Hammie’s The State of the Program for January 11th

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

In the News this Week:

Wizards Fixes Phantom Sealed, adds On-Demand non-phantom 6 Pack Sealed: Late last year, Wizards eliminated the four pack sealed format. Four pack sealed had been very popular for a number of reasons. It was cheap, ran quickly, and had a very high return. Wizards replaced it with a phantom Sealed events for 8 TIX with a fairly poor payout. These events appealed to very few players, and only a handful of RtR events fired per day, compared to the dozen or so per hour 4 pack sealed queues.

Wizards has recognized the mistake, and made some modifications. First off, they cut the price for phantom sealed to 4 TIX, and even with a slight reduction in prize payout, the format seems to be a hit. It certainly is a cheap way to earn QPs. Second, Wizards has introduced a 6 pack sealed / 40 card deck Swiss queue that lets you keep your cards, for the cost of packs plus 2 TIX. I hopped on last night for 5 minutes, to check the limited events queue, and in that unscientific sample saw only a couple fired RtR 6 pack sealed events. We shall see. I will probably discuss this in more detail in the future.

Details of the announcement here

Two Weeks Left to Get a Force of Will: The current MOCs promo is an alternative art Force of Will. This card is really valuable, and it is just going to go up once Vintage is online. The qualifier season ends January 23rd, so get some games in now.

Gatecrash Previews: Gatecrash spoilers continue. Interesting cards, and interesting of mechanics. You should be able to find everything Gatecrash spoilers continue. Interesting cards, and interesting of mechanics. You should be able to find everything here . (The link seems to work this week.)

HammyBot: Still here! HammyBot was created to sell the late Erik Friborg’s MTGO collection to raise money for his widow and son. HammyBot is a great way to get cards while supporting the family of someone who supported the community. Here’s an update on the Bot, plus a note on a cool card that I saw on HammyBot.

Cards left on HammyBot: 28,154

TIX raised so far: 4,902

Cool HammyBot card of the week: Foil (Sensei’s Divining Top)

Opinion Section: Why Magic Online is not paper Magic

We are playing Magic, not MODO. I know that ~card~ works ~like this~ on MODO. That is wrong – MODO is bugged. It should work ~like this~.” That’s really, really rare, however. Wizards does an amazing job with MTGO, and nearly every card works correctly online. Bugs are few and far between, and bugs involving tournament cards are even rarer (although we have had some exceptions in Classic, like As a judge, I have occasionally had to start a paper tournament with the announcement “That’s really, really rare, however. Wizards does an amazing job with MTGO, and nearly every card works correctly online. Bugs are few and far between, and bugs involving tournament cards are even rarer (although we have had some exceptions in Classic, like Fact or Fiction ; which was bugged for months.)

Bugs are not what I am talking about. I am talking about five major differences – outside assistance, intentional draws, judges, chess clocks and combo decks. I am not arguing whether one or the other is better: I’m just saying that these effects are different on MTGO and in paper Magic.

I’ll start with outside assistance, since that is what got me thinking about this section. Recently, Wizards held a special tournament for Streamers – people who broadcast live video of their Magic play and interact with their audience while they do so. Some streams are great fun to watch, and streamers are doing a lot to popularize Magic. The tournament was probably one way in which Wizards could say thank you to the streamers for their help.

Being streamers, several of the players streamed the event. In some cases, the players had help – other players sitting with them, discussing plays and possible tricks. Apparently, although I have only heard this secondhand, the winner had another pro with him, discussing plays. This caused some consternation. The forum thread is here

In the paper world, matches are played one on one (except for team events, but that’s quibbling.) In the paper world you are playing one opponent, not that opponent and his friends. In the paper world, if I sit down to a draft, I know that my opponent won’t have a couple pro players sitting behind him advising them on packs. In the paper world, I also know that if my opponent asks “what should I watch out for here?” that opponent is going to get a match loss.

Online, OTOH, I know that I may be drafting or playing against a whole bunch of players. Online, my opponent may have friends reminding him to play around my Supreme Verdict, keeping track of what was passed in pack one, or weigh alternative strategies.

