State of the Program for March 18th, 2022
Bans: This item is of course from last week. We saw some bans in multiple formats, so let's get up to speed there! Lurrus of the Dream-Den
was so nice, it was banned twice, once in Modern and again in Pioneer. Joining them on the Pauper sidelines is Galvanic Relay
and Disciple of the Vault
. Coming off the bench in Pauper is Expedition Map
. These changes were all added last week, so nothing new here! If you want to see the reasons why you can go here and the Pauper discussion is here.
All-Access: It's back for a couple of weeks, this time from March 23 to April 6. In addition to this we have a week full of Super Qualifiers! Starting on March 28 and ending on April 1, Modern, Pioneer, Limited and Legacy will get a chance to shine! Read about it 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
|
April 27th, 2022 |
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 - Invasion Block Flashback Draft
Upcoming Events on MTGO
March 18 - Pioner Qualifier
March 19 - Pauper Super Qualifier
March 20 - Limited Super Qualifier
March 28 - Modern Super Qualifier
March 29 - Pioneer Super Qualifier
March 30 - Neon Dynasty Sealed Super Qualifier
March 31 - Legacy Super Qualifier
April 1 - Modern Super Qualifier
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: I played one match with this in a League won the first game, took a picture of the deck, put it on Twitter, saying it was the best deck on Standard and then got stomped in the next two games to lose the round.
It is a really fun deck though!
Legacy: This deck looks like a lot of fun to me. I'm sure it's not, but I used to love
Standstill when it was in Standard, and excuse me, I have to take an aspirin for my back pain now.
Modern: I really just liked the idea of
Discover the Impossible
in Storm. It seems like a really natural fit.
Pauper:
Expedition Map
is making an impact already, fresh off the ban list.
Pioneer: I have fear for the cool Aura decks in Pioneer. I think the Lurrus ban may have killed them and that, I feel, may be very disappointing. At least we have another cool enchantment deck to take their places maybe? I do think that ban was a mistake.
The Winner's Circle is where I will recognize winners of the past events on MTGO.
Challenge Winners
Saturday Legacy - McWinSauce - Bant Pile
Saturday Modern - rastaf - Temur Rhinos
Saturday Pauper - Mikhathara1994 - Dimir Fae
Saturday Pioneer - cladioh - Bring to Niv
Saturday Standard - Demian77 - Esper Friends
Saturday Vintage - MaxMagicer
Sunday Legacy - 2jjm - 8 Cast
Sunday Modern - Super Qualifier
Sunday Pauper - Hamuda - Affinity
Sunday Pioneer - O_danielakos - Izzet Phoenix
Sunday Standard - ovmlcabrera - Esper Friends
Sunday Vintage - ecobaronen
Other Event Winners
Modern Super Qualifier - azax and katoriarch123
Sealed Super Qualifier - Ignotus97 and Soondubu
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:
Brutal Cathar
is new to the list this week.
Modern Staples: A couple of new old additions to the list as the format adjusts to life after Lurrus.
Eternal Staples: I do not know enough about Vintage to make a decision on Lurrus being on here, but I don't recall it seeing as much play since the rule change.
Pioneer Staples: Some more new ones here. I actually think that the Lurrus ban wasn't needed here. What do I know though?
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 |
Forgotten Realms |
$178.77 |
$199.33 |
($20.56) |
-10% |
Innistrad: Crimson Vow |
$181.03 |
$177.45 |
$3.58 |
2% |
Innistrad: Midnight Hunt |
$183.13 |
$179.68 |
$3.45 |
2% |
Kaldheim |
$71.06 |
$74.61 |
($3.55) |
-5% |
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty |
$162.04 |
$164.51 |
($2.47) |
-2% |
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Booster |
$3.27 |
$3.27 |
$0.00 |
0% |
Strixhaven: School of Mages |
$56.64 |
$59.17 |
($2.53) |
-4% |
Treasure Chest |
$2.50 |
$2.48 |
$0.02 |
1% |
Zendikar Rising |
$114.69 |
$119.40 |
($4.71) |
-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 |
232.25 |
Cavern of Souls |
UBT |
Mythic |
127.74 |
Karakas |
UBT |
Mythic |
123.61 |
Liliana of the Veil |
UBT |
Mythic |
121.75 |
Mox Jet |
1E |
Rare |
121.02 |
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth |
UBT |
