Djinn of Wishes

So, Djinn of wishes — is a blue creature with three abilities.

The first one is Flying — we know it very well. It restricts some creatures from blocking Djinn of Wishes.

The Second one generates the replacement effect, which changes how Djinn of Wishes enters the battlefield. No matter how Djinn of Wishes enters the battlefield, it enters the battlefield with three wish counters on it. It will happen if you cast Djinn of Wishes and it will enter the battlefield on its spell resolution. Same thing will happen if it entered the battlefield as a result of some kind of effect. If you blink, Djinn of Wishes, it will lose all the counters, which it had before and will get three new shiny wish counters when it enters the battlefield.

Finally, the third and the most interesting ability of Djinn of Wishes is an activated one. In its cost there are no tap or untap symbols, therefore, game does not care how long you have been controlling Djinn. Simply, you can activate this ability as soon as you get Djinn of Wishes on the battlefield. You can activate it any time you have a priority and during opponent`s turn as well.

You can activate this ability any amount of times on a raw, while you can play it`s cost. Because there are only 3 wish counters and removing them is a part of the cost, usually, you have only three available activations.

Djinn of Wishes' ability refers to it by its name, thus it means exactly the Djinn, which ability has been activated and not any other Djinn. It does not matter what is its current name when you activate its ability.

After activating ability, it does not depend on its source; therefore, if a cunning opponent kills your Djinn of Wishes in response to its ability activation, this ability will remain on the stack and will resolve under suitable conditions.

Now let us move to the most interesting part. On the ability`s resolution you reveal the top card of your library and decide do you want to cast it or not. Because there is a phrase “reveal the top card”, everyone including your opponents will see that card.

Important: because Djinn of Wishes has a word Play in its ability text, it means both cast a spell and a special action — playing a land.

If in the text of effect, you see only cast, that effect allow you only to cast a spell. You cannot play lands in this case.

Another important moment is that you have an opportunity to play a card as Djinn of Wishes’ ability resoles. This means here and now, not some time later. You have a strict timing: during ability resolution. Later will be too late.

Effects from abilities of Daxos of Meletis, Fiend of the Shadows, Dark-Dweller Oracle, Mission Briefing, Thief of Sanity etc. Allow to cast cards during some period. Usually, it is the way how static abilities are formulated, which apply all the time. It also can be a continuous effect from spells and abilities, which has been created on spell or ability resolution, which are applied until the end of the phase, turn or even game. Game does not dictate you to cast anything right now.

If we imagine game bureaucracy, it will be a building with only two windows: “here and now” and “all the rest”

Casting a spell on ability or spell resolution.

Effects “here and now” ignore all normal timings. You can cast a sorcery spell and a creature (even though the stack is not empty!) whenever the ability resolution is — even during your opponent’s turn.

There are two exceptions for this kind of effects:

1. 1. You cannot play a land during your opponent’s turn
   You can play a land during your turn if you have not played a land this turn or there is an effect, which allow you to play an additional land (Azusa, Lost but Seeking).
2. 2. You cannot ignore timings if they a specified on the card’s text. For example, Master Warcraft has to be cast before creatures has been declared attacking in the first combat step.

You can cast that card until the end of the turn

Effects, which allow you to cast cards during a period (usually, until the end of the turn) does not allow you to ignore time restrictions, which are dictated by the game rules:

• All types of spells, except instants, you can canst only during your main phase, while you have a priority and the stack is empty;
• You can cast instant spells any time you have a priority.

Casting a spell on Djinn of the Wishes ability resolution is happening by all the rules: you put a spell on the stack, make all the necessary choices, choose targets, define additional costs and calculate total cost.

Total cost this time will be combined with an alternative (without playing its mana-cost) and all the additional costs, where all increasing a cost effects will be applied first and then all decreasing effects apply. Due to a fact, that you use an alternative cost from the beginning you cannot choose any other alternative costs. However, you have to pay all the obligatory additional costs and you can choose not to pay optional ones.

If there is a variable in a spell's mana-cost, for example X, and an exact number is not defined by the card text, you can only choose 0 as X.

After the spell is cast, Djinn of Wishes' ability is removed from the stack and you get a priority. When you pass your opponents will receive a priority. They can have a response to your spell. For example, they can play a counter spell or do something with your targets.

If you decide not to play a revealed card or simply cannot do that (for example, there are no legal targets for a spell or it’s a land during your opponent`s turn or it’s a Mind Grind and you cannot choose X=0), that card will be exiled. Face up and forever and ever and ever…

Best friends of Djinn of Wishes

That is all, folks! I hope that from now on you can easily tell the difference between effects, which allow to cast a sorcery spell not on your turn and which are not.

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1. ⇑ To blink (slang) — to exile and bring back right away a permanent on the battlefield.

Translated by Aleksandra Ladygina