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By: one million words, Pete Jahn
May 02 2014 12:00pm
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State of the Program for May 2nd 2104

In the News:

Free Sealed Event Tomorrow: Wizards is offering four free events tomorrow, May 3rd, to stress test the servers. These events are designed to stress test the methods Wizards has developed for handling large events online. This means WotC folks will be manipulating clocks, removing players from the event, etc. – in short, testing all the tools they have developed. On the plus side, you get a free tournament and can win prizes if you do well and the event works. The events will be two non-Phantom Shadowmoor / Eventide sealed events at 9am and 1pm PDT, and two Phantom Modern Masters events at 11am and 3pm PDT. Details here.
 
And – the Free Events are Full: Unless Wizards has an unplanned downtime on Friday, don’t bother trying to enter the free events. They are all full. Reports say that they filled completely within minutes of MTGO coming back up after the downtime. I was at work, so I’m not in any of the events. I just hope that at least a few of the people in the Shadowmoor event are actually going to play, not just collect the cards and no-show. I would have played.
 
Another Unplanned Downtime: MTGO experienced another downtime on Friday, April 25th. Wizards made the announcement on Friday morning, just hours before MTGO went black for three hours. The announcement said “Magic Online will experience an additional downtime today so we can proactively address a recently discovered issue before the weekend.” In an ironic twist, the downtime caused the Born of the Gods Limited Championship Top-8 Make-up to be cancelled (and presumably rescheduled once again.)
 
Tribal Wars Legacy to Return May 7thThe only format where you can play a Phoenix deck is going to return from the ashes, for the second time, on May 7th.  
 
Journey into Nix Prerelease Events Announced: Wizards has released information on the MTGO Prerelease events for Journey into Nix. The events will begin (on the current client) on Friday, May 12th at 10:00am PDT. They will begin a day earlier for people on the Wide Beta client, as part of the Wide Beta Spotlight. Players playing in prereleases during the Spotlight receive a bonus Eidolon of Blossoms promo card. Players entering a sealed event, spotlight or not, will need to purchase a seeded pack with color specific promo and pack. This will be similar to what we have done for the last several Prereleases. Wizards also provided details of the release events, which are also pretty much what we have done in the past. Details here
 
Ham on Wry III This Weekend!:  Three years ago, the community lost the invaluable Erik Friborg. The Ham on Wry – Erik Friborg Celebration Classic was born, to commemorate his birthday. This is a player run event, organized and run by BlippytheSlug, and it has a fantastic prize payout.   At present, the winner will receive over $425, and everyone in the Top 16 will get at least $20. The event will be Classic format, Swiss plus Top 8, and will be held on May 4, 2014. Details are here.  
 
HammyBot Discount Increases: 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 $7,000, but there are over 23,000 cards left in the collection. Those cards are being sold at 10% below retail price. Erik died three years ago, so HammyBot does not include any standard legal sets, but it includes a ton of Masters Edition and Classic cards, and some nice Modern bargains. I recently jumped on HammyBot and filled a couple holes in my collection, including a Mana Drain to get ready for Vintage.  (Two more left as I write this.)  
 

The Timeline:

This is a list of things we have been promised, or just want to see coming back.   Another good source for dates and times is the MTGO calendar. Here’s what we know, want or are tracking. I also created another list for notable bugs. If you know of one that has not been fixed (and you or someone has filed a bug report) please let me know.
 
Item (date it will return) and notes
·         Wide Beta Showcase (5/9/2014) After the downtime on May 9th, the Wide Beta will be live one day before V3 comes back up. 
·         Online PTQs & MOCS: (no date announced) Wizards original statement is here, and their FAQ is here. We have been promised an update in sometime in April.
·         Vintage Masters (6/16/2014)
·         V3 Client Shutdown (coming, no date announced) Wizards has promised that V3 will not be shut down until the Wide Beta is “ready,” plus several months of warning. 
·         Leagues (2014) Wizards has promised that leagues will return this year.
·         Legacy Tribal Wars (May 7th)  \o/   Return date!
·         Journey into Nix: (5/12/2014) Prereleases will begin during the Wide Beta Showcase May 9th.
·         Magic 2015 (7/28/2014) M15 will be online end of July. Expect the Prereleases 3 days earlier, or four days earlier if Wizards has a Wide Beta Showcase.
·         Duel Decks: Jace vs. Vraska (5/12/2014) Details here.
·         Duel Decks: Speed vs. Cunning (10/6/2014) Details here.
 
