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By: JXClaytor, Joshua Claytor
Feb 12 2021 1:00pm
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State of the Program for February 12th, 2021
 
In the News

Live the Dream Cube:  It's back, and it has some changes.  You can check out the article detailing those and the archetypes here

Qualifier Weekend:  Friday, Saturday and Sunday we see three new qualifiers for the Kaldheim Champion on MTGA.  You can try to qualify for this event playing Limited, Legacy or Modern this weekend.  You can read more about it here.

Smitten Super Drop
:  To celebrate Valentine's Day (What time is it?  It's Valentimes!)  Wizards of the Coast is not giving us several boys, but instead several Secret Lair drops!  They come in a mix of foil and non foil.  The first one is Faerie Faerie Faerie Rad, which comes in foil only, and features Spellstutter Sprite, Mistbind Clique, Glen Elendra Archmage and Vendilion Clique.  The Unfathomable crushing Brutality of Basic Lands features yes you guessed it, 1 on of each basic land, in either foil or non-foil.  Valentine's Day 2021 features both foil and non-foil offerings of Heliod, Sun-Crowned, Boros Charm, Goblin Rabblemaster, Monastery Swiftspear and Gisela, Blade of Goldnight.  You also get a goblin token with it.  The Kaldheim Showcase frames are also being showed off on some old favorites as well.  Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath, Frost Titan and Primeval Titan are in one drop, while Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger, Grave Titan and Inferno Titan are in the second.  Both are in foil or not.  You can also buy them all as one bundle.  For pricing and pictures, go here

Banned Changes:  It's not offical yet, but in the Secret Lair article, it is mentioned that Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath is going to be banned in Historic, Modern and Pioneer.  They have not made any decision in it's status for Legacy.  Expect the full announcement later on the 15th. 

Arena Open:  It's limited and it's on the 20th and 21st of this month!  Here are the details

Black is Magic Secret Lair:  The next three cards in the Secret Lair were previewed recently.  Joining Ponder and Shalai, Voice of Plenty is Cultivate, Kaya, Ghost Assassin and Teferi, Hero of Dominaria.  We will see the rest of the cards next week, on the 16th.  You can read the Designing article here, and the product details here

The Timeline

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
February 24, 2021
Constructed Leagues End
April 14, 2021
Sealed Leagues End
April 15, 2021
Next B&R
Unknown
Zendikar Rising Redemption
Ends April 7th, 2021
Kaldheim Redemption
Begins February 24, 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:

February 10 - 17 - David McDarby's Live the Dream Cube
February 17 - 24 - Modern Horizons Encore Draft.  You keep the cards you draft! 
February 24 - March 3 - Ultimate Masters Flashback
March 3 - March 24 - Vintage Cube
March 24 - March 31 - Time Spiral Remasted Supreme Draft
March 31 - April 7 - New Spotlight Cube
April 7 - April 14 - Another new Spotlight Cube
 
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:

TIME (PT) SATURDAY SUNDAY
12:00 a.m.   Vintage Challenge
2:00 a.m. Pauper Challenge  
4:00 a.m. Legacy Challenge Modern Challenge
6:00 a.m. Standard Challenge Pioneer Challenge
8:00 a.m. Modern Challenge Legacy Challenge
10:00 a.m. Vintage Challenge Pauper Challenge
2:00 p.m. Pioneer Challenge Standard Challenge
 
 



Cutting Edge Tech

Standard: Willy Edel coming through with a sweet looking Standard deck in the format now.  You can almost be assured that he will have something that attacks the field early in the season.  Of course, a Hall of Famer should do that! 


HistoricSmothering Tithe in a format that isn't Commander?  Sign me right up to play that! 

Legacy:  I'm not entirely sure but the interaction with double faced cards and Cascade is a thing that should be looked it.  If I can't cast the Bust side of Boom // Bust, they shouldn't be able to cast the flip side of Valki.  The fix seems easy, and it seems to help out the formats that this deck is harming. 

Modern: Again, justice for Boom // Bust. 


Pauper:  Some of these decks use mand destruction, this one seems to be more focused on value from cards that can be cascaded in to. 


Pioneer:  I wonder how this bans are going to effect Pioneer.  Looking forward to the format!


Vintage: Oath always seems like one of those super fun decks. 



 
Winner's Circle

The Winner's Circle is where I will recognize winners of the past events on MTGO. 

