Hammie’s The State of the Program for November 25th
This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic” Friborg.
News and Discussion Items:
Reiderrabbit Wins Magic Online Championship at Worlds: Reid ‘reidderrabbit’ Duke defeated Florian ‘flying man’ Pils 2-1 in the finals on Sunday. You can watch the replay here. The paper World Champion, Jun’ya ‘SEVERUS’ Iyanaga, was also in the running for the Online Championships. Full coverage of Worlds is here.
Changes at Wizards and in the Judge Program: Two big changes: first of all, Tom LaPille is moving form Magic R&D to D&D R&D. This is not unusual; Wizards likes to move people around to cross-fertilize their staff. We have seen a couple people move into, and out of, R&D over time. We have also seen the rules manager position change hands occasionally, and we have seen the MTGO staff change on occasion. This is just company policy – people move around so everyone has some exposure to all aspects of the company.
In a slightly different development, Level 5 Judge Sheldon Menery is retiring from active judging. He will join Japp and Gis as a judge emeritus. He will still be involved in the judge program as an advisor, and will still be writing for SCG. I have also heard that he will become part of the coverage team for pro tours, etc., although this has not been officially announced. His retirement was not too surprising – being a judge at this level eats endless amounts of time. Sheldon ran a great worlds, but only because of the months of prep he put into it.
Redemption on hold for a week: Like every retail company in the US, Wizards needs to do a full inventory annually. Part of that inventory means physically counting all the cards, and card sets, in the warehouse. Wizards is stopping redemption while the count is on. Redemption will be back next week. Zendikar redemption will be a bit longer: current stocks are depleted and those cards are being printed.
Warning about MTGO Library Bot: Apparently, MTGO Library Bot has the same security holes as it did under the previous name, CBS Bot. Running the Bot could empty your account. The details are here. Note that this is the second time that this Bot chain has got this type of warning – the last time the company got a warning like this, it changed its name. Now it is back. This is very rare warning – and serious. If you are running this Bot, consider finding another one.
Further Changes to Pro Tour Qualifiers and Worlds?: Wizards sent an unusually large contingent of employees to Worlds. Greg Leeds, President of Wizards, was there, as were Helene Bergeot, Scott Larabee and some other Organized Play folks, in addition to the usual R&D crew. I saw them sitting down with a number of players in one on ones, and getting a lot of feedback. I also saw a lot of players sporting “Save our Worlds” stickers.
This is unconfimed, but really interesting:Dara De Buitlear posted the following on the Facebook Page “Begging WotC to reconsider destroying worlds”
Ok, so I met with Maro at worlds and spoke to him for about 20 minutes. I asked him a heap of questions about PWP's and about worlds announcement. Here is a summary of things
1) Wizards have admitted they were wrong on this one. They have taken dreams and hopes away from too many players. They cannot just insta revert this decision but they are working to fix things. Nationals should and quite likely will lead to something bigger - this may not be in place for Nationals 2012 however.
2) They have a specialist team of people in Wizards assigned the job of fixing this situation.
3) The PWP will change. The core principles behind it are solid and will remain in place - but the overall system will be changing. They want a fair system that rewards the right things.
4) Online play will be linked to your DCI number and will add to your PWP's at some point in time. This is likely 18-24 months away
5) Mark is equally as upset as we are about the worlds announcement.
Also from head of branding for Magic Online:
6) Cube drafting will be coming to magic online next year
7) Phantom drafting will roll out on magic online to bring down the costs associated with online play. You pay 2 tickets and you get to draft, but you don't get to keep any of the cards you draft. There will be prize support for these drafts.
Again, none of this is confirmed, but it makes interesting reading. I hope it is true.
Mercadian Masques Countdown: Masques block arrives, in its entirety, on December 5th. The Prerelease will start December 2nd. Details on the Masques roll-out here. Details on the Prerelease here. The Prerelease will have a limited number of big, 6 round events for 30 TIX, and Swiss Drafts for 20 TIX. The prerelease foil is Overtaker, which is marginal. I wonder how well these will fire: 6 rounders could be a problem. I know I won’t have time for one of these that weekend.
Countdown to Masques Block: 9 days.
Here’s your classic Masques card for the day:
One of Masques block’s signature mechanics was Spellshapers – creatures which could create the equivalent of classic spells by discarding a card and paying the spell’s mana cost. Overtaker casts Ray of Command. It is playable in certain multiplayer games, but it is not really great. My favorite spellshaper is Devout Witness, which casts Disenchant. I have a dozen paper copies, and most of them are in decks. It Is a fine casual card.
