Colorless vs Generic in Edh

Asked by Colten_Lee 9 years ago

Okay, so with the new set and recent change between colorless and Generic mana it has raised a question that I can't find the answer for.

If you attempt to add mana to your mana pool that is outside your commanders color identity, do you get colorless or generic??

Also, my apologies if the answer was super easy to find, I might be blind. Thanks.

Raging_Squiggle says... Accepted answer #1

Neither. You can now produce mana outside of your commander's color identity. A Mana Confluence can generate in a mono- deck. Cards that specifically produce colorless mana (eg Sol Ring) have been errata'd to add that much instead.

January 27, 2016 10:56 a.m.

merrowMania says... #2

There was a recent rules change that allows players to add mana outside of their commanders' color identities to their mana pool. More specifically, the rule that made it colorless was repealed.

Under the old rules, you would receive colorless. Generic mana refers to a COST that can be paid by mana of any color or type. Colorless mana is the actual mana that can only be used to pay generic or colorless costs.

January 27, 2016 10:57 a.m.

Raging_Squiggle says... #3

Rule Changes for reference.

January 27, 2016 10:58 a.m.

Colten_Lee says... #4

Well that's cool. I saw the change on cards like Sol Ring buy I did not know about that rule change. Thanks much.

January 27, 2016 10:58 a.m.

BlueScope says... #5

That rule's been changed - or more precisely, gotten rid of. You can now add any color of mana to your mana pool (like Sol Ring, even though the image isn't updated, of course).

The only thing you could add to your mana pool would be colorless mana anyway, as generic mana is a cost requirement exclusively - indicated by , for example - whereas if a card previously said to add to your mana pool, that card now says to add to your mana pool.
There's a chance you might just be thinking about it too much - in the end, now that the EDH rule has been changed, it's quite simple: A source can add , , , , , or to your mana pool. Out of those, you can pay for generic mana with either mana, but to pay a cost of , you have to use specifically colorless mana (in the same way that you have to pay with for .

Also, colorless and generic mana's never been changed. The only difference is that colorless has it's own symbol now, which can be used to differentiate it from generic mana costs in order to require a specific method of payment.

January 27, 2016 11:04 a.m.