For all future Magic: The Gathering sets, the Efreet creature type is now retired. In its place, Efreets will “likely” become Djinns.
This will not affect any cards previously printed under the Efreet creature type, does not entail any changes in rules, and no errata is in the works.
The change wasn’t formally announced, but revealed in a blog post by Mark Rosewater, the head of MTG Design. The revelation came after a player noticed the depiction of an Efreet on the new MH3 card, Pinnacle Monk.
Efreets are generally described as looking humanoid, having red or black skin that is constantly aflame, and are often mistaken for devils in appearance. This is opposed to Djinns, which appear wispy and light, as if rising from smoke. Think of the Genie from the Aladdin movie. Djinn of Wishes, as drawn by Kev Walker, depicts this quite well.
In the mythology that Magic borrows these creature types from, Djinns and Efreets are distinct supernatural beings. Djinns can be good or evil and are created from smokeless fire. Efreets, on the other hand, are generally known as malevolent and malicious beings.
In the lore of MTG on Rabiah, Efreets are considered a subclass of Djinn, so the merger makes more sense. Here’s what Mark Rosewater had to say about the matter.
So there you have it, Efreets are no longer going to be printed; however, these beings will “likely” survive through Djinns in future MTG lore.
Mark’s statement doesn’t necessarily bode well for the Djinn creature type. Based on his wording, it appears that Djinns could also be on the chopping block.
The retirement of MTG creature types isn’t something new. MTG has been working to eliminate types that have religious or cultural significance. Shaman and Druid creature types were recently being considered to be phased out from the game for this very reason.
There’s an ongoing list of over 100 dropped creature types in the history of the game. Previously retired types include Abomination, Gypsy, Merchant, Priest, Ranger, Sage, Thief, Vulture, and Wight. These creatures are retired for a variety of reasons, whether it be to simplify the game or for cultural and religious sensitivity.
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