Bugs Needing a Good Stomping:
·         Omnath, Locus of Mana is/was bugged.   P/T not working correctly.
·         Gather Specimens bugged. 
·         Thopter Assembly bugged.
·         (let me know what needs to be added)
 

Opinion Section: Speculation on Vintage Masters

Vintage Masters is coming soon. With any luck, we will start seeing information on the set in the next couple weeks. Until then, all we can do is speculate. 

 
What we do know is that the set is going to be modeled on Modern Masters. That means that the set will have a bunch of chase cards, but the majority of the design effort will have gone into making the set fun and interesting for limited. It is the limited play that will drive sales, not the chase cards. Modern Masters had great limited play, with chase cards.  We know the alternative approach is bad. Mercadian Masques is a set with very valuable chase cards, and limited play that doesn’t appeal to everyone.  The set contains $100 rares, and when Mercadian Masques flashback drafts roll around, Joshua is almost the only one playing in them.
 
We want a ton of people to play Vintage Masters. That means the set has to be chock full of fun – not necessarily chock full of chase cards. Look at Modern Masters. The Mythics in the set were all very strong in limited: Goyf, Vendilion Clique, the Kamigawa dragons, the Swords, Vedalken Shackles, etc. The rares, too, were mainly strong limited cards, with only a few cards like Blood Moon and Life from the Loam being limited unplayable.  Now compare that with the list of Classic staples whose prices I track, below. There are 26 cards on that list, and only True-Name Nemesis is a creature.   I don’t think Wizards can build a great limited set by filling the rares and Mythics slots with those cards.
 
My prediction: Wizards will use MOCS promos and more MED flashbacks and four-pack or six-pack sealed events to get the dual lands and cards like LED into the system. Expect to see a lot of MED flashback around the time Vintage arrives online. 
 
I think Wizards will look at draft archetypes, and fit chase cards into those archetypes, where they fit. I don’t think Wizards will build archetypes around chase cards. At least, I hope not. Too much of that and Vintage Masters won’t be enough fun to keep a lot of people playing a lot of matches. After all, Modern Masters was $7 per pack, or over $20 per draft. People only pay that sort of money if they are having fun.
 
So let’s look at a few likely archetypes. My personal guess is that Wizards may put in some archetypes that mirror archetypes seen in the Classic and Vintage metagame, where possible. They will want to get players who aren’t already playing Classic some experience with Vintage before it launches.
 
Artifact Ramp: This is a classic Classic archetype that shows up week after week.   It involves using artifact mana to power out fatties quickly. I could see Wizards including uncommons like Thran Dynamo, Voltaic KeyBasalt Monolith  and maybe Sol Ring and / or Grim Monolith.  Wizards could also add some accelerant lands, like Ancient Tomb or City of Traitors – and Tolarian Academy which fits, but seems a waste of a rare slot. All of this would power out artifact or large creatures to win the game. Steel Hellkite, Duplicant and maybe Covetous Dragon are a likely rares, along with uncommons like Galvanic Juggernaut, Darksteel Gargoyle, Mirror Golem and so forth. Darksteel Colossus is a possibility. The archetype also wants something to do with all that mana besides play creatures– something like Predator, Flagship, Magma Mine or (Rocket Launcher).   Basically, though, artifact ramp is just trying to power out fatties. 
 
