Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica

[Shades of Gray]

Today they announced (http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/guildmasters-guide-ravnica) that one of Magic the Gathering's most beloved settings, Ravnica, is going to be officially adapted for Dungeons & Dragons. Have people tried running Magic-based D&D games using their previous "Planeswalker Guide" series? How has it gone?

I wrote a little thing about D&D and Ravnica (https://zama.blog/2018/07/23/a-dd-players-guide-to-ravnica/), for the D&D players among us who haven't experienced Magic or the Ravnica setting in particular.

As for myself, I based a lot of my current campaign setting off of the Ravnican guild dynamics. So after this game's over, I don't think I'll be having them dip headfirst into another city full of warring Guilds anytime soon.

[MrStabby]

I think the ravnica setting is a superb fantasy world - not sure how well it would mesh with D&D though. I guess we may see.

If it has some good/substantial content I imagine I will get it.

[Eric Diaz]

Here is my LMoP conversion to Ravnica (http://methodsetmadness.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-lost-mines-of-ravnica-i-lost-mines.html), ending with a few adventure seeds.

Great guide, BTW.

[Yogibear41]

Innistrad would have been so much better, but I can see people saying it would just be a rehashed Ravenloft.

Innistrad block is still probably my favorite time period in all of MTG. Except for Invisible stalker, man I hated that card.

[Neknoh]

I can't wait to see what classes and races come of this!

[QuickLyRaiNbow]

I don't play Magic, though I played briefly between 4th and 6th Edition. I don't miss it and I don't remember the lore or particularly care about it.

I'm still pretty happy with this. Hopefully, a world-city setting will have some interesting concepts for large, high density cities that are portable to large cities in other settings.

[noob]

The idea is interesting even if mixing mtg and dnd could be weird.
Like will there be options to tap buildings and swathes of land to cast spells one day?(artificers could do that without being planes-walkers mishra is an example of that)
Oh and will they make an artificer class and a planeswalker template?
Or will planeswalker going to be represented as some sort of mythic progression but in 5e?(and will they do also an epic progression)

[Dr. Cliché]

I liked Ravnica in D&D. The thing is, though, if I was going to run that sort of game, I'd much rather just use the basic setup (a city run by ~10 different guilds), but then use my own ideas for guilds - rather than just using the Ravnica ones. This would also help in terms of making the guilds better fit the D&D world (since they'd be based on the D&D classes and monsters, rather than MTG stuff).



Innistrad would have been so much better, but I can see people saying it would just be a rehashed Ravenloft.

It could perhaps be interesting to have some Innistrad stuff as variant rules for Ravenloft.



Innistrad block is still probably my favorite time period in all of MTG. Except for Invisible stalker, man I hated that card.

I had one but could never find it.

That aside, I also loved Innistrad in terms of both card mechanics and flavour.

[ciarannihill]

They said that guilds were going to be backgrounds as well, which is an interesting way to make backgrounds more character conflict driving than they otherwise can be. They also said that having a guild background would give you contacts within the 10th district, which is where the majority of the setting takes place. That's a really cool way to make people think about their relationship to their guild and why they now have a party of people from potentially opposing guilds.

I'm very excited to see how this is executed, already preordered it on DnD Beyond.

[mgshamster]

Innistrad would have been so much better, but I can see people saying it would just be a rehashed Ravenloft.

Innistrad block is still probably my favorite time period in all of MTG. Except for Invisible stalker, man I hated that card.

An Innistrad supplement has already been released. And it's free.

Link to PDF (https://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/Plane_Shift_Innistrad.pdf)

Supplements released so far:

Plane Shift: Zendikar
Plane Shift: Innistrad
Plane Shift: Kaladesh
Plane Shift: Amonkhet
Plane Shift: Ixalan
X MARKS THE SPOT: A Plane Shift: Ixalan Adventure

[UrielAwakened]

Things I'm hoping for:


A Planeswalker class.
A way to incorporate magic color instead of alignment.
A Niv-Mizzet stat block.

