State of the Program for June 8th 2018
Wyatt Darby Wins Pro Tour Chainwhirler: Pro Tour Dominaria was a very red affair, with 7 of the Top 8 decks running Goblin Chainwhirlers. That’s a lot. We will see whether this metagame continues next week, at GP Copenhagen. Coverage of the Pro Tour is
here.
Battlebond Cards Coming – Eventually: Wizards will be bringing Battlebond cards to MTGO. The first batch will arrive July 5
th, and appear in Treasure chests. Lack of resources is slowing the roll-out, so only some of the cards will be available. An explanation of the delay, and a list of cards, is
here.
Background and Decklists for First Global Series: Wizards has given us more information on the Chinese themed
Global Series: Jiang Yanggu & Mu Yanling. It is a paper set which is Standard legal in China. The explanatory article is
here, the decklists are
here, and the card image gallery is
here. These cards are unlikely to appear on MTGO.
RIX and XLN Redemptions Returning: Wizards has reordered redemption packs for both sets. Redemption will reappear “soon.”
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 Downtimes
|
June 27th (both extended)
|
Constructed Leagues End
|
July 3, 2018
|
Sealed Leagues End
|
July 6, 2018
|
Core Set Magic 2019
|
July 13, 2018
|
Guilds of Ravnica
|
October 5, 2018
|
Ravnica Allegiance
|
January 2019
|
Next B&R Announcement
|
July 2, 2018
|
Ixalan Block Redemption
|
Out of stock – will return “soon”
|
Dominaria Redemption Ends
|
October 10, 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.
· 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 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:
· June 6-13: Battle of the Planes (details
here)
· June 13-July 6: Vintage Cube
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
|
|
Sunday, noon PT
|
Opinion Section: Time to Ban Chainwhirler?
|
Seven of the Top 8 decks ran a playset of Goblin Chainwhirler.
Of the 18 decks that went 9-1 or better in Standard, 13 ran the chain dude. Other decks included the Teferi deck in the Top 8, an Esper control deck played by Guilliame Matignon (someone who do well with a control deck no matter what the metagame), a BW tokens deck and two Steel Leaf Stompy decks.
Chainwhirler decks made up 36% of the day one metagame, and 42% of the day two metagame. These decks had some of the highest conversion rates among all archetypes. Excluding decks played by just a couple players, only Esper Control and BG Constrictor came close to that level of success.
Goblin Chainwhirler is busted, right? It deserves to be banned, right?
Well, maybe. We really don’t know. One event – Pro Tour or not - is just not enough information. The big question is whether the metagame can adapt. GP Copenhagen is also Standard. Players at that event will be doing their best to beat the red menace. Let’s see what happens. If Chainwhirler decks dominate that event, then we will see.
If Chainwhirler is dominant, that will raise a host of questions. First among those, if that really is the case, how did the Play design team mess this one up. We don’t know that they did, but since their entire purpose is to make sure that formats are balanced, this PT does not look good for them.
But even assuming that Chainwhirler remains dominant, don’t expect a banning anytime soon. We are less than a month from the introduction of M19 cards into the format, which might be enough to change the metagame. We are four months from a Standard rotation, and while Chainy will not rotate, a lot of the cards that make his deck good – cards like Heart of Kiran and Chandra – will rotate. That might be enough. Even if Standard looks bad for a while, I suspect Wizards will just live with it. The next PT is teams, so even if Standard is a truly boring series of mirror matches (unlikely), Wizards can just emphasize Modern and Legacy.
But all this is speculation. We don’t know if the metagame can adjust. We will see – beginning with the results of this weekend’s GP. Stay tuned.
Standard: The Pro Tour was Standard – well, Standard and draft. The Standard was defined by Goblin Chainwhirler. Exactly one deck did not run the chainy dude, and that deck won exactly Zero games in the Top 8. Given that the Top 8 at the Pro Tour is best of five, that says a lot. PT coverage is
here.
Brawl: The bannings have finally gone into effect, and a number of new archetypes are appearing. The first set of decklists are
here.
Pauper: This week’s Pauper League was not a sea of blue, for a change.
Modern: SCG ran a lot of Modern Regionals last weekend, opposite the Pro Tour. The decklists are in the sideboard on the SCG home page.
Legacy: The decklist that won the Legacy Challenge made me double-check that this was not a Vintage list. Dack Fayden sees far more play in the format with all the mana artifacts.
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 mixed again this week. The Pro Tour showed us that Llanowar Elves are not breaking the format. Goblin Chainwhirler is making green ramp decks unplayable. Whether that is a good or bad thing probably depends on what you think of green ramp decks.
