State of the Program for April 19th, 2023
MTGO Socials: Daybreak has set up forums for MTGO, which you can find here. In addition to the Forums, Daybreak has set up a Discord for MTGO. You can get the invite here. MTGO has a Twitter account, and can now add an account for Facebook and Instagram.
Redemption: Redemption is up and running! Remember that redemption runs now until supply is gone. Currently being redeemed are Dominaria United (Both Less Than 10%) and The Brothers' War (About Half-Gone). Phyrexia: All Will Be One's redemption period has started, and March of the Machine will start on May 17.
Challenge Schedule Changing: Two Prelims on Friday nights are now becoming small Challenge events.This helps players in the Asia-Pacific region. Saturday is also getting another Modern Challenge. Both of these are 32 player events. The Saturday 6 a.m. Standard Event is going back to a small event prize structure.
March of the Machine: Events Started yesterday! There are all kinds of events up for it, including Friendly and Competitive Sealed, Best of 1 Drafts and Single Elim and traditional draft queues. Cards are legal in constructed play already and this weekend's events are sure to include some of the great new cards!
Patch Notes: You can check out the notes for this update 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
|
May 3, 2023 |
|
Constructed Leagues End
|
April 18, 2023
|
|
Sealed Leagues End
|
April 18, 2023 |
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:
Ongoing - March of the Machine Release Events
May 3 - Magic 30 Cube Phantom
May 10 - Vintage Cube Phantom
May 24 - Invasion Block Phantom
May 31 - Tempest Remastered Phantom
June 7 - Battle of the Planes Phantom
June 14 - Lord of the Rings Release
Magic Online Format ChallengesThese are high stakes events that happen every weekend. They cost 30 Tix / 300 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:
As March of the Machine comes in like a lion, it's time to do that neat thing were I look at the most successful deck of the past set, thanks to metagame data from MTGGoldfish! Also, it's really hard to find Early Access decks from the event on Arena, and this just seemed a bit easier!
Standard:
Atraxa, Grand Unifier
was the biggest winner from the last set. The fallen angel with a whole city behind her (on top of her?) is a multi-format staple and with the introduction of Battles in March of the Machine, the little value engine is going to continue to be heavily played, in Standard and beyond!
Legacy: Of note, Legacy saw two bans in this time period, as both
Expressive Iteration
and
White Plume Adventurer
were removed from the format.
Modern: Izzet Murktide seems like it is not slowing down, or letting go of the hold that it has on top. 5 Color Creativity, Hammer Time, and Temur Rhinos are not to far behind it.
Pauper: Burn has really controlled some of the bigger decks in the format, it's low to the ground, quick, a real gym rat of a deck.
Pioneer: I am actually surprised that Rakdos Midrange is number one, doesn't matter if I don't like it, I just down and write it.
Thanks Nelly.
The Winner's Circle is where I will recognize winners of the past events on MTGO.
Challenge Winners
Friday Modern - Bullwinkkle6705 - Temur Rhinos
Saturday Legacy - Garpona - Storm
Saturday Modern - JuanmaAT - Rakdos Scam
Saturday Modern - Bullwinkkle6705 - Temur Rhinos
Saturday Pauper - Mogged - Blue Ninjas
Saturday Pioneer - sMann2.0 - Gruul Vehicles
Saturday Standard - No Event Reported
Saturday Vintage - karatedom
Sunday Legacy - Mr_VVizard - Karn Echo
Sunday Modern - anast1997 - Izzet Murktide
Sunday Pauper - VanillaJames - Emerge Tron
Sunday Pioneer - MrCafouillette - Dimir Control
Sunday Standard - Misplacedginger - Jund Midrange
Sunday Vintage - Yamaro
Other Event Winners
Pauper Super Qualifier
Vintage Super Qualifier
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:
Loran of the Third Path
came off the list.
Shipwreck Marsh
also came off the list.
| Standard Cards |
Price |
Last Week |
Change |
% Change |
Phyrexian Fleshgorger |
$6.30 |
$7.17 |
-$0.87 |
-12% |
Brotherhood's End |
$6.26 |
$7.04 |
-$0.78 |
-11% |
Cityscape Leveler |
$27.79 |
$27.04 |
$0.75 |
3% |
Portal to Phyrexia |
$7.02 |
$6.92 |
$0.10 |
1% |
Titania, Voice of Gaea |
$6.37 |
$6.27 |
$0.10 |
2% |
Urza, Lord Protector |
$5.59 |
$5.49 |
$0.10 |
2% |
One with the Multiverse |
$8.49 |
$8.19 |
$0.30 |
4% |
Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor |
$4.76 |
$5.66 |
-$0.90 |
-16% |
The Stone Brain |
$9.31 |
$11.41 |
-$2.10 |
-18% |
Teferi,Temporal Pilgrim |
$5.34 |
$5.04 |
$0.30 |
6% |
Leyline Binding |
$26.73 |
$26.21 |
$0.52 |
2% |
Liliana of the Veil |
$6.42 |
$6.57 |
-$0.15 |
-2% |
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse |
$38.81 |
$53.20 |
-$14.39 |
-27% |
Karn's Sylex |
$5.80 |
$6.76 |
-$0.96 |
-14% |
Serra Paragon |
$4.99 |
$5.47 |
-$0.48 |
-9% |
Memory Deluge |
$11.10 |
$10.88 |
$0.22 |
2% |
Brutal Cathar |
$5.22 |
$5.89 |
-$0.67 |
-11% |
Bloodthirsty Adversary |
$7.27 |
$7.75 |
-$0.48 |
-6% |
Boseiju, Who Endures |
$38.85 |
$44.04 |
-$5.19 |
-12% |
Otawara, Soaring City |
$11.33 |
$11.81 |
-$0.48 |
-4% |
The Wandering Emperor |
$10.17 |
$10.44 |
-$0.27 |
-3% |
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker |
$50.21 |
$53.66 |
-$3.45 |
-6% |
| Atraxa, Grand Unifier |
$72.71 |
$75.35 |
-$2.64 |
-4% |
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines |
$10.35 |
$10.61 |
-$0.26 |
-2% |
Jace, the Perfected Mind |
$6.72 |
|
|
|
Ledger Shredder |
$12.73 |
$14.06 |
-$1.33 |
-9% |
Unlicensed Hearse |
$9.11 |
$10.57 |
-$1.46 |
-14% |
Raffine, Scheming Seer |
$8.61 |
$9.28 |
-$0.67 |
-7% |
Stormcarved Coast |
$11.99 |
$8.52 |
$3.47 |
41% |
Wedding Announcement |
$8.57 |
$13.41 |
-$4.84 |
-36% |
Modern Staples:
Eternal Staples:
Carpet of Flowers
has fallen off the list.