Other possibilities: If Wizards wanted to add a combo element,  it could also include  Power Artifact to combo with the Monoliths. If it does that, then expect something that could combo with infinite mana. That could be Magma Mine, or it could be Stroke of Genius, or maybe they will reprint Karn Liberated at Mythic.  The artifact ramp deck could also fight with other archetypes for cards important to those archetypes. For example, Inkwell Leviathan could be played in artifact ramp or Reanimator.
 
The Red Menace: You will have to be able to draft red in this set. One likely archetypes is burn,  probably featuring original art Lightning Bolt in a new frame, and cards like Fireblast.   Another possible approach is Goblins. Cards like Mogg War Marshal is good in goblins or just red, but Wizards could also include Goblin Lackey and combo pieces like Goblin Recruiter, and they could burn a couple rare slots on Goblin Piledriver and maybe Siege-Gang Commander (although he has been reprinted a lot already.) We will see – there will be a base red archetype or two, and I won’t be drafting it.  
 
White Weenie: Some form of small white rush deck is almost a certainty. This would be a perfect place to put (Kataki, War’s Wage) if it hadn’t been in Modern Masters. One note: Vintage Masters is almost certain to contain Virtue’s Ruin, a Perish for white that has never been printed online. Still, one uncommon hoser does not invalidate an archetype.
 
Sneak and Show: Wizards is likely to include some sort or archetype that tries to cheat fatties into play without paying their mana costs.   The classic approach is Reanimator, which dumps fatties in the graveyard and then returns them with Reanimate, Exhume and so forth. Wizards could add an archetype like that. I expect Wizards will only reprint Bazaar of Baghdad if they include such a shell – I really doubt they will include a Dredge archetype. Dredge was in Modern Masters.   I would also like to see Wizards include Sneak AttackEureka and Show and Tell in the set, as an alternative method of cheating fatties into play.  
 
Land Tax: Back in the day, a very strong deck combined Land Tax and Scroll Rack. I don’t know it Wizards will waste a rare slot on Scroll Rack. Even if they do, the odds of getting both Land Tax and Scroll Rack would be incredibly low. However, Land Tax does work well with Brainstorm, so if Land Tax is in the set (unlikely in my opinion), expect Brainstorm to be as well. And Brainstorm goes well in the next archetype.
 
Red/Blue Control: We already know that some Conspiracy cards will be in Vintage Masters, including Dack Fayden. I would expect some sort of deck to be built around him (to the extent you can build a limited archetype around a Mythic.) However, I would expect some solid blue control cards to be in the set. Misdirection is a money card, but being able to redirect a removal spell is a great thing in limited.   Other likely candidates for reprinting are Daze (a common), Fire//Ice, maybe Electrolyze and Counterspell.   It might contain Force of Will.
 
Green Ramp: I could see a green fatties deck being a thing. If it is, then Gaea’s Cradle is a possible reprint. Primeval Titan is another possibility, along with an assortment of Elves, spells like Rampant Growth and maybe oddities like Vine Trellis.  I see this as multi-colored ramp, not mono-green, since the set will probably also include Nature’s Ruin, a card needed for Legacy. If it is five color green, then Birds of Paradise or even Noble Hierarch could make the set.
 
Survival of the Fittest: Another option for green and/or black would be a Survival of the Fittest / Living Death /  Recurring Nightmare shell. That deck might also want (Volrath’s Stronghold) as well. This is more likely if Wizards includes a Reanimator archetype, and less so if it goes towards Sneak and Show. It would be fun to see (Volrath’s Shapeshifter) in the set, though. It would be a chance to play (Full English Breakfast) – assuming you could get all those rares. Not happening, but fun to think about.
 
Land Destruction: I have no idea if Wizards would consider this, but land destruction is a possible archetype. It could be RB, with SinkholeStone Rain, Plague Spores and maybe Wildfire. Alternatively, Wizards could go with green LD, and include Ice Storm, (Winter’s Grasp), Thermokarst and Creeping Mold. Land destruction is never fun to play against, but it is the only archetype that really wants Rishadan Port and Wasteland  – although some weenie decks might use Port. Wasteland I could see being included at uncommon, since it is an uncommon in Tempest, especially if the set includes lands like Gaea’s Cradle or Port – or Library of Alexandria, which is not unreasonable.
 
