one million words's picture
By: one million words, Pete Jahn
Jul 07 2017 12:00pm
5
Login to post comments
3811 views


 

State of the Program for July 7th 2017
 
In the News
Hour of Devastation Almost Here: Hour of Devastation drafts will be live Monday. Details on Hour of Devastation events are here.
 
Hour of Devastation was Here, Briefly: When Wizards rolled out the changes with the July 5th downtime, they accidentally included some HoD cards in Treasure Chests at that time. Those lucky players get to keep the cards, but Wizards has reset Treasure Chests. They will (should) not contain Hour of Devastation cards now. Those cards will be added back into the mix on Monday.
 
1v1 Commander: Wizards has split the 1v1 Commander and multiplayer Commander formats, and created separate banned lists. Because the lists are now separate, Wizards has removed the cards Biorhythm, Limited Resources, Painter's Servant and Trade Secrets from the 1v1 banned list. (They remain banned in multiplayer Commander.) Wizards announced some new bannings in 1v1.   First, Vial Smasher the Fierce is banned. Wizards is also trying to nerf the dominant blue control decks, and is therefore banning Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm and Treachery. Read about the bannings, and the reasons for those bannings, here. I also have to note that the card Squire is still restricted in the format, for reasons I have never understood. 
 
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. 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.
 

Upcoming Events
Timing
No Downtime
July 12th, July 19th
Extended Downtime
None announced
Current Leagues End
tba
Hour of Devastation release
July 9, 2017 (day after the prerelease!)
Ixalan release
September 25, 2017
Rivals of Ixalan
January 21, 2018
Core Set Magic 2019
July 20, 2018
Commander 2017 details here.
November 2017 on MTGO
25th Anniversary Edition Masters
March 16, 2018
Next B&R Announcement
August 28, 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
Vintage Cube
June 21st
July 10
 
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:  What Happened Last Week
 
I didn’t finish my article last week. That has happened before (but not often) in the 18 years I have been writing a weekly series. However, I try to give some warning, at least to my editor. I couldn’t do that this time. 
 
Here’s what happened.
 
Last week I used some vacation to do some travelling, then to do a bunch of stuff around the house. That meant I didn’t start my article until Thursday. That should not have been a problem, since an article usually takes 3-6 hours to crank out. 
 
The first problem was with the download from MTGOTraders.com. Each week, I download a file with the prices, plus other data, for every card on MTGO.  The file contains prices for about 48,000 cards, plus data on booster packs prices, etc. Last Thursday, the file only contained 6,400 items. I tried downloading three times, using different browsers and software. Nothing worked. I do have a back-up method of downloading the data, although that method only provides some of the info I need. Still, that back-up method works; it just means I have to spend an extra hour or two combing through the file to extract the data I need. 
 
So, at just before noon on Thursday, I realized I had six to eight hours of work ahead of me. And then the ceiling fell in. Literally.
 
I found I had water in the kitchen ceiling. The ceiling was buckling slightly, and I had water in the ceiling light fixture. Water in an electric light is not a good sign. Fortunately, I know a plumber.   By dinnertime Thursday, I had shut off the water and the power in the kitchen, torn up the floor and part of the wall in the upstairs bathroom, located the leak and got it fixed, got the power back on – and had done nothing at all on my article.    
 
Sometimes owning an old farmhouse is a mixed blessing. 
 
Cutting Edge Tech
Standard: The Standard format is going to change on Monday. That said, here’s one current format deck I never got to feature. It comes from the finals of a PPTQ I ran recently, back while Aetherworks was still legal.  And I regret I cannot give credit on this deck – I can’t read the name on my photo of the decklist.

