SirDoom, you're forgetting two very important words, and those two words are dark ritual. Juzam Djinn was a 5/5 that almost always hit the table on turn two.
And if you should happen to get two mox jets (also legal back then), a ritual and this horny devil in your opening hand, he's hitting the table on turn one.
Keep dark ritual in mind and go through that list again.
Posted By:
Laguz
(8/31/2009 5:40:24 AM)
Good old Juzam is just another victim of power creep. The non-splash that Plague Sliver made when it came out in Time Spiral just goes to show that cards in general are much more powerful now, and creatures like this don't quite cut it anymore, with so many more powerful creatures with negligible or no drawbacks available.
Posted By:
Equinox523
(5/15/2009 7:01:21 AM)
So because I'm a total geek I just looked through every black creature card with CMC of 4. 9 pages of creatures I only found 11 that met or beat Juzam. These are in alphabetical order not order of "goodness". These are straight hitting power creatures, I didn't bother to pick creatures that were good because of their gimmicky powers like Specters and what not. Apples and oranges in my opinion... Anyhoooooo
Desecration Elemental : 8/8, fear, squishes creatures all day. The only real con here is you can't really play it early or it'll just end up eating itself.
Korlash, Heir to Blackblade : Could be massive. Legendary though so you can only have one in play. Not that you really need more.
Grinning Demon : Basically a stronger version of Juzam. Pound for pound, you aren't doing much more damage compared to what you are taking.
Mortivore : Could be a huge creature. Again though, not something you ar... (see all)
Posted By:
SirDoom
(8/4/2009 3:39:14 AM)
This used to be one of the iconic creatures of Magic...the art making it especially iconic, but this card was great simply because of Dark Ritual...
Posted By:
Guest57443454
(7/2/2009 7:59:50 AM)
Still powerful if you ask me..
Posted By:
Kryplixx
(7/21/2009 1:13:36 AM)
Time was not been kind to Juzam Djinn, especially with the passing of Dark Ritual, but it's still one of the best midrange fatties available to black. I'd still play it... I just wouldn't rely on it.
Posted By:
stygimoloch
(12/2/2008 10:21:21 AM)
Indeed, time has not been kind to the Juzam. The Phyrexian Obliterator, though pure black, has a similar role as a 5/5 for four, and even with a frightening ability, many folks just say it dies to Dismember or whatever the kill spell of the week might be.
Still, even by today's standards, this guy is playable. Just these day's he'd be a $1 rare in a set, mostly forgotten, except when some folks pull him out for a fast black deck now and then. At least his artwork is great by any standard.
Posted By:
Radagast
(11/3/2011 7:49:16 PM)
Arabian Nights got a much smaller print run than most later expansions; and this guy is an iconic rare from it that was never reprinted. $200 for it is not really that surprising -- there were fewer Juzam Djinns printed than Black Lotuses.
Sure, it's not as powerful today, but it's pretty historical. And it was overwhelming back in the day -- second-turn with Dark Ritual, and immune to pretty much all the common-used removal? If your opponent didn't have a Swords to Plowshares in their hand, they'd lose, period.
Posted By:
Aquillion
(4/23/2013 6:41:49 PM)
Posted By: SirDoom (8/4/2009 3:39:14 AM)
Thank you so much for your list. I was trying to think of cards I would prefer to Juzám Djinn when I read your comment. My first thought was "this is going to save me a lot of time". Anyway, we can now add on Abyssal Persecutor to that list. He is kind of what Juzám Djinn used to be when he first came out.
That being said, Juzám Djinn is still playable in my opinion. If you can get ahold of him that is. He is selling for almost $200 in my area.
Posted By:
Eved
(2/8/2010 6:25:41 AM)