State of the Program for March 12th, 2021
Modern Horizons 2: Wizards Play Network shared a lot of details from Modern Horizons 2. This set has a prerelease window that lasts from June 4th to June 10th 2021. It releases on June 11th in the paper world. Webcam events will be held over SpellTable Beta. It will have Collector, Draft and Set booster packs. You can read about it here.
Magic Survey: New survey is up. It's really long. I did it, but ended up getting bored and taking a break about 40 questions in. You can take the survey here.
Historic Anthology IV: It came out on March 11, 2021. It contains 4 copies of each card in the set, but really it's just Harmless Offering
and 24 other cards for me! You can see the list here. With this release there is a new pet, the Amon-cat, some general fixes and such, and updated play offerings. You can see that news here.

Limited Qualifier: Saturday is a Kaldheim sealed event for the Strixhaven Split Championship.
Modern Qualifier: Sunday the format is Modern.
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
|
March 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
|
Ends June 23, 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:
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:
Standard: I like this deck, but can't play it correctly. I want to play it like an Enchantress deck but am pretty sure that's not how to actually play this. The runes in the deck help you turn on In Search of Greatness
so you can get free three drops. I enjoyed playing this, but eventually got frustrated at how it was going.
Historic: fireshoes on Twitter, everyone's favorite deck sharing account, shared the first draft of the
Harmless Offering
deck that they are working on after the release of Historic Anthology IV today. I am wonding if the
Nine Lives
Solemnity
combo is where we want to be at here. I like the idea of it, so I can't wait to give this a go later on!
Legacy: Here is another deck that you can use the fancy Secret Lair
Primeval Titan
in.
Modern: This is also another deck for fancy titans!
Pauper: If you have titans in your deck in Pauper, you're a sorceror and have taken advantage of things there. If you happen to play against a player with Titans in their deck in the format, here is one that can handle them with ease!
Pioneer: This deck is a lot of fun, and playing Pioneer recently has made me see how reliant it is on (Omnath, Locus of Creation:ZNBR) and we have a lot of really clean answers to the four drop here.
Historic 2: I am of course, excited for Cat Pact, but I am going to be starting on another deck. It's a couple of years old, and needs to be brought up to date, but I think there is some potential in
Paradoxical Outcome
and
Inspiring Statuary
. Historic is a
Molten Rain
away from providing everything I want in a format.
The Winner's Circle is where I will recognize winners of the past events on MTGO.
Challenge Winners
Saturday Legacy - Carroz - Death & Taxes
Saturday Pauper - dragon7k - Izzet Control
Saturday Pioneer - Dreams of Ashiok - Niv to Light
Sunday Modern - Stompy45 - Collected Counters
Sunday Pauper - Hawkbundudo - Wall Cascade
Sunday Standard - rastaf - Mono Red Aggro
Sunday Vintage - albertoSD
Other Event Winners
Pioneer Showcase - Ozymandias17 - Orzhov Auras
Legacy Showcase - ziofrancone - Izzet Delver
Vintage Showcase - Enrichetta
Standard Showcase - Tixis - Naya Showdown
Modern Showcase - CanadianNinja - Niv to Light
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:
The Great Henge
is back on the list.
Alrund's Epiphany
is on the list.
Sea Gate Restoration
came off the list.
Modern Staples:
Trinisphere
seems like it is starting to see more play, but I am not sure which format is helping it. Leaving it in Modern for now.
Magus of the Moon
fell off the list.
Silent Clearning
came off the list.
Dismember
is back on the list this week.
Eternal Staples: Nothing new going on here.
Pioneer Staples:
Assassin's Trophy
is back off the list.
Mana Confluence
continues to be volatile.
Kozilek's Return
fell off the list to be replaced by
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
.
Kaya, Orzhov Usurper
has come back on to the list.
