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By: JXClaytor, Joshua Claytor
Apr 16 2021 12:00pm
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State of the Program for April 16th, 2021
 
In the News

Early Access Program Ends:  Monday night, I was researching decks from some of the builders highlighted in this week's Cutting Edge Tech, when I noticed a thread on Twitter saying that the Early Access Program was ending.  I thought it was a goof, so I kept researching, finding decks for the event, and I finally got the email about 2 hours later.  We were told in a form email that it was a difficult decision to end it.  We got some codes to give out for Arena and that were sent on our way. 

MOCS Season 2 Updates:  The leaderboard is returning, with that return, the top two on the leaderboard will get at-large invites to the Champions showcase after the last MOCS Open.  Also changing is the amount of showcase challenges and times they are held.  Going from three per day in a single weekend to one showcase challenge per day over two weekends.  The formats will now be Legacy, Modern, Pioneer and Vintage.  Super Qualifiers will allow player participation if they have already qualifier, and the invites to the set championship will pass down if won by an already qualified player.  You can check out the changes to the schedule here, and the updates on the Premier Play page

Some changes were made later in the week.  Leaderboard points are removed from Challenges so people don't feel the need to play in 12 events every weekend.  Legacy and Pioneer format challenge minimums were bumped up to 64 players.  Some bug fixes were also shown off the in the Twitter thread

Treasure Chest Update:  Commander 2021 (not the whole set of new cards) and Strixhaven: School of Mages are showing up in the latest treasure chest update.  Bonder's Ornament (an 11 ticket card that sees a ton of play in Pauper) and Snuff Out (a 13 ticket card thanks to Pauper) have had their drop rates increased.  You can check out the updates here.

Time Spiral Remasted Leagues Extended:  They were supposed to end on the 15th, but due to the Sealed Qualifier on the 25th, Wizards of the Coast decided to keep the leagues up for players to practice the format. 

Brawl BansChannel, Demonic Tutor, Natural Order and Tainted Pact were the four cards from Strixhaven added to the Brawl Ban List

Strixhaven Prerelease Party:  Taking place on Spelltable, the Strixhaven Prerelease Party runs from April 16 to April 18.  Players purchase their prerelease kits or Commander Precons from their Local Game Store (Wilmington, NC, check out Cape Fear Games) join the events Discord server, login to Spelltable and select the Launch Party option.  There will be side events, and world bosses and MTG Trivia!  Check out the info here!

Secret Lairs coming to MTGO?: The Strixhaven update to MTGO gave us the new set but also might have let us see the future.  In addition to past Secret Lairs like the Godzilla lands, Throne of Eldraine Snow Lands and others finally having assets added to MTGO, we also got to see potential Mystic Archive cards and Shocklands

Magic Legends News:  I am waiting for this to come to console because my PC is a machine that is barely powerful enough to run Arena, If you are interested in patch notes, you can check them out here.

The Timeline

This is a list of things we have been promised, or we just want to see coming back. Another good source for dates and times is the calendar and the weekly blog, while the best source for known bugs is the bug blog which appears sporadically on MTGO.com. Not listed, but important: Wizards offers either one or two online MCQs each weekend, with qualifiers for limited MCQs running the days immediately prior to the MCQ.
 
Upcoming Events
Dates
Scheduled Downtimes
 
Constructed Leagues End
 
Sealed Leagues End
 
Next B&R
Unknown
Kaldheim Redemption
Ends June 23, 2021
Strixhaven Redemption

2018 Magic Online Championship Series and other events
Complete details, including schedule, rules, and which online events qualify you for which online or paper events is here. In addition, Wizards will be offering these special formats:

Showcase Qualifiers

April 17 - Standard
April 18 - Pioneer
April 24 - Vintage
April 25 - Limited
May 1 - Modern
May 2 - Legacy

Magic Online Format Challenges
These are high stakes events that happen every weekend. They cost 30 Tix / 300 play points, and last a number of rounds based on participation (assume 5-8), plus a single elimination Top 8. Details, including prize payouts, are here. Start times are:

TIME (PT) SATURDAY SUNDAY
12:00 a.m.   Vintage Challenge
2:00 a.m. Pauper Challenge  
4:00 a.m. Legacy Challenge Modern Challenge
6:00 a.m. Standard Challenge Pioneer Challenge
8:00 a.m. Modern Challenge Legacy Challenge
10:00 a.m. Vintage Challenge Pauper Challenge
2:00 p.m. Pioneer Challenge Standard Challenge

 


Cutting Edge Tech

The week of the early access event is when I typically just showcase Standard and Historic decks for people who may want to enter challenges on the weekend.  It's going to be a bit harder to do that since Wizards of the Coast ended the program, but thankfully there are a lot of great deckbuilders who worked on this and presented a ton of decks that I can share with you all here. 

