This was always my favorite article on this website. I always logged on just to read this article. I am very happy you recieved permission to keep writing it. Keep up the good work :)
It's nice to see a favorite article again. I am sure Erik would not have any problems with you taking the helm, and a big thanks to Tammie and Heath for allowing Pete to continue his legacy. And although State of the Program was doen by Erik, I would say feel free to make it your own. Change things up if need to be. I liked that you had a longer article to go with the data.
People seem to like the budget articles, so I will try to keep them up as a regular part of the series. I think in the future I will aim for 20 to 30 tickets for the whole deck which should give me a little more flexibility. Maybe a budget article for every couple regular ones. We will see.
Pithing Needle is another budget answer to Maze and specialty lands, that's a great suggestion. In that game where there were 3 Mazes I was just frustrated because I had no token generators and 3 fatties, and my opponents were protecting each other. On top of that, I had no card draw and an empty hand. I was really frustrated. Oh well.
If you want to add some non-budget cards, Enlightened Tutor would probably top my list. I would also add Baneslayer Angel, Linvala, Keeper of Silence, as many Swords as you can find (probably not Body and Mind though), Karmic Guide, Eternal Dragon, Sol Ring, Thawing Glaciers, and I would swap out all the basics for Snow versions and add Extraplanar lens. And maybe Iona, but there's already a ton of beef at the top end of the curve.
Regarding # of drafts/sealed/8mans/2mans firing... Maybe you could ask wotc_lee? I mean it can't hurt and if you are going to do it manually he may just decide to help. It would be really intereting. I'd love to see the Ev on mirage and tempest draft packs :) getting the numbers for. A 1x collection would also be cool :)
Pete, thank you so much for doing this. It would be great if you could get access to some of the data, and make the graphs/charts that you find most interesting and useful.
Extremely minor thing: You twice referred to "Erik" as "Eric". As an Eric myself, I'm sure Hammy also sighed a little bit every time someone mixed up the spelling of his name.
If you do get the plan to do percentage change graphs if you get the data from Heath, that would be great. Seeing what sub $1 spiked was always nice. Splinter twin jumped from $.30 to $5, and Death's Shadow went from $.10 to $.90. I always like watching the low cards with high percentage changes.
I'm really happy about this. State of the Program was definitely the best part of this site and I'm glad that you're the one to take up the task. Also Wasteland seems like a big Legacy card to be trending. It's doubled in price recently.
I liked the percentages better too. But at the same time, I can understand if you want the format to change a bit to be more "yours". I'm fine either way, but percentages were (to me) the better way to go. Or, at the least, price differences (in numbers) would be great.
These last Fridays have felt emptier because my lunch and break times weren't spent checking out Hammie's awesome assessments. I'm glad that someone was willing to take up the reins, and I also agree that it's a good homage to keep the name.
I look forward to reading more :-D
As for your question on what else to look for in terms of cards for charting - I don't know how Hamm did his analyzing, but he was always able to find the most obscure price differences. What I've been doing for the time being is checking the MTGOTraders HotList, and Excel-charting that throughout the day. It may not be the best method, but I did find out about trends just by looking at what changed on the list. I was actually going to write an article (my first :-D) to try and show people how tracking that may help them get a bit of value out of random cards. I've gotten good results - I bought a few Sun Titans back when they were selling low and now that they're going up, I stand to gain a few tixx - but I've missed a few, too (Inferno Titan was my biggest regret, I just knew they were gonna jump but didn't have the tixx to gamble :( - bad me) - but I think all in all you're doing great :-D Keep it up!
Extremely well done. I enjoyed the "State of the Program" a lot even in those long (sigh :( ) forced breaks from MTG that my job required and I was really going to miss them; I think this is a great hommage and a very informative article.
I'll look forward to it in the future.
Just a minor thing. Can you keep the Trend for the cards in percentile format, please? IMHO It really helps more than a description.
Thank you so much for resurrecting this feature - it is one of the few columns I read every week, no matter what. I like the formatting you are using - it seems easier to read than the old formatting. I do hope Heath and Tammie will give you access to the data Erik was using so that you can continue things like the price charts and price comparisons. EVs for limited formats would also be awesome - Erik did that a few times, and it was always very enlightening.
In short, I am totally in support of this idea, and think you are off to a great start!
I honestly didn't know I had an accent still. I know when I get sloppy drunk I sound like a Texas native still, but I have been living here in SoCal for almost 13 years now.... Figured I had lost it all..
