Mana cost
From MTG Salvation Wiki
Mana cost, formerly known as casting cost, is the mana payment required to play a spell. It is found in the upper-right corner of a Magic card and is a characteristic of that card. Unlike converted mana cost, mana cost includes the colored mana symbols. Cards such as Charmed Pendant reference mana cost. Although cards like Fist of Suns change the amount and type of mana required to play a spell, they cannot change the mana cost.
The colored mana costs are specifically represented by 
, 
, 
, 
, and 
. They can also be generically represented as C, CD, CDE, or CDEF. These generic representations are useful when discussing cards or cycles in different colors that have similar mana costs. A few examples follow:
- Martyred Rusalka has a mana cost of , or C generically.
- Dragon Wings has a mana cost of
, or 1C generically.
- Keeper of the Dead has a mana cost of , or CC generically.
- Borborygmos has a mana cost of
, or 3CCDD generically.
- Dromar's Charm has a mana cost of , or CDE generically.
- Ink-Treader Nephilim has a mana cost of , or CDEF generically.
- Sliver Queen has a mana cost of {WUBRG} and has no need for a generic representation.
From the Comprehensive Rules
- 104.3. The mana symbols are , , , , , and
; the numerals 
, , 
, , 
, and so on; the hybrid symbols 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, and 
; and the snow symbol 
.
- 104.3a Each of the colored mana symbols represents one colored mana: is white, blue, black, red, and green.
- 104.3b Numeral symbols (such as ) are generic mana costs and represent an amount of mana that can be paid with any color of, or colorless, mana.
- 104.3c The symbol represents an unspecified amount of mana; when playing a spell or activated ability with in its cost, its controller decides the value of that variable.
- 104.3a Each of the colored mana symbols represents one colored mana:
Notes
- The mana cost symbols
and 
are obsolete.