Pioneer Staples:
Treasure Vault
is back on the list, I guess stocked with the treasures?
Collected Company
is off the list. We've cast three instants or sorceries as well, because
Arclight Phoenix
is back on the list.
Necromentia
is also gone again.
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 Time |
Change |
% Change |
| The Brothers' War |
$143.42 |
$149.00 |
($5.58) |
-4% |
| Dominaria United |
$123.17 |
$137.36 |
($14.19) |
-10% |
| Innistrad: Crimson Vow |
$63.44 |
$65.49 |
($2.05) |
-3% |
| Innistrad: Midnight Hunt |
$85.71 |
$89.32 |
($3.61) |
-4% |
| Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty |
$134.61 |
$143.63 |
($9.02) |
-6% |
| March of the Machine |
|
|
|
|
| March of the Machine Booster |
$3.49 |
|
|
|
| Phyrexia: All Will Be One |
$284.87 |
$323.21 |
($38.34) |
-12% |
| Phyrexia: All Will Be One Booster |
$1.84 |
$2.81 |
($0.97) |
-35% |
| Streets of New Capenna |
$52.47 |
$56.58 |
($4.11) |
-7% |
| Treasure Chest Booster |
$2.44 |
$2.39 |
$0.05 |
2% |
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 |
242.1 |
| Mox Jet |
1E |
Rare |
109.71 |
| Ancestral Recall |
1E |
Rare |
93.05 |
| Atraxa, Grand Unifier |
ONE |
Mythic |
72.71 |
| Time Walk |
1E |
Rare |
71.85 |
| Mox Sapphire |
1E |
Rare |
66.9 |
| Mox Emerald |
1E |
Rare |
57.16 |
| Mox Pearl |
1E |
Rare |
53.62 |
| Liliana of the Veil |
UBT |
Mythic |
53.49 |
| Fable of the Mirror-Breaker |
NEO |
Rare |
50.21 |
| Mox Ruby |
1E |
Rare |
49.24 |
| Atraxa, Grand Unifier |
ONE |
Promo |
46.32 |
| Force of Will |
MED |
Rare |
46.01 |
| Aether Gale |
C14 |
Rare |
44.26 |
| Cavern of Souls |
UBT |
Mythic |
43.68 |
| Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth |
UBT |
Mythic |
42.52 |
| Karakas |
UBT |
Mythic |
42.2 |
| Boseiju, Who Endures |
NEO |
Rare |
38.85 |
| Sheoldred, the Apocalypse |
DMU |
Mythic |
38.81 |
| Demonic Tutor |
UBT |
Mythic |
38.79 |
| Sheoldred, the Apocalypse |
ONE |
Promo |
37.9 |
| Urza's Saga |
MH2 |
Rare |
36.23 |
| Dark Depths |
UBT |
Mythic |
36.05 |
| Wasteland |
ZNE |
Mythic |
35.57 |
| Pramikon, Sky Rampart |
C19 |
Mythic |
33.83 |
| Snapcaster Mage |
UBT |
Mythic |
32.7 |
| Timetwister |
1E |
Rare |
32.67 |
| Opposition Agent |
CMR |
Rare |
32.03 |
| Gaea's Cradle |
UZ |
Rare |
31.68 |
| Flooded Strand |
ZNE |
Mythic |
31.52 |
| Kozilek, Butcher of Truth |
UBT |
Mythic |
31.43 |
| Fury |
MH2 |
Mythic |
30.64 |
| Jace, the Mind Sculptor |
MS4 |
Mythic |
28.8 |
| Mox Diamond |
ST |
Rare |
28.71 |
| Cityscape Leveler |
BRO |
Mythic |
27.79 |
| Mana Confluence |
JOU |
Rare |
26.76 |
| Leyline Binding |
DMU |
Rare |
26.73 |
| Shark Typhoon |
IKO |
Rare |
25.9 |
| Breath of Fire |
PZ2 |
Common |
25.26 |
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.
Last week, when I posted the column, I know it sucked. I got most of it done before Wednesday, and had an appointment at an Ear Nose and Throat doctor to maybe see what is is going on with me and why I can't swallow most food anymore. I woke up, took a dose of the drug that helps sedate me and got ready to go, knowing I was going to post the article after I got back.
I failed to get there. I had an incredibly bad panic attack on the way out of town, and turned around and came home. I think things are all tied to motion sickness, but I also know I am tired of this, and by this I mean things that I used to do, not doing it for me anymore.
This week was better.
This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic” Friborg.
