Startled Awake // Persistent Nightmare

As of Jul 28, 2026, the cheapest tracked printing of Startled Awake // Persistent Nightmare is $0.79 (SOI #88), and the most expensive is $3.11 (PSOI #88s, Prerelease, Foil). The benchmark price (cheapest playable nonfoil) is $0.79, up 5.3% over 7 days, up 4.0% over 30 days, down 9.2% over 90 days. All-time tracked high: $1.49 (2024).

Startled Awake // Persistent Nightmare has 2 tracked printings across 2 sets, in nonfoil and foil finishes, including prerelease treatments.

SOI #88

$0.79

CK $1.49 / $0.19 76%

MP $0.45 115 avail

SOI #88 Foil

$2.92 +270%

CK $3.99 / $1.40 52%

MP $1.74 8 avail

PSOI #88s Prerelease Foil

$3.11 +294%

CK $6.99 / $3.00 4%

MP $3.76 8 avail

Card Kingdom currently pays $3.00 cash for PSOI #88s (Foil); the retail-buylist spread on that printing is 57% (wide).

• Apr 8, 2016 A sorcery can't be put onto the battlefield and a permanent can't transform into a sorcery. If an effect exiles Persistent Nightmare and then instructs you to return it to the battlefield, it remains face up in exile (unless that effect instructs you to put it onto the battlefield transformed, in which case it returns as Persistent Nightmare). If an effect instructs you to transform Persistent Nightmare, the instruction is ignored.
• Apr 8, 2016 If you cause a creature to have 0 power or less, use the actual value (which may be negative) to determine whether it can block or be blocked. A creature with skulk and 0 or less power most likely won't be blocked, but it won't deal combat damage and won't trigger any abilities that trigger when combat damage is dealt.
• Apr 8, 2016 Skulk matters only as blockers are chosen. Modifying either creature's power after blockers are chosen won't cause the attacking creature to become unblocked.

Startled Awake // Persistent Nightmare has been reprinted 3 times.

Set	Date	Rarity	Treatment
PSOI #88s	2016-04-08	Mythic	Prerelease
SOI #88	2016-04-08	Mythic	Standard
SOI #88	2016-04-08	Mythic	Standard

Startled Awake // Persistent Nightmare is the #13,688 most-played card on EDHREC, down 134 places over the last 30 days.