Combo decks:   I don’t know whether Wizards will include combos in the set. They could, but drafting combos other than storm seems really unlikely. If they do, I would expect them to be additions to other archetypes, like Grim Monolith / Power Artifact. I could see them putting in some sort of Enchantress / replenish deck, since that would tie in to the Theros block themes, and give players who have been collecting Theros cards another reason to play Vintage. Either way, I would expect the set to contain some tutors – certainly Mystical Tutor and Enlightened Tutor at uncommon, and possibly Vampiric Tutor or Demonic Tutor at rare. Tutors are great enablers, if the format is going to contain combo decks.
 
That’s my take on the format. Note that I am not a set designer, nor have I spent all that much time thinking about limited archetypes for Vintage Masters, but I have spent a lot of time thinking about the set. I think the set will have the Power Nine welded on top of a set designed for limited. That means the rares and Mythics will be good limited cards, not Vintage staples: Liliana of the Veil instead of (Yawgmoth’s Will).   It almost certainly won’t contain LED (which is terrible in limited) or Oath of Druids. I cannot see how Wizards could include the dual lands – ten rare slots for lands is a ton. At best, we might see five fetchlands to help with mana fixing. (If so, it will be interesting to see which ones. If it is the Zendikar fetches, that probably means the Onslaught fetches will be reprinted in a regular set, soon.) 
 
I don’t envy the set designers, here. So many cards to include, so few slots. Just don’t expect to see every Vintage staple, instead expect a lot of limited bombs. This set has the Power Nine as chase cards, but it needs to have solid limited play if it is to succeed.  A pile of random money cards won’t get the job done. 
 
Wizards has promised us previews and spoilers at the end of the month. We shall see.
 
  

Cutting Edge Tech:

Most Every Format: Last weekend we had the paper prereleases. No big events happened, anywhere. Next week, we should start weeing decklists with Journey into Nyx cards.   More updates then.
 
Classic: Classic will not be that heavily affected by JiN cards, and last weekend the Classic event did fire. Montolio took it down with something that looks more like a Legacy deck (if you ignore the Mental Missteps.)
 
 
           

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 MTGOTadersBuyBot(#) (they have buybots 1-4).
  
Standard staples: Standard prices dropped about 8% almost across the board. I suspect this is due to a mix of factors. First, Standard is boring right now, so fewer people play it. This cuts demand for standard cards. Those people not playing Standard are likely drafting, increasing the supply. Finally, people are liquidating unneeded cards to get TIX for the prereleases.   At least, that is still my best guess.
 

Standard & Block Cards
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
$6.26
$6.53
($0.27)
-4%
$21.08
$21.10
($0.02)
0%
$15.98
$16.00
($0.02)
0%
$12.00
$12.79
($0.79)
-6%
$12.00
$13.24
($1.24)
-9%
$6.36
$6.38
($0.02)
0%
$18.28
$18.41
($0.13)
-1%
$15.81
$15.42
$0.39
3%
$8.05
$8.46
($0.41)
-5%
$17.98
$18.70
($0.72)
-4%
$10.64
$11.92
($1.28)
-11%
$6.30
$5.83
$0.47
8%
$23.74
$25.24
($1.50)
-6%
$12.90
$12.90
$0.00
0%
$8.00
$8.45
($0.45)
-5%
$7.59
$8.11
($0.52)
-6%
$27.28
$25.23
$2.05
8%
$10.63
$11.64
($1.01)
-9%
$6.59
$5.71
$0.88
15%
$30.81
$32.42
($1.61)
-5%
$5.15
$5.15
$0.00
0%

Modern staples: Modern staples have also moved around a bit this week, but the big impacts here were due to flashback drafts. Cards like Bitterblossom and Cryptic Command were opened in reasonable numbers, and a lot of those opens hit the market quickly. It won’t last. Prices for those cards will rebound – except maybe Bitterblossom. I’m not sure Faeries is a deck, despite LSV posting a video with the deck.  
 

