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By: one million words, Pete Jahn
Jan 26 2018 6:05pm
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State of the Program for January 26th 2018
 
In the News
Redemption Updates: Starting at the end of this month, redemption requests will be processed early Tuesday mornings, instead of Thursdays. Amonkhet redemption will be available late February or early March. Ixalan reprints have been ordered, but no date yet.
 
Basics of Tournament Standings: Reid Duke wrote an article about standings called tournament basics Part I. Presumably he will cover calculating your chance of make Top 8 in Part II. Part I is here. This sort of thing is critically important if you play in large paper events, but useful to know for things like the MOCS and online PTQs.
 
New Bug Blog: If you need to know what doesn’t work, go here. Or, if that link is bugged, 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 PTQs each weekend, with qualifiers running the three days prior to the PTQ.
 

Upcoming Events
Dates
Scheduled Extended Downtimes
January 31st and February 28th
Constructed Leagues End
April 18, 2018
Sealed Leagues End
April 23, 2018
Core Set Magic  2019
July 13, 2018
25th Anniversary Edition Masters
March 16, 2018
Next B&R Announcement
February 12, 2018
SOI and EMN Redemption Ends
April 28, 2018
Ixalan Redemption Ends
May 23, 2018
Rivals of Ixalan Redemption Ends
May 23, 2018

 
WotC Covered Events
Wizards will be streaming a number of events next year, including all four Pro Tours, the Magic Championship and World Magic Cup, along with 35 Grand Prix. Since Wizards does not schedule premier events on prerelease weekends and certain holidays, that means they will be streaming an event nearly every weekend. Here’s the schedule we have so far.
·       Jan. 27–28: Grand Prix London
·       Feb. 3–5: Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan in Bilbao, Spain
·       Feb. 10–11: Grand Prix Toronto
·       Feb. 17–18: Grand Prix Lyon
·       Feb. 24–25: Grand Prix Memphis
·       March 2–4: Magic Online Championship in Renton, Washington
·       March 10–11: Grand Prix Madrid
·       April 6–8: Grand Prix Seattle (double-GP weekend)
·       April 14–15: Grand Prix Memphis
·       April 28–29: Grand Prix Bologna
·       May 5–6: Grand Prix Dallas
·       May 11–13: Grand Prix Birmingham (double-GP weekend)
·       May 26–27: Grand Prix Washington, DC
·       June 1–3: Pro Tour Dominaria in Richmond, Virginia
·       June 9–10: Grand Prix Copenhagen
·       June 15–17: Grand Prix Las Vegas (double-GP weekend)
·       June 23–24: Grand Prix Pittsburgh
·       July 7–8: Grand Prix São Paulo
·       July 21–22: Grand Prix Sacramento
·       July 28–29: Grand Prix Minneapolis
·       Aug. 3–5: Pro Tour 25th Anniversary in Minneapolis, Minnesota
·       Aug. 11–12: Grand Prix Brussels
·       Aug. 18–19: Grand Prix Los Angeles
·       Aug. 25–26: Grand Prix Prague
·       Aug. 31–Sept. 2: Grand Prix Richmond (double-GP weekend)
·       Sept. 8–9: Grand Prix Detroit
·       Sept. 15–16: Grand Prix Stockholm
·       Weekend of Sept. 23–24: 2018 Magic World Championship and Team Series Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada (exact event dates TBD)
·       Oct. 6–7: Grand Prix Montreal
·       Oct. 13–14: Grand Prix Denver
·       Oct. 27–28: Grand Prix Lille
·       Nov. 3–4: Grand Prix Atlanta
·       Nov. 9–11: Pro Tour "Spaghetti" in Atlanta
·       Nov. 17–18: Grand Prix Milwaukee
·       Dec. 8–9: Grand Prix Liverpool
·       Dec. 14–16: World Magic Cup in Barcelona, Spain
 
2018 Magic Online Championship Series
Complete details, including schedule, rules, and which online events qualify you for which online or paper events is here.   Here are the main dates for the next quarter:
 

Event Date
Event Type
Event Format
Invites
Saturday, January 27
Monthly
Standard
February 10 MOCS Playoff
Sunday, January 28
Monthly
Ixalan-Rivals of Ixalan Sealed
February 10 MOCS Playoff
Saturday, February 10
Playoff
Standard
Magic Online Championship, Pro Tour Dominaria, PT Challenge at Pro Tour Dominaria

 
Magic Online Format Challenges
These are high stakes events that happen every weekend.   They cost 25 Tix / 250 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:
 

Event Type
Start Time
Saturday, 8:00 am PT
Saturday, 10:00 am PT
Saturday, 12:00 pm PT
Sunday, 8:00 am PT
Sunday, 10:00 am PT

 

 

 
Cutting Edge Tech
Standard: SCG ran a team trios – meaning that each team had a Standard, Modern and Legacy player.   Here’s what the winning team’s Standard player drove.
 