[MrStabby]

Things I'm hoping for:


A Planeswalker class.
A way to incorporate magic color instead of alignment.
A Niv-Mizzet stat block.


I think I would prefer magic colour instead of class spell lists. Actually both could work.

[noob]

A Planeswalker class.
Planeswalker is more a template or a mythic like progression than a class.
But options for wizards(what you were as a mtg player when it started) or artificers(what many of the important characters are) to tap in the power of the lands to do stuff (like artifacts for artificers and spells for wizards) could be fun.

[UrielAwakened]

I think I would prefer magic colour instead of class spell lists. Actually both could work.

That would be great as well: An alternate spell list based on color that each class could share.

I may even homebrew such a thing.

[Dr. Cliché]

A Planeswalker class.

I really hope not.

To my mind, that's like asking for your D&D setting to be coated in the contents of a septic tank.

[noob]

That would be great as well: An alternate spell list based on color that each class could share.

I may even homebrew such a thing.

Colors are quite polyvalent but often have different means to do the same thing so we might even make casters by default have only one color.

[UrielAwakened]

There is certainly overlap but some themes and spell effects are tied just really just one color.

Only red mages do fire. Only blue mages do telepathy. Only green mages deal with nature, etc...

[ciarannihill]

Things I'm hoping for:


A Planeswalker class.
A way to incorporate magic color instead of alignment.
A Niv-Mizzet stat block.


Adding onto this that I'd like a host of new monster statblocks for things like Shambleshark -- Simic creations.

I'm very curious as to how they will incorporate colored mana into it, if they bother to at all or not.

[UrielAwakened]

Adding onto this that I'd like a host of new monster statblocks for things like Shambleshark -- Simic creations.

I'm very curious as to how they will incorporate colored mana into it, if they bother to at all or not.

I think not incorporating colored mana into the setting in some way would be a huge lost opportunity. I'd probably be one of many homebrewing ways to incorporate it if so.

[Dr. Cliché]

Adding onto this that I'd like a host of new monster statblocks for things like Shambleshark -- Simic creations.

This is the thing - Ravnica has a ton of monsters and abilities that really aren't represented among the current D&D ones. It seems like you'd really need a whole new monster manual just for that.

Perhaps they could just release a few new monsters and then some templates to turn other monsters (and classes?) into those of the appropriate guild?

It would also be interesting to see how they'd work the Ravnica mechanics into D&D. For example, what would Dredge be in a D&D setting?

[ciarannihill]

This is the thing - Ravnica has a ton of monsters and abilities that really aren't represented among the current D&D ones. It seems like you'd really need a whole new monster manual just for that.

Perhaps they could just release a few new monsters and then some templates to turn other monsters (and classes?) into those of the appropriate guild?

It would also be interesting to see how they'd work the Ravnica mechanics into D&D. For example, what would Dredge be in a D&D setting?

They'll probably do something along those lines, yeah -- but I'd be very excited to see them go a little further wit it as well. Also very curious to see who they put in the setting as named NPCs -- Niv-Mizzet, Domri Rade, Aurelia, etc.

I'm also super curious about new player options, for example: In M:tG, Pyromancy is inborn, it's not taught (as we see with Chandra's history), so a Pyromancy Sorcerer archetype could absolutely be a thing. Artificer would be right at home here as well.

New appropriate races could be very cool as well! Aasimar based on the Boros Angels, Gorgons based on the Sisters of Stone Death or Vraska, Undead based on Jarad and his sister, Vedalkin!! I'm really excited even just from a casual game designer to get into the nuts and bolts of how they decided to execute on the concept of this.

[Moredhel24]

Don't know much about Mtg having only played a handful of times but will still buy if only to steal stuff for my own setting. The character on the cover looks like an artificer to me so maybe we'll get an official artificer release. There's supposed to be an artificer ua w/in the next month or so (thanks grog for that info) and that'll probly get added to the eberron guide which is playtest material so not offical?

[Sariel Vailo]

Planeswalker Guide" series?

This is a thing?

