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By: JXClaytor, Joshua Claytor
Feb 08 2023 10:11am
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State of the Program for February 8th, 2023
 
In the News

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 and The Brothers' War.  Phyrexia: All Will Be One will be up for redemption in March. 

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. 

Phyrexia:  All Will Be One:  Set came out yesterday!  Art Bundles are going to be a new way to get cards on MTGO. They will have a package for the Phyrexian Oil lands, which will be 10 of any one basic for 3.99 or 10 of each basic for 16.99. The compleated walkers are 14.99.  The borderless fastlands will be 4.99.  You are buying copies of the cards, not card styles here.  These art bundles will not be included in Treasure Chests.  Treasure Chests will update on the 7th.  They will include Extended Arts, Borderless, Ichor, Manga, and the Jungi Ito Elesh Norn. It will not include the cycle of alternate art praetors.  There will be new Commander cards in the Treasure Chests as well.  Magic Online Player Rewards packs updated, losing the basic lands, and gaining Borderless and Retro commons and uncommons from Dominaria Remastered.  Next month and April will see the Ichor common and uncommons.  You can read about all the cool stuff that is happening here.  The Borderless Praetors, previously stated to not be out until later in the year, will now be in booster packs at the same rate as tabletop packs.  The will be part of the Treasure chest update next month. 

Limited Challenges:  Due to expected interest with the new set, Limited Challenges are going back to 64 player events until the demand goes back to a lower number.  This change does not effect the 1 a.m. Pacific challenge.  

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 15, 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 -  Phyrexia: All Will Be One events

February 11 - Modern Showcase Challenge
Februart 12 - Pioneer Showcase Challenge

February  15 - The Magic 30 Cube
February 22 - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
March 1 - Time Spiral Remastered
March 8 - Modern Horizons
March 22 - Modern Horizons 2
April 5 - March of the Machine Release

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) FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY
12:00 a.m.     Vintage Challenge
1:00 a.m    Limited 32 Challenge 32 Player Limited 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
12:00 p.m.   Limited Challenge Limited Challenge
2:00 p.m.   Pioneer Challenge Standard Challenge
4:00 p.m. Limited 32 Challenge    
6:00 p.m. Modern 32 Challenge Modern 32 Challenge  

 

Cutting Edge Tech

This week with Phyrexia:  All Will Be One releasing, I am going to veer off the path of looking at new decks in the format, but instead, talking about a format that I have started to play and adore, Premodern.   You may have noticed a league for this on Gatherling, or events on MTGMelee, but this community driven format, consisting of decks made from set from Fourth Edition to Scourge has picked up in popularity on social media.  You can see the sets and banned list here.  You can find information about the Magic Online Society (the group that typically hosts these events), here. If you are interested in other decks, you can find them here.

Rec Sur
:   Pre Modern feels like the hits of of my late teen years and early adulthood.  Most of these decks had Magic in a chokehold at some point or another. 


Zombies

Elves:   Elves has always been a popular tribe, and this deck is so much cheaper to build with digital copies of Gaea's Cradle


Stiflenought:  This was a popular choice in Legacy for a time! 


Madness: Madness took over Block Constructed, Standard and Extended!  



 
Winner's Circle

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

Challenge Winners

Friday Modern - sydneydude - 4 Color Footfalls

Saturday Legacy - duke12 - Reanimator
Saturday Modern 32 - fuya - Azorius HammerTime
Saturday Modern - HappySandwich - Azorius HammerTime
Saturday Pauper - RClint21 - Flicker Tron
Saturday Pioneer - XboxGreg - Golgari Elves
Saturday Standard - MJ_23 - Mardu Midrange
Saturday Vintage - thepowernine

Sunday Legacy - XxShuicuexX - Reanimator
Sunday Modern - rerere - Jund Aggro
Sunday Pauper - Tyerube1618 - Songs of the Damned Combo
Sunday Pioneer - Hamuda - Boros Heroic
Sunday Standard - Arianne - Esper Midrange
Sunday Vintage - duke12

Other Event Winners

Legacy Qualifier
Modern Super Qualifier

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: Phyrexia:  All Will Be One singles will hit the list next week!  Prices were done Tuesday Afternoon, shortly after events started, and because of that, everything is super inflated right now! 

One with the Multiverse is new to the list this week though.  Ob Nixilis, the Adversary is off the list.

