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By: one million words, Pete Jahn
Oct 23 2015 12:00pm
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State of the Program for October 23rd 2015

In the News:

Changes to Downtime: As many of us have experienced, MTGO can be a bit problematic coming out of downtime. Lag has been significant, and this has messed up events and trades. To mitigate these issues, Wizards brought up the client in stages this week. Trade and event entry was not activated until after the rest of the client was up and stable. If this works, we might see similar schedules in the future.   
 
Vintage Events Coming: Lee Sharpe had hinted at a high-stakes Vintage event, played for power. We now have details on what Wizards is calling the Power Nine Challenge. Once per month, usually at the end of the month, Wizards will host a Saturday Vintage event at 11am Pacific time. It will have a 33 player minimum, cost 25 TIX, and have a very top-heavy prize pool. The winner will get a Black Lotus, a Timetwister, a complete Foil set of BFZ, a complete non-foil set of BFZ and 500 play points. Second place will get an Ancestral Recall, a complete set of BFZ and 400 play points.   Third place will get a Mox Sapphire and 300 play points, and prizes will go down from there. Ninth – Sixteenth will get their entry fee back. The first Power Nine Challenge will be tomorrow, October 24th. Further details are here. 
 
Commander Decks Going off Sale: With next week’s downtime, wizards will stop selling the Commander 2011 and 2013 decks in the online store. The most recent sets of decks will remain on sale. The big cards in the sets being removed from the store are True-Name Nemesis and Toxic Deluge, plus a number of desirable commanders. Containment Priest will still be available.
 
Extended Downtime Next Week: Going to be a long one, folks. Events close at Midnight, Pacific. NO word on whether they will bring the client back up in stages. I suspect that will depend on whether it helps this week. (I’m writing this during downtime.)
 
Draft Triple Innistrad:   Wizards is throwing us a Halloween party, with one of the best draft formats ever – triple Innistrad – coming back Oct 28th through Nov. 4th. These are not Phantom drafts, so if you open that Liliana, you can keep her. These will be 6-2-2-2 Swiss drafts, and all players will receive a textless, full art FNM Sign in Blood. Seems like a bargain. I wonder how many packs of Innistrad I have in my account. Bet that number is two…
 

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 and the weekly blog, while the best source for known bugs is the Known Issues List. For quick reference, here are some major upcoming events.   In addition, there are either one or two online PTQs each weekend.
 
Item: date and notes
·         MOCS Season 11: runs from September 30th through October 28th. Promo is an old bordered Sword of Feast and Famine.
·         Battle for Zendikar Release Events: Happening now.  Release events run through October 28th
·         Innistrad Drafts: October 28th through November 4th. NOT Phantom, and all players get a textless, full art FNM Sign in Blood.
  • Battle for Zendikar Limited Championship Qualifiers: October 28–November 3
  • Battle for Zendikar Limited Championship Finals: November 8
  • Battle for Zendikar Standard Championship Qualifiers: November 4–10
  • Battle for Zendikar Standard Championship: November 14
·         Power Nine Challenge: Last Saturday in the month, at 11am Pacific.
·         Sealed Leagues: “Coming soon”
·         BFZ Redemption: available November 11th.
·         Legendary Cube: Nov. 18th. Details here.
·         Oath of the Gatewatch Prerelease: January 29–February 1, 2016
·         Implementation of the ‘Tuck” Rule in Commander: Nov. 11th.
 

Opinion Section: Quick Hits

Some random stuff strung together this week. Sorry if this article is sort – two colleagues retired / left recently, and I am covering for them both. I am also sick as a dog, and the combination is cutting into what free time I had.
 
Innistrad Drafts: We have Non-phantom triple Innistrad drafts starting next downtime. The format is great – one of the all-time best, according to a lot of serious, long-time drafters. That’s good, because the average value of the cards in the pack is low – around $1.63. The card to open is clearly Liliana of the Veil who is worth around $100 and is also great in limited. Other chase cards include Geist of Saint Traft, (Garruck, the Veil-Cursed), Snapcaster Mage and Past in Flames
 
Pro Tour BFZ:  This was the debut of Battle for Zendikar which supposedly pitted everyone against the Eldrazi. At the PT, however, it was clearly Jace vs. Gideon. However, the format proved more varied than you might expect. Check out the Top 8 decks for sure, but also look at the 24-27 point decks, and the near misses. Autumn Burchett’s GW Metamorph deck was interesting (especially to someone like me who does not own Gideons, yet), and went 9-1 in the Swiss. (Digression: Autumn finished 11th overall, IIRC. I’m happy to see her do well, despite the pounding she gave me at GP Madison.)  Digression aside, note that the two highest finishing decks in the Swiss were both GW Metamorph, but one deck you might be surprised by is Christian Calcano’s Black sacrifice deck. It is relatively cheap, so I expect it to appear in League play a lot. PT Coverage is here.
 
