Sphinx's Tutelage and Colorless Discard Repeating?

Asked by Zephakia 9 years ago

Okay, so this has me very much confuse. I was reading the rulings on and to me at least, they seem to contradict.

http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=398520

Rulings6/22/2015 Colorless is not a color, so putting two colorless cards into a graveyard wont cause the process to repeat.

6/22/2015 The process will keep repeating as long as both cards share a color and neither is a land card.

The part that contradicts to me is "Colorless is NOT a color..." then the second, "...keep repeating as long as both cards SHARE a color..." Help clearing this up would be grand, thanks!

Devonin says... #1

Nothing to understand.

If they both share a colour, you repeat.

Colorless, being not a colour, isn't even considered. If both cards are colourless, they don't share a colour, as that's not a colour.

December 8, 2015 6:48 p.m.

BlueScope says... Accepted answer #2

Please link all involved cards with double brackets, as described in the formatting help: Sphinx's Tutelage

The rulings mean that both cards need to share a color. The five colors in Magic are White, Blue, Black, Red and Green.

That means that if your two cards are Rancor and Burning-Tree Emissary, the effect repeats because they're both green, whereas if you see Rancor and Serum Visions, you're out of luck.

All the Rulings are explaning regarding colorless is that if you get Plains and Hangarback Walker, even though their color identity is exactly the same (no color), because they don't include a single color that they share, they won't allow you to repeat the process.

December 8, 2015 6:50 p.m.

pskinn01 says... #3

if both cards have at least one color in common (red, white, blue, green, or black) then you repeat the processes. Lands generally have no color.

December 8, 2015 6:50 p.m.

Zephakia says... #4

BlueScope sorry about not listing cards, and thanks for the in depth explanation. I think I was hooked up on the word "share" but with the way you explained it its more like they "have in common". I get it Thanks!

December 8, 2015 6:56 p.m.

RicketyEng says... #5

BlueScope, I would caution you on the difference between the colour of a card and its colour identity.

The colour of a card is whatever colours appear in its casting cost or the colour identifier that is near the card type line on transformed cards (since they don't have a casting cost). The colour identity is any colour symbol that appears in the casting cost or the rules text of the card (excluding reminder text).

Within the context of your answer, there was not really any ambiguity, so that's fine. However, in all technicality, while lands are colourless cards, they do have colour identities of whatever colours of mana they produce.

December 9, 2015 9:34 a.m.

BlueScope says... #6

@RicketyEng: You know, when re-reading this thread after Zephakia replied, I was considering to point out the difference, but decided against it to avoid more confusion, as I also noticed I used it in the normal-speech meaning, not the EDH rules meaning. :) Good catch, though!

To get even more nitpicky: Color is defined by the mana cost, a characteristic-defining ability, or the color indicator (that appears on cards other than double-sided ones, such as Dryad Arbor, too)

December 9, 2015 10:25 a.m.

RicketyEng says... #7

Ah, thank you. The colour indicator is what I tried to describe but didn't have the correct name for it.

December 9, 2015 12:21 p.m.

TheRedMage says... #8

Comprehensive list of transform cards with color indicators that are not two sided cards (for no other reason except that I like lists)

Notice that when these cards were first printed they had abilities that specified their color, and have now been errata'ed to have color indicators.

December 9, 2015 6:44 p.m.

This discussion has been closed