State of the Program for January 25th, 2023
MTGO Forums: Daybreak has set up forums for MTGO, which you can find here.
MTGO Discord: In addition to the Forums, Daybreak has set up a Discord for MTGO. You can get the invite here.
MTGO Social Links: *New* MTGO has a Twitter account, and can now add an account for Facebook and Instagram. These have been linked for you!
Starter Commander decks: These are new to the shop and the exact product that you would buy in paper!
The Brothers' War Redemption: Redemption is up and running! Remember that redemption runs now until supply is gone.
Dominaria Remastered: Releases on January 26th on MTGO. Boosters will cost 3.99. Traditional Draft and Single Elimination queues will be offered. Treasure Chests will be updated with the set release. Borderless and Retro Frame cards from the common and uncommon slots in the remastered set will not be in booster packs, but will be in Magic Online Player Rewards packs. Rarity downshifts will apply after downtime and will be good for the Pauper Qualifier the Saturday after the set releases.
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. This starts this weekend!
Phyrexia: All Will Be One: Previews for the set have been long ongoing, especially since people in the Dominaria Remastered Prerelease were opening the new set in packs of Dominaria Remastered. You can see where to find previews here. You can check out the Card Image Gallery, Variant Card Image Gallery, and Commander Card Image Gallery as well.
MOCS Showcase Champion *New*: Bart Van Etten won the MOCS Showcase, making the finals after winning the Modern pod. Damian Buckley, the Limited pod winner, finished second. You can find coverage of the event at magic.gg.
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.
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Upcoming Events
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Dates
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|
Scheduled Downtimes
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January 25, 2023 |
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Constructed Leagues End
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Ends January 31, 2023
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Sealed Leagues End
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Ends January 31, 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 - Dominaria Remastered
January 28 - Pauper Qualifier
January 29 - Vintage Super Qualifier
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:
Standard:
Legacy: I like the idea of mono colored decks that use the Sol Lands to power out disruption and quick threats. This deck can attack on two angles, the first being the good dorks front, the second being the
Helm of Obedience
and
Leyline of the Void
combo.
Modern: If you're looking into Legacy with a nice Modern collection you could do worse than this version of HammerTime!
Pauper: Ninjas are still doing well in Pauper.
Pioneer: Most Greasefang decks have been Abzan or Mardu, but this Esper list really leans on
Faithful Mending
to stay in the game against the aggro decks of the format.
The Winner's Circle is where I will recognize winners of the past events on MTGO.
Challenge Winners
Saturday Legacy - CrusherBotBG - HammerTime
Saturday Modern - Martijc - HammerTime
Saturday Pauper - Tyerube1681 - Songs Combo
Saturday Pioneer - Lukas26197 - Abzan Greasefang
Saturday Standard - TabaDonk - Mono Red Aggro
Saturday Vintage - Condescend
Sunday Legacy - _moose_ - 4 Color Minsc
Sunday Modern - Do0mSwitch - Izzet Murktide
Sunday Pauper - ezocratto - Mono Blue Ninjas
Sunday Pioneer - TheManLand - Hidden Strings
Sunday Standard - Mogged - Rakdos Midrange
Sunday Vintage - bless_von
Other Event Winners
Limited Super Qualifier
Modern 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: Two cards from Midnight Hunt came back to the list this week.
Modern Staples:
Grinding Station
has rocketed on to the list.
Grist, the Hunger Tide
is back on the list as well.
Eternal Staples:
Phyrexian Dreadnought
is on the list again.
Pioneer Staples:
Lair of the Hydra
has fallen off. A couple of cards from the Forgotten Realms came back on though.
Arclight Phoenix
has fallen off. We've had a handful of cards come back on to the list this week.