Changes to PTs, Qualifications, Pro Player levels and Prize Payouts: Just a quick note that Wizards has been tweaking all of these over the years. All of these have been generally positive, but I have not covered them here because this article is on the State of the Online Program, not the Organized Play program. However, the two overlap. Next time around, some players who qualify in paper PPTQs will be able to play their RPTQ online. 
 
Vintage Power Nine Challenge: A few weeks ago, Stephen Menendian and (someone) wrote an open letter over on Reddit about online Vintage. One of the changes they called for was a periodic high-stakes event at a predictable time that players could plan their schedules around. That is almost exactly what Wizards has delivered. The top prize is worth something like $500 bucks, and pays out in power. (Sure, Power online is not worth that much, but the rest of the prizes make up for it.)   About the only negative is that we did not get much advance notice of the first event, and that may hurt attendance.   I might have considered joining, but I would have had to know it was happening further in advance.   I have committed to traveling this weekend, into an area with spotty Internet. No MTGO for me. 
 
Is Wizards Pushing Leagues? I received an email form Wizards stating that I had new product (specifically the ORI deckbuilders toolkit and 80 Play Points) added to my account. The email also suggested that I join a league. My other accounts did not receive this largess – just the account I had used to enter leagues before the rotation. I’m guessing it is a minor incentive to get people back into leagues. The Standard league had over 1,000 players just before rotation. The current league is barely over 800, but it is growing.  
 
And I have to end it here. Again, my apologies for making this so short. I’m not happy “phoning in” these articles, (and even a short version like today’s requires 5-6 hours work) but sometime life intrudes on our hobbies.
 
Random MTGO Suggestion of the Week
I would like to be able to filter draft queues to only show queues for which I have the necessary product (as in packs.) .
 
If you have a suggestion for an improvement to MTGO, send it to magiconlinefeedback@wizards.com.
 

Cutting Edge Tech:

Standard: The Pro Tour was last weekend. The best Standard deck from the event was probably the deck Sam Black brewed up two days before the event. The Pro Tour is a mixed format event, and Sam and crew did not do well in draft, so none of them made T8. However, their deck had the best combined win percentage of any Standard deck. 
 
Bant Tokens
Sam Black, Standard, Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar
Creatures
3 Wingmate Roc
3 Elvish Visionary
4 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
4 Hangarback Walker
6 cards

Other Spells
4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Stasis Snare
1 Quarantine Field
4 Retreat to Emeria
1 Planar Outburst
4 Silkwrap
3 Secure the Wastes
2 Dispel
9 cards
 
Lands
2 Wooded Foothills
4 Windswept Heath
4 Flooded Strand
4 Plains
2 Lumbering Falls
1 Blighted Woodland
2 Prairie Stream
2 Canopy Vista
4 Forest
18 cards

1 Oblivion Sower
2 Evolutionary Leap
12 cards
 
Wingmate Roc
 
Modern:  SCG ran Modern State Champs last Sunday across the country. The Top 8 lists for many of them are on their web page. I looked at Wisconsin, because that’s where I’m from. The Wisconsin Top 8 is here.
 
 
Legacy and Vintage: I will be skipping these this week. Neither had large events recently, and both are going to have large events in the near future. I’ll cover them then. 
 

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: Standard prices were very mixed this week, as people scramble after the PT shake-up. A few of the marginal cards from BFZ fell hard after seeing zero play at the PT. 
 

Standard & Block Cards
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
$10.61
$9.01
$1.60
18%
$7.49
$6.91
$0.58
8%
$16.69
$23.92
($7.23)
-30%
$10.24
$9.64
$0.60
6%
$5.66
$7.12
($1.46)
-21%
$16.65
$23.07
($6.42)
-28%
$3.69
$7.93
($4.24)
-53%
$7.09
$7.93
($0.84)
-11%
$9.79
$8.75
$1.04
12%
$31.79
$35.49
($3.70)
-10%
$14.43
$15.91
($1.48)
-9%
$59.22
$54.74
$4.48
8%
$9.34
$7.23
$2.11
29%
$8.10
$8.61
($0.51)
-6%
$16.84
$17.21
($0.37)
-2%
(Ob Nixilus Reignited)
$5.69
$8.63
($2.94)
-34%
$4.27
$5.78
($1.51)
-26%
$8.62
$10.80
($2.18)
-20%
$9.26
$6.69
$2.57
38%
$7.26
$7.90
($0.64)
-8%
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
$4.71
$9.06
($4.35)
-48%

Modern staples:  Modern prices were mixed this week. A few cards swung a bit too far last week and are correcting this week. 
 

