Capricious Efreet MTG Card

Magic 2010 (M10)
2009-07-17 - Number 131

Capricious Efreet - Commander 2013 (C13)

Commander 2013 (C13)
2013-11-01 - Number 102

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Efreet
Power	6
Toughness	4

Key Takeaways

Capricious Efreet allows dynamic gameplay by possibly removing opponent’s key permanents while remaining on the board.
Its ability mirrors instant speed actions, offering strategic advantage by adding unpredictability to each turn.
Database requires careful deck composition due to its specific mana needs and potential cost to hand size.

Text of card

At the beginning of your upkeep, choose target nonland permanent you control and up to two target nonland permanents you don't control. Destroy one of them at random.

"You wish for great destruction? It is done, my master."

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Capricious Efreet offers potential upside by potentially eliminating an opponent’s key permanent while maintaining presence on the board. The ability to influence the battlefield each turn without additional cost is a significant plus.

Resource Acceleration: Though not directly providing resource acceleration, the Capricious Efreet could disrupt an opponent’s resources, tipping the scales in your favor. By potentially targeting mana-producing permanents, it can indirectly affect the pace and resource availability of the game.

Instant Speed: The Capricious Efreet’s activated ability resembles instant speed interaction, allowing you to respond to the state of the game at the end of your opponent’s turn. This keeps opponents guessing and forces them to consider the Efreet’s impact during their own turns, which can be a strategic advantage.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: As a player, you must toss another card from your hand into the graveyard to fulfill its ability conditions, which could put you at a disadvantage by reducing your hand size.

Specific Mana Cost: The Capricious Efreet requires a precise combination of mana, including a red mana commitment, restricting its inclusion to decks that can consistently provide this color mix.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Needing six mana to summon this creature, its cost is significant when compared to other creatures with similar abilities. Managing such a substantial investment can be challenging, especially under tight gameplay scenarios.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Capricious Efreet boasts a flexible role in various deck archetypes due to its ability to disrupt opponents’ strategies while presenting a considerable threat on the board.

Combo Potential: This efreet can synergize with strategies that manipulate choice or chance, increasing the possible beneficial outcomes when activating its ability or combining it with cards that protect your vital pieces.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where permanent-based combos or value engines dominate, Capricious Efreet becomes more valuable, offering a repeatable source of potential destruction at no mana cost each turn.

How to beat

Capricious Efreet stands out in MTG as a creature with a distinct ability to challenge opponents and create pivotal game moments. This red card prompts players to remove a random target at the end of their turn, leading to potentially game-altering consequences. To effectively counter this unpredictable foe, it’s essential to consider cards that limit its randomness and mitigate the potential damage it can cause.

Ensuring you have a strategy in place that includes targeted removal can help you regain control. Utilize cards that can neutralize creatures, either by exile or destruction, before the Efreet’s ability triggers. For instance, Path to Exile and Murder are sound choices to directly remove Capricious Efreet from the field. Additionally, countering the Efreet’s cast with spells like Counterspell or Mana Leak can prevent it from ever entering the battlefield.

Another tactic is to minimize the number of valuable targets on your side of the field, thus limiting the impact of the Efreet’s ability. Playing a deck with fewer permanents or ones that benefit from being sacrificed, like the Reassembling Skeleton, turns the table against the Efreet. In summary, a combination of precise removal and clever battlefield management can nullify the chaos brought by the Capricious Efreet, keeping your game strategy secure.

Cards like Capricious Efreet

Capricious Efreet offers a unique cocktail of chaos and control in Magic: The Gathering gameplay. It shares similarities with cards like Goblin Diplomats, which also dabbles in the art of unpredictability by forcing each creature to attack if able that turn. Where Capricious Efreet differs fundamentally is its ability to destroy target permanent at the cost of a random choice, making it a possible double-edged sword.

Another peer to Capricious Efreet is the infamous Chaos Warp. While Chaos Warp also deals with the element of surprise by shuffling a permanent into the library and revealing the top card, it doesn’t guarantee a destructive outcome as Capricious Efreet might. Similarly, randomness is the game of Warp World, but this affects the entire battlefield and not selected targets, illustrating how Capricious Efreet can be more controlled in its mayhem.

In essence, Capricious Efreet stands out as a card that tempts fate within the MTG universe. While it might share the stage with other unpredictability-themed cards, its specific blend of target choice and the looming threat of backfire provides a distinctive edge for strategic players who like to live dangerously.

Cards similar to Capricious Efreet by color, type and mana cost

Ryusei, the Falling Star - MTG Card versions

Lu Bu, Master-at-Arms - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Capricious Efreet MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2010 and Commander 2013, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Capricious Efreet and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Printings

The Capricious Efreet Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2009-07-17 and 2013-11-01. Illustrated by Justin Sweet.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2009-07-17	Magic 2010	M10		131	2003	Normal	Black	Justin Sweet
2	2013-11-01	Commander 2013	C13		102	2003	Normal	Black	Justin Sweet

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Capricious Efreet has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Capricious Efreet card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2009-10-01	As the ability resolves, there is no time to react between the time a permanent is chosen at random and the time it’s destroyed. If you want to put a regeneration shield on one of those permanents, or sacrifice it for some effect, or anything else, you must do so before the ability resolves (and before you know which one of the permanents will be chosen at random).
2009-10-01	If Capricious Efreet is the only nonland permanent you control when its ability triggers, you’ll have to target it.
2009-10-01	You may target zero, one, or two nonland permanents you don’t control.
2009-10-01	You target between one and three permanents as you put the ability on the stack. You don’t randomly choose which one will be destroyed until the ability resolves. If one of those permanents has become an illegal target by then, you randomly choose between the remaining ones.