State of the Program for April 21st 2017
Amonkhet on MTGO Next Monday: Wizards will release Amonkhet online even earlier than previously announced. The set will be playable online on the Monday following paper Prereleases. This means online players will be able to get Amonkhet cards four days
before the set is on sale in the real world. Details
here.
Mini Announcement Day: Wizards gave us a ton of announcements this week. Helene Bergeot gave us the name of the next set – Ixalan – and will release September 29, 2017. That means it should appear on MTGO September 25
th. The announcement also covered changes to various paper formats, including Nationals, RPTQs and Pro Point payouts. The article is
here.
Amonkhet Release and B&R Changes: Amonkhet will be playable in Standard the same day that Wizards will issue the next B&R announcement on the 24th. MTGO will not be spoiling that announcement, so Wizards has a roll-out plan. If there are no B&R changes, no problem. If there are changes, Wizards will have a sudden downtime on Monday, April 24th. Either way, constructed leagues will not begin until after the B&R announcement.
Steamer Showdown April 27th: Wizards will be hosting two events for streamers next Thursday. I would expect that they will be drafting Amonkhet, but full details, and the list of streamers who will be participating, will be announced next week.
Changes to How Split Cards Work: Wizards has changed the rules on you determine the mana cost of Split Cards. In the past, the mana cost of the spell on the stack was the mana cost of the half being cast. At other times, the split cards returned
two mana costs; one for each side. Thus
Wear // Tear’s mana cost was 2
and 1, but – technically - not 3. Wizards will be modifying this. Starting with Amonkhet, spilt cards will have one mana cost (everywhere but on the stack) equal to the sum of the mana costs. This is relevant for
Counterbalance (when the Counterbalance player is putting a split card on top of their library) and the Expertise Beck//Call decks now in Modern. The article explaining the change is
here.
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. Most of the major upcoming events we know of are listed. Not listed, but important: Wizards offers either one or two online PTQs each weekend, with qualifiers running the three days prior to the PTQ.
Recurring Events
|
Timing
|
Power Nine Challenge
|
Last Saturday of the month, 11am Pacific
|
Legacy Challenge
|
Second Saturday of the month, 11am Pacific
|
No Downtime
|
April 26th, May 3rd , May 17th
|
Extended Downtime
|
April 19th, May 24th
|
Current Leagues End
|
May 2, 2017
|
Amonkhet MTGO release
|
April 28th
|
Hour of Devastation release
|
July, 2017
|
Ixalan release
|
September 25, 2017
|
Commander 2017 details here.
|
November 2017 on MTGO
|
Next B&R Announcement
|
April 24, 2017
|
KLD and AER Redemption Ends
|
June 7, 2017 (yes, 2 months from now)
|
KTK and FRF Redemption Ends
|
May 31, 2017
|
DTK, ORI, BFZ & OGW Redemption Ends
|
November 2, 2017
|
SOI and EMN Redemption Closes
|
April 28, 2018
|
Flashback, Throwback Standard and CUBE for 2017
Wizards will be offering either a flashback draft league, a flashback Standard gauntlet, a CUBE league or prerelease / Release events each week. Here’s the schedule so far.
Flashback and Such Rotation
|
Begins
|
Ends
|
Legacy Cube
|
April 12th
|
April 24th
|
The new Flashback Leagues are still draft, and still you-keep-the-cards. They are 12 TIX / product plus 2 TIX / 120 Play Points. However, they are no longer single elimination. Now you play until you have three wins or two losses. Prizes are 150 play points for three wins and 70 Play points for 2 wins. The leagues run one week.
The Throwback Standard Gauntlet events provide a random choice of prebuilt decks from a past standard environment. These will function like the Pro Tour Gauntlets – you won’t need to own the cards. The entry fee is 10 TIX or 100 Play Points. Prizes are in Play Points: 150 for 3-0, 100 for 2-1, 40 for 1-2 and 10 play points as a bad beats award.
Opinion Section: Prereleases
|
In October, 1999, Ingrid and I drove the 275 miles to play in the Mercadian Masques prerelease. Back then, Prereleases were regional affairs, and the next closest event was 500 miles away. The event was one giant sealed deck event with several hundred players and many rounds. If you dropped, a second event began in the afternoon. The product was a tournament pack as a couple boosters. Neither Ingrid nor I won any prizes, but we both got a pair of foil
Overtakers and had a great time.
A year and a half later, prereleases had gotten a lot better. I remember that the Planeshift event was divided into multiple 32 man flights, and it was possible to play in several at a single prerelease (sequentially, not at the same time.) I also remember that my deck was great, with a Flametongue Kavu, several ways to bounce and replay him and a bunch of removal. I won that flight.
