What are All of the MTG Color Combo Names?

Something that a lot of Magic the Gathering players ask is, what are all of the MTG color combo names? There are 5 colors within MTG. Therefore, there are a total of 31 different color combinations using those 5 colors. There are 5 single colors, 10 two colors, 10 three colors, 5 four colors and 1 five color.

There are many different MTG color combo names within the 31 color combination possibilities. Single colors don’t have any special names, aside from their color. This article will go over all the different MTG color combo names. And you may be surprised to find there are other color combo names than what you’re familiar with! Let’s jump in.

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MTG Color Combo Names: Allies & Enemies

All MTG color combo names originate from ‘allies’ and ‘enemies’. Each combination of colors falls under one of those umbrellas. Ally color combo names are color combinations who are right beside each other on the official color chart. For example, white and blue are ally colors. Same is true for red and green, so on and so forth. Enemy color combo names are the opposite of the ally color combo names. These color combinations are ones which do not touch. For example, white and black, or black and green, etc.

MTG 2 Color Combo Names

Now that we have established what ally and enemy color combos are, we can get into the MTG 2 color combo names. There are 10 total 2 color combos in Magic the Gathering. Each specific color can be combined with the 4 other colors, resulting in 2 ally color combos and 2 enemy color combos. Here are all of the 2 color combo names.

Guilds of Ravnica

On Ravnica, there are 10 total guilds, each with its own unique name for each MTG color combo. The 5 ally guilds are Azorius, Dimir, Rakdos, Gruul and Selesnya. The 5 enemy guilds are Orzhov, Izzet, Golgari, Boros and Simic. During games, and even general discussion, you will hear most people refer to the 2 color combos by these names. For instance, if you’re playing a green/white deck, most folks would say they are playing a Selesnya deck.

Strixhaven School of Mages Campuses

If you really want to ruffle people’s feathers, rather than using the Guilds of Ravnica names, use the Strixhaven Campus names instead. Rather than saying you are playing an Orzhov deck, say you are playing a Silverquill deck instead! You are guaranteed to get funny and odd looks from other players. As of right now, there are only five Strixhaven campuses and they are within enemy colors.

MTG 3 Color Combo Names

To start, there are a total of 10 MTG 3 color combo names. Each color can be combined with 2 other colors to form a 3 color combo and make up 2 enemy color combos and 2 ally color combos. Here are all of the 3 color combo names.

Shard & Wedge Color Combo Names

The primary MTG 3 color combo names are commonly referred by their shard and wedge names. These are the names you have probably heard in real life, or read about including names such as Esper, Abzan, etc. First up are the shards.

Shards

The shards are ally 3 color combos that originated from Shards of Alara, hence the name Shards. The shards are 3 color combos who’s colors are within order of the color chart shown above. There are a total of 5 shards.

Wedges

The wedges are enemy 3 color combos that originated from Khans of Tarkir. Unlike the shards, wedge color combos are not within color order of the color chart. There are a total of 5 wedges.

Ikoria Triome & New Capenna Crime Family Color Combo Names

Similar to the 2 color combos, there are other 3 color combo names that are not used as widely as the shard and wedge names. These names derive from the Tiomes of Ikoria and the crime families of New Capenna. Again, if you’re in a troll-ish mood, try using these names in replace of the more tradition shard and wedge names.

Ikoria Triomes

The Ikoria Triome names derive from the rare land cycle in Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths that tap for 1 color in each of the wedge color combos. These names are all focused around specific terrains found around Ikoria and are enemy colors.

New Capenna Crime Families

Streets of New Capenna brought us even more new MTG color combo names. This time in the form of New Capenna’s crime families. Each crime family is comprised of a shard color combo and is an ally color.

MTG 4 Color Combo Names

The 4 color names come form the 5 Nephilim creatures. I don’t think I’ve every heard anyone use these names in real life and have really only bumped into them in discussions about MTG’s lore. Additionally, I believe these are more fan-adopted names rather than official names for the MTG 4 color combos. All-in-all, there are 5 total 4 color combo names.

MTG 5 Color Combo Names

When it comes to MTG 5 color names, there is no official term, as far as I am aware. The terminology for 5 color is usually just that, 5 color, or abbreviated as 5c. You may also see it referred to as WUBRG (pronounced woo-berg) referencing MTG’s 5 colors in order. Additionally, some folks may use the term Rainbow to describe 5 color as well.

Final Thoughts

With 31 total MTG color combo names, it can be hard to remember them all. Not to mention that 2 color combo names and 3 color combo names have multiple different names. I hope this article has helped you. If you’re like me, try occasionally dropping in the Strixhaven Campus names for 2 color combos or the Ikoria/New Capenna Crime family names for the 3 color combos. I enjoy messing with a few of my buddies who refuse to acknowledge them!