Banned!  The Meathook Massacre has left Standard.  Yorion, Sky Nomad is no longer legal in Modern.  You can read about the full bannings and reasonings for actions (or no actions) in each format here.

MOCS Champion:  Nauter Steuer won their second MOCS and going undefeated in the Pioneer Pod with Izzet Phoenix and winning the mirror match in the finals over Kiran Dhokia, who won the Modern pod with Modern Cube pod with a Rakdos Aggro build. 

Server Migration:  On the 18th, the Magic: The Gathering Online Servers will be transferred from Wizards of the Coast to Daybreak Games.  You will have to uninstall the old MTGO client, and download a new one from the new MTGO.com site.  Thre will be new help sites and forums.  Twitter stays the same.  Redemption prices are going up.  Make sure you read this article to get ready.

State of Magic Online:  Former PureMTGO writer, Ryan Spain is the Creative Director and Sarah Parsons, from Big Blue Bubble, is the Executive Producer.  Goals are laid out, I'm excited for Play Rewards and the Commander Update.  Also super excited about the Transformer cards being sold in a bundle.  You can read about the new team from Daybreak here.
 

Standard: Izzet Control seems like a great place to start in the format after the banning of The Meathook Massacre. 

Izzet Control

by O_danielakos

2 Abrade 1 Negate 1 Spell Pierce 6 Island 5 Mountain 3 Shivan Reef 4 Swiftwater Cliffs 3 Big Score 3 Burn Down the House 4 Consider 2 Fading Hope 2 Fires of Victory 3 Flame-Blessed Bolt 2 Hullbreaker Horror 2 Lier, Disciple of the Drowned 2 Make Disappear 2 Memory Deluge 1 Otawara, Soaring City 2 Reckoner Bankbuster

1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance 4 Stormcarved Coast 2 The Celestus 1 The Elder Dragon War 1 Voltage Surge 1 Xander's Lounge 1 Abrade 2 Disdainful Stroke 1 Negate 1 Spell Pierce 1 Fires of Victory 1 Flame-Blessed Bolt 4 Haughty Djinn 2 Jaya, Fiery Negotiator 1 The Elder Dragon War 1 Unlicensed Hearse

Legacy:  You can tell a lot about the health of a format by the amount of hate cards in the maindeck! 

Izzet Murktide

by Bryzem1

1 Brazen Borrower 4 Delver of Secrets 4 Brainstorm 4 Daze 4 Force of Will 4 Lightning Bolt 2 Pyroblast 4 Ponder 2 Mishra's Bauble 2 Flooded Strand 1 Island 2 Misty Rainforest 1 Mystic Sanctuary 2 Polluted Delta 2 Scalding Tarn 1 Steam Vents 4 Volcanic Island

4 Wasteland 4 Dragon's Rage Channeler 4 Expressive Iteration 4 Murktide Regent

Sideboard: 1 Narset, Parter of Veils 1 Force of Negation 2 Hydroblast 1 Price of Progress 1 Pyroblast 1 Red Elemental Blast 2 Submerge 2 Surgical Extraction 2 Meltdown 1 Rough // Tumble 1 Maddening Hex

Modern: Scapeshift might be back on the menu in the format.  From the 5-0 deck dump and the preliminary there was a couple decks featuring the sorcery. 

Temur Scapeshift

by ale_as95

4 Sakura-Tribe Elder 4 Teferi, Time Raveler 3 Fire // Ice 1 Growth Spiral 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Remand 4 Bring to Light 2 Farseek 2 Scapeshift 4 Search for Tomorrow 1 Supreme Verdict 1 Breeding Pool 2 Forest 1 Hallowed Fountain 2 Island 2 Ketria Triome 4 Misty Rainforest 1 Mountain

1 Plains 1 Raugrin Triome 4 Steam Vents 4 Stomping Ground 2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle 1 Wooded Foothills 1 Valki, God of Lies

Sideboard: 1 Platinum Emperion 2 Flusterstorm 2 Force of Vigor 3 Veil of Summer 1 Creeping Corrosion 1 Madcap Experiment 3 Chalice of the Void 2 Endurance

Pauper: Maybe I was wrong about Caw Gate going to Boros, because the Azorius version has shown back up in force. 