Standard Cards Price Last Week Change % Change
Phyrexian Fleshgorger $8.45 $8.87 -$0.42 -5%
Brotherhood's End $6.18 $8.19 -$2.01 -25%
Cityscape Leveler $23.68 $23.31 $0.37 2%
Portal to Phyrexia $6.14 $6.34 -$0.20 -3%
Titania, Voice of Gaea $5.93 $6.10 -$0.17 -3%
Urza, Lord Protector $5.11 $5.49 -$0.38 -7%
One with the Multiverse $5.64


Leyline Binding $14.12 $13.98 $0.14 1%
Liliana of the Veil $7.47 $7.37 $0.10 1%
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse $47.26 $51.88 -$4.62 -9%
Karn's Sylex $6.73 $5.82 $0.91 16%
Memory Deluge $8.85 $8.96 -$0.11 -1%
Brutal Cathar $12.19 $13.51 -$1.32 -10%
Deserted Beach $5.91 $6.70 -$0.79 -12%
Graveyard Trespasser $6.37 $6.13 $0.24 4%
Boseiju, Who Endures $45.69 $42.11 $3.58 9%
Otawara, Soaring City $10.39 $10.20 $0.19 2%
The Wandering Emperor $8.38 $8.80 -$0.42 -5%
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker $22.41 $21.80 $0.61 3%
Hidetsugu Consumes All $6.84 $7.30 -$0.46 -6%
March of Otherworldly Light $7.38 $7.23 $0.15 2%
Ledger Shredder $26.78 $27.75 -$0.97 -3%
Unlicensed Hearse $10.82 $11.62 -$0.80 -7%
Stormcarved Coast $6.50 $6.00 $0.50 8%
Wedding Announcement $6.04 $5.12 $0.92 18%
Modern StaplesSigarda's Aid has been added to the Modern table because it sees the most play in this format, despite being in a Pioneer legal set.   Magus of the Moon has fallen off. 

Modern Cards Price Last Week Change % Change
Engineered Explosives $20.21 $19.97 $0.24 1%
Grinding Station $11.64 $9.75 $1.89 19%
Lord of Atlantis $5.09 $4.90 $0.19 4%
Cavern of Souls $11.42 $11.46 -$0.04 0%
Sigarda's Aid $5.18


Orvar, the All-Form $25.20 $27.63 -$2.43 -9%
Polluted Delta $9.09 $8.04 $1.05 13%
Wooded Foothills $7.93 $6.56 $1.37 21%
Flooded Strand $8.48 $8.48 $0.00 0%
Bloodstained Mire $7.86 $7.08 $0.78 11%
Windswept Heath $4.80 $4.92 -$0.12 -2%
Thoughtseize $6.95 $6.84 $0.11 2%
Force of Negation $13.92 $12.73 $1.19 9%
Wrenn and Six $18.78 $16.75 $2.03 12%
Sunbaked Canyon $9.56 $10.80 -$1.24 -11%
Seasoned Pyromancer $9.35 $9.85 -$0.50 -5%
Force of Vigor $15.23 $16.16 -$0.93 -6%
Flusterstorm $23.78 $24.29 -$0.51 -2%
Yawgmoth, Thran Physician $4.91 $5.24 -$0.33 -6%
Archon of Cruelty $12.02 $11.79 $0.23 2%
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer $44.77 $51.12 -$6.35 -12%
Urza's Saga $47.09 $44.48 $2.61 6%
Solitude $28.01 $26.93 $1.08 4%
Endurance $34.61 $38.58 -$3.97 -10%
Grief $13.37 $10.82 $2.55 24%
Murktide Regent $15.59 $17.01 -$1.42 -8%
Fury $49.88 $37.37 $12.51 33%
Esper Sentinel $10.17 $11.49 -$1.32 -11%
Tourach, Dread Cantor $7.29 $6.18 $1.11 18%
Subtlety $11.34 $10.99 $0.35 3%
Dress Down $7.30 $5.21 $2.09 40%
Grist, the Hunger Tide $6.68 $5.61 $1.07 19%
Chalice of the Void $11.49 $11.09 $0.40 4%
Puresteel Paladin $6.70 $5.98 $0.72 12%
Teferi, Time Raveler $13.29 $12.51 $0.78 6%
Scalding Tarn $8.24 $8.03 $0.21 3%
Verdant Catacombs $2.82 $2.21 $0.61 28%
Misty Rainforest $5.51 $5.03 $0.48 10%
Arid Mesa $4.05 $3.55 $0.50 14%
Marsh Flats $1.56 $1.22 $0.34 28%
Eternal StaplesKarakas came off the list this week.

