Mana

During play, mana powers up Cards to allow them to be played.

Mana of any of the five colors can be used to pay the casting cost of cards of any color. Other specialised types of mana exist. In paper Magic the Gathering, the system of Colored mana being required for colored cards replaces the MtGPQ requirement that Planeswalkers can only have cards in their decks that match their affinity/ies.

Each Match of 3 or more Gems on the Gem board provides an amount of mana according to the number of gems matched, and the mana bonuses of the Planeswalker.

The mana required to play a card corresponds to the card's casting cost, which may range from 1 to 30.

The Colors of Magic event has a permanent support that reduces cards' casting cost by 11, which can reduce the cost to to zero, as can some cards. When this happens, the card is displayed as though it had full mana.

Gaining mana

Mana may be gained in several ways.

When gained, mana is automatically assigned to the cards in your hand, from the top down, filling the casting cost of each card fully before charging up the next card.

Gem matches

Matching Gems on the Gem board is the most common way of gaining mana. Each gem match provides an amount of mana which is the sum of the following:

• The number of gems of the same color which were matched
• The Planeswalker's mana bonus of the color of the gems which were matched

Very large amounts of mana may sometimes be gained in a single turn via cascades on the gem board, where one match leads to another.

In events which are Supercharged, each color match provides an additional 3 mana.

Cards

Mana can also be gained from certain cards which provide mana when played, or while in play.

Planeswalker abilities

Some Planeswalkers have Loyalty abilities which provide mana. Others have abilities which benefit their mana bonuses.

Color

Like its parent game Magic: the Gathering, Color in Magic: the Gathering Puzzle Quest is a core mechanic whose thematic flavor influences all aspects of the game, albeit not the mechanic of colored mana being required for colored cards. This is instead roughly analogous to the requirement that Planeswalkers can only have the same colored cards in their decks.

Each of the five colors — White , Blue , Black , Red , and Green — is associated with distinct magic and cultural principles, and different mechanics and abilities.

Color summary

Color	Principles	Associated land
White	Peace, law, structure	Plains
Blue	Knowledge, intellect, deceit	Island
Black	Power, selfishness, death	Swamp
Red	Impulsiveness, freedom, destruction	Mountain
Green	Nature, growth, interdependence	Forest

In Planeswalkers

Most Planeswalkers have an affinity to one, two, or even three colors, and Mana bonuses which strongly tend to favor those affinities. A Planeswalker's deck may only include cards which have at least one color matching an affinity of the Planeswalker. Colorless cards can be used by any Planeswalker.

In Events, some nodes have color restrictions. Such nodes may only be played by a Planeswalker sharing a color with the node, or a colorless Planeswalker.

Colorless planeswalkers

Some Planeswalkers are colorless. Cards may only be included in the deck of a colorless Planeswalker which share a color with the Event node on which the Planeswalker is playing.

Mana bonuses

Most Planeswalkers follow simple rules for their mana bonuses:

1. All Origins Planeswalkers' mana bonuses add up to five.
2. All three-color Planeswalkers' mana bonuses add up to seven.
3. Most two-color Planeswalkers' mana bonuses add up to eight.
4. All (non-Origins) mono-color Planeswalkers' mana bonuses add up to nine.

There are clear benefits to playing Planeswalkers with high spike bonuses with mana conversion, and when playing without mana conversion, to use Planeswalkers with a balanced spread of bonuses.

Some Planeswalkers have abilities that benefit their mana bonuses.

In Cards

Each card is either colorless, or has one, two, or occasionally more colors.

Card abilities tend to be thematically linked to certain colors.

Ability separation by color is weaker in Magic: the Gathering Puzzle Quest than Magic: the Gathering for two reasons:

• The gem board and mana system force changes in card design, which in turn makes color principles less strictly applicable.
• Dual color cards can be used by any Planeswalker sharing any one of those colors, so any color-specific mechanics on such cards are more easily accessed.