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By: JXClaytor, Joshua Claytor
Nov 20 2020 1:00pm
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State of the Program for November 20th, 2020
 
In the News

Magic Online Championship:  Michael Jacob won the event over Logan Nettles in the finals. For a recap of the top 4 which also featured Matti Kuisma and Oliver Tiu, you can check here.  The Modern decklists from the event are here, and the Pioneer lists are here

Magic Online Championship Series Ending:  Michael Jacob will be the last of the Magic Online Champions.  The series is being replaced with the Magic Online Champions Showcase.  It will be an eight player event with a $70,000 prize pool.  You can read more about that here.  The first one is November 28, and you can watch it on twitch

Treasure Chest Update:  A new set came out, and with that came updates to the treasure chests on MTGO.  You can check out the changes here.

MTGO InstallerWith the Commander Legends update there was a small change to the upgrade.  It relates to security, but you will need to unintall MTGO from your PC (you can see how to do a clean uninstall here) and reinstall from mtgo.com.  As of writing, there was an issue between https and http which I didn't understand, but a fix is in the works for that.  As of Thursday, November 19, 2020 there is no fix for this, but the team at Wizards of the Coast is no longer recommending that you uninstall and reinstall.  There is a work around right now, to where you shift click the download button, and that at least got MTGO to reinstall for me, and others.  Trading is off, a lot of things are broken, with fixes planned for Tuesday.  Trading is back on as of late Thursday night.  Make sure to check out the Magic Online Twitter feed for the most up to date information. 

Extra Life Secret Lair:  Some people entering codes were not getting what the codes were supposed to redeem.  As of Friday, November 20, 2020 this promotion has been suspended.  Hold on to your codes!  Again, check the Twitter feed for updated information.

Limited Split Championship Qualifier:  On Saturday, take 40 MOCS Qualifier Points and try to qualify for the Kaldheimn Split Championship. 

Limited Super Qualifier:  Sunday sees the top two players qualify for the Kaldheim Split Championship.  Entry fee is 40 QP, 40 Tickets or 400 Play Points. 
 

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 MCQs each weekend, with qualifiers for limited MCQs running the days immediately prior to the MCQ.
 
Upcoming Events
Dates
Scheduled Downtimes
Unknown
Constructed Leagues End
January 27, 2021
Sealed Leagues End
January 28, 2021
Next B&R
Unknown
Zendikar Rising Redemption
Began November 11, 2021


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:

This changed this week, make sure to keep that in mind when looking at the schedule.  I put the changes in bold. 

November 18 - November 25:  No Event (Commander Legends release)
Novemver 25 - December 2:  Core Set Cube
December 2 - December 9:  Chaos Draft Masters
December 9 - December 16:  Supreme Draft:  Chaos
December 16 - December 23:  Supreme Draft:  Vintage Cube
December 23 - January 13: Vintage Cube
January 13 - January 20:  New Spotlight Cube
January 20 - January 28 - Vintage Masters Flashback

 
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:

TIME (PT) SATURDAY SUNDAY
12:00 a.m.   Vintage Challenge
2:00 a.m. Pauper Challenge  
4:00 a.m. Legacy Challenge Modern Challenge
6:00 a.m. Standard Challenge Pioneer Challenge
8:00 a.m. Modern Challenge Legacy Challenge
10:00 a.m. Vintage Challenge Pauper Challenge
2:00 p.m. Pioneer Challenge Standard Challenge
 
 



Cutting Edge Tech

It is another theme week here at Cutting Edge Tech!  With the Starcity Events using Historic as the format, I wanted to get in a nice deep dive of what has been winning in the format based on tournaments from mtgmelee.com!  What follows is a bunch of decklists from events that won after Kaladesh Remastered hit Arena. 


Mono Blue Tempo
: Historic is in this place where it wants to be Pioneer, but it's missing a lot of cards still, so it's like a super Standard format.  Some ports from the Pioneer format are making their way over, but it's slow going, and even more weird because of the Historic legal cards from Jumpstart and the Anthologies.


Mono Black Aggro:  How much better would this deck look if Mutavault were in the format? 


Sultai Midrange:  Having Fatal Push in the format has given black control decks a key removal spell to have in the deck. 


Orzhov Auras: Speaking of decks that would look better with some missing cards, Orzhov Auras is still potent in the format, thanks to Sram, Senior Edificer and Kor Spiritdancer, but it sure would be better with Ethereal Armor and Gryff's Boon


Azorius Auras:  Azorius Auras doesn't really have a direct Pioneer port, but this deck would also love to have the same auras that Orzhov would like. 