Modern: SCG ran a team trios – meaning that each team had a Standard, Modern and Legacy player.   Here’s what the winning team’s Modern player played.
 
 
Pauper: Pauper is becoming a thing in the paper world. ChannelFireball is offering Pauper events at GPs now, and the events are popular. The event last weekend had 215 players, but I don’t have decklists. Here’s what I would have played.  
 
 
Legacy: No big events during the prerelease weekend, so I looked to smaller events.
 
 
Vintage: No large Vintage events over the holidays, so I’m looking through the Leagues. This deck included a Conspiracy card I haven’t seen before: Subterranean Tremors
 
 
 
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 over a decade now, and have never been overcharged or disappointed.
 
Standard Staples: Standard prices are up again this week. Rivals cards are dropping form their opening week peak, but that’s totally expected.
 

Standard Cards
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
$6.97
$11.16
($4.19)
-38%
$5.35
$6.11
($0.76)
-12%
$10.83
$10.35
$0.48
5%
$34.71
$28.41
$6.30
22%
$7.61
$6.90
$0.71
10%
$6.95
$6.36
$0.59
9%
$14.67
$9.51
$5.16
54%
$10.78
$8.50
$2.28
27%
$6.01
$11.08
($5.07)
-46%
$15.80
$21.22
($5.42)
-26%
$16.85
$11.65
$5.20
45%
$6.28
$8.39
($2.11)
-25%
$33.96
$33.95
$0.01
0%
$17.62
$17.34
$0.28
2%
$9.50
$10.04
($0.54)
-5%
$11.38
$10.26
$1.12
11%

Modern staples:  Modern dropped for the third week in a row, but the changes are small.
 

Modern Cards
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
$13.31
$13.38
($0.07)
-1%
$25.23
$25.74
($0.51)
-2%
$32.62
$32.76
($0.14)
0%
$29.57
$30.87
($1.30)
-4%
$13.55
$13.80
($0.25)
-2%
$18.31
$20.09
($1.78)
-9%
$20.40
$20.41
($0.01)
0%
$37.81
$36.99
$0.82
2%
$30.83
$33.57
($2.74)
-8%
$27.18
$28.30
($1.12)
-4%
$35.06
$34.84
$0.22
1%
$53.17
$57.69
($4.52)
-8%
$27.52
$29.31
($1.79)
-6%
$52.10
$59.10
($7.00)
-12%
$18.95
$18.99
($0.04)
0%
$29.72
$29.79
($0.07)
0%
$21.08
$22.02
($0.94)
-4%
$26.36
$28.98
($2.62)
-9%
$23.07
$22.74
$0.33
1%

Legacy and Vintage: A fair amount of churn this week, generally downwards.
 

Legacy / Vintage Cards
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
$39.88
$46.76
($6.88)
-15%
$21.42
$21.04
$0.38
2%
$62.30
$71.25
($8.95)
-13%
$38.69
$39.07
($0.38)
-1%
$19.43
$20.37
($0.94)
-5%
$33.86
$34.37
($0.51)
-1%
$40.99
$40.99
$0.00
0%
$15.43
$20.16
($4.73)
-23%
$21.45
$19.48
$1.97
10%
$30.75
$31.89
($1.14)
-4%
$24.35
$24.27
$0.08
0%
$67.81
$70.70
($2.89)
-4%
$18.67
$19.86
($1.19)
-6%
$13.03
$14.53
($1.50)
-10%
$41.78
$42.98
($1.20)
-3%

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).   
 

Complete Set
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
Aether Revolt
$84.11
$76.66
$7.45
10%
Amonkhet
$80.36
$69.68
$10.68
15%
Ixalan
$76.85
$79.58
($2.73)
-3%
Hour of Devastation
$67.82
$65.92
$1.90
3%
Kaladesh
$113.70
$112.69
$1.01
1%
Rivals of Ixalan
$81.33
$122.45
($41.12)
-34%
Treasure Chest
$2.50
$2.51
($0.01)
0%
Ixalan Booster
$3.27
$3.41
($0.14)
-4%
Rivals of Ixalan Booster
$3.44
$3.41
$0.03
1%

 
The Good Stuff
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. Nothing is above a hundred bucks. The number of cards on the list continues to shrink.
 

