I think the place to start is with the idea of what it means to have a plane devoted to one of the M:tG colors. And, conveniently, we have a model for something like that: Alara, a M:tG plane which was shattered into five shards. Each shard represents one "arc" of the Magic wheel, that is, three adjacent colors centered on a primary color. For example, the plane of Jund represents the green/red/black arc, which is centered on red as its primary color.
Now, the shards of Alara look more like the Outer Planes than the Elemental Planes. That is, they are not voids full of raw elemental matter--they have landscapes that more or less resemble the Prime, but certain forces are dominant and others are weakened or absent. This manifests both in the physical nature of the plane, in its denizens, and in the more metaphysical "atmosphere."
Each color of mana is associated with one type of terrain: Plains for white, forests for green, mountains for red, swamps for black, islands for blue. So, if one color is dominant, that should be the most common terrain in the plane. Thus, Jund is a plane dominated by mountains and volcanoes, with plenty of swamps and forests. There are no flat areas and no large bodies of water.
Going beyond the physical, each color represents a constellation of attributes and behaviors. For example, red represents impulsiveness, emotion, violence, and passion, so those are the traits most prevalent in Jund. Instinct and nature (green) and ruthless selfishness (black) are also powerful forces. At the same time, civilization and technology are absent, since those are attributes of white and blue respectively. Thus, Jund is a plane of savagery and predatory competition.
You could take this same model and apply it to other color combinations. For example, if you wanted a pure "red" plane, take Jund and strip out the black and green elements. It would be a plane of mountains, earth, and fire, whose denizens were ruled purely by passion and emotion. That said, I think you get more interesting results from combinations of colors. (There's a reason why "gold" sets are always super popular.)
Now, the shards of Alara look more like the Outer Planes than the Elemental Planes. That is, they are not voids full of raw elemental matter--they have landscapes that more or less resemble the Prime, but certain forces are dominant and others are weakened or absent. This manifests both in the physical nature of the plane, in its denizens, and in the more metaphysical "atmosphere."
Each color of mana is associated with one type of terrain: Plains for white, forests for green, mountains for red, swamps for black, islands for blue. So, if one color is dominant, that should be the most common terrain in the plane. Thus, Jund is a plane dominated by mountains and volcanoes, with plenty of swamps and forests. There are no flat areas and no large bodies of water.
Going beyond the physical, each color represents a constellation of attributes and behaviors. For example, red represents impulsiveness, emotion, violence, and passion, so those are the traits most prevalent in Jund. Instinct and nature (green) and ruthless selfishness (black) are also powerful forces. At the same time, civilization and technology are absent, since those are attributes of white and blue respectively. Thus, Jund is a plane of savagery and predatory competition.
You could take this same model and apply it to other color combinations. For example, if you wanted a pure "red" plane, take Jund and strip out the black and green elements. It would be a plane of mountains, earth, and fire, whose denizens were ruled purely by passion and emotion. That said, I think you get more interesting results from combinations of colors. (There's a reason why "gold" sets are always super popular.)
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