Arguing which option is “better” is pointless. Once upon a time, having a friend scout the opposition was ground for DQ, as were notes of any kind. Now, only advice given after the match has begun is grounds for outside assistance, and the penalty is a match loss in the paper world. Online, outside assistance is not illegal, at least not as I understand the code of conduct. You can come up with lots of “reasons” for the difference, and you may prefer one option over another, but that is not the point.

The point is that paper Magic and Magic online are different games.

Another difference – in paper Magic, intentional draws are legal. If you go undefeated for the first five rounds of a seven round paper event, odds are good that you can intentionally draw your last two rounds and be a lock for Top 8. Online, IDs are not allowed. I, and many others, have written about why this is, but the simple fact is that IDs exist in paper and not online. Paper Magic and MTGO are simply different games.

Closely linked to IDs is the issue of chess clocks. Chess clocks exist on Magic Online. They do not exist in the paper world. They cannot work in paper – but that is another discussion. One game is played with 50 minute rounds and 5 turn extensions, the other with virtual chess clocks. They are simply different games.

Okay – I know some of you are say “why not use chess clocks in paper?” The main reason is cost. A decent chess clock – one good enough to stand up to some abuse – costs about $ 100. For a 1200 player GP, that means the organizer has to supply 600+ chess clocks; and investment of around $60,000. Local stores would have to invest clocks, too. Impossible – profit margins are way too slow. More importantly, chess clocks would not allow auto-yields. Both players would have to pass many times every turn: on turn one, if a player does nothing but play a land, priority is technically passed 16 times. On turns where stuff happens, the count goes way up.

As for those of you who are now saying “see, that’s why MTGO is better” – I lost a match recently because I was playing a more complex deck, and MTGO started lagging badly. I lost another one when I timed out because MTGO disconnected me without warning, and by the time I realized it, and logged off and back on, I was too short on time to grind out game three. That doesn’t happen in the paper world.

Another difference between MTGO and the paper world: judges. And the flip side of judges, I guess, is cheating. You can have people stack decks and palm cards in the paper world. On the other hand, if you have a question about a card interaction, you can also call a judge in the paper world, and have that interaction explained (and also get a time extension to replace that explanation took.) Deck stacking doesn’t happen online, but you probably cannot get an explanation of the interaction of Brainstorm and Sylvan Library from an ORC, and even if you can, you cannot pause your chess clock while getting it. I have judged close to a thousand events at all levels, from FNM drafts to Worlds. I have caught some cheaters, but I have answered a thousand rules questions for every time I have investigated a possible cheater – and most of them were not, in fact, cheating. You may have an opinion on whether judges, and the need for judges, is a net plus, but that is not the point. The point is that paper Magic and MTGO are just different.

The final difference between paper and online is that some combo decks simply do not work online. This is because the rules for paper Magic handle “infinite” (technically unbounded) loops, but the program does not. In paper, the rules specifically state that you can demonstrate a combo, then state that you are repeating it 1 million times, and you have. Online, you would have to manually click through the process, step by step, one million times – but your clock would run out before that can happen. (If you somehow could make 1 million tokens, say with some sort of macro function, then the program would bog or bomb – and lots of idiot players would be experimenting to see what they had to do to get it to crash.) Whatever – the point is that many older formats include tournament-worth infinite combos, but that those decks simply don’t work online.

Paper Magic and online Magic are just different games with different rules. Wizards has done an awesome job of getting the two games to be very, very similar, and I love both games, but that’s just the way it is.

Cutting Edge Tech:

Standard: another week, another reasonably wide open Standard metagame. The top decks from the massive (600+ player)SCG event in Columbus is here. A fast red deck sped to victory. The winning decklists are : another week, another reasonably wide open Standard metagame. The top decks from the massive (600+ player)SCG event in Columbus is here. A fast red deck sped to victory. The winning decklists are here . The winning deck follows.

