<p>There are not very many of them.</p>
<p>First, let's clear some <em>negative</em> cases out of the way:</p>
<ul>
<li>Many mechanics restate a cost in their reminder text that appears <em>before</em> the reminder text: cycling (<a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Thornado">Thornado</a>) and eternalize (<a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Dreamstealer">Dreamstealer</a>) for example. We're not counting these.</li>
<li><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=is%3Aphyrexian" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Phyrexian mana</a> and <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=is%3Ahybrid+fo%3A%22can+be+paid+with%22" rel="nofollow noreferrer">hybrid mana</a> come with reminder text about how to pay that cost. Like these mechanics, it's just explaining a cost that already exists on the card. Also not counted.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Mechanics</h2>
<p>The following mechanical features come with reminder text that uses a colored symbol that doesn't just correspond to a cost already expressed:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=kw%3Aextort&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Extort</a></strong> as noted always includes the symbol {W/B} in its reminder text.</li>
<li><strong><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=o%3A%22devotion+to%22&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Devotion</a></strong> has reminder text that often includes a mana symbol, but is (so far) exclusively used this way on cards that already featured that mana symbol.</li>
<li><strong><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=%28type%3Aplains+or+type%3Aisland+or+type%3Aswamp+or+type%3Amountain+or+type%3Aforest%29&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Cards with land types</a></strong> come with reminder text about their intrinsic mana abilities: for example <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Steam%20Vents">Steam Vents</a> and <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Molten%20Tributary">Molten Tributary</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>... and that's it.</p>
<h2>One-off cards</h2>
<p>There's also a couple of one-off cards that do this, giving the colored symbol <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=fo%3A%2Ffor+example.%2B%5Csm%2F&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name" rel="nofollow noreferrer">as an example</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Charmed%20Pendant">Charmed Pendant</a></li>
<li><a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Trinisphere">Trinisphere</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Sourcing</h2>
<p>How do we find this stuff, confirm it, or find out if it's changed?</p>
<h3>Searching through Scryfall</h3>
<p>We can search Scryfall pretty helpfully with regex:</p>
<ul>
<li>We can search for cards with mana symbols in their reminder text like this: <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=fulloracle%3A%2F%5C%28.*%5Csm.*%5C%29%2F&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><code>fulloracle:/\(.*\sm.*\)/</code></a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>We can build on that to search <em>specifically</em> for <em>colored</em> mana symbols in reminder text like this: <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=fulloracle%3A%2F%5C%28.*%5C%7B.*%5Bwubrg%5D.*%5C%7D.*%5C%29%2F&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><code>fulloracle:/\(.*\{.*[wubrg].*\}.*\)/</code></a></li>
<li>We can further eliminate reminder text that is preceded by “Words {X}” or “Words N—{X}”, eliminating things like Embalm and Suspend, using a <a href="https://www.regular-expressions.info/lookaround.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">negative lookbehind</a>: <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=fulloracle%3A%2F%28%3F%3C%21%5B%5Cw+%5D%2B%28%5BX%5Cd%5D%E2%80%94%29%3F%5Csm%2B+%29%5C%28.*%5C%7B.*%5Bwubrg%5D.*%5C%7D.*%5C%29%2F&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><code>fulloracle:/(?&lt;![\w ]+([X\d]—)?\sm+ )\(.*\{.*[wubrg].*\}.*\)/</code></a></li>
</ul>
<p>This helps us find the above cases.</p>
<h3>Searching through comprehensive rules</h3>
<p>If we search through the comp rules, e.g. <a href="https://yawgatog.com/resources/magic-rules/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">at Yawgatog's reference</a>, we could look for all the occurrences of the text <code>pay {</code>, which would be the start of a cost. Some of those are going to be in the keyword abilities/actions section.</p>
<p>There's only 12 occurrences for that on the page, and there's only one mechanic that has a colored symbol in its definition: Extort.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-04T18:55:01.803Z
It may be worth noting that lands with basic land types [still affect](https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/a/51419/21678) what commander decks they are legal in, even though the mana symbols are only in reminder text (if at all).
Kamil Drakari
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-04T19:58:39.930Z
The mana symbols on basic lands are not relevant to the reason that color identity rules apply to them. There is a separate rule, 903.5d, that specifically applies color identity restrictions to basic land *types*.
murgatroid99
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-04T11:37:39.350Z
2022-11-04T14:17:52.167Z
2022-11-04T14:17:52.167Z
doppelgreener
<p><a href="https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Extort" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Extort</a> is the best known example of a Magic: the Gathering mechanic which has coloured mana in its reminder text:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>702.101a Extort is a triggered ability. “Extort” means “Whenever you cast a spell, you may pay {W/B}. If you do, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain life equal to the total life lost this way.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As the coloured mana is <em>only</em> in the reminder text, this does not affect the <a href="https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/mtg-color-identity">colour identity</a> of the card, meaning cards with extort can be used in Commander decks where the Commander does not have a colour identity including black and white.</p>
<p>What other mechanics (if any) have coloured mana symbols in their reminder texts?</p>

<magic-the-gathering><mtg-color-identity>
What mechanics have coloured mana in their reminder texts?
Philip Kendall
# What mechanics have coloured mana in their reminder texts?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-11-04)

[Extort](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Extort) is the best known example of a Magic: the Gathering mechanic which has coloured mana in its reminder text:

> 702.101a Extort is a triggered ability. “Extort” means “Whenever you cast a spell, you may pay {W/B}. If you do, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain life equal to the total life lost this way.”