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 |
$108.10 |
$113.16 |
($5.06) |
-4% |
| The Brothers's War Booster |
$2.76 |
$2.90 |
($0.14) |
-5% |
| Dominaria United |
$123.45 |
$127.16 |
($3.71) |
-3% |
| Innistrad: Crimson Vow |
$55.77 |
$26.31 |
$29.46 |
112% |
| Innistrad: Midnight Hunt |
$103.64 |
$105.51 |
($1.87) |
-2% |
| Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty |
$112.32 |
$115.06 |
($2.74) |
-2% |
| Streets of New Capenna |
$70.83 |
$69.74 |
$1.09 |
2% |
| Treasure Chest |
$2.30 |
$2.39 |
($0.09) |
-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 |
253.42 |
| Mox Jet |
1E |
Rare |
121.51 |
| Cavern of Souls |
UBT |
Mythic |
108.17 |
| Ancestral Recall |
1E |
Rare |
106.45 |
| Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth |
UBT |
Mythic |
96.4 |
| Liliana of the Veil |
UBT |
Mythic |
92.19 |
| Karakas |
UBT |
Mythic |
92.13 |
| Time Walk |
1E |
Rare |
79.86 |
| Mox Sapphire |
1E |
Rare |
79.49 |
| Mox Emerald |
1E |
Rare |
68.18 |
| Marisi, Breaker of the Coil |
C19 |
Mythic |
66.08 |
| Sheoldred, the Apocalypse |
DMU |
Mythic |
63.59 |
| Demonic Tutor |
UBT |
Mythic |
61.83 |
| Mox Ruby |
1E |
Rare |
59.94 |
| Mox Pearl |
1E |
Rare |
59 |
| Heavenly Qilin |
PZ2 |
Common |
53.43 |
| Aether Gale |
C14 |
Rare |
51 |
| Earthshaking Si |
PZ2 |
Common |
49.87 |
| Dark Depths |
UBT |
Mythic |
48.9 |
| Force of Will |
MED |
Rare |
48.43 |
| Purple-Crystal Crab |
PZ2 |
Common |
47.94 |
| Urza's Saga |
MH2 |
Rare |
44.33 |
| Wasteland |
ZNE |
Mythic |
44.15 |
| Snapcaster Mage |
UBT |
Mythic |
43.51 |
| Kozilek, Butcher of Truth |
UBT |
Mythic |
43.13 |
| Liliana, the Last Hope |
MS4 |
Mythic |
42.78 |
| Jace, the Mind Sculptor |
MS4 |
Mythic |
42.25 |
| Mana Vault |
UBT |
Mythic |
41.5 |
| Boseiju, Who Endures |
NEO |
Rare |
41.05 |
| Gaea's Cradle |
UZ |
Rare |
40.11 |
| Reanimate |
UBT |
Mythic |
39.88 |
| Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer |
MH2 |
Mythic |
39.66 |
| Endurance |
MH2 |
Mythic |
39.51 |
| Teferi, Hero of Dominaria |
MS4 |
Mythic |
37.33 |
| Flooded Strand |
ZNE |
Mythic |
36.8 |
| Fury |
MH2 |
Mythic |
36.41 |
| Timetwister |
1E |
Rare |
33.95 |
| Cleansing Screech |
PZ2 |
Common |
32.75 |
| Pramikon, Sky Rampart |
C19 |
Mythic |
32.5 |
| Orvar, the All-Form |
KHM |
Mythic |
31.89 |
| Life from the Loam |
UBT |
Mythic |
31.82 |
| Creeping Tar Pit |
UBT |
Mythic |
29.62 |
| Cavern of Souls |
ZNE |
Mythic |
29.42 |
| Flusterstorm |
CMD |
Rare |
28.98 |
| Mox Diamond |
ST |
Rare |
28.69 |
| Ugin, the Spirit Dragon |
MS4 |
Mythic |
28.55 |
| Snuff Out |
MM |
Common |
27.97 |
| Noble Hierarch |
UBT |
Mythic |
27.94 |
| Fulminator Mage |
UBT |
Mythic |
26.96 |
| Thoughtseize |
TSR |
Bonus |
26.93 |
| Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre |
UBT |
Mythic |
26.23 |
| Force of Will |
MS3 |
Mythic |
26.14 |
| Flooded Strand |
ONS |
Rare |
26.09 |
| Edgar Markov |
PZ2 |
Mythic |
26.08 |
| Mox Diamond |
TPR |
Mythic |
25.95 |
| Mox Diamond |
V10 |
Mythic |
25.07 |
| Ledger Shredder |
SNC |
Rare |
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.
I put 27 hours on Mass Effect 2 this week, and I played a decent amount of Gauntlet, with former writer for the site, and my buddy BlastodermMan. I also played, well tried to play, some Commander over Spelltable with my buddies Adam and James. I am swallowing slightly better. Still not enough to have a full meal, but I am trying.
This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic” Friborg.
