MTG Modern Horizons 3’s new arena land is a must-have for red decks
WotCArena of Glory is a newly-leaked card from Modern Horizons 3, and it’s brought a classic Amonkhet ability to Lands for the first time. In utilizing the Exert ability on a Land, this card brings strategic choice to your mana production and can grant Haste for explosive turns.
Magic’s Modern Horizons 3 set has seen several leaks prior to Wizards’ spoiler season, and Arena of Glory has not yet been officially confirmed. We’ll keep you updated on whether this card is a legitimate part of the set as the launch of Modern Horizons 3 approaches.
As with many Land cards packing additional costs, Arena of Glory enters the battlefield tapped unless an additional condition is met. Slow Lands can be a spanner in the works for deckbuilding, but thankfully this card’s requirements are very easy to meet.
Arena of Glory’s ‘enters tapped’ effect does not rely on basic Lands to bypass, only Mountains. As such, it can easily slip into a variety of color identities without having to compromise on the consistency of your mana base.
This Land can function perfectly well as a regular Mountain, tapping for a single red mana. But what sets Arena of Glory apart is its Exert ability. Exert had previously only been seen on Creatures, but its design of providing an extra boost at the cost of staying tapped on the next turn fits just as well on a Land.
Arena of Glory can Exert for a cost of one red mana and tapping, and in return provides two red mana. When this mana is spent to cast a Creature, that Creature gains Haste until the end of the turn.
This ability is highly useful on a single Creature, allowing any of your big threats to start swinging on the turn it arrives, but MTG fans have already started to find ways of maximizing the value of this effect. As said by one Reddit user:
“Interesting that they templated the second ability this way. Lets you potentially give 2 Creatures Haste. I’m sure mono-red aggro decks will love this.”
Arena of Glory is an incredible red Land that will do extremely well in the Commander format, in addition to the set’s intended focus on Modern.