Living Wish MTG Card


Leverages outside-game resources for enhanced in-game flexibility and strategic depth. Accelerates mana base, allowing summoning of costly creatures or pivotal game actions. Instantly expands strategic options by fetching creatures with flash capability.
Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityRare
TypeSorcery

Text of card

Choose a creature or land card you own from outside the game, reveal that card, and put it into your hand. Remove Living Wish from the game.

He wished for growth, but not for a way to control it.


Cards like Living Wish

Living Wish is a unique card that opens up the strategic potential in a player’s game, drawing comparisons to other wish-style cards in Magic: The Gathering. It shares the concept with Glittering Wish, allowing players to fetch a multicolored card from outside the game. Living Wish, however, is more flexible as it can retrieve a creature or land card, offering broader tactical maneuvers.

Cunning Wish and Death Wish also complement this broad category, each with their own conditions and advantages. Cunning Wish exclusively fetches instant cards, potentially providing a swift answer to an opponent’s threat. Meanwhile, Death Wish is broader in scope, allowing access to any card from outside the game but at the cost of paying half your life rounded up. The risk-reward nature of Death Wish is far more aggressive compared to the safer play Living Wish provides.

Sifting through these choices, Living Wish strikes a balance between versatility and safety, earning its place in the MTG landscape. It’s neither as restrictive as Cunning Wish nor as dangerous as Death Wish, nestling into a sweet spot that enables a diverse range of strategies without excessive compromise.

Glittering Wish - MTG Card versions
Cunning Wish - MTG Card versions
Death Wish - MTG Card versions
Glittering Wish - MTG Card versions
Cunning Wish - MTG Card versions
Death Wish - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Living Wish by color, type and mana cost

Regrowth - MTG Card versions
Superior Numbers - MTG Card versions
Summer Bloom - MTG Card versions
Elven Rite - MTG Card versions
Rampant Growth - MTG Card versions
Gaea's Blessing - MTG Card versions
Monstrous Growth - MTG Card versions
Nostalgic Dreams - MTG Card versions
Nylea's Intervention - MTG Card versions
Sylvan Scrying - MTG Card versions
Wildcall - MTG Card versions
Revive - MTG Card versions
Weird Harvest - MTG Card versions
Farseek - MTG Card versions
Channel - MTG Card versions
Explore - MTG Card versions
Nature's Spiral - MTG Card versions
Savage Punch - MTG Card versions
Mulch - MTG Card versions
Thunderherd Migration - MTG Card versions
Regrowth - MTG Card versions
Superior Numbers - MTG Card versions
Summer Bloom - MTG Card versions
Elven Rite - MTG Card versions
Rampant Growth - MTG Card versions
Gaea's Blessing - MTG Card versions
Monstrous Growth - MTG Card versions
Nostalgic Dreams - MTG Card versions
Nylea's Intervention - MTG Card versions
Sylvan Scrying - MTG Card versions
Wildcall - MTG Card versions
Revive - MTG Card versions
Weird Harvest - MTG Card versions
Farseek - MTG Card versions
Channel - MTG Card versions
Explore - MTG Card versions
Nature's Spiral - MTG Card versions
Savage Punch - MTG Card versions
Mulch - MTG Card versions
Thunderherd Migration - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Living Wish. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Paradoxical OutcomeParadoxical Outcome VintageParadoxical OutcomeVintage League 2024-04-24
Nic FitNic Fit LegacySultai Depths3 Etapa - 3 Liga Legacy Jundia
WUGWUG LegacyLegacy Showcase Challenge 2024-02-18
AlurenAluren LegacyAluren$1K - Legacy - SCG CON Hartford - Friday - 1:00 pm
Golgari DepthsGolgari Depths LegacySultai DepthsSouth Wales Legacy Showcase
DinostormDinostorm LegacyUntap.in Open League
The Epic StormThe Epic Storm LegacyThe EPIC StormEternal Challenge 23
Bant Sphinx RampBant Sphinx Ramp Free formSet Roulette Feburary 2024
EnchantressEnchantress Premodern$1K - Pre-Modern - SCG CON Hartford - Sunday - 9:30 am
Sultai AlurenSultai Aluren LegacyAlurenLegacy League 2023-12-16

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Living Wish grants players the unique ability to choose a creature or land from outside the game, increasing the options at your disposal without diminishing your hand.

Resource Acceleration: By selecting the ideal land, Living Wish can serve as an accelerant, ensuring that you have the necessary mana for critical plays or paving the way to summon high-cost creatures earlier than expected.

Instant Speed: While not an instant itself, Living Wish can fetch creatures with flash, effectively broadening your strategic choices during each phase of the game.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Living Wish obligates you to reveal a card from outside the game, which diminishes the element of surprise and gives your opponent insight into your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires a green and one generic mana, making it restricted to decks that include green mana sources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The two mana needed may be considered steep for fetching a single card from outside the game, especially when compared to other tutor cards that place the card directly into your hand or onto the battlefield.


Reasons to Include Living Wish in Your Collection

Versatility: Living Wish offers a way to access toolbox cards from outside the game, providing flexibility in response to various in-game scenarios. This capability allows for dynamic deck strategies and can adapt to a range of challenges during play.

Combo Potential: This card opens the door to numerous combo opportunities, offering a direct route to critical pieces that might be missing from your hand or battlefield. It can fetch essential creatures or lands, seamlessly integrating into a larger winning strategy.

Meta-Relevance: In constantly shifting meta environments, having a card like Living Wish can be crucial. It serves as a way to counteract prevalent deck archetypes or tech against common threats, ensuring your deck remains competitive in diverse game climates.


How to beat

Living Wish is a unique card from the MTG universe capable of fetching a creature or land from outside the game. This strategy offers a pool of options, making it challenging to preemptively counter. To beat a strategy involving Living Wish, it’s important to effectively manage your resources and anticipate possible threats.

One method to counteract Living Wish is by utilizing cards that can exile or disrupt the chosen card before it comes into play. Counterspells that target spells on the stack can prevent the asset from ever impacting the board. Additionally, grave hate cards can prove beneficial, as they can remove potential targets from the game, limiting Living Wish’s effectiveness. Playing around Living Wish involves smart hand management and keeping up mana for counterspells, thereby ensuring that when your opponent reveals their hand, you’re ready to neutralize the threat.

Remember, flexibility and adaptability are key in outmaneuvering Living Wish, so stay vigilant and keep your counters at the ready for when the wish is cast. By preparing your own game plan, maintaining control of the board, and anticipating your opponent’s moves, you can navigate around the challenges posed by this versatile card.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Living Wish MTG card by a specific set like Judgment and Magic Online Promos, 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 Living Wish and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Living Wish Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2002-05-27 and 2018-03-16. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-05-27JudgmentJUD 1241997NormalBlackEric Peterson
22002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 350682003NormalBlackHideaki Takamura
32002-08-14World Championship Decks 2002WC02 bk1241997NormalGoldEric Peterson
42008-01-01Judge Gift Cards 2008G08 52003NormalBlackHideaki Takamura
52018-03-16Masters 25A25 1792015NormalBlackHideaki Takamura

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Living Wish has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2004-10-04 Can’t acquire the Ante cards. They are considered still “in the game” as are cards in the library and the graveyard.
2007-05-01 If you fail to find something, you still exile this.
2007-05-01 The choice is optional.
2007-09-16 Can’t acquire cards that are phased out.
2009-10-01 In a sanctioned event, a card that’s “outside the game” is one that’s in your sideboard. In an unsanctioned event, you may choose any card from your collection.
2009-10-01 You can’t acquire exiled cards because those cards are still in one of the game’s zones.