State of the Program for July 8th 2016

In the News:

Legacy Championship Playoffs are Beginning: The Legacy competitive league is now a method qualifying for the Legacy Championships on July 24th. Prizes for that event are nuts, so you might want to consider it is you play Legacy. Or if you want to try. Details The Legacy competitive league is now a method qualifying for the Legacy Championships on July 24. Prizes for that event are nuts, so you might want to consider it is you play Legacy. Or if you want to try. Details here

Eldritch Moon on Its Way: Lots of spoilers on the internet. The EM card image gallery is th. : Lots of spoilers on the internet. The EM card image gallery is here . The online prerelease will begin July 29

Vintage Cube Returns July 13th: The powered Cube is returning in a couple weeks. Wizards has not changed much, but has tweaked things a bit. They are correcting colors for some cards (e.g. Dismember will be considered colorless going forward). The big news is that the entire cycle of modern creaturelands will be in the Cube. Read about it The powered Cube is returning in a couple weeks. Wizards has not changed much, but has tweaked things a bit. They are correcting colors for some cards (e.g. Dismember will be considered colorless going forward). The big news is that the entire cycle of modern creaturelands will be in the Cube. Read about it here

Vintage Cube Streamer Event: Wizards will be hosting a streamer showdown on Thursday, July 21st. As usual, Wizards will host two drafts, one at 1pm Pacific, and one at 6pm PT. Both will be Vintage Cube, and all eight players in each draft will be streaming their events.

StarCity Games Tour Grows: StarCityGames is running a series of high-profile, high prize events that parallel Wizard’s own Pro Tour. The number and size of events are as large as they can get (caps or 1-2k, depending on venue), and generally sell out. This week saw announcements that the Top 8 matches will now be best of five, first two unsideboarded, like the PT. I also saw a twitter announcement that a vendor is sponsoring a team for the SCG opens.

The Timeline:

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 MTGO calendar and the weekly blog, while the best source for known bugs is the Known Issues List . For quick reference, here are some major upcoming events. In addition, there are either one or two online PTQs each weekend, with qualifiers running the three days prior to the PTQ.

Item: date and notes

· Power Nine Challenge: Last Saturday of the month, at 11am Pacific. Next one July 30th.

· Legacy Challenge: Second Saturday of the month, at 11am Pacific. Next one July 9th.

· League End Dates: all current leagues end July 27, 2016

· Legacy Championship Qualifiers: July 6 through July 20

· Legacy Championship: July 24

· Vintage Cube: July 13 to July 27. Info : July 13 to July 27. Info here

· Eldritch Moon Prerelease: July 29-August 1. Details : July 29-August 1. Details here

· Kaladesh Prerelease: October 7-10, on sale October 10th. Product code KLD.

· From the Vault Lore: releases online October 10, 2016.

· Aether Revolt: January 2017 release

Flashback Schedule:

Flashback drafts are 10Tix / 100 Play Points / 2 Tix plus product, not Phantom, single elim and pay out in play points: 200 for first, 100 for second, 50 for third and fourth.

· 2 Shards, Conflux: July 6 to July 13

· Shards, Conflux, Alara Reborn: July 13 to July 20

· Triple Magic 2010: July 20 to July 27

· (Pause for Eldritch Moon release events)

· Triple Zendikar: August 17 to August 24

· 2 Zendikar, Worldwake: August 24 to August 31

· Triple Rise of the Eldrazi: August 31 to September 7

· Triple Magic 2011: September 7 to September 14

· Triple Scars of Mirrodin: September 14 to September 21

· Mirrodin Besieged, 2 Scars of Mirrodin: September 21 to September 28

· New Phyrexia, Mirrodin Besieged, Scars of Mirrodin: September 28 to October 5

· (pause for Kaladesh release events)

· Triple Innistrad: October 26 to November 2

· Dark Ascension, 2 Innistrad: November 2 to November 9

· Triple Magic 2012: November 9 to November 16

· Triple Avacyn Restored: November 16 to November 23

· Triple Magic 2013: November 23 to November 30

· Triple Return to Ravnica: November 30 to December 7

· Triple Gatecrash: December 7 to December 14

· Dragon’s Maze, Gatecrash, Return to Ravnica: December 14 to December 21

Flashback This Week: The next Flashback draft is Shards of Alara, Conflux and Alara Reborn. The Shards money card is The next Flashback draft is Shards of Alara, Conflux and Alara Reborn. The Shards money card is Ajani Vengeant . The Conflux money card is Noble Hierarch – that’s it. The money card in Alara Reborn is Maelstrom Pulse . Not a lot of money in this set, so play it for fun. It can be.

