Arabian Nights is the very first proper expansion for Magic: The Gathering (as Alpha, Beta, and Unlimited were largely the same card lists). Released in 1993, Arabian Nights was inspired by One Thousand and One Nights, taking various characters and locations from the folktales.
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Arabian Nights is a very small set, consisting of only 78 total cards. Many of the cards in Arabian Nights are a part of the Reserved List, a select handful of cards that are never going to be reprinted. In many cases, this adds value to the cards as they will never be seen in a new set again.
10
Old Man Of The Sea
Market Price: $342.51
Old Man of the Sea is a member of the Reserved List and fetches a hefty price tag thanks to a mixture of that and having a solid effect. It can steal any creature with power less than it and keep it throughout multiple turns so long as it stays untapped.
You can keep untapping Old Man of the Sea to keep stealing all your opponents’ best creatures. Or, if you have a creature you want to keep, you can opt to not untap Old Man of the Sea to ensure it sticks to your side of the battlefield.
9
Ali From Cairo
Market Price: $372.47
Another card on the Reserved List, Ali from Cairo is just a generally fantastic card. If your opponent doesn’t have removal, it becomes a headache to deal with as you will be prevented from your life total reaching zero, and require your opponents to win through other means.
Ali from Cairo has awful stats to balance its useful effect. It can’t block any creatures without dying, and is prone to many different forms of removal. All of this, plus the novelty of the name of the card, leads to it being one of the most valuable Arabian Night cards.
8
Shahrazad
Market Price: $456.27
One of the most unique card effects ever put on a trading card, Shahrazad is on the Reserved List and one of the few cards banned in every single format. It is for good reason, as forcing everyone in a match to need to play a subgame in their Magic game is going to add a ton of time to the match.
Shahrazad is one of the most well-known Magic cards and trading cards in general when talking about weird card effects. This while be un-reprintable all leads to Shahrazad being one of the most valuable cards in the game.
7
Serendib Efreet
Market Price: $474.49
Serendib Efreet isn’t a particularly strong card by today’s standards, and you can get a copy for less than ten cents. However, its original printing in Arabian Nights is quite the opposite, as it has unique art that was only used for that printing (digital versions excluded). Despite not being on the Reserved List, it’s worth more than a lot of cards that are actually on it.
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Serendib Efreet was once a good card back when a 3/4 for three mana with flying was far from the worst thing you can be doing. While it’s been power crept out of playability, it still has a nostalgia factor that contributes to its value.
6
Diamond Valley
Market Price: $501.49
Diamond Valley is a utility land that can’t actually generate any mana. However, back in the day, lifegain was a big deal and that nostalgic viewing of Diamond Valley’s playability contributed to it being one of the most valuable Arabian Nights cards. It’s a part of the Reserved List, so the Arabian Nights printing is the only one you’ll be able to get.
Diamond Valley acts as a free sacrifice outlet that can also potentially gain you a ton of life. While it’s far from the most playable card, it’s not a bad land necessarily. Its time in the sun is gone, but its value has stayed steady.
5
City Of Brass
Market Price: $583.33
City of Brass is one of the best lands in the game period. It enters untapped and can immediately generate any color of mana. The only downside is you take one damage when it becomes tapped, which is a small price to pay for such a great effect. The versatility in multi-colored decks makes it a must-run as a way to ensure you always have the colors you need.
City of Brass has seen multiple printings since it isn’t on the Reserved List, but its original Arabian Night printing is far and away the most expensive version of it while other versions generally float around the $10 range.
4
Guardian Beast
Market Price: $700
Guardian Beast is a very unique card that protects your noncreature artifacts from enchantments, removal, and theft. The only way to get rid of them is essentially through exiling them. It’s not a particularly strong effect, and other cards do what it does but better, but there’s a novelty in Guardian Beast.
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Guardian Beast has an effect that doesn’t generally go on black cards, making it a color pie break. That on top of being on the Reserved List led to its price spiking very high because of the desire for such a unique card that highlights the early days of Magic card design.
3
Bazaar Of Baghdad
Market Price: $1,744.96
Bazaar of Baghdad is a land that doesn’t generate mana, but instead draws you two cards and discards three. A part of the Reserved List, Bazaar of Baghdad is also a Vintage main-stay in Ichorid decks as well as various other graveyard-focused ones. The card is so strong it needed to be banned in Legacy.
Bazaar of Baghdad has a lot going for it that skyrockets the value of it. It’s such a good land that some decks run it as the only land they’re playing and aggressively mulligan just to make sure they start the game with it.
2
Juzam Djinn
Market Price: $1,899.99
Juzam Djinn was once a Magic all-star, being one of the best creatures in the game as a 5/5 for four mana was incredible value. The downside of just taking one damage at your upkeep was more than worth the trade-off.
Juzam Djinn has fallen off the wayside, with plenty more powerful creatures released for less mana. However, it is a very iconic card of Magic’s early days, all while being on the Reserved List. With its deep history in Magic’s early meta, it is one of the most expensive cards period, not just in Arabian Nights.
1
Library Of Alexandria
Market Price: $2,089.98
Library of Alexandria is one of the best lands ever printed. It can generate mana, and if you’re not using it for mana, can tap it to draw a card instead. If you’re going second and play this turn one, you can immediately fill your hand again. The card is so good it’s banned in every format, and restricted in Vintage to just one copy per deck.
Library of Alexandria is a part of the Reserved List and thanks to its immense power, it is the most valuable card in Arabian Nights. It’s the only time it’ll be printed, and it’s a card that will likely never see its restrictions loosened up because it’s simply far too good for formats to handle.
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