MTG Commander Deck Color Identity Calculator

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MTG Commander Deck Color Identity Calculator

Analyze your Commander deck's color identity, verify card legality, and calculate your recommended mana base distribution based on your color pip requirements.

Commander Color Identity

■ White (W)

■ Blue (U)

■ Black (B)

■ Red (R)

■ Green (G)

Total Cards in Deck (including Commander)

Number of Non-Land Cards (excluding Commander)

Color Pip Distribution (mana symbols needed across non-land cards)

White (W) Pips

Blue (U) Pips

Black (B) Pips

Red (R) Pips

Green (G) Pips

Colorless (C) Pips

Average CMC of Non-Land Cards

Calculate Color Identity ...

function mtgCalc() { // --- Gather color identity --- const colors = ['W','U','B','R','G']; const colorNames = {W:'White',U:'Blue',B:'Black',R:'Red',G:'Green'}; const colorEmoji = {W:'⬜',U:'🔵',B:'⚫',R:'🔴',G:'🟢'};

let selectedColors = []; colors.forEach(c => { if (document.getElementById('mtg-color-' + c.toLowerCase()).checked) { selectedColors.push(c); } });

// --- Gather numeric inputs --- const totalCards = parseInt(document.getElementById('mtg-total-cards').value) || 100; const nonlandCards = parseInt(document.getElementById('mtg-nonland-cards').value) || 62; const avgCmc = parseFloat(document.getElementById('mtg-avg-cmc').value) || 3.5;

const pips = { W: parseInt(document.getElementById('mtg-pips-w').value) || 0, U: parseInt(document.getElementById('mtg-pips-u').value) || 0, B: parseInt(document.getElementById('mtg-pips-b').value) || 0, R: parseInt(document.getElementById('mtg-pips-r').value) || 0, G: parseInt(document.getElementById('mtg-pips-g').value) || 0, C: parseInt(document.getElementById('mtg-pips-c').value) || 0 };

// --- Input validation --- let errors = []; if (totalCards 100) errors.push("Total cards must be between 1 and 100 for Commander."); if (nonlandCards = totalCards) errors.push("Non-land cards must be less than total cards and non-negative."); if (avgCmc { if (pips[c] > 0 && !selectedColors.includes(c)) { illegalPips.push(colorNames[c]); } }); if (illegalPips.length > 0) { errors.push("You have pips for " + illegalPips.join(', ') + " but those colors are not in your Commander's color identity. Cards with those pips would be illegal."); }

if (errors.length > 0) { document.getElementById('mtg-result').innerHTML = '⚠️ ' + errors.join('⚠️ ') + ''; return; }

// --- Core Calculations ---

// 1. Color identity name const identityMap = { '': 'Colorless', 'W': 'Mono-White', 'U': 'Mono-Blue', 'B': 'Mono-Black', 'R': 'Mono-Red', 'G': 'Mono-Green', 'WU': 'Azorius', 'WB': 'Orzhov', 'WR': 'Boros', 'WG': 'Selesnya', 'UB': 'Dimir', 'UR': 'Izzet', 'UG': 'Simic', 'BR': 'Rakdos', 'BG': 'Golgari', 'RG': 'Gruul', 'WUB': 'Esper', 'WUR': 'Jeskai', 'WUG': 'Bant', 'WBR': 'Mardu', 'WBG': 'Abzan', 'WRG': 'Naya', 'UBR': 'Grixis', 'UBG': 'Sultai', 'URG': 'Temur', 'BRG': 'Jund', 'WUBR': 'Yore-Tiller (Non-Green)', 'WUBG': 'Witch-Maw (Non-Red)', 'WURG': 'Ink-Treader (Non-Black)', 'WBRG': 'Dune-Brood (Non-Blue)', 'UBRG': 'Glint-Eye (Non-White)', 'WUBRG': 'Five-Color (WUBRG)' };

const identityKey = selectedColors.join(''); const identityName = identityMap[identityKey] || identityKey + ' (Custom)'; const colorCount = selectedColors.length;

// 2. Land count recommendation (Frank Karsten formula adapted for Commander) // Recommended lands = Total lands needed for consistent mana // Standard formula: Lands = round(totalCards * 0.40) for Commander baseline // Refined: lands = totalCards - 1 (commander) - nonlandCards const landCount = totalCards - 1 - nonlandCards; // 1 for commander slot const landRatio = (landCount / totalCards * 100).toFixed(1);

// 3. Mana source recommendation (Frank Karsten's method) // Recommended mana sources = 40 + (avgCmc - 3) * 3 (adjusted for Commander 100-card) // Base: 37-38 lands for avg CMC ~3.0, scale up/down const recommendedManaBase = Math.round(37 + (avgCmc - 3.0) * 3); const manaBaseDeviation = landCount - recommendedManaBase;

// 4. Total pips and color ratios const totalColorPips = pips.W + pips.U + pips.B + pips.R + pips.G + pips.C; const coloredPips = pips.W + pips.U + pips.B + pips.R + pips.G;

