Eternal Masters and Pauper

Eternal Masters is a blessing for Pauper players. Two major things happened. There were reprints of very expensive cards making Pauper much easier to afford and there were 27 cards that were shifted to common rarity. Lets have a look.

The reprints
Firebolt, Innocent Blood, Pyroblast, Hydroblast and, most notably, Daze will now all crash in price and be very affordable to Pauper players.

There were more reprints than this of course but they were already at bulk prices and will not seriously impact the affordability of the format. An example of this would be the KTK dual lands.

On the other hand, that makes the non-reprinted cards shoot up in price, especially as there are no pre-Modern flashback drafts in 2016. These include cards like Snap, Gorilla Shaman, Lotus Petal and Crypt Rats.

The new commons
Some of these will, naturally, make zero impact on the format. This is the default state for any card in Pauper. The card pool is massive. The surprise this time is that there are so many cards that will, in fact, make an impact.

Desperate Ravings: If combo decks

Elite Vanguard: A 2/1 for 1 mana that helps an already established deck (White Weenie). It also enables Soldier Tribal with War Falcon. I think this will see play. Elite Vanguard is probably a stronger card than Kird Ape in Pauper.

Kird Ape: While a 2/3 for 1 mana seems good there are no dual lands that are forests that can support this little guy. Wild Nacatl has made a very small impact on the format and I expect Kird Ape to make even less. There is very little to cut for this in a Domain Zoo list. Kird Ape would go best in a two-color aggro deck and those are a classic trap in Pauper. The mana base is just not there to support two-color aggro decks when the single color aggro decks are so extremely good in the format.

Night's Whisper: This is the most impactful of the downshifted cards. This enables MBC to play more than four Sign in Bloods. It also enables XB control decks to have access to the same two-mana card drawing power as MBC used to have. I am fairly sure this will be the most played card from EMA in Pauper.

Nimble Mongoose: A 3/3 for 1 mana with Shroud is much more impactful than a 2/3 for 1 mana. If a card sees play in Legacy it will probably see play in Pauper. I even think this makes UG Delver decks possible.

Peregrine Drake: This does make Familiars a viable deck again. Maybe the five mana cost is balancing enough but I fear that the non-interactive menace is back once again - until this card gets banned in Pauper. Make no mistake - this is worse than Cloud of Faeries. The only question is: How much worse?

Rally the Peasants: Being able to give your horde two extra power twice has to be respected. Having to include red is not fun, though.

Yavimaya Enchantress: The fact that non-aura enchantments work with this can be important.

Eternal Masters draft archetypes

These are the archetypes that are built into the structure of Eternal Masters (much like draft archetypes were built into Modern Masters 2015). Of course there will be more possible decks but a good bet is to go for one of these at the outset of the format.

GW: Auras.
GR: Fast aggro
GU: Threshold
GB; Elves
WB: Morbid tokens
WU: Flyers
WR: Aggro tokens
UR: Spells matter, preferably those with flashback
UB: Reanimator control
RB: Midrange reanimator
5-color: Shrines

What will you be looking for in your first EMA draft?

Card Keeper - collection management tool

The Cardhoarder, a chain of bots, released a Card Keeper, which may be a very useful collection management tool with following features:

• view, filter and manipulate your MTGO collection
• build, view and download a trade binder of cards (.DEK file)
• sorting cards by price, for instance to find cards that are worth more than you would expect
• looking for cards that are not currently in your collection, for instance to find out what is missing to complete set

It is absolutely for free. You just need to download your MtGO collection file (.CSV) and upload it there. Afterwards, you could start managing your collection through website.

MTGO Library Bot 11.07 and 11.08

On Thursday we released ML Bot 11.07 and today we just released ML Bot 11.08.

These two updates contains a couple of minor fixes to restore the full bot functionality after Wednesday downtime.

MTGO Library Bot 11.06

Yesterday Wizards of the Coast deployed a Mtgo update with an internal refactor. After the update the bot was not working properly. After few hours we released a bot client update (version 11.06) to address the issues and restored the fully functionality. We forced the update on all the bots from remote, so you probably already have version 11.06 on your bot.
Today we will release a minor update (11.07) to tune and better integrare the bot.

Evaluating the Pauper Gauntlet S03

The third season of the Pauper Gauntlet is over. Aristocrats is the winner.

This is the time when you tell me what you liked and did not like about the Pauper Gauntlet so we can refine the format for a possible fourth season.

If you want a fourth season of the Pauper Gauntlet consider supporting the effort on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/magicgatheringstrat

You can also leave comments on YouTube in this video below



Some things I need your feedback on:

* The top 10 playoff - should it be removed?

