State of the Program for April 23rd, 2021
FNM at Home: Featuring MrBeast: April 23rd, you can play in the FNM at Home event and play in a preconstructed deck event on the client. From 11am to Noon PT, is when the games matter most apparently. You have to play all the way through, no early concessions in order to be eligible, win or lose. If you played against the YouTuber you'll be contacted and potentially win $25,000. For all the important information, go here!
Strixhaven and Commander 2021 Release Notes: This one is fairly simple. It's the notes and official rules for all the cool new stuff in Strixhaven and Commander 2021! You can check out the important document here.
In-Store Play suspensions: Lifted in Japan, it will also be lifted in Africa on May 1st. The next update comes on May 12th.
Dr. Lair's Secretorium Superdrop: It's time for another Superdrop! From April 26th to May 28th, you can purchase one of, or all of, eight Secret Lairs. Some of these include the Strixhaven Showcase and Shocklands that were recently spoiled on MTGO. The others are full text basic lands, and hand drawn concert poster style cards. You can see all the info 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
|
June 2nd, 2021 |
Constructed Leagues End
|
Ends July 7th, 2021
|
Sealed Leagues End
|
Ends July 8th, 2021 |
Next B&R
|
Unknown
|
Kaldheim Redemption
|
Ends June 23, 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:
April 21st - Strixhaven Supreme Draft
April 28th - New Cube
May 5th - Emma Handy's Proliferate Cube returns!
May 12th - Legacy Cube
May 26th - New Cube
April 25th - Time Spiral Remastered Leagues end.
April 24th - Strixhaven Super Sealed Qualifier
April 25th - Time Spiral Remasted Sealed Qualifier
Magic Online Format Challenges
These 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:
Standard: Prismari really does seem like the early leader for popularity in Standard. I'm not sure how long it's going to stay this way, but score one for the art kids at least?
Historic: Historic seems to have turned in to a combo format, take this Grixis
Tainted Pact
deck for one. This is a two card combo that revolves around
Tainted Pact
and
Thassa's Oracle
. It's possible to win on turn three in paper, but not on arena, because of the amount of clicks needed to empty your deck with Pact. It's a fairly consistant deck in the format though, and you can follow the discussion
here.
Legacy: I am so used to this deck having
Vampire Hexmage
and it's just apparently dropped Black from the deck?
Modern: I adore this, and the amount of play that
Indomitable Creativity
is getting across Historic, Modern and Pioneer. Some decks are getting copies of
Primeval Titan
or
Terror of the Peaks
, others are getting
Sage of the Falls
and
The Locust God
. This one getting
Velomachus Lorehold
and immediately playing an extra turn card should get this deck rolling in regards to never not having another turn!
Pauper:
First Day of Class
is an exciting card to have from Strixhaven!
Pioneer:
Vintage:
The Winner's Circle is where I will recognize winners of the past events on MTGO.
Challenge Winners
Saturday Legacy - Kazuga - Izzet Delver
Saturday Modern - Xerk - Dredge
Saturday Pauper - murilobds - Burn
Saturday Pioneer - Mcleskey - Boros Prowess
Saturday Standard - _Cygnus - Snow White
Saturday Vintage - WhiTe TsaR
Sunday Legacy - mechint - Lands
Sunday Modern - Meltiin - Bring to Light
Sunday Pauper - c_is_for_cookie - Elves
Sunday Pioneer - azatoyellow - Izzet Phoenix
Sunday Standard - ht991122 - Rakdos Aggro
Sunday Vintage - Phill_Hellmuth
Other Event Winners
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: Six cards from Strixhaven has made the list! Prismari seems to be the most popular school right now, considering four of the new cards are blue and red!
Modern Staples: Nothing new here this week.
Eternal Staples:
Jeweled Lotus
was added to the list this week, because it started to make the rounds on the internet that it was broken in Legacy. It's no
Goblin Charbelcher
so I'll take everyone else's word for it! In addition to that Lotus, we have two pieces of the Power 9 coming on to the list for the first time in a long time.
Mox Jet
and
Mox Sapphire
both crossed the five dollar mark recently.
Pioneer Staples: Two cards came off this week,
Lotus Field
and
Thought-Knot Seer
are gone.