As the coloured mana is *only* in the reminder text, this does not affect the [colour identity](https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/mtg-color-identity) of the card, meaning cards with extort can be used in Commander decks where the Commander does not have a colour identity including black and white.

What other mechanics (if any) have coloured mana symbols in their reminder texts?

**Tags:** magic-the-gathering, mtg-color-identity


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-11-04. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

There are not very many of them.

First, let's clear some *negative* cases out of the way:

* Many mechanics restate a cost in their reminder text that appears *before* the reminder text: cycling ([Thornado](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Thornado)) and eternalize ([Dreamstealer](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Dreamstealer)) for example. We're not counting these.
* [Phyrexian mana](https://scryfall.com/search?q=is%3Aphyrexian) and [hybrid mana](https://scryfall.com/search?q=is%3Ahybrid+fo%3A%22can+be+paid+with%22) come with reminder text about how to pay that cost. Like these mechanics, it's just explaining a cost that already exists on the card. Also not counted.

## Mechanics

The following mechanical features come with reminder text that uses a colored symbol that doesn't just correspond to a cost already expressed:

* **[Extort](https://scryfall.com/search?q=kw%3Aextort&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name)** as noted always includes the symbol {W/B} in its reminder text.
* **[Devotion](https://scryfall.com/search?q=o%3A%22devotion+to%22&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name)** has reminder text that often includes a mana symbol, but is (so far) exclusively used this way on cards that already featured that mana symbol.
* **[Cards with land types](https://scryfall.com/search?q=%28type%3Aplains+or+type%3Aisland+or+type%3Aswamp+or+type%3Amountain+or+type%3Aforest%29&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name)** come with reminder text about their intrinsic mana abilities: for example [Steam Vents](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Steam%20Vents) and [Molten Tributary](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Molten%20Tributary).

... and that's it.

## One-off cards

There's also a couple of one-off cards that do this, giving the colored symbol [as an example](https://scryfall.com/search?q=fo%3A%2Ffor+example.%2B%5Csm%2F&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name):

* [Charmed Pendant](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Charmed%20Pendant)
* [Trinisphere](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Trinisphere)

## Sourcing

How do we find this stuff, confirm it, or find out if it's changed?

### Searching through Scryfall

We can search Scryfall pretty helpfully with regex:

* We can search for cards with mana symbols in their reminder text like this: [`fulloracle:/\(.*\sm.*\)/`](https://scryfall.com/search?q=fulloracle%3A%2F%5C%28.*%5Csm.*%5C%29%2F&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name)

* We can build on that to search *specifically* for *colored* mana symbols in reminder text like this: [`fulloracle:/\(.*\{.*[wubrg].*\}.*\)/`](https://scryfall.com/search?q=fulloracle%3A%2F%5C%28.*%5C%7B.*%5Bwubrg%5D.*%5C%7D.*%5C%29%2F&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name)
* We can further eliminate reminder text that is preceded by “Words {X}” or “Words N—{X}”, eliminating things like Embalm and Suspend, using a [negative lookbehind](https://www.regular-expressions.info/lookaround.html): [`fulloracle:/(?<![\w ]+([X\d]—)?\sm+ )\(.*\{.*[wubrg].*\}.*\)/`](https://scryfall.com/search?q=fulloracle%3A%2F%28%3F%3C%21%5B%5Cw+%5D%2B%28%5BX%5Cd%5D%E2%80%94%29%3F%5Csm%2B+%29%5C%28.*%5C%7B.*%5Bwubrg%5D.*%5C%7D.*%5C%29%2F&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name)

This helps us find the above cases.

### Searching through comprehensive rules

If we search through the comp rules, e.g. [at Yawgatog's reference](https://yawgatog.com/resources/magic-rules/), we could look for all the occurrences of the text `pay {`, which would be the start of a cost. Some of those are going to be in the keyword abilities/actions section.

There's only 12 occurrences for that on the page, and there's only one mechanic that has a colored symbol in its definition: Extort.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: It may be worth noting that lands with basic land types [still affect](https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/a/51419/21678) what commander decks they are legal in, even though the mana symbols are only in reminder text (if at all).  
> **username_3**: The mana symbols on basic lands are not relevant to the reason that color identity rules apply to them. There is a separate rule, 903.5d, that specifically applies color identity restrictions to basic land *types*.  

---

