State of the Program for February 18th, 2022
Black is Magic Secret Lair: If you've been logging in and playing Magic on MTGO you've already earned the promos of (Shalai, Voice of Plenty) and Cultivate
. This week is (Path of Ancestry) and next week is Ponder
. You get the Kaya, Sol Ring and Teferi as combos for each week, so make sure to get your game finished!
Vintage Cube: There is a huge update that Carmen Handy wrote about, and you can find the changes to the cube list here.
Secret Lair: The February Superdrop has come out, and will be available to purchase in paper when this article goes live. We get cards with the yellow Neon Ink treatment, and the Ukiyo-e treatment. Also tying in to Neon Dynasty is a set baded on Kaito Shizuki and one based on the Magic manga. Yuko Shimizu has an artist spotlight, Ben Schnuck, a level one judge and Magic proxy maker made a set of lands, and five walkers get the cutest chibi takes on their cards. The highlight of this superdrop? Street Fighter enters the Magic world. E. Honda has a Hundred Hand Slap for Nicol Bolas! You can check out the lairs here, and the interview with IGN 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
|
Currently unknown |
Constructed Leagues End
|
Ends April 27th, 2022
|
Sealed Leagues End
|
Ends April 28th, 2022 |
Next B&R
|
Unknown
|
Crimson Vow Redemption
|
Ends April 6th, 2022
|
Neon Dynasty Redemption
|
Begins March 9th, 2022
|
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 - Innistrad Double Feature
Ongoing - Vintage Cube
February 18 - Neon Dynasty Super Qualifier
February 19 - Modern Showcase Challenge
February 20 - Pioneer Showcase Challenge
February 21 - Neon Dynasty Sealed Qualifer
Upcoming Events on MTGO
March 16 - Invasion Block Flashback Draft
March 30 - Super Jump
April 13 - Masters 25 Flashback Draft
April 20 - Kamigawa Remix
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: The next time there isn't a viable day one Mono Red Aggro deck in Standard will be a surprising day for me. Reconfigure though, seems perfect for aggro decks.
Legacy: It appears that
Kappa Cannoneer
is one of the big winners for the Legacy format out of the newest Commander decks. Of course stuff like Boseiju is going to see play, but this turtle looks to come out quick and hit super hard, shorting the clock in 8-cast decks.
Modern: The amount of +1/+1 counters that are passed out in this deck make it a natural place for a creature that cares about modified creatures.
Upriser Renegade
may not be a format all-star, but it looked like a fun thing to test out!
Pauper: I swear I am not trying to steal Arctic Ghost's thunder, but he will have a sweet article out next week about this deck.
Pioneer: I knew Light-Paws was gonna be great here, as the card has really given this and Azorius Auras some badly needed juice. There are come versions that are running
Messenger's Speed
in the main as well, to go along with the Auras.
Vintage: The only card from Neon Dynasty that I saw getting Vintage play was Boseiju.
The Winner's Circle is where I will recognize winners of the past events on MTGO.
A good weekend for O_danielakos!
Challenge Winners
Saturday Legacy - Promidnightz - Lands
Saturday Modern - Urthstrype - Grixis Death's Shadow
Saturday Pauper - Lollopollo2001 - Boros Rally
Saturday Pioneer - MJ_23 - Orzhov Auras
Saturday Standard - O_danielakos - Izzet Control
Saturday Vintage - TeferiBokaer
Sunday Legacy - wonderPreaux - Doomsday
Sunday Modern - Thalai - Hammer Time
Sunday Pauper - Tarrasque1 - Boros Rebirth
Sunday Pioneer - Shadowz2005 - Jund Sacrifice
Sunday Standard - O_danielakos - Izzet Control
Sunday Vintage - snoopy-magic
Other Event Winners
Modern Premier - PuntThenWhine - AmuLIT
Pioneer Premier - rastaf - Boros Arcanist
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: Neon Dynasty stuff is on the list,
Inferno of the Star Mounts
has fallen off.
Branchloft Pathway
did so as well.
Hengegate Pathway
came on to the list.
Modern Staples: Nothing exciting happened this week with Modern prices.
Eternal Staples:
Pioneer Staples:
Mana Confluence
is off the list this week.
Alrund's Epiphany
also came off.
Kaya, Orzhov Usurper
is gone as well. Further cleaning up removed
Ox of Agonas
.
