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By: hamtastic, Erik Friborg
Jan 07 2011 4:13am
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Editorial Section:
As I mentioned last week, I'm aiming at making it into at least one event every week.  To do this I need to get a few things going on.  First, I have to know what's coming up, what's being played, what's winning, and what to do about it.  I had planned on playing the Standard Daily event on Thursday morning, but sadly overslept.  Dang it.  Looking forward to the MTGO Events Calendar, I see that there's a Standard PE at 5am my time on Friday, or I can take a look at the Calendar and find a different format or event for the weekend.  I peek and see an upcoming Standard Singleton Weekend event which will kick off at noon on Friday.  Liking the look of the Weekend event better, both for time frames and length I quickly look up the deck lists from a recent tournament and find a Red Deck.  I generally will lean towards a mono colored deck to reduce screw situations, especially in formats that are new and unique to me.  My quick investigation of a recent event led me to a deck that would certainly work for my purposes.  Sadly, I wasn't really able to get any testing in for the format since it seems to be very lightly played.  The original decklist which went 3-1 is as follows:


It's a solid list to be sure, but can it be improved upon?  I personally think that it can.  For example... there's no Chandra Nalaar.  It's running Lodestone Golem and Juggernaut when it's not running Wurmcoil Engine... it wasn't taking advantage of the fact that we can straight up kill non-basic lands, and there are many, many, many of them running around in the format.  So I culled out the cards that I think we could do better with, and finalized the following list on Thursday:



It has a lot of similarities to be sure, but the overall effect should be a bit more powerful as it not only has more bomby mid game but it also seeks to capitalize on the way the other decks in the format work.  I also added a couple more land to the deck as 22 was playing a bit light, including a Terramoprhic Expanse to maximize landfall triggers from Searing Blaze and the Geopede.  I might even go as far as to load the board up with land destruction effects to really screw over some other decks in the format.  I might make an audible tomorrow morning before the event.  

Trying to get some decent really underscored some painful truths about some of these sideline formats... namely, that they are freaking impossible to properly test for them in the general public.  In an evening of trying to get games in I was able to get one game.  Not match... one game.  Ugh.  So I have to hope that my tweaks didn't make things worse, but who knows?  Anyway, the point is, if you want to practice some Standard Singleton and I'm in game, hit me up! 

Discussion Items:
Removal of Nix Tix Drafts -
The Nix Tix queues have been changed from constantly rotating to a following a specific old set event.

MOPR points now updated daily -
Good news for those who like to see their MOPR numbers, they're now daily instead of weekly.

Card Price Discussions:
Goblin Welder climbs higher with Legacy format changes.  Extended hotnesses of Clique, Bitterblossom, Mutavault, Demigod and Twilight Mire have been climbing up for the last few weeks.  Good ol' Survival keeps tanking, as have a lot of the Tempest block cards due to the wonderful nix tix TSE events.  Look for them to drop over the next week or so and then start to recover after they dry up again.

Card Price Tables:

Card This Week Last Week Value Change Percentage Change
Goblin Welder 23 20 3 15.00%
Vendilion Clique 18.5 15.95 2.55 15.99%
Sun Titan 5.75 3.5 2.25 64.29%
Bitterblossom 22.5 20.5 2 9.76%
Lotus Cobra 24.75 22.75 2 8.79%
Mutavault 19.95 17.95 2 11.14%
Demigod of Revenge 11.95 9.95 2 20.10%
Master of the Wild Hunt 6 4 2 50.00%
Twilight Mire 23.5 21.95 1.55 7.06%
Sun Titan 4.5 3 1.5 50.00%
Card This Week Last Week Value Change Percentage Change
Great Sable Stag 2.25 1.15 1.1 95.65%
Boggart Ram_Gang 1.25 0.7 0.55 78.57%
Sun Titan 5.75 3.5 2.25 64.29%
Sun Titan 4.5 3 1.5 50.00%
Master of the Wild Hunt 6 4 2 50.00%
Boggart Ram_Gang 1.1 0.75 0.35 46.67%
Sphinx Ambassador 1.3 0.9 0.4 44.44%
Leyline of Sanctity 1.85 1.3 0.55 42.31%
Sovereigns of Lost Alara 1.75 1.25 0.5 40.00%
Leaf_Crowned Elder 4.5 3.25 1.25 38.46%
Card This Week Last Week Value Change Percentage Change
Survival of the Fittest 18 26 -8 -30.77%
Wasteland 29 35 -6 -17.14%
Reflecting Pool 27 30 -3 -10.00%
Oath of Druids 27 29 -2 -6.90%
Reflecting Pool 27 29 -2 -6.90%
Thoughtseize 19.75 21.75 -2 -9.20%
Gideon Jura 20.75 22 -1.25 -5.68%
City of Traitors 27 28 -1 -3.57%
Avatar _ Serra Angel (Alt.) 3 4 -1 -25.00%
Avatar _ Platinum Angel 6 7 -1 -14.29%
Card This Week Last Week Value Change Percentage Change
Survival of the Fittest 18 26 -8 -30.77%
Wrexial, the Risen Deep 0.5 0.7 -0.2 -28.57%
Avatar _ Serra Angel (Alt.) 3 4 -1 -25.00%
Chandra Nalaar 1 1.3 -0.3 -23.08%
Memnite 0.5 0.65 -0.15 -23.08%
Admonition Angel 1 1.3 -0.3 -23.08%
Avatar _ Goblin Warchief (Alt.) 1 1.25 -0.25 -20.00%
Fact or Fiction 0.97 1.21 -0.24 -19.83%
Siege_Gang Commander 1.85 2.25 -0.4 -17.78%
Horn of Greed 1.85 2.25 -0.4 -17.78%