I agree that as a body + land Pilgrim's Eye is underwhelming. Except in two instances. If you need a quick flier and also need to ramp at the same time (in colors that don't ramp well) or if you are just desperate for a colorless source of damage vs Story Circle. Again no matter what need you have it is a terrible card.
I can't think of a person more qualified or storied to take up Erik's standard by running a State of the Program column. More power to you. Looks great too.
The tie-in to cheaters via the leak scandal that has been created is intriguing. It does make for some interesting ethics debating. Is it cheating to be given advanced knowledge and use it for personal advantage? If so then how does one prevent this? Does WoTC have a good alternative way to keep magazines which feed it new players and maintain the interest of older players happy and in the loop? My opinions not withstanding, there seems to be a huge amount of variance in opinion just based on the comments in Caleb's extremely well written report.
Thanks for doing this Pete. I am certain Erik would be proud to have you carrying on his love for the game in this manner.
I effing love your budget commander articles. Please keep them coming.
Also, I don't believe I've read an article from you about (budget or non-budget) tribal commander. I'd be interested to see how you do a tribal deck (that maybe isn't goblins or elves). Running headfirst into mass removal is usually advised against, but I think you could pull it off.
Just a quick thanks for a few new ideas. I love Jotun Grunt as a nice body and GY hate. I had never even considered him, now he is in. Also decided to give marshals anthem a try.
One thing, is pilgims eye worth it in the deck? I have found in most of my mono colored decks I would rather it just be another land, and skip the middle man. Or maybe wayfarer's bauble that gets you that land and accelerates you.
The meta will adjust to metalworker. On the draw, Metalworker decks are generally giving away turn 1 (where they of course don't have Force of Will) AND Turn 2 (where generally they are sitting with a sick Metalworker). That's a lot of advantage to give away. Metalworker decks are also super-susceptible to things like Serenity (since they love to dump their hand and overcommit) and more importantly Null Rod, since almost all of them are looking at Metalworker/Forgemaster as their engine. That's not to say you can't beat down with 3/5 & 5/3, but you can do more damage there. The meta will adjust.
That being said, against all these fish decks, Razormane Masticore might have to stat making appearances... that's what turned the tide in Vintage.
As for being in the cast, love to and we tried one week but our schedules haven't been very complimentary.
You know as I was clicking the PureMTGO link this morning I thought "I sure miss The state of the program". I always looked forwared to friday to see Erik's latest thoughts and to see the latest hot and cold card trends.
I am very glad you have decided to take up the mantle, they are some big shoes to fill.
splinter is now 5 tix! damm!!!
shoot - thought I caught them. Ouch.
FWIW, my brother is an Eric. My brother in law is an Erik. I should know the difference.
I will - this week was anaberation, because I didn't have last week's numbers.
This was always my favorite article on this website. I always logged on just to read this article. I am very happy you recieved permission to keep writing it. Keep up the good work :)
It's nice to see a favorite article again. I am sure Erik would not have any problems with you taking the helm, and a big thanks to Tammie and Heath for allowing Pete to continue his legacy. And although State of the Program was doen by Erik, I would say feel free to make it your own. Change things up if need to be. I liked that you had a longer article to go with the data.
Thanks again for the article.
People seem to like the budget articles, so I will try to keep them up as a regular part of the series. I think in the future I will aim for 20 to 30 tickets for the whole deck which should give me a little more flexibility. Maybe a budget article for every couple regular ones. We will see.
Pithing Needle is another budget answer to Maze and specialty lands, that's a great suggestion. In that game where there were 3 Mazes I was just frustrated because I had no token generators and 3 fatties, and my opponents were protecting each other. On top of that, I had no card draw and an empty hand. I was really frustrated. Oh well.
If you want to add some non-budget cards, Enlightened Tutor would probably top my list. I would also add Baneslayer Angel, Linvala, Keeper of Silence, as many Swords as you can find (probably not Body and Mind though), Karmic Guide, Eternal Dragon, Sol Ring, Thawing Glaciers, and I would swap out all the basics for Snow versions and add Extraplanar lens. And maybe Iona, but there's already a ton of beef at the top end of the curve.
Regarding # of drafts/sealed/8mans/2mans firing... Maybe you could ask wotc_lee? I mean it can't hurt and if you are going to do it manually he may just decide to help. It would be really intereting. I'd love to see the Ev on mirage and tempest draft packs :) getting the numbers for. A 1x collection would also be cool :)
Good luck!
Pete, thank you so much for doing this. It would be great if you could get access to some of the data, and make the graphs/charts that you find most interesting and useful.
Extremely minor thing: You twice referred to "Erik" as "Eric". As an Eric myself, I'm sure Hammy also sighed a little bit every time someone mixed up the spelling of his name.