 

Mono-Green Beats
- 75 Cards Total
Creature
2 Bristling Hydra
4 (Blister Pod)
2 Decimator of the Provinces
4 Druid of the Cowl
2 Manglehorn
3 Rhonas the Indomitable
3 (Rishkar, Peema Renegade)
4 Servant of the Conduit
4 Verdurous Gearhulk
2 Vizier of the Menagerie
30 cards

Sorcery
4 Attune with Aether
4 cards
Artifact
3 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
3 cards

Planeswalker
3 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
3 cards
Land
18 Forest
2 Blighted Woodland
20 cards
 


Sideboard
3 Blossoming Defense
2 Burn from Within
1 Dissenter's Deliverance
2 Heroic Intervention
2 Manglehorn
3 Prowling Serpopard
2 Root Out
15 cards
 
Modern: It’s the week before a new set, so formats may be in flux. Standard will change. Modern – maybe. I’ll use that as an excuse to feature something fun. Here’s what I’d play, if I were going to enter a Modern event today. 
 
RG Ponza
Bernard Liberati, 2nd Place SCG IQ, 26th Place SCG Invitational - 75 Cards Total
Creature
2 Courser of Kruphix
2 Stormbreath Dragon
2 Thragtusk
4 Inferno Titan
4 Arbor Elf
14 cards

Instant
2 Beast Within
2 cards
Sorcery
2 Bonfire of the Damned
1 Primal Command
4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
3 Stone Rain
10 cards

Enchantment
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Blood Moon
8 cards
Planeswalker
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
4 cards

Land
1 Cinder Glade
2 Stomping Ground
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Mountain
10 Forest
22 cards
 

Sideboard
3 Roast
3 Anger of the Gods
2 Obstinate Baloth
2 Fracturing Gust
1 Primal Command
2 Magus of the Moon
2 Ancient Grudge
15 cards
 
1V1 Commander: The format has seen some big changes. The 1v1 and multiplayer Commander B&R lists have been split, and Wizards has taken steps to limit blue’s dominance. We have post-change decklists. Let’s see what Commanders and colors are being played.
 
Winning Commanders:
 
·       Animar, Soul of Elements   (URG)
·       Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa and Tymna the Weaver (GW and WB)
·       Baral, Chief of Compliance   (U) (two copies)
·       Selvala, Heart of the Wilds   (G)
·       Breya, Etherium Shaper (WUBR)
·       Silas Renn, Seeker Adept and Tymna the Weaver (UB and WB)
 
Five blue decks, two mono-blue, and just two non-blue decks. That’s not quite the balance Wizards was looking for, but the format is young. We will see.
 
Legacy:  This week’s Legacy league had two 5-0 decks – both Grixis Delver decks. So guess what I am featuring…
 
 
Vintage: Vintage Dailies are firing on MTGO. The most recent Daily was won by Paradoxical Outcome, which I featured last time. One of the 3-1 decks was at least something different, so I will feature that.

 

 
 
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: It’s been two weeks since I looked at Standard, and prices are all over the place. Not surprising, as people try to guess the future metagame. Next week will be different: I’ll be adding Hour of Devastation to the table.
 

Standard Cards
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
$8.78
$11.35
($2.57)
-23%
$5.02
$7.80
($2.78)
-36%
$21.49
$25.07
($3.58)
-14%
$17.79
$14.02
$3.77
27%
$5.72
$6.77
($1.05)
-16%
$16.99
$20.66
($3.67)
-18%
$6.88
$6.32
$0.56
9%
$14.69
$22.20
($7.51)
-34%
$15.65
$16.69
($1.04)
-6%
$9.77
$15.55
($5.78)
-37%
$13.11
$7.22
$5.89
82%
$36.38
$48.56
($12.18)
-25%
$10.04
$11.91
($1.87)
-16%
$12.35
$19.33
($6.98)
-36%
$8.15
$14.26
($6.11)
-43%
$7.57
$6.77
$0.80
12%
$8.33
$3.84
$4.49
117%
$8.17
$4.10
$4.07
99%
$10.57
$10.28
$0.29
3%
$7.20
$9.07
($1.87)
-21%
$22.85
$17.26
$5.59
32%
$6.69
$6.27
$0.42
7%
$8.18
$10.17
($1.99)
-20%

 
Modern staples:  Modern prices were mixed since two weeks ago. Horizon Canopy is the big winner – it is played in the white weenie and Eldrazi decks.
 

