Magic uses a resource, called mana, that comes in five colors: white, blue, black, red, green. The concept of color is a key part of the game, and we'll explore it today.
You play Magic cards by paying their cost, which is always in the top right of the card and presented as type(s) and color(s) of mana. One symbol requires one mana of that color. Sometimes numbers are present; these represent an amount of generic mana (mana of any color) you must pay. Four examples:
The costs are:
Since including mana symbols in text is difficult, and spelling out the color each time wasteful, the colors are abbreviated as follows in print: {W}, {U}, {B}, {R}, {G}. The blue is the only non-intuitive one here; since blue and black both start with 'b' (followed by 'l'), blue is referred to by '{U}.' Using the above examples, we could simplify them to:
White likes to gain life. Blue likes to control things. Black likes to destroy. Red is aggressive and does lots of damage. Green has big creatures. A Magic product insert mentions color strengths in a different way:
When you build a deck, generally people choose one or two colors to build around. It's possible to use all five, of course, but strategically difficult: you generate mana through lands, and can play only one land per turn. Playing more colors lowers the probability of having the type/quantity of land(s) you need for the cards in your hand. Fewer colors is a safer (and simpler) option.
As you get familiar with the game, you'll learn each color's "typical" cards and abilities, which will aid you greatly in both deck construction and strategy when battling opponents. You'll come to realize, for example, that if you're playing against a white deck, that person won't have any ability to counter the spells you have (as they could with blue), but they may have cards to gain life, build/strengthen an army of creatures, and/or destroy certain cards (like tapped creatures, artifacts and enchantments). Look at the white cards in Core Set 2020 as an example. Do the same now for the blue, black, red, and green cards in this set. What are the strengths of each? What type of card or ability do you see repeat? This article from the official site gives you some common mechanics for each color.
Not all cards have color. Most artifacts (like the last card in the above example) are colorless. And a few years ago, they introduced a mana symbol specifically for colorless mana:
This is not generic mana, it is colorless. You can pay a generic mana cost using colored or colorless mana, but any card with a colorless mana symbol in its casting cost requires the same:
But, to date, these colorless cards are rare.
Next time, we'll look at color combinations and names associated with them.
* There's also a concept called 'color identity,' used in Commander, that I discuss here.
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| the five colors of Magic |
The costs are:
- Rustwing Falcon: one white mana
- Shivan Dragon: four generic and two red mana
- Omnath, Locus of the Roil: one generic, one green, one blue, and one red mana
- Arcane Encyclopedia: three generic mana
- Rustwing Falcon is white
- Shivan Dragon is red
- Omnath, Locus of the Roil is three colors: green, blue, and red
- Arcane Encyclopedia is colorless
Since including mana symbols in text is difficult, and spelling out the color each time wasteful, the colors are abbreviated as follows in print: {W}, {U}, {B}, {R}, {G}. The blue is the only non-intuitive one here; since blue and black both start with 'b' (followed by 'l'), blue is referred to by '{U}.' Using the above examples, we could simplify them to:
- Rustwing Falcon: {W}
- Shivan Dragon: {4}{R}{R}
- Omnath, Locus of the Roil: {1}{G}{U}{R}
- Arcane Encyclopedia: {3}
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| image from here |
- White
- summon lots of small creatures
- lock down your opponent's creatures
- enhance creatures in combat
- Blue
- rule the skies with flying creatures
- trick your opponent with superior knowledge
- counter your opponent's spells
- Black
- destroy creatures
- force your opponent to discard cards
- steal life from your opponent
- Red
- hurl flames at creatures and players
- rush with aggressive creatures
- steal your opponent's creatures temporarily
- Green
- trample over your opponent with huge creatures
- ramp up your mana production
- destroy artifacts and enchantments
When you build a deck, generally people choose one or two colors to build around. It's possible to use all five, of course, but strategically difficult: you generate mana through lands, and can play only one land per turn. Playing more colors lowers the probability of having the type/quantity of land(s) you need for the cards in your hand. Fewer colors is a safer (and simpler) option.
As you get familiar with the game, you'll learn each color's "typical" cards and abilities, which will aid you greatly in both deck construction and strategy when battling opponents. You'll come to realize, for example, that if you're playing against a white deck, that person won't have any ability to counter the spells you have (as they could with blue), but they may have cards to gain life, build/strengthen an army of creatures, and/or destroy certain cards (like tapped creatures, artifacts and enchantments). Look at the white cards in Core Set 2020 as an example. Do the same now for the blue, black, red, and green cards in this set. What are the strengths of each? What type of card or ability do you see repeat? This article from the official site gives you some common mechanics for each color.
Not all cards have color. Most artifacts (like the last card in the above example) are colorless. And a few years ago, they introduced a mana symbol specifically for colorless mana:
 |
| image from here |
But, to date, these colorless cards are rare.
Next time, we'll look at color combinations and names associated with them.
* There's also a concept called 'color identity,' used in Commander, that I discuss here.
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