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 |
$62.83 |
$71.94 |
($9.11) |
-13% |
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths |
$53.72 |
$56.00 |
($2.28) |
-4% |
Kaldheim |
$162.53 |
$160.27 |
$2.26 |
1% |
Strixhaven: School of Mages |
$146.26 |
$154.44 |
($8.18) |
-5% |
Strixhaven: School of Mages Booster |
$3.29 |
$3.43 |
($0.14) |
-4% |
Theros Beyond Death |
$92.58 |
$99.17 |
($6.59) |
-7% |
Throne of Eldraine |
$137.71 |
$148.83 |
($11.12) |
-7% |
Treasure Chest |
$2.48 |
$2.46 |
$0.02 |
1% |
Zendikar Rising |
$145.40 |
$158.91 |
($13.51) |
-9% |
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 |
156.05 |
Snapcaster Mage |
UBT |
Mythic |
104.85 |
Cavern of Souls |
UBT |
Mythic |
91.95 |
Liliana of the Veil |
UBT |
Mythic |
91.59 |
Karakas |
UBT |
Mythic |
91.51 |
Hullbreacher |
CMR |
Rare |
91.13 |
Force of Negation |
MH1 |
Rare |
78.99 |
Mox Jet |
1E |
Rare |
75.39 |
Force of Will |
MED |
Rare |
70.19 |
Wasteland |
TE |
Uncommon |
68.37 |
Time Walk |
1E |
Rare |
67.43 |
Wrenn and Six |
MH1 |
Mythic |
66.59 |
Ancestral Recall |
1E |
Rare |
66.26 |
Mox Sapphire |
1E |
Rare |
65.67 |
Wasteland |
ZNE |
Mythic |
64.98 |
Mox Emerald |
1E |
Rare |
63.15 |
Wasteland |
EXP |
Mythic |
61.58 |
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth |
UBT |
Mythic |
54.71 |
Wasteland |
TPR |
Rare |
54.51 |
Dark Depths |
UBT |
Mythic |
54.09 |
Wasteland |
EMA |
Rare |
52.64 |
Force of Will |
2XM |
Mythic |
52.44 |
Force of Will |
MS3 |
Mythic |
51.86 |
Verdant Catacombs |
ZNE |
Mythic |
50.99 |
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale |
ME3 |
Rare |
49.61 |
Prismari Command |
STX |
Rare |
46.93 |
Jace, the Mind Sculptor |
MS4 |
Mythic |
46.88 |
Valki, God of Lies |
KHM |
Mythic |
46.53 |
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow |
PZ2 |
Rare |
46.1 |
Ethereal Forager |
C20 |
Rare |
45.51 |
Force of Will |
EMA |
Mythic |
44.94 |
Scourge of the Skyclaves |
ZNR |
Mythic |
44.21 |
Force of Will |
VMA |
Rare |
43.92 |
Demonic Tutor |
UBT |
Mythic |
43.88 |
Mox Ruby |
1E |
Rare |
43.67 |
Mox Pearl |
1E |
Rare |
41.81 |
Karn Liberated |
UBT |
Mythic |
41.43 |
City of Traitors |
EX |
Rare |
40.9 |
Cavern of Souls |
ZNE |
Mythic |
40.66 |
Noble Hierarch |
UBT |
Mythic |
40.25 |
Purple-Crystal Crab |
PZ2 |
Common |
39.84 |
City of Traitors |
TPR |
Rare |
38.57 |
Underground Sea |
ME4 |
Rare |
36.96 |
Opposition Agent |
CMR |
Rare |
36.61 |
Auriok Champion |
IMA |
Rare |
36.55 |
Karn, the Great Creator |
WAR |
Rare |
36.06 |
Underground Sea |
ME2 |
Rare |
35.78 |
Liliana, the Last Hope |
MS4 |
Mythic |
35.47 |
Platinum Emperion |
UBT |
Mythic |
35.36 |
Mox Diamond |
TPR |
Mythic |
35.01 |
Scalding Tarn |
ZNE |
Mythic |
34.93 |
Timetwister |
1E |
Rare |
34.9 |
Celestial Colonnade |
UBT |
Mythic |
34.34 |
Mox Diamond |
ST |
Rare |
34.21 |
Verdant Catacombs |
EXP |
Mythic |
34.05 |
Carpet of Flowers |
UZ |
Uncommon |
33.31 |
Mox Diamond |
V10 |
Mythic |
32.32 |
Heavenly Qilin |
PZ2 |
Common |
32.18 |
Teferi, Time Raveler |
WAR |
Rare |
31.85 |
Ancient Tomb |
ZNE |
Mythic |
31.61 |
Allosaurus Shepherd |
JMP |
Mythic |
31.52 |
Wooded Foothills |
ZNE |
Mythic |
31.15 |
Misty Rainforest |
ZNE |
Mythic |
30.44 |
Hexdrinker |
MH1 |
Mythic |
30.11 |
Scalding Tarn |
EXP |
Mythic |
29.6 |
Seasoned Pyromancer |
MH1 |
Mythic |
29.43 |
Polluted Delta |
ONS |
Rare |
28.5 |
Polluted Delta |
ZNE |
Mythic |
28.22 |
Cavern of Souls |
UMA |
Mythic |
28.21 |
Skyclave Apparition |
ZNR |
Rare |
27.68 |
Brazen Borrower |
ELD |
Mythic |
27.59 |
Cavern of Souls |
MM3 |
Mythic |
27.08 |
Lotus Petal |
MS2 |
Bonus |
26.86 |
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria |
MS4 |
Mythic |
26.41 |
Creeping Tar Pit |
UBT |
Mythic |
26.41 |
Ancient Tomb |
EXP |
Mythic |
26.08 |
Bitterblossom |
UBT |
Mythic |
25.57 |
Lotus Petal |
TPR |
Uncommon |
25.55 |
Lotus Petal |
TE |
Common |
25.37 |
Life from the Loam |
UBT |
Mythic |
25.29 |
Earthshaking Si |
PZ2 |
Common |
25.23 |
Misty Rainforest |
EXP |
Mythic |
25.19 |
Doomsday |
WL |
Rare |
25.12 |
Fulminator Mage |
UBT |
Mythic |
25.07 |
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 $28,210. Last week it was $29,570. This the second consecutive slide of the Big number. Went down $760.
I turn 41 on Sunday, and that is just a marvelous number I think. Soon after, my son turns 14, and that's less marvelous. Not because he's solidly a teenager, but because he's getting older, and I want him to stay young forever, like I think most parents do for their kids. It's amazing how quickly 14 years went by.
This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic” Friborg.