Standard
: To be honest one of the biggest reasons I am bummed the program is over is because it was so easy to play a lot of different decks, if even for a day.  Yoman5 who you really need to be following on twitter, does such a great job brewing early versions of decks ranging from super competitive to absolute blasts to play.  I played a lot of their decks during the past events. 


Historic:

Standard 2:  Mason Clark, someone who is sometimes on podcasts on the site is another person you need to be following on twitter.  Always insightful, Mason does a wonderful job breaking down the Standard field and brewing.  Check out two brews from him this week! 


Historic 2:

Historic 3:  John Ramos is a passionate builder in the Historic format.  Strongly opinionated, John is willing to do the work to try to match his views.  He's made some real bangers and showed them off on recently


Historic 4:  So far in Historic I see people doing a lot of stuff with Time Warp.  When I saw someone combine Mutate and Stone Rain though?  I stopped paying attention to Time Warp!


 

 
Winner's Circle

The Winner's Circle is where I will recognize winners of the past events on MTGO. 

Challenge Winners

Saturday Legacy - wara - Lands?  (I honestly don't know if this is lands, or NicFit, or Maverick, please someone help)
Saturday Pauper - Beicodegeia - Dimir Control
Saturday Pioneer - wkmidori - Lotus Field Combo

Sunday Modern - kefka27 - Mono Red Prowess
Sunday Pauper - MandrillMan - Elves
Sunday Standard - JoshicallsmeFabo - Temur Lukka
Sunday Vintage - Diem4x

Other Event Winners

Pioneer Showcase -
LaCriaturaBB - Izzet Phoenix
Legacy Showcase -
silviawataru - Izzet Delver
Vintage Showcase - slow_brz
Standard Showcase - otakkun - Gruul Adventures
Modern Showcase - wefoldforfood - AmuLIT


Card Prices
Note: all my prices come from the fine folks at MTGOTraders.com. These are retail prices, and generally the price of the lowest priced, actively traded version. (Prices for some rare promo versions are not updated when not in stock, so I skip those.) You can get these cards at MTGOTraders.com web store, or from their bots: MTGOTradersBot(#) (they have bots 1-10), CardCaddy and CardWareHouse, or sell cards to MTGOTradersBuyBot(#) (they have buybots 1-4). I have bought cards from MTGOTraders for a decade and a half now, and have never been overcharged or disappointed.
 
Standard Staples: Strixhaven cards aren't going to show up on here this week because I am making prices on Thursday, and the set came out hours ago!  Heliod, Sun-Crowned has dropped off the list.  

Standard Cards Price Last Week Change % Change
Brazen Borrower $32.52 $37.29 ($4.77) -13%
Bonecrusher Giant $8.13 $7.62 $0.51 7%
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King $19.75 $24.47 ($4.72) -19%
Shark Typhoon $14.23 $14.93 ($0.70) -5%
Lurrus of the Dream Den $11.54 $12.55 ($1.01) -8%
Valki, God of Lies $42.77 $40.76 $2.01 5%
Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider $10.96 $10.15 $0.81 8%
Goldspan Dragon $15.70 $15.40 $0.30 2%
Alrund's Epiphany $7.42 $8.90 ($1.48) -17%
Esika, God of the Tree $8.18 $9.52 ($1.34) -14%
Koma, Cosmos Serpent $6.22 $6.30 ($0.08) -1%
Halvar, God of Battle $5.54 $5.28 $0.26 5%
Elder Gargaroth $23.37 $23.35 $0.02 0%
Stormwing Entity $6.91 $7.66 ($0.75) -10%
Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger 13.5 14.38 ($0.88) -6%
Klothys, God of Destiny 10.63 10.87 ($0.24) -2%
Ox of Agonas 8.48 11.82 ($3.34) -28%
Scourge of the Skyclaves $49.76 $53.78 ($4.02) -7%
Turntimber Symbiosis $13.55 $14.08 ($0.53) -4%
Agadeem's Awakening $8.92 $8.58 $0.34 4%
Skyclave Apparition $32.14 $38.52 ($6.38) -17%
Shatterskull Smashing $6.83 $7.70 ($0.87) -11%
Modern Staples:  Nothing new this week!