Card Price Graphs:
goblin welder chart
vendilion clique chart
sun titan chart
bitterblossom chart
lotus cobra chart
mutavault chart
demigod of revenge chart
master of the wild hunt chart
twilight mire chart
sun titan chart
great sable stag chart
boggart ram_gang chart
sun titan chart
sun titan chart
master of the wild hunt chart
boggart ram_gang chart
sphinx ambassador chart
leyline of sanctity chart
sovereigns of lost alara chart
leaf_crowned elder chart
survival of the fittest chart
wasteland chart
reflecting pool chart
oath of druids chart
reflecting pool chart
thoughtseize chart
gideon jura chart
city of traitors chart
avatar _ serra angel (alt.) chart
avatar _ platinum angel chart
survival of the fittest chart
wrexial, the risen deep chart
avatar _ serra angel (alt.) chart
chandra nalaar chart
memnite chart
admonition angel chart
avatar _ goblin warchief (alt.) chart
fact or fiction chart
siege_gang commander chart
horn of greed chart

20 Comments

Recently I did something I by Paul Leicht at Fri, 01/07/2011 - 05:15
Paul Leicht's picture

Recently I did something I have been waiting to do for awhile. The recent drop in prices encouraged me to blow my tix on +3 Living Death and +4 Tradewind Rider. I expect with the TSE drafts going on these cards might drop even lower but it felt like the right time. (Cost me about 22 tix for the bunch.) I realize these cards are not investments so I don't really care about the devaluation. But these two cards are some of my favorites printed to date. Being able to afford them was great. Thanks WoTC for bringing Tempest Block back if only temporarily.

Completely agree! I stalked by MMogg at Fri, 01/07/2011 - 05:36
MMogg's picture

Completely agree! I stalked the Classifieds and auction room to get my hands on a playset of Wasteland for 84 tix. Like Paul, I don't see this as an investment; rather, as an opportunity to pick up cards I might otherwise not be able to pick up. I also managed to get 2 City of Traitors for 16 each, 4 Mox Diamonds for 12 each (not such a great deal in hindsight I guess) and cheap playsets of Crystalline Sliver and Muscle Sliver. That was my bounty. My only regret is not having more tickets. =D

I did the same thing. I by gimlicolby at Fri, 01/07/2011 - 09:27
gimlicolby's picture

I did the same thing. I bought a pair of city of traitors for 17 (Actually I trade a fire and lightning FOD and 6 tix for one of them)...I bought 3 mox diamonds for 12 each (I pulled a 4th in a draft.

I also ripped an intuition, recurring nightmare, oath of druids, hatred, and another city of traitors during the drafts.

I did play in 12-15 drafts but never opened a ancient tomb or wasteland.....They must of been the mythic rarity!

I drooled over Intuitions and by MMogg at Fri, 01/07/2011 - 18:04
MMogg's picture

I drooled over Intuitions and Oaths as well, but without Force of Will, I stayed away from blue.

You got lucky with some of those rares in draft. Do you feel it was worth it or in hindsight would you rather have just bought the cards outright? I mean, personally, I love limited play, but on MTGO, it's not as much fun as paper, and costs much more because of the basement value of common/avg rares. I kind of psychologically weighed up the fun of drafting vs. the fun I would get from acquiring some tier 1 staples and I settled on the latter. =( I'm always quite envious of people's testicular fortitude to draft 12-15 times. That's like 180 tickets! =o Oh the staples you could buy! ;)

i did about 25 drafts of tse. by whiffy at Sat, 01/08/2011 - 14:01
whiffy's picture

i did about 25 drafts of tse. pulled about 150-200 tix in cards, and got roughly 15 qp off them.

yes. its worth it.

Well I'm assuming you won a by brandonQDSH at Sat, 01/08/2011 - 21:13
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Well I'm assuming you won a fair number of rounds to make it worth it. 25 drafts would run you 300-350 tix, depending on stuff like nix tix drafts, etc. If you were able to win half the boosters, then you break even if you pull about 150 tix worth of cards, and you get the cards from MOCS as profit. Worth it I guess if you're a solid limited player with time to burn.

