Hybrid mana

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Hybrid Mana
Mechanic
Introduced	Ravnica: City of Guilds
Last used	Tarkir: Dragonstorm
Scryfall Statistics
cards

Hybrid mana (also known as half-half mana) is a type of mana first introduced in Ravnica: City of Guilds. Each hybrid mana symbol represents a cost which can be paid with one of two colors.

Description

Hybrid mana is a complex design proposition for a mechanic used to give players flexibility. Ostensibly, the spell should live in the overlap of the two colors, but the context of the color pie usually means one side is lopsided in its representation: a card like Scarscale Ritual is a standard Black effect, but is a strange cost for Blue to pay for a mana's discount, and Giantbaiting is common in Red but a temporary creature in Green has occurred when combined with mechanics like Echo or Cumulative Upkeep. This had led to some color bending (such as mono-green casting Kin-Tree Severance, when green has a weakness to large opposing creatures) and is cited as one of the reasons hybrid is considered full multicolor for color identity.

A quirk of the mechanic is that it lets designers make a multicolored one-drop, which can be further beneficial for two-color aggro decks. Some hybrid designs reinforce the color pie by having two options but requiring the appropriate color to access its effect. Hybrid can also be used to reinforce monocolored gameplay with dense mana costs: running both Wasp Lancer and Ashenmoor Gouger in a blue-red deck is not recommended, but a mono-black can run both with no difficulty. Throne of Eldraine repeated this with a cycle of cards like Loch Dragon.

History

Hybrid mana was introduced in Ravnica block as part of the multicolor theme. It became one of Ravnica's many returning themes, with a common, uncommon, and rare cycle when the plane was revisited in Return to Ravnica block and Guilds of Ravnica block. The Extort mechanic in Gatecrash is the first time a hybrid mana cost () was integrated into the rules of a mechanic.

Early design concepts for the hybrid mana symbol.

It had a significant presence as the major mechanic in Shadowmoor block, to the point that R&D realized that they had overstretched hybrid's design space. It was also featured in Alara Reborn as an easier way to play three-colored cards, as was the theme of the block, and also in a much smaller role in Fate Reforged, where it reflected the erasure of a wedge's third color.

During the two years between Throne of Eldraine to Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, the usage picked up considerably, as it appeared in the quad-hybrid double-cycle in Throne of Eldraine as a set of monocolor payoffs; three multicolor cycles and the Companion double-cycle in Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths to smooth out a wedge theme; a single two-brid card ability in Zendikar Rising; a cycle in Jumpstart; and five cycles in Strixhaven: School of Mages (the most in one set since Shadowmoor).

Only one card in the next four sets (Tatsunari, Toad Rider in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty) used hybrid, but the three-color set Streets of New Capenna brought a cycle with a new hybrid cost structure, along with a cycle of hybrid activated ability creatures. The Phyrexian hybrid mana cost associated with compleated was the only hybrid cost for the year of 2023, and Huatli, Poet of Unity used hybrid for an ability.

The return to Ravnica in Murders at Karlov Manor is not an explicitly multicolor set, but as it uses Ravnica as a setting, it has a higher density than normal. To represent the guilds without the excess of mana fixing, hybrid returns in a greater density to ease color requirements, on a cycle of split cards and a full set of common morphs, and three other high-rarity cards otherwise. It also appears on two double cycles in Ravnica: Clue Edition. Then, hybrid spells were used on the spell half of a full cycle of MDFC dual lands in Modern Horizons 3 alongside a triple activation on Shilgengar, Sire of Famine, then in a double cycle of common creatures in Bloomburrow. Tarkir: Dragonstorm saw the return of two-brid on two cycles of three-color cards.

Hybrid mana is considered to be deciduous.

Representation

Hybrid mana symbols can be of any combination of two colors or any color of mana and either colorless mana or two generic mana. In textual terms, hybrid mana symbols are represented as:

Color pairs

= White or Blue = Blue or Black = Black or Red = Red or Green = Green or White

= White or Black = Blue or Red = Black or Green = Red or White = Green or Blue

Monocolored

= Colorless or White = Colorless or Blue = Colorless or Black = Colorless or Red = Colorless or Green

= 2 generic mana or White = 2 generic mana or Blue = 2 generic mana or Black = 2 generic mana or Red = 2 generic mana or Green

Phyrexian

= Red or Green or 2 life = Green or White or 2 life = Red or White or 2 life = Green or Blue or 2 life

Monocolored hybrid

Devin Low's initial proposal of a "two-bird" hybrid mana symbol, scrawled onto a tissue box.