Judge Question of the Week:

I have been training new judges for many years, and part of that training involves setting out scenarios and problems that teach various parts of the rules. They start simple – i.e. a creature with trample is blocked by a creature with protection – and get harder as they go. The goal is to determine what areas of the rules I need to teach, and what my candidate already knows. And to have some fun. Here we go.

Old-school question, here: You are in a Legacy last chance qualifier. The event is single elimination, and time was called while you were sideboarding for game three. Since LCQs are single elim, you cannot draw, so game three will happen. The game, and match, will end with the first life total change. Fortunately, you are playing Goblin burn. (Your opponent is playing Merfolk.) Unfortunately, you have mulliganed twice, and your five card hand is City of Brass, two Arid Mesas, Lightning Bolt and Goblin Guide. You have six pain-free sources of red mana in your deck, eight cheap burn spells and eight one mana hasty goblins in your deck. Do you mulligan to four?

As always, I have mentioned all the cards that are relevant. Note that first life total change means the first in either direction. If you opponent plays Healing Salve to gain three life, they win. If they cast Force of Will (by exiling a card and paying one life) they lose. First life total change also makes fetchlands useless.

Cutting Edge Tech:

Standard: The GP last weekend was three player team limited, but we had a Standard MOCS event. Once again, a Humans list took it down.

Legacy: The biggest Legacy event last weekend was the Bazaar of Moxen event in Strasbourg. The Eldrazi took that one down, although Miracles came close.

Vintage: The VSL Season 5 is ongoing. Decklists are : The VSL Season 5 is ongoing. Decklists are here . I’m going to highlight a semi-bargain deck. Efro is tied for first place, and is playing this.

Card Prices:

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 over a decade now, and have never been overcharged or disappointed.

Standard staples: Standard was up this week, almost across the board. Just not enough to signify anything – this is just normal movement.

Modern staples: Modern is mixed this week. Cavern of Souls has levelled off, but now Ancestral Vision is jumping. I wonder if someone is trying to corner the market?

Legacy and Vintage: Legacy and Vintage are mixed this week. Eternal Masters cards are fluctuating. Daze has finally dropped low enough to fall off the table, but I have added a few new cards. In other news, Rishadan Port continues to be insane.

Set Redemption: You can redeem complete sets on MTGO. You need to purchase a redemption voucher from the store for $25. During the next downtime, Wizards removes a complete set from your account and sends you the same set in paper.

Complete Set Price Last Week Change % Change Battle for Zendikar $72.82 $66.37 $6.45 10% Dragons of Tarkir $100.74 $92.70 $8.04 9% Magic Origins $112.85 $107.61 $5.24 5% Oath of the Gatewatch $121.43 $118.46 $2.97 3% Shadows over Innistrad $85.94 $87.89 ($1.95) -2%

The Good Stuff:

The following is a list of all the non-promo, non-foil cards on MTGO that retail for more than $25 per card. These are the big ticket items in the world of MTGO. Rishadan Port is up again, and pushing $1k per playset. That’s insane. The list is just under 70 cards, with the original dual lands and True-Name Nemesis reappearing on the list.

