State of the Program for April 10th, 2020
State of MTGO: This article, from Chris Kiritz will be out Friday on MTGO.com. Also coming out will be the article about the Ikoria changes on MTGO as well.
Super Qualifiers: These events have enhanced prizes, first and second place both pick up invites, and are open to all players. The schedule will change weekly, so you can see that here. They have been scheduled through April 16th already. These cost 40 tickets, 400 play points or 40 QPs to enter. You can get all the info here. .
FNM at home: Third one starts today! Check with your LGS to see if they are participating. Today's FNM at home is Historic Braw. You can read about it here.
MagicFest Online: ChannelFireball has started a weekly tournament series to take the place of paper MagicFests. They are also selling MagicFests in a Box. With these local game stores can also benefit whenever you play in one of these or buy a box set. Entry a code provided to you from your local store and they will get a percentage of the fees collected. You can read about MagicFest Online here.
More Cancellations: Whole bunch of stuff was canceled last week. You can see the list and changes here. This includes MagicFests through June 19. 2020.
Showcase Challenge Weekend: Remember this weekend, other than Vintage, regular format challenges are not happening.
Rivals League Gets New Members: Magic Esports has announced that eight players will be receiving extended invitations to next season’s Rivals League: Corey Burkhart, Kenta Harane, Shintaro Ishimura, Zazhary Kiihne, Joel Larson, Yuta Takahasi, Brent Vos, and Jacob Wilson.
Ban list warning: The Twitter account said an article was coming on April 13 to talk about a new ban. They said it would involve Brawl only, and involve an otter.
Ikoria Spoilers: Tokens are here. Regular cards are here. Variants are here. The Godzilla cards are something I really like.
Commander 2020 Spoilers: The image gallery for the Commander 2020 product is here.
Magic Artist Thomas Gianni Passes Away: We extend our sincerest condolences to the friends and family of Thomas Gianni. You can view his art here.
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
|
April 15, 2020 |
Constructed Leagues End
|
April 15, 2020
|
Sealed Leagues End
|
April 16, 2020
|
Next B&R Announcement
|
April 13, 2020
|
|
|
Theros: Beyond Death Redem
|
Starts February 12, 2020
|
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths Redem
|
Starts May 13, 2020
Redemption guarantee July 29, 2020
Ends September 2, 2020
|
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
|
April 16, 2020
|
Core Set 2021
Zendikar Rising
|
Third Quarter 2020
Fourth Quarter 2020
|
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:
Showcase challenges all weekend!
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 6:00 am PT
Saturday, 8:00 am PT
|
|
Saturday, 10:00 am PT
Sunday 6:00 am PT
|
|
Sunday, 8:00 am PT
|
|
Sunday, 10:00 am PT
|
Standard: With Ikoria coming out next week, I don't see the need to showcase a format that will be changing. Next week though, I am going to bring some sweet decks to this section!
Legacy: This to me, is a sweet deck with multiple combo finishes, you have the
Vampire Hexmage
and
Dark Depths
combo, as well as a
Tendrils of Agony
combo. There is also
Leyline of the Void
and
Helm of Obedience
and if that isn't enough for you, look at the sideboard and what
Karn, the Great Creator
can get, that's right,
Painter's Servant
and
Grindstone
.
What a neat deck!
Modern: Can't believe in 2020 we're calling decks with three
Pillage
in them Ponza. It hurts me.
Well it doesn't but can I be just a little dramatic?
Pauper: Ban
Ghostly Flicker
and
Ephemerate
2020 Challenge.
Pioneer: For when you want to play Hearthstone, but get tired of facing the same Demon Hunter deck all the time, just load up mtgo and pick a
Teferi, Time Raveler
deck. Sure, you're playing Magic, but when the walker sticks, your opponent isn't.
Vintage: There is only six walkers in this deck and I have no idea what to actually call this.
The Winner's Circle is where I will recognize winners of the past events on MTGO. I apologize to the players I missed last week.
Challenge Winners
Legacy - MM_17 - Bant Snow
Modern - Mordekaiser - Bring to Niv
Pauper - RClint21 - Tron
Pioneer - mahzinha_linda - Mono Black Aggro
Standard - Dazai - UW Control
Vintage - GGoggles - Urza
MTGOTraders YouTube: Did you know that MTGOTraders.com has a YouTube page with videos added Monday, Wednesday and Friday? Well if not, now you do, and you can find it here!