Modern Cards
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
$31.45
$32.20
($0.75)
-2%
$21.42
$21.22
$0.20
1%
$23.49
$24.85
($1.36)
-5%
$19.09
$18.14
$0.95
5%
$13.78
$11.20
$2.58
23%
$26.24
$27.45
($1.21)
-4%
$18.76
$19.15
($0.39)
-2%
$34.90
$41.44
($6.54)
-16%
$30.68
$31.87
($1.19)
-4%
$30.31
$29.80
$0.51
2%
$22.46
$14.03
$8.43
60%
$20.74
$19.13
$1.61
8%
$92.32
$91.34
$0.98
1%
$18.25
$20.66
($2.41)
-12%
$27.06
$27.50
($0.44)
-2%
$23.75
$23.65
$0.10
0%
$31.30
$26.27
$5.03
19%
$23.68
$23.88
($0.20)
-1%
$15.65
$15.43
$0.22
1%
$48.10
$48.11
($0.01)
0%
$21.17
$20.93
$0.24
1%
$14.27
$15.25
($0.98)
-6%
$23.59
$27.66
($4.07)
-15%

Legacy and Vintage: Prices for Eternal format cards were reasonably stable this week, although some Power cards were down.   I’m not sure why. The new high stakes Vintage event will add more cards into the mix – at a rate of exactly one copy or each power card per month. That’s not much.
  

Legacy / Vintage Cards
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
$30.32
$30.07
$0.25
1%
$101.10
$104.34
($3.24)
-3%
$21.04
$19.96
$1.08
5%
$16.05
$15.14
$0.91
6%
$46.03
$46.03
$0.00
0%
$28.84
$28.84
$0.00
0%
$22.99
$19.28
$3.71
19%
$25.40
$25.37
$0.03
0%
$22.24
$21.72
$0.52
2%
$120.24
$120.24
$0.00
0%
$23.16
$24.81
($1.65)
-7%
$37.72
$41.12
($3.40)
-8%
$10.85
$12.80
($1.95)
-15%
$173.69
$172.67
$1.02
1%
$64.92
$67.70
($2.78)
-4%
$64.52
$64.52
$0.00
0%
$21.55
$21.58
($0.03)
0%
$19.52
$20.58
($1.06)
-5%
$25.16
$24.76
$0.40
2%
$20.85
$19.78
$1.07
5%
$21.05
$21.05
$0.00
0%
$69.21
$67.05
$2.16
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.   Now with BFZ!
 

Complete Set
Price
Last Week
Change
% Change
Battle for Zendikar
$101.07
$144.48
($43.41)
-30%
Dragons of Tarkir
$142.67
$148.08
($5.41)
-4%
Fate Reforged
$54.22
$53.67
$0.55
1%
Khans of Tarkir
$104.03
$100.91
$3.12
3%
Magic Origins
$137.19
$133.67
$3.52
3%

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.  Not much change this week. Gideon is the new add, and Jace climbed even further. Yay, Standard?
 

Name
Set
Rarity
 Price
Rishadan Port
 MM
Rare
 $ 173.69
Misdirection
 MM
Rare
 $ 120.24
Black Lotus
 VMA
Bonus
 $ 101.10
Liliana of the Veil
 ISD
Mythic Rare
 $   92.32
Wasteland
 TE
Uncommon
 $   71.82
Wasteland
 TPR
Rare
 $   69.21
Show and Tell
 UZ
Rare
 $   64.92
Tangle Wire
 NE
Rare
 $   64.52
Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
 ORI
Mythic Rare
 $   59.22
Tarmogoyf
 FUT
Rare
 $   54.23
Tarmogoyf
 MM2
Mythic Rare
 $   48.33
Tarmogoyf
 MMA
Mythic Rare
 $   48.10
Doomsday
 WL
Rare
 $   46.03
Mox Sapphire
 VMA
Bonus
 $   37.72
Griselbrand
 AVR
Mythic Rare
 $   34.90
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
 BFZ
Mythic Rare
 $   31.59
Auriok Champion
 5DN
Rare
 $   31.45
Scalding Tarn
 ZEN
Rare
 $   31.30
Mox Opal
 SOM
Mythic Rare
 $   30.81
Grove of the Burnwillows
 FUT
Rare
 $   30.68
Ancestral Recall
 VMA
Bonus
 $   30.32
Horizon Canopy
 FUT
Rare
 $   30.31
Ensnaring Bridge
 ST
Rare
 $   29.21
Ensnaring Bridge
 7E
Rare
 $   28.94
Food Chain
 MM
Rare
 $   28.84
Mox Opal
 MM2
Mythic Rare
 $   27.06
Force of Will
 MED
Rare
 $   26.78
Ensnaring Bridge
 8ED
Rare
 $   26.24
Gaea's Cradle
 UZ
Rare
 $   25.40
Toxic Deluge
 C13
Rare
 $   25.16

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 you can own is $ 22,840.  That’s down about $340 from last week.
 

