There are five main colors when it comes to Magic: The Gathering. Each color has its unique theme and sets of cards and often certain mechanics and abilities can only be found within a certain color of mana. Mana is derived from Land cards in Magic: The Gathering and you may play up to one Land a turn if you have it in your hand. There are some cards that change this too though. So what’s your color? Or which one is right for you?
The answer to that question may be more complicated than you think. After all, in Magic: The Gathering, you can play any color or combination of colors to your heart’s content so long as you have the mana (or Land) to support it! If you are not drawing enough or are drawing too little Land and it happens frequently with your deck, you may need to re-evaluate your build and adjust it. For more information on deck-building you can check out this video on YouTube.
It is also important to note that I am doing this from the place of playing the Standard Best of One format of Magic: The Gathering Arena. Older formats of Magic: The Gathering uses progressively older cards than what Standard allows, so this information may differ slightly depending on the format. Let’s dive into the colors of mana and what they each do best!
White
White cards draw their mana from Planes; a type of Land card. White cards are typically very good at certain mechanics like gaining life. It is also known for using small creatures, preventing damage, and adding additional +1/+1 counters to creatures. There is a strong emphasis on “stronger together” so White cards often are good at giving buffs. White spells are also often great for removal (if it is temporary) or as a reaction in combat such as destroying creatures or blocking.
Blue
Onto Blue! Blue cards are usually more focused on Instants and Sorceries (“spells”) rather than creatures. They hail from the Islands where they draw their mana from. Blue mana brings about a strong sense of control in the sense that their spells are often counter spells or card drawing cards. This allows them to take control of the field and the course of the game. People who play Blue often slow down the speedier White and Red decks, which can cause them to run out of steam and be easier to defeat.
Black
Deep in the Swamp is where you will find Black mana. Black cards are an interesting blend of spells and creatures. They are excellent at removing things from play, usually by destroying creatures. (So in a different manner than Blue.) Black creatures on the other hand, often are slower to cast than Red but are also good at creating a lot of havoc and damage. Some Black cards also have some very powerful abilities.
Red
Red is my personal favorite. Far in the Mountains is where Red mana derives. Red cards are a blend of, mostly creatures, but also instants and sorceries that do fast damage and encourage players to be aggressive in their tactics. There are not a lot of counters like Blue and Black have, but Red is also decent at removal because most of the instants and sorceries can throw their damage however the Red deck’s player chooses.
Green
Green draws its strength from the Forest. Much like its mana source Green is known for an abundance of creatures. Unlike Red, these creatures are often slower to be cast than Red creatures. The benefit to Green is that, much like White, they can add counters to their creatures making them larger than when they were cast. There is also a strong emphasis on the Trample ability which allows damage to “go through” a blocking creature and hit their player if not all of the damage was blocked.
Colorless?
Shhh! It’s a secret! Colorless mana is a thing too! You won’t see entire decks built around colorless mana (at least not in Standard right now!) However, many decks can benefit from the use of colorless mana! Colorless mana is usually derived from Land cards that are not any of the typical mana colors. Their Land cards are often monuments of some kind and can be used to cast almost any spell that costs something other than that of the colored mana. For example, if a card features a gray circle with a number in it, instead of tapping that many colored Lands to cast it, you could save those colored Lands and use tap a colorless Land instead. They are also handy for casting certain types of cards such as some of the artifacts.
And that’s it for this one! I hope I helped you get a better idea of what each of the colors in Magic: The Gathering does! Again, I’m coming at this as a Magic: The Gathering Arena, Best of One Player, so some of this information may differ depending on the format you’re electing to play. What color or colors do you plan to play? Further, how do you intend to play Magic: The Gathering? Let me know in the comments, and until next time, stay Hype!
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