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:
Standard Cards |
Price |
Last Week |
Change |
% Change |
Brazen Borrower |
$30.09 |
$38.93 |
($8.84) |
-23% |
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King |
$7.61 |
$9.41 |
($1.80) |
-19% |
Questing Beast |
$7.67 |
$10.86 |
($3.19) |
-29% |
Alela, Artful Provocateur |
$7.16 |
$8.18 |
($1.02) |
-12% |
Chulane, Teller of Tales |
$5.43 |
$6.00 |
($0.57) |
-10% |
Fabled Passage |
$9.04 |
$15.35 |
($6.31) |
-41% |
Bonecrusher Giant |
$5.48 |
$5.04 |
$0.44 |
9% |
Embercleave |
$5.51 |
$6.24 |
($0.73) |
-12% |
The Great Henge |
$4.82 |
$6.75 |
($1.93) |
-29% |
Arclight Phoenix |
$5.07 |
$4.57 |
$0.50 |
11% |
Assassin's Trophy |
$7.99 |
$7.29 |
$0.70 |
10% |
Chandra, Awakened Inferno |
$15.31 |
$14.57 |
$0.74 |
5% |
Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord |
$8.51 |
$8.75 |
($0.24) |
-3% |
Leyline of the Void |
$10.19 |
$9.65 |
$0.54 |
6% |
Vivien, Arkbow Ranger |
$22.27 |
$32.27 |
($10.00) |
-31% |
Ajani, Strength of the Pride |
$7.66 |
$7.04 |
$0.62 |
9% |
Cavalier of Thorns |
$6.70 |
$7.58 |
($0.88) |
-12% |
Lotus Field |
$4.98 |
$4.61 |
$0.37 |
8% |
Cavalier of Flame |
$5.06 |
$5.00 |
$0.06 |
1% |
Grafdigger's Cage |
$6.52 |
|
|
|
Deputy of Detention |
$5.57 |
$6.01 |
($0.44) |
-7% |
Kaya, Orzhov Usurper |
$4.48 |
$4.54 |
($0.06) |
-1% |
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath |
$47.42 |
$50.27 |
($2.85) |
-6% |
Heliod, Sun-Crowned |
$7.82 |
$10.94 |
($3.12) |
-29% |
Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger |
$10.64 |
$15.27 |
($4.63) |
-30% |
Ox of Agonas |
$3.42 |
$4.57 |
($1.15) |
-25% |
Teferi, Time Raveler |
$52.29 |
$64.98 |
($12.69) |
-20% |
Finale of Devastation |
$7.05 |
$7.83 |
($0.78) |
-10% |
Karn, the Great Creator |
$34.70 |
$46.36 |
($11.66) |
-25% |
Dreadhorde Arcanist |
$14.80 |
$15.00 |
($0.20) |
-1% |
Blast Zone |
$15.05 |
$16.23 |
($1.18) |
-7% |
Gideon Blackblade |
$4.28 |
$5.77 |
($1.49) |
-26% |
Niv-Mizzet Reborn |
$7.87 |
$9.91 |
($2.04) |
-21% |
Jace, Wielder of Mysteries |
$7.61 |
$12.88 |
($5.27) |
-41% |
Nissa, Who Shakes the World |
$3.55 |
$6.17 |
($2.62) |
-42% |
Modern Staples:
Eternal Staples: Whole bunch of new stuff on the list here, not sure if it's seeing eternal play, or if because Commander stuff has popped off recently.