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 |
$80.84 |
$84.03 |
($3.19) |
-4% |
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths |
$66.72 |
$69.58 |
($2.86) |
-4% |
Kaldheim |
$140.93 |
$137.67 |
$3.26 |
2% |
Kaldheim Booster |
$3.21 |
$3.26 |
($0.05) |
-2% |
Theros Beyond Death |
$106.98 |
$108.91 |
($1.93) |
-2% |
Throne of Eldraine |
$137.80 |
$134.77 |
$3.03 |
2% |
Treasure Chest |
$2.41 |
$2.37 |
$0.04 |
2% |
Zendikar Rising |
$165.36 |
$161.67 |
$3.69 |
2% |
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 |
181.19 |
Hullbreacher |
CMR |
Rare |
113.07 |
Snapcaster Mage |
UBT |
Mythic |
102.79 |
Karakas |
UBT |
Mythic |
90.72 |
Liliana of the Veil |
UBT |
Mythic |
89.34 |
Cavern of Souls |
UBT |
Mythic |
82.88 |
Force of Negation |
MH1 |
Rare |
82.33 |
Mox Jet |
1E |
Rare |
74.89 |
Ancestral Recall |
1E |
Rare |
71.91 |
Time Walk |
1E |
Rare |
69.06 |
Mox Sapphire |
1E |
Rare |
66.4 |
Mox Emerald |
1E |
Rare |
64.46 |
Force of Will |
MED |
Rare |
59.87 |
Wasteland |
TE |
Uncommon |
57.91 |
Wrenn and Six |
MH1 |
Mythic |
55.31 |
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow |
PZ2 |
Rare |
54.34 |
Dark Depths |
UBT |
Mythic |
54.09 |
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth |
UBT |
Mythic |
47.62 |
Allosaurus Shepherd |
JMP |
Mythic |
47.44 |
Wasteland |
TPR |
Rare |
47.22 |
Jace, the Mind Sculptor |
MS4 |
Mythic |
47.12 |
Demonic Tutor |
UBT |
Mythic |
46.95 |
Force of Will |
2XM |
Mythic |
46.23 |
Valki, God of Lies |
KHM |
Mythic |
46.18 |
Force of Will |
MS3 |
Mythic |
45.27 |
Noble Hierarch |
UBT |
Mythic |
44.88 |
Karn Liberated |
UBT |
Mythic |
44.67 |
Force of Will |
EMA |
Mythic |
44.23 |
Auriok Champion |
IMA |
Rare |
44.08 |
Force of Will |
VMA |
Rare |
43.89 |
Auriok Champion |
5DN |
Rare |
43.59 |
Wasteland |
EXP |
Mythic |
42.9 |
Ethereal Forager |
C20 |
Rare |
41.96 |
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale |
ME3 |
Rare |
41.38 |
Mox Ruby |
1E |
Rare |
41.13 |
Wasteland |
ZNE |
Mythic |
40.8 |
Wasteland |
EMA |
Rare |
40.73 |
Karn, the Great Creator |
WAR |
Rare |
40.54 |
Mox Pearl |
1E |
Rare |
40.49 |
Scourge of the Skyclaves |
ZNR |
Mythic |
39.01 |
Timetwister |
1E |
Rare |
37.85 |
Teferi, Time Raveler |
WAR |
Rare |
37.84 |
Purple-Crystal Crab |
PZ2 |
Common |
36.72 |
Platinum Emperion |
UBT |
Mythic |
35.72 |
Liliana, the Last Hope |
MS4 |
Mythic |
35.47 |
Seasoned Pyromancer |
MH1 |
Mythic |
35.26 |
City of Traitors |
EX |
Rare |
35.08 |
City of Traitors |
TPR |
Rare |
33.81 |
Opposition Agent |
CMR |
Rare |
33.34 |
Celestial Colonnade |
UBT |
Mythic |
32.37 |
Skyclave Apparition |
ZNR |
Rare |
30.9 |
Scalding Tarn |
ZNE |
Mythic |
30.02 |
Brazen Borrower |
ELD |
Mythic |
29.81 |
Heavenly Qilin |
PZ2 |
Common |
29.74 |
Underground Sea |
ME4 |
Rare |
29.65 |
Scalding Tarn |
EXP |
Mythic |
28.84 |
Underground Sea |
ME2 |
Rare |
28.78 |
Jeweled Lotus |
CMR |
Mythic |
28.57 |
Verdant Catacombs |
ZNE |
Mythic |
28.07 |
Elder Gargaroth |
M21 |
Mythic |
27.93 |
Ancient Tomb |
ZNE |
Mythic |
27.86 |
Cavern of Souls |
UMA |
Mythic |
27.7 |
Cavern of Souls |
MM3 |
Mythic |
27.42 |
Cavern of Souls |
ZNE |
Mythic |
26.45 |
Omnath, Locus of Creation |
ZNR |
Mythic |
26.42 |
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria |
MS4 |
Mythic |
26.41 |
Creeping Tar Pit |
UBT |
Mythic |
25.88 |
Lord Windgrace |
PZ2 |
Mythic |
25.8 |
Carpet of Flowers |
UZ |
Uncommon |
25.58 |
Bitterblossom |
UBT |
Mythic |
25.57 |
Life from the Loam |
UBT |
Mythic |
25.01 |
Fulminator Mage |
UBT |
Mythic |
25 |
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 $27,893. Last week the big number was $28,120. After gaining more than $1,000 last week we slipped a bit, dropping $227.
Prices were done on Wednesday. Hope you all have a great weekend!
This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic” Friborg.