A few years after that, Wizards started allowing more prereleases, giving us the option of another prerelease only a hundred miles away. It was a lot easier to justify getting into one last flight when the drive home was two hours instead of five.
The next major change occurred in February of 2009, with the Conflux prerelease. That was the first year that local stores were allowed to hold prereleases. I ran the first ever prerelease at Pegasus games. We got just ten people, but it was a start. Pegasus held its events on Sunday, both to avoid conflicting with other stores and because Pegasus had other events on Saturday.
The local store prereleases expanded, and it was soon possible to play in a midnight release at one store, a couple more early morning events on Saturday, a Saturday evening event at another store (if you were still awake) and then a couple more prerelease flights at Pegasus on Sunday. Which I did, at least occasionally.
Well-run prereleases are one of my favorite events of all, which is saying something because I have been to everything from FNM to Pro Tours and the World Championships. The prereleases are filled with players all excited about the new set and the new cards. People are generally playing for fun more than to win, and judges spend more time explaining and helping than anything else.
If you play paper Magic, you should go to a prerelease. If all you play is MTGO, you should consider trying out the paper world and there is no better time than a prerelease.
Standard: Amonkhet will appear on April 24th. Until then, nothing happening here. Come back after that date.
Modern: Just going to use a simple criterion this week – what would I play if I was joining a league at the moment. Note that this answer would likely be different an hour from now.
Legacy: I’m always looking for something new and interesting (or, given that this is Legacy, old and interesting?) This week it is a
Show and Tell deck with Eureka. At least that’s kinda different.
Vintage: The Vintage Super League has finished. That means we are back to regular Vintage Dailies.
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 over a decade now, and have never been overcharged or disappointed.
Standard staples: Standard prices were fairly stable this week. Amonkhet prices will be added next week. Until then...
Standard Cards
|
Price
|
Last Week
|
Change
|
% Change
|
|
$9.90
|
$9.52
|
$0.38
|
4%
|
|
$15.43
|
$15.11
|
$0.32
|
2%
|
|
$10.72
|
$8.90
|
$1.82
|
20%
|
|
$15.39
|
$15.18
|
$0.21
|
1%
|
|
$18.61
|
$18.68
|
($0.07)
|
0%
|
|
$13.30
|
$13.36
|
($0.06)
|
0%
|
|
$6.93
|
$6.46
|
$0.47
|
7%
|
|
$17.59
|
$15.90
|
$1.69
|
11%
|
|
$12.85
|
$11.68
|
$1.17
|
10%
|
|
$28.10
|
$32.63
|
($4.53)
|
-14%
|
|
$15.78
|
$16.66
|
($0.88)
|
-5%
|
|
$7.08
|
$7.26
|
($0.18)
|
-2%
|
|
$6.39
|
$6.41
|
($0.02)
|
0%
|
|
$11.79
|
$10.68
|
$1.11
|
10%
|
|
$16.61
|
$14.65
|
$1.96
|
13%
|
|
$9.01
|
$9.56
|
($0.55)
|
-6%
|
|
$7.25
|
$6.89
|
$0.36
|
5%
|
|
$8.20
|
$8.04
|
$0.16
|
2%
|
Modern staples: Modern prices are generally up across the board, but steadying. The volatility following MM17 is clearing up.
Modern Cards
|
Price
|
Last Week
|
Change
|
% Change
|
|
$41.02
|
$38.85
|
$2.17
|
6%
|
|
$32.16
|
$32.16
|
$0.00
|
0%
|
|
$17.08
|
$13.80
|
$3.28
|
24%
|
|
$22.25
|
$20.13
|
$2.12
|
11%
|
|
$43.81
|
$41.31
|
$2.50
|
6%
|
|
$27.38
|
$33.12
|
($5.74)
|
-17%
|
|
$56.57
|
$58.12
|
($1.55)
|
-3%
|
|
$42.46
|
$43.07
|
($0.61)
|
-1%
|
|
$26.67
|
$27.91
|
($1.24)
|
-4%
|
|
$32.09
|
$30.94
|
$1.15
|
4%
|
|
$35.51
|
$33.62
|
$1.89
|
6%
|
|
$18.30
|
$16.30
|
$2.00
|
12%
|
|
$69.52
|
$66.70
|
$2.82
|
4%
|
|
$44.37
|
$43.98
|
$0.39
|
1%
|
|
$27.79
|
$30.76
|
($2.97)
|
-10%
|
|
$22.86
|
$18.40
|
$4.46
|
24%
|
|
$25.44
|
$23.06
|
$2.38
|
10%
|
|
$29.67
|
$33.80
|
($4.13)
|
-12%
|
|
$40.97
|
$39.37
|
$1.60
|
4%
|
|
$27.08
|
$26.04
|
$1.04
|
4%
|
Legacy and Vintage: Legacy and Vintage were fairly stable. I pulled Mox Jet off the table. Power prices are not what they are in paper. Having Lotus, Ancestral and Mox Sapphire is sufficient to track their progress (or lack thereof.)