Pioneer Staples:
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 2020 |
$220.23 |
$220.71 |
($0.48) |
0% |
Guilds of Ravnica |
$52.02 |
$50.71 |
$1.31 |
3% |
Modern Horizons |
$349.03 |
$427.00 |
($77.97) |
-18% |
Ravnica Allegiances |
$60.98 |
$56.54 |
$4.44 |
8% |
Theros Beyond Death |
$107.29 |
$151.65 |
($44.36) |
-29% |
Theros Beyond Death Booster |
$3.19 |
$3.30 |
($0.11) |
-3% |
Throne of Eldraine |
$151.05 |
$174.39 |
($23.34) |
-13% |
Treasure Chest |
$2.19 |
$2.05 |
$0.14 |
7% |
War of the Spark |
$191.08 |
$226.98 |
($35.90) |
-16% |
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 |
203.67 |
Wrenn and Six |
MH1 |
Mythic |
90.25 |
Karn Liberated |
UBT |
Mythic |
80.22 |
Mox Sapphire |
1E |
Rare |
75.02 |
Snapcaster Mage |
UBT |
Mythic |
72.2 |
Lord Windgrace |
PZ2 |
Mythic |
71.95 |
Liliana of the Veil |
UBT |
Mythic |
68.86 |
Mox Emerald |
1E |
Rare |
65.1 |
Ancestral Recall |
1E |
Rare |
62.93 |
Mox Jet |
1E |
Rare |
61.04 |
Force of Negation |
MH1 |
Rare |
58.86 |
Mox Ruby |
1E |
Rare |
53.19 |
Noble Hierarch |
UBT |
Mythic |
52.52 |
Force of Will |
MED |
Rare |
52.48 |
Teferi, Time Raveler |
WAR |
Rare |
52.29 |
Dark Depths |
V16 |
Mythic |
48.41 |
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath |
THB |
Mythic |
47.42 |
Unmask |
V16 |
Mythic |
46.24 |
Time Walk |
1E |
Rare |
45.78 |
Dark Depths |
UBT |
Mythic |
43.56 |
Cavern of Souls |
UBT |
Mythic |
43.54 |
Mox Pearl |
1E |
Rare |
42.06 |
Mox Diamond |
ST |
Rare |
41.72 |
Jace, the Mind Sculptor |
MS4 |
Mythic |
41.29 |
Force of Will |
MS3 |
Mythic |
40.12 |
Tuvasa the Sunlit |
PZ2 |
Mythic |
39.56 |
Force of Will |
VMA |
Rare |
39.27 |
Wasteland |
TE |
Uncommon |
38.82 |
Karakas |
UBT |
Mythic |
38.41 |
Expropriate |
PZ2 |
Mythic |
38.39 |
Force of Will |
EMA |
Mythic |
37.66 |
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow |
PZ2 |
Rare |
36.4 |
Liliana, the Last Hope |
MS4 |
Mythic |
35.91 |
Karn, the Great Creator |
WAR |
Rare |
34.7 |
Wasteland |
TPR |
Rare |
34.08 |
Timetwister |
1E |
Rare |
34 |
Mox Diamond |
TPR |
Mythic |
31.89 |
Tarmogoyf |
UBT |
Mythic |
30.36 |
Brazen Borrower |
ELD |
Mythic |
30.09 |
Celestial Colonnade |
UBT |
Mythic |
29.89 |
Ancient Tomb |
UBT |
Mythic |
29.73 |
Dockside Extortionist |
C19 |
Rare |
29.64 |
Ancient Tomb |
UMA |
Rare |
29.01 |
Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer |
PZ2 |
Mythic |
28.82 |
Ancient Tomb |
TE |
Uncommon |
28.13 |
Ice-Fang Coatl |
MH1 |
Rare |
27.65 |
City of Traitors |
EX |
Rare |
27.54 |
Mishra's Bauble |
IMA |
Uncommon |
26.87 |
Ancient Tomb |
EXP |
Mythic |
26.79 |
Estrid, the Masked |
PZ2 |
Mythic |
26.46 |
Mishra's Bauble |
CSP |
Uncommon |
26.33 |
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria |
MS4 |
Mythic |
26.23 |
Mana Confluence |
EXP |
Mythic |
26 |
Misty Rainforest |
EXP |
Mythic |
25.72 |
Wasteland |
EXP |
Mythic |
25.57 |
Mox Diamond |
V10 |
Mythic |
25.13 |
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 $24,469.88. The last time I had a number to report, back on March 20th, the number was $22,580. We've got an increase of $1,889.88. Next week, I am forecasting another increase because well, a new set will be on the client!
I actually started to write this on Wednesday, right before a tornado watch was issued. I stopped writing after it was. just felt like maybe writing these are a jynx or something. Got a ton of wind last night, a little bit of hail, and a driving rain. It was loud wind, the kind that roars, and would have maybe been good kite flying weather if not for the lightning and such. Spent a lot of time on Animal Crossing this week, as well as playing a lot of Commander on MTGO. Siona, Captain of the Pyleas
and Shielded by Faith
is a pretty dope combo.
I mean I had fun.
Not sure if anyone else did.
This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic” Friborg.