Shadowmoor introduced monocolored hybrid cards (also called "two-brid"). Monocolored hybrid mana symbols represent a cost that can be paid in either of two ways. For example, can be paid with either or with two mana of any type. It's a black mana symbol. Two-brid returned on an ability in Zendikar Rising (Tazri, Beacon of Unity). It saw full mechanical implementation in Tarkir: Dragonstorm to lighten the mana requirements of some of its wedge-colored cards.

• A card with a monocolored hybrid mana symbol in its mana cost is each of the colors that appears in its mana cost, regardless of what mana was spent to play it. It is not colorless. For example, Beseech the Queen above is black, even if you spend six red mana to play it. These are also referred to as "two-brid".
• A card with monocolored hybrid mana symbols in its mana cost has a converted mana cost equal to the highest possible cost it could be played for. Its converted mana cost never changes. For example, Beseech the Queen above has a converted mana cost of 6, even if you spend to play it.
• If a cost includes more than one monocolored hybrid mana symbol, you can choose a different way to pay for each symbol. For example, you can play Beseech the Queen by spending , , , or .
• If an effect reduces the cost to play a spell by an amount of generic mana, it applies to a monocolored hybrid spell only if you've chosen a method of paying for it that includes generic mana.
• Unlike other hybrid cards, which appear in two-tone frames, the Shadowmoor monocolored hybrid cards appear in monocolored frames because they're just a single color. When it appeared in Tarkir: Dragonstorm, the gold cards were framed like other conventional gold cards.

Devin Low initially proposed "two-brid" mana for Shadowmoor as a way to give hybrid mana a twist that could redefine what it meant to be a hybrid card, in the same way that hybrid mana had originally redefined what it meant to be multicolored. The symbol itself came as a flash of inspiration during a design meeting in the Ivory Tower conference room. "Two-brid" mana allowed the design team to reward players for building monocolored limited decks by making cards more powerful at a lower mana value compared to decks that were using multiple colors. Dragonstorm's example did the same for full clan decks.

Colorless hybrid

As part of the Eldrazi theme in Modern Horizons 3, Wizards of the Coast introduced a new set of monocolored hybrid symbols where the non-color half is colorless mana. For example, can be paid with either or . It's a blue mana symbol. Ulalek, Fused Atrocity is the only instance of any of these symbols.

Gold hybrid costs

In the 2009 set Alara Reborn, hybrid symbols were featured alongside the "normal" mana symbols for the first time. For example, Jund Hackblade was given the cost for the reason of it being a card with a converted mana cost of 2 that was needed to be tri-colored, and lets it be a draft pivot for the red shards. The mana cost of is representative of the allied colors of red, black, and green. Black and green are enemies, though they both are allied to the main color, red, or . All the hybrid cards in the set follow this patterning, thus, all hybrid symbols were of enemy colors.

Hybrid mana has not been a design focus for many years, and as such, costs of this nature have not been seen for a while. Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths showed the other side in the five Apex creatures, which are wedge-colored and have a Mutate cost that has an allied hybrid (i.e. ) and their common enemy () in the cost (Nethroi, Apex of Death, normal cost , mutate cost ). Strixhaven: School of Mages showed a brand-new cost in the form of XMHN, where H is a hybrid cost of M and N - such as Quandrix Cultivator (). This is the first time the hybrid cost was between two color symbols.

Streets of New Capenna inverted the Strixhaven style with three-colored cards that could be played in a monocolor deck of the shard's central color, i.e. center color N, flanked by M/N and N/O hybrid mana, where M and O are the allied colors to N; for example Ognis, the Dragon's Lash, costing . This would be the first time since Reaper King where a card had multiple unique hybrid mana in its cost.

Leyline of the Guildpact has a uniquely asymmetrical cost of ; it is playable entirely in mono-green, but it is possible to cast with the other four.

Phyrexian hybrid

Phyrexian hybrid mana was introduced in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. It allows for the payment in one of two colors or of 2 life. In textual terms, Phyrexian hybrid mana symbols are represented as:

= Red or Green or 2 life = Green or White or 2 life = Red or White or 2 life = Green or Blue or 2 life

While the rules handle all ten forms of Phyrexian hybrid mana, only four Planeswalkers with the Compleated mechanic have been printed with the symbols.

Rules

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (July 25, 2025—Edge of Eternities)

Hybrid Mana Symbols

A mana symbol that represents a cost that can be paid in one of two ways. See rule 107.4.

