I don't want to keep on going on and on about this, but "desire for independence" reads like a red thing to me.
To expand on this, black does not care as much about independence as it does about power. Black has no qualms binding itself to a higher power, like demons, if it means to become more powerful.
I doubt Skysail is really associated with Indatha as much as the planeswalkers guide makes it look. It's a nomadic "everywhere" kinda society after all.
One of Black's main things is individualism. By necessity that implies a craving for independence. Black is willing to submit to higher authority if it can get a reward out of it, but whenever possible it wants to do its own thing. Hard to be powerful if you have to do what someone else wants, after all.
I think Lavabrink first and Drannith second if one assumes Facet Reader and the forests they use to get timber do reflect their society, while Lavabrink is pretty strictly confined within Red/White/Blue and honestly I can't think of any way they'd deviate from that philosophically.
Giving it some thought (largely because I am bored):
Savai: Savai's Red/White/Black "factions" manifest the combination differently. Snapdax is effectively a serial killer, combining White's sense of justice with Black and Red's sadism; the same likely applies to most other cats. Drannith is completely opposite to the Mardu in being a highly pragmatic society where nothing goes to waste, where class inequality does exist and where constant research and even philosophical pursuits occur. It is in a way a stereotypical fascist nation, mostly White/Black but with hints of Red in its application of violence and few artistic pursuits.
Ketria: Ketria's Green/Blue/Red factions seem to be more united, largely because human populations are mostly composed of small settlements. Illuna craves perfection (Blue) through using cosmic harmony (Green) and the imagination of dreams (Red), and human worshippers likely seek the same through pilgrimages to see it. Most elementals have different agendas or none at all.
Indatha: Like in Savai, the monster and human factions are well seperated. For the nightmares, White/Black/Green means using the light to conceal the darkness, and maybe spice up death magic as with Nethroi, making them a bit closer to Sultai's idea of ruthlessness and Dimir's idea of deception than to Abzan's endurance. For Skysail, White and Green are represented by their sense of community and peacefulness, while the Black is likely manifesting through their desire for independence, again pretty opposite to the Abzan. Notably there are several Skysail zoologist quotes on Black and Green cards, suggesting a Black/Green fascination with these creatures.
Raugrin: Dinosaurs are dinosaurs. There might be something more to Vadrok, what with the town incident, but otherwise it is just a raging not-dragon that can fly and shoot holy fire. Lavabrink, by contrast, is a thriving city that combines artistry with progress, using lava as a technology to construct beautiful cannals, waste disposal and all manner of artifacts. Close enough to the Jeskai, though far more physical than spiritual.
Zagoth: The beasts, much like the nightmares and the cats, do show this wedge's philosophy. They're herbivores that are typically peaceful, but have a long picture perspective of things and are willing to get ruthless. Brokkos in particular fits the "neutral" Black/Green/Blue archetype speculated but not seen until now, someone who isn't really concerned with petty thinks like an attempt on his life and even offers his own perspective of the past and future to help humanity for probably some unspecified agenda. The hunters, by contrast, are simple exploiters of wildlife, just less whimpy than the Sultai.
They also do get a Green spell in the form of the reprint of Plummet. Blue and Red spells associated with them are mostly of attacking creatures. So yeah, that is a pretty good justification for them being in White/Black/Green: they are anti-air.
According to the planeswalker's guide they're from Indatha and took to the air since. Its possible that they might have shifted colors but it is pretty weird so so throughly associate them with that region and not have them be White/Black/Green.
They took to the air out of desperation. The Green part is counterintuitive, but Black has been getting aerial cards lately (case in point, Locthwain's castle being mobile and on top of a cloud).
Judging by Kathril and the general description of Indantha I think deception might be the default motif for White/Black/Green in this set and its kind of interesting.
Theros lacks even the faintest hint of such a theme.
Not true, part of the original block's theme was to contrast the poleis with the dangers of the wilds. Monstruous versus heroic, after all. Hell, the main villain is the wilderness combo while Elspeth is the color of civilisation.
In this case its pretty straightforward since its literally just habitats instead of factions or philosophies. The monsters do have personalities, but they're very generic (the two blue-green ones provide knowledge and blessings, the black ones are psychos and the Jeskai one is just a rampaging not-dragon)
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One of Black's main things is individualism. By necessity that implies a craving for independence. Black is willing to submit to higher authority if it can get a reward out of it, but whenever possible it wants to do its own thing. Hard to be powerful if you have to do what someone else wants, after all.
Savai: Savai's Red/White/Black "factions" manifest the combination differently. Snapdax is effectively a serial killer, combining White's sense of justice with Black and Red's sadism; the same likely applies to most other cats. Drannith is completely opposite to the Mardu in being a highly pragmatic society where nothing goes to waste, where class inequality does exist and where constant research and even philosophical pursuits occur. It is in a way a stereotypical fascist nation, mostly White/Black but with hints of Red in its application of violence and few artistic pursuits.
Ketria: Ketria's Green/Blue/Red factions seem to be more united, largely because human populations are mostly composed of small settlements. Illuna craves perfection (Blue) through using cosmic harmony (Green) and the imagination of dreams (Red), and human worshippers likely seek the same through pilgrimages to see it. Most elementals have different agendas or none at all.
Indatha: Like in Savai, the monster and human factions are well seperated. For the nightmares, White/Black/Green means using the light to conceal the darkness, and maybe spice up death magic as with Nethroi, making them a bit closer to Sultai's idea of ruthlessness and Dimir's idea of deception than to Abzan's endurance. For Skysail, White and Green are represented by their sense of community and peacefulness, while the Black is likely manifesting through their desire for independence, again pretty opposite to the Abzan. Notably there are several Skysail zoologist quotes on Black and Green cards, suggesting a Black/Green fascination with these creatures.
Raugrin: Dinosaurs are dinosaurs. There might be something more to Vadrok, what with the town incident, but otherwise it is just a raging not-dragon that can fly and shoot holy fire. Lavabrink, by contrast, is a thriving city that combines artistry with progress, using lava as a technology to construct beautiful cannals, waste disposal and all manner of artifacts. Close enough to the Jeskai, though far more physical than spiritual.
Zagoth: The beasts, much like the nightmares and the cats, do show this wedge's philosophy. They're herbivores that are typically peaceful, but have a long picture perspective of things and are willing to get ruthless. Brokkos in particular fits the "neutral" Black/Green/Blue archetype speculated but not seen until now, someone who isn't really concerned with petty thinks like an attempt on his life and even offers his own perspective of the past and future to help humanity for probably some unspecified agenda. The hunters, by contrast, are simple exploiters of wildlife, just less whimpy than the Sultai.
They took to the air out of desperation. The Green part is counterintuitive, but Black has been getting aerial cards lately (case in point, Locthwain's castle being mobile and on top of a cloud).
None of the Ikoria monsters have any real personalities, but Nethroi at least makes sense in its color set given the tools it uses.
Not true, part of the original block's theme was to contrast the poleis with the dangers of the wilds. Monstruous versus heroic, after all. Hell, the main villain is the wilderness combo while Elspeth is the color of civilisation.