Cost descriptions
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Spells in Magic require mana for their activation. Their cost is a good measure to assess how effective the spell is and it is a decisive factor on deciding what card players will put into use in their decks. First of all; a spell has two costs:
- Mana Cost : A spell's mana cost is printed on the upper right corner of the card. The number indicates the amount of mana of any color required, the symbols indicate colored mana required. Note that Spells which require one specific color of mana are friendlier in multicolored decks, while spells that require more than three mana of a single color are more difficult to combine, thus being better for monocolored decks. Casting Cost is the obsolete term for Mana Cost.
- Converted Cost: A spell's converted cost is calculated simply by adding the number of symbols to the number printed in the casting cost. So, a spell like Cancel, which casting cost is
, has a converted cost of 3.
Some spells, like Wurmcalling and Fireball, have an X in their casting cost. For the purposes of calculating the converted mana cost any X is 0. Both spells have a converted cost of 1. Their casting cost, however, is decided by the player who casts them. If a player casts an aforementioned Fireball, dealing two damage to two target creatures, the spell's casting cost becomes five of any color and one red mana (Four mana goes to damage and one extra to choose an additional target plus the requisite red). In the case of Wurmcalling, if Player A decides to summon a 5/5 green Wurm creature token into play, the casting cost of her spell is five of any color plus one green (Please note; if player A decides to pay the buyback effect, it is not counted towards the casting cost).
As a land can only be played once per turn in normal circumstances, the converted cost is vital to develop a strategy. One mana spells can easily be played in the first turn; how good it is can be the key to victory. For example, a first turn where player B plays a basic mountain and a Raging Goblin is a great advantage as Player A is at 19 life before she could even play a single land (That is, if player B goes first).
Powerful spells either have a high converted cost (making it very difficult to cast in first turns) or a drawback, a clear disadvantage to the player who casts them. Hunted Horror is a great example, a 7/7 creature with trample for just two black mana, but casting it means putting two green 3/3 centaur creatures with protection from black in control of an opponent. Thus it is very unlikely that players summon a Hunted Horror unless they have a way of dealing with the tokens the opponent controls.
A creature with an ability will usually be somewhat more expensive than a creature of the same power/toughness and color (and the same for someone of the same ability(ies), just more power/thoughness). An ability is usually assigned to a color, but they can be shared with others. A card with an ability of the appropriate color will usually be cheaper than a borrowed ability.
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[edit] Converted Cost=1
[edit] Creatures
One mana creatures are among the best in the game, Birds of Paradise, Llanowar Elves, Mogg Fanatic, Will-O'-The-Wisp, Savannah Lions / Isamaru, Hound of Konda and others are 'meek' creatures that can open the game and are very sought after, some of them are the most expensive creatures in monetary value. A one mana creature will rarely be considered unbalanced, they are normally 1/1 or 0/1 with an additional ability. More powerful creatures will have a drawback. Accursed Centaur is a 2/2, but requires the sacrifice of another creature, Brass Man is a 1/3, but will not untap unless 1 is paid during its controller's upkeep, Cinder Wall is a 3/3, but it has Defender and is destroyed after it blocks.
The biggest artifact creature; Phyrexian Dreadnought is a 12/12 for just one mana
[edit] Instants
One mana instants are versatile, easy to cast and a great response to many situations. An opponent with just one untapped land could always react. The drawback is; such easy instants can only be used in a very specific situation. Such spells can stay in a player's hand for a long time and some others could not be used at all.
However, the five boons, Healing Salve,Lightning Bolt,Giant Growth,Dark Ritual and Ancestral Recall (plus Brute Force) follow the theme of one gives three. They are flexible and in an opening hand can prove deadly; A player could cast a Hypnotic Specter in turn one thanks to a Dark Ritual, seriously crippling an opponent in the early game.
Charms are other example of one gives three; each have three effects that could be put into use in case one of the situations arise. Funeral Charm, as an example, becomes highly valued as it is one of the few instants that force an opponent to discard (This effect is mostly achieved by sorceries).