Neostorm:  Okay, so this deck can win on turn three, and I am not nearly as smart enough as I think I am to play it.  To go off,  you play Sea Gate Stormcaller and (Neoform WAR), copying Neoform to then search out Dualcaster Mage, which again copies Neoform fetching more Dualcasters, then Glasspool Mimic:) as copies of Dualcasters, then finishes of with a Combat Celebrant and a Tuktuk Rubblefort.  The Rubblefort gives your massive board haste, and the Celebrant gives you extra combat.  

I paraphrased this from this Reddit post.  All credit to Metabreaker7. 


Mono Red:   Just a red deck that got better thanks to Bomat Courier being back on the client! 



 
Winner's Circle

The Winner's Circle is where I will recognize winners of the past events on MTGO.

Huge week for usernames with underscores in them. 

Challenge Winners

Saturday Legacy - T_Kudo - Elves
Saturday Modern - marcofabrizi - Bant Snow
Saturday Pauper - hellkito - Izzet Ninjas
Saturday Pioneer - Bryant_Cook - Lotus Field Combo
Saturday Standard - Phill_Hellmuth - Mill Rogues
Saturday Vintage - LORiWWA

Sunday Legacy - BananasThrower - Simic Show and Tell
Sunday Modern - Bayesta_93 - Mardu Shadow
Sunday Pauper - Store_Shop28 - Boros Monarch
Sunday Pioneer - JoseCabezas - Oops All Spells
Sunday Standard - O_Danielakos - Dimir Control
Sunday Vintage - ZYURYO

Other Event Winners

Modern Champ Qualifier - bigjc00 - AmuLIT
Pioneer Champ Qualifier - marolanzi - Boros Burn
 

Around the Web

MTGOTraders YouTube:  Did you know that MTGOTraders.com has a YouTube page?  Well if not, now you do, and you can find it here

I am getting ready for CommandFest over at LegitMTG.com

Jess Estephan wrote two great pieces this week, one of Commander Legends Drafting and the other on the path of Organized Play

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 a decade and a half now, and have never been overcharged or disappointed.
 