Mythic |
111.77 |
Ancestral Recall |
1E |
Rare |
105.51 |
Kappa Cannoneer |
NEC |
Rare |
97.25 |
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer |
MH2 |
Mythic |
87.08 |
Mox Sapphire |
1E |
Rare |
85.03 |
Time Walk |
1E |
Rare |
83 |
Snapcaster Mage |
UBT |
Mythic |
78.84 |
Mox Emerald |
1E |
Rare |
76.67 |
Force of Will |
MED |
Rare |
73.91 |
Endurance |
MH2 |
Mythic |
71.35 |
Wrenn and Six |
MH1 |
Mythic |
70.44 |
Hullbreacher |
CMR |
Rare |
70.23 |
Demonic Tutor |
UBT |
Mythic |
69.35 |
Urza's Saga |
MH2 |
Rare |
67.91 |
Purple-Crystal Crab |
PZ2 |
Common |
61.79 |
Mox Pearl |
1E |
Rare |
57.06 |
Mox Ruby |
1E |
Rare |
55.8 |
Solitude |
MH2 |
Mythic |
54.52 |
Dark Depths |
UBT |
Mythic |
52.51 |
Force of Vigor |
MH1 |
Rare |
51.46 |
The Meathook Massacre |
MID |
Mythic |
51.18 |
Marisi, Breaker of the Coil |
C19 |
Mythic |
50.03 |
Force of Negation |
MH1 |
Rare |
49.95 |
Heavenly Qilin |
PZ2 |
Common |
49.92 |
Murktide Regent |
MH2 |
Mythic |
46 |
Jace, the Mind Sculptor |
MS4 |
Mythic |
45.37 |
Mox Diamond |
TPR |
Mythic |
41.89 |
Hidetsugu Consumes All |
NEO |
Mythic |
40.6 |
Force of Will |
2XM |
Mythic |
40.51 |
Mox Diamond |
ST |
Rare |
40.11 |
Mishra's Bauble |
IMA |
Uncommon |
40.09 |
Karn, the Great Creator |
WAR |
Rare |
39.86 |
The Wandering Emperor |
NEO |
Mythic |
39.57 |
Liliana, the Last Hope |
MS4 |
Mythic |
39.55 |
Earthshaking Si |
PZ2 |
Common |
39.01 |
Force of Will |
MS3 |
Mythic |
37.29 |
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth |
UBT |
Mythic |
37.23 |
Mana Vault |
UBT |
Mythic |
37.14 |
Lotus Petal |
TE |
Common |
36.92 |
Wasteland |
ZNE |
Mythic |
35.91 |
Force of Will |
VMA |
Rare |
35.27 |
Teferi, Time Raveler |
WAR |
Rare |
35.06 |
Mox Diamond |
V10 |
Mythic |
35 |
Force of Will |
EMA |
Mythic |
34.82 |
Boseiju, Who Endures |
NEO |
Rare |
34.13 |
Edgar Markov |
PZ2 |
Mythic |
34.11 |
Lotus Petal |
MS2 |
Bonus |
33.84 |
Reanimate |
UBT |
Mythic |
33.79 |
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria |
MS4 |
Mythic |
33.47 |
Meltdown |
UZ |
Uncommon |
32.53 |
Anje's Ravager |
C19 |
Rare |
32.51 |
Cultivator Colossus |
VOW |
Mythic |
32.48 |
Karn Liberated |
UBT |
Mythic |
32.04 |
Allosaurus Shepherd |
JMP |
Mythic |
31.89 |
Sorin the Mirthless |
VOW |
Mythic |
31.63 |
Wasteland |
TPR |
Rare |
31.4 |
Lotus Petal |
TPR |
Uncommon |
31.35 |
Omnath, Locus of Creation |
ZNR |
Mythic |
31.26 |
Timetwister |
1E |
Rare |
31.13 |
Fury |
MH2 |
Mythic |
30.68 |
Mishra's Bauble |
CSP |
Uncommon |
30.61 |
Mishra's Bauble |
2XM |
Uncommon |
30.35 |
Celestial Colonnade |
UBT |
Mythic |
30.09 |
Jeweled Lotus |
CMR |
Mythic |
29.64 |
Engineered Explosives |
UBT |
Mythic |
29.23 |
Noble Hierarch |
UBT |
Mythic |
29.18 |
Brazen Borrower |
ELD |
Mythic |
28.8 |
Aether Gale |
C14 |
Rare |
28.42 |
Scalding Tarn |
MH2 |
Rare |
28.25 |
Wasteland |
TE |
Uncommon |
28.14 |
Fulminator Mage |
UBT |
Mythic |
27.95 |
Flooded Strand |
ZNE |
Mythic |
27.83 |
Misty Rainforest |
MH2 |
Rare |
27.78 |
Archmage's Charm |
MH1 |
Rare |
27.63 |
Court of Cunning |
CMR |
Rare |
27 |
Platinum Emperion |
UBT |
Mythic |
26.59 |
Wasteland |
EXP |
Mythic |
26.14 |
Doomsday |
WL |
Rare |
25.89 |
Creeping Tar Pit |
UBT |
Mythic |
25.86 |
Cleansing Screech |
PZ2 |
Common |
25.73 |
Unmask |
V16 |
Mythic |
25.67 |
Pramikon, Sky Rampart |
C19 |
Mythic |
25.31 |
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre |
UBT |
Mythic |
25.21 |
Opposition Agent |
CMR |
Rare |
25.06 |
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 $29,925. On the 4th it was $29,786. Looks like a $139 dollar gain.
I struggled a few weeks ago with depression and since then every week has been better but it's trended downwards. I'm just happy to have strung togehter so many good days.
The of course Kentucky lost in the NCAA tournament last night, so my favorite event of the year is now relegated to background noise. Today I am hosting a get together for my friend group, the third is getting married Saturday, since the pandemic started I have watched all of my friends get married. We are gonna play Magic and board games and such!
Maybe I'm not doing as well as I like to think I am, because I seem to be down.
This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic” Friborg.