Standard Cards
|
Price
|
Last Week
|
Change
|
% Change
|
|
$5.89
|
$5.11
|
$0.78
|
15%
|
|
$9.56
|
$8.93
|
$0.63
|
7%
|
|
$18.65
|
$18.51
|
$0.14
|
1%
|
|
$5.13
|
$4.66
|
$0.47
|
10%
|
|
$5.21
|
$11.37
|
($6.16)
|
-54%
|
|
$13.40
|
$11.08
|
$2.32
|
21%
|
|
$15.90
|
$19.38
|
($3.48)
|
-18%
|
|
$8.14
|
$12.86
|
($4.72)
|
-37%
|
|
$24.82
|
$29.49
|
($4.67)
|
-16%
|
|
$7.30
|
$7.71
|
($0.41)
|
-5%
|
|
$42.01
|
$31.08
|
$10.93
|
35%
|
|
$6.15
|
$7.57
|
($1.42)
|
-19%
|
|
$5.43
|
$5.81
|
($0.38)
|
-7%
|
|
$23.03
|
$29.70
|
($6.67)
|
-22%
|
|
$15.34
|
$16.67
|
($1.33)
|
-8%
|
|
$9.67
|
$8.10
|
$1.57
|
19%
|
|
$9.56
|
$9.91
|
($0.35)
|
-4%
|
|
$11.66
|
$7.52
|
$4.14
|
55%
|
|
$16.87
|
$26.28
|
($9.41)
|
-36%
|
Modern staples: Modern prices were mixed this week, but the trend was definitely downward.
Modern Cards
|
Price
|
Last Week
|
Change
|
% Change
|
|
$16.02
|
$16.16
|
($0.14)
|
-1%
|
|
$23.14
|
$25.85
|
($2.71)
|
-10%
|
|
$25.50
|
$25.91
|
($0.41)
|
-2%
|
|
$21.09
|
$19.28
|
$1.81
|
9%
|
|
$23.42
|
$29.58
|
($6.16)
|
-21%
|
|
$38.57
|
$38.59
|
($0.02)
|
0%
|
|
$29.81
|
$29.17
|
$0.64
|
2%
|
|
$15.55
|
$17.16
|
($1.61)
|
-9%
|
|
$43.66
|
$48.76
|
($5.10)
|
-10%
|
|
$27.26
|
$27.33
|
($0.07)
|
0%
|
|
$34.83
|
$29.70
|
$5.13
|
17%
|
|
$19.68
|
$25.11
|
($5.43)
|
-22%
|
|
$43.12
|
$50.81
|
($7.69)
|
-15%
|
|
$34.23
|
$35.32
|
($1.09)
|
-3%
|
|
$56.00
|
$51.33
|
$4.67
|
9%
|
|
$23.21
|
$24.86
|
($1.65)
|
-7%
|
|
$27.21
|
$23.53
|
$3.68
|
16%
|
|
$27.51
|
$24.97
|
$2.54
|
10%
|
|
$19.91
|
$21.57
|
($1.66)
|
-8%
|
Legacy and Vintage: Legacy and Vintage prices continue to follow a very slow downward slide, like everything else.
Legacy / Vintage Cards
|
Price
|
Last Week
|
Change
|
% Change
|
|
$30.90
|
$30.59
|
$0.31
|
1%
|
|
$27.62
|
$27.80
|
($0.18)
|
-1%
|
|
$14.18
|
$18.85
|
($4.67)
|
-25%
|
|
$11.06
|
$9.42
|
$1.64
|
17%
|
|
$31.60
|
$31.32
|
$0.28
|
1%
|
|
$29.59
|
$29.59
|
$0.00
|
0%
|
|
$13.69
|
$14.72
|
($1.03)
|
-7%
|
|
$33.75
|
$33.78
|
($0.03)
|
0%
|
|
$22.00
|
$26.38
|
($4.38)
|
-17%
|
|
$52.89
|
$57.11
|
($4.22)
|
-7%
|
|
$27.11
|
$25.92
|
$1.19
|
5%
|
|
$10.65
|
$10.57
|
$0.08
|
1%
|
|
$20.24
|
$20.88
|
($0.64)
|
-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
|
$90.99
|
$109.30
|
($18.31)
|
-17%
|
Amonkhet
|
$70.39
|
$82.41
|
($12.02)
|
-15%
|
Dominaria
|
$96.91
|
$115.47
|
($18.56)
|
-16%
|
Ixalan
|
$87.73
|
$87.73
|
$0.00
|
0%
|
Hour of Devastation
|
$44.10
|
$48.48
|
($4.38)
|
-9%
|
Kaladesh
|
$63.39
|
$73.58
|
($10.19)
|
-14%
|
Rivals of Ixalan
|
$93.22
|
$91.76
|
$1.46
|
2%
|
Treasure Chest
|
$2.14
|
$2.25
|
($0.11)
|
-5%
|
Dominaria Booster
|
$3.32
|
$3.30
|
$0.02
|
1%
|
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 has shrunk a bit this week, and Mox Opal has passed True-Name, but not much else has changed.