[UrielAwakened]

This is the thing - Ravnica has a ton of monsters and abilities that really aren't represented among the current D&D ones. It seems like you'd really need a whole new monster manual just for that.

Perhaps they could just release a few new monsters and then some templates to turn other monsters (and classes?) into those of the appropriate guild?

It would also be interesting to see how they'd work the Ravnica mechanics into D&D. For example, what would Dredge be in a D&D setting?

Dredge is essentially trading spells remaining for spells used.

Essentially I could see it as just spending lower-leveled spell slots to get back a higher-leveled one. But maybe it has to be *the same* spell you already cast. Like you don't get the slot back, you get that exact spell back and that spell only.

[Dr. Cliché]

Dredge is essentially trading spells remaining for spells used.

Not really - bear in mind that it's primarily used to get creatures back. There are far more creatures with Dredge than there are spells with Dredge.



Essentially I could see it as just spending lower-leveled spell slots to get back a higher-leveled one. But maybe it has to be *the same* spell you already cast. Like you don't get the slot back, you get that exact spell back and that spell only.

Eh, to my mind that's really far removed from both Dredge and the theme of the Golgari guild.

[solidork]

Dredge is one of the most esoteric mechanics in Magic and doesn't even really make sense there so trying to replicate it in D&D is a fools errand imo.

[UrielAwakened]

But creatures are spells when they're not on the battlefield.

Everything in a deck is a spell except land. Creatures are just spells that summon creatures and mechanically there's no reason you can't have Dredge on a not-creature.

Everything in magic revolves around spells because every planeswalker is basically a D&D caster. Even Gideon is a caster who specializes in amplifying his own body with magic. There's just a ton of conjuration spells.

[Dr. Cliché]

But creatures are spells when they're not on the battlefield.

That's incorrect. They're only spells at the time you actually cast them.

At all other times they're just creature cards.

[ciarannihill]

That's incorrect. They're only spells at the time you actually cast them.

At all other times they're just creature cards.

You are correct, they are "cards" in the library, "spells" on the stack and "creatures"/"permanents" while on the battlefield...But I get the impression this is not the forum to get into the nuances of M:tG rules, lol. And there are non-creature Dredge cards -- Life from the Loam for example.

I get the feeling they won't be using the specific mechanics of Ravnica or RTR for this, the setting and colored mana is probably as far as they'll go with emulating the game mechanics...

I mean I'd be interested in being wrong, but I don't think they'll got that far unless they made class archetypes based off the guilds, in which case maybe they could involved the mechanics into those archetypes. A "Detain" mechanic for Paladins or Clerics could be nifty, and something like "Scavenge" for a Golgari Druid could be an interesting way to make use of dead enemies to grant temp HP to party members or something.

[UrielAwakened]

Oh wow I've been asking the wrong questions.

Better question: When do we get the first Magic the Gathering release set in Eberron?


You are correct, they are "cards" in the library, "spells" on the stack and "creatures"/"permanents" while on the battlefield...But I get the impression this is not the forum to get into the nuances of M:tG rules, lol. And there are non-creature Dredge cards -- Life from the Loam for example.

I get the feeling they won't be using the specific mechanics of Ravnica or RTR for this, the setting and colored mana is probably as far as they'll go with emulating the game mechanics...

I mean I'd be interested in being wrong, but I don't think they'll got that far unless they made class archetypes based off the guilds, in which case maybe they could involved the mechanics into those archetypes. A "Detain" mechanic for Paladins or Clerics could be nifty, and something like "Scavenge" for a Golgari Druid could be an interesting way to make use of dead enemies to grant temp HP to party members or something.

Someone astutely recognized on the magictcg subreddit that they've already been secretly previewing Ravnica content through UA articles.

Centaurs and Minotaurs are the new races for Selesnya and Boros. The Order Domain for Clerics is aligned with Azorius. The idea of giving a party member a free attack right after you buff them is flavored as the lawmage giving someone an order to attack. Spores, Brutes, and Inventions and more subclasses for Golgari, Gruul, and Izzet. Knowing the School of Invention is meant for Izzet makes the reckless casting feature makes a whole lot more sense.

