IDK that rank 1 is a trap per se. You just have to plan you arena refreshes accordingly. my rewards pay around 5 pm EST, and so I just look over my options at around 330 ish. If I can push forward and not lose crystals with a refresh, why not do it for the chance you get to earn crystals. case in point, I was around 60 (100 in rewards) yesterday, and paid for the refresh. With it I got to 17. (200 in rewards). I refreshed again I think and ended up at 10 (250 in rewards). So, I spend 100 in order to earn 150 more. You could say I trapped myself since I could have spent 50 to earn 100 (100% return) vs 100 to earn 150 (67% return), but the upside of top 5 was possible, but not meant to be.
Its a trap if you force it to be one.