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The short answer
One extra color for the whole deck
With Tolabow as your sole commander, choose white, black, red or green. Your instants and sorceries may include that color alongside blue in their color identities. Any basic lands are allowed. Tolabow itself remains blue; other card types do not get the spell exception.
Tolabow’s rules text update ↗Choose a color; check the examples
With Tolabow as your sole commander: these examples check its instant/sorcery color-identity permission. Other deckbuilding and legality restrictions still apply.
Allowed instant / sorcery identities: blue + white
Swords to Plowshares
Instant · White identity fits blue + white. Card reference ↗
Lightning Bolt
Instant · Its red identity is outside blue + white. Card reference ↗
Allowed instant / sorcery identities: blue + black
Dark Ritual
Instant · Black identity fits blue + black. Card reference ↗
Lightning Bolt
Instant · Its red identity is outside blue + black. Card reference ↗
Allowed instant / sorcery identities: blue + red
Lightning Bolt
Instant · Red identity fits blue + red. Card reference ↗
Mystic Retrieval
Sorcery · Its blue–red identity includes its red flashback cost. Card reference ↗
Ancient Grudge
Instant · Its green flashback cost adds green, outside blue + red. Card reference ↗
Allowed instant / sorcery identities: blue + green
Giant Growth
Instant · Green identity fits blue + green. Card reference ↗
Ancient Grudge
Instant · Its red mana cost adds red, outside blue + green. Card reference ↗
Tolabow itself stays blue. Blue-only and colorless instants and sorceries also fit. Red examples come from Wizards’ correction; the other choices apply that wording to the linked official card images.
Can I choose a different color for each spell?
No. With red chosen, Lightning Bolt fits but Dark Ritual does not. With black chosen, the reverse is true. Keep the same choice throughout the deck.
Can I include an Adventure, Omen or double-faced card?
Check its deckbuilding type first. Having a castable sorcery portion does not automatically make the card a sorcery in your deck.
| Card | Result with green chosen | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Elusive Otter // Grove’s Bounty | No. | It is a creature outside the stack, with blue–green identity from its normal and Adventure costs. |
| Jadzi // Journey to the Oracle | No. | Its front face is a creature; its back face adds green to its blue–green identity. |
| A creature card with an Omen | No off-color creature permission. | Outside the stack it has its normal creature characteristics. A blue-identity card may still fit normally. |
Worked applications of CR 712.8a, 715.4, 720.4 and 903.4, using Elusive Otter and Jadzi (PDF page 27). The meld classification update is a separate issue.
Can I use off-color lands and mana rocks?
Any basic lands are permitted. That separate clause does not depend on which extra color you choose. Nonbasic lands and mana rocks still need to pass the normal deckbuilding restrictions.
| Card or type | In a Tolabow deck | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain | Permitted; can produce red. | The explicit basic-land exception applies. |
| An off-color nonbasic land | No blanket permission. | A red mana symbol or the Mountain land type can impose a restriction that the basic-land exception does not waive. |
| Command Tower / Arcane Signet | Permitted; normally blue only. | Their mana abilities use Tolabow’s unchanged commander identity. |
| Izzet Signet | Not admitted by Tolabow’s exception. | It is an artifact with blue–red identity, not an instant or sorcery. |
Assumes Tolabow is your sole commander and no other effects modify the mana abilities. See the mana-card text and CR 903.4–903.5.
Why commander identity and allowed cards differCommon questions
Does a different basic land unlock every card of that color?
No. Access to mana does not replace deck-construction permissions. Review each card against the actual exception.
When can I play Tolabow in constructed Commander?
The product article lists November 13, 2026 for the new MBC cards in Commander. That is separate from the text correction. See format dates and exceptions.
Why does the printed card differ?
Wizards made a functional correction on August 3, 2026, replacing the printed focus on color with an explicit color-identity check. The October 19 bulletin repeats it; it is not a second correction.
Use the corrected text for deckbuilding. An old card image or forum answer may describe the printed wording.
Read the official correctionA final deckbuilding checklist
- Keep one extra color for all your instants and sorceries.
- Check whole-card identity, including additional costs and relevant faces.
- Review other card types and nonbasic lands separately.
- Check format dates and legality.
This guide illustrates the permission; it is not a complete deck validator. General Rulebreaker restrictions still apply.
Official sources & review notes
Checked October 21, 2026. Follow the original publications for later updates.
Optional buying checks
Optional checks for cards and supplies discussed in this guide. No store links, affiliate links or paid placements.
Tolabow, Loch Rascal
For players choosing Tolabow as the commander of an instant-and-sorcery deck.
Use cards and supplies you already own when possible.
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