[ciarannihill]

Oh wow I've been asking the wrong questions.

Better question: When do we get the first Magic the Gathering release set in Eberron?



Someone astutely recognized on the magictcg subreddit that they've already been secretly previewing Ravnica content through UA articles.

Centaurs and Minotaurs are the new races for Selesnya and Boros. The Order Domain for Clerics is aligned with Azorius. The idea of giving a party member a free attack right after you buff them is flavored as the lawmage giving someone an order to attack. Spores, Brutes, and Inventions and more subclasses for Golgari, Gruul, and Izzet. Knowing the School of Invention is meant for Izzet makes the reckless casting feature makes a whole lot more sense.

That makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE NOW.

[Waterdeep Merch]

Now that I've had time to get fat and happy off Eberron, which totally took the thunder from Ravnica in my eyes; I'm pretty excited for this, too. I know there's been some wailing and gnashing of the teeth because of how weird of a fit any M:tG stuff is with D&D and 5e in particular, but that's exactly why I'd like to see it. I really want to see how they make this playable.

And I don't mean that in some passive aggressive "because they're going to screw it up", I genuinely think they've got some ideas that could be really cool.

A restructuring of magic to fit the five colors would be really interesting, for example. Even if it just separates what's already in existence into distinct color codes, that can have a profound effect on the game.

[Andor13]

Oh wow I've been asking the wrong questions.

Better question: When do we get the first Magic the Gathering release set in Eberron?

Probably never? Eberron in particular is a lousy fit for M:tG because it's Cosmology makes it a lousy fit for Planeswalkers being a thing, unless you posit that they come from WAY outside and are just as likely to land in Dal Quorr as in Sharn. Which they might I suppose, should make for some good art, anyway.

[wingnut2292]

I'd be up for some Sigil/Planescape as a magic setting. Sigil is so cosmopolitan-my weird it would be really interisting.

Force of Nature an academic intulectual? Shivan Dagon keeping the peace? Fallen Sera Angel? Rampaging berserker Polar Kraken? Lord of the Pit a forest hermit?

In Sigil, it's par for the course, cutter!

[Dudewithknives]

This just seems like a marketing ploy because M:tG makes so much more money than D&d that they just want to their the two together to get magic players to buy dnd books.

Mark my words, they will start catering much more to the magic side of things and not the dnd side. They already moved one of the best writers over to MTG because they knew where the money was.

Just watch, more MTG setting books will be coming, more caster love and alterations will be on the way to some how shoehorn the color scheme into D&D.

Just watch in 5 years it will just be MTG the table top game.

[Zanthy1]

This just seems like a marketing ploy because M:tG makes so much more money than D&d that they just want to their the two together to get magic players to buy dnd books.

Mark my words, they will start catering much more to the magic side of things and not the dnd side. They already moved one of the best writers over to MTG because they knew where the money was.

Just watch, more MTG setting books will be coming, more caster love and alterations will be on the way to some how shoehorn the color scheme into D&D.

Just watch in 5 years it will just be MTG the table top game.

So honestly I would love more DnD and MtG crossover. I've been playing DnD for about 8 years now, but MtG this is almost my 20th year. Obviously Magic is gonna make more money, because to play dnd you only purchase a small handful of books. You really only need 1 copy of the Player's handbook per adventuring party and you can get started. Whereas Magic cards don't cost as much by themselves, but in order to build the decks you want and build your collection, you're paying a lot more for boosters, singles, and pre-cons.

I love the dnd lore, but I love the MtG lore even more.

[Man_Over_Game]

So honestly I would love more DnD and MtG crossover. I've been playing DnD for about 8 years now, but MtG this is almost my 20th year. Obviously Magic is gonna make more money, because to play dnd you only purchase a small handful of books. You really only need 1 copy of the Player's handbook per adventuring party and you can get started. Whereas Magic cards don't cost as much by themselves, but in order to build the decks you want and build your collection, you're paying a lot more for boosters, singles, and pre-cons.