Legacy / Vintage Cards
|
Price
|
Last Week
|
Change
|
% Change
|
|
$20.93
|
$21.22
|
($0.29)
|
-1%
|
|
$16.20
|
$18.21
|
($2.01)
|
-11%
|
|
$76.30
|
$71.32
|
$4.98
|
7%
|
|
$25.03
|
$25.35
|
($0.32)
|
-1%
|
|
$25.35
|
$24.94
|
$0.41
|
2%
|
|
$46.84
|
$45.61
|
$1.23
|
3%
|
|
$49.58
|
$51.16
|
($1.58)
|
-3%
|
|
$33.03
|
$32.53
|
$0.50
|
2%
|
|
$33.72
|
$34.74
|
($1.02)
|
-3%
|
|
$31.48
|
$30.67
|
$0.81
|
3%
|
|
$37.84
|
$36.95
|
$0.89
|
2%
|
|
$25.30
|
$23.12
|
$2.18
|
9%
|
|
$39.87
|
$46.04
|
($6.17)
|
-13%
|
|
$31.80
|
$31.66
|
$0.14
|
0%
|
|
$35.66
|
$35.24
|
$0.42
|
1%
|
|
$26.97
|
$24.42
|
$2.55
|
10%
|
|
$152.23
|
$158.13
|
($5.90)
|
-4%
|
|
$51.27
|
$48.60
|
$2.67
|
5%
|
|
$50.26
|
$52.25
|
($1.99)
|
-4%
|
|
$37.23
|
$35.51
|
$1.72
|
5%
|
|
$16.79
|
$15.99
|
$0.80
|
5%
|
|
$47.17
|
$48.27
|
($1.10)
|
-2%
|
Set Redemption: You can redeem complete sets on MTGO. You need to purchase a redemption voucher from the store for $25. During the next downtime, Wizards removes a complete set from your account and sends you the same set in paper. Treasure Chests and the current booster packs are here because they don’t really fit anywhere else. Remember that Kaladesh and Eldritch Moon will go off redemption soon, even before the older sets.
Complete Set
|
Price
|
Last Week
|
Change
|
% Change
|
Aether Revolt
|
$59.75
|
$59.94
|
($0.19)
|
0%
|
Battle for Zendikar
|
$49.81
|
$49.57
|
$0.24
|
0%
|
Eldritch Moon
|
$96.71
|
$97.35
|
($0.64)
|
-1%
|
Kaladesh
|
$99.11
|
$95.20
|
$3.91
|
4%
|
Oath of the Gatewatch
|
$88.35
|
$81.14
|
$7.21
|
9%
|
Shadows over Innistrad
|
$64.96
|
$63.26
|
$1.70
|
3%
|
Treasure Chest
|
$2.58
|
$2.39
|
$0.19
|
8%
|
Aether Revolt Booster
|
$3.27
|
$3.71
|
($0.44)
|
-12%
|
Kaladesh Booster
|
$1.78
|
$1.92
|
($0.14)
|
-7%
|
The following is a list of all the non-promo, non-foil cards on MTGO that retail for more than $25 per card. These are the big ticket items in the world of MTGO. Still a shade over sixty cards on the list, but a few cards have moved off the list, while others have replaced them.
