What is color identity in Commander?

A card's color identity is the set of colors of its mana symbols anywhere on the card, including in casting cost and rules text, plus any color indicator. In Commander, every card's identity must be a subset of the commander's identity.

Do colorless and generic mana count?

No. Generic mana like {2} and truly colorless {C} symbols add no colored identity. Only the five colored pips W, U, B, R and G contribute, so a 7-mana artifact with no colored pips fits any deck.

What about hybrid and Phyrexian symbols?

Hybrid pips like {W/U} contribute both colors to identity. Phyrexian pips like {W/P} still contribute their color. This tool counts each colored letter inside a brace group, so {B/G} adds both black and green.

Does rules-text mana count too?

Yes. A card like a land that taps for {G} or an ability that says add {R} carries that color in its identity even with a colorless mana cost. Paste any such symbols on the line so the checker sees them.

Why is my mono-color deck flagging a card?

If a flagged card shows an extra pip, it has a colored symbol somewhere your commander does not allow. Even a single off-color hybrid or activated-ability pip makes the card illegal in that deck.

MTG Commander Color Identity Checker

In Commander (EDH), your commander dictates which colors your whole deck may use: every card’s color identity must be a subset of the commander’s. This checker parses the mana symbols you paste, derives each card’s color identity using the real rule, and flags anything that strays outside your commander’s colors.

How it works

A color identity is the set of the five colors — White, Blue, Black, Red, Green — that appear as mana symbols anywhere on a card. The tool scans each brace group in your input. Generic numbers and colorless symbols add nothing; each colored letter inside a group adds that color, so a hybrid pip {W/U} contributes both white and blue.

A card is legal when:

card_identity ⊆ commander_identity

In words, every color the card uses must also be a color the commander allows. If a card introduces even one extra color, the deck-building rules make it illegal.

Example and tips

With a mono-red commander (identity R), Lightning Bolt {R} is legal but Boros Charm {R}{W} is illegal because of the white pip. Set the commander to a Boros (R/W) identity and both become legal. Remember to include colored symbols that appear in rules text — a land that adds {G} or a creature with a {B} activated ability carries that color even if its casting cost is colorless. Paste those symbols on the line so the checker can see them.