// 5. Recommended colored mana sources per color (Frank Karsten pip-weighted method) // For each color: recommended sources = (pip_ratio * available_colored_land_slots) // Available colored slots = landCount (simplified; dual lands count for both) // Formula: sources_needed(color) = ceil((pips[color] / totalColorPips) * landCount * colorCount_factor) // Karsten's table: to reliably cast spells with X pips of color C by turn T, // you need a certain number of sources. Simplified: sources = round((pips[c]/coloredPips) * landCount)

let pipRatios = {}; let recommendedSources = {}; let totalRecommendedSources = 0;

if (coloredPips > 0) { selectedColors.forEach(c => { pipRatios[c] = pips[c] / coloredPips; // Karsten adjustment: multiply by 1.0 for mono, scale slightly for multicolor // For multicolor, each color needs proportionally more dedicated sources const kastrenFactor = colorCount === 1 ? 1.0 : (1.0 + (colorCount - 1) * 0.05); recommendedSources[c] = Math.round(pipRatios[c] * landCount * kastrenFactor); totalRecommendedSources += recommendedSources[c]; }); } else { selectedColors.forEach(c => { pipRatios[c] = 1 / colorCount; recommendedSources[c] = Math.round(landCount / colorCount); totalRecommendedSources += recommendedSources[c]; }); }

// 6. Deck legality check // Commander deck: exactly 100 cards, singleton (1 of each except basic lands) const isLegalSize = totalCards === 100; const legalityStatus = isLegalSize ? '✅ Legal deck size (100 cards)' : '⚠️ Non-standard size (Commander requires exactly 100 cards)';

// 7. Mana curve assessment let curveAssessment = ''; if (avgCmc 3.5, 8 for lower const recommendedRamp = avgCmc >= 3.5 ? 10 : (avgCmc >= 2.5 ? 8 : 6);

// 9. Color symbol display const colorSymbols = {W:'⬜',U:'🔵',B:'⚫',R:'🔴',G:'🟢',C:'◇'};

// --- Build result HTML --- let pipBreakdownRows = ''; if (coloredPips > 0 || pips.C > 0) { [...selectedColors, ...(pips.C > 0 ? ['C'] : [])].forEach(c => { const ratio = totalColorPips > 0 ? (pips[c] / totalColorPips * 100).toFixed(1) : '0.0'; const sources = recommendedSources[c] !== undefined ? recommendedSources[c] : 'N/A'; pipBreakdownRows += ${colorSymbols[c]} ${c === 'C' ? 'Colorless' : colorNames[c]} ${pips[c]} ${ratio}% ${sources}; }); }

const manaBaseColor = manaBaseDeviation >= 0 ? '#9bd3ae' : '#f9aa8f';
const manaBaseMsg = manaBaseDeviation === 0
? 'Exactly on target!'
manaBaseDeviation > 0
? ${manaBaseDeviation} land(s) above recommendation (good for high-CMC decks)
${Math.abs(manaBaseDeviation)} land(s) below recommendation (consider adding more);

document.getElementById('mtg-result').innerHTML = ` ### 🎴 Color Identity: ${identityName}

${selectedColors.map(c => colorSymbols[c]).join(' ') || '◇ Colorless'}

📋 Deck Size ${legalityStatus}

🎨 Color Count ${colorCount === 0 ? 'Colorless' : colorCount + '-Color'}

🏔️ Land Count ${landCount} lands (${landRatio}% of deck)

📐 Recommended Lands ${recommendedManaBase} lands for avg CMC ${avgCmc}

📊 Mana Base Status ${manaBaseMsg}

⚡ Avg CMC Assessment ${curveAssessment}

🚀 Recommended Ramp Pieces ${recommendedRamp} ramp spells/rocks

${pipBreakdownRows ? ` #### 🔮 Color Pip Analysis & Mana Source Recommendations

Color Pips % of Total Recommended Sources

${pipBreakdownRows}

Total ${totalColorPips} 100% ${totalRecommendedSources} (across ${landCount} lands)

` : 'Enter pip counts above for detailed mana source recommendations.

'}

💡 Quick Summary: Your ${identityName} Commander deck has ${landCount} lands (recommended: ${recommendedManaBase}) with an average CMC of ${avgCmc}. ${manaBaseDeviation 5 ? '⚠️ You may have too many lands — consider cutting some for spells.' : '✅ Your mana base count looks solid!'}

`; }

#### Formulas Used

Land Count: Land Count = Total Cards − 1 (Commander) − Non-Land Cards

Recommended Lands (Frank Karsten): Recommended Lands = 37 + (Average CMC − 3.0) × 3

Color Source Recommendation: Sources(Color) = round((Pips(Color) / Total Colored Pips) × Land Count × Multicolor Factor), where Multicolor Factor = 1 + (Color Count − 1) × 0.05

Pip Ratio: Pip Ratio(Color) = Pips(Color) / Total Colored Pips × 100%

Mana Base Deviation: Deviation = Actual Lands − Recommended Lands

#### Assumptions & References

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