Arena MTG Card

Boost your hand with Arena’s card draw, enhancing strategies and increasing victory odds through superior choices. Gain a game pace advantage with Arena’s resource acceleration, allowing earlier threat deployment and reactive play. Seize the opportune moment thanks to the flexibility of playing Arena at instant speed, disrupting opponents.

Time Spiral Timeshifted (TSB)
2006-10-06 - Number 117

Magic Online Promos (PRM)
2002-06-24 - Number 35958

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Rarity
Type	Land
Abilities	Fight

Text of card

, : Tap target creature you control and target creature of an opponent's choice he or she controls. Each of those creatures deals damage equal to its power to the other.

Cards like Arena

The Arena card sings harmoniously with the suite of mana acceleration cards in Magic: The Gathering, yet it beats its own unique rhythm. Arena shares its battlefield manipulation aspect with cards like Contested Cliffs, where creatures can be forced to fight outside of normal combat. But unlike Contested Cliffs, Arena doesn’t require a mana cost to engage its ability, offering a subtle economic edge.

Further card comparisons lead us to cards like Prey Upon, a one-mana spell that also allows a creature to fight another. However, Prey Upon is a single-use sorcery, whereas Arena remains on the battlefield, poised to orchestrate clashes turn after turn. Rounding out the comparison is Ulvenwald Tracker, another permanent that has a repeatable fight mechanism, but at the cost of both mana and a tap-down effect, making it less flexible than Arena’s enduring presence.

In essence, Arena’s perpetual ability to provoke creature fights positions it uniquely in Magic: The Gathering, marrying the repetitiveness of a permanent with a powerful control aspect, setting it apart from its similar counterparts.

Cards similar to Arena by color, type and mana cost

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Arena card enables you to draw additional cards, ensuring you have a more extensive selection of options and strategies during play. By having more cards in hand than your opponent, you can significantly improve your chances of outmaneuvering them and securing victory.

Resource Acceleration: Arena provides a boost to your resources by potentially allowing you to deploy threats earlier or utilize more mana-intensive spells ahead of your usual curve. This can lead to a significant advantage, letting you dictate the pace of the game and respond more efficiently to your opponent’s moves.

Instant Speed: The ability to play Arena at instant speed offers flexibility, keeping your options open until the most opportune moment. Whether it’s during your opponent’s end phase or in response to an action, instant speed plays can disrupt the opponent’s strategy and give you the upper hand in the match.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Utilizing Arena cards can put players in a tight spot when they necessitate the disposal of another card from your hand to play them. This condition can be especially taxing if you’re already lacking in card advantage, diminishing your strategic options.

Specific Mana Cost: Arena cards often demand a precise blend of mana types to cast. This could be a hurdle for decks that span a broader spectrum of mana sources, potentially obstructing your game plan by not aligning neatly with your deck’s mana curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When you’re considering investment into your gameplay, Arena cards can come at a steeper mana price than alternative selections. Players might find themselves weighing the benefits against other cards that could fill the same role with a lower mana investment, leading to more fluid and responsive play.

Reasons to Include Arena Mtg Card in Your Collection

Versatility: The Arena card is a hallmark for its ability to adapt to numerous playing styles. Its capacity to function in diverse deck archetypes allows players to leverage it both in aggro and control strategies, providing a dynamic tool for any collection.

Combo Potential: This card’s nature opens up possibilities for synergy with a variety of other strategies. Whether you’re seeking to create a lockdown with powerful creatures or needing an edge in creature-based combat, the Arena card can serve as a linchpin to some compelling gameplay combinations.

Meta-Relevance: Given the ever-evolving meta, a card like Arena remains pertinent due to its fundamental attribute of deciding creature battles. Especially in a creature-heavy environment, having Arena in your arsenal could be the key to turning the tide of games and maintaining an edge over competitors.

How to beat

The Arena card in Magic: The Gathering presents a unique challenge due to its ability to force creatures to fight outside the combat phase. This can often catch players off-guard, especially if they’ve overextended on the battlefield without keeping removal or protection in hand. To consistently overcome this, one must adjust their gameplay and hold onto key instant-speed spells that can either protect their valuable creatures or remove the opponent’s threats in response to the Arena’s activation. Prioritizing creatures with indestructible or ones that benefit from being targeted can significantly diminish the Arena’s impact.

Another effective strategy involves focusing on building a board state that can withstand forced engagements. Utilizing creatures with high toughness or ones that leave behind tokens upon death ensures that you always have a creature to spare for the Arena’s trigger. Additionally, including enchantments or artifacts that grant hexproof or shroud can prevent the opponent from choosing which creature you have to fight with. Staying aware of the Arena’s presence and adapting your approach, whether that means adjusting your plays or sideboarding in specific answers, is crucial for maintaining control.

Understanding the rules surrounding fight mechanics and timing, along with smart deck construction, will help you turn the Arena from a daunting threat to a manageable component of the game. By anticipating its activation and preparing appropriately, you can minimize its influence and protect your valuable creatures from an untimely defeat.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Arena MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Time Spiral Timeshifted, 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 Arena and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Arena Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2006-10-06 and 2006-10-06. Illustrated by Rob Alexander.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	~~2002-06-24~~	Magic Online Promos	PRM		35958	1997	Normal	Black	Rob Alexander
2	2006-10-06	Time Spiral Timeshifted	TSB		117	1997	Normal	Black	Rob Alexander

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Arena 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 Arena 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	Either or both creatures can be tapped prior to using the ability and it still works.
2004-10-04	In multiplayer games, you can choose a different opposing player each time it the ability is activated.
2004-10-04	The power of the creatures when the effect resolves is used to determine how much damage is done.
2006-09-25	If either target is illegal at the time the ability resolves (whether because it has left the battlefield, because it has gained Shroud or Protection, or for any other reason), the ability taps the remaining target, but no damage is dealt. If both targets are illegal, the ability doesn’t resolve.