I love the dnd lore, but I love the MtG lore even more.

I could dig more crossover. MTG does have some really flavorful, interesting worlds, where DnD's worlds are more balanced and sensible. Sometimes, a civilization built around zombies, mummies and zealotry could be really cool (Amonkeht) but most DnD players would probably find that too weird.

Mostly, I'd like to see modules from MTG over actual worlds. A lot of worlds on MTG are either not fleshed out, or don't have enough diversity to allow Chaotic Neutral Players to start wrecking stuff.

I'd like to see it be more symbiotic, though. There's not exactly a lot of interesting stuff that can be ported from DnD over to MTG. Maybe Beholders? Planeswalkers with more direct combat-specific abilities (like Gideon)? Chromatic vs. Metallic Dragons (Those who destroy everything vs. those that buff your side)?

[Dudu]

Things I'm hoping for:


A Planeswalker class.
A way to incorporate magic color instead of alignment.
A Niv-Mizzet stat block.

Planeswalker could be Prestige Classes. I miss them, personally.

And I would love magic color system in place of alignment.

[Azreal]

I think the Color Wheel is FAR more fun then alignment. Also far more flexible.

[DeTess]

I think the Color Wheel is FAR more fun then alignment. Also far more flexible.

I don't disagree that the color wheel is a far more nuanced and elegant alignment-system, I also think it's far harder to parse at a glance. If I tell someone that I'm playing a white paladin, that doesn't tell them as much as when I'm telling them that I'm playing a lawful evil Paladin, even if that person is well versed in magic lore.

[Vogie]

I don't disagree that the color wheel is a far more nuanced and elegant alignment-system, I also think it's far harder to parse at a glance. If I tell someone that I'm playing a white paladin, that doesn't tell them as much as when I'm telling them that I'm playing a lawful evil Paladin, even if that person is well versed in magic lore.

If there is a problem with the color wheel, this is it. Monocolors are massively broad - deflating categories from 9 alignments to 5 colors will do that. But the ability to Identify the a White-Blue Paladin vs a White Green Paladin vs a White Red Paladin, and so on, is a huge benefit.

Then again, there's also that wibbly-wobbly-ness in the alignments. Evil as in Mustache Twirling or Evil as in Vampire? Lawful as in Legislation, or Lawful as in "guidelines"? We're used to that because it's been around longer.

They are both popular, established and OLD games, but Magic and it's colors is old (as in Disney's Aladdin) while D&D is old (as in The Godfather, Part II).

[Son of A Lich!]

Then again, there's also that wibbly-wobbly-ness in the alignments. Evil as in Mustache Twirling or Evil as in Vampire? Lawful as in Legislation, or Lawful as in "guidelines"?

When I was in the Navy on an aircraft carrier, and things got boring, I'd find a Nuke and ask him what alignment Batman was. For the next week, you'd have people getting into full debates on whether he is (usually) Lawful Neutral, or Chaotic Good. There was a number of people that would point him out as being something-Evil too, on basis of using violence to suppress the poor.

Alignment was always a guideline that just kind-of got out of hand too quickly and D&D could never let go of. I think that Magic's color system really is just a reflavoring of the alignment chart with mechanical perks to it (For the card game, it'd be interesting to see it translate to table top).

White-good, Black-Evil, Blue-Lawful, Red-Chaotic, Green-Neutral.

When I made my campaign setting in high school, I used Mana colors because it was more descriptive to me. That being said, that's because the alignments aren't vague, people are just too d'Ahm diverse to put into 9 categories. Mana spreads that out, but same principle.

A culture described as being largely Red/Blue with fringes of black says more to me then "A mostly true neutral,with some Neutral Evil". It tells me that there is conflict within the town, and that some people are profiting off of it, in both instances, but it feels more descriptive with Mana. It also makes more sense (to me, at least) that people would be influenced by the magic of their persona and identity, and that mana could be targeted (ala, Protection from Evil) rather then someone's proclivity to pet/kick puppy ratio.