Azorius Cawgate

by Amplumnox

1 Court Hussar 2 Guardian of the Guildpact 4 Sacred Cat 4 Squadron Hawk 3 Brainstorm 1 Celestial Flare 4 Counterspell 2 Force Spike 4 Prismatic Strands 1 Suffocating Fumes 3 Preordain 4 Journey to Nowhere 2 Ash Barrens 1 Azorius Chancery 4 Island

2 Plains 4 Basilisk Gate 1 Behold the Multiverse 4 Citadel Gate 1 Heap Gate 4 Sea Gate 4 The Modern Age

Sideboard: 2 Gorilla Shaman 2 Standard Bearer 4 Blue Elemental Blast 4 Red Elemental Blast 2 Dust to Dust 1 Arms of Hadar

Pioneer:  Colossal Skyturtle seems like it could be a really fun card in the Pioneer format.  Fable of the Mirror-Breaker fits in just about everything in Standard and Pioneer! 

4 Color Omnath Fires

by Milkk

4 Bonecrusher Giant 3 Cavalier of Flame 4 Kenrith, the Returned King 1 Anger of the Gods 2 Supreme Verdict 4 Fires of Invention 1 Breeding Pool 4 Fabled Passage 1 Forest 1 Hallowed Fountain 1 Island 2 Ketria Triome 1 Mountain 1 Plains 3 Raugrin Triome 2 Sacred Foundry 1 Steam Vents 2 Stomping Ground 1 Swamp

1 Temple Garden 1 Boseiju, Who Endures 2 Colossal Skyturtle 1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire 4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker 2 Jetmir's Garden 4 Leyline Binding 4 Omnath, Locus of Creation 1 Otawara, Soaring City 1 Ziatora's Proving Ground

Sideboard: 1 Keruga, the Macrosage 3 Knight of Autumn 3 Skylasher 2 Mystical Dispute 1 Anger of the Gods 1 Supreme Verdict 4 Leyline of the Void

 

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

Challenge Winners

Saturday Legacy - GHash77 - Echo Combo
Saturday Modern - _Ditlev_ - Golgari Persist
Saturday Pauper - _against_ - Mono Black Monarch
Saturday Pioneer - E_Kaminuma - Rakdos Sac
Saturday Standard - musasabi -  Jund Midrange
Saturday Vintage - Nammersquats

Sunday Legacy - burrarun - 4 Color Control
Sunday Modern - Xerk - Living End
Sunday Pauper - Rudberg - Mono Red Aggro
Sunday Pioneer - jakobpablo - Rakdos Sac
Sunday Standard - koko_lopez - Jund Midrange
Sunday Vintage - Code Provider

Other Event Winners

Sealed Super Qualifier
Sealed Super Qualifier

Standard Staples: Three cards, Raffine, Scheming Seer, Hopeful Initiate and Hallowed Haunting are back on the list this week after the banning. 

Standard Cards	Price	Last Week	Change	% Change
Leyline Binding	$23.47	$21.91	$1.56	7%
Liliana of the Veil	$13.56	$13.05	$0.51	4%
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse	$56.73	$59.96	-$3.23	-5%
Serra Paragon	$10.03	$10.10	-$0.07	-1%
Soul of Windgrace	$6.67	$5.79	$0.88	15%
Memory Deluge	$8.63	$9.64	-$1.01	-10%
Haunted Ridge	$26.03	$26.05	-$0.02	0%
Graveyard Trespasser	$16.06	$18.59	-$2.53	-14%
Brutal Cathar	$12.43	$11.66	$0.77	7%
Deserted Beach	$10.21	$12.79	-$2.58	-20%
Teferi, Who Slows the Sunset	$9.78	$9.97	-$0.19	-2%
Adeline, Resplendent Cathar	$9.03	$7.22	$1.81	25%
Shipwreck Marsh	$4.72	$6.35	-$1.63	-26%
Boseiju, Who Endures	$58.91	$52.75	$6.16	12%
Otawara, Soaring City	$14.42	$14.05	$0.37	3%
The Wandering Emperor	$27.72	$28.48	-$0.76	-3%
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker	$49.58	$57.58	-$8.00	-14%
March of Otherworldly Light	$6.56	$6.12	$0.44	7%
Hidetsugu Consumes All	$7.90	$8.56	-$0.66	-8%
Ob Nixilis, the Adversary	$13.20	$13.90	-$0.70	-5%
Ledger Shredder	$21.50	$21.06	$0.44	2%
Unlicensed Hearse	$39.70	$40.48	-$0.78	-2%
Titan of Industry	$6.84	$6.52	$0.32	5%
Raffine, Scheming Seer	$6.62
Wedding Announcement	$15.04	$11.66	$3.38	29%
Stormcarved Coast	$7.81	$7.56	$0.25	3%
Chandra, Dressed to Kill	$7.70	$7.49	$0.21	3%
Sorin the Mirthless	$8.74	$9.28	-$0.54	-6%
Hopeful Initiate	$6.90
Hallowed Haunting	$5.53

Modern Staples:  A couple of cards fell off this week, Aether Vial is off again. Archmage's Charm also fell off. 

