The State of the Program for October 11th 2013

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

In the News this Week:

Big Update on the New Client / Wide Beta: Details The big news – Wizards hired outside help to clean up their code. Details here The big news – Wizards hired outside help to clean up their code.

That bears repeating.

Wizards hired outside help to clean up their code.

To quote the article:

This summer we asked an external team of platform experts to review the state of the Wide Beta program and provide a recommended plan of action to address our stability and performance issues. After they presented their findings, we brought that team in to help us rebuild the foundation of the Wide Beta.

Recently, they showed off a collection scene that smoothly scrolled through cards nearly four times faster than the current Wide Beta version. We're confident that we'll see this kind of improvement in other areas as well, drastically improving the experience for most players, especially for those using computers below our recommended specs.

This is great news. The new client needed help, and it looks like it got it. The only downside is that, while the outside experts rebuild the frame, Wizards can’t bolt on new body panels. Instead, they are spending the time spotting bugs, prioritizing fixes and planning a revamp of the collection and trading system. That revamp is really needed.

The MTGO team also said they expect to have Leagues up and running this summer. Not a hard and fast promise – the new client comes first – but closer and more definite than we have seen in the past.

Finally, Wizards has stated that the current client is not going away until the work done by the external consultants is integrated into the client, and that integration fully bug checked. That means at least next year, possibly later, and there will be at least one more wide beta spotlight before then.

Read all the details here

Details of the Theros Championships Announced: The Theros Championships will be different this time around. First big change – it will happen at the end of the season, not a couple weeks in. Second big change – the Theros Championship will offer both sealed and constructed events, with matching qualifiers. The limited qualifiers will be run every three hours, from January 15th through January 21st. They will be five rounds, and everyone with a 5-0 or 4-1 record gets an invite into the Theros limited Championship. The constructed qualifiers will be run every three hours, from January 8th through January 14th. They will be Standard, run five rounds and everyone with a 5-0 or 4-1 record gets an invite into the Theros Standard Championship. Details The Theros Championships will be different this time around. First big change – it will happen at the end of the season, not a couple weeks in. Second big change – the Theros Championship will offer both sealed and constructed events, with matching qualifiers. The limited qualifiers will be run every three hours, from January 15through January 21. They will be five rounds, and everyone with a 5-0 or 4-1 record gets an invite into the Theros limited Championship. The constructed qualifiers will be run every three hours, from January 8through January 14. They will be Standard, run five rounds and everyone with a 5-0 or 4-1 record gets an invite into the Theros Standard Championship. Details here

Prize Pack Rotation: Constructed queues should now be paying out in Theros packs, instead of M14. This change should have occurred with the down tie on Wednesday, but I haven’t had time to play in anything since then, much less win in constructed. Limited queues will continue to pay out in the same format (e.g. if you play in an RTR draft, prizes are in RTR packs.)

Limited and Block Constructed Queues Rotate Oct. 16th: With the downtime on October 16th, Return to Ravnica Block Constructed queues will be replaced with Theros Block Constructed. Theros drafts will also appear at that time, while RtR drafts will presumably be offered as 4-3-2-2 only.

Jon Loucks Article on Theros and MTGO: (from last week) Jon Loucks, former host of the Limited resources podcast and now in Wizards R&D, wrote (from last week) Jon Loucks, former host of the Limited resources podcast and now in Wizards R&D, wrote an article about bringing Theros to Magic Online. He talks about the MTGO crew, and talks about implementing various cards and mechanics. He explains how some of the cards will work, and how things will be displayed.

HammyBot Update: It’s still around, and still a great way to get cards and support the family of the late Erik Friborg. So far, Hammybot has raised over 6,100 TIX! Keep it going! Hammiebot still has 25.8k+ cards to sell, including a number of foil Mythics. It also has some sweet old cards that you might suddenly find you need. For example, : It’s still around, and still a great way to get cards and support the family of the late Erik Friborg. So far, Hammybot has raised over 6,100 TIX! Keep it going! Hammiebot still has 25.8k+ cards to sell, including a number of foil Mythics. It also has some sweet old cards that you might suddenly find you need. For example, Gainsay has been reprinted in Theros. Hammiebot has many originals – although the gainsays are gone. But for other such cards, you can buy them at market prices and help out Hammie’s family. It’s a win-win.

Opinion Section: Chopping up your fingers sux

I had a rough week. I cut my left index finger quite badly making salsa, and tore up my thumb in another stupid accident. As a result, I have big, awkward bandages on thumb and forefinger of my left hand, and typing is a huge problem. I am fat fingering like never before – and I have a problem with typos even when my hands aren’t wrapped up. My right hand is okay – meaning I can operate a mouse, but I cannot write coherently.