Challenge Winners

Saturday Legacy - Ark4n - Tibalt Cascade but with CounterMagic
Saturday Modern - SmokinBacon27 - Tibalt Cascade
Saturday Pauper - dragon7k - Dimir Control
Saturday Pioneer - _Batutinha_ - Boros Prowess
Saturday Standard - Sapoa - Rakdos Aggro
Saturday Vintage - KelMasterP

Sunday Legacy - Gul_Dukat - Temur Delver
Sunday Modern - Do0mSwitch - Tibalt Cascade
Sunday Pauper - aarong - Gruul Cascade
Sunday Pioneer - Gozzito - Oops! All Spells
Sunday Standard - Paskardi - Boros Aggro
Sunday Vintage - Kenzaburo

Other Event Winners

Sealed Kaldheim Block Qualifier - NightShadowJ and ShawnDanger


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 a decade and a half now, and have never been overcharged or disappointed.
 
Standard Staples: General Kudro of Drannith has fallen off the list.  Teferi, Master of Time is gone, Liliana, Waker of the Dead went to go find him. 
Standard Cards Price Last Week Change % Change
Brazen Borrower $27.30 $14.02 $13.28 95%
Bonecrusher Giant $4.69 $5.81 ($1.12) -19%
The Great Henge $4.51 $5.96 ($1.45) -24%
Shark Typhoon $6.44 $7.63 ($1.19) -16%
Vivien, Monsters' Advocate $4.36 $5.55 ($1.19) -21%
Lurrus of the Dream Den $8.17 $8.49 ($0.32) -4%
Valki, God of Lies $84.70 $82.61 $2.09 3%
Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider $7.70 $9.02 ($1.32) -15%
Goldspan Dragon $10.30 $8.38 $1.92 23%
Terror of the Peaks $5.69 $6.46 ($0.77) -12%
Elder Gargaroth $17.10 $19.83 ($2.73) -14%
Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger 17.6 17.62 ($0.02) 0%
Klothys, God of Destiny 7.47 6.33 $1.14 18%
Heliod, Sun-Crowned 4.85 5.89 ($1.04) -18%
Ox of Agonas 5.99 5.75 $0.24 4%
Scourge of the Skyclaves $30.00 $30.35 ($0.35) -1%
Turntimber Symbiosis $12.00 $12.02 ($0.02) 0%
Agadeem's Awakening $14.60 $14.54 $0.06 0%
Skyclave Apparition $17.90 $16.17 $1.73 11%
Shatterskull Smashing $14.50 $14.84 ($0.34) -2%
Sea Gate Restoration 7.69 7.67 $0.02 0%
Modern Staples:  Seems like a good time to buy Cryptic Commands.  It came off the list today, probably thanks to the Cascade deck.  Seems like that should be fixed as soon as possible.  Collector Ouphe is also gone. Hexdrinker is also gone. 

Gemstone Caverns has jumped on the list. 

Modern Cards Price Last Week Change % Change
Auriok Champion $24.50 $21.63 $2.87 13%
Steelshaper's Gift $9.00 $10.23 ($1.23) -12%
Cavern of Souls $20.20 $20.08 $0.12 1%
Mishra's Bauble $12.00 $10.67 $1.33 12%
Aether Vial $17.00 $14.67 $2.33 16%
Horizon Canopy $9.13 $8.66 $0.47 5%
Pact of Negation $5.36 $6.01 ($0.65) -11%
Liliana of the Veil $11.50 $11.42 $0.08 1%
Polluted Delta $8.44 $7.06 $1.38 20%
Wooded Foothills $6.21 $5.81 $0.40 7%
Flooded Strand $6.00 $5.13 $0.87 17%
Bloodstained Mire $6.42 $5.36 $1.06 20%
Windswept Heath $5.74 $4.80 $0.94 20%
Thoughtseize $6.52 $6.31 $0.21 3%
Field of the Dead $12.40 $14.72 ($2.32) -16%
Elvish Reclaimer $7.25 $7.87 ($0.62) -8%
Force of Negation $96.60 $81.55 $15.05 18%
Wrenn and Six $58.40 $64.29 ($5.89) -9%
Prismatic Vista $11.30 $10.19 $1.11 11%
Sunbaked Canyon $13.60 $10.05 $3.55 35%
Seasoned Pyromancer $42.10 $43.49 ($1.39) -3%
Fiery Islet $9.32 $11.12 ($1.80) -16%
Urza, Lord High Artificer $7.73 $8.50 ($0.77) -9%
Plague Engineer $5.94 $5.47 $0.47 9%
Force of Vigor $11.80 $12.44 ($0.64) -5%
Ice-Fang Coatl $7.13 $5.94 $1.19 20%
Giver of Runes $7.99 $8.39 ($0.40) -5%
Flusterstorm $10.50 $10.34 $0.16 2%
Archmage's Charm $5.70 $4.10 $1.60 39%
Ranger-Captain of Eos $5.14 $5.42 ($0.28) -5%
Silent Clearing $5.14 $5.80 ($0.66) -11%
Chalice of the Void $9.71 $10.74 ($1.03) -10%
Surgical Extraction $14.40 $13.89 $0.51 4%
Karn Liberated $5.09 $5.64 ($0.55) -10%
Emrakul,the Aeons Torn $11.40 $11.60 ($0.20) -2%
Ensnaring Bridge $8.69 $8.17 $0.52 6%
Gemstone Caverns $10.90