I’m featuring Overtaker because it is the prerelease foil. Masques does have better cards.
Actually, here’s a better card, and the cards that made this one a deadly combo.
Saproling Burst creates tokens. Removing one fading counter creates a 6/6, removing the second creates a 5/5, etc. Pandemonium deals 6 damage when you create the first, 5 for the second, 6+5+4+3+2+1 equals 21, so the combo is lethal. The deck was called Pandeburst, and it could generate turn four kills pretty consistently.
I’ll feature it in PTSD once I get the cards.
Tournaments:
Thursday Night Magic for the upcoming week (December 1st ): Innistrad Draft. Cheap drafts FTW! The TNMO card for December is, as always, not yet up on Wizards website.
Let’s look at the Constructed Tournaments breakdown for the week of November 17th through November 23rd. 92 constructed events fired this week. The formats that fire did pretty well. The others did not. Wizards needs to do something to save these formats.
Let’s look at how the events Wizards did report broke down.
Format
Fired
Format
Fired
Standard
40
Standard Singleton
0
Pauper
27
Kaleidoscope
0
Innistrad Block Const.
22
100–card Singleton
0
Classic
3
Modern
0
Legacy
0
Extended
0
FYI: I got the number fired from the list of results, here.
Cutting Edge Tech:
Standard: Last weekend we had Worlds, MTGO Champs and some online events. The Worlds Top 8 is probably the most interesting. The Top 8 had four copies of the Channel Fireball Tempered Steel deck, which was great at stomping the control decks but a dog to the RG Wolf Run Ramp that won the event. Here are the Standard decks that went undefeated in the Standard portion of Worlds. The only one not in the Top 8 was the UW Control deck.
Green-Red Wolf Run
Jun’ya Iyanaga Winner, and Undefeated in Day One (Standard) at Worlds
Modern: Saturday at Worlds was Modern. The Wizards recap a recap of the most heavily played decks, here. A list of all the decks that went 4-2 or better on the day is here. Here are the undefeated decks.
Affinity
Tzu-ching Kuo - 18 points - 2011 Worlds, Modern Constructed
* Conley went undefeated in the matches he played. He also conceded two matches to get friends into the Top 8.
Innistrad Sealed: ISD Constructed is an online-only format, but it is proving quite popular. I haven’t had a chance to study the format yet, so all I can do is show you all a winning deck from this week’s PE.
Legacy: With no SCG open last weekend, nothing much happened in the world of Legacy. Legacy was a format in the team events, but in the finals, where Reliquary Bant was battling Show and Tell / Sneak Attack, game three was delayed while the Modern match was played out, and that decided the championship. Game three of Legacy was irrelevant – which says something about the format now.
Classic fired three Dailies this week. The format is doing fine. Now I just need to bust my fourth Snapcaster in a draft and I’ll be playing Snaps in these events, possibly even this weekend. Whatever - details of the three events are here, here, and here.
Welder Shops
Cronin (4-0) - Classic Daily #3045358 on 11/18/2011
Notes: All my prices come from MTGOTraders.com for cards that are available in multiple sets, I am quoting the most recent set’s price, which is almost always the lowest. Thus, the price I’m quoting for Primeval Titan is from M12. If a card is out of stock, take that price with a grain of salt. MTGOTraders may not adjusted prices for a card until they have some to sell. Another note – I note whether cards are in stock in the online store. MTGOTraders stocks their Bots first, so the MTGOTradersBot1, MTGOTradersBot2, etc. may well have cards even when the online store is out.
Innistrad prices are beginning to climb back to their long-term levels. Worlds redefined the metagame, and enough drafters are dumping cards into the pool that some of the rares – like snappy – are dropping back to more reasonable levels.
Legacy prices have stabilized.Legacy needs to get some love. The format was doing pretty well, and then it got hit by Mental Misstep and a hoarder buying up all the duals. Since that double whammy, the format has fired almost no events. Maybe Wizards can do something about this.
Note: cards which are staples in both Legacy and Classic may appear in either list. If you don’t see a card in one list, check the other.
Classic prices are oscillating slightly. Masques block is coming. Entomb has just started dropping, probably because it is included in the new Graveborn Premium deck. (Wizards announced that they will not sell the Standard Event decks online, but I think they are still offering the specialty decks and sets.) Personally, I want the old frame Entombs. I want my classic cards to look like classic cards.
