Analogy

I chose this logo for the card game Magic: the Gathering because it has a clear symbolism in its logo of the interlocking relationship between five elements. While its elements aren’t identical to the five Greek elements, they are markedly similar and were probably inspired by them. The elements in the card game are Life (white), Death (black), Water (blue), Fire (red), and Earth (green).

Each of these elements are a part of everyday life in the fictionalized world and the story that accompanies the card game. They each have their own philosophies but all of them are required to keep life in balance. In the fifteen years the card game has run, the number of elements has always been and will always be exactly five. Macnab would agree on this necessity, as it is crucial for maintaing elemental balance in life.

There is also an important strategy element to the card game which very much relates to the strategy in Ender’s Game. The game is traditionally played duel style, and a player creates a deck using one or more colors. However, it should be noted that using more colors becomes progressively more difficult, but that is one limit to the strategy of the game. Gameplay focuses on each player trying to defeat the other using a variety of tactics, like being aggressive, defensive, reactive, or proactive–the same way Ender took on his opponents.