State of the Program for March 6th, 2020
Ban List News: The Magic eSports Twitter account tweeted out that on March 9th, there will be a banned and restricted list update. The one week warning was nice. You can see the tweet here, it's pretty much what I wrote.
Challenges are back on this weekend: Regular format challenges are back this week.
Mystery Booster WPN Edition: This product releases next week to retail stores. In place of the playtest cards, players will get a foil card per pack, and if you're interested in that, you can check out the list of possible foils here.
Arena State of the Game: Direct Messaging of friends is the improvement I care about, but a lot of neat things appear to be coming to Arena. You can check out the list 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
|
March 25, 2020 |
Constructed Leagues End
|
April 15, 2020
|
Sealed Leagues End
|
April 16, 2020
|
Next B&R Announcement
|
Unknown
|
Throne of Eldraine Redemption
|
Ends March 11, 2020
|
Theros: Beyond Death Redem
|
Starts February 12, 2020
|
Theros: Beyond Death
|
January 24, 2020
|
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
|
April 24, 2020
|
Core Set 2021
Zendikar Rising
|
Third Quarter 2020
Fourth Quarter 2020
|
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:
Limited PTQ - Saturday
Modern PTQ - Sunday
Magic Online Format Challenges
These are high stakes events that happen every weekend. They cost 25 Tix / 250 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:
Event Type
|
Start Time
|
|
Saturday 6:00 am PT
Saturday, 8:00 am PT
|
|
Saturday, 10:00 am PT
Sunday 6:00 am PT
|
|
Sunday, 8:00 am PT
|
|
Sunday, 10:00 am PT
|
Standard: Featuring the showcase challenge winners this week seemed like a no brainer, so make sure to enjoy the decks that won the big events on MTGO this week.
Legacy: I can't imagine this deck existing in the same form after Monday. It seems to be played a lot, and with that it's winning a lot, but it also appears to be a really hard deck to interact against.
Modern: I don't know what to call this anymore. It's easier then it was
Scapeshift or
Amulet of Vigor but this is just like thirty one lands and some ramp spells.
Pauper:
Ghostly Flicker is a card that is still legal in Pauper, and I have no idea why that is.
Pioneer: I was talking to a friend about this deck over the week, and I have no idea why I can't beat it, but I sure can't. Something about this deck just makes me stupid. It puts me on tilt to have
Stasis Snare flashing out and getting my best card and then the possiblity of combo, it just makes me play differently.
Vintage:
Mishra's Workshop is also still a thing and I have no idea why.
The Winner's Circle is where I will recognize winners of the past events on MTGO.
Showcase Challenge Winners
Legacy - WhiteFaces - Jeskai Breach
Modern - AvocadoToast - Titan
Pauper - saidin.raken - Familiar Flicker
Pioneer - Phil_Hellmuth - Mono White Heliod
Standard - llawtonss - Jund Food
Vintage - infant_no_1 - Shops
Other Event Winners
MTGOTraders YouTube: Did you know that MTGOTraders.com has a YouTube page with videos added Monday, Wednesday and Friday? Well if not, now you do, and you can find it here!
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:
Rankle, Master of Pranks fell off the list.
The Great Henge is back on.
Cavalier of Flame is back on the list as well.
Hydroid Krasis finally fell off the list this week.
Standard Cards |
Price |
Last Week |
Change |
% Change |
Brazen Borrower |
$48.95 |
$36.95 |
$12.00 |
32% |
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King |
$8.42 |
$8.29 |
$0.13 |
2% |
Questing Beast |
$7.85 |
$7.96 |
($0.11) |
-1% |
Alela, Artful Provocateur |
$8.11 |
$8.05 |
$0.06 |
1% |
Chulane, Teller of Tales |
$6.75 |
$6.67 |
$0.08 |
1% |
Fabled Passage |
$9.93 |
$8.39 |
$1.54 |
18% |
Bonecrusher Giant |
$5.14 |
$6.15 |
($1.01) |
-16% |
Embercleave |
$6.54 |
$6.75 |
($0.21) |
-3% |
The Great Henge |
$5.11 |
|
|
|
Arclight Phoenix |
$5.30 |
$5.31 |
($0.01) |
0% |
Assassin's Trophy |
$6.00 |
$5.80 |
$0.20 |
3% |
Chandra, Awakened Inferno |
$18.05 |
$17.94 |
$0.11 |
1% |
Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord |
$5.54 |
$7.03 |
($1.49) |
-21% |
Leyline of the Void |
$11.71 |
$9.79 |
$1.92 |
20% |
Vivien, Arkbow Ranger |
$32.44 |
$20.71 |
$11.73 |
57% |
Ajani, Strength of the Pride |
$7.01 |
$6.93 |
$0.08 |
1% |
Cavalier of Thorns |
$7.20 |
$8.12 |
($0.92) |
-11% |
Lotus Field |
$5.24 |
$6.67 |
($1.43) |
-21% |
Cavalier of Flame |
$5.11 |
|
|
|
Deputy of Detention |
$7.58 |
$9.43 |
($1.85) |
-20% |
Kaya, Orzhov Usurper |
$5.43 |
$5.70 |
($0.27) |
-5% |
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath |
$49.10 |
$48.11 |
$0.99 |
2% |
Heliod, Sun-Crowned |
$18.18 |
$13.51 |
$4.67 |
35% |
Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger |
$15.68 |
$13.77 |
$1.91 |
14% |
Ox of Agonas |
$5.05 |
$5.17 |
($0.12) |
-2% |
Teferi, Time Raveler |
$59.52 |
$56.48 |
$3.04 |
5% |
Finale of Devastation |
$11.02 |
$10.93 |
$0.09 |
1% |
Karn, the Great Creator |
$28.99 |
$20.03 |
$8.96 |
45% |
Dreadhorde Arcanist |
$13.64 |
$13.30 |
$0.34 |
3% |
Blast Zone |
$14.11 |
$12.22 |
$1.89 |
15% |
Gideon Blackblade |
$6.45 |
$7.57 |
($1.12) |
-15% |
Niv-Mizzet Reborn |
$16.88 |
$19.50 |
($2.62) |
-13% |
Jace, Wielder of Mysteries |
$9.21 |
$9.90 |
($0.69) |
-7% |
Nissa, Who Shakes the World |
$9.35 |
|
|
|
Modern Staples:
Wrenn and Six has climbed above 100 again. That's neat.