Name Set Rarity Price Rishadan Port MM Rare $ 230.24 Black Lotus VMA Bonus $ 141.78 Liliana of the Veil ISD Mythic Rare $ 98.69 Misdirection MM Rare $ 85.46 Mox Sapphire VMA Bonus $ 64.42 Ancestral Vision DD2 Rare $ 59.87 Ancestral Vision TSP Rare $ 56.21 Tarmogoyf MM2 Mythic Rare $ 54.32 Tarmogoyf MMA Mythic Rare $ 53.91 Tarmogoyf FUT Rare $ 53.86 Tangle Wire NE Rare $ 53.35 Wasteland TE Uncommon $ 51.58 Gaea's Cradle UZ Rare $ 50.23 City of Traitors TPR Rare $ 49.95 Infernal Tutor DIS Rare $ 49.11 Show and Tell UZ Rare $ 48.71 Exploration UZ Rare $ 47.05 Ancestral Recall VMA Bonus $ 44.41 City of Traitors EX Rare $ 44.04 Wasteland TPR Rare $ 43.63 Mox Jet VMA Bonus $ 42.75 Scalding Tarn ZEN Rare $ 42.26 Underground Sea ME4 Rare $ 41.09 Force of Will MED Rare $ 40.92 Cavern of Souls AVR Rare $ 40.57 Volcanic Island ME4 Rare $ 39.38 Underground Sea ME2 Rare $ 38.90 Containment Priest PZ1 Rare $ 38.75 Wasteland EMA Rare $ 38.47 Volcanic Island ME3 Rare $ 38.43 Lion's Eye Diamond MI Rare $ 38.14 Food Chain MM Rare $ 38.10 Celestial Colonnade WWK Rare $ 37.27 Blood Moon MMA Rare $ 36.86 Containment Priest C14 Rare $ 36.68 Blood Moon 8ED Rare $ 36.63 Blood Moon 9ED Rare $ 36.51 Mox Ruby VMA Bonus $ 35.93 Mox Pearl VMA Bonus $ 35.88 Mox Emerald VMA Bonus $ 35.56 Inkmoth Nexus MBS Rare $ 35.06 Engineered Explosives 5DN Rare $ 34.65 Engineered Explosives MMA Rare $ 34.10 Time Walk VMA Bonus $ 34.06 Mox Opal SOM Mythic Rare $ 33.61 Grove of the Burnwillows FUT Rare $ 33.47 Ensnaring Bridge 7E Rare $ 33.39 Underground Sea VMA Rare $ 33.14 Unmask MM Rare $ 32.97 Mox Opal MM2 Mythic Rare $ 32.14 Griselbrand AVR Mythic Rare $ 31.40 Ensnaring Bridge ST Rare $ 30.61 Ensnaring Bridge 8ED Rare $ 30.35 Voice of Resurgence DGM Mythic Rare $ 29.82 Volcanic Island VMA Rare $ 29.67 Verdant Catacombs ZEN Rare $ 29.64 Horizon Canopy FUT Rare $ 29.58 Batterskull NPH Mythic Rare $ 29.48 Force of Will VMA Rare $ 27.67 Force of Will EMA Mythic Rare $ 27.53 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy ORI Mythic Rare $ 27.45 Mox Diamond ST Rare $ 27.27 True-Name Nemesis PZ1 Mythic Rare $ 27.25 Mox Diamond TPR Mythic Rare $ 27.08 Scapeshift MOR Rare $ 26.74 Undiscovered Paradise VI Rare $ 26.59 Doomsday WL Rare $ 25.75 True-Name Nemesis C13 Rare $ 25.73

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 $ 28,035. That’s up $795 from last week’s number. Rebound after last week.

Weekly Highlights:

I managed to find time to play two Eternal Masters drafts. I wish the format would have stayed around longer. I spent 50 TIX only to ended up with two packs and maybe $10 worth of cards, but I really enjoyed the format. I’d play more if I could.

Sperling’s Sick of It article. I am not always in agreement with these articles, but I found myself nodding to pretty much everything he wrote this time around. The article is I did enjoy one article this week, over on ChannelFireball.com. Matt Sperling wrote anotherarticle. I am not always in agreement with these articles, but I found myself nodding to pretty much everything he wrote this time around. The article is here . See what you think.

PRJ

“One Million Words” and “3MWords” on MTGO

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

HammyBot Super Sale: HammyBot was set up to sell off Erik Friborg’s collection, with all proceeds going to his wife and son. So far, HammyBot has raised over $8,000, but there are a lot of cards left in the collection. Those cards are being sold at MTGOTrader’s Buy Price.

Answer to the Judge Question of the Week:

This really is old-school – I won a Vintage match in 2001 by knowing the answer to this question.

You are in a Legacy last chance qualifier. The event is single elimination, and time was called while you were sideboarding for game three. Since LCQs are single elim, you cannot draw, so game three will happen. The game, and match, will end with the first life total change. Fortunately, you are playing Goblin burn. (Your opponent is playing Merfolk.) Unfortunately, you have mulliganed twice, and your five card hand is City of Brass, two Arid Mesas, Lightning Bolt and Goblin Guide. You have six pain-free sources of red mana in your deck, eight cheap burn spells and eight one mana hasty goblins in your deck. Do you mulligan to four?