* Can the early rounds (1-4) be unlimited in time or do you want them to last a predetermined set of weeks?

* What if the Pauper Gauntlet only had rogue decks? How would that be defined?

* What coverage did you follow? The articles here? The podcast? Twitter?

* The Voteback
* A second voteback after round 7?
* Number of decks
* The mtgolibrary coverage (too much? too little?)
* Your favorite deck
* Your favorite match
* Anything else you can think of

Now it really over. This is the last blog post about the third season of the Pauper Gauntlet. Thank you for watching

Get your Battle for Zendikar Expeditions now

We all know that MTGO foils look horrible and that they command a lower price than regular cards some of the time, but even then I have gone deep into the Battle for Zendikat Expeditions that form the base of the Modern mana base.

Battle for Zendikar block is no longer the latest cool drafting format. None of these lands are no longer playable in Standard. This means that supply is at a peak and demand is at a low.

There are two types of expeditions that are very interesting to me; Shockland and the ONS Fetchlands.


Shocklands
Shockland prices have not yet come out of the hole the reprint in RTR block dug for them. Have no doubt, without a second reprint they surely will.

When they do I would rather have the full-art EXP versions than the Ravnica blocks versions.

Here is a comparison showing EXP Watery Grave holding its value while GTC Watery Grave is still dropping.

Watery Grave EXP
http://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Zendikar+Expeditions:Foil/Watery+Grave#online

Watery Grave GTC
http://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Gatecrash/Watery+Grave#online

Fetchlands
I am not touching the ZEN Fetchlands (Arid Mesa, Scalding Tarn, Misty Rainforest, Marsh Flats and Verdant Catacombs) with a ten foot pole at this point due to risk of reprint. If these are reprinted they stand to lose 75-90% of their value instantaneously.

So to be really clear here I am talking about only the original ONS/KTK Fetchlands; Flooded Strand, Polluted Delta, Bloodstained Mire, Wooded Foothills and Windswept Heath.

Here is an example of a KTK Fetchland taking off while the EXP has not yet really gone up that much.

I think all the EXP allied Fetchlands are excellent buys right now.

Wooded Foothills EXP
http://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Zendikar+Expeditions:Foil/Wooded+Foothills#online

Wooded Foothills KTK
http://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Khans+of+Tarkir/Wooded+Foothills#online


As with any MTG Finance advice, use your own judgment and please remember to never invest too heavily in any single thing on MTGO and use only money you can afford to lose.

Schedule of Flashback drafts in 2016

Schedule of flashback drafts for next seven months. Note it down in your calendar to not to be surprised why some card's price is declining in particular weeks. Be careful and adjust your prices in advance.

    Start               End                    Format

5/25/2016	6/1/2016	3 Tenth Edition
6/1/2016	6/8/2016	3 Lorwyn
6/8/2016	6/15/2016	2 Lorwyn and 1 Morningtide
6/15/2016	6/22/2016	3 Shadowmoor
6/22/2016	6/29/2016	2 Shadowmoor and 1 Eventide
6/29/2016	7/6/2016	3 Shards of Alara
7/6/2016	7/13/2016	2 Shards of Alara and 1 Conflux
7/13/2016	7/20/2016	1 Shards of Alara, 1 Conflux, and 1 Alara Reborn
7/20/2016	7/27/2016	3 Magic 2010
7/27/2016	8/17/2016	Break for Eldritch Moon
8/17/2016	8/24/2016	3 Zendikar
8/24/2016	8/31/2016	2 Zendikar and 1 Worldwake
8/31/2016	9/7/2016	3 Rise of the Eldrazi
9/7/2016	9/14/2016	3 Magic 2011
9/14/2016	9/21/2016	3 Scars of Mirrodin
9/21/2016	9/28/2016	1 Mirrodin Beseiged and 2 Scars of Mirrodin
9/28/2016	10/5/2016	1 New Phyrexia, 1 Mirrodin Beseiged, and 1 Scars of Mirrodin
10/5/2016	10/26/2016	Break for Kaladesh
10/26/2016	11/2/2016	3 Innistrad
11/2/2016	11/9/2016	1 Dark Ascension and 2 Innistrad
11/9/2016	11/16/2016	3 Magic 2012
11/16/2016	11/23/2016	3 Avacyn Restored
11/23/2016	11/30/2016	3 Magic 2013
11/30/2016	12/7/2016	3 Return to Ravnica
12/7/2016	12/14/2016	3 Gatecrash
12/14/2016	12/21/2016	1 Dragon's Maze, 1 Gatecrash, and 1 Return to Ravnica
12/21/2016	12/28/2016	3 Magic 2014

MTGO Library Bot 11.04

Some hours ago we released ML Bot 11.04. The update fixed a problem with the SOI boosters, a problem causing some bots to be unable to purchase them.