So what does this all mean? It means that I would have a really difficult time actually writing a long opinion section this week, but no problem at all drafting Theros on MTGO. In other words, I’m done here.

(My fingers will heal. Nothing really serious, just enough to get me out of doing dishes for a few days. J )

Cutting Edge Tech:

Standard: I could list some decks from last weekend, but we have a Pro Tour happening this weekend. Anything from before the Pro Tour is going to be outdated. Pro Tours change the metagame. Check back next week – or check out the coverage happening now.

Pauper: The new B&R list is in effect. The most recent Pauper event featured a couple of blue control decks at 4-0, plus this mono-black build featuring an actual Theros card.

Modern: The only Modern being played that I know of is online at the moment. The events are not large. Still, events are firing, and people are slinging cards. In the most recent Daily, a Melira Pod won, but another archetype also went 4-0. I’ll feature that one. The only Modern being played that I know of is online at the moment. The events are not large. Still, events are firing, and people are slinging cards. In the most recent Daily, a Melira Pod won, but another archetype also went 4-0. I’ll feature that one.

Legacy: I looked mainly at online play this week. The most recent Legacy event was won by a favorite of mine, so I’ll feature it.

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 now include Theros cards. Expect changes – we are super early in the format.

Modern prices tanked pretty hard this week. This is not unexpected, and does not mean that Modern is in trouble. It is simply that people are selling what they need least to get TIX to buy cards for the new Standard. This happens pretty much every rotation, but prices will rebound when Modern becomes the PTQ season format again.

Legacy and Classic were pretty much unchanged this week. City of Traitors jumped, and Force of Will is back over $100. Legacy is not a cheap format.

Pauper is still adjusting to the ban. Beyond that, I don’t know. For example, I have no idea why Chain Lightning tanked.

The Good Stuff:

The Good Stuff starts with a list of the non-foil, non-premium cards on MTGO that cost more than $25 each. The list has its first Theros card in Elspeth, sunny version. Force of Will is once again ahead of Rishadan Port, and back over $100 each. It’s not even close to catching Lion’s Eye Diamond, though.

Card Rarity Set Price Lion's Eye Diamond R MI $ 155.97 Force of Will R MED $ 105.56 Rishadan Port R MM $ 97.63 Tarmogoyf M MMA $ 87.85 Tarmogoyf R FUT $ 86.22 Wasteland U TE $ 80.12 Show and Tell R UZ $ 79.85 Misdirection R MM $ 76.00 City of Traitors R EX $ 62.88 Gaea's Cradle R UZ $ 60.34 Mox Opal M SOM $ 46.89 Voice of Resurgence M DGM $ 45.73 Liliana of the Veil M ISD $ 45.46 Underground Sea R ME2 $ 44.61 Underground Sea R ME4 $ 41.21 Sphinx's Revelation M RTR $ 40.00 Vendilion Clique R MOR $ 37.76 Jace, the Mind Sculptor M WWK $ 37.69 Vampiric Tutor R VI $ 37.11 Vendilion Clique M MMA $ 36.45 Karn Liberated M NPH $ 34.08 Natural Order R VI $ 32.72 Tropical Island R ME4 $ 32.27 Grove of the Burnwillows R FUT $ 31.95 Flusterstorm R CMD $ 31.87 Tropical Island R ME3 $ 31.55 Tangle Wire R NE $ 31.46 Tundra R ME2 $ 31.32 Bayou R ME3 $ 30.89 Tundra R ME4 $ 30.84 Bayou R ME4 $ 30.65 Dark Confidant M MMA $ 30.64 Vindicate R AP $ 30.42 Mishra's Workshop R ME4 $ 29.70 Volcanic Island R ME3 $ 28.73 Fulminator Mage R SHM $ 28.48 Volcanic Island R ME4 $ 26.85 Mana Drain R ME3 $ 26.69 Jace, Architect of Thought M RTR $ 26.60 Dark Confidant R RAV $ 26.28 Sneak Attack R UZ $ 26.00 Ajani Vengeant M ALA $ 25.90 Elspeth, Sun's Champion M THS $ 25.51

The big number is the retail price of a playset (4 copies) of every 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 $25,525. That’s up just $100 since last week, and that is with Theros included in the mix. Clearly, other cards went down. Rotations will do that.

Weekly Highlights:

GP Oklahoma was a ton of fun. So was prowling around Oklahoma City and the surrounding area with friends. I had never been there before. Only downside was that I didn’t get to actually play any Magic last week. In theory I could have played in some online prereleases, but a GP is much easier to survive if you get at least a little sleep between shifts.

PRJ

“one million words” on MTGO.