[Azreal]

I like the color wheel because it’s not just law/chaos/good/evil

Red is Chaos and Freedom for example

-Blue is foresight and logic

-White is Order and Community

-Black is Ambition and Selfishness

-Green is Instinct and Independence

Watered down and simplified of course. But it’s the elegance and nuance that I like about using the Color Wheel over Alignments which are much more rigid and leave less room for interpretation. (Comparatively, I’m not saying there a no interpretation.)

[Prince Vine]

Color is weird in actual play, I tried coloring my wizard and got everything but green.

A snobby, slightly racist elf, raised as a burgler (black), who through extensive study (blue) builds enchanted items and casts divinations (more blue), protections (white), and blasty spells (red), all while recklessly charging through his foes (red again) with a sword made out of shadow that attacks his foe's mind (a touch more black).

My bard is a touch better focused having a lot less red, but almost any character is pretty much a minimum of 2 colors and so many are going to be 3+ that there is little point to using those as categories.

You could restrict things to make people fit better but that can get weird or off-putting.

Plus the colors overlap a lot, blue and black share a lot of mind-messing stuff. Green, white and red can all claim a lot of the same buffs. Is a direct damage poison spell black, red or green?

None of that is insurmountable but in my mind limits the idea of color as a metaphysical mechanic for D&D.

Of course alignment is not really a mechanuc anymore either outside maybe sentient magic items so maybe it is an irrelevant comparison.

[Azreal]

snip.

I would personally say he’s Blue/Red rather then Blue/Red/Black.

It doesn’t seem like he’s particularly power hungry or ambitious. The sword could easily just be a Blue thing and being a Burgler doesn’t make you Black there’s plenty of “thief” cards in other colors.

Edit: The Color Wheel is more personality traits then it is abilities.

[Justin Sane]

Playing in a Zendikar campaign that's been going on for a year, so maybe I can offer some perspective here (all of it IMHO, of course):

Color is weird in actual play, I tried coloring my wizard and got everything but green.

A snobby, slightly racist elf, raised as a burgler (black), who through extensive study (blue) builds enchanted items and casts divinations (more blue), protections (white), and blasty spells (red), all while recklessly charging through his foes (red again) with a sword made out of shadow that attacks his foe's mind (a touch more black).Honestly, I'd ignore the details on specific spells. He seems Blue/Black - Black can be reckless and destructive, while Blue can be protective.

<snip> almost any character is pretty much a minimum of 2 colors and so many are going to be 3+ that there is little point to using those as categories.Well... You're not wrong. Is having multi-colored characters a bad thing? If you define your character as having all colors except Green, then yes, that isn't useful information.
But do you really need so many colors to define a character? My Paladin is Blue/White. Our Monk is White/Red. Our Mystic is Black/Blue/White - and she's the group's blaster. Look more into the character's personality and motivations than into specific abilities. It helps.

Plus the colors overlap a lot, blue and black share a lot of mind-messing stuff. Green, white and red can all claim a lot of the same buffs. Is a direct damage poison spell black, red or green?Depends on what they're being used for. Fireball, used to quickly destroy a target? Red. Fireball, used to destroy a target and cause horrific burns and pain? Black. Fireball, used to destroy the unworthy and/or protect the innocent? White.

[Prince Vine]

And in all fairness I come from the time when color also dictated effect. Haste and all straight direct damage was red unless it was against fliers or caused discard...negatives, undead and pay life were almost always black, blue had all the card draw and anything watery, etc.

And you aren't the paladin who always gets hit by his spells somehow...AoEs are hard to control you know...and absorb elements and shield only target me...

[Azreal]

And in all fairness I come from the time when color also dictated effect. Haste and all straight direct damage was red unless it was against fliers or caused discard...negatives, undead and pay life were almost always black, blue had all the card draw and anything watery, etc.

And you aren't the paladin who always gets hit by his spells somehow...AoEs are hard to control you know...and absorb elements and shield only target me...

Time has changed that quite a bit. The colors speak more to personality then ability though there is obviously some restriction.