The RG Wolf Run deck that won Worlds (Standard) costs $ 310 from MTGOTraders.com at the moment. Primeval Titan, Thrun and the Swords are the money cards in the deck.
Tzu-ching Kuo’s Affinity deck (Modern format) from Worlds costs $ 211 from MTGOTraders.com at the moment. Inkmoth Nexus, Ravager and Mox Opal are the money cards in the deck.
Erab610’s Snapcaster Delver deck (Classic Format) which won the DE costs $ 1,066 from MTGOTraders.com at the moment. Force of Will, Wasteland, the duals, and Goyf are the money cards in the deck.
Weekly Highlights:
Last weekend I was judging at Worlds, which was awesome! I hope Wizards brings this sort of show back somehow. There is simply nothing like it.
Once I got back, I got back online and played out my Classic League match. Worlds inspired me to do video coverage of my match. If you want a feel for Classic, here’s a quick overview.
4) Online play will be linked to your DCI number and will add to your PWP's at some point in time. This is likely 18-24 months away
6) Cube drafting will be coming to magic online next year
7) Phantom drafting will roll out on magic online to bring down the costs associated with online play. You pay 2 tickets and you get to draft, but you don't get to keep any of the cards you draft. There will be prize support for these drafts.
4, 6 and 7 would be really great!!!! Cube drafting would be really nice, too. Hope there will be many players to support that. That would also lead to more demand for older good cards after rotation.
I really love the idea of phantom drafting but I highly doubt that wotc will make it just for 2 tix. I expect somewhere around 4 tix considering how greedy they can be.
So cube drafting next year? That sounds like the best news I've heard for MTGO in a long time. Unfortunately, I'm sure they'll find some way to screw it up. Would have been nice to hear something about leagues as well. How long have they been telling us to wait for them to return? From what I hear v4 is looking god awful, so who knows if any of this will even be worth complaining about.
I would definitely partake in phantom drafts/cube drafts for a couple of tickets each. But like a previous poster mentioned, they have to hit that sweet spot in terms of price.
I don't know why Legacy events aren't firing (I don't play it myself), but it can't be supply, because there are plenty of duals for sale at MTGOTraders, and at historically low prices. Maybe everyone's waiting for Masques? I'd say it was Modern, but those events aren't firing either. Curious...
My guess is after the initial excitement of something new to do online people were just not that into it. Classic is the same thing but according to many players, better. Modern isn't filling the gap that well but it does have a solid core of casual players. Legacy is really a competitor's format but doesn't have enough unique attractiveness to keep up the tension and energy. (This is all just wild guessing on my part.)
The other possibility is the lack of advertisement. Duals WERE insane for a while and some of the rush to join the legacy crowd online might have been blunted by that. That they have dropped to very reasonable prices isn't getting through to those who might be interested in the DEs and PEs. (Again wildly guessing.)
The odd thing is that Modern fracturing the Legacy community and then commiting seppuku (because people hate combo-based formats) has meant that Classic is doing better now than it has in years. It is firing 3+ events a week now, more than any non-STD non-budget format. The format is powerful and diverse and I would love to see more people join us for events!
I have formed a clan dedicated to Modern format (inspired by whiffypenguin's Clan Magic Eternal). We have 31 members and we have been running the 2-mans. I know this is no where near alive, but I have noticed it is easier to get a duel lately (could be the upcoming PTQ season.).
I am working on an article to submit this week, if I can find time to do REAL editing.
The Modern Events not firing are due to a couple of misperceptions created by the early stages of the format and the ban list.
1) Modern is a combo oriented format.
This was true, but banning Rite of Flame, Ponder, and Preordain really helped. Storm is still a t3 deck sometimes, but a lot easier to control (g1 it punts to Rule of Law or Canonist, g2 it has to draw an out or a Thoughtseize to fight those cards plus Mindbreak Trap)
2) Zoo is dominant.
Again, this is true, and the mana bases allow Zoo to meta game the same way a control deck does. It is still an aggro deck that loses to a fair amount of disruption. Again, banning GSZ was a good idea.
3) You need Tarmogoyf to be competitive
This one baffles me. Tarmo is the most efficient beater ever printed, I am not questioning that. What ever happened to all the people who used to say, "Creature is terrible because it dies to everything." While he doesn't auto-die to burn spells, he literally dies to every single :B: "destroy target creature" spell ever printed. Yes, he requires an answer, but there are many trumps if you can survive initial onslaughts of creatures.