Modern Cards
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
$25.58
$27.98
($2.40)
-9%
$23.38
$27.81
($4.43)
-16%
$16.60
$15.71
$0.89
6%
$24.44
$23.61
$0.83
4%
$52.15
$52.65
($0.50)
-1%
$25.53
$23.85
$1.68
7%
$28.75
$26.90
$1.85
7%
$38.00
$43.93
($5.93)
-13%
$34.01
$31.63
$2.38
8%
$19.18
$26.23
($7.05)
-27%
$25.32
$24.37
$0.95
4%
$46.63
$34.84
$11.79
34%
$39.01
$33.69
$5.32
16%
$69.97
$67.95
$2.02
3%
$49.72
$41.83
$7.89
19%
$14.41
$15.44
($1.03)
-7%
$24.57
$22.29
$2.28
10%
$25.09
$23.62
$1.47
6%
$26.56
$23.72
$2.84
12%
$27.74
$37.41
($9.67)
-26%
$30.52
$31.24
($0.72)
-2%

Legacy and Vintage: Lots of swings again this week, (okay, two weeks) but prices are generally up. Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy is the one that surprised me this time around. That’s a big jump. 
 

Legacy / Vintage Cards
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
$47.88
$51.16
($3.28)
-6%
$17.50
$23.59
($6.09)
-26%
$75.16
$66.35
$8.81
13%
$32.28
$32.68
($0.40)
-1%
$40.93
$40.66
$0.27
1%
$41.66
$41.28
$0.38
1%
$30.44
$30.35
$0.09
0%
$34.17
$39.62
($5.45)
-14%
$47.23
$27.68
$19.55
71%
$38.10
$36.78
$1.32
4%
$42.16
$42.54
($0.38)
-1%
$62.53
$68.10
($5.57)
-8%
$146.29
$144.34
$1.95
1%
$54.31
$53.99
$0.32
1%
$58.14
$64.86
($6.72)
-10%
$35.89
$35.20
$0.69
2%
$22.68
$20.37
$2.31
11%
$52.13
$49.06
$3.07
6%

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 packs. I’ll keep tracking these because they are interesting (at least to me).  Note the continued drop in the price of Amonkhet boosters. I expect that this is directly related to the extra boosters in prize payouts to celebrate the 17th anniversary of MTGO, which is ending.
 

Complete Set
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
Aether Revolt
$74.63
$79.25
($4.62)
-6%
Amonkhet
$73.04
$67.79
$5.25
8%
Battle for Zendikar
$49.27
$51.94
($2.67)
-5%
Eldritch Moon
$113.02
$127.96
($14.94)
-12%
Kaladesh
$108.72
$116.03
($7.31)
-6%
Oath of the Gatewatch
$86.48
$94.17
($7.69)
-8%
Shadows over Innistrad
$70.10
$82.65
($12.55)
-15%
Treasure Chest
$2.36
$2.41
($0.05)
-2%
Amonkhet Booster
$2.70
$2.86
($0.16)
-6%

 
 
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. The list is now almost 80 cards long (including repeats), and Black Lotus has fallen again, and is now 23rd on the list. 
 

