State of the Program for July 9th, 2021

By: JXClaytor, Joshua Claytor
Jul 09 2021 12:00pm

827 views

State of the Program for July 9th, 2021

In the News

Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms: It released on MTGO with several bug fixes on Thursday. No news as to when the Commander cards are going to be added to the client from the set. Treasure chests updated as well. You can see how dungeons are going to be on MTGO as well here.

World Championship News: Two more players qualified for the event this year as Gabriel Nassif and Seth Manfield join Ondrej Strasky and Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa. The players that qualify for Worlds will also get a $50,000 dollar appearance fee. This added $800,000 brings the total back up to what Wizards of the Coast originally showed for the event.

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	July 7th, 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
D&d Redemption	Begins August 11, 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:

July 14th: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Draft Gauntlet
July 21st: Vintage Cube Featuring Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
August 4th: New Spotlinght Cube
August 11th: Returning Spotlight Cube
August 18th: New Spotlight Cube
August 25th: Legacy Cube Featuring Adventures in the Forgotten Realms

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

Since Adventures in the Forgotten Realm just released Thursday, I am going to take a break on this section of the article. Next week Cutting Edge Tech will focus on the formats that are helped the most with the new set, Historic, Pioneer and Standard!

Winner's Circle

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

Challenge Winners

Saturday Legacy - Kuranari-Jackpa - Show and Tell
Saturday Pauper - Hamuda - Affinity
Saturday Pioneer - Xuxa - Mono Black Aggro
Saturday Standard - _Batutinha - Sultai Ultimatum
Saturday Vintage - Nammersquats

Sunday Legacy - Jacobisboss - Izzet Delver
Sunday Modern - CrusherBotBG - Hammer Time
Sunday Pauper - Andrw1232 - ChatterStorm
Sunday Standard - Glacier7 - Cycling
Sunday Vintage - Butakov

Other Event Winners

Pioneer Showcase - BeReborn - Rakdos Arcanist
Modern Showcase - MZBlazer - Izzet Delver

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: With the new set coming out Thursday, doing prices, as always is a bit of a terrible idea. I'll be skipping them this week and adding them to the table next week!

Shark Typhoon

has left the list.

Standard Cards	Price	Last Week	Change	% Change
Brazen Borrower	$22.91	$18.23	$4.68	26%
Bonecrusher Giant	$5.25	$5.08	$0.17	3%
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King	$8.17	$10.34	($2.17)	-21%
Lurrus of the Dream Den	$10.01	$10.77	($0.76)	-7%
Valki, God of Lies	$59.78	$65.23	($5.45)	-8%
Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider	$10.51	$11.09	($0.58)	-5%
Goldspan Dragon	$12.89	$13.17	($0.28)	-2%
Alrund's Epiphany	$9.03	$9.00	$0.03	0%
Esika, God of the Tree	$5.02	$5.11	($0.09)	-2%
Koma, Cosmos Serpent	$6.73	$6.74	($0.01)	0%
Halvar, God of Battle	$6.37	$6.34	$0.03	0%
Elder Gargaroth	$5.26	$8.08	($2.82)	-35%
Stormwing Entity	$8.37	$8.31	$0.06	1%
Prismari Command	$7.46	$8.35	($0.89)	-11%
Magma Opus	$6.95	$6.94	$0.01	0%
Professor Onyx	$7.79	$7.97	($0.18)	-2%
Velomachus Lorehold	$9.48	$9.42	$0.06	1%
Beledros Witherbloom	$6.02	$6.58	($0.56)	-9%
Extus, Oriq Overlord	$6.91	$8.34	($1.43)	-17%
Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger	8.79	5.91	$2.88	49%
Klothys, God of Destiny	3.62	8.07	($4.45)	-55%
Scourge of the Skyclaves	$19.81	$25.25	($5.44)	-22%
Skyclave Apparition	$21.02	$23.51	($2.49)	-11%

Modern Staples: I got rid of a couple of doubles from Modern Horizons 2 from the list that I missed last time.