Twitch and Magic Streaming

Since 2013 my MagicGatheringStrat collective run a Twitch stream at https://www.twitch.tv/magicgatheringstrat

It seemed natural to have a Twitch channel along with the MagicGatheringStrat YouTube channel (home of the Pauper Gauntlet).

Later the same year, I realized that streaming was not my thing. I find it way too distracting. But, similar to the YouTube channel, I had other people create content as well.

Today, I am back streaming but only once a week. Me, Brennon and Sam do the MagicGatheringStrat podcast that I talked about here: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/02/the-magicgatheringstrat-podcast.html

Several other people have streamed on our Twitch channel but the one holding the fort now is Pierakor who mostly play Modern with a focus on Mono Blue Tron. He stream several times a week and if you are interested, you should check that out.

We are looking for more streamers and if you are interested in being part of an already somewhat established stream, please contact me.

The best way to do that is to contact me on our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/Magicgatheringstrat/

Upcoming Flashback drafts

As you might know, 2016 is the year of Modern Flashbacks.

This week we are drafting 2 Time Spiral + 1 Planar Chaos. Next week they add 1 Future Sight over 1 Time Spiral and then it is time for 3x10th Edition.

I just wanted to remind you all of this and remember to pick up your TSP block and 10th Edition cards now. Flashback drafts have for many years been a good opportunity to pick up cards and sell them when prices recover (usually 6-9 months unless the card is reprinted for some other reason).

So what are you looking for? Well, Goyf is the big one of course but he is in the third set of which you will only see one pack per draft for a week. He will not drop much because of this.

Time Spiral: Living End, Vesuva, Academy Ruins, Lotus Bloom, Greater Gargadon, Restore Balance, Flagstones of Trokair, Angel's Grace, Gemstone Caverns, Norin

Planar Chaos: Damnation, Urborg, Boom//Bust, Extirpate, Simian Spirit Guide, Harmonize, Sinew Sliver (staple Pauper card)

10th Edition: Crucible of Worlds, Hurkyl's Recall, Wrath of God, Brushland, Caves of Koilos (beware this card dropping out of standard which will drop it severely), Shatterstorm, Howling Mine.


Also, be aware of Eternal Masters coming up this summer. A lot of non-Modern cards will tank. Sell them now if you don't need them.

Plane Shift: Zendikar

Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: the Gathering are two different games, but that doesn't mean their multiverses can't meet. It is a surprising move as Wizards of the Coast have strictly decided against melding the two fantasy franchises together in the past, but almost out of nowhere, Wizards of the Coast released a Plane Shift: Zendikar, a 38-page D&D Fifth Edition sourcebook for running campaigns in the Magic: the Gathering setting of Zendikar. The book contains guidance and rules for running a game of D&D in the world of Zendikar, but the the goal isn’t to mirror the experience of playing Magic in your role-playing game. So, don’t be afraid, you will not be asked to tap any mana in order to cast spells. The game will look like any other D&D campaign.

It’s free to download. If you are a fan of D&D check it out!

MTGO Library Bot 11.01

We have just released ML Bot 11.01 . Version 11.01 fixes a problem with sending the chat messages on Windows 10, where the bot was often unable to send them.

Windows 7 and Windows 8 users can skip the update while Windows 10 users are strongly recommended to update as soon as possible.

The Magic Moment - a weekly MTG news show

I am proud to present The Magic Moment, a new weekly MTG news (and fun) segment on my YouTube channel MagicGatheringStrat made by Bobgar.

Check out the first two episodes here

Impacted Connectivity on mtgolibrary.com

We're aware of reports of unsteady and limited connectivity to mtgolibrary.com.
Our network Engineers are currently investigating and the server will fully online again soon.

Thank you for your patience.

#paythepros

Lately, Wizards announced serious cuts in appearance fees for Hall of Flames and Platinum level players.  Take a look what Wizards planned to do in order to increase the World Magic Championship prize pools from $150,000 to $250,000 in 2016, and to $500,000 in 2017. Platinum players were suppoused to receive an appearance fee of $250 for competing at Pro Tours (previously $3,000), an appearance fee of $250 for competing at the World Magic Cup (previously $1,000), and an appearance fee of $250 for competing at a World Magic Cup Qualifier (previously $500).

