State of the Program for November 8th, 2023
MTGO Socials: Daybreak has set up forums for MTGO, which you can find here. In addition to the Forums, Daybreak has set up a Discord for MTGO. You can get the invite here. MTGO has a Twitter account, and can now add an account for Facebook and Instagram.
Two-Factor Authentication: This is in Account Settings. To turn it on you will be asked for your account password and a 6-digit code sent to the email associated with your account. You can use either an email or authenticator based system. This will help keep your accounts secure, you can read about the system here.
Redemption: Redemption is up and running! Remember that redemption runs now until supply is gone. Currently being redeemed are Premium versions of Dominaria United and both versions of Wilds of Eldraine. The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Redemption Tokens will go on sale on December 6th. As of May 23, 2023, Redemption Tokens are non-refundable! You can check the new redemption page here.
The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ Special Edition on MTGO: These packs are coming on to the client on November 8th following downtime. Each booster is 4.99, is the same product mix as the Lord of the Rings set, and replaces the main set cards with Showcase Scroll versions. The Booster Fun cards from this set, the Scene Boxes, poster cards, Borderless Brothers Hildebrandt and Showcase Scroll Commander cards will enter the system via Treasure Chests on November 14th. Draft leagues will be here for 2 weeks starting on the 8th.
Lost Caverns of Ixalan: The booster fun article is here. If you're looking for previews and who has them, go here! The card image gallery is here. Finally the mechanics article is here. Jurassic World gets the bundle treatement. You are getting 32 cards (one of each of the 20 original cards and 12 lands, two of each) for 34.99 starting next Tuesday. These cards will not be in Treasure chests. They will not be in All-Access periods. Speaking of, the Deck Brewer's Pass is back and will last until November 27th, giving you 12 days of access of just about everything on MTGO, perfect for figuring out what cards in Lost Caverns will be best for you! Booster Packs of the set will cost 3.99 on the MTGO Store. Booster fun, the Treasure Trove Box Toppers, Extended Art, Borderless, and Showcase Rares and Mythics will be in Treasure chests, as will the Buy a Box and Bundle Promo. Jumpstart cards will be in Deck Builder's Essentials, and Extended Art versions of them will be in chests. Chests will update on November 14th. Six cards are coming off the commander backlog next week. However, a lot of cards are being added to the backlog as more than half of the Commander cards from the Commander set will be on. We're not missing a ton, but we are missing some. Player Rewards will update in December and January, and will feature foil versions of the showcase cards from Lost Caverns at lower rarities. Basking Capybara
, Hulking Raptor
, Breeches, Eager Pillager
, Huatli, Poet of Unity
and Quintorius Kand
all get avatars this set. For the Commander cards coming on the client, click here. You can go here for the Treasure Chest updates.
Challenge updates: 96 player events are now on Saturday for Pioneer, and Sunday for Modern and Pioneer. These are not replacements events, or added events, they are just using the extra large player event structure. The Sunday Standard is now a large player event structure. We're also getting a new Challenge, with Pioneer getting one on Fridays.
Patch Notes: You can check out the notes for this update here. Big changes are UI improvements in regards to foil graphics and audio improvements. There is a new UI interface for floating mana. There are some small card changes and some Oracle changes, with Totem Armor becoming Umbra Armor, Tribal becoming Kindred, Naga becoming Snakes and Rakshasa losing cat from certain creatures.
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
|
January 17, 2024 |
|
Constructed Leagues End
|
November 11, 2023
|
|
Sealed Leagues End
|
November 11, 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 - Draft leagues featuring The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ Special Edition
November 22 - Vintage Cube witth 64 player events.
November 29 - Supreme Masters Draft.
December 6 - Gavin Thompson-Exner's AlphaFrog Cube
December 20 - Vintage Cube Holiday Festival
January 17 - Ravnica Remastered
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: Standard is great when
Giant Growth
is a playable card. We've reached that point here.
Legacy:
Modern:
Pauper:
Pioneer:
The Winner's Circle is where I will recognize winners of the past events on MTGO.
