WotC Strixhaven sounds like it'd be a nice mini-setting for D&D

[GSHamster]

It seems like each mage college is a permutation of a pair from the five colors.

But there are only five colleges, where ten permutations are possible.

Does that mean five colleges are missing? Might they appear at point in the future with their own styles of magic?

It's a little more complicated than that. In Magic, the 10 permutations already exist as the guilds of Ravnica. Strixhaven is essentially a second-take on five of those permutations. For example, Red-White (RW) on Ravnica is the Boros guild, which is kind of a militia preserving order by knocking heads together. RW on Strixhaven is Lorehold, which is archeology studying societies of the past. Both RW, but exploring different facets.

Since we already have the 10 guilds, we might see the other "alternates" in a completely different setting.

 

[Rikka66]

It seems like each mage college is a permutation of a pair from the five colors.

But there are only five colleges, where ten permutations are possible.

Does that mean five colleges are missing? Might they appear at point in the future with their own styles of magic?

The Strixhaven colleges are the five "enemy-colored" pairs of colors. This was done very deliberately, and the head magic designer has said multiple times they don't intend for their to be another set of "ally-colored" paired colleges.

 

[Yaarel]

The Strixhaven colleges are the five "enemy-colored" pairs of colors. This was done very deliberately, and the head magic designer has said multiple times they don't intend for their to be another set of "ally-colored" paired colleges.

I had to look up what "enemy colors" mean.

But, cool. Got it. I see where the structure is coming from.

 

[Parmandur]

I had to look up what "enemy colors" mean.

But, cool. Got it. I see where the structure is coming from.

Story wise, the justification is that each College is defined by tensions and fundamental philosophical debates within their field.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Story wise, the justification is that each College is defined by tensions and fundamental philosophical debates within their field.

Which, frankly, adds a lot of color to roleplaying, too. In D&D terms, necromancers, druids and rangers share one house at Strixhaven, which is not at all a traditional D&D grouping and it'll certainly make for unusual characters and group dynamics.