Modern Cards	Price	Last Week	Change	% Change
Auriok Champion	$6.36	$12.05	($5.69)	-47%
Steelshaper's Gift	$9.57	$3.25	$6.32	194%
Engineered Explosives	$19.81	$11.45	$8.36	73%
Night's Whisper	$4.75	$5.31	($0.56)	-11%
Cavern of Souls	$21.84	$21.20	$0.64	3%
Noble Hierarch	$3.67	$5.65	($1.98)	-35%
Mishra's Bauble	$35.09	$42.95	($7.86)	-18%
Utopia Sprawl	$3.18	$5.61	($2.43)	-43%
Aether Vial	$14.76	$19.57	($4.81)	-25%
Horizon Canopy	$10.17	$12.01	($1.84)	-15%
Tarmogoyf	$4.23	$5.38	($1.15)	-21%
Liliana of the Veil	$17.18	$22.87	($5.69)	-25%
Snapcaster Mage	$3.31	$5.01	($1.70)	-34%
Polluted Delta	$10.89	$13.26	($2.37)	-18%
Wooded Foothills	$9.11	$16.28	($7.17)	-44%
Flooded Strand	$8.86	$10.88	($2.02)	-19%
Bloodstained Mire	$9.04	$9.64	($0.60)	-6%
Windswept Heath	$8.40	$13.27	($4.87)	-37%
Thoughtseize	$9.24	$8.69	$0.55	6%
Cryptic Command	$3.31	$5.83	($2.52)	-43%
Elvish Reclaimer	$5.45	$8.41	($2.96)	-35%
Inkmoth Nexus	$5.71	$2.40	$3.31	138%
Force of Negation	$77.89	$95.07	($17.18)	-18%
Wrenn and Six	$54.94	$58.18	($3.24)	-6%
Prismatic Vista	$10.24	$14.35	($4.11)	-29%
Sunbaked Canyon	$15.34	$18.49	($3.15)	-17%
Seasoned Pyromancer	$24.16	$27.96	($3.80)	-14%
Fiery Islet	$19.22	$19.15	$0.07	0%
Urza, Lord High Artificer	$8.85	$11.18	($2.33)	-21%
Plague Engineer	$8.91	$8.72	$0.19	2%
Force of Vigor	$30.53	$26.30	$4.23	16%
Giver of Runes	$5.83	$4.29	$1.54	36%
Flusterstorm	$6.82	$10.38	($3.56)	-34%
Archmage's Charm	$16.29	$22.91	($6.62)	-29%
Hexdrinker	$6.18	$6.68	($0.50)	-7%
Ice-Fang Coatl	$4.83	$6.78	($1.95)	-29%
Silent Clearing	$9.70	$5.96	$3.74	63%
Kaya's Guile	$10.13	$14.75	($4.62)	-31%
Ranger-Captain of Eos	$2.74	$5.90	($3.16)	-54%
Collector Ouphe	$5.94	$5.77	$0.17	3%
Nurturing Peatland	$5.28	$7.21	($1.93)	-27%
On Thin Ice	$4.79	$5.44	($0.65)	-12%
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer	$130.38	$97.79	$32.59	33%
Urza's Saga	$51.56	$54.81	($3.25)	-6%
Solitude	$14.33	$32.71	($18.38)	-56%
Endurance	$59.57	$44.06	$15.51	35%
Grief	$21.25	$24.18	($2.93)	-12%
Dauthi Voidwalker	$28.82	$23.58	$5.24	22%
Murktide Regent	$32.68	$11.82	$20.86	176%
Ignoble Hierarch	$7.61	$20.50	($12.89)	-63%
Svyelun of Sea and Sky	$2.29	$16.66	($14.37)	-86%
Subtlety	$9.90	$7.17	$2.73	38%
Scion of Draco	$2.09	$10.90	($8.81)	-81%
Tourach, Dread Cantor	$2.98	$10.30	($7.32)	-71%
Sanctum Prelate	$20.72	$8.75	$11.97	137%
Kaldra Compleat	$3.58	$7.11	($3.53)	-50%
Grist, the Hunger Tide	$5.53	$7.20	($1.67)	-23%
Chalice of the Void	$16.56	$9.58	$6.98	73%
Surgical Extraction	$13.03	$16.44	($3.41)	-21%
Dismember	$4.52	$6.40	($1.88)	-29%
Emrakul,the Aeons Torn	$13.55	$1.50	$12.05	803%
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth	$7.46	$5.71	$1.75	31%
Ensnaring Bridge	$7.37	$7.60	($0.23)	-3%
Teferi, Time Raveler	$28.63	$38.88	($10.25)	-26%
Gemstone Mine	$10.21	$8.05	$2.16	27%
Jace, the Mind Sculptor	$8.41	$9.59	($1.18)	-12%
Stoneforge Mystic	$2.80	$5.40	($2.60)	-48%
Scalding Tarn	$8.74	$10.49	($1.75)	-17%
Verdant Catacombs	$7.46	$8.81	($1.35)	-15%
Misty Rainforest	$6.81	$8.74	($1.93)	-22%
Arid Mesa	$3.65	$3.98	($0.33)	-8%
Marsh Flats	$3.39	$3.89	($0.50)	-13%

Eternal Staples: Sphere of Resistance

is off the list this week.