Spells like Mana Tithe are very useful in the early turns, but lose their effectiveness as the game progresses.
Instants that prevent all combat damage in a particular turn, like Holy Day, Fog or Darkness are one mana, they can be the difference between a defeat and a victory.
[edit] Sorceries
It is very uncommon to play sorceries in the first turn, except for Duress, which can give the player a good idea about the opponent's plans. Sorceries for one mana normally have return effects as Flashback, Haunt and Buyback, allowing players to use them more than once or their effect increases as more copies can be found in graveyards, such as Rite of Flame.
Sorceries may have additional costs, such as a sacrifice, in order to increase their effect or drawbacks, such as gamble, which allows a player to search for a card and then discard a card at random, possibly ending up discarding the desired card.
Many cantrips, which allow the player to draw a card after a seemingly insignificant effect, fall in this category.
Note that, as any X in the cost is 0, almost all X sorceries fall in this category; Fireball, Blaze, Wurmcalling, Prosperity and Hurricane, among others, are spells which strength and effectiveness depends on the mana paid.
[edit] Enchantments
First turn enchantments are not a usual move, except for Telepathy, Exploration or Darkest Hour, that could change the feeling of the entire match. One mana enchantments are usually auras which provide creatures with a single, additional ability, which makes them slightly better. Effects include; give enchanted creature additional power and toughness (Holy Strength and Unholy Strength follow the one-gives-three tendency), give enchanted creature a static ability (Flying, protection from any color, lifelink and such) or any other abilities that hinder the creature in specific situations (Curiosity does not stop a creature from attacking, but makes it impractical, Earthbind only works on creatures with flying).
[edit] Artifacts
One mana artifacts are cheap catalysts of colored magic (such as Mirrodin's Spellbombs), Mana accelerators (Barbed Sextant, Chromatic Star, Chromatic Sphere) or they trigger in specific situations (The Rack, Feldon's Cane, Black Vise). These small artifacts can improve their effect adding sacrifice as an activation cost.
Note that one-mana artifacts for themselves are not very effective, they are 'jigsaw pieces', designed to work in tandem. A Black Vise will deal a couple points of damage the first turns and become food for Atog later if left outside a combination where it could synergize and be the coup-de-grace to defeat the opponent.
[edit] Converted Cost=2
A lot of useful spells out there only cost 2. Whether it's 1C, CC, CD or 2; there are alot of good spells out there for monocolor-, multicolor- or even colorless-focused decks.
[edit] Creatures
Second turn creatures are usually the first line on building a strategy, they can be strong enough to stop first turn weenies or their abilities set the tone for the rest of the game. A well placed Ravenous Rats, although a 1/1, can be the harbinger of greater doom.
Converted cost 2 creatures are usually 1/1 with additional abilities (Dauthi Ghoul,Crimson Acolyte, Darting Merfolk, Dawnstrider Dunerider Outlaw ) or 2/2 creatures with a static ability (Shivan Zombie,Fallen Askari,Galina's Knight). The parameter to measure a 2 mana creature is Grizzly Bear, a 2/2 with no abilities.
Black and Red creatures usually have a drawback if they are 2/2 (Goblin Elite Infantry,Spineless Thug, Filthy Cur)
Ravnica's block Guildmages are catalysts, they are 2/2 creatures with activated abilities more expensive than their casting costs, making them useful in strategies and not in brute force attacks.
[edit] Instants
It is a fact, you should always suspect something when your opponent has two untapped lands and is looking at a card in her hand. Two-mana instants are the
The first counterspell had a converted cost of two, but it was phased out in favor of other, specialized counterspells: Remove Soul, Flashfreeze and Dash Hopes.
Black's homicidal tendencies start with Terror, Premature Burial, Cruel Edict and Cradle to the Grave.
Red has Incinerate and Pyroclasm to embody its raw power, even at this level mass destruction is a possibility.
