{"id":245737,"date":"2025-10-23T09:36:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T09:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/245737\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T09:36:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T09:36:08","slug":"mtg-hybrid-mana-rules-in-commander-may-be-changing-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/245737\/","title":{"rendered":"MTG Hybrid Mana Rules in Commander May Be Changing Soon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Yesterday, Wizards of the Coast revealed a boatload of changes coming to the Commander format. The Commander Bracket System was given an incredibly welcome update, and ten cards were removed as Game Changers<\/a>. As if that wasn\u2019t enough, it was revealed that two remaining Game Changers are up for banning<\/a> in the future.<\/p>\n

Bafflingly, both of these changes seem relatively minor compared to one that\u2019s in discussion at the moment. During the WeeklyMTG livestream, it was revealed that Wizards is considering changing the rules around Hybrid Mana cards. If this change is implemented, it could make nearly 500 MTG cards significantly more playable.<\/p>\n

A Potential Commander Rules Change<\/p>\n

\"RhysRhys the Redeemed | Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner<\/p>\n

As Gavin Verhey explained during the WeeklyMTG, when Wizards of the Coast designed Hybrid Mana, it was an or effect. On cards like Rhys the Redeemed<\/a>, for instance, you could pay one white or green mana to cast it. This is how the mechanic works in constructed formats, just as Wizards intended.<\/p>\n

In Commander, however, Hybrid Mana cards have always been seen as an and. Rather than being white or green, Rhys the Redeemed is a Selesnya card. Admittedly, for Rhys, this isn\u2019t the biggest deal, as Elf Typal decks tend to be Selesnya anyway. For other cards like Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner<\/a>, however, the Hybrid Mana cost definitely limits where it can be played.<\/p>\n

Now that Wizards is in control of Commander, there have been a lot of discussions about changing how the format views Hybrid Mana cards. While nothing has been changed yet, Wizards is considering changing it from an \u201cand\u201d to an \u201cor,\u201d like other formats. If this happens, Hybrid Mana cards, like Koria, could be played in any mono green or mono blue deck.<\/p>\n

During the livestream, Verhey made it clear that the proposed change is just a suggestion at the moment. Like the recently proposed Commander bans, Wizards is looking for feedback via the official MTG Discord<\/a>. Technically, this means these changes are still up in the air, but it does seem fairly likely.<\/p>\n

Not only has the initial reaction to the proposed change been fairly positive, but Wizards\u2019 reasoning just makes sense. Even ignoring the fact that Commander is basically the only format that does things differently, this change only increases deckbuilding options. Notably, Hybrid Mana Commanders like Rhys the Redeemed can still be Selesnya, so it really is all upside.<\/p>\n

Rules Rules Rules<\/p>\n

\"Deathrite<\/p>\n

While Wizards of the Coast is considering changing how Commander views Hybrid Mana, that would be the only change. During the WeeklyMTG, Verhey noted that, on the battlefield, Hybrid Mana cards are still both colors. This means something like Hydroblast<\/a> could hit any Hybrid Mana card with red in its cost.<\/p>\n

On top of this, cards like Deathrite Shaman<\/a> won\u2019t have their color identity altered if this change comes to pass. Since Deathrite has black and green mana pips in its rules text, it\u2019ll always be a Golgari card. In theory, this could potentially cause some confusion; however, instances of this happening aren\u2019t too common.<\/p>\n

Notably, as Verhey explained, this change wouldn\u2019t touch Phyrexian Mana cards. While these cards, like Gitaxian Probe<\/a>, can often be played regardless of the Phyrexian mana\u2019s color, Wizards is keeping them tied to their respective color identities for now. Similarly, Wizards also isn\u2019t touching Double-Faced cards like Archangel Avacyn \/\/ Avacyn, the Purifier<\/a> at the moment, but Verhey did call it \u201cinteresting.\u201d<\/p>\n

In terms of what would change, it\u2019s only really expanding the options available, especially for monocolored decks. If this change gets brought in, some cards, like Beseech the Queen<\/a>, would even become colorless, letting them be played anywhere. Considering the hoops that monocolored decks have to jump through, this decision might seem like a no-brainer. That said, MTG players haven\u2019t had a universally positive reaction to this proposed change.<\/p>\n

Nice, But Not Needed<\/p>\n

\"IllusionIllusion of Choice | Conspiracy: Take the Crown<\/p>\n

As much as there was a lot of positive chatter on Reddit<\/a>, there were also a lot of complaints. The livestream\u2019s chat on Twitch<\/a> was a similar story, with a constant back and forth of support and complaints. To say this suggestion is polarizing, in that case, would be an understatement.<\/p>\n

Even if there\u2019s not a great deal of negatives regarding the proposed Hybrid Mana change, it goes against past precedent. Commander has been using Hybrid Mana as an \u201cand\u201d effect for literally two decades. By this point, it\u2019s become a core quirk of the format and a pillar of the color identity rules.<\/p>\n

Due to this, it feels like, if it were up to players, this decision could go either way. While a Reddit thread and Twitch comments hardly speak for the entire MTG playerbase, the topic is clearly contentious. In theory, this might mean Wizards decides to play it safe; however, they are in charge of the format.<\/p>\n

Recently, Wizards of the Coast has been making more and more Hybrid Mana cards. These cards excel in Limited, allowing for some really interesting and useful design possibilities. On top of this, sets like the upcoming Lorwyn Eclipsed<\/a> have a strong Hybrid Mana theme, making the change more relevant.<\/p>\n

Thanks to this upcoming set, it feels possible that Wizards could confirm this change is happening prior to the set\u2019s release. Whether or not this will happen, however, is still up for debate. During the livestream, Wizards mentioned Q1 2026 and February as the dates for feedback to be acted upon. Ultimately, we\u2019ll just have to wait and see what happens.<\/p>\n

Stick with us at\u00a0mtgrocks.com<\/a>: the best place for Magic: The Gathering coverage!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yesterday, Wizards of the Coast revealed a boatload of changes coming to the Commander format. The Commander Bracket…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":245738,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[89210,14000,14001,74,14002],"class_list":["post-245737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-commander","tag-magic-the-gathering","tag-mtg","tag-technology","tag-wizards-of-the-coast"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}