Amulet of Vigor fell off the list this week.
Eternal Staples:
Sneak Attack came off the list this week.
Pioneer Staples: Not a ton of stuff happening this week, but that might be due to the upcoming ban stuff.
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 2020 |
$216.10 |
$203.48 |
$12.62 |
6% |
Guilds of Ravnica |
$49.44 |
$48.19 |
$1.25 |
3% |
Modern Horizons |
$440.64 |
$430.13 |
$10.51 |
2% |
Ravnica Allegiances |
$61.34 |
$64.08 |
($2.74) |
-4% |
Theros Beyond Death |
$136.83 |
$132.92 |
$3.91 |
3% |
Theros Beyond Death Booster |
$3.32 |
$3.31 |
$0.01 |
0% |
Throne of Eldraine |
$184.32 |
$179.43 |
$4.89 |
3% |
Treasure Chest |
$2.09 |
$2.11 |
($0.02) |
-1% |
War of the Spark |
$211.26 |
$198.53 |
$12.73 |
6% |
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 |
186.82 |
Wrenn and Six |
MH1 |
Mythic |
101.13 |
Mox Emerald |
1E |
Rare |
81.63 |
Karn Liberated |
UBT |
Mythic |
80.81 |
Snapcaster Mage |
UBT |
Mythic |
69.75 |
Mox Jet |
1E |
Rare |
67.18 |
Ancestral Recall |
1E |
Rare |
65.56 |
Force of Negation |
MH1 |
Rare |
65.2 |
Mox Sapphire |
1E |
Rare |
63.89 |
Teferi. Time Raveler |
WAR |
Rare |
59.52 |
Liliana of the Veil |
UBT |
Mythic |
55.02 |
Mox Pearl |
1E |
Rare |
50.99 |
Uro. Titan of Nature's Wrath |
THB |
Mythic |
49.1 |
Brazen Borrower |
ELD |
Mythic |
48.95 |
Lord Windgrace |
PZ2 |
Mythic |
48.77 |
Dark Depths |
V16 |
Mythic |
48.41 |
Time Walk |
1E |
Rare |
46.34 |
Unmask |
V16 |
Mythic |
46.24 |
Mox Ruby |
1E |
Rare |
44.03 |
Noble Hierarch |
UBT |
Mythic |
43.83 |
Dark Depths |
UBT |
Mythic |
42.08 |
Jace. the Mind Sculptor |
MS4 |
Mythic |
41.58 |
Cavern of Souls |
UBT |
Mythic |
38.04 |
Mishra's Bauble |
IMA |
Uncommon |
37.05 |
Mishra's Bauble |
CSP |
Uncommon |
36.78 |
Force of Will |
MED |
Rare |
34.93 |
Liliana. the Last Hope |
MS4 |
Mythic |
34.92 |
Vivien. Arkbow Ranger |
M20 |
Mythic |
32.44 |
Mana Confluence |
EXP |
Mythic |
31.7 |
Karakas |
UBT |
Mythic |
29.84 |
Tuvasa the Sunlit |
PZ2 |
Mythic |
29.23 |
Ice-Fang Coatl |
MH1 |
Rare |
29.02 |
Karn. the Great Creator |
WAR |
Rare |
28.99 |
Celestial Colonnade |
UBT |
Mythic |
28.43 |
Timetwister |
1E |
Rare |
27.64 |
Tarmogoyf |
UBT |
Mythic |
26.82 |
Teferi. Hero of Dominaria |
MS4 |
Mythic |
25.7 |
Brudiclad. Telchor Engineer |
PZ2 |
Mythic |
25.24 |
Ancient Tomb |
UBT |
Mythic |
25.19 |
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.
Never mind, ignore all of that, Pete got it done for me, because he is just the dang best. The big number this week is $21,600. Last week it was $20,815. Looks like we have a gain of 785.
Prices were done on Wednesday, while I was watching old Pokemon episodes. I have been watching the reboot of the series, subbed for right now, because the American version is still on Alola stuff, but I am really digging it. After Ash won it would have been hard to go to Galar and tell the same story that had been told since the beginning of the anime. The new one is a lot of fun, and you should check it out if you have a chance.
This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic” Friborg.