Modern Cards	Price	Last Week	Change	% Change
Engineered Explosives	$12.05	$11.69	$0.36	3%
Steelshaper's Gift	$5.70	$5.79	-$0.09	-2%
Cavern of Souls	$8.71	$10.49	-$1.78	-17%
Mishra's Bauble	$16.69	$18.16	-$1.47	-8%
Magus of the Moon	$7.46	$8.47	-$1.01	-12%
Polluted Delta	$7.59	$8.40	-$0.81	-10%
Wooded Foothills	$5.95	$7.18	-$1.23	-17%
Flooded Strand	$10.18	$10.68	-$0.50	-5%
Bloodstained Mire	$6.28	$5.43	$0.85	16%
Windswept Heath	$4.73	$5.27	-$0.54	-10%
Thoughtseize	$7.82	$8.23	-$0.41	-5%
Force of Negation	$17.05	$17.27	-$0.22	-1%
Wrenn and Six	$49.43	$36.01	$13.42	37%
Sunbaked Canyon	$12.86	$12.40	$0.46	4%
Seasoned Pyromancer	$8.04	$8.08	-$0.04	0%
Force of Vigor	$29.66	$25.03	$4.63	18%
Flusterstorm	$25.80	$27.60	-$1.80	-7%
Yawgmoth, Thran Physician	$13.11	$10.84	$2.27	21%
Archon of Cruelty	$29.10	$21.43	$7.67	36%
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer	$35.14	$34.34	$0.80	2%
Urza's Saga	$49.46	$47.77	$1.69	4%
Solitude	$26.10	$29.28	-$3.18	-11%
Endurance	$43.60	$45.90	-$2.30	-5%
Grief	$11.55	$12.19	-$0.64	-5%
Murktide Regent	$22.90	$15.64	$7.26	46%
Fury	$40.72	$38.57	$2.15	6%
Esper Sentinel	$9.11	$7.02	$2.09	30%
Grist, the Hunger Tide	$8.60	$7.06	$1.54	22%
Tourach, Dread Cantor	$9.79	$9.38	$0.41	4%
Subtlety	$14.36	$12.81	$1.55	12%
Chalice of the Void	$23.59	$22.16	$1.43	6%
Ensnaring Bridge	$6.50	$6.50	$0.00	0%
Teferi, Time Raveler	$29.44	$32.66	-$3.22	-10%
Gemstone Mine	$5.63	$6.46	-$0.83	-13%
Scalding Tarn	$6.34	$5.49	$0.85	15%
Verdant Catacombs	$2.58	$2.08	$0.50	24%
Misty Rainforest	$4.98	$4.51	$0.47	10%
Arid Mesa	$3.56	$3.96	-$0.40	-10%
Marsh Flats	$1.22	$1.17	$0.05	4%

Eternal Staples: 