Red Deck Wins

Kevin Brumley, Winner, SCG Open Columbus, 1/6/13

4 Ash Zealot

4 Rakdos Cackler

2 Rakdos Shred-Freak

3 Searing Spear

1 Hellion Crucible

2 Stonewright

2 Zealous Conscripts

4 Lightning Mauler

2 Pillar of Flame

3 Pyreheart Wolf

4 Hellrider

4 Stromkirk Noble

4 Brimstone Volley

21 Mountain

Sideboard

2 Mizzium Mortars

1 Flames of the Firebrand

2 Pillar of Flame

1 Grafdigger's Cage

3 Traitorous Blood

4 Reckless Waif

2 Thunderbolt

Return to Ravnica Block Constructed: I’m not seeing anything new, but if someone knows more than I do, please tell us.

Modern: The PTQ season is upon us. If you want to try out the format without spending a fortune, try out this RB Aggro deck. It is cheap, for the format, and took down a 4 round daily. Or if you prefer, try out the winning deck from GP Denver.

RB Aggro

Armel, Winner, Modern Daily #4843860 on 01/08/2013

4 Arid Mesa

4 Blackcleave Cliffs

3 Blood Crypt

6 Mountain

3 Scalding Tarn

4 Ash Zealot

3 Deathrite Shaman

4 Goblin Guide

2 Grim Lavamancer

4 Bump in the Night

4 Lava Spike

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Rift Bolt

4 Searing Blaze

1 Shard Volley

3 Thunderous Wrath

3 Volcanic Fallout

1 Deathmark

3 Duress

2 Flames of the Blood Hand

1 Grim Lavamancer

2 Molten Rain

2 Rakdos Charm

4 Smash to Smithereens

Esper Stoneblade

Vidianto Wijaya, Winner, Grand Prix Denver

2 Island

1 Plains

1 Swamp

4 Flooded Strand

3 Polluted Delta

1 Academy Ruins

3 Tundra

3 Underground Sea

1 Scrubland

2 Marsh Flats

1 Karakas

4 Stoneforge Mystic

3 Snapcaster Mage

1 Vendilion Clique

1 Batterskull

1 Umezawa's Jitte

2 Spell Pierce

4 Brainstorm

3 Force of Will

4 Swords to Plowshares

1 Counterspell

3 Lingering Souls

1 Supreme Verdict

1 Engineered Explosives

1 Vindicate

2 Thoughtseize

2 Inquisition of Kozilek

1 Ponder

3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

1 Zealous Persecution

1 Force of Will

1 Disenchant

1 Darkblast

1 Perish

2 Surgical Extraction

Legacy: SCG is back after the holiday season. Last week’s Legacy Open was won by Elves. The : SCG is back after the holiday season. Last week’s Legacy Open was won by Elves. The top deck lists were, as always, very diverse. The winner is an old combo deck – shades of Pro Tour Berlin. It’s the little green men.

Elves

Riley Curran, Winner, StarCityGames.com Legacy Open Columbus, 1/6/2013

4 Deathrite Shaman

1 Craterhoof Behemoth

4 Green Sun's Zenith

4 Misty Rainforest

4 Verdant Catacombs

4 Elvish Visionary

4 Nettle Sentinel

1 Regal Force

4 Heritage Druid

1 Dryad Arbor

4 Glimpse of Nature

4 Wirewood Symbiote

2 Windswept Heath

1 Birchlore Rangers

1 Forest

1 Llanowar Elves

1 Crop Rotation

1 Priest of Titania

3 Gaea's Cradle

4 Quirion Ranger

3 Natural Order

1 Fyndhorn Elves

2 Bayou

1 Savannah

Sideboard

1 Scavenging Ooze

1 Mortarpod

2 Mindbreak Trap

1 Progenitus

1 Gaddock Teeg

1 Harmonic Sliver

1 Viridian Shaman

4 Cabal Therapy

1 Natural Order

2 Abrupt Decay

Classic: Classic fired again this week. The winning deck was another Shops deck, similar to many I have highlighted before. The Genesis Chamber / Gaea’s Cradle combo is fun.

