It’s time to find out what to call the different combinations of colours in Magic: The Gathering – as we check out all of the MTG colour combo names!
There are five basic colours of mana in Magic: The Gathering – or MTG – with White, Blue, Black, Red and Green being the official order of the colours, which is displayed on the back of every standard Magic: The Gathering card in the same order (going clockwise from the top of the colour pattern).
Sometimes, cards need more than one type of mana to be played; also, decks are often built around combinations of colours.
Most commonly, a multi-colour deck will be made of two different colours, but it is possible, though not always desirable, to build decks that feature all five colours!
Each colour combination has its own name, which itself has its origin in the game’s rich, three-decade strong lore.
What are the names of these colour combos though?
Let’s find out as we take a look at all of the MTG colour combo names!
What Are The Two-Colour Combos Called?
With five colours of mana available, it’s possible to make ten two-colour combos in MTG.
The names of each two-colour combo, in alphabetical order, are as follows:
- Azorius: White and Blue
- Boros: Red and White
- Dimir: Blue and Black
- Golgari: Black and Green
- Gruul: Red and Green
- Izzet: Blue and Red
- Orzhov: White and Black
- Rakdos: Black and Red
- Selesnya: White and Green
- Simic: Blue and Green
Where Do The MTG Two-Colour Combo Names Come From?
Each two-colour combo is named after a guild in the multiversal plane of Ravnica, one of the most popular MTG settings of all time.
That’s because in Ravnica – which was introduced way back in 2005 MTG set City of Guilds – each guild uses those same two-colour combos as the basis of their ideologies and societal functions.
For example, the Gruul Clans essentially being Ravnica’s gamekeepers and park rangers – and, over time, seeking the destruction of civilization in favour of a return to nature.
What Are The Three-Colour Combos Called?
Ten three-colour combos are also available with the five different colours of mana in MTG.
The names of each three-colour combo, in alphabetical order, are as follows:
- Abzan: White, Black and Green
- Bant: White, Blue and Green
- Esper: White, Blue and Black
- Grixis: Blue, Black and Red
- Jeskai: White, Blue and Red
- Jund: Black, Red and Green
- Mardu: White, Black and Red
- Naya: White, Red and Green
- Sultai: Blue, Black and Green
- Temur: Blue, Red and Green
Where Do The MTG Three-Colour Combo Names Come From?
Unlike the two-colour combo names, the names of the three-colour Combos aren’t drawn from a single set or its plane.
Instead, five of them are the names of the ‘Shards’ of the plane of Alara – the Shards being pieces of Alara, which was torn apart in a cataclysmic, Planeswalker-related event.
The five Shards of Alara – which first appeared in the 2008 set of the same name – are named as follows: Bant, Esper, Grixis, Jund and Naya.
Each Shard’s cards use one or more – sometimes all three – of the colours that represent that particular Shard.
In MTG parlance, a Shard can also refer not to the Alaran land, but to three of the five colours that are ‘allied’ – that is, next to each other on the colour wheel that’s depicted on the back of each MTG card.
So Where Do The Other Five MTG Three-Colour Combo Names Come From?
With only five Shards, there are of course five more combos that use three colours.
These are named after the Clans of Tarkir – which first appeared in the 2014 set Khans of Tarkir- and are as follows: Abzan, Jeskai, Mardu, Sultai and Temur.
Each Clan is represented by three colors that form a triangle on the colour wheel – this formation of one colour with its two opposing, or ‘enemy’ colours, is known as a ‘wedge’ in MTG parlance.
What Are The Four-Colour Combos Called?
There are also combos made up of four colours, though only five of these exist.
They are named as follows, in alphabetical order:
- Dune: White, Green, Black and Red
- Glint: Green, Black, Red and Blue
- Ink: White, Green, Red and Blue
- Witch: White, Green, Black and Blue
- Yore: White, Black, Red and Blue
Where Do The MTG Four-Colour Combo Names Come From?
Once more a Ravnica-based naming convention, the four-colour combos are named after the rare Nephilim creatures that appeared in 2006 set Guildpact.
Their full names are as follows:
- Dune-Brood Nephilim
- Glint-Eye Nephilim
- Ink-Treader Nephilim
- Witch-Maw Nephilim
- Yore-Tiller Nephilim
The Nephilim were the very first cards in MTG that required four different colours of mana – and were the only four colour cards at all, until the Commander 2016 set introduced five new four colour creatures!
What Is The Five Colour Combo Called?
With five colours available in Magic: The Gathering, there is of course one more combo type to cover – which uses all of the colours!
Perhaps disappointingly, there isn’t an official name for the five colour combo – it’s simply and, rather unimaginatively, known as ‘five coloured’.
So there you have it – now you know what all of the different MTG colour combos are called – and exactly why they’re named as they are!