From the Comprehensive Rules (July 25, 2025—Edge of Eternities)

• 107.4. The mana symbols are {W}, {U}, {B}, {R}, {G}, and {C}; the numerical symbols {0}, {1}, {2}, {3}, {4}, and so on; the variable symbol {X}; the hybrid symbols {W/U}, {W/B}, {U/B}, {U/R}, {B/R}, {B/G}, {R/G}, {R/W}, {G/W}, and {G/U}; the monocolored hybrid symbols {2/W}, {2/U}, {2/B}, {2/R}, {2/G}, {C/W}, {C/U}, {C/B}, {C/R}, and {C/G}; the Phyrexian mana symbols {W/P}, {U/P}, {B/P}, {R/P}, and {G/P}; the hybrid Phyrexian symbols {W/U/P}, {W/B/P}, {U/B/P}, {U/R/P}, {B/R/P}, {B/G/P}, {R/G/P}, {R/W/P}, {G/W/P}, and {G/U/P}; and the snow mana symbol {S}.

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (July 25, 2025—Edge of Eternities)

Hybrid Card

A card with one or more hybrid mana symbols in its mana cost. See rule 202.2f.

From the Comprehensive Rules (July 25, 2025—Edge of Eternities)

• 202.2d An object with one or more hybrid mana symbols and/or Phyrexian mana symbols in its mana cost is all of the colors of those mana symbols, in addition to any other colors the object might be. (Most cards with hybrid mana symbols in their mana costs are printed in a two-tone frame. See rule 107.4e.)

From the Comprehensive Rules (July 25, 2025—Edge of Eternities)

• 107.4e A hybrid mana symbol is also a colored mana symbol, even if one of its components is colorless. Each one represents a cost that can be paid in one of two ways, as represented by the two halves of the symbol. A hybrid symbol such as {W/U} can be paid with either white or blue mana, and a monocolored hybrid symbol such as {2/B} can be paid with either one black mana or two mana of any type. A hybrid mana symbol is all of its component colors.

  Example: {G/W}{G/W} can be paid by spending {G}{G}, {G}{W}, or {W}{W}.

Rulings

• Hybrid mana symbols appear only in costs, such as the mana cost in the upper right corner of a card or the cost to activate an activated ability.
• A card with hybrid mana symbols in its mana cost is each color that appears in its mana cost, regardless of what mana was spent to cast it. For example, the Deathcult Rogue is blue and black, even if you cast it with only blue mana.
• As you cast a spell or activate an activated ability with hybrid mana symbols in its cost, you choose which color of mana you will spend for each hybrid mana symbol. You do this at the same time you would choose modes or choose a value for an X in a mana cost. For example, you choose whether you'll cast Deathcult Rogue by paying , , or .
• Hybrid mana symbols, including monocolored hybrid mana symbols, do count toward devotion to their color(s). However, they add one devotion to each of their corresponding colors and one to their collected colors. For example, a mana will add one devotion to a Phenax, God of Deception and not two.

Trivia

• Hybrid mana symbols were featured as rules card 3 of 6 in the Shadowmoor set and 2 of 8 in the Eventide set and 1 of 3 in the Alara Reborn set.
• Transmogrant's Crown functionally has Equip , but as The Brothers' War featured no other hybrid mana symbols, the two-bird symbol wasn't used on the card.
• The idea for hybrid mana was inspired by the opposing "and" and "or" logical operators, i.e., prior multicolor cards required both colors of mana, while hybrid cards require only one.
• Three-color hybrid, or "tri-brid," is deemed too close to colorless, ugly, and confusing.
• Hybrid mana is considered to be a deciduous mechanic.
• In standard-legal expansions, hybrid cards were numbered after the traditional gold multicolor cards, but in reprint/special products like Commander or Planechase, they are numbered in amongst the gold cards. Strixhaven: School of Mages was the first premier to have all the hybrid cards numbered amongst the gold cards, which was also the policy for Bloomburrow.
  • Hybrid cards with unusual framings are put later in numbering: the hybrid cards in Murders at Karlov Manor were largely split and were put at the end, while Leyline of the Guildpact was listed the normal gold cards, and the hybrid cards of Modern Horizons 3 were all double-faced cards and were put at the end alongside the DFC planeswalkers.

See also

• Phyrexian mana, which can also be paid in two ways.

External links

• A Planeswalker's Primer for Alara Reborn: Hybrid
• Mark Rosewater (February 12, 2024). "The History of Hybrid, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Mark Rosewater (February 26, 2024). "The History of Hybrid, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.