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 |
Forgotten Realms |
$241.39 |
$266.03 |
($24.64) |
-9% |
Innistrad: Crimson Vow |
$151.65 |
$160.35 |
($8.70) |
-5% |
Innistrad: Crimson Vow Booster Pack |
$2.66 |
$2.76 |
($0.10) |
-4% |
Innistrad: Midnight Hunt |
$185.36 |
$190.64 |
($5.28) |
-3% |
Kaldheim |
$71.59 |
$72.14 |
($0.55) |
-1% |
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty |
$160.91 |
|
|
|
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Booster |
$3.19 |
|
|
|
Strixhaven: School of Mages |
$63.15 |
$65.68 |
($2.53) |
-4% |
Treasure Chest |
$2.45 |
$2.45 |
$0.00 |
0% |
Zendikar Rising |
$125.49 |
$130.19 |
($4.70) |
-4% |
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 |
224.26 |
Cavern of Souls |
UBT |
Mythic |
129.43 |
Liliana of the Veil |
UBT |
Mythic |
121.75 |
Mox Jet |
1E |
Rare |
117.3 |
Karakas |
UBT |
Mythic |
113.46 |
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth |
UBT |
Mythic |
109.02 |
Ancestral Recall |
1E |
Rare |
101.4 |
Mox Sapphire |
1E |
Rare |
90.36 |
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer |
MH2 |
Mythic |
84.25 |
Time Walk |
1E |
Rare |
80.48 |
Hullbreacher |
CMR |
Rare |
78.94 |
Snapcaster Mage |
UBT |
Mythic |
78.84 |
Mox Emerald |
1E |
Rare |
76.3 |
Force of Will |
MED |
Rare |
67.12 |
Demonic Tutor |
UBT |
Mythic |
66.82 |
Wrenn and Six |
MH1 |
Mythic |
65.19 |
Urza's Saga |
MH2 |
Rare |
60.49 |
Purple-Crystal Crab |
PZ2 |
Common |
58.93 |
Force of Vigor |
MH1 |
Rare |
57.33 |
Mox Ruby |
1E |
Rare |
57.22 |
Mox Pearl |
1E |
Rare |
56.78 |
Dark Depths |
UBT |
Mythic |
52.51 |
Scalding Tarn |
MH2 |
Rare |
51.75 |
Mishra's Bauble |
IMA |
Uncommon |
48.8 |
Endurance |
MH2 |
Mythic |
48.52 |
Force of Negation |
MH1 |
Rare |
48.38 |
Mishra's Bauble |
CSP |
Uncommon |
47.97 |
Mishra's Bauble |
2XM |
Uncommon |
47.65 |
Marisi, Breaker of the Coil |
C19 |
Mythic |
47.61 |
Heavenly Qilin |
PZ2 |
Common |
47.53 |
Lotus Petal |
TPR |
Uncommon |
47.19 |
Boseiju, Who Endures |
NEO |
Rare |
46.88 |
Anje's Ravager |
C19 |
Rare |
45.71 |
Jace, the Mind Sculptor |
MS4 |
Mythic |
45.37 |
Edgar Markov |
PZ2 |
Mythic |
43.62 |
The Meathook Massacre |
MID |
Mythic |
43.58 |
Mox Diamond |
ST |
Rare |
43.22 |
Lotus Petal |
MS2 |
Bonus |
42.83 |
Allosaurus Shepherd |
JMP |
Mythic |
42.74 |
Force of Will |
MS3 |
Mythic |
42.74 |
Lotus Petal |
TE |
Common |
42.18 |
Force of Will |
VMA |
Rare |
41.4 |
Force of Will |
EMA |
Mythic |
40.75 |
Force of Will |
2XM |
Mythic |
40.27 |
Liliana, the Last Hope |
MS4 |
Mythic |
39.55 |
Solitude |
MH2 |
Mythic |
38.55 |
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth |
UBT |
Mythic |
37.47 |
Earthshaking Si |
PZ2 |
Common |
37.15 |
Mana Vault |
UBT |
Mythic |
37.05 |
Omnath, Locus of Creation |
ZNR |
Mythic |
37.04 |
Mox Diamond |
V10 |
Mythic |
36.4 |
Mox Diamond |
TPR |
Mythic |
35.78 |
Misty Rainforest |
MH2 |
Rare |
35.66 |
Meltdown |
UZ |
Uncommon |
34.73 |
Reanimate |
UBT |
Mythic |
33.79 |
Karn Liberated |
UBT |
Mythic |
33.59 |
Wasteland |
EMA |
Rare |
33 |
Hall of Storm Giants |
AFR |
Rare |
32.86 |
Murktide Regent |
MH2 |
Mythic |
31.99 |
Wasteland |
TPR |
Rare |
31.82 |
Jeweled Lotus |
CMR |
Mythic |
31.81 |
Wasteland |
ZNE |
Mythic |
31.35 |
Teferi, Time Raveler |
WAR |
Rare |
31.03 |
Timetwister |
1E |
Rare |
31.01 |
Court of Cunning |
CMR |
Rare |
30.58 |
Noble Hierarch |
UBT |
Mythic |
30.46 |
Sorin the Mirthless |
VOW |
Mythic |
29.86 |
Wasteland |
TE |
Uncommon |
29.82 |
Celestial Colonnade |
UBT |
Mythic |
29.79 |
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria |
MS4 |
Mythic |
29.78 |
Engineered Explosives |
UBT |
Mythic |
29.11 |
Retrofitter Foundry |
PZ2 |
Rare |
28.96 |
Wasteland |
EXP |
Mythic |
28.84 |
Wrenn and Seven |
MID |
Mythic |
28.11 |
Den of the Bugbear |
AFR |
Rare |
27.82 |
Platinum Emperion |
UBT |
Mythic |
27.79 |
Jeska's Will |
CMR |
Rare |
27.35 |
Fulminator Mage |
UBT |
Mythic |
27.19 |
Unmask |
V16 |
Mythic |
27.1 |
Cavern of Souls |
ZNE |
Mythic |
26.9 |
Demilich |
AFR |
Mythic |
26.68 |
Aether Gale |
C14 |
Rare |
26.63 |
Engineered Explosives |
UMA |
Rare |
26.62 |
Flooded Strand |
ZNE |
Mythic |
26.61 |
Polluted Delta |
ONS |
Rare |
25.78 |
Doomsday |
WL |
Rare |
25.57 |
Creeping Tar Pit |
UBT |
Mythic |
25.35 |
Pramikon, Sky Rampart |
C19 |
Mythic |
25.29 |
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 $29,690. Last week it was $31,196. Neon Dynasty and the new stuff added to the client seem to have calmed down a lot. This is a loss of $1,506.
Prices were done Thursday.
I worked fifty hours at one job and twenty hours at another job this week. I was to busy to do anything else.
This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic” Friborg.