Eternal Format Cards Price Last Time Change % Change
White Plume Adventurer $12.09 $11.94 $0.15 1%
Seasoned Dungeoneer $4.84 $5.91 ($1.07) -18%
Hullbreacher $8.03 $8.22 ($0.19) -2%
Opposition Agent $15.90 $15.58 $0.32 2%
Jeweled Lotus $8.99 $9.53 ($0.54) -6%
Jeska's Will $16.74 $23.49 ($6.75) -29%
City of Traitors $18.83 $20.72 ($1.89) -9%
Muxus, Goblin Grandee $9.10 $10.43 ($1.33) -13%
Helm of Obedience $15.75 $15.28 $0.47 3%
Force of Will $43.71 $43.39 $0.32 1%
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale $10.00 $8.93 $1.07 12%
Enlightened Tutor $5.21 $5.29 ($0.08) -2%
Phyrexian Dreadnought $6.89 $6.54 $0.35 5%
Unmask $19.48 $18.11 $1.37 8%
Misdirection $10.64 $10.50 $0.14 1%
Snuff Out $28.98 $30.03 ($1.05) -3%
Submerge $9.68 $10.81 ($1.13) -10%
Daze $11.48 $10.52 $0.96 9%
Entomb $5.87 $7.74 ($1.87) -24%
Stifle $6.63 $6.52 $0.11 2%
Mox Opal $5.71 $5.35 $0.36 7%
Mox Diamond $27.57 $27.22 $0.35 1%
Wasteland $21.35 $20.81 $0.54 3%
Ancient Tomb $24.28 $19.36 $4.92 25%
Lotus Petal $21.84 $18.87 $2.97 16%
Grindstone $14.63 $9.43 $5.20 55%
Grim Monolith $16.48 $16.77 ($0.29) -2%
Goblin Welder $10.49 $10.49 $0.00 0%
Meltdown $4.92 $6.11 ($1.19) -19%
Exploration $7.23 $6.64 $0.59 9%
Gaea's Cradle $36.76 $34.78 $1.98 6%
Carpet of Flowers $8.99 $7.77 $1.22 16%
Gilded Drake $11.76 $11.68 $0.08 1%
Show and Tell $11.04 $8.96 $2.08 23%
Black Lotus $15.47 $15.51 ($0.04) 0%
Volcanic Island $16.89 $5.13 $11.76 229%
Underground Sea $6.73 $7.98 ($1.25) -16%
Null Rod $9.23 $7.49 $1.74 23%
Doomsday $16.71 $16.35 $0.36 2%
Paradigm Shift $13.33 $12.90 $0.43 3%
Pioneer StaplesWerewolf Pack Leader was one the list, howled, and moved on.  It must have summoned Hive of the Eye Tyrant because it is on the list again.  Resplendent Angel flew off the list.  Rest in Peace is back on the list. Archon of Emeria is off the list.

Pioneer Cards Price Last Time Change % Change
Den of the Bugbear $17.58 $15.03 $2.55 16.97%
Tasha's Hideous Laughter $6.29 $5.33 $0.96 18.01%
Hall of Storm Giants $5.30 $7.09 -$1.79 -25.25%
Hive of the Eye Tyrant $5.57


Brazen Borrower $24.07 $25.01 -$0.94 -3.76%
Bonecrusher Giant $5.46 $5.29 $0.17 3.21%
Castle Locthwain $6.43 $5.92 $0.51 8.61%
Shark Typhoon $7.91 $7.00 $0.91 13.00%
Jegantha, the Wellspring $5.33 $5.82 -$0.49 -8.42%
Eidolon of the Great Revel $4.65 $5.23 -$0.58 -11.09%
Mana Confluence $4.80 $5.06 -$0.26 -5.14%
Esika's Chariot $7.74


Spirebluff Canal $7.44 $8.04 -$0.60 -7.46%
Cavalier of Thorns $4.54 $5.41 -$0.87 -16.08%
Leyline of the Void $8.27 $7.59 $0.68 8.96%
Lotus Field $11.04 $8.63 $2.41 27.93%
Elder Gargaroth $5.57 $5.72 -$0.15 -2.62%
Terror of the Peaks $5.91 $5.86 $0.05 0.85%
The Meathook Massacre $9.36 $9.17 $0.19 2.07%
Rest in Peace $5.14


Karn, the Great Creator $15.41 $19.18 -$3.77 -19.66%
Finale of Devastation $5.14 $4.87 $0.27 5.54%
Emeria's Call $19.51 $21.36 -$1.85 -8.66%
Omnath, Locus of Creation $7.76 $7.25 $0.51 7.03%
Skyclave Apparition $8.56 $7.82 $0.74 9.46%
Roiling Vortex $11.26 $12.95 -$1.69 -13.05%
Agadeem's Awakening $9.99 $9.96 $0.03 0.30%
Sea Gate Restoration $7.11 $8.32 -$1.21 -14.54%
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!