Weekly Highlights:

I have had two colleagues retire this month. I’m part of a very small group, and going from 5 to 3 people has meant most of their work has fallen on me. I’m way too busy to play much Magic. I haven’t even joined a league since the rotation. 
 
Hey, anyone want to come cover my meetings with attorneys so I can play more MTGO? 
 
Anyone?
 
Bummer.
 
 
PRJ
 
“One Million Words” and “3MWords” 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 $8,100, but there are a lot of cards left in the collection. Those cards are being sold at  MTGOTrader’s Buy Price.  
 
 

11 Comments

The non-systematic free stuff by Lagrange at Fri, 10/23/2015 - 14:01
Lagrange's picture

The non-systematic free stuff that they hand out to random accounts are a little annoying. I feel cheated when not receiving any of it.

Why hand out to people who already joined a league. Why not to those of us who have not yet played in any leagues? I spend a of tix drafting probably more than the league players put into the system.

Are the free stuff handed out according to a system? Has the system been announced? I would not feel as cheated if the "rules" were clear from the begining. Secretly favoring some players is crap.

So far I have received this by Paul Leicht at Fri, 10/23/2015 - 14:51
Paul Leicht's picture

So far I have received this nudge twice. The first without any explanation. The second came before the email and then I realized what was going on. But even still I have yet to join a League. Standard is fun sometimes and I have decks built for it but not the kind I'd want to take into competition.

And I suspect it is not favoritism as it is rather arbitrary. There is no discernible pattern except that Pete and I have old accounts maybe.

I agree with you. I didn't by TugaChampion at Fri, 10/23/2015 - 15:33
TugaChampion's picture

I agree with you. I didn't get those and the 80 PPs would have been useful. It feels bad seeing some people get them while getting nothing, especially not knowing anything about it.

I am curious. How old is your by Paul Leicht at Fri, 10/23/2015 - 17:02
Paul Leicht's picture

I am curious. How old is your active account? And what do you do on it mostly?

My active account is from by Lagrange at Fri, 10/23/2015 - 17:18
Lagrange's picture

My active account is from 2008. I play momir and draft.

Is your theory that older accounts with a certain play-style are getting the free stuff? It may fit to you and Pete but the sample size is a little small.

.... another pattern would be that both of you have a first name starting with P ;)

My account age by Rerepete at Fri, 10/23/2015 - 19:17
Rerepete's picture

I don't know how old my account is (V2.5), but I got the "nudge" as well. It is on the account I play test Beta with (Been doing Betas since Shards of Alara).

I've only played leagues on Beta client.

Without checking what year it by TugaChampion at Sat, 10/24/2015 - 12:35
TugaChampion's picture

Without checking what year it was, I started playing mtgo when Future Sight was the latest set. Currently I play Vintage Dailies, Cube drafts, Modern Dailies and sometimes 8mans or Leagues. I played Release Sealeds when they are available and sometimes I join a PPTQ.

I also have newer accounts that I almost never play on and I didn't get it on those either.

I wonder if it has more to do by Rerepete at Fri, 10/23/2015 - 19:19
Rerepete's picture

I wonder if it has more to do with testing Beta, than any other factor, Since it showed up shortly after BFZ BEta finished.

On that I can say I haven't by Paul Leicht at Fri, 10/23/2015 - 21:25
Paul Leicht's picture

On that I can say I haven't done a beta since the Wide Open beta started (other than that one of course). They stopped inviting me around that time and I stopped asking too.

Last time I was in the closed by Lagrange at Sat, 10/24/2015 - 09:07
Lagrange's picture

Last time I was in the closed beta was during the testing of Vintage Masters. I guess that is in between you and Paul. I have not heard Pete talking about being a beta tester recently either.

A few weeks ago, Stephen by Joe Fiorini at Fri, 10/23/2015 - 19:22
Joe Fiorini's picture

A few weeks ago, Stephen Menendian and (someone) wrote an open letter over on Reddit about online Vintage.

Someone = Dr. Rich Shay from the Vintage Super League and top 8 of Vintage Champs 2015