Does Devoid Count as Colorless in Hand?
The short answer is a resounding yes, devoid cards are considered colorless even when they are in your hand. The devoid ability is a characteristic-defining ability, which means it applies to the card at all times, regardless of its location. This includes when the card is in your hand, in your library, in the graveyard, on the stack as a spell, or even outside the game. Therefore, if a card has devoid, it is a colorless card through and through.
This distinction is crucial because it interacts with several other mechanics in Magic: The Gathering. Understanding how devoid functions is essential to correctly play and build your decks. This article dives deeper into the nuances of devoid and its interaction with various aspects of the game, answering frequently asked questions to provide a comprehensive understanding.
Understanding Devoid: A Characteristic-Defining Ability
What Makes Devoid Unique?
Devoid isn’t just a keyword; it’s a powerful characteristic-defining ability that fundamentally alters a card’s color status. Unlike other abilities that might only apply when a card is on the battlefield, devoid works constantly, making a card colorless at all times. This means a creature with devoid is colorless in your hand, a colorless spell when cast, and a colorless permanent on the battlefield.
The Key Rule: Rule 604.3
Rule 604.3 of the official Magic: The Gathering rules explicitly states: “Some static abilities are characteristic-defining abilities. A characteristic-defining ability conveys information about a card’s characteristics that are not printed on that card.” This rule validates the always-on nature of devoid and explains why it modifies a card’s color even when it’s not in play. It’s not a triggered ability; it’s always affecting the card.
Devoid and Color Identity: An Important Distinction
Devoid Does Not Change Color Identity
While devoid makes a card colorless, it doesn’t alter its color identity. A card’s color identity is determined by the colors of mana symbols present in its casting cost and any mana symbols that appear in the rules text. It’s the color identity that determines what cards you can include in a Commander deck, not the card’s color. Therefore, if a card with devoid has a colored mana symbol in its casting cost, it has a color identity of that color, even though the card itself is colorless.
Implications for Commander Decks
Because of this distinction, devoid cards can not be included in a colorless commander deck, because they contain a colored mana symbol in their casting cost, defining their color identity despite being colorless. This highlights a critical rule difference: a card’s color and its color identity are distinct concepts. This is key to understanding devoid in the context of deckbuilding.
FAQs: Delving Deeper into Devoid and Colorless
Here are some frequently asked questions, expanding on the concepts of devoid and colorlessness in Magic: The Gathering:
1. Can devoid cards be in a colorless deck?
No. While the devoid ability makes a card colorless, a card’s Color Identity is determined by the color or colors of the mana symbols in the card’s casting cost and/or text box.
2. How does devoid work in magic?
Devoid is a characteristic-defining ability that can appear on any card type, and simply makes the card colorless regardless of its mana cost.
3. Does devoid work in hand?
Yes. The devoid ability functions everywhere, even outside the game, according to rule 604.3. Therefore, a card with devoid is colorless in your hand.
4. Do devoid cards count towards devotion?
Yes. Mana symbols on permanents with devoid still count towards devotion. Devotion simply counts mana symbols, not the colors of the permanents themselves.
5. Does a colorless card have a color identity?
No. Cards that do not have any colors in their casting cost, any color indicator or color-setting characteristic-defining abilities on the card nor any mana symbols in the card’s rules text (excluding any reminder text) do not have a color identity. This is equivalent to colorless cards, which do not have a color.
6. Can you put colorless in a Commander deck?
Yes. Every card in your Commander deck must only use mana symbols that also appear on your commander. Colorless cards are allowed as well, provided they don’t have colored mana symbols in their casting costs.
7. Does colorless count as a color MTG?
No, colorless is not a color. It is either a type of objects or a type of mana. It is not represented in the color wheel.
8. What is colorless in Magic?
In Magic, a colorless card is one that doesn’t have any colored mana pips in its casting cost. They can be cast with only generic mana.
9. Do artifacts count as colorless?
Most artifacts have no colored mana symbols in their mana costs, and are therefore colorless. However, some artifacts may have colored mana symbols in their text box or casting cost, and are therefore colored.
10. Does commander plate protect from colorless?
Yes. If your commander is a card that has no colors in its color identity, Commander’s Plate gives it protection from all colors.
11. Can you use colorless mana for any color?
No. Colorless mana can pay for a colorless cost or a generic part of the cost. It cannot pay for a colored part of a cost.
12. Are Eldrazi colorless?
Many Eldrazi creatures are colorless and have the devoid ability. However, not all Eldrazi are colorless, and some have a colored mana cost and therefore a color.
13. Do morphs count as colorless spells?
Yes, morph cards are colorless when cast face-down. When cast as a morph card, they are turned face down before they are put onto the stack.
14. Do you lose colorless mana?
As long as an effect like Horizon Stone remains under your control, you’ll retain unspent mana as steps and phases end, although that mana will become colorless.
15. Is there a colorless Planeswalker?
Yes, there are several colorless Planeswalkers, such as Karn and Ugin.
Conclusion
Understanding the nuances of devoid is crucial for any Magic: The Gathering player. Its nature as a characteristic-defining ability, and how it interacts with the game’s rules, makes it a key part of many strategies. By grasping that devoid makes cards colorless at all times, including when they are in hand, and understanding the distinction between color and color identity, you can make better-informed decisions both in deck building and during gameplay.