Name
Set
Rarity
Price
Black Lotus
 1E
Rare
$ 105.60
True-Name Nemesis
 PZ1
Mythic Rare
$   71.72
True-Name Nemesis
 C13
Rare
$   67.81
Force of Will
 MED
Rare
$   63.43
Exploration
 UZ
Rare
$   62.30
Mox Sapphire
 1E
Rare
$   62.01
Mox Opal
 SOM
Mythic Rare
$   58.74
Mox Opal
 MM2
Mythic Rare
$   58.47
Liliana of the Veil
 MM3
Mythic Rare
$   56.84
Ancestral Recall
 1E
Rare
$   56.17
Liliana of the Veil
 ISD
Mythic Rare
$   53.17
Mox Opal
 MS2
Bonus
$   52.10
Mox Ruby
 1E
Rare
$   49.87
Mox Diamond
 TPR
Mythic Rare
$   49.81
Mox Emerald
 1E
Rare
$   48.11
Wasteland
 TE
Uncommon
$  47.70
Mox Jet
 1E
Rare
$   44.47
Force of Will
 EMA
Mythic Rare
$   44.45
Wasteland
 TPR
Rare
$   44.20
Wasteland
 EXP
Mythic Rare
$   42.75
Wasteland
 EMA
Rare
$   41.78
Misdirection
 MM
Rare
$   40.99
Force of Will
 VMA
Rare
$   40.68
Mox Pearl
 1E
Rare
$   40.52
Black Lotus
 VMA
Bonus
$   39.88
Engineered Explosives
 MMA
Rare
$   39.45
Force of Will
 MS3
Special
$   38.69
Engineered Explosives
 MS2
Bonus
$   38.24
Engineered Explosives
 5DN
Rare
$   37.81
Time Walk
 1E
Rare
$   37.80
Ensnaring Bridge
 7E
Rare
$   37.53
The Scarab God
 MS3
Special
$   37.16
Karn Liberated
 NPH
Mythic Rare
$   35.67
Unmask
 V16
Mythic Rare
$   35.54
Scalding Tarn
 EXP
Mythic Rare
$   35.10
Karn Liberated
 MM2
Mythic Rare
$   35.06
Dark Depths
 V16
Mythic Rare
$   34.76
Chandra, Torch of Defiance
 KLD
Mythic Rare
$   34.71
Ensnaring Bridge
 8ED
Rare
$   34.09
Underground Sea
 ME2
Rare
$   34.07
The Scarab God
 HOU
Mythic Rare
$   33.96
Leovold, Emissary of Trest
 PZ2
Mythic Rare
$   33.86
Ensnaring Bridge
 MS2
Bonus
$   32.78
Celestial Colonnade
 WWK
Rare
$   32.62
Chalice of the Void
 MS2
Bonus
$   32.56
Ensnaring Bridge
 ST
Rare
$   30.83
Rishadan Port
 MM
Rare
$   30.75
Underground Sea
 ME4
Rare
$   30.69
Chalice of the Void
 MMA
Rare
$   30.42
Scalding Tarn
 MM3
Rare
$   30.24
Scalding Tarn
 ZEN
Rare
$   29.72
Chalice of the Void
 MRD
Rare
$   29.57
Horizon Canopy
 FUT
Rare
$   28.88
Horizon Canopy
 IMA
Rare
$   28.73
Blood Moon
 8ED
Rare
$   28.70
Cavern of Souls
 MM3
Mythic Rare
$   28.36
Containment Priest
 PZ1
Rare
$   27.74
Containment Priest
 C14
Rare
$   27.60
Liliana, the Last Hope
 EMN
Mythic Rare
$   27.52
Blood Moon
 9ED
Rare
$   27.29
Horizon Canopy
 EXP
Mythic Rare
$   27.18
Gorilla Shaman
 ALL
Common
$   26.99
Surgical Extraction
 MM2
Rare
$   26.92
Surgical Extraction
 NPH
Rare
$   26.36
Cavern of Souls
 AVR
Rare
$   25.23
Tarmogoyf
 MMA
Mythic Rare
$   25.17
Blood Moon
 MMA
Rare
$   25.11
Blood Moon
 MS3
Special
$   25.09

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 $ 20,040. That’s down $680 from last week. A lot of that is due to the drop in Rivals cards from their week one highs. 
 
Weekly Highlights
Long and chaotic work week, with minimal Magic. I had to survive on a diet of podcasts (Limited Resources, Monday Night Magic, etc.) during my commute and a couple Reid Duke videos while multitasking.   Reid Duke has been playing a lot of Jund variants, and I love Jund.
 
PRJ
 
“One Million Words” on MTGO
 
 
This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic” Friborg.