Understanding MTG Color Identity: Complete Guide for Commander Deck Building

In Commander, your deck's color identity is determined by your commander's mana symbols. Understanding what each color (and color combination) does well is essential for building effective decks.

This guide breaks down:

• What each color excels at
• What each color struggles with
• Color combination synergies
• How to choose colors for your strategy

The Five Colors of Magic

White (Plains)

Philosophy: Order, protection, community

What White Does Best:

• ✅ Small creature removal (Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile)
• ✅ Board wipes (Wrath of God, Day of Judgment)
• ✅ Life gain (easy and plentiful)
• ✅ Protection effects (indestructible, hexproof)
• ✅ Token creation (soldiers, angels, clerics)
• ✅ Enchantment synergies
• ✅ Tax effects (opponents pay more)

What White Struggles With:

• ❌ Card draw (worst color for it)
• ❌ Ramp (limited mana acceleration)
• ❌ Big creature removal (expensive effects)
• ❌ Direct damage (not white's thing)

Best White Cards Under $5:

• Swords to Plowshares ($1)
• Path to Exile ($2)
• Generous Gift ($0.50)
• Wrath of God ($5)
• Land Tax ($5)

White Archetypes:

• Tokens (go wide with small creatures)
• Lifegain (drain opponents, gain resources)
• Stax (slow opponents down)
• Enchantress (enchantment-matters)

Blue (Island)

Philosophy: Knowledge, manipulation, control

What Blue Does Best:

• ✅ Card draw (best color for it)
• ✅ Counterspells (interact with stack)
• ✅ Bounce (return to hand)
• ✅ Flying creatures (evasion)
• ✅ Extra turns (powerful but expensive)
• ✅ Artifact synergies
• ✅ Instant speed interaction

What Blue Struggles With:

• ❌ Creature removal (can't destroy, only bounce)
• ❌ Enchantment removal (almost impossible)
• ❌ Artifact removal (very limited)
• ❌ Going wide (prefers few big flyers)

Best Blue Cards Under $5:

• Counterspell ($1)
• Swan Song ($2)
• Brainstorm ($1)
• Ponder ($1)
• Fact or Fiction ($0.50)

Blue Archetypes:

• Control (counter everything, win late)
• Artifacts (artifact-matters payoffs)
• Spellslinger (instants/sorceries matter)
• Clones (copy opponent's best stuff)

Black (Swamp)

Philosophy: Ambition, death, sacrifice

What Black Does Best:

• ✅ Creature removal (best at it)
• ✅ Draw at cost (pay life for cards)
• ✅ Reanimation (return creatures from graveyard)
• ✅ Graveyard recursion (play from graveyard)
• ✅ Sacrifice synergies (aristocrats)
• ✅ Tutors (search library)
• ✅ Life drain (opponent loses, you gain)

What Black Struggles With:

• ❌ Artifact removal (very limited)
• ❌ Enchantment removal (very limited)
• ❌ Protection (usually sacrifices instead)
• ❌ Ramp (relies on artifacts)

Best Black Cards Under $5:

• Sign in Blood ($0.25)
• Night's Whisper ($0.50)
• Murder ($0.25)
• Feed the Swarm ($0.50)
• Animate Dead ($2)

Black Archetypes:

• Aristocrats (sacrifice creatures for value)
• Reanimator (cheat big creatures into play)
• Discard (make opponents discard)
• Voltron (suit up one big creature)

Red (Mountain)

Philosophy: Freedom, chaos, emotion

What Red Does Best:

• ✅ Direct damage (burn spells)
• ✅ Artifact removal (Vandalblast, Shattering Spree)
• ✅ Board wipes (damage-based)
• ✅ Haste (attack immediately)
• ✅ Temporary mana (rituals, treasures)
• ✅ Impulse draw (exile and play)
• ✅ Aggression (fast, aggressive creatures)

What Red Struggles With:

• ❌ Enchantment removal (Chaos Warp only)
• ❌ Card draw (worst after white)
• ❌ Ramp (relies on artifacts, treasures)
• ❌ Life gain (not red's thing)

Best Red Cards Under $5:

• Chaos Warp ($1)
• Blasphemous Act ($1)
• Lightning Bolt ($2)
• Reckless Impulse ($0.25)
• Impact Tremors ($1)

Red Archetypes:

• Goblins (tribal aggro)
• Dragons (big flying beaters)
• Burn (direct damage)
• Chaos (randomness, coin flips)

Green (Forest)

Philosophy: Growth, nature, strength

What Green Does Best:

• ✅ Ramp (best color for mana)
• ✅ Big creatures (largest and strongest)
• ✅ Artifact removal (Naturalize effects)
• ✅ Enchantment removal (plentiful)
• ✅ Card draw (conditional on creatures)
• ✅ Fight effects (creature removal)
• ✅ Stompy (big creature beatdown)