Standard Staples: Winota, Joiner of Forces came off the list this week.  Leyline of the Void removed itself from the list as well. 
Brazen Borrower $18.29 $17.78 $0.51
Questing Beast $6.43 $7.68 ($1.25)
Bonecrusher Giant $4.43 $5.06 ($0.63)
The Great Henge $7.51 $7.84 ($0.33)
General Kudro of Drannith $9.36 $10.33 ($0.97)
Shark Typhoon $12.90 $13.80 ($0.90)
Vivien, Monsters' Advocate $8.23 $8.26 ($0.03)
Lurrus of the Dream Den $9.35 $10.09 ($0.74)
Teferi, Master of Time $10.98 $11.34 ($0.36)
Terror of the Peaks $17.19 $17.16 $0.03
Liliana, Waker of the Dead $16.72 $16.60 $0.12
Elder Gargaroth $37.50 $40.34 ($2.84)
Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger 15.08 15.1 ($0.02)
Klothys, God of Destiny 11.05 11.17 ($0.12)
Heliod, Sun-Crowned 5.7 5.98 ($0.28)
Ox of Agonas 5.56 6.45 ($0.89)
Scourge of the Skyclaves $30.87 $38.47 ($7.60)
Turntimber Symbiosis $20.06 $18.87 $1.19
Agadeem's Awakening $17.41 $18.34 ($0.93)
Skyclave Apparition $15.88 $11.54 $4.34
Shatterskull Smashing $8.33 $11.97 ($3.64)
Sea Gate Restoration $5.51 $5.27 $0.24
Modern Staples:
Modern Cards Price Last Week Change % Change
Auriok Champion $24.89 $28.61 ($3.72) -13%
Cavern of Souls $17.79 $21.46 ($3.67) -17%
Mishra's Bauble $8.72 $8.50 $0.22 3%
Aether Vial $23.51 $26.85 ($3.34) -12%
Horizon Canopy $13.09 $16.59 ($3.50) -21%
Tarmogoyf $4.30 $5.59 ($1.29) -23%
Liliana of the Veil $11.89 $11.20 $0.69 6%
Polluted Delta $7.95 $8.48 ($0.53) -6%
Wooded Foothills $5.87 $6.17 ($0.30) -5%
Flooded Strand $5.13 $5.30 ($0.17) -3%
Bloodstained Mire $5.51 $7.29 ($1.78) -24%
Windswept Heath $5.13 $5.17 ($0.04) -1%
Thoughtseize $7.13 $6.59 $0.54 8%
Field of the Dead $22.99 $24.11 ($1.12) -5%
Elvish Reclaimer $11.56 $21.61 ($10.05) -47%
Force of Negation $71.58 $71.29 $0.29 0%
Wrenn and Six $68.87 $83.77 ($14.90) -18%
Prismatic Vista $12.34 $10.46 $1.88 18%
Sunbaked Canyon $12.03 $14.45 ($2.42) -17%
Seasoned Pyromancer $29.77 $34.08 ($4.31) -13%
Fiery Islet $8.68 $10.52 ($1.84) -17%
Urza, Lord High Artificer $7.93 $6.99 $0.94 13%
Plague Engineer $11.02 $12.21 ($1.19) -10%
Force of Vigor $14.81 $15.67 ($0.86) -5%
Collector Ouphe $5.16 $5.39 ($0.23) -4%
Nurturing Peatland $4.65 $5.96 ($1.31) -22%
Ice-Fang Coatl $6.20 $7.19 ($0.99) -14%
Giver of Runes $9.23 $12.50 ($3.27) -26%
Hexdrinker $7.91 $8.92 ($1.01) -11%
Flusterstorm $6.18 $6.90 ($0.72) -10%
Archmage's Charm $5.76 $6.52 ($0.76) -12%
Ranger-Captain of Eos $6.91 $5.39 $1.52 28%
Silent Clearing $5.38 $3.66 $1.72 47%
Chalice of the Void $11.46 $11.18 $0.28 3%
Surgical Extraction $15.74 $17.82 ($2.08) -12%
Ensnaring Bridge $8.39 $8.26 $0.13 2%
Gemstone Mine $11.12 $10.09 $1.03 10%
Jace, the Mind Sculptor $8.26 $8.28 ($0.02) 0%
Scalding Tarn $13.46 $14.69 ($1.23) -8%
Verdant Catacombs $12.71 $14.48 ($1.77) -12%
Misty Rainforest $15.08 $13.07 $2.01 15%
Arid Mesa $5.32 $5.45 ($0.13) -2%
Marsh Flats $3.98 $3.97 $0.01 0%
Eternal Staples
Eternal Format Cards Price Last Week Change % Change
Oko, Thief of Crowns $20.64 $22.22 ($1.58) -7%
City of Traitors $19.00 $18.83 $0.17 1%
Monastery Mentor $4.61 $6.17 ($1.56) -25%
Allosaurus Shepherd $68.03 $58.74 $9.29 16%
Force of Will $39.99 $41.02 ($1.03) -3%
Karakas $9.82 $8.44 $1.38 16%
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale $35.81 $33.64 $2.17 6%
Demonic Tutor $8.30 $8.10 $0.20 2%
Unmask $9.74 $10.09 ($0.35) -3%
Misdirection $13.31 $13.31 $0.00 0%
Rishadan Port $11.32 $10.86 $0.46 4%
Entomb $9.76 $6.85 $2.91 42%
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow $25.80 $24.80 $1.00 4%
Mox Diamond $19.36 $17.70 $1.66 9%
Wasteland $35.92 $34.65 $1.27 4%
Ancient Tomb $19.73 $18.00 $1.73 10%
Lotus Petal $18.17 $19.45 ($1.28) -7%
Earthcraft $6.93 $7.20 ($0.27) -4%
Academy Rector $5.38 $4.78 $0.60 13%
Grim Monolith $14.57 $14.33 $0.24 2%
Exploration $13.02 $13.76 ($0.74) -5%
Gaea's Cradle $28.49 $27.49 $1.00 4%
Carpet of Flowers $40.18 $45.54 ($5.36) -12%
Gilded Drake $9.67 $8.96 $0.71 8%
Show and Tell $6.63 $6.29 $0.34 5%
Black Lotus $8.85 $9.61 ($0.76) -8%
Tropical Island $9.34 $11.26 ($1.92) -17%
Volcanic Island $9.70 $10.87 ($1.17) -11%
Underground Sea $12.81 $13.16 ($0.35) -3%
Sol Ring $10.17 $10.10 $0.07 1%
Null Rod $6.26 $5.69 $0.57 10%
Doomsday $21.16 $20.53 $0.63 3%
Mindbreak Trap $23.35 $23.98 ($0.63) -3%
Pioneer Staples
Pioneer Cards Price Last Time Change % Change
Soul-Scar Mage $9.59 $8.63 $0.96 11%
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger $5.77 $6.16 ($0.39) -6%
Collected Company $7.10 $8.86 ($1.76) -20%
Collective Brutality $5.17 $5.03 $0.14 3%
Assassin's Trophy $6.14 $7.41 ($1.27) -17%
Mana Confluence $3.93 $5.22 ($1.29) -25%
Eidolon of the Great Revel $8.34 $7.93 $0.41 5%
Kaya, Orzhov Usurper $8.90 $9.09 ($0.19) -2%
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath $74.37 $88.54 ($14.17) -16%
Teferi, Time Raveler $37.68 $48.05 ($10.37) -22%
Finale of Devastation $7.58 $7.73 ($0.15) -2%
Karn, the Great Creator $32.92 $31.75 $1.17 4%
Dreadhorde Arcanist $14.68 $15.65 ($0.97) -6%
Blast Zone $11.90 $11.66 $0.24 2%
Omnath, Locus of Creation $14.08 $14.92 ($0.84) -6%
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).  This is being kept as a small tribute to Pete!
Complete Set Price Last Week Change % Change
Core Set 2021 $139.66 $146.88 ($7.22) -5%
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths $74.22 $81.42 ($7.20) -9%
Theros Beyond Death $157.01 $173.63 ($16.62) -10%
Throne of Eldraine $141.96 $148.14 ($6.18) -4%
Treasure Chest $2.40 $2.38 $0.02 1%
Zendikar Rising $139.26 $151.53 ($12.27) -8%
Zendikar Rising Booster Pack $3.23 $2.82 $0.41 15%