Gemstone Mine $20.60 $20.54 $0.06 0%
Jace, the Mind Sculptor $5.98 $5.80 $0.18 3%
Scalding Tarn $16.90 $15.18 $1.72 11%
Verdant Catacombs $11.00 $11.60 ($0.60) -5%
Misty Rainforest $15.40 $13.42 $1.98 15%
Arid Mesa $5.80 $5.09 $0.71 14%
Marsh Flats $4.02 $4.47 ($0.45) -10%
Eternal StaplesEcho of Eons is no longer around.  Academy Rector has fallen, and might get up, but that's for a future article. 

Eternal Format Cards Price Last Week Change % Change
Hullbreacher $69.90 $73.52 ($3.62) -5%
Opposition Agent $24.10 $24.33 ($0.23) -1%
Dark Depths $5.06 $4.91 $0.15 3%
Oko, Thief of Crowns $19.00 $21.27 ($2.27) -11%
City of Traitors $24.60 $22.81 $1.79 8%
Sphere of Resistance $8.05 $8.16 ($0.11) -1%
Monastery Mentor $5.75 $4.56 $1.19 26%
Allosaurus Shepherd $23.30 $28.29 ($4.99) -18%
Muxus, Goblin Grandee $7.22 $8.08 ($0.86) -11%
Force of Will $61.80 $64.88 ($3.08) -5%
Karakas $8.90 $10.35 ($1.45) -14%
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale $57.30 $58.55 ($1.25) -2%
Demonic Tutor $13.00 $12.68 $0.32 3%
Unmask $7.72 $7.75 ($0.03) 0%
Misdirection $15.10 $10.88 $4.22 39%
Rishadan Port $9.08 $9.23 ($0.15) -2%
Submerge $11.20 $7.73 $3.47 45%
Daze $6.91 $6.46 $0.45 7%
Entomb $7.40 $6.88 $0.52 8%
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow $46.10 $45.65 $0.45 1%
Mox Diamond $6.50 $15.19 ($8.69) -57%
Wasteland $37.70 $40.92 ($3.22) -8%
Ancient Tomb $18.90 $20.66 ($1.76) -9%
Lotus Petal $16.60 $17.30 ($0.70) -4%
Earthcraft $8.39 $8.39 $0.00 0%
Grim Monolith $14.90 $13.48 $1.42 11%
Exploration $12.10 $13.42 ($1.32) -10%
Gaea's Cradle $24.30 $27.85 ($3.55) -13%
Carpet of Flowers $30.90 $28.17 $2.73 10%
Gilded Drake $10.30 $10.32 ($0.02) 0%
Black Lotus $25.60 $15.51 $10.09 65%
Tropical Island $9.77 $8.40 $1.37 16%
Volcanic Island $10.90 $9.87 $1.03 10%
Underground Sea $12.30 $10.59 $1.71 16%
Sol Ring $7.75 $7.45 $0.30 4%
Null Rod $8.51 $8.25 $0.26 3%
Doomsday $23.40 $23.06 $0.34 1%
Paradigm Shift $10.30 $10.40 ($0.10) -1%
Mindbreak Trap $34.60 $30.46 $4.14 14%
Pioneer StaplesChandra, Awakened Inferno has fallen back to sleep. 