Modern Cards Price Last Week Change % Change
Auriok Champion $28.33 $43.30 ($14.97) -35%
Steelshaper's Gift $14.50 $17.68 ($3.18) -18%
Engineered Explosives $8.45 $8.75 ($0.30) -3%
Cavern of Souls $23.74 $23.69 $0.05 0%
Mishra's Bauble $14.32 $20.04 ($5.72) -29%
Noble Hierarch $5.92 $5.64 $0.28 5%
Aether Vial $15.37 $18.74 ($3.37) -18%
Trinisphere $5.09 $5.04 $0.05 1%
Horizon Canopy $8.94 $13.06 ($4.12) -32%
Tarmogoyf $6.51 $7.57 ($1.06) -14%
Liliana of the Veil $17.20 $16.18 $1.02 6%
Snapcaster Mage $5.59 $6.04 ($0.45) -7%
Polluted Delta $15.40 $15.40 $0.00 0%
Wooded Foothills $11.13 $9.11 $2.02 22%
Flooded Strand $5.91 $10.15 ($4.24) -42%
Bloodstained Mire $8.47 $8.09 $0.38 5%
Windswept Heath $7.45 $7.73 ($0.28) -4%
Thoughtseize $9.17 $9.98 ($0.81) -8%
Cryptic Command $6.01 $6.28 ($0.27) -4%
Elvish Reclaimer $10.14 $10.06 $0.08 1%
Force of Negation $84.57 $98.38 ($13.81) -14%
Wrenn and Six $70.58 $61.17 $9.41 15%
Prismatic Vista $10.23 $14.05 ($3.82) -27%
Sunbaked Canyon $18.07 $14.68 $3.39 23%
Seasoned Pyromancer $32.96 $38.26 ($5.30) -14%
Fiery Islet $14.36 $12.31 $2.05 17%
Urza, Lord High Artificer $7.03 $7.77 ($0.74) -10%
Plague Engineer $9.69 $10.85 ($1.16) -11%
Force of Vigor $19.19 $16.50 $2.69 16%
Giver of Runes $6.47 $7.24 ($0.77) -11%
Flusterstorm $7.13 $6.98 $0.15 2%
Archmage's Charm $8.11 $7.32 $0.79 11%
Ranger-Captain of Eos $6.90 $7.32 ($0.42) -6%
Hexdrinker $27.89 $35.44 ($7.55) -21%
Ice-Fang Coatl $9.71 $9.22 $0.49 5%
Nurturing Peatland $5.30 $5.32 ($0.02) 0%
Silent Clearing $5.29 $5.46 ($0.17) -3%
Kaya's Guile $10.31 $7.43 $2.88 39%
Chalice of the Void $8.62 $9.02 ($0.40) -4%
Surgical Extraction $17.71 $21.91 ($4.20) -19%
Karn Liberated $8.67 $7.04 $1.63 23%
Dismember $5.77 $5.95 ($0.18) -3%
Emrakul,the Aeons Torn $10.62 $9.87 $0.75 8%
Wurmcoil Engine $7.11 $7.32 ($0.21) -3%
Ensnaring Bridge $9.60 $10.29 ($0.69) -7%
Teferi, Time Raveler $37.04 $39.93 ($2.89) -7%
Gemstone Mine $12.72 $13.59 ($0.87) -6%
Jace, the Mind Sculptor $12.35 $12.11 $0.24 2%
Scalding Tarn $17.86 $17.36 $0.50 3%
Verdant Catacombs $23.98 $21.29 $2.69 13%
Misty Rainforest $20.79 $17.18 $3.61 21%
Arid Mesa $9.13 $8.46 $0.67 8%
Marsh Flats $4.74 $4.02 $0.72 18%

Eternal Staples:  After adding Snuff Out last week, nothing new was added this week.  