Name
|
Set
|
Rarity
|
Price
|
Black Lotus
|
1E
|
Rare
|
$ 76.73
|
Mox Opal
|
SOM
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 56.64
|
Mox Opal
|
MS2
|
Bonus
|
$ 56.55
|
Mox Opal
|
MM2
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 56.00
|
True-Name Nemesis
|
C13
|
Rare
|
$ 53.06
|
True-Name Nemesis
|
PZ1
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 52.89
|
Horizon Canopy
|
IMA
|
Rare
|
$ 48.76
|
Horizon Canopy
|
EXP
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 47.53
|
Liliana of the Veil
|
MM3
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 47.23
|
Horizon Canopy
|
FUT
|
Rare
|
$ 43.66
|
Engineered Explosives
|
MS2
|
Bonus
|
$ 43.20
|
Liliana of the Veil
|
ISD
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 43.12
|
Mox Sapphire
|
1E
|
Rare
|
$ 42.70
|
Rekindling Phoenix
|
RIX
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 42.01
|
Engineered Explosives
|
5DN
|
Rare
|
$ 39.47
|
Force of Will
|
MED
|
Rare
|
$ 39.03
|
Engineered Explosives
|
MMA
|
Rare
|
$ 38.57
|
Dark Depths
|
V16
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 37.19
|
Mox Diamond
|
TPR
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 37.15
|
Unmask
|
V16
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 36.54
|
Ancestral Recall
|
1E
|
Rare
|
$ 35.96
|
Karn Liberated
|
NPH
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 35.73
|
Karn Liberated
|
MM2
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 34.83
|
Mox Emerald
|
1E
|
Rare
|
$ 34.79
|
Mox Ruby
|
1E
|
Rare
|
$ 34.44
|
Liliana, the Last Hope
|
EMN
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 34.23
|
Misdirection
|
MM
|
Rare
|
$ 33.75
|
Wasteland
|
TE
|
Uncommon
|
$ 32.50
|
Ensnaring Bridge
|
MS2
|
Bonus
|
$ 32.43
|
Mox Jet
|
1E
|
Rare
|
$ 32.30
|
Exploration
|
UZ
|
Rare
|
$ 31.60
|
Force of Will
|
MS3
|
Special
|
$ 31.06
|
Black Lotus
|
VMA
|
Bonus
|
$ 30.90
|
Ensnaring Bridge
|
ST
|
Rare
|
$ 30.38
|
Ensnaring Bridge
|
7E
|
Rare
|
$ 30.30
|
Underground Sea
|
ME4
|
Rare
|
$ 30.25
|
Force of Will
|
VMA
|
Rare
|
$ 30.11
|
Ensnaring Bridge
|
8ED
|
Rare
|
$ 30.10
|
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
|
WWK
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 29.86
|
Ensnaring Bridge
|
A25
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 29.81
|
City of Traitors
|
EX
|
Rare
|
$ 29.74
|
Force of Will
|
EMA
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 29.59
|
Underground Sea
|
ME2
|
Rare
|
$ 29.42
|
Scalding Tarn
|
MM3
|
Rare
|
$ 28.35
|
Scalding Tarn
|
EXP
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 28.05
|
Surgical Extraction
|
MM2
|
Rare
|
$ 27.71
|
City of Traitors
|
TPR
|
Rare
|
$ 27.62
|
Surgical Extraction
|
NPH
|
Rare
|
$ 27.51
|
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
|
VMA
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 27.48
|
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
|
EMA
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 27.39
|
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
|
A25
|
Mythic Rare
|
$ 27.26
|
Scalding Tarn
|
ZEN
|
Rare
|
$ 27.21
|
Wasteland
|
TPR
|
Rare
|
$ 27.14
|
Unmask
|
MM
|
Rare
|
$ 27.11
|
Mox Diamond
|
ST
|
Rare
|
$ 27.01
|
Gorilla Shaman
|
ALL
|
Common
|
$ 25.62
|
Celestial Colonnade
|
WWK
|
Rare
|
$ 25.50
|
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 $ 17,520. That’s down another $670 from last week.
The Wisconsin Public TV Auction was last weekend. A long work week, plus commutes, plus another sixty or more hours at auction; I’m beat. I only got to watch a couple minutes of the PT live, but I’m catching up now.
PRJ
“One Million Words” on MTGO
This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic” Friborg.