Modern Cards
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
$16.96
$19.36
($2.40)
-12%
$27.31
$24.69
$2.62
11%
$9.75
$10.59
($0.84)
-8%
$22.74
$31.57
($8.83)
-28%
$15.95
$15.39
$0.56
4%
$14.81
$14.81
$0.00
0%
$27.88
$31.91
($4.03)
-13%
$8.74
$7.53
$1.21
16%
$20.89
$23.39
($2.50)
-11%
$15.65
$15.05
$0.60
4%
$23.67
$26.39
($2.72)
-10%
$24.00
$24.59
($0.59)
-2%
$39.36
$37.26
$2.10
6%
$32.61
$31.68
$0.93
3%
$78.35
$74.94
$3.41
5%
$21.73
$21.73
$0.00
0%
$57.66
$58.99
($1.33)
-2%
$28.62
$28.17
$0.45
2%
$21.03
$17.93
$3.10
17%
$19.99
$20.47
($0.48)
-2%
$31.25
$32.90
($1.65)
-5%
$12.29
$17.09
($4.80)
-28%
$19.13
$18.70
$0.43
2%
$9.15
$9.37
($0.22)
-2%
$88.44
$88.44
$0.00
0%
$38.85
$45.72
($6.87)
-15%

Pauper: Pauper staples have moved around a bit. Once again, the main impact is due to recent flashback drafts. It seems to take a couple weeks for the increase in supply to affect the price, but it is doing so now.
 

Pauper Cards
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
$1.96
$1.96
$0.00
0%
$3.38
$3.38
$0.00
0%
$1.76
$1.47
$0.29
20%
$3.55
$3.18
$0.37
12%
$2.34
$2.45
($0.11)
-4%
$2.33
$2.41
($0.08)
-3%
$9.81
$9.96
($0.15)
-2%
$1.14
$0.92
$0.22
24%
$3.57
$3.31
$0.26
8%
$0.91
$0.88
$0.03
3%
$3.96
$3.88
$0.08
2%
$6.52
$6.52
$0.00
0%
$2.93
$2.93
$0.00
0%
$2.12
$2.65
($0.53)
-20%
$2.00
$2.00
$0.00
0%
$3.15
$3.67
($0.52)
-14%
$0.76
$0.72
$0.04
6%
$3.52
$3.24
$0.28
9%
$3.22
$4.15
($0.93)
-22%
$1.42
$1.76
($0.34)
-19%
$1.04
$1.16
($0.12)
-10%
$1.58
$1.29
$0.29
22%

Legacy / Classic: the prices for vintage playable staples are very stable this week. Even the flashback drafts have had little impact. 
 

Legacy / Classic Cards
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
$15.61
$14.89
$0.72
5%
$36.60
$36.60
$0.00
0%
$22.19
$20.57
$1.62
8%
$20.87
$19.37
$1.50
8%
$32.68
$29.64
$3.04
10%
$109.42
$101.63
$7.79
8%
$64.71
$64.71
$0.00
0%
$22.28
$21.76
$0.52
2%
$19.71
$19.71
$0.00
0%
$43.43
$43.43
$0.00
0%
$99.09
$99.09
$0.00
0%
$29.03
$27.45
$1.58
6%
$67.22
$67.22
$0.00
0%
$31.86
$31.86
$0.00
0%
$23.94
$23.94
$0.00
0%
$15.30
$15.30
$0.00
0%
$18.00
$18.36
($0.36)
-2%
$38.61
$38.61
$0.00
0%
$104.79
$104.79
$0.00
0%
$64.11
$64.11
$0.00
0%
$32.38
$32.38
$0.00
0%
$29.13
$29.13
$0.00
0%
$44.79
$41.81
$2.98
7%
Vampiric Tutor
$33.54
$33.54
$0.00
0%
$23.29
$23.29
$0.00
0%
$76.66
$79.29
($2.63)
-3%

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.   For those of you who redeem, here are the retail price of one of everything in each current set.   Those prices have fallen again this week.
 

