Barbary Apes
Creature — Ape
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Legends
- Price
- $1.29
- EDHREC rank
- #19661
Barbary Apes is a 2/2 vanilla creature for three mana with a forest-walk rider that does nothing against the majority of the table — playable only in the narrowest sense of the word. There is no competitive shell that wants this.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Barbary Apes is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but legality and playability are different conversations. In Pauper, the format where commons compete hardest for slots, a 2/2 for three with conditional evasion doesn't clear the bar. In Commander, three mana for a 2/2 that can only slip past a player running basic Forests is not a meaningful threat at a four-player table. Legacy and Vintage are non-starters — the power ceiling there makes Barbary Apes invisible.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.29 cheap tier
At $1.29, Barbary Apes sits in cheap territory for reasons that have nothing to do with demand — it's a bulk rare in all but name, priced up only by low reprint frequency and collector curiosity. That price does not reflect utility, and there's no reason to expect it to hold.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.