The Good Stuff
The following is a list of all the non-foil, non-promo 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 interesting, at the least. This is interesting to me because a lot of these cards have been reprinted more than once, and they are still commanding a high price. 

Black Lotus 1E Rare 158.05
Snapcaster Mage UBT Mythic 101.04
Liliana of the Veil UBT Mythic 79.63
Ancestral Recall 1E Rare 75.66
Mox Jet 1E Rare 75.35
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath THB Mythic 74.37
Karakas UBT Mythic 72.79
Force of Negation MH1 Rare 71.58
Cavern of Souls UBT Mythic 70.96
Wrenn and Six MH1 Mythic 68.87
Allosaurus Shepherd JMP Mythic 68.03
Mox Emerald 1E Rare 63.86
Time Walk 1E Rare 62.49
Noble Hierarch UBT Mythic 54.38
Karn Liberated UBT Mythic 52.64
Dark Depths UBT Mythic 51.67
Mox Sapphire 1E Rare 44.92
Mox Pearl 1E Rare 43.86
Jace, the Mind Sculptor MS4 Mythic 43.83
Cavern of Souls ZNE Mythic 42.81
Carpet of Flowers UZ Uncommon 40.18
Mox Ruby 1E Rare 40.07
Force of Will MED Rare 39.99
Timetwister 1E Rare 38.15
Teferi, Time Raveler WAR Rare 37.68
Elder Gargaroth M21 Mythic 37.5
Force of Will 2XM Mythic 36.82
Lord Windgrace PZ2 Mythic 36.44
Force of Will EMA Mythic 36.03
Force of Will MS3 Mythic 35.94
Wasteland TE Uncommon 35.92
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale ME3 Rare 35.81
Liliana, the Last Hope MS4 Mythic 35.48
Force of Will VMA Rare 34.56
Karn, the Great Creator WAR Rare 32.92
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth UBT Mythic 32.75
Submerge NE Uncommon 32.39
Auriok Champion IMA Rare 31.25
Celestial Colonnade UBT Mythic 31.19
Dockside Extortionist C19 Rare 30.9
Scourge of the Skyclaves ZNR Mythic 30.87
Life from the Loam UBT Mythic 30.63
Demonic Tutor UBT Mythic 30.6
Seasoned Pyromancer MH1 Mythic 29.77
Purple-Crystal Crab PZ2 Common 28.96
Gaea's Cradle UZ Rare 28.49
Wasteland EXP Mythic 27.95
Wasteland TPR Rare 27.32
Aether Vial IMA Rare 26.83
Bitterblossom UBT Mythic 26.67
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria MS4 Mythic 26.41
Wasteland ZNE Mythic 25.86
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow PZ2 Rare 25.8
Creeping Tar Pit UBT Mythic 25.44
Leovold, Emissary of Trest UBT Mythic 25.38
Platinum Emperion UBT Mythic 25.17
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 a number that I cannot figure out still. I have actually asked Pete to do this for me, because Open Office is weird, and I have no idea what I am doing, and I am pretty close to just being a dog in a labcoat.

Nevermind, ignore all of that, Pete got it done for me, because he is just the dang best. The big number this week is $24,217.  Last week it was $25,005.  We've dipped a bit, that might be because people were getting ready for the new Commander Legends draft format, or it might be because MTGO was not online to a significant portion of its playerbase for a couple of days this week. 
 
In Closing

I am taking Thanksgiving weekend off.  I'm not traveling or hosting any meals or anything like that.  It is however, nice to take a break. 

This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic” Friborg.