hey, these guys like LIGHTNING!". That by itself makes me think red creature, but they're also lawful evil, and they get powers like Halucinatory Terrain, so maybe they'd be blue.
Green: Hangs out in forests, breathes acid. Powers involve plant growth, which leans it towards green, but alignment is lawful, which might make it more black. Toss-up between black creature and green creature in my head.
Red: Red dragons are a classic staple in magic, they're red creatures.
White: This guy would probably be a blue creature, due to being cold-focused.

That said, dragons in general have always tended toward red in magic.

In summary, the colors line up a little bit...but not enough to say "hey look, they based it on the chromatic dragons!"

[sreservoir]

so you have three primary colours, black, and white.

if I had to choose five colours, I'd think I'd go with those even without gaming influence. but then, I'm already biased.

[Cespenar]

MtG is much more definitely the inspiration for the five colors/classes of magic in the computer game Master Of Magic. Nature magic was represented by green spell effects and books and nodes, and it focused the most on summoning creatures. The other four follow every bit as well.

You get +1 point for mentioning Master of Magic.

[Hand_of_Vecna]

Black: Black dragons have skeletal appearance, hang out in swamps, breathe acid, etc. Would probably be a black creature in Magic.
Blue: Hangs out in deserts, the rest of the fluff in the srd is like "hey, these guys like LIGHTNING!". That by itself makes me think red creature, but they're also lawful evil, and they get powers like Halucinatory Terrain, so maybe they'd be blue.
Green: Hangs out in forests, breathes acid. Powers involve plant growth, which leans it towards green, but alignment is lawful, which might make it more black. Toss-up between black creature and green creature in my head.
Red: Red dragons are a classic staple in magic, they're red creatures.
White: This guy would probably be a blue creature, due to being cold-focused.

I think White dragons would be a green creature. There's some precedent for cold element in green and they're the big and dumb one and big tramplers are green's bag.

Also multi color creatures are an option so definitively blue/red for Blue and green/black for Green.

[Honest Tiefling]

I think I remember some frosty dragons being green in the ol' Ice Age set.

...Get off my lawn, whippersnappers.