Name
Set
Rarity
 Price
Rishadan Port
 MM
Rare
 $    146.29
Exploration
 UZ
Rare
 $      75.16
Liliana of the Veil
 MM3
Mythic Rare
 $      70.55
Liliana of the Veil
 ISD
Mythic Rare
 $      69.97
Wasteland
 TE
Uncommon
 $      64.02
Mystic Confluence
 PZ1
Rare
 $      62.53
Wasteland
 EXP
Mythic Rare
 $      58.85
True-Name Nemesis
 PZ1
Mythic Rare
 $      58.84
True-Name Nemesis
 C13
Rare
 $      58.14
Chalice of the Void
 MS2
Bonus
 $      57.92
Wasteland
 TPR
Rare
 $      57.41
Show and Tell
 UZ
Rare
 $      54.31
Chalice of the Void
 MMA
Rare
 $      53.43
Chalice of the Void
 MRD
Rare
 $      52.15
Wasteland
 EMA
Rare
 $      52.13
Mox Opal
 MS2
Bonus
 $      51.05
Force of Will
 EMA
Mythic Rare
 $      50.59
Force of Will
 MED
Rare
 $      50.09
Mox Opal
 MM2
Mythic Rare
 $      49.93
Mox Opal
 SOM
Mythic Rare
 $      49.72
Horizon Canopy
 FUT
Rare
 $      47.89
Black Lotus
 VMA
Bonus
 $      47.88
Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
 ORI
Mythic Rare
 $      47.23
Horizon Canopy
 EXP
Mythic Rare
 $      46.63
Force of Will
 MS3
Special
 $      45.23
Mox Diamond
 ST
Rare
 $      44.08
Engineered Explosives
 MS2
Bonus
 $      42.27
Misdirection
 MM
Rare
 $      42.16
Gaea's Cradle
 UZ
Rare
 $      41.66
Mox Diamond
 TPR
Mythic Rare
 $      41.32
Force of Will
 VMA
Rare
 $      40.93
Mox Diamond
 V10
Mythic Rare
 $      40.28
Karn Liberated
 NPH
Mythic Rare
 $      39.36
Karn Liberated
 MM2
Mythic Rare
 $      39.01
Engineered Explosives
 5DN
Rare
 $      38.43
Leovold, Emissary of Trest
 PZ2
Mythic Rare
 $      38.10
Engineered Explosives
 MMA
Rare
 $      38.00
Unmask
 V16
Mythic Rare
 $      37.89
Ensnaring Bridge
 MS2
Bonus
 $      37.31
Liliana, the Last Hope
 EMN
Mythic Rare
 $      36.38
Unmask
 MM
Rare
 $      35.89
Dark Depths
 CSP
Rare
 $      35.14
Ensnaring Bridge
 8ED
Rare
 $      34.25
Ensnaring Bridge
 7E
Rare
 $      34.24
Infernal Tutor
 DIS
Rare
 $      34.17
Ensnaring Bridge
 ST
Rare
 $      34.01
Tarmogoyf
 FUT
Rare
 $      32.92
Food Chain
 MM
Rare
 $      32.28
Tarmogoyf
 MM3
Mythic Rare
 $      32.15
City of Traitors
 EX
Rare
 $      31.72
Tarmogoyf
 MM2
Mythic Rare
 $      31.69
City of Traitors
 TPR
Rare
 $      31.26
Underground Sea
 ME2
Rare
 $      30.64
Tarmogoyf
 MMA
Mythic Rare
 $      30.52
Grim Monolith
 UL
Rare
 $      30.44
Underground Sea
 ME4
Rare
 $      30.39
Dark Depths
 V16
Mythic Rare
 $      29.75
Scalding Tarn
 EXP
Mythic Rare
 $      29.33
Surgical Extraction
 NPH
Rare
 $      29.02
Volcanic Island
 ME3
Rare
 $      29.02
Eidolon of the Great Revel
 JOU
Rare
 $      28.75
Containment Priest
 C14
Rare
 $      28.36
Containment Priest
 PZ1
Rare
 $      28.31
Celestial Colonnade
 WWK
Rare
 $      27.94
Surgical Extraction
 MM2
Rare
 $      27.74
Torrential Gearhulk
 MS2
Bonus
 $      27.60
Volcanic Island
 ME4
Rare
 $      27.09
Gorilla Shaman
 ALL
Common
 $      27.06
Ancestral Vision
 DD2
Rare
 $      26.75
Scapeshift
 MOR
Rare
 $      26.56
Grove of the Burnwillows
 FUT
Rare
 $      25.63
Ancestral Vision
 TSP
Rare
 $      25.58
Collected Company
 DTK
Rare
 $      25.53
Scalding Tarn
 MM3
Rare
 $      25.52
Tempt with Discovery
 C13
Rare
 $      25.49
Grove of the Burnwillows
 V12
Mythic Rare
 $      25.32
Scalding Tarn
 ZEN
Rare
 $      25.09