Eternal Format Cards	Price	Last Week	Change	% Change
Hullbreacher	$30.57	$35.02	($4.45)	-13%
Opposition Agent	$22.55	$18.02	$4.53	25%
Jeweled Lotus	$14.69	$16.50	($1.81)	-11%
City of Traitors	$19.69	$17.76	$1.93	11%
Allosaurus Shepherd	$39.79	$36.07	$3.72	10%
Muxus, Goblin Grandee	$6.87	$6.99	($0.12)	-2%
Force of Will	$40.41	$42.95	($2.54)	-6%
Karakas	$10.23	$12.68	($2.45)	-19%
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale	$20.12	$33.97	($13.85)	-41%
Demonic Tutor	$15.04	$16.65	($1.61)	-10%
Food Chain	$11.30	$9.35	$1.95	21%
Unmask	$4.90	$5.23	($0.33)	-6%
Misdirection	$13.06	$13.17	($0.11)	-1%
Rishadan Port	$16.31	$17.00	($0.69)	-4%
Snuff Out	$15.10	$13.47	$1.63	12%
Submerge	$11.91	$16.72	($4.81)	-29%
Daze	$8.73	$10.96	($2.23)	-20%
Entomb	$6.05	$5.78	$0.27	5%
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow	$18.08	$20.18	($2.10)	-10%
Stifle	$6.36	$9.24	($2.88)	-31%
Mox Diamond	$24.06	$28.80	($4.74)	-16%
Wasteland	$30.93	$33.13	($2.20)	-7%
Ancient Tomb	$18.31	$20.62	($2.31)	-11%
Lotus Petal	$22.76	$24.27	($1.51)	-6%
Grim Monolith	$12.62	$12.99	($0.37)	-3%
Exploration	$16.52	$16.88	($0.36)	-2%
Gaea's Cradle	$38.28	$37.33	$0.95	3%
Carpet of Flowers	$30.03	$39.94	($9.91)	-25%
Gilded Drake	$9.13	$12.16	($3.03)	-25%
Black Lotus	$9.29	$9.30	($0.01)	0%
Tropical Island	$6.23	$5.21	$1.02	20%
Volcanic Island	$10.04	$8.27	$1.77	21%
Underground Sea	$10.58	$8.78	$1.80	21%
Null Rod	$11.63	$10.68	$0.95	9%
Doomsday	$18.81	$22.96	($4.15)	-18%
Paradigm Shift	$12.64	$12.43	$0.21	2%
Mindbreak Trap	$6.06	$6.36	($0.30)	-5%

Pioneer Staples: Collective Brutality

shrinks the Pioneer list a little bit more.

Pioneer Cards	Price	Last Time	Change	% Change
Soul-Scar Mage	$4.43	$6.10	($1.67)	-27%
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger	$4.23	$5.67	($1.44)	-25%
Collected Company	$6.38	$6.08	$0.30	5%
Eidolon of the Great Revel	$5.51	$5.10	$0.41	8%
Spirebluff Canal	$8.18	$10.52	($2.34)	-22%
Kozilek's Return	$3.55	$6.82	($3.27)	-48%
Kaya, Orzhov Usurper	$7.54	$8.10	($0.56)	-7%
Karn, the Great Creator	$22.53	$25.35	($2.82)	-11%
Blast Zone	$5.61	$5.37	$0.24	4%
Finale of Devastation	$16.57	$19.49	($2.92)	-15%
Omnath, Locus of Creation	$21.53	$11.08	$10.45	94%

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!

Next week Strixhaven boosters will come off, and the Forgotten Realms stuff, much like Standard, will be added to this table.