[edit] Converted Cost=3
[edit] Instants
This is the threshold of practicality for instants. Leaving three untapped lands can be too difficult during the early game. Cancel, while it is a straightforward counterspell, is overlooked in favor of cheaper Delay and Remand, which, if not used wisely, could blow up in the face of the caster.
Dark Banishing is strictly worse than the cheaper Terror, although it can destroy artifact creatures. Assassinate overcomes both spell's limitations (though it is mostly useless against creatures with vigilance), For red, Carbonize offers little over the cheaper Incinerate,, but Char is an improvement, though it comes with a drawback.
[edit] Is this spell efficient?
The following is a checklist to calculate the total effectiveness of a spell:
[edit] Creatures
-Will I be able to summon this creature in the early game?
-Is This creature capable of giving me an advantage (albeit slight) over my opponents?
-If the creature has drawbacks, will I be able to cope with it?
-Will I be able to use its activated or triggered abilities frequently?
-How does this creature interact with the rest of my deck?
-Do I really like this creature? Am I clinging to this creature for the wrong reasons?
-Can I substitute it for a cheaper creature with the same abilities?
[edit] Instants
-Can I spare the mana for its activation?
-How often will I be able to have it ready?
-Is it possible that it will stay in my hand the whole game?
[edit] Sorceries
-Will they work with my available resources?
-Can I achieve the same result with an instant?
-Can I achieve the same result with a creature's abilities?
[edit] Artifacts
-Can I achieve the same results with colored spells?
[edit] Enchantments
-Will they affect my own or my opponent's creatures?
[edit] General (or, things that cost more than 2)
Further information might be found on the talk page. |
[edit] Creatures
A way to tell how efficient a creature card is the following:
0. Always start with zero
| Step | Condition | Add | Example |
| 1 | For every power and toughness pair | 1 | 2 for a 2/2 |
| 1a | For every additional power above its toughness | 1 | 3 for a 3/1 or a 3/2 |
| 1b | For every additional toughness above its power | 0.5 | 2 for a 0/4 |
| 2a | For every ability of it's color(s) | 1 | 2 for shadow and flying on a blue-black. |
| 2b | For every ability of that is not of it's color(s) | 1.25 (for something shared evenly) to 1.5 (for completely out of color) | 2.25 for shadow and flying on a pure blue or pure black |
| 3 | Find out total | What ever it is | A |
| Step | Condition | Add | Example |
| 1 | For every power and toughness pair | One | 2 for a 2/2 |
| 1a | For every additional power above its toughness | 1 | 3 for a 3/1 or a 3/2 |
| 1b | For every additional toughness above its power | 0.5 | 2 for a 0/4 |
| 2a | For every ability of no's color(s) (like affinity) | 1 | 1 for affinity. |
| 2b | For every ability of that is of a color | 2 | 4 for flying and vigilance |
| 3 | Find out total, and divided it by 2. | What ever it is | A |
Next, calculate the true cost of the card:
| Step | Condition | Add | Examples |
| 1 | Each colored mana in the cost | 1 | BG is 2 |
| 2 | Each colorless mana in the cost | 0.5 | 4 (all colorless) is 2 |
| 3 | Give a value to any additional costs | Varies | |
| 4 | Total it up | Whatever it is | B |
When done, Compare A and B.
- If A is greater than B, then it's a cheap card (like a 1/1 with first strike for only 1 white)
- examples: Boros Recurit, Tundra Wolves, Serra Zealot
- If B is greater than A, than it's expensive.
- examples: Vizzerdrix
- If they are Even, than it's balanced.
- The degree of how "cheap", "expensive", or "balanced" a card is depends on how big the difference between A and B is, and personal opinion.
Note: This is a scale. Just because a card is "expensive" here, doesn't mean it's not usable. all cards are usable under certain strategies. Also, this is just one way to tell. There are many others
| Creature | Cost | Color | Deck | Set and block | Spell | Strategy |