You see that inflated price for Phyrexia:  All Will Be One?  That's why I didn't do single prices for it in the Standard chart! 

Complete Set Price Last Time Change % Change
The Brothers' War $112.34 $116.84 ($4.50) -4%
The Brothers's War Booster $1.98 $2.42 ($0.44) -18%
Dominaria United $116.74 $120.72 ($3.98) -3%
Innistrad: Crimson Vow $59.75 $57.70 $2.05 4%
Innistrad: Midnight Hunt $98.85 $103.35 ($4.50) -4%
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty $122.32 $119.01 $3.31 3%
Phyrexia: All Will Be One $434.10


Phyrexia: All Will Be One Booster $3.35


Streets of New Capenna $67.57 $69.83 ($2.26) -3%
Treasure Chest $2.38 $2.30 $0.08 3%

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 256.8
Mox Jet 1E Rare 119.14
Cavern of Souls UBT Mythic 112.29
Ancestral Recall 1E Rare 106.45
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth UBT Mythic 96.4
Karakas UBT Mythic 95.43
Liliana of the Veil UBT Mythic 92.19
Mox Sapphire 1E Rare 81.24
Time Walk 1E Rare 79.86
Marisi, Breaker of the Coil C19 Mythic 73.1
Mox Emerald 1E Rare 70.31
Demonic Tutor UBT Mythic 62.05
Mox Ruby 1E Rare 61.95
Mox Pearl 1E Rare 61.74
Heavenly Qilin PZ2 Common 53.43
Aether Gale C14 Rare 51.31
Fury MH2 Mythic 49.88
Earthshaking Si PZ2 Common 49.87
Dark Depths UBT Mythic 48.9
Purple-Crystal Crab PZ2 Common 47.94
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse DMU Mythic 47.26
Urza's Saga MH2 Rare 47.09
Boseiju, Who Endures NEO Rare 45.69
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer MH2 Mythic 44.77
Force of Will MED Rare 43.71
Snapcaster Mage UBT Mythic 43.51
Wasteland ZNE Mythic 43.43
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth UBT Mythic 43.13
Liliana, the Last Hope MS4 Mythic 42.78
Jace, the Mind Sculptor MS4 Mythic 42.1
Mana Vault UBT Mythic 41.5
Reanimate UBT Mythic 39.33
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria MS4 Mythic 37.33
Gaea's Cradle UZ Rare 36.76
Flooded Strand ZNE Mythic 36.26
Endurance MH2 Mythic 34.61
Timetwister 1E Rare 33.95
Cleansing Screech PZ2 Common 32.75
Thoughtseize TSR Bonus 32.68
Pramikon, Sky Rampart C19 Mythic 32.53
Life from the Loam UBT Mythic 31.82
Creeping Tar Pit UBT Mythic 29.24
Snuff Out MM Common 28.98
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon MS4 Mythic 28.55
Solitude MH2 Mythic 28.01
Noble Hierarch UBT Mythic 27.94
Flusterstorm CMD Rare 27.82
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines ONE Mythic 27.75
Mox Diamond ST Rare 27.57
Edgar Markov PZ2 Mythic 27.15
Fulminator Mage UBT Mythic 26.96
Ledger Shredder SNC Rare 26.78
Mox Diamond V10 Mythic 26.36
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre UBT Mythic 26.23
Flusterstorm IMA Rare 26.07
Mox Diamond TPR Mythic 26
Orvar, the All-Form KHM Mythic 25.2
Cavern of Souls ZNE Mythic 25.2
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.
 
In Closing

I started off the montly Modern series with a 2-3 record, playing Grixis Archon.  Needing to play 10 matches and win 7 to qualify didn't seem awful.  Just had to 5-0 what amounted to a league. Anyways, reader, I went 1-4 in the next five rounds.  Whoops. 

My health issues are still a thing.  I am down to 236 now as of this writing.  When it started I was at 301.  Looking forward to my appointments. 

I did finish the Mass Effect trilogy.  It was a delight, as I remembered it being.  I thought about jumping right in to replays of Persona, but I think I am going to play stuff I have never played before first, probably Watch Dogs and Far Cry. 

I also plan on actually playing paper Magic at an RCQ near me next weekend. Agoraphobia has taken to much from me. 

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