Is it impossible to pay off-color mana costs in EDH?

Question

In Commander, there is a rule that states:

• During the game, if mana would be added to your mana pool that isn't a color in your commander's color identity, that much colorless mana is added to your mana pool instead.

With that in mind, is it impossible for me to pay mana costs that are not in my commander's color identity?

For example, if my commander has a Red/Blue color identity, and I take control of an opponent's creature that has an activated ability with a Black mana-cost, is it impossible for me to pay the cost needed to activate that ability?

Answer 1

Commander used to have special rules about color identity and mana generation. As of January 18, 2016, these rules have been removed. Tapping lands for mana works just like regular Magic.

Note that the restriction on mana production and color identity in deckbuilding still applies. So your red/blue deck still can't include a Crumbling Necropolis.

You can, however, use all these exceptions to pay off-color costs:

Mana generators without mana symbols

Note that the deckbuilding restriction only applies to mana symbols, not "any method of generating other colors of mana."

The most common example is that cards that say "any color" aren't considered to have mana symbols in the card text. They may safely be included in non-five-color decks.

Borrowing your opponents' stuff

Say you're playing Ashling (red), and I'm playing Sen Triplets (white/blue/black). If I steal one of your Mountains (e.g. by playing it from your hand with my commander's special ability), I can tap it for red mana.

Changing mana's function without changing its literal color

Cards like Mycosynth Lattice allow you to spend mana "as if it were any color of mana" without actually changing the colors of that mana.

There's a really technical caveat to that, though...

I'm pretty sure that, even with Mycosynth Lattice in play, there are still corner cases where mana colors matter: for instance, Mycosynth Lattice will allow me to spend 5 blue to cast Torrent of Souls, but the spell still checks the color of mana spent on it (which, in this case, causes it to have no effect). This is based on the rulings text of Celestial Dawn:

You may use a different color mana than the color required for spells and abilities that require a specific color. If you do, and the spell or ability checks the actual color of the mana, it can tell the difference.

Alternatives to mana

Some rules allow you to "pay for" mana costs without using mana at all. You can use it to pay off-color costs. For example:

• Convoke cards, like Chord of Calling.

• Phyrexian mana, like Phyrexian Metamorph.

(Note that color identity still applies: you can't put Chord of Calling in your Sen Triplets deck. But, if you've got some green creatures, you can cast someone else's.)

Answer 2

Yes, it is unfortunately impossible to add mana of a color outside your deck's color identity to your mana pool. Tradtionally this will be mean you cannot pay the cost of this - however, as @AlexP and @Stephen highlight, replacement effects may mean you can activate the ability without adding that color mana to your mana pool.

The comprehensive rules state:

903.9. If mana would be added to a player's mana pool of a color that isn't in the color identity of that player's commander, that amount of colorless mana is added to that player's mana pool instead.

Thus, you can in no way get mana into your mana pool that is not in your general's color identity (which would be required to activate that ability, by using up that mana in your mana pool).

If you can find a way to reduce, alter, or otherwise pay this cost (without adding off-identity mana to your mana pool), it may still be possible to activate the ability - for details, see the answers provided by @AlexP and @Stephen.

Answer 3

You may use Mycosynth Lattice, as Alex P stated, to pay the activation cost even though the mana colour is not in your colour profile. Here is why:

Let's assume I have a Mycosynth Lattice in play and in some manner I gain control of a creature that has an ability not in my commander's colour profile.

Using conventional means I cannot pay this cost since I cannot generate any coloured mana in my mana pool that isn't a colour in my commander's colour profile by 903.9.

The Lattice doesn't say add any colour to my mana pool, it reads as a replacement effect and says that I can spend mana as though it were of any colour.

This to means that if I had a red mana in my colour profile but not black, I could tap a mountain to pay B on a creature's activated ability since I am adding R to my mana pool but spending it as though it were B.

This argument satisfies 903.9's requirements but still allows the ability to be paid, confirmed by a Level 1 DCI Judge at this link.

Answer 4

In addition to Mycosynth Lattice, there is at least one other way that I know of. When you cast a spell with the Convoke keyword, you can pay a colored mana cost by tapping a creature of that color. In order to pay a cost that isn't in your colors this way, you would need a somewhat elaborate setup. First, you would need to control a creature of the other color, such as by stealing it or copying it (because you couldn't have such a creature in your deck). Second, you would need to be able to cast a spell owned by an opponent in the other color that has Convoke (because you couldn't have such a spell in your deck).

Suppose that:

• Your commander is Sen Triplets (colors WUB), and you have Sen Triplets in play.
• You targeted an opponent with Sen Triplets and can see and play cards from their hand (Sen Triplet's ability).
• That player's hand contains a Feral Incarnation (mana cost {8}{G}, with Convoke).
• You have control of a Runeclaw Bear (color G) owned by an opponent.

Then, you may cast Feral Incarnation from your opponents hand, paying for the {G} by tapping Runeclaw Bear. You have thus paid a cost of {G} without having green in your commander's color identity and without ever having green mana in your pool. This relies on the latest rules for the Convoke mechanic.

Answer 5

The other answers cover the general rules, and that you can't add off-colour mana to your mana pool doesn't matter.

People have already mentioned Mycosynth Lattice, which allows you to spend all mana as mana of any colour. Other cards with similar effects include:

• Celestial Dawn white -> any
• Daxos of Meletis any -> any for a specific spell
• False Dawn white -> any until end of turn
• North Star any -> any for one spell (activated ability)
• Psychic Intrusion any -> any for a specific spell
• Quicksilver Elemental blue -> any for its [copied] abilities
• Sunglasses of Urza white -> red