Robot Shop

thewoof2, Winner, Classic Daily #4843797 on 01/07/2013

4 Ancient Tomb

2 Gaea's Cradle

1 Mishra's Factory

4 Mishra's Workshop

1 Strip Mine

1 Tolarian Academy

4 Wasteland

4 Arcbound Ravager

3 Frogmite

4 Lodestone Golem

4 Memnite

4 Phyrexian Revoker

4 Signal Pest

2 Steel Overseer

4 Genesis Chamber

1 Mana Crypt

1 Mana Vault

1 Memory Jar

2 Mox Opal

4 Skullclamp

1 Sol Ring

4 Tangle Wire

1 Crucible of Worlds

3 Dismember

4 Grafdigger's Cage

2 Karakas

1 Phyrexian Metamorph

2 Ratchet Bomb

2 Tormod's Crypt

Card Prices:

MTGOTraders Bots, so check out mtgotradersbot, mtgotradersbot2,mtgotradersbot3, mtgotradersbot4, mtgotradersbot5, CardCaddy and CardWareHouse. These Bots often have the cards in stock even when the online store shows as out. Now, on to prices. Notes: All my prices come from MTGOTraders.com . For cards that are available in multiple sets, I am quoting the most recent set’s price. Thus, the price I’m quoting for Garruk Relentless is from M13. These cards are also available from theso check out mtgotradersbot, mtgotradersbot2,mtgotradersbot3, mtgotradersbot4, mtgotradersbot5, CardCaddy and CardWareHouse. These Bots often have the cards in stock even when the online store shows as out. Now, on to prices.

Standard prices are moving around a bit. Prices are in flux – but nothing really shows a real trend. Prices just shift a bit depending on what is being played each week.

Modern prices trending up. Goyf dropped a bit, after soaring two weeks ago. Otherwise, prices are climbing as people get ready for the PTQ season.

Legacy and Classic prices are pretty much stable. The big mover is Natural Order. I did see it in some green decks. Maybe it is back. I also note that Lion’s Eye Diamond is back over $100 – but that will fall once Vintage arrives, since it is restricted there.

In Pauper, prices are climbing.

The Good Stuff:

Here’s this week’s list of the non-foil, non-premium cards on MTGO that cost more than $25 each. This week looks about the same as last week – Force of Will has not dropped all that much, yet. (Wait three weeks.) Here’s this week’s list of MTGO gold:

Card Rarity Set Price Lion's Eye Diamond R MI $ 100.05 Force of Will R MED $ 90.82 Tarmogoyf R FUT $ 75.20 Jace, the Mind Sculptor M WWK $ 63.78 Rishadan Port R MM $ 61.48 Wasteland U TE $ 52.52 Bonfire of the Damned M AVR $ 37.50 Vendilion Clique R MOR $ 35.08 Gaea's Cradle R UZ $ 35.07 Tangle Wire R NE $ 33.93 Misdirection R MM $ 33.71 Pernicious Deed R PRM $ 33.39 Show and Tell R UZ $ 33.38 Thundermaw Hellkite M M13 $ 31.83 Linvala, Keeper of Silence M ROE $ 29.28 Vampiric Tutor R VI $ 28.55 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R CHK $ 27.13 Null Rod R WL $ 26.42 Liliana of the Veil M ISD $ 26.25 Cryptic Command R LRW $ 26.25 Geist of Saint Traft M ISD $ 26.22 Vindicate R AP $ 25.81 Sphinx's Revelation M RTR $ 25.73 Underground Sea R ME2 $ 25.69 Thoughtseize R LRW $ 25.68 Flusterstorm R CMD $ 25.43 Karn Liberated M NPH $ 25.10 Underground Sea R ME4 $ 25.08

The big number is the retail price of a playset (4 copies) of every non-foil card available on MTGO. Assuming you bought the least expensive version available, the cost of owning a playset of every card on MTGO you can own is $ 22,591. That is up a bit from last week.

Weekly Highlights:

Not a lot this week. I was busy at work, and with the elimination of 4 pack sealed, I wasn't that excited about playing sanctioned Magic. I Did play some casual stuff in tournament practice, but not a lot. Maybe next weekend.

PRJ

“one million words” on MTGO.