[Prince Vine]

I forgot my big question, if you divorce color from being a big gatekeeper to spells, what other purpose does it have?

(I also have a similar question with alignment, but that is not an issue for here)

[Zilong]

I forgot my big question, if you divorce color from being a big gatekeeper to spells, what other purpose does it have?

(I also have a similar question with alignment, but that is not an issue for here)

I'd say it serves a similar function to alignment. Both become more of a descriptive shorthand for characters. That is the way I prefer it anyway, thankfully. They're useful, but shouldn't be used as a justification for preventing compelling decisions or gating mechanics (usually). I think one of the devs said something to that effect about colors in Guildmaster's Guide, that they are more philosophical ideals rather than actual physical forces as far as Ravnica goes as a D&D setting

[Prince Vine]

So then it already exists as a concept for all that it matters. The philosophy aspect is included in the guild descriptions, and the metaphysical and balance aspects aren't important.

Plus anyone who understands color theory probably already uses it to some extent.

That said I probably still have notes from a decade ago with the 3e spell list divided by color.

[Prince Vine]

I want to be clear that I am not poo-pooing color wheel in general, but I don't see much point to player's needing an alignment either in the current edition since it lost any metaphysical muscle.

I tend to think creature alignments are there for DMs to have a quick two word shorthand for any given creature's plots, motivations and behavior. Sometimes as a DM I will even use it backward for players, telling them at various points what their alignment currently is based on their actions as a way for them to reflect and think about what direction they want their character to go. Which could be fun with color too, "you started Red but lately you have been acting fairly Blue..."

[Azreal]

You are perfectly fine to feel that way. I just think the Color Wheel in my personal opinion says more then Alignment and can be flexed to suit things in a much more elegant manner.

I also personally don’t like the dichotomy in Good/Evil. So Alignment doesn’t work quite as well for me.

[Prince Vine]

At one point is was designed to represent the sides in the great wars and the essential change to your essence taking sides caused, as shown by alignment spells and effects reacting more to more powerful agents of the various powers. Obviously now it only really means which plane you go to when you die. Color doesn't really have anything like that.

I am not personally opposed to someone coming up with a system to make color alignment meaningful, I have a couple ideas myself, but most of them seem problematic in a D&D framework.

[Evil the Cat]

And in all fairness I come from the time when color also dictated effect. Haste and all straight direct damage was red unless it was against fliers or caused discard...negatives, undead and pay life were almost always black, blue had all the card draw and anything watery, etc.

And you aren't the paladin who always gets hit by his spells somehow...AoEs are hard to control you know...and absorb elements and shield only target me...

There have always been exceptions. There were blue wizards doing direct damage in alpha (prodigal sorcerer), and Mirage and Portal had direct damage green spells (bee sting). Red had card draw (wheel of fortune), and channel was green life paying.

The only clear rules at the beginning were very simple concepts such as water, fire, trees.

[Prince Vine]

There have always been exceptions. There were blue wizards doing direct damage in alpha (prodigal sorcerer), and Mirage and Portal had direct damage green spells (bee sting). Red had card draw (wheel of fortune), and channel was green life paying.

The only clear rules at the beginning were very simple concepts such as water, fire, trees.

The early days were weird. Rosewater has said that stuff like Prodigal Sorcerer would never be made now that they pinned down color theory.

Wheel of Fortune might still be valid since the random aspect might be red enough to offset that it produces non-red results.

But especially now they have effects generally locked to colors (sometimes letting you pay a premium for out-of-color), plus in-character philosophy and effect should go together, blue should never have fireball, portent really can't fit into red or green.

My point wasn't that color ISN'T an ideals and philosophical place just that it should also be reflected by the effect or it doesn't have much meaning (see above regarding alignment as just a legacy note and general DM plotting tool.)

I still use color as a framework for character personality in most RPGs but it doesn't need space in the books anymore than any other way of notating personality traits.

That said I will add that they tried it a bit using 5e's incentive system where they throw extra options of the 'appropriate' type instead of limiting you from 'inappropriate' choices.