Multicolored

Multicolored (also "multicolor", "multi-colored", "multi-color"; as opposed to "monocolored", "mono-colored" "single-colored") cards were introduced in the Legends set, and use a gold frame to distinguish them. For this reason, they can be referred to as "gold" cards.

Description

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

Multicolored

An object with two or more colors is multicolored. Multicolored is not a color. See rule 105, “Colors,” and rule 202, “Mana Cost and Color.”

Multicolored cards require mana from two or more different colors to be played. Multicolored cards tend to combine the philosophy and mechanics of all the colors used in the spell's cost. For examples Quicksilver Dagger and Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, which combine blue's ability to draw cards with red's ability to deal (direct) damage ("pinging").

Two-color hybrid cards that can be paid with either of the card's colors (as opposed to both) were introduced in Ravnica. They are considered to be of both colors (See rule 202.2d). Hybrid revolves around the mechanics and philosophies that the two colors have in common. The cards are distinguished by a gradient frame with those two colors.

Multicolored cards tend to be more powerful compared to single-color or even hybrid cards, because of the restriction of having to play all the colors in the casting cost.

Two colors

Using color pairs to structure the Limited environment does a lot for development to create a better product.

Allied colors

White-Blue

White-Blue is slow and steady. Typical white-blue decks stall the game and let the users cast their major spells in late game.

Common mechanics: Flying, Flash, tapping, effects that prevent creatures from attacking or blocking, returning permanents to hand, counterspells, temporarily exiling permanents

Common creature types: Birds, Kithkin, Wizards

Ravnica guild: Azorius Senate

Blue-Black

Blue-black is related to secrets and forbidden knowledge. Blue's emphasis of information and black's solitary nature combine to create a very secretive color pair. The opponents' of Blue-Black decks often realize that they are going to lose when it is too late.

Common mechanics: Milling, card draw, discard, library manipulation, casting from graveyard, large creatures with big drawbacks, unblockability

Common creature types: Merfolk, Faeries, Rogues

Ravnica guild: House Dimir

Black-Red

Black's anti-sociality and Red's hedonism combine to create a very sadistic and sociopathic color pair. Black-red decks typically prefer overwhelming opponents at all cost, often at the expense of their own creatures and even their users' life total.

Common mechanics: Haste, Wither, spells and creature that are undercosted but have drawbacks hurt the casters, sacrifice, direct damage/life loss, disallowing life gain, power boosting, +X/-X effects

Common creature types: Demons, Elementals, Goblins

Ravnica Guild: Cult of Rakdos

Red-Green

Red-Green is very unthinking, considering the fact that it has red's impulsiveness and green's preference for instinct over mind. Red-Green decks are typically highly aggressive and attempt to overwhelm their opponents with pure strength.

Common mechanics: Trample, Haste, Land Removal, Fight, +X/+X effects, Fast mana, direct damage, Aggressive creatures

Common creature types: Warriors, Shamans, Goblins

Ravnica Guild: Gruul Clans

Green-White

Green-White detests black's individualistic attitude and is the color pair of group and unity. Green-White thrives in being in groups.

Common mechanics: Vigilance, creature tokens, protecting creatures, creature boosting/pump, life gain, enchantments

Common creature types: Elfs, Centaurs, Knights

Ravnica Guild: Selesnya Conclave

Enemy color

White-Black

White-Black as a color represents corruption or dishonesty under the clever veil of mercy and/or kindness. As a mechanic, White-black is about gradually killing one's enemies, with white slowing the game down and black destroying opponent's creatures and drain their lives.

Common mechanics: Lifelink, parasitism, life gain, return creatures from graveyard, massive removal, permanent exiling, extort

Common creature types: Spirits, Clerics

Ravnica guild: Orzhov Syndicate

Blue-Red

After combining Blue's desire for progress and red's impulsiveness, Blue-Red is a color pair that focus on innovation.

Common mechanics: Power/toughness switching, reusing instants/sorceries, time manipulation (e.g. taking additional turns), copying spells and abilities, changing targets of other spells and abilities, looting, gaining control of permanents

Common creature types: Wizards, Weirds, Noggles

Ravnica Guild: Izzet League

Black-Green

Black-Green embodies the cycle of life and death and thrives on exploiting the cycle. Black-Green capitalize on creatures that slowly grow over time or those that have special effects when they die.

Common mechanics: Regeneration, Deathtouch, +1/+1 counters, reusing creature cards, exiling from graveyard, destruction of nonland permanents

Common creature types: Zombies, Elves, Plants

Ravnica Guild: Golgari Swarm

Red-White

Red-White represents enforcement of justice, as a mixture of red's readiness to take action and white's insistence on honor.

Common mechanics: First strike, Double strike, small creatures, bonuses to attacking creatures, damage to attacking or blocking creatures

Common creature types: Soldiers, Giants

Ravnica Guild: Boros Legion

Green-Blue

Green-Blue is the color pair of progress. Both green and blue enjoy seeing the world evolve, although the former prefers reaching it by natural selection while the latter prefers artificial means.

Common mechanics: Flash, Shroud, Hexproof, card draw, search library, +1/+1 counters

Common creature types: Wizards, Beasts, Mutants

Ravnica Guild: Simic Combine

Three colors

Several sets have had major three-color themes, most notably in the Alara and Tarkir blocks. The Alara block focused on the shards in Shards of Alara, but had a strong five-color theme in Conflux and focused more on two-color gold cards in Alara Reborn with its all-gold gimmick. The Khans of Tarkir block only focuses on wedges in its namesake set Khans of Tarkir. As such, three-colored cards can show up every now and again in other sets.

Shards

Shards are sets of three colors (a color and its two allies) that form an arc, or an obtuse triangle: Bant (//), Esper (//), Grixis (//), Jund (//) and Naya (//). The Shards, and the term Shards, were established in the 2008 block Shards of Alara. Within the Shards, the color that is allied to both of the other colors is considered the "primary" color of the shard by the design team; with Bant, for example, White is the primary color.

Wedges

Wedges are sets of three colors (a color and its two enemies) that form a wedge shape, or an acute triangle. The official names for the wedges are Abzan (//), Jeskai (//), Sultai (//), Mardu (//), and Temur (//).

Four colors

Four color cards are hard to design. The Nephilim from Guildpact, along with one cycle from Commander 2016 are the only four colored cards to date. There's no agreed on name for these color combinations.

Five colors

The first card with five colors was 1996 World Champion, the first one that was officially released was Sliver Queen.

External links

• Magic: The Gathering Combination Names: Tool that allows selecting colors to show the name for the particular color combination, as well as a representative symbol if available.