Commander Glossary
Color identity is the rule that actually decides what can go in a Commander deck — and it's broader than a card's mana cost. A commander's color identity sets the deck's color restrictions; every other card in the deck has to fit inside it.
A card's color identity is its color, plus every colored mana symbol found anywhere in its rules text — not just its casting cost — plus a color indicator if it has one. In Commander, every card in your deck must have a color identity that's a subset of your commander's. If your commander's identity is Simic (green and blue), every other card in the deck has to be green, blue, some combination of the two, or colorless — nothing red, white, or black allowed, no matter how good the card is.
A card's color is just what's in its mana cost. A card's color identity is broader — it factors in every colored mana symbol anywhere in the card's printed rules text, whether or not that color shows up in the casting cost. A colorless artifact with a red activated ability (something like {1}, {T}: Deal 1 damage) is colorless by cost, but red by identity — it can't go in a deck whose commander doesn't include red.
Mana symbols in the casting cost
The obvious one — {G}{G} means green is in the identity.
Colored mana symbols in the rules text
Even if the casting cost is colorless. A colorless artifact with a red activated ability has red in its identity.
A color indicator
Rare, but some cards (mostly with no mana cost printed) have an explicit color indicator that sets their color and identity directly.
Hybrid mana symbols
A hybrid {R/G} symbol adds both red and green to the identity, even though you only ever pay one or the other.
Phyrexian mana symbols
A Phyrexian {G/P} symbol still adds green to the identity, even if you always pay the generic-mana alternative instead.
Reminder text
Italicized rules reminders don't count, even if they contain colored mana symbols — only the actual rules text does.
Basic land types
A card that fetches or cares about 'Forest' isn't green from that alone — land types aren't colors.
Flavor text
Never counts. It isn't rules text at all.
Color identity is the actual mechanism behind "what can I put in this deck," which makes it worth understanding precisely rather than approximately — a card that looks off-color at a glance (or on-color when it isn't) is one of the more common deckbuilding mistakes new Commander players make. When in doubt, check a card's full printed rules text, not just the mana symbols in its cost.
A card's color identity is its color, plus every colored mana symbol anywhere in its rules text (not just its casting cost), plus any color indicator it has. In Commander, every card in your deck must have a color identity that's a subset of your commander's — that's the rule that actually restricts what goes in the deck.
Not quite. A card's color is just what's in its mana cost. Color identity is broader — it also picks up colored mana symbols anywhere in the rules text, even on a card that's technically colorless. A colorless artifact with a green activated ability has green in its identity despite having no colored mana in its casting cost.
Yes, both do, for every color referenced in the symbol — regardless of which half you'd actually pay. A hybrid {W/U} symbol adds both white and blue to the identity; a Phyrexian {B/P} symbol adds black, even if you always pay the 2 generic mana instead.
It's what makes Commander's 'legendary creature plus 99 cards that fit' structure work. Without it, a card could dodge deck restrictions just by being printed at a colorless cost while still functioning like a colored spell through its rules text — color identity closes that gap.
Life totals, Commander damage, and a win-rate record for every deck you bring to the table.
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