It is not hard to tell, that reaction of community was instant. So was Wizards of the Coast. Changes were reversed due to overwhelming community feedback. What is more, the Worlds payout increase remains for 2016 (total prize pool of $250,000, an increase of $100,000). The possible changes will be talk through with pro players during the Pro Tour Eldrich Moon.

The point is that we, as a community, are strong. Fortunately, Wizards are sometimes listening to players opinions. It is silver lining, that any future unfavorable changes will not be passed by without any reaction.

MTGO Library Bot 11.00

We released ML Bot 11.00 some minutes ago. The new version improves a number of things. Among these:

• ML Bot has been compiled with Net 4.5.2 to offer a better compatibility with Mtgo.
• Some weeks ago, WotC updated Mtgo and broke the "blinking" of the submit button in trade. As result, the bot was unable to detect the submit and needed an explicit "done" command in the chat to finalize the trade. We fixed the problem by changing the way the bot detects the submit and now typing "done" is no more necessary.
• Opening trade with other bots is now faster and more reliable.
• We fixed some DKA cards with wrong names

Aristocrats wins the Pauper Gauntlet S03

The Pauper Gauntlet is over! In the first two-man round, one deck won and one deck lost, making Aristocrats (formerly known as "Suicide is Painless") the winner of the whole season!

What is the Pauper Gauntlet?
All about the Pauper Gauntlet Season 03: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/11/the-pauper-gauntlet.html
All the deck lists: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/11/the-decks-of-pauper-gauntlet-s03.html

Round twelve
Round ten was played in the Two-Man tournaments.

Cyborgs opened, losing a close match to an Orzhov Midrange (?) deck that just had too much value.
Aristocrats played a nailbiter against RUG Tron, losing the first duel but then managing to barely win duel 2 and 3.

This means that Paul Jones, being both the brewer and the champion of Aristocrats, wins 100 bot credits with mtgotickets.com. Congratulations!

What happens now?
We will evaluate the Pauper Gauntlet together (there will be a video and an article about that) to make the whole experience even better next year.

If you want to help make Season Four of the Pauper Gauntlet a reality, you can contribute on our Patreon at patreon.com/magicgatheringstrat

If the Patreon meets its goal the Pauper Gauntlet will start its fourth season on December 4, 2016.


The full results of the Pauper Gauntlet S03
Winner: Aristocrats (Suicide is Painless)
2nd place: Cyborgs
3rd place (round eleven): Green One
4th place (round ten): Spiteful Leeches
5th place (round nine): WW Soul Tokens 
6th place (round eight):  BUGs & Pigs, Pig Trinket, MBC, Bant Sword and Shield
The playoff for the 10th spot in the top 10
10th place: Slivers (won the playoff)
11th place: Stompy Tokens, Mono Red Heroic (round five in the playoff)
13th place: Goblin Storm, BorosKitty Initiated (round four in the playoff)
15pth place: Stompy (round three in the playoff)
16th place: RUG Tron, Izzet Cooldotha and UG Madness 
Round seven eliminations - the decks in the Top 10 Playoff: BorosKitty Initiated, Slivers, Mono Red Heroic, Stompy, UG Madness,  RUG Tron and Izzet Cooldotha. 
19th place (round six): Infect, Blue Bichinho, Death Control, Burn (runner-up from last season) and Pauper Nightmare. 
24th place (round five) Illusory Tricks, White Heroes, Goblins, Suicide Black, Turbo Angler, Simic Oracle, Kuldotha Mardu, Elves, Rhystic Tron, MUC, Black Auramancer, Love Train, 
36th place (round four) Counter-Kitty,UB Trinket Control, Rakdos Vampires, Flying Ninjas, Turbo Zoo, Shroudfang Ninja. Delver, Green Ramp LD, Snow-Go, Turbo Exhume
45th place: Shared by the 26 decks eliminated in round three: Affinity, Exhume Control, Familiars, Rebel Grind, Pestilence Control, Encroaching Blight, Green Grifters, The Pauper Gauntlet, Project X, Tortured Toolbox, RG Land Crusher, RG Landfall, DelverFiend, Eggs, Gary Busey LD, Selesnya Flash, Abzan Grindhouse, Bant Fog, Crocajund, BUG Proliferators, Evil Allies, Land-o-derm, Pig Trinket, Sultai Delve, 5-color Green
70th place: Shared by nine decks that died during double Elimination, (round one and two): Red Land Destruction, Mono Black Land Destruction, Glass Cannon Red, Tortured Madness,  Cheaty Morph, Living End, 1-land Spy, UB Justice Control and Dragon Delve.