Eternal Format Cards Price Last Week Change % Change
Hullbreacher $86.90 $78.03 $8.87 11%
Opposition Agent $34.34 $28.86 $5.48 19%
Dark Depths $6.45 $5.77 $0.68 12%
City of Traitors $35.94 $37.93 ($1.99) -5%
Sphere of Resistance $8.42 $8.80 ($0.38) -4%
Monastery Mentor $7.82 $7.72 $0.10 1%
Allosaurus Shepherd $42.07 $42.65 ($0.58) -1%
Muxus, Goblin Grandee $8.25 $8.34 ($0.09) -1%
Force of Will $66.46 $71.22 ($4.76) -7%
Karakas $8.68 $8.59 $0.09 1%
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale $49.79 $51.17 ($1.38) -3%
Demonic Tutor $17.07 $16.88 $0.19 1%
Unmask $13.60 $11.59 $2.01 17%
Misdirection $11.12 $11.60 ($0.48) -4%
Rishadan Port $15.27 $14.81 $0.46 3%
Snuff Out $13.20 $14.38 ($1.18) -8%
Submerge $14.85 $12.14 $2.71 22%
Daze $12.70 $11.56 $1.14 10%
Entomb $8.55 $7.08 $1.47 21%
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow $43.87 $68.55 ($24.68) -36%
Mox Diamond $32.59 $29.53 $3.06 10%
Wasteland $60.70 $62.65 ($1.95) -3%
Ancient Tomb $25.39 $21.88 $3.51 16%
Lotus Petal $25.00 $21.50 $3.50 16%
Earthcraft $8.61 $9.04 ($0.43) -5%
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath $7.77 $8.11 ($0.34) -4%
Grim Monolith $20.04 $15.92 $4.12 26%
Exploration $11.89 $11.90 ($0.01) 0%
Gaea's Cradle $21.24 $22.09 ($0.85) -4%
Carpet of Flowers $45.48 $60.38 ($14.90) -25%
Gilded Drake $12.89 $11.84 $1.05 9%
Black Lotus $19.62 $23.27 ($3.65) -16%
Tropical Island $10.23 $13.33 ($3.10) -23%
Volcanic Island $10.04 $12.45 ($2.41) -19%
Underground Sea $16.62 $16.17 $0.45 3%
Null Rod $9.46 $9.27 $0.19 2%
Doomsday $25.46 $27.04 ($1.58) -6%
Paradigm Shift $11.09 $10.48 $0.61 6%
Mindbreak Trap $10.94 $11.17 ($0.23) -2%
Pioneer StaplesArclight Phoenix is kinda hanging out on the list this week.  Mana Confluence fell off the list again, probably taking a couple week break.  Rest in Peace is off the list this week. 

Pioneer Cards Price Last Time Change % Change
Soul-Scar Mage $7.05 $8.24 ($1.19) -14%
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger $17.12 $11.91 $5.21 44%
Collected Company $8.13 $9.63 ($1.50) -16%
Kolaghan's Command $5.02 $4.86 $0.16 3%
Liliana, the Last Hope $5.35 $5.14 $0.21 4%
Collective Brutality $5.34 $6.53 ($1.19) -18%
Assassin's Trophy $5.63 $5.29 $0.34 6%
Arclight Phoenix $5.05


Eidolon of the Great Revel $8.03 $8.15 ($0.12) -1%
Spirebluff Canal $6.90 $7.85 ($0.95) -12%
Golos, Tireless Pilgrim $8.98 $9.96 ($0.98) -10%
Lotus Field $4.75 $5.37 ($0.62) -12%
Thought-Knot Seer $4.97 $6.45 ($1.48) -23%
Kozilek's Return $6.92 $7.66 ($0.74) -10%
Kaya, Orzhov Usurper $8.82 $8.56 $0.26 3%
Karn, the Great Creator $32.24 $50.72 ($18.48) -36%
Blast Zone $8.82 $8.93 ($0.11) -1%
Omnath, Locus of Creation $15.27 $13.74 $1.53 11%
Standard Legal Sets: This table tracks the cost of a single copy of every card in each Standard legal set, plus Treasure Chests and the current booster pack. I’ll keep tracking these because they are interesting (at least to me).  This is being kept as a small tribute to Pete!

This will be the last week of Kaldheim Booster tracking as well.  I thought about tracking the Mystical Archive, but I don't think it is going to be worth it in the long run.  The cards in the set came up to 55.44 when I did prices. 

Complete Set Price Last Week Change % Change
Core Set 2021 $71.94 $73.05 ($1.11) -2%
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths $56.00 $58.84 ($2.84) -5%
Kaldheim $160.27 $155.43 $4.84 3%
Kaldheim Booster $2.59 $3.06 ($0.47) -15%
Strixhaven: School of Mages $154.44


Strixhaven: School of Mages Booster $3.43


Theros Beyond Death $99.17 $105.03 ($5.86) -6%
Throne of Eldraine $148.83 $158.51 ($9.68) -6%
Treasure Chest $2.46 $2.38 $0.08 3%
Zendikar Rising $158.91 $169.90 ($10.99) -6%


The Good Stuff
The following is a list of all the non-foil, non-promo cards on MTGO that retail for more than $25 per card. These are the big ticket items in the world of MTGO.  The list is interesting, at the least. This is interesting to me because a lot of these cards have been reprinted more than once, and they are still commanding a high price. 

