Arena Trickster MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Human Shaman
Released	2020-01-24
Set symbol
Set name	Theros Beyond Death
Set code	THB
Power	3
Toughness	3
Number	126
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	PINDURSKI

Key Takeaways

Arena Trickster’s gradual +1/+1 counters can significantly enhance its power on the board.
Encourages instant-speed play, adding unpredictability and tactical depth to matches.
Can be difficult to play in certain mana bases and may be less efficient against fast decks.

Text of card

Whenever you cast your first spell during each opponent's turn, put a +1/+1 counter on Arena Trickster.

"It's not enough to surprise your opponent. You have to delight the crowd as well."

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Arena Trickster gains a +1/+1 counter whenever you cast your first spell during your opponent’s turn, this can quickly turn the tables in your favor. Over several turns, it empowers you with a formidable creature that can outmatch your opponent’s and dominate the board.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly impacting your mana pool, Arena Trickster’s growth with each spell cast on your opponent’s turn can lead to a reduction in the resources they can safely commit to the board. As your opponent adjusts their strategy, you gain an indirect advantage, setting the pace of the match.

Instant Speed: The nature of Arena Trickster encourages you to play at instant speed, which is advantageous in maintaining unpredictability and versatility in your game plan. This aligns well with strategies that want to capitalize on your opponent’s end step, thereby maximizing your turns and keeping opponents guessing.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the setbacks of the Arena Trickster is that certain abilities or synergies might require you to discard cards, which could deplete your hand, especially if you don’t have a reliable draw engine in your deck.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires both blue and red mana which can sometimes be hard to achieve early in the game, limiting its inclusion to decks that can generate both types of mana efficiently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The initial cost of the Arena Trickster might seem reasonable, but when you’re trying to maintain tempo against fast aggro decks, it may not be the most mana-efficient play. Other spells or creatures can offer similar or better effects for less, making the Arena Trickster a less attractive option in certain strategies.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Arena Trickster shines in decks that are build around casting multiple spells in a single turn, adapting well to various strategies that focus on spell-slinging and prowess.

Combo Potential: With each instant or sorcery spell played during your opponent’s turn, it gains an additional +1/+1 counter, setting the stage for explosive turns and synergizing with cards that reward you for casting noncreature spells.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that heavily features instants and sorceries being cast on players’ own turns, Arena Trickster can quickly grow out of control and become a formidable threat that must be answered promptly.

How to Beat Arena Trickster

Arena Trickster is a unique creature card that thrives in environments dense with instant and sorcery spells. Crafted for a red-based deck, it gains a +1/+1 counter every time you cast an instant or sorcery during your main phase. This trait makes it a potential threat that can grow in power very quickly.

To effectively mitigate the threat posed by Arena Trickster, it’s crucial to manage your removal spells wisely. Since it’s dependent on instant and sorcery spells for its growth, instant speed removals such as Shock or Heartless Act can disrupt the synergy before your opponent’s main phase, halting the trickster’s momentum. Alternatively, counterspells like Essence Scatter serve as preemptive solutions that can stop the trickster from hitting the battlefield altogether.

If the trickster is already on the field and posing a significant threat, board wipes like Shatter the Sky or Wrath of God can clear the board, including the powered-up Trickster. It’s also worth considering strategies that limit spell casting or abilities, such as Damping Sphere or Narset, Parter of Veils, to prevent or at least impede the Trickster from gaining its counters. Understanding the opponent’s deck tempo and the potential of Arena Trickster are key to formulating a successful counter-strategy.

Cards like Arena Trickster

Arena Trickster in MTG takes a unique position within the pantheon of creatures that benefit from casting spells. While cards like Wee Dragonauts also gain a power boost with each instant or sorcery cast, Arena Trickster’s advantage lies in its incremental, end-of-turn power increase. Unlike Goblin Electromancer, which reduces the casting cost of spells, Arena Trickster receives a reward of +1/+0 until the end turn for each spell cast during your turns, a distinction that separates it from cost-reduction abilities.

Conversely, Nivix Cyclops offers a similar mechanic; however, it becomes more potent with a +3/+0 boost on spell cast but only until end of turn and lacks Arena Trickster’s base strength. Crackling Drake is another card that scales with spell casting but calculates its power based on the spells in your graveyard and exile, providing a different avenue for power scaling. While the Drake’s power can grow significantly over time, it lacks the immediate impact Arena Trickster’s turn-based boosts can accumulate in a single round of play.

A close assessment of these cards reveals that Arena Trickster, with its steady and potential substantial power increases, offers a solid choice for decks built around casting multiple spells in a turn, carving out its niche within spell-synergistic strategies in MTG.

Goblin Electromancer - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Arena Trickster MTG card by a specific set like Theros Beyond Death, 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 Trickster and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Arena Trickster has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2020-01-24	An ability that triggers when you cast a spell resolves before the spell that caused it to trigger. It resolves even if that spell is countered.
2020-01-24	If you have more than one opponent, this ability can trigger once during each of those opponents’ turns.
2020-01-24	In a Two-Headed Giant game, this ability triggers no more than once during each opposing team’s turn.
2020-01-24	This ability triggers only on your very first spell during an opponent’s turn, not the first spell after the card is on the battlefield. If you cast a spell before it’s on the battlefield (including if you cast this card somehow during an opponent’s turn), the ability won’t trigger.