Eternal Format Cards	Price	Last Time	Change	% Change
Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes	$33.34	$34.67	($1.33)	-4%
Hullbreacher	$15.41	$15.17	$0.24	2%
Opposition Agent	$36.98	$33.70	$3.28	10%
Jeweled Lotus	$20.14	$20.66	($0.52)	-3%
City of Traitors	$12.56	$12.83	($0.27)	-2%
Allosaurus Shepherd	$5.48	$5.55	($0.07)	-1%
Muxus, Goblin Grandee	$24.64	$26.80	($2.16)	-8%
Helm of Obedience	$18.46	$18.41	$0.05	0%
Force of Will	$47.04	$47.35	($0.31)	-1%
Karakas	$9.28	$9.26	$0.02	0%
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale	$11.04	$11.29	($0.25)	-2%
Phyrexian Dreadnought	$6.68	$6.37	$0.31	5%
Enlightened Tutor	$6.91	$6.95	($0.04)	-1%
Unmask	$16.44	$17.64	($1.20)	-7%
Misdirection	$13.10	$13.10	$0.00	0%
Rishadan Port	$12.02	$12.02	$0.00	0%
Snuff Out	$25.82	$27.95	($2.13)	-8%
Submerge	$8.92	$9.61	($0.69)	-7%
Daze	$6.58	$5.90	$0.68	12%
Entomb	$8.20	$7.44	$0.76	10%
Recruiter of the Guard	$10.25	$9.97	$0.28	3%
Mox Diamond	$30.34	$32.74	($2.40)	-7%
Wasteland	$22.99	$21.81	$1.18	5%
Ancient Tomb	$19.18	$21.38	($2.20)	-10%
Lotus Petal	$21.07	$18.41	$2.66	14%
Grindstone	$8.15	$8.32	($0.17)	-2%
Grim Monolith	$11.96	$9.91	$2.05	21%
Goblin Welder	$6.50	$7.22	($0.72)	-10%
Meltdown	$33.07	$35.33	($2.26)	-6%
Exploration	$8.70	$8.00	$0.70	9%
Gaea's Cradle	$27.84	$28.43	($0.59)	-2%
Carpet of Flowers	$22.39	$18.71	$3.68	20%
Gilded Drake	$7.45	$8.57	($1.12)	-13%
Show and Tell	$11.08	$9.76	$1.32	14%
Black Lotus	$11.91	$12.92	($1.01)	-8%
Volcanic Island	$9.19	$7.71	$1.48	19%
Underground Sea	$7.14	$7.81	($0.67)	-9%
Null Rod	$8.55	$8.50	$0.05	1%
Doomsday	$17.14	$17.61	($0.47)	-3%
Paradigm Shift	$13.67	$12.76	$0.91	7%

Pioneer Staples:   The Meathook Massacre is over here now.  We have a few new ones on the list this week as well.

Pioneer Cards	Price	Last Time	Change	% Change
Indomitable Creativity	$10.40	$4.01	$6.39	159.35%
Den of the Bugbear	$20.62	$28.32	-$7.70	-27.19%
Hall of the Storm Giants	$9.37	$7.93	$1.44	18.16%
Hive of the Eye Tyrant	$6.44	$7.22	-$0.78	-10.80%
Tasha's Hideous Laughter	$8.25	$7.47	$0.78	10.44%
Wish	$5.74	$5.41	$0.33	6.10%
Mox Amber	$6.49
Collected Company	$7.36	$10.32	-$2.96	-28.68%
Brazen Borrower	$19.21	$20.33	-$1.12	-5.51%
Bonecrusher Giant	$12.77	$13.46	-$0.69	-5.13%
Arclight Phoenix	$9.58	$6.98	$2.60	37.25%
Shark Typhoon	$5.28	$6.11	-$0.83	-13.58%
Ketria Triome	$7.34	$7.96	-$0.62	-7.79%
Indatha Triome	$5.57
Fiend Artisan	$5.38
Eidolon of the Great Revel	$7.88	$9.12	-$1.24	-13.60%
Orvar, the All-Form	$7.78
Esika's Chariot	$6.50
Blightstep Pathway	$4.02	$5.78	-$1.76	-30.45%
Hengegate Pathway	$3.69	$6.06	-$2.37	-39.11%
Darkbore Pathway	$4.84	$5.49	-$0.65	-11.84%
Realmwalker	$3.84	$5.21	-$1.37	-26.30%
Spirebluff Canal	$8.57	$6.09	$2.48	40.72%
Lotus Field	$3.84	$5.75	-$1.91	-33.22%
Cavalier of Thorns	$23.48	$28.22	-$4.74	-16.80%
Leyline of the Void	$6.26	$7.08	-$0.82	-11.58%
Necromentia	$5.67
The Meathook Massacre	$22.20	$41.43	-$19.23	-46%
Day's Undoing	$5.54	$4.70	$0.84	17.87%
Rest in Peace	$6.71	$6.23	$0.48	7.70%
Prismari Command	$9.65	$8.21	$1.44	17.54%
Witherbloom Command	$7.75	$7.65	$0.10	1.31%
Karn, the Great Creator	$30.43	$28.84	$1.59	5.51%
Finale of Devastation	$6.65	$7.10	-$0.45	-6.34%
Omnath, Locus of Creation	$22.05	$24.19	-$2.14	-8.85%
Skyclave Apparition	$7.08	$7.24	-$0.16	-2.21%
Shatterskull Smashing	$3.92	$5.08	-$1.16	-22.83%
Roiling Vortex	$10.08	$8.91	$1.17	13.13%
Agadeem's Awakening	$6.36	$6.07	$0.29	4.78%
Sea Gate Restoration	$6.65	$7.02	-$0.37	-5.27%

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!

