What it does
Prototype lets you cast an artifact creature spell as a smaller, cheaper version with different mana cost, power/toughness, and color. You choose which way to cast it as you put it on the stack. Either way, it's the same card—a colored artifact creature spell.
The big nuance: prototype defines the card's characteristics only while it's a spell on the stack and on the battlefield. In all other zones (hand, graveyard, exile, library), it uses its printed values—full mana cost, colorless, and base stats. So a prototyped creature is colorless in your graveyard, which matters for reanimation, color identity, and effects checking characteristics outside the battlefield.
In Commander, color identity comes from both printed costs, so a prototype card counts both colors. The flexibility shines for curve-smoothing—drop it cheap early or full-size late.
Iconic cards with Prototype
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