Name
|
Set
|
Rarity
|
Price
|
Rishadan Port
|
MM
|
Rare
|
$ 152.23
|
Black Lotus
|
VMA
|
Bonus
|
$ 76.30
|
Liliana of the Veil
|
ISD
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 71.69
|
Liliana of the Veil
|
MM3
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 69.52
|
Engineered Explosives
|
MMA
|
Rare
|
$ 58.43
|
Engineered Explosives
|
MS2
|
Bonus
|
$ 56.96
|
Engineered Explosives
|
5DN
|
Rare
|
$ 56.57
|
Wasteland
|
EXP
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 52.49
|
Wasteland
|
TE
|
Uncommon
|
$ 52.21
|
Wasteland
|
TPR
|
Rare
|
$ 52.05
|
Show and Tell
|
UZ
|
Rare
|
$ 51.27
|
True-Name Nemesis
|
PZ1
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 50.86
|
True-Name Nemesis
|
C13
|
Rare
|
$ 50.26
|
Food Chain
|
MM
|
Rare
|
$ 49.58
|
Mox Opal
|
MS2
|
Bonus
|
$ 48.04
|
Wasteland
|
EMA
|
Rare
|
$ 47.17
|
Exploration
|
UZ
|
Rare
|
$ 46.84
|
Chalice of the Void
|
MS2
|
Bonus
|
$ 46.26
|
Mox Opal
|
MM2
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 46.14
|
Ensnaring Bridge
|
MS2
|
Bonus
|
$ 44.54
|
Tarmogoyf
|
MMA
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 44.50
|
Mox Opal
|
SOM
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 44.37
|
Chalice of the Void
|
MRD
|
Rare
|
$ 43.81
|
Chalice of the Void
|
MMA
|
Rare
|
$ 43.81
|
Ensnaring Bridge
|
8ED
|
Rare
|
$ 42.96
|
Ensnaring Bridge
|
7E
|
Rare
|
$ 42.75
|
Ensnaring Bridge
|
ST
|
Rare
|
$ 42.46
|
Tarmogoyf
|
MM2
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 42.09
|
Ancestral Vision
|
DD2
|
Rare
|
$ 41.86
|
Tarmogoyf
|
FUT
|
Rare
|
$ 41.39
|
Ancestral Vision
|
TSP
|
Rare
|
$ 41.02
|
Tarmogoyf
|
MM3
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 40.97
|
Leovold, Emissary of Trest
|
PZ2
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 39.87
|
Unmask
|
MM
|
Rare
|
$ 39.01
|
Infernal Tutor
|
DIS
|
Rare
|
$ 37.84
|
Force of Will
|
MED
|
Rare
|
$ 37.35
|
Unmask
|
V16
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 37.23
|
Karn Liberated
|
NPH
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 35.88
|
Misdirection
|
MM
|
Rare
|
$ 35.66
|
Karn Liberated
|
MM2
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 35.51
|
Force of Will
|
EMA
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 35.38
|
Horizon Canopy
|
FUT
|
Rare
|
$ 34.78
|
From the Ashes
|
C13
|
Rare
|
$ 33.72
|
Force of Will
|
VMA
|
Rare
|
$ 33.03
|
Batterskull
|
NPH
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 32.87
|
Horizon Canopy
|
EXP
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 32.09
|
Fulminator Mage
|
SHM
|
Rare
|
$ 32.06
|
Meren of Clan Nel Toth
|
PZ1
|
Rare
|
$ 31.80
|
Surgical Extraction
|
NPH
|
Rare
|
$ 31.75
|
Gaea's Cradle
|
UZ
|
Rare
|
$ 31.48
|
Scalding Tarn
|
EXP
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 30.49
|
Fulminator Mage
|
MM2
|
Rare
|
$ 30.21
|
Surgical Extraction
|
MM2
|
Rare
|
$ 29.67
|
Grove of the Burnwillows
|
FUT
|
Rare
|
$ 28.66
|
Liliana, the Last Hope
|
EMN
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 28.10
|
Noble Hierarch
|
MM2
|
Rare
|
$ 27.80
|
Noble Hierarch
|
CON
|
Rare
|
$ 27.79
|
Vendilion Clique
|
MOR
|
Rare
|
$ 27.39
|
Eidolon of the Great Revel
|
JOU
|
Rare
|
$ 27.38
|
Vendilion Clique
|
MMA
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 27.33
|
Vendilion Clique
|
MM2
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 27.08
|
Mox Sapphire
|
VMA
|
Bonus
|
$ 26.97
|
Grove of the Burnwillows
|
V12
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 26.67
|
Containment Priest
|
PZ1
|
Rare
|
$ 26.28
|
Gorilla Shaman
|
ALL
|
Common
|
$ 25.70
|
Scapeshift
|
MOR
|
Rare
|
$ 25.44
|
Doomsday
|
WL
|
Rare
|
$ 25.35
|
Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
|
ORI
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 25.30
|
Containment Priest
|
C14
|
Rare
|
$ 25.03
|
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 $ 25,270. That is up about $350 from last week.
I will be running Prereleases at Pegasus Games on Sunday, and probably playing Friday night. It’s Prerelease weekend – go play. Then, when you start playing Amonkhet on Monday, you will have a leg up on the format.
PRJ
“One Million Words” on MTGO
This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic” Friborg.
HammyBot Super Sale: HammyBot was set up to sell off Erik Friborg’s collection, with all proceeds going to his wife and son. So far, HammyBot has raised over $8,000, but there are a lot of cards left in the collection. Those cards are being sold at MTGOTrader’s Buy Price.
3 Comments
Haven't see a common in the Good Stuff list since the Old Daze
Gorilla shaman on the good stuff list is unreasonable.
You can get it for under 20 tix in other versions. However, it is still a lot.