Complete Set
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
Born of the Gods
$71.90
$73.41
($1.51)
-2%
Dragon's Maze
$66.69
$69.47
($2.78)
-4%
Gatecrash
$96.46
$98.94
($2.48)
-3%
Journey into Nix
(soon)
(soon)
n/a
n/a
M14
$130.11
$137.11
($7.00)
-5%
Return to Ravnica
$129.73
$137.11
($7.38)
-5%
Theros
$101.12
$100.44
$0.68
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. This week, Force of Will is back on top, and Rishadan Port is climbing. Lion’s Eye Diamond is just under $100.
 

Card
Rarity
Set
 Price
Force of Will
R
MED
 $ 109.42
Rishadan Port
R
MM
 $ 104.79
Lion's Eye Diamond
R
MI
 $    99.09
Tarmogoyf
M
MMA
 $    93.83
Tarmogoyf
R
FUT
 $    88.44
Liliana of the Veil
M
ISD
 $    78.35
Wasteland
U
TE
 $    76.66
Misdirection
R
MM
 $    67.22
Gaea's Cradle
R
UZ
 $    64.71
Show and Tell
R
UZ
 $    64.11
Tundra
R
ME4
 $    62.20
Tundra
R
ME2
 $    61.23
Mox Opal
M
SOM
 $    57.66
Vendilion Clique
M
MMA
 $    45.72
Underground Sea
R
ME4
 $    44.79
Volcanic Island
R
ME4
 $    44.72
Underground Sea
R
ME2
 $    43.89
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
M
WWK
 $    43.43
Volcanic Island
R
ME3
 $    43.23
Bayou
R
ME4
 $    41.51
Bayou
R
ME3
 $    40.91
Griselbrand
M
AVR
 $    39.36
Vendilion Clique
R
MOR
 $    38.85
Polluted Delta
R
ONS
 $    38.61
City of Traitors
R
EX
 $    36.60
Vampiric Tutor
R
VI
 $    33.54
Flusterstorm
R
CMD
 $    32.68
Karn Liberated
M
NPH
 $    32.61
Sneak Attack
R
UZ
 $    32.38
Mishra's Workshop
R
ME4
 $    31.86
Scalding Tarn
R
ZEN
 $    31.25
Voice of Resurgence
M
DGM
 $    30.81
Misty Rainforest
R
ZEN
 $    30.04
Tropical Island
R
ME3
 $    29.94
Tropical Island
R
ME4
 $    29.71
Mana Crypt
R
ME2
 $    29.60
Cryptic Command
R
MMA
 $    29.39
Flooded Strand
R
ONS
 $    29.36
Mana Drain
R
ME3
 $    29.30
True-Name Nemesis
R
C13
 $    29.13
Noble Hierarch
R
CON
 $    28.62
Cryptic Command
R
LRW
 $    27.88
Batterskull
M
NPH
 $    27.31
Sphinx's Revelation
M
RTR
 $    27.28
Threads of Disloyalty
R
BOK
 $    26.81
Twilight Mire
R
EVE
 $    25.85

The big number is the retail price of a playset (4 copies) of every card available on MTGO. Assuming you bought the least expensive version available, the cost of owning a playset of every card on MTGO you can own is $26,430.  That’s down $120 from where we were last week. That won’t last – Journey into Nyx is coming.
 

Weekly Highlights:

Paper prereleases took up most of my weekend, but I did manage to get into a couple flashback drafts. The highlight, though, had to be my FNM draft where I went into the third pack with a good GW deck, and opened Elspeth. 
 