Challenge Winners
Friday Modern - Cachorrowo - Boros Burn
Saturday Legacy - The_Bza - Lands
Saturday Modern - liuyuchen - Rakdos Evoke
Saturday Modern - ThatIrishGuy - Boros Burn
Saturday Pauper - ezocratto - Dimir Ninjas
Saturday Pioneer - Kjwallace - Hidden Strings
Saturday Standard - tzio - Golgari Aggro
Saturday Vintage - Beekeeper
Sunday Legacy - TonyScapone - Paradoxical Outcome
Sunday Modern - Kazuga - Rakdos Evoke
Sunday Pauper - carrot_eater - Caw Gates
Sunday Pioneer - Jaberwocki - Rakdos Sac
Sunday Standard - Soon - Golgari Mid
Sunday Vintage - wiky
Other Event Winners
Modern 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:
Modern Staples:
Eternal Staples:
Pioneer Staples:
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 |
$47.77 |
$42.90 |
$4.87 |
11% |
| Dominaria United |
$96.02 |
$85.78 |
$10.24 |
12% |
| Innistrad: Crimson Vow |
$46.60 |
$45.41 |
$1.19 |
3% |
| Innistrad: Midnight Hunt |
$65.61 |
$59.96 |
$5.65 |
9% |
| Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty |
$79.23 |
$77.47 |
$1.76 |
2% |
| March of the Machine |
$86.30 |
$84.74 |
$1.56 |
2% |
| Phyrexia: All Will Be One |
$182.82 |
$161.11 |
$21.71 |
13% |
| Streets of New Capenna |
$45.09 |
$43.25 |
$1.84 |
4% |
| Treasure Chest Booster |
$2.19 |
$2.21 |
($0.02) |
-1% |
| Wilds of Eldraine |
$183.35 |
$176.86 |
$6.49 |
4% |
| Wilds of Eldraine Booster |
$2.13 |
$2.40 |
($0.27) |
-11% |
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 |
257.24 |
| Mox Jet |
1E |
Rare |
108.59 |
| Ancestral Recall |
1E |
Rare |
98.91 |
| The One Ring |
LTR |
Mythic |
74.78 |
| The One Ring |
LTR |
Mythic |
72.86 |
| Time Walk |
1E |
Rare |
72.4 |
| Mox Sapphire |
1E |
Rare |
66.68 |
| The One Ring |
LTR |
Mythic |
66.49 |
| Mox Pearl |
1E |
Rare |
58.36 |
| Liliana of the Veil |
UBT |
Mythic |
55.91 |
| Mox Emerald |
1E |
Rare |
55.59 |
| Agatha's Soul Cauldron |
WOE |
Mythic |
50.33 |
| Agatha's Soul Cauldron |
WOE |
Mythic |
49.44 |
| Mox Ruby |
1E |
Rare |
47.63 |
| Cavern of Souls |
UBT |
Mythic |
45.75 |
| Karakas |
UBT |
Mythic |
43.91 |
| Timetwister |
1E |
Rare |
42.33 |
| Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth |
UBT |
Mythic |
42.11 |
| Orcish Bowmasters |
LTR |
Rare |
42.04 |
| Fury |
MH2 |
Mythic |
41.66 |
| Demonic Tutor |
UBT |
Mythic |
39.49 |
| Orcish Bowmasters |
LTR |
Rare |
38.99 |
| Dark Depths |
UBT |
Mythic |
36.91 |
| Underground Sea |
ME4 |
Rare |
36.67 |
| Sheoldred, the Apocalypse |
ONE |
Promo |
36.21 |
| Breath of Fire |
PZ2 |
Common |
35.11 |
| Kozilek, Butcher of Truth |
UBT |
Mythic |
33.58 |
| Reanimate |
UBT |
Mythic |
33.48 |
| Muxus, Goblin Grandee |
JMP |
Rare |
31.67 |
| Armored Whirl Turtle |
PZ2 |
Common |
29.59 |
| Underground Sea |
ME2 |
Rare |
29.39 |
| Heavenly Qilin |
PZ2 |
Common |
29.16 |
| Urza's Saga |
MH2 |
Rare |
28.61 |
| Sheoldred, the Apocalypse |
DMU |
Mythic |
28.47 |
| Force of Will |
MED |
Rare |
28.47 |
| Leyline Binding |
DMU |
Rare |
28.32 |
| Life from the Loam |
UBT |
Mythic |
27.89 |
| Show and Tell |
UZ |
Rare |
26.92 |
| Volcanic Island |
ME4 |
Rare |
26.43 |
| Chalice of the Void |
A25 |
Mythic |
25.65 |
| Cleansing Screech |
PZ2 |
Common |
25.4 |
| Unmask |
V16 |
Mythic |
25.24 |
| Flooded Strand |
ZNE |
Mythic |
25.24 |
| Boseiju, Who Endures |
NEO |
Rare |
25.2 |
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 have been sick since Sunday, it is amazing how time slows to a crawl when you don't feel good. Price lists were done at 1pm Wednesday. I can't wait to replace all of my LotR stuff with the showcase scroll cards.
This series is an ongoing tribute to Erik “Hamtastic” Friborg.