 
* A significantly cheaper promo version of Rishadan Port is available, but I do not include promos prices on the table. MTGO has over 900 promo cards on the list, and occasionally those cards are sold out for months at a time, so their prices do not reflect the market price. I tried checking numbers in stock, but 900+ is too many.   
 
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 $ 24,120. That’s down $380 from two weeks ago. That total does not include Hour of Devastation, which is not yet priced as I write this.
 
Weekly Highlights
Magic was a mixed bag this week.   I did get my local bricks and mortar store for a draft. I finished 2-1, after punting one game I should have won, and stealing a game that I had no business winning, so that's okay.  Beyond that, I have listened to a bunch of set reviews and podcasts while rebuilding the bathroom and replacing flooring. Power saws are noisy, but noise protection ear muffs that can connect to your cell phone or iPod are tech.  Not as good as playing Magic, but better than just stuffing
 
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.  

12 Comments

re by Hearts at Sat, 07/08/2017 - 08:23
Hearts's picture

The people at wotc wanted to have scouting in mtg before, and not before that, today we dont know what they want, might depend on time or persons, even mood of head judge, and even that Sheldon Menery phones the tournament scene to put in orders.

Sheldon is retired and not by JXClaytor at Sun, 07/09/2017 - 18:52
JXClaytor's picture

Sheldon is retired and not phoning anyone to put in judge orders.

re by Hearts at Mon, 07/10/2017 - 06:56
Hearts's picture

But if he did, those orders would be obeyed, and we do not know of the future and what people want.

Well it's not happening in by JXClaytor at Mon, 07/10/2017 - 08:12
JXClaytor's picture

Well it's not happening in your time or my time or anyone's time. So you do not have anything to be concerned about!

re by Hearts at Tue, 07/11/2017 - 03:17
Hearts's picture

Has already happened.

I have no idea why I am doing by JXClaytor at Tue, 07/11/2017 - 05:26
JXClaytor's picture

I have no idea why I am doing this, but please instead of trying to drag one of my friends through the mud, list some sources for your claims.

re by Hearts at Tue, 07/11/2017 - 13:22
Hearts's picture

Menery, Tessitori, Van Buiken, Bergeot, Brian David Marshall, Hagon.

Also, mtg was much tougher and harder before;
https://twitter.com/Jonnymagic00/status/882312047349968900

To describe it; there were more John Wayne's in our hobby before.

Jon's thread is totally by Paul Leicht at Tue, 07/11/2017 - 13:51
Paul Leicht's picture

Jon's thread is totally accurate without saying anything about your topic. Did you post it as a non-sequitur?

re by Hearts at Tue, 07/11/2017 - 14:05
Hearts's picture

No.

Ok, we've reached that point by JXClaytor at Wed, 07/12/2017 - 00:09
JXClaytor's picture

Ok, we've reached that point to where I ask you very nicely to stop, because you have no sources, you have nothing, and I am not going to let you drag a good persons name through the mud because you for some reason feel personally wronged.

re by Hearts at Wed, 07/12/2017 - 03:48
Hearts's picture

We must not drag someone through the mud.

My Dad's house is a converted by Paul Leicht at Sun, 07/09/2017 - 20:02
Paul Leicht's picture
5

My Dad's house is a converted old farmhouse as well..he put a lot of work into restoring it and converting it to be more livable. My sympathies. So I guess Robo-you didn't take your place and get the job done then :p I keep running into that Standard Green beats deck. Very popular in juff.