Ravnica: City of Guilds - Mechanics

Mechanics

• Hybrid cards ("Guild mana"): Ravnica introduces hybrid mana. Each symbol is a circle halved diagonally, in which the top left half is one color and the bottom right half another. A smaller version of the color's icon (sun for white, skull for black, etc.) appears in the corresponding half. These mana symbols mean that mana of either color may be used to pay it; for example, a spell whose mana cost is two green/white hybrid mana may be played using two green mana, two white mana, or one green and one white. The cards with these mana symbols have a colored border that fades from left to right, out of one color and into the other.

Each of the ten guilds has a new keyword or ability word associated with it.

• Radiance (red/white, Boros): Radiance is an ability word that appears on spells and abilities that affect every permanent that shares a color with the target permanent (usually of the same type). When played on multi-colored cards, the effect spreads to all that card's colors.

• Convoke (green/white, Selesnya): A player playing a spell with Convoke may tap some of his or her creatures to pay part or all of the card's mana cost. Each creature tapped reduces the cost by one mana of that creature's color, or by one colorless mana.

• Dredge (black/green, Golgari): Cards with dredge may be returned from the graveyard to their owner's hand, provided that player opts to skip drawing a card and instead puts a number of cards from the top of his or her library into the graveyard. For example, for a card with "Dredge 3", you can skip your draw and put three cards from the top of your deck to the graveyard to add the card to your hand.

• Transmute (blue/black, Dimir): A player may pay three mana of certain colors and discard a card with Transmute from his or her hand. Doing this allows the player to find a card with the same converted mana cost from that player's library, reveal it, and put it into his or her hand. For example, Brainspoil, has converted mana cost 5 with Transmute for 1 colorless and 2 black mana, and if you choose to transmute it, you pay the mana cost and discard it, then search your library for anything converted mana cost 5, reveal it, and put it into your hand. You can only Transmute as a sorcery.

In Invasion, several spells of the set have an enhanced effect if a particular color of mana is spent to play it. This theme continues with creatures in Guildpact.