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	259.4
Mox Jet	1E	Rare	128.11
Karakas	UBT	Mythic	120.7
Liliana of the Veil	UBT	Mythic	116.81
Cavern of Souls	UBT	Mythic	116.44
Ancestral Recall	1E	Rare	111.26
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth	UBT	Mythic	101.04
Mox Sapphire	1E	Rare	84.5
Time Walk	1E	Rare	83
Purple-Crystal Crab	PZ2	Common	74.45
Mox Emerald	1E	Rare	73.28
Demonic Tutor	UBT	Mythic	66.89
Mox Pearl	1E	Rare	61.9
Snapcaster Mage	UBT	Mythic	61.56
Mox Ruby	1E	Rare	61.54
Heavenly Qilin	PZ2	Common	60.52
Marisi, Breaker of the Coil	C19	Mythic	59.01
Boseiju, Who Endures	NEO	Rare	58.91
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse	DMU	Mythic	56.73
Aether Gale	C14	Rare	54.56
Dark Depths	UBT	Mythic	53.6
Wasteland	ZNE	Mythic	51.69
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker	NEO	Rare	49.58
Urza's Saga	MH2	Rare	49.46
Wrenn and Six	MH1	Mythic	49.43
Earthshaking Si	PZ2	Common	47.49
Force of Will	MED	Rare	47.04
Endurance	MH2	Mythic	43.6
Jace, the Mind Sculptor	MS4	Mythic	43.03
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth	UBT	Mythic	43.01
Liliana, the Last Hope	MS4	Mythic	42.99
Cavern of Souls	ZNE	Mythic	42.44
Mana Vault	UBT	Mythic	41.5
Wrenn and Six	2X2	Mythic	41.25
Fury	MH2	Mythic	40.72
Unlicensed Hearse	SNC	Rare	39.7
Flooded Strand	ZNE	Mythic	37.09
Opposition Agent	CMR	Rare	36.98
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria	MS4	Mythic	36.61
Jeska's Will	CMR	Rare	36.22
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer	MH2	Mythic	35.14
Minsc , Boo, Timeless Heroes	CLB	Mythic	33.34
Meltdown	UZ	Uncommon	33.07
Flusterstorm	CMD	Rare	32.83
Reanimate	UBT	Mythic	32.75
Timetwister	1E	Rare	32.6
Creeping Tar Pit	UBT	Mythic	31.4
Cleansing Screech	PZ2	Common	31.25
Karn, the Great Creator	WAR	Rare	30.43
Mox Diamond	ST	Rare	30.34
Pramikon, Sky Rampart	C19	Mythic	30.3
Noble Hierarch	UBT	Mythic	29.67
Force of Vigor	MH1	Rare	29.66
Flusterstorm	IMA	Rare	29.47
Teferi, Time Raveler	WAR	Rare	29.44
Archon of Cruelty	MH2	Mythic	29.1
Mox Diamond	V10	Mythic	28.61
Mox Diamond	TPR	Mythic	28.59
Force of Will	MS3	Mythic	28.45
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon	MS4	Mythic	28.41
Flusterstorm	PZ1	Rare	27.98
Chalice of the Void	TSR	Bonus	27.88
Gaea's Cradle	UZ	Rare	27.84
Scalding Tarn	ZNE	Mythic	27.79
The Wandering Emperor	NEO	Mythic	27.72
Fulminator Mage	UBT	Mythic	27.67
Force of Will	2XM	Mythic	27.54
Karn Liberated	UBT	Mythic	27.5
Force of Will	EMA	Mythic	27.37
Force of Will	VMA	Rare	27.24
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre	UBT	Mythic	26.88
Liliana of the Veil	UMA	Mythic	26.35
Life from the Loam	UBT	Mythic	26.18
Solitude	MH2	Mythic	26.1
Haunted Ridge	MID	Rare	26.03
Chalice of the Void	A25	Mythic	25.89
Flusterstorm	VMA	Rare	25.89
Celestial Colonnade	UBT	Mythic	25.88
Snuff Out	MM	Common	25.82
Flusterstorm	MH1	Rare	25.8
Ancient Tomb	ZNE	Mythic	25.79
Platinum Emperion	UBT	Mythic	25.34

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.


 

In Closing

I have played more Magic Spellslingers this week than I have played Fortnite, Arena, MTGO, Runeterra, Dreamlight Valley, Hearthstone or Eternal.  The game is good, Wizards has something special, so here is hoping they don't punt it. 

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