Can Herald of Kozilek pay a Waste cost?
Asked by HeavyR 8 years ago
I have received mixed answers to my question at LGS. A highly respected and tenured judge I played at standard FNM allowed me to cast a Warping Wail and Spatial Contortion by designating the free 1colorless from Herald of Kozilek as the waste and then paying the other generic with a colored land. Then in a more casual setting the other day, when questioned, the store owner who is also a judge said it couldn't pay for the waste cost, only the generic colored mana symbol as directly seen in Herald of Kozilek text.
Maybe i've been doing it wrong, but if Shivan Reef can pay for a waste, I dont see how the Herald misses it somehow.
Rhadamanthus says... #2
To your Shivan Reef analogy: note that the current Oracle text of the Reef has been updated to use the 
symbol.
February 25, 2016 11:44 a.m.
Thanks for the quick responses, gentlemen.
I really hate Magic sometimes. How was i supposed to know that? Ugh, well the Herald is not nearly as good as i'd hoped. Time to go back to the drawing board.
February 25, 2016 12:11 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #4
You probably would have had an easier time understanding it if a clearer distinction between "colorless" and "generic" mana had been made while you were learning how to play. Many players think they're the same thing, since the same symbols have been used to write both of them for so long. Even though no rules or cards have actually changed, it's going to take a while for everyone to catch up.
JWiley129 says... Accepted answer #1
The big thing to note is that Herald of Kozilek always reduces generic costs, much like other cost reducers before it, e.g. Eye of Ugin. For example, if you want to cast a Matter Reshaper and you have an Eye of Ugin in play, you must pay
and similarly if you have a Herald of Kozilek in play you have to pay 
.
tl;dr - Store owner is correct, Herald of Kozilek can only reduce generic costs not the
costs.
February 25, 2016 11:39 a.m.