 
PRJ
 
“one million words” on MTGO
 
This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic: Friborg.

8 Comments

The free tournaments were by xger at Fri, 05/02/2014 - 12:23
xger's picture

The free tournaments were posted shortly after 2 PM PST. They were filled inside of 5 minutes.

As for Vintage Masters, I really think FoW and the duals are likely to be included. If you go over MMA rares that are useless or near useless you have at least 14 (others you didn't mention: Academy Ruins, Dragonstorm, Bridge from Below). It just seems like a situation ripe for turmoil if VMA is released and heralds the beginning of Vintage online only for there to be extreme prices and shortages of pillars of the format. As for FoW specifically, ME1x3 was just awful to draft. A 4 or 6 pack sealed with all 4 is still pretty awful and doesn't introduce enough FoW. It just seems like the best solution is putting FoW and duals in VMA.

I don't think they will burn by Cownose at Fri, 05/02/2014 - 14:13
Cownose's picture

I don't think they will burn 10 rare slots on duals when they can get good numbers of them into the system through MED2-3-4 drafts AND they are MOCS promos. I think if they are going to burn 10 slots on lands (which I don't think they will), it will be much more likely they use it on saclands instead (since there isn't really a good way to get the ONS ones into the system since nobody will draft that set as a flashback).

FoW and duals don’t need to by Lagrange at Fri, 05/02/2014 - 14:14
Lagrange's picture

FoW and duals don’t need to be in VMA. Duals are more important in Legacy than in Vintage. If they need more FoWs in the system they can use the MOCS. FoW was at $120 when they announced it as a MOCS promo, then it dropped to $90 and now it is at $73. That is a huge price impact and WotC has no problems reprinting promos. If you look at the price impact of MMA it was almost 0 for the mythic cards. So mythic in MMA did very little to the supply of these cards. FoW and duals will not be the bottleneck, it will be the P9. P9 are essential for every Vintage deck and as mythics in VMA they will be in very very limited supply and it will take a long time to fill the system with P9 using promos.

Bugs by Sensei at Fri, 05/02/2014 - 19:08
Sensei's picture

Tombstalker 6BB
You may exile any number of cards as you cast this. Concede the game if you cast the spell in this way.

Manor Gargoyle is still by romellos at Sat, 05/03/2014 - 05:32
romellos's picture

Manor Gargoyle is still bugged more than 6 months or maybe more.

It continues to have "indestructible" after it loses defender and gains flying and it can't be killed by any effects or creatures.

Another bug by Adam_the_Mentat at Fri, 05/02/2014 - 22:58
Adam_the_Mentat's picture
5

This may just be an avid commander player's rant, but I am so sick of Mystifying maze being bugged in Commander. If you activate it on an opposing commander if that player does not chose to put their commander back in the command zone, the commander becomes exiled indefinitely.

For four mana, in any color deck, you can make it so a player has to recast their commander with an added 2 colorless more. It becomes infuriating because some people use it to their advantage. I used to be vehemently anti-land destruction but broke down and bought a Strip Mine solely so I could get rid of mystifying mazes.
Maze of Ith I do love beyond words, and isn't broken in commander games.

Also, as far as I know (will by Kumagoro42 at Sat, 05/03/2014 - 08:25
Kumagoro42's picture

Also, as far as I know (will be thankful if someone tests it again), Burning of Xinye is still bugged, and works on all opponents.

Strangely enough, in SUNCOM I had to ban Burning but we never experienced any issue with Mystifying Maze. Possibly because Spikes never play with it so they don't know it's bugged!

Other bugs I know of from the Tribal world:
- They never updated Goblin Warchief, which has the Warrior type since last January
- They never fixed Goldmeadow Harrier, which online counts neither as Kithin nor as Soldier

Last time I checked, by AJ_Impy at Sat, 05/03/2014 - 10:15
AJ_Impy's picture

Last time I checked, Exclusion ritual didn't exclude the imprinted spell from being cast.