Here is an excel sheet with every single match result from the Pauper Gauntlet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PWhJFDjhw0GZ_BVKpHMOVX8qS_7KJPo90tZJNjbczTA/edit?pageId=106024238989036834136#gid=1242894574

Please visit our sponsor Mtgotickets, new customers receive 10 tickets for $8. Click on this link to check out mtgotickets

Mtgo update to Net framework 4.5.2

WotC updated Mtgo to the Microsoft Net framework 4.5.2. To run Mtgo you need to install the Net framework 4.5.2 and then to update Mtgo manually.
A ML Bot update is not required, but you still need to update Mtgo manually to use it.

We will be online on LiveChat if you need help. You may need to unistall and then reinstall mtgo to have mtgo update successfully.

Two decks makes it to the round 12 of the Pauper Gauntlet

Three decks entered round eleven and only one of them lost!

What is the Pauper Gauntlet?
All about the Pauper Gauntlet Season 03: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/11/the-pauper-gauntlet.html
All the deck lists: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2015/11/the-decks-of-pauper-gauntlet-s03.html

Round eleven
Round ten was played in the Tournament Practice room. Here are all the matches of the round.

Aristocrats ran into a very easy match.

The Green One had an intense battle with JeskaiKitty.

Cyborgs took on Turbo Angler.


What happens now?
The Tournament Practice rounds are over. Round twelve will be played in the two-man tournaments. If both decks win or both decks lose we move to the next round. Round sixteen will be the league round.

The player who chose the right deck to win the Pauper Gauntlet will get 100 bot credits from mtgotickets.com. The two players remaining are Paul Jones (Aristocrafts, also the brewer) and TheBlackGauntlet (Cyborgs).


The results of the Pauper Gauntlet S03 so far
3rd place (round eleven): Green One
4th place (round ten): Spiteful Leeches
5th place (round nine): WW Soul Tokens 
6th place (round eight):  BUGs & Pigs, Pig Trinket, MBC, Bant Sword and Shield
The playoff for the 10th spot in the top 10
10th place: Slivers (won the playoff)
11th place: Stompy Tokens, Mono Red Heroic (round five in the playoff)
13th place: Goblin Storm, BorosKitty Initiated (round four in the playoff)
15pth place: Stompy (round three in the playoff)
16th place: RUG Tron, Izzet Cooldotha and UG Madness 
Round seven eliminations - the decks in the Top 10 Playoff: BorosKitty Initiated, Slivers, Mono Red Heroic, Stompy, UG Madness,  RUG Tron and Izzet Cooldotha. 
19th place (round six): Infect, Blue Bichinho, Death Control, Burn (runner-up from last season) and Pauper Nightmare. 
24th place (round five) Illusory Tricks, White Heroes, Goblins, Suicide Black, Turbo Angler, Simic Oracle, Kuldotha Mardu, Elves, Rhystic Tron, MUC, Black Auramancer, Love Train, 
36th place (round four) Counter-Kitty,UB Trinket Control, Rakdos Vampires, Flying Ninjas, Turbo Zoo, Shroudfang Ninja. Delver, Green Ramp LD, Snow-Go, Turbo Exhume
45th place: Shared by the 26 decks eliminated in round three: Affinity, Exhume Control, Familiars, Rebel Grind, Pestilence Control, Encroaching Blight, Green Grifters, The Pauper Gauntlet, Project X, Tortured Toolbox, RG Land Crusher, RG Landfall, DelverFiend, Eggs, Gary Busey LD, Selesnya Flash, Abzan Grindhouse, Bant Fog, Crocajund, BUG Proliferators, Evil Allies, Land-o-derm, Pig Trinket, Sultai Delve, 5-color Green
70th place: Shared by nine decks that died during double Elimination, (round one and two): Red Land Destruction, Mono Black Land Destruction, Glass Cannon Red, Tortured Madness,  Cheaty Morph, Living End, 1-land Spy, UB Justice Control and Dragon Delve.

Please visit our sponsor Mtgotickets, new customers receive 10 tickets for $8. Click on this link to check out mtgotickets

Enter the Battlefield - Life on the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour

Wizards of the Coast prepared a documentary movie. Enter the Battlefield is a feature-length documentary movie that follows seven Magic: The Gathering players through a season: Reid Duke, Owen Turtenwald, William Jensen, Patrick Chapin, Shahar Shenhar, Melissa DeTora, and Chris Pikula. While their goal for every game is to defeat their opponent, their lives on the Pro Tour are about personal goals. More than anyone, they compete with themselves.

As a reminder: after next downtime, MTGO will use NET 4.5.2, which is not supported by Windows XP. Vista users need to install at least Service Pack 2 to be able to run MTGO.