Pioneer Cards Price Last Time Change % Change
Soul-Scar Mage $7.02 $5.78 $1.24 21%
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger $7.15 $6.18 $0.97 16%
Collected Company $5.71 $7.44 ($1.73) -23%
Assassin's Trophy $5.48 $4.30 $1.18 27%
Eidolon of the Great Revel $7.97 $6.21 $1.76 28%
Mana Confluence $5.07 $5.92 ($0.85) -14%
Golos, Tireless Pilgrim $5.55 $5.14 $0.41 8%
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath $64.50 $61.23 $3.27 5%
Teferi, Time Raveler $42.10 $34.11 $7.99 23%
Karn, the Great Creator $24.70 $29.99 ($5.29) -18%
Dreadhorde Arcanist $15.60 $12.28 $3.32 27%
Blast Zone $7.93 $7.18 $0.75 10%
Omnath, Locus of Creation $12.80 $12.17 $0.63 5%
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 $64.17 $70.69 ($6.52) -9%
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths $52.99 $57.54 ($4.55) -8%
Kaldheim $159.20 $156.45 $2.75 2%
Kaldheim Booster $3.37 $3.26 $0.11 3%
Theros Beyond Death $148.55 $144.55 $4.00 3%
Throne of Eldraine $136.60 $126.80 $9.80 8%
Treasure Chest $2.46 $2.45 $0.01 0%
Zendikar Rising $136.77 $133.95 $2.82 2%


The Good Stuff
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 185.95
Snapcaster Mage UBT Mythic 101.69
Force of Negation MH1 Rare 96.63
Valki, God of Lies KHM Mythic 84.66
Karakas UBT Mythic 82.3
Mox Jet 1E Rare 79.14
Cavern of Souls UBT Mythic 77.68
Ancestral Recall 1E Rare 77.33
Liliana of the Veil UBT Mythic 74.73
Time Walk 1E Rare 70
Hullbreacher CMR Rare 69.94
Mox Emerald 1E Rare 67.06
Mox Sapphire 1E Rare 65.44
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath THB Mythic 64.45
Force of Will MED Rare 61.82
Wrenn and Six MH1 Mythic 58.37
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale ME3 Rare 57.25
Karn Liberated UBT Mythic 50.41
Dark Depths UBT Mythic 49.31
Noble Hierarch UBT Mythic 46.88
Jace, the Mind Sculptor MS4 Mythic 46.85
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow PZ2 Rare 46.05
Mox Ruby 1E Rare 42.73
Seasoned Pyromancer MH1 Mythic 42.12
Teferi, Time Raveler WAR Rare 42.09
Mox Pearl 1E Rare 41.62
Force of Will 2XM Mythic 40.06
Platinum Emperion UBT Mythic 39.83
Timetwister 1E Rare 38.93
Demonic Tutor UBT Mythic 38.79
Lord Windgrace PZ2 Mythic 38.48
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth UBT Mythic 38.37
Force of Will MS3 Mythic 38.14
Wasteland TE Uncommon 37.71
Wasteland EXP Mythic 37.36
Purple-Crystal Crab PZ2 Common 36.72
Force of Will VMA Rare 35.75
Force of Will EMA Mythic 35.56
Liliana, the Last Hope MS4 Mythic 35.47
Mindbreak Trap ZEN Mythic 34.64
Wasteland TPR Rare 34.57
Celestial Colonnade UBT Mythic 32.42
Dockside Extortionist C19 Rare 31.1
Wasteland ZNE Mythic 31.09
Carpet of Flowers UZ Uncommon 30.9
Wasteland EMA Rare 30.13
Scourge of the Skyclaves ZNR Mythic 30.01
Heavenly Qilin PZ2 Common 29.74
Brazen Borrower ELD Mythic 27.29
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria MS4 Mythic 26.41
Creeping Tar Pit UBT Mythic 26.37
Leovold, Emissary of Trest UBT Mythic 25.57
Black Lotus VMA Bonus 25.55
Life from the Loam UBT Mythic 25.33
Scalding Tarn ZNE Mythic 25.03
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 $25,828.  Last week the big number was $25,535.  Gaining a little less than 500 is just fine by me! 
In Closing

This was writen on Tuesday in advance of an ice storm that was forecast to hit Kentucky over Wednesday and Thursday.  I tried to get as much done as I could and have scheduled the site out until this coming up Tuesday.  Hopefully we don't lose power and are okay, just needing to thaw out of the ice, but it's pretty rude, I think, for the first major bit of winter weather in my part of Kentucky be ice. 

I was able to update things on Wednesday, but it's not looking great so far.  You can see ice hanging off of the powerlines. 

Thankfully the ice on the powerlines never disrupted power for me, but it did in communities around me.  The roads that are heavily traveled around me are clear, but the rural areas are not so much.  We're supposed to get more winter weather over the weekend and even more later on next week. 

Exciting times in Kentucky! 

This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic” Friborg.