Hi;

We were reviewing our collection and my wife asked me a question: Why there are 0-cost cards which does have a colour? If you play 0-cost card you do not need a colour match? You can have pure Cthulhu deck and include those cards!

I am talking about (for example): Xanthophobia (AE), Snow Graves (AMM), or Sound of the Whippoorwills (FC)?

The reason to color 0 cost card is not for how they are played, but for how they are resourced: you might notice the fact that some cards need off faction steadfast, or, when balancing decks, you might need some color match in your resources.

Please note that none of those 3 are steadfast of affect specific colour.

The question is still valid.

I wasn't very clear: the point of coloring a 0 cost card is not to forbid it from being played by all other colors, but to make it slightly more useful to chosen color, as it doesn't break the resourcing scheme.

As some cards need off faction resources to be played (steadfast) or to activate their abilities (e.g. Speaking cells, Black Spawn from Below), having an off color 0 cost card can help (admittedly 10 would be better), as you can decide to either play the card or resource it.

Perhaps an easier way to put it, would be to say that it has a colour/faction so that it can be used as a resource for that colour/faction.

Also - but it's rare, I know - it matters when there is a damping light-like effect where everything costs 1 more. Then suddenly you need the correct faction. But yes, it's mostly done for resourcing purposes.