Complete Set	Price	Last Week	Change	% Change
Core Set 2021	$39.54	$42.75	($3.21)	-8%
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths	$33.57	$33.07	$0.50	2%
Kaldheim	$191.95	$204.38	($12.43)	-6%
Strixhaven: School of Mages	$110.36	$122.56	($12.20)	-10%
Strixhaven: School of Mages Booster	$2.87	$3.14	($0.27)	-9%
Theros Beyond Death	$84.14	$82.86	$1.28	2%
Throne of Eldraine	$115.16	$116.11	($0.95)	-1%
Treasure Chest	$2.74	$2.83	($0.09)	-3%
Zendikar Rising	$91.86	$93.96	($2.10)	-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	166.06
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer	MH2	Mythic	123.86
Snapcaster Mage	UBT	Mythic	101.17
Cavern of Souls	UBT	Mythic	99.96
Karakas	UBT	Mythic	91.6
Liliana of the Veil	UBT	Mythic	91.59
Mox Jet	1E	Rare	84.42
Force of Negation	MH1	Rare	77.89
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth	UBT	Mythic	77.41
Ancestral Recall	1E	Rare	72.35
Mox Sapphire	1E	Rare	66.81
Time Walk	1E	Rare	66.47
Mox Emerald	1E	Rare	65.52
Valki, God of Lies	KHM	Mythic	59.78
Endurance	MH2	Mythic	59.69
Wasteland	EXP	Mythic	56.06
Wrenn and Six	MH1	Mythic	54.94
Urza's Saga	MH2	Rare	51.56
Purple-Crystal Crab	PZ2	Common	50.18
Dark Depths	UBT	Mythic	49.42
Jace, the Mind Sculptor	MS4	Mythic	48.87
Mox Pearl	1E	Rare	46.55
Demonic Tutor	UBT	Mythic	45.81
Mox Ruby	1E	Rare	44.01
Mox Diamond	TPR	Mythic	43.39
Wasteland	ZNE	Mythic	42.88
Force of Will	MED	Rare	40.41
Heavenly Qilin	PZ2	Common	40.34
Allosaurus Shepherd	JMP	Mythic	39.79
Gaea's Cradle	UZ	Rare	38.28
Mishra's Bauble	IMA	Uncommon	37.58
Noble Hierarch	UBT	Mythic	37.58
Karn Liberated	UBT	Mythic	37.32
Liliana, the Last Hope	MS4	Mythic	36.75
Retrofitter Foundry	PZ2	Rare	35.44
Mishra's Bauble	CSP	Uncommon	35.09
Mishra's Bauble	2XM	Uncommon	35.08
Cavern of Souls	ZNE	Mythic	34.1
Verdant Catacombs	EXP	Mythic	33.39
Celestial Colonnade	UBT	Mythic	32.93
Timetwister	1E	Rare	32.71
Murktide Regent	MH2	Mythic	32.68
Cavern of Souls	UMA	Mythic	32.36
Earthshaking Si	PZ2	Common	31.71
Wasteland	TPR	Rare	31.53
Ancient Tomb	ZNE	Mythic	31.05
Aether Vial	MS2	Bonus	30.99
Wasteland	TE	Uncommon	30.93
Platinum Emperion	UBT	Mythic	30.84
Hullbreacher	CMR	Rare	30.57
Force of Vigor	MH1	Rare	30.53
Carpet of Flowers	UZ	Uncommon	30.03
Dauthi Voidwalker	MH2	Rare	28.82
Teferi, Time Raveler	WAR	Rare	28.63
Wasteland	EMA	Rare	28.45
Marisi, Breaker of the Coil	C19	Mythic	27.94
Ignoble Hierarch	MH2	Rare	27.78
Scalding Tarn	EXP	Mythic	27.54
Force of Will	2XM	Mythic	27.43
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria	MS4	Mythic	27.2
Underground Sea	ME4	Rare	26.82
Creeping Tar Pit	UBT	Mythic	26.76
Force of Will	MS3	Mythic	26.72
Force of Will	EMA	Mythic	26.43
Fulminator Mage	UBT	Mythic	26.34
Force of Will	VMA	Rare	26.25
Bitterblossom	UBT	Mythic	25.68
Reanimate	UBT	Mythic	25.16
Ethereal Forager	C20	Rare	25.06
Mana Vault	UBT	Mythic	25.04

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 $26,440.

In Closing

I finished a couple of Glimpse of Tomorrow decks in Modern this week and played them. They are wildly inconsistent, but when when they pop off, they really pop off. I also decided that Mishra's Bauble could leave the format and I wouldn't miss it at all. I have that I love Modern so much but anything list that includes Force of Negation, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Urza's Saga, the evoke elementals from Modern Horizons two and Wrenn and Six have priced me out of a lot of decks. Living End is one of my favorite things to do, but going at it without a few copies of Force of Negation seems wrong. Heck even Seasoned Pyromancer is keeping me from stuff.

I get that Magic is expensive and a luxury hobby and I know that the current prices on MTGO are based on rental services buying up copies for their customer's demands, but I feel like MTGO is going to be at a breaking point soon. Something has to give, the economy isn't as strong as it used to be, drafters are drafting more on a newer, shiner, more ladder filled version of Duals of the Planeswalker, and Commander cards from Strixhaven and Forgotten Realms have no announced timetable for when they are being added to the client.

I'm nervous, but I am also having a good time playing Magic.

At least my son is here, and has been here since Wednesday to keep my occupied otherwise!

Price tables were done on Thursday night.

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