<p><strong>A card's color is all colors contained in its mana cost</strong>, be it regular mana symbols and/or hybrid and/or Phyrexian mana, plus the color of its color indicator, if any:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>202.2d An object with one or more hybrid mana symbols and/or Phyrexian mana symbols in its mana cost is all of the colors of those mana symbols, in addition to any other colors the object might be. (Most cards with hybrid mana symbols in their mana costs are printed in a two-tone frame. See rule 107.4e.)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Also, it's not at all unusual that a card has a color that is different to what you pay to cast it. There are numerous cases where those two properties are unrelated.</p>

<p>Examples include: </p>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&amp;type=+%5b%22Creature%22%5d&amp;cmc=+=%5b0%5d">Creatures that have no mana costs at all or cost zero mana</a></li>
<li><a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=+%5bconvoke%5d||type=+%5bconvoke%5d||subtype=+%5bconvoke%5d||text=+%5bconvoke%5d">Creatures that have their colored mana costs reduced to zero</a></li>
<li><a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=+%5bput%5d+%5bcreature%5d+%5bcard%5d+%5bhand%5d+%5bbattlefield%5d||type=+%5bput%5d+%5bcreature%5d+%5bcard%5d+%5bhand%5d+%5bbattlefield%5d||subtype=+%5bput%5d+%5bcreature%5d+%5bcard%5d+%5bhand%5d+%5bbattlefield%5d||text=+%5bput%5d+%5bcreature%5d+%5bcard%5d+%5bhand%5d+%5bbattlefield%5d">Creatures that are brought into play without paying its mana costs through other means</a></li>
<li><a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&amp;text=+%5brather%5d+%5bthan%5d+%5bpay%5d&amp;type=+%5b%22Creature%22%5d">Creatures that have alternative costs that do not include mana at all</a></li>
<li>and so on.</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-08-28T19:52:40.340Z
In other words, ***Yes***.
cdeszaq
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-08-28T22:26:40.140Z
@cdeszaq I prefer a "Yes, because..." though. It is what makes a correct answer a good answer.
Hackworth
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-08-29T14:14:23.073Z
I agree with you completely, and was just filling in the missing affirmative :)
cdeszaq
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-08-30T06:06:27.090Z
You can say that Ghostfire is the exception that proves the rule. http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?size=small&type=card&name=Ghostfire&options=
AndSoYouCode
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-08-31T08:49:52.233Z
@AndSoYouCode It's not an exception per se. An ability or property of a specific card can override any rule in the rule book.
Hackworth
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-08-31T13:35:12.270Z
@Hackworth Yeah, you're right. My point was that since they feel the need to write it explicit then it's an exception to the regular case.
AndSoYouCode
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-08-28T18:27:10.707Z
2012-08-28T18:42:22.290Z
2012-08-28T18:42:22.290Z
Hackworth
<p><a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=157286">Say I play a Noggle Bandit</a> (or any card with split mana in its cost). Does its color depend on what mana I use to play it, or is it always both red and blue? It seems a little weird that this card would return <a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=110639">Aurora Eidolon</a> from my graveyard to my hand AND be able to block red creatures with intimidate if I only paid blue mana for it, but I highly doubt that it would 'remember' the mana-color used to play it. Likewise, <a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=159408">Reaper King</a> would always be 5 colors no matter how I pay its cost, right?</p>

<magic-the-gathering>
Is a spell with split mana in its cost a multicolored spell?
Gordon Gustafson
# Is a spell with split mana in its cost a multicolored spell?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-08-28)

[Say I play a Noggle Bandit](http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=157286) (or any card with split mana in its cost). Does its color depend on what mana I use to play it, or is it always both red and blue? It seems a little weird that this card would return [Aurora Eidolon](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=110639) from my graveyard to my hand AND be able to block red creatures with intimidate if I only paid blue mana for it, but I highly doubt that it would 'remember' the mana-color used to play it. Likewise, [Reaper King](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=159408) would always be 5 colors no matter how I pay its cost, right?

**Tags:** magic-the-gathering


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2012-08-28. Score: 12 | Accepted answer

**A card's color is all colors contained in its mana cost**, be it regular mana symbols and/or hybrid and/or Phyrexian mana, plus the color of its color indicator, if any:

> 202.2d An object with one or more hybrid mana symbols and/or Phyrexian mana symbols in its mana cost is all of the colors of those mana symbols, in addition to any other colors the object might be. (Most cards with hybrid mana symbols in their mana costs are printed in a two-tone frame. See rule 107.4e.)

Also, it's not at all unusual that a card has a color that is different to what you pay to cast it. There are numerous cases where those two properties are unrelated.

Examples include:

* [Creatures that have no mana costs at all or cost zero mana](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&type=+%5b%22Creature%22%5d&cmc=+=%5b0%5d)
* [Creatures that have their colored mana costs reduced to zero](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=+%5bconvoke%5d||type=+%5bconvoke%5d||subtype=+%5bconvoke%5d||text=+%5bconvoke%5d)
* [Creatures that are brought into play without paying its mana costs through other means](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=+%5bput%5d+%5bcreature%5d+%5bcard%5d+%5bhand%5d+%5bbattlefield%5d||type=+%5bput%5d+%5bcreature%5d+%5bcard%5d+%5bhand%5d+%5bbattlefield%5d||subtype=+%5bput%5d+%5bcreature%5d+%5bcard%5d+%5bhand%5d+%5bbattlefield%5d||text=+%5bput%5d+%5bcreature%5d+%5bcard%5d+%5bhand%5d+%5bbattlefield%5d)
* [Creatures that have alternative costs that do not include mana at all](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&text=+%5brather%5d+%5bthan%5d+%5bpay%5d&type=+%5b%22Creature%22%5d)
* and so on.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: In other words, ***Yes***.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 I prefer a "Yes, because..." though. It is what makes a correct answer a good answer.  
> **username_2**: I agree with you completely, and was just filling in the missing affirmative :)  
> **username_3**: You can say that Ghostfire is the exception that proves the rule. http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?size=small&type=card&name=Ghostfire&options=  
> **username_1**: @username_3 It's not an exception per se. An ability or property of a specific card can override any rule in the rule book.  
> **username_3**: @username_1 Yeah, you're right. My point was that since they feel the need to write it explicit then it's an exception to the regular case.  

---