Black Lotus 1E Rare 163.08
Snapcaster Mage UBT Mythic 114.61
Cavern of Souls UBT Mythic 93.94
Karakas UBT Mythic 92.45
Liliana of the Veil UBT Mythic 91.59
Hullbreacher CMR Rare 86.9
Force of Negation MH1 Rare 84.57
Mox Jet 1E Rare 75.5
Wrenn and Six MH1 Mythic 70.58
Ancestral Recall 1E Rare 68.96
Time Walk 1E Rare 66.75
Force of Will MED Rare 66.46
Mox Sapphire 1E Rare 65.6
Mox Emerald 1E Rare 62.38
Wasteland ZNE Mythic 62.06
Wasteland TE Uncommon 60.7
Wasteland EXP Mythic 59.03
Wasteland EMA Rare 58.37
Wasteland TPR Rare 55.54
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth UBT Mythic 55.23
Dark Depths UBT Mythic 54.09
Force of Will MS3 Mythic 53.91
Force of Will EMA Mythic 51.01
Force of Will 2XM Mythic 51
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale ME3 Rare 49.79
Scourge of the Skyclaves ZNR Mythic 49.76
Force of Will VMA Rare 48.65
Verdant Catacombs ZNE Mythic 48.11
Jace, the Mind Sculptor MS4 Mythic 47.33
Demonic Tutor UBT Mythic 46.51
Noble Hierarch UBT Mythic 45.49
Carpet of Flowers UZ Uncommon 45.48
Auriok Champion IMA Rare 44.14
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow PZ2 Rare 43.87
Mox Ruby 1E Rare 43.52
Valki, God of Lies KHM Mythic 42.77
Allosaurus Shepherd JMP Mythic 42.07
Mox Pearl 1E Rare 41.67
Karn Liberated UBT Mythic 41.43
Purple-Crystal Crab PZ2 Common 39.84
Ethereal Forager C20 Rare 39.74
Wooded Foothills ZNE Mythic 37.88
Cavern of Souls ZNE Mythic 37.7
Teferi, Time Raveler WAR Rare 37.04
Underground Sea ME2 Rare 36.61
City of Traitors EX Rare 35.94
Celestial Colonnade UBT Mythic 35.6
Liliana, the Last Hope MS4 Mythic 35.47
Platinum Emperion UBT Mythic 35.36
City of Traitors TPR Rare 34.62
Timetwister 1E Rare 34.52
Opposition Agent CMR Rare 34.34
Verdant Catacombs EXP Mythic 34.05
Scalding Tarn ZNE Mythic 33.26
Ancient Tomb ZNE Mythic 33.17
Seasoned Pyromancer MH1 Mythic 32.96
Underground Sea ME4 Rare 32.8
Mox Diamond ST Rare 32.59
Brazen Borrower ELD Mythic 32.52
Mox Diamond V10 Mythic 32.45
Mox Diamond TPR Mythic 32.36
Karn, the Great Creator WAR Rare 32.24
Heavenly Qilin PZ2 Common 32.18
Skyclave Apparition ZNR Rare 32.14
Polluted Delta ONS Rare 31.47
Misty Rainforest ZNE Mythic 31.12
Scalding Tarn EXP Mythic 29.39
Verdant Catacombs MM3 Rare 28.57
Cavern of Souls UMA Mythic 28.5
Auriok Champion 5DN Rare 28.33
Hexdrinker MH1 Mythic 27.89
Cavern of Souls MM3 Mythic 27.71
Polluted Delta ZNE Mythic 27.27
Creeping Tar Pit UBT Mythic 26.92
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria MS4 Mythic 26.41
Ancient Tomb EXP Mythic 26.08
Bitterblossom UBT Mythic 25.57
Doomsday WL Rare 25.46
Ancient Tomb TE Uncommon 25.39
Fulminator Mage UBT Mythic 25.37
Lotus Petal MS2 Bonus 25.33
Life from the Loam UBT Mythic 25.29
Earthshaking Si PZ2 Common 25.23
Lotus Petal TE Common 25
The big number is the retail price of a playset (4 copies) of every card available on MTGO. Assuming you bought the least expensive versions available, the cost of owning a playset of every card on MTGO is approximately a number that I cannot figure out still. I have actually asked Pete to do this for me, because Open Office is weird, and I have no idea what I am doing, and I am pretty close to just being a dog in a labcoat.

Nevermind, ignore all of that, Pete got it done for me, because he is just the dang best. The big number this week is $29,570.   Last week it was $29,677.  A small loss of $107 is still a loss. 
 
In Closing

I spent a lot of time learning to play new Standard in Pokemon this week.  It's basically the Pocket Monsters version of Big E's dream match.  Big meaty mons slapping meat.  Vs and VMaxes are just so big. 

This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic” Friborg.