Generic mana cost

Generic Mana Cost
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Mechanic
Introduced	Alpha
Last used	Evergreen

A generic mana cost is a mana cost that can be paid with mana of any type; meaning mana of any color, as well as colorless mana.

A generic mana cost is represented by a number or an X in a gray circle (, , , , , and so on). The snow symbol represents a generic cost as well.

Rules

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

• 107.4b Numerical symbols (such as {1}) and variable symbols (such as {X}) represent generic mana in costs. Generic mana in costs can be paid with any type of mana. For more information about {X}, see rule 107.3.

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

Generic Mana

Mana in a cost represented by numerical symbols (such as {1}) or variable symbols (such as {X}) that can be paid with mana of any type. See rule 107.4.

History

Generic mana costs were originally only seen on artifact cards, as the only castable type that were colorless (lands are colorless due to having no cost). While morph had creature spells that could be cast with generic mana, it was integrated to the ability and no nonartifact creature was printed with a cost.

With Rise of the Eldrazi, something was needed to make the Eldrazi distinct, and also to allow all players to access them; the choice was to make them fully generic in mana, making them an oddity described as "primordial before-color". Their return in Battle for Zendikar block lessened this, along with the introduction of true colorless mana symbols. It introduced the first non-Eldrazi instants and sorceries, as the first batch were also kindred-typed.

With this established, colorless costs were reconsidered for other spells. Karn Liberated justified this as being an ascended artifact planeswalker, where granting the artifact typeline would be a severe balance issue. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon was linked to the Eldrazi Arc, printed shortly before the resolution of that plot. Their presence in War of the Spark made up the next batch, as well as the first two non-Eldrazi creatures.

For Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths and Strixhaven: School of Mages, generic creatures and spells were made with the opposite conceit; the magic of nascent and unformed ideals, for those who had not determined their color.

Difference with colorless

There is no such thing as "generic mana". Though you can use colorless mana to pay for generic mana costs, they are not the same thing. "Generic" is a type of cost. "Colorless" is a type of mana. You can't produce generic mana, but you can produce colorless mana and have a colorless cost (first introduced with Oath of the Gatewatch).

R&D came to the conclusion that they had to stop using the mana circle with a number to represent both generic and colorless mana. Changing the representation of colorless mana was easier, as it's represented far less, so they to make the new mana symbol . This change was made along with the rules update for the expansion Oath of the Gatewatch, which features colorless as well as generic mana costs.

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

• 106.10. If an effect would add mana represented by a generic mana symbol to a player’s mana pool, that much colorless mana is added to that player’s mana pool.