I am working on starting a Modern league (inspired by MMOG). I already have some prizes put together but I will accept more (lol).
If anyone is interested in the clan, modern, or my league, please email me @ apaulogy@gmail.com
tweet me @apaulogy
12 Comments
4) Online play will be linked to your DCI number and will add to your PWP's at some point in time. This is likely 18-24 months away
6) Cube drafting will be coming to magic online next year
7) Phantom drafting will roll out on magic online to bring down the costs associated with online play. You pay 2 tickets and you get to draft, but you don't get to keep any of the cards you draft. There will be prize support for these drafts.
4, 6 and 7 would be really great!!!! Cube drafting would be really nice, too. Hope there will be many players to support that. That would also lead to more demand for older good cards after rotation.
I really love the idea of phantom drafting but I highly doubt that wotc will make it just for 2 tix. I expect somewhere around 4 tix considering how greedy they can be.
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't CBS it the only publicly available bot?
So cube drafting next year? That sounds like the best news I've heard for MTGO in a long time. Unfortunately, I'm sure they'll find some way to screw it up. Would have been nice to hear something about leagues as well. How long have they been telling us to wait for them to return? From what I hear v4 is looking god awful, so who knows if any of this will even be worth complaining about.
I would definitely partake in phantom drafts/cube drafts for a couple of tickets each. But like a previous poster mentioned, they have to hit that sweet spot in terms of price.
Any idea when the slated release date for v4 is?
thanks for the classic video, I enjoyed it.. haven't played classic since 1998 or so
I don't know why Legacy events aren't firing (I don't play it myself), but it can't be supply, because there are plenty of duals for sale at MTGOTraders, and at historically low prices. Maybe everyone's waiting for Masques? I'd say it was Modern, but those events aren't firing either. Curious...
My guess is after the initial excitement of something new to do online people were just not that into it. Classic is the same thing but according to many players, better. Modern isn't filling the gap that well but it does have a solid core of casual players. Legacy is really a competitor's format but doesn't have enough unique attractiveness to keep up the tension and energy. (This is all just wild guessing on my part.)
The other possibility is the lack of advertisement. Duals WERE insane for a while and some of the rush to join the legacy crowd online might have been blunted by that. That they have dropped to very reasonable prices isn't getting through to those who might be interested in the DEs and PEs. (Again wildly guessing.)
Modern killed Legacy, then Modern killed itself. That simple.
this is the truth. very strange but true.
The odd thing is that Modern fracturing the Legacy community and then commiting seppuku (because people hate combo-based formats) has meant that Classic is doing better now than it has in years. It is firing 3+ events a week now, more than any non-STD non-budget format. The format is powerful and diverse and I would love to see more people join us for events!
I have formed a clan dedicated to Modern format (inspired by whiffypenguin's Clan Magic Eternal). We have 31 members and we have been running the 2-mans. I know this is no where near alive, but I have noticed it is easier to get a duel lately (could be the upcoming PTQ season.).
I am working on an article to submit this week, if I can find time to do REAL editing.
The Modern Events not firing are due to a couple of misperceptions created by the early stages of the format and the ban list.
1) Modern is a combo oriented format.
This was true, but banning Rite of Flame, Ponder, and Preordain really helped. Storm is still a t3 deck sometimes, but a lot easier to control (g1 it punts to Rule of Law or Canonist, g2 it has to draw an out or a Thoughtseize to fight those cards plus Mindbreak Trap)
2) Zoo is dominant.
Again, this is true, and the mana bases allow Zoo to meta game the same way a control deck does. It is still an aggro deck that loses to a fair amount of disruption. Again, banning GSZ was a good idea.
3) You need Tarmogoyf to be competitive
This one baffles me. Tarmo is the most efficient beater ever printed, I am not questioning that. What ever happened to all the people who used to say, "Creature is terrible because it dies to everything." While he doesn't auto-die to burn spells, he literally dies to every single :B: "destroy target creature" spell ever printed. Yes, he requires an answer, but there are many trumps if you can survive initial onslaughts of creatures.
I am working on starting a Modern league (inspired by MMOG). I already have some prizes put together but I will accept more (lol).
If anyone is interested in the clan, modern, or my league, please email me @ apaulogy@gmail.com
tweet me @apaulogy