Following MTG Spider Man and the 2026 MTG calendar reveal, it’s no secret that many players aren’t happy with Universes Beyond. It’s unclear if we’ve reached the tipping point where Wizards has gone too far, but signs are pointing that way. With this in mind, it’s no wonder that some MTG players want to fight back against the growing tide of crossovers.
As usual, some MTG players have taken to doing this on social media, discussing and complaining about the current trends. Others, meanwhile, have elected for a more direct approach, using cards like Arena of the Ancients to make Universes Beyond decks miserable to play. Subsequently, this decades-old card has recently spiked significantly in price.
Arena of the Ancients
For three mana, Arena of the Ancients offers a simple yet brutally effective effect. Essentially, it shuts down most legendary creatures when it enters play, and then keeps them from untapping. While this won’t nullify every creature in Magic: The Gathering, it can still work wonders against a great many decks and archetypes.
With Arena of the Ancients in play, any legend or Commander that wants to attack or needs to tap to activate its ability is effectively hamstrung. While this won’t work against every archetype, the chances of it disrupting your opponent’s plans are especially high. Thanks to Universes Beyond, the chances are only getting higher.
While Wizards of the Coast has been reducing the number of legends for in-universe sets, Universes Beyond has no such limit. These sets are absolutely loaded with powerful legends, many of which are perfect for Commander. Beyond the individually powerful legends, Commander decks themed around a property often include tons of legendary creatures.
Against these decks, Arena of the Ancients works wonders, often stopping them dead in their tracks. This makes it a perfect anti-Universes Beyond tool, but that’s hardly its only use case. Legendary creatures are always plentiful in Commander, so it’s rare that this card will be a complete dud.
That said, obviously Arena of the Ancients is a symmetrical effect, so you’ll have to build your deck around it. It’s also an artifact with no in-built protection, so aggrieved opponents could easily remove it. Despite these drawbacks, this card being rediscovered recently has led to an immense price spike.
The Spike
Admittedly, this price spike is partly our fault. While it was first picked up in an Instagram reel from Theteabeard, it was still fairly under the radar. Following our article on the card, however, the price has absolutely exploded, hitting $100 overnight. This immense increase isn’t at all surprising considering the card’s impressive rarity.
To date, Arena of the Ancients has only been printed twice, firstly in 1994’s Legends, then in 1995’s Chronicles. Considering that both of these printings are 30 years old, unsurprisingly, there’s not an immense amount of supply on the market. Due to this scarcity, the price of Arena of the Ancients is evidently incredibly volatile and vulnerable to buyouts.
At the moment, it’s unclear if the Arena of the Ancients spike was due to investors or eager players. Either way, prices have shot up massively overnight, especially on the original printing from Legends. Prior to the sudden interest surge, copies were selling for between $15 and $20. Now, new listings have shot up to $100, and a copy has already sold at this price point.
Currently, there’s only one Legends copy of any condition available on TCGplayer. Thankfully, the Chronicles variant is significantly cheaper at the moment, and there’s also more supply available. Previously, this variant sold for just $0.70 at the start of this month, but it’s now going for $39.98, including shipping.
In one month, that’s a 5611% price spike, and there’s a chance it won’t stop there. Since there are still a few copies left on the market, prices may increase further. Thankfully, if you are looking for a slight bargain, there are worse-condition Chronicles copies available for just $21.99.
The Future
Despite being over 30 years old, Arena of the Ancients is not on the Reserved List. For better or worse, this means this card can be reprinted whenever Wizards of the Coast chooses. If this happened, this card’s price would inevitably crash, since low supply is clearly the driving force behind this spike.
Thankfully, while a reprint is possible, the Stax-y play pattern of this card makes a reprint feel rather unlikely. I’d be very surprised if it appeared within a precon, for instance, though it could be reprinted in a bonus sheet. Either way, Arena of the Ancients definitely isn’t a sure thing that’s bound to be valuable forevermore.
Even before any reprints happen, there’s a good chance that the price of this card will come down over time. As much as it is powerful in Commander and a useful anti-Universes Beyond tool, it’s hardly unbeatable. It won’t win you the game on its own, either, so building around it feels meme-y at best.
Ultimately, even if the price of Arena of the Ancients does come down from its $100 and $40 highs, it’s unlikely to crash completely. This card does have its uses, so even middling demand could hold it at $5 to $10. At the end of the day, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens, as, as always, it’s impossible to predict the future.
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