MOCS updated daily by Ikoma_Aze at Fri, 01/07/2011 - 06:09
Ikoma_Aze's picture

Hi

Just wanted to point out (for anyone not visiting the thread), it's the MOCS points which will be updated daily, not the MOPR points.

Also good work on another good article. Though I still miss the draft set EV tables (which I feel obliged to mention everytime I leave a comment!!).

Cheers

Points by Lythand at Mon, 01/10/2011 - 19:22
Lythand's picture

Ok what are these points everyone talks about. I see them often but never looked into them.

There are Qualifier Points by Paul Leicht at Tue, 01/11/2011 - 05:03
Paul Leicht's picture

There are Qualifier Points which qualify you for the Magic Online Championship series. You earn them by playing in official events and placing. (The amount varies as does the place needed to get one or more depending on the type of event.)

MOPR = Magic online player rewards. The points for them go towards earning promotional cards (basic lands, reprints, and alternative art prints both regular and premium.) The more you play in sanctioned events the more of these points you get regardless of your standing. Also the more you spend in the online store the more points you get. The minimum an active player will get on a given month is 5 and the total you get each month is added to a lifetime total. (Mine is currently sub 200, as they started doing this after my big period of event activity in 2009.) This should explain why you receive random basic land promos each month.

Recent price drops by PatrykG at Fri, 01/07/2011 - 09:53
PatrykG's picture

I read these articles almost religiously at this point, having come into MTGO only a few months ago. I love the charting and the price discussions, since I have learned to use them to judge when to buy (or not to buy) certain cards. It also has been great to tell me when my judgement would have cost me or gained me tickets when I didn't have the money to invest at that point in time.

I just wondered if anyone knows of any specific classic cards (and for Commander specifically) that are dropping due to the current environment that would be wise to scoop up now while they're cheap. Living Death sounds great, but then there was something about devaluation - so is that going to continue going down?

I know these are speculations, not scenes from the future, but any advice to a semi-noob (I played back when everyone had a Mox, quit during The Dark, and only now am getting back in with MTGO) would be much appreciated.

Hamtastic, awesome article as always, keep it up :-D

dual lands by mattlewis at Fri, 01/07/2011 - 10:42
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I believe the Onslaught fetchlands and the Ravnica block shock lands, while not dropping, are at a low and affordable price, representing good value. If you are looking to play commander in the future, or looking to make an investment, I think they are a very good bet.

I completely agree with this, by ChardOne at Fri, 01/07/2011 - 14:35
ChardOne's picture

I completely agree with this, to the point I sold 3 of my Lotus Cobras earlier in the week to fund buying a bunch of them. I've been watching their prices for many months and they've stopped dropping for the most part. Some have gone up recently by a small amount.

The duals being in MED4 will help generate more demand for these as well, especially the fetches. Why would I not want the fetch now that I can reasonably afford a dual (I hope)?

I agree overall. However, I by protocol_7 at Fri, 01/07/2011 - 16:03
protocol_7's picture

I agree overall.

However, I would actually not recommend buying up fetch lands for a commander deck.

Why?

Because, some people think fetch lands are on the expensive side and people do target you for playing a leaner meaner deck.

I'd recommend investing in token artifacts that almost every deck types could use.

Note #1, I almost never troll by rayjinn at Sun, 01/09/2011 - 17:35
rayjinn's picture

Note #1, I almost never troll anyone.

quote:
"I'd recommend investing in token artifacts that almost every deck types could use."

Really?

classic cards are not driven by protocol_7 at Fri, 01/07/2011 - 14:02
protocol_7's picture

classic cards are not driven by their popularity in commander at all. Classic cards are quite stable unless a reprint or a ban is coming.

Disagree by mattlewis at Fri, 01/07/2011 - 15:21
mattlewis's picture

I think this has been true in the past, but with the aligning of EDH and commander, many are anticipating an increase in interest in commander, which will translate to increased demand for out of print cards. If this assumption turns out to be correct, classic cards which appear in commander decks will have new demand pressures that previously did not exist. Therefore, I expect prices to rise on these types of cards.

Well I'm assuming you won a by brandonQDSH at Sat, 01/08/2011 - 21:13
brandonQDSH's picture

.

hmm. why is sun titan listed by seydaneen at Mon, 01/10/2011 - 19:02
seydaneen's picture

hmm. why is sun titan listed like 6 times?

Sun titan has 2 versions. by Paul Leicht at Mon, 01/10/2011 - 19:04
Paul Leicht's picture

Sun titan has 2 versions. Each version has gone up and topped the % gainers and hard number gainers on both charts. Hence 4 entries.

QP totals, not MOPR by Jyalt at Mon, 01/10/2011 - 19:03
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Because having MOPR easy to check would make too much sense.