What Green Struggles With:

• ❌ Flying (mostly ground creatures)
• ❌ Counterspells (not green's philosophy)
• ❌ Board wipes (limited options)
• ❌ Evasion (easily blocked)

Best Green Cards Under $5:

• Beast Within ($0.50)
• Rampant Growth ($0.25)
• Cultivate ($0.50)
• Harmonize ($0.50)
• Eternal Witness ($2)

Green Archetypes:

• Stompy (big creatures)
• Elves (tribal ramp)
• +1/+1 Counters (grow creatures)
• Landfall (lands matter)

Two-Color Combinations (Guilds)

Azorius (White + Blue)

• Strengths: Control, flying, blinking
• Strategy: Counter + board wipes + flyers
• Weaknesses: Ramp, artifact/enchantment removal

Dimir (Blue + Black)

• Strengths: Control, removal, graveyard
• Strategy: Mill, reanimation, control
• Weaknesses: Artifact removal, enchantment removal

Rakdos (Black + Red)

• Strengths: Removal, aggro, sacrifice
• Strategy: Fast damage, aristocrats
• Weaknesses: Enchantment removal, ramp

Gruul (Red + Green)

• Strengths: Ramp, big creatures, aggro
• Strategy: Ramp into threats, burn, trample
• Weaknesses: Flying, card draw

Selesnya (Green + White)

• Strengths: Tokens, life gain, enchantments
• Strategy: Go wide, anthems, value
• Weaknesses: Card draw, counterspells

Orzhov (White + Black)

• Strengths: Removal, life drain, recursion
• Strategy: Aristocrats, lifegain drain
• Weaknesses: Artifact removal, ramp

Izzet (Blue + Red)

• Strengths: Spells, artifacts, tempo
• Strategy: Spellslinger, artifacts matter
• Weaknesses: Enchantment removal, ramp

Golgari (Black + Green)

• Strengths: Graveyard, removal, ramp
• Strategy: Reanimation, dredge, value
• Weaknesses: Flying, enchantment removal

Boros (Red + White)

• Strengths: Aggro, removal, tokens
• Strategy: Fast damage, wide boards
• Weaknesses: Card draw, ramp

Simic (Green + Blue)

• Strengths: Ramp, draw, big creatures
• Strategy: Value, counters, tempo
• Weaknesses: Board wipes, removal

Three-Color Combinations

Esper (White + Blue + Black)

• Identity: Control, artifacts, flyers
• Playstyle: Slow, controlling, grindy

Grixis (Blue + Black + Red)

• Identity: Spells, graveyard, chaos
• Playstyle: Aggressive control, burn

Jund (Black + Red + Green)

• Identity: Midrange, value, sacrifice
• Playstyle: Resource denial, attrition

Naya (Red + Green + White)

• Identity: Big creatures, tokens, aggro
• Playstyle: Fast, wide, or tall

Bant (Green + White + Blue)

• Identity: Enchantments, flyers, value
• Playstyle: Controlling midrange

Abzan (White + Black + Green)

• Identity: Graveyard, removal, value
• Playstyle: Grindy midrange

Jeskai (Blue + Red + White)

• Identity: Spells, tempo, control
• Playstyle: Prowess, tokens, burn

Sultai (Black + Green + Blue)

• Identity: Graveyard, control, value
• Playstyle: Slow, grindy, recursion

Mardu (Red + White + Black)

• Identity: Aggro, removal, aristocrats
• Playstyle: Fast damage, sacrifice

Temur (Green + Blue + Red)

• Identity: Big creatures, ramp, tempo
• Playstyle: Midrange aggro

Choosing Colors for Your Strategy

"I want to play big creatures"

→ Green + Red (Gruul) or Green (Mono)

"I want to control the game"

→ Blue + White (Azorius) or Blue + Black (Dimir)

"I want tokens and going wide"

→ Green + White (Selesnya) or White + Red (Boros)

"I want graveyard shenanigans"

→ Black + Green (Golgari) or Black + Blue (Dimir)

"I want to play artifacts"

→ Blue + Red (Izzet) or Blue (Mono)

"I want aristocrats/sacrifice"

→ Black + Red (Rakdos) or Black + White (Orzhov)

"I want to cast lots of spells"

→ Blue + Red (Izzet) or Red (Mono storm)

Using Our Assistant for Color Queries

Our assistant understands color pie questions:

• "Red card draw effects" → Impulse draw spells
• "White removal" → Spot removal and wraths
• "Green ramp spells" → Land fetch and mana dorks
• "Blue counterspells" → Permission spells
• "Black reanimation" → Graveyard recursion

Try it: Ask about what each color does for your strategy!

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Building a deck? Use our deck builder to ensure proper color balance and mana base.