-Eric
If you do get the plan to do percentage change graphs if you get the data from Heath, that would be great. Seeing what sub $1 spiked was always nice. Splinter twin jumped from $.30 to $5, and Death's Shadow went from $.10 to $.90. I always like watching the low cards with high percentage changes.
I'm really happy about this. State of the Program was definitely the best part of this site and I'm glad that you're the one to take up the task. Also Wasteland seems like a big Legacy card to be trending. It's doubled in price recently.
I think the column title is good. "Hammie's State of the Program" it gives continuance to the articles and a tribute to Hammie.
I liked the percentages better too. But at the same time, I can understand if you want the format to change a bit to be more "yours". I'm fine either way, but percentages were (to me) the better way to go. Or, at the least, price differences (in numbers) would be great.
These last Fridays have felt emptier because my lunch and break times weren't spent checking out Hammie's awesome assessments. I'm glad that someone was willing to take up the reins, and I also agree that it's a good homage to keep the name.
I look forward to reading more :-D
As for your question on what else to look for in terms of cards for charting - I don't know how Hamm did his analyzing, but he was always able to find the most obscure price differences. What I've been doing for the time being is checking the MTGOTraders HotList, and Excel-charting that throughout the day. It may not be the best method, but I did find out about trends just by looking at what changed on the list. I was actually going to write an article (my first :-D) to try and show people how tracking that may help them get a bit of value out of random cards. I've gotten good results - I bought a few Sun Titans back when they were selling low and now that they're going up, I stand to gain a few tixx - but I've missed a few, too (Inferno Titan was my biggest regret, I just knew they were gonna jump but didn't have the tixx to gamble :( - bad me) - but I think all in all you're doing great :-D Keep it up!
Extremely well done. I enjoyed the "State of the Program" a lot even in those long (sigh :( ) forced breaks from MTG that my job required and I was really going to miss them; I think this is a great hommage and a very informative article.
I'll look forward to it in the future.
Just a minor thing. Can you keep the Trend for the cards in percentile format, please? IMHO It really helps more than a description.
Thanks a lot for the article and keep this up!!!
Thank you so much for resurrecting this feature - it is one of the few columns I read every week, no matter what. I like the formatting you are using - it seems easier to read than the old formatting. I do hope Heath and Tammie will give you access to the data Erik was using so that you can continue things like the price charts and price comparisons. EVs for limited formats would also be awesome - Erik did that a few times, and it was always very enlightening.
In short, I am totally in support of this idea, and think you are off to a great start!
Good work Mr. Jahn.
I honestly didn't know I had an accent still. I know when I get sloppy drunk I sound like a Texas native still, but I have been living here in SoCal for almost 13 years now.... Figured I had lost it all..
Thanks for the great feedback guys!
Zach
I agree that as a body + land Pilgrim's Eye is underwhelming. Except in two instances. If you need a quick flier and also need to ramp at the same time (in colors that don't ramp well) or if you are just desperate for a colorless source of damage vs Story Circle. Again no matter what need you have it is a terrible card.
I can't think of a person more qualified or storied to take up Erik's standard by running a State of the Program column. More power to you. Looks great too.
The tie-in to cheaters via the leak scandal that has been created is intriguing. It does make for some interesting ethics debating. Is it cheating to be given advanced knowledge and use it for personal advantage? If so then how does one prevent this? Does WoTC have a good alternative way to keep magazines which feed it new players and maintain the interest of older players happy and in the loop? My opinions not withstanding, there seems to be a huge amount of variance in opinion just based on the comments in Caleb's extremely well written report.
Thanks for doing this Pete. I am certain Erik would be proud to have you carrying on his love for the game in this manner.
Good stuff. I like the idea of keeping the title, I think it would be a nice homage.
I effing love your budget commander articles. Please keep them coming.
Also, I don't believe I've read an article from you about (budget or non-budget) tribal commander. I'd be interested to see how you do a tribal deck (that maybe isn't goblins or elves). Running headfirst into mass removal is usually advised against, but I think you could pull it off.
Just a quick thanks for a few new ideas. I love Jotun Grunt as a nice body and GY hate. I had never even considered him, now he is in. Also decided to give marshals anthem a try.
One thing, is pilgims eye worth it in the deck? I have found in most of my mono colored decks I would rather it just be another land, and skip the middle man. Or maybe wayfarer's bauble that gets you that land and accelerates you.
The meta will adjust to metalworker. On the draw, Metalworker decks are generally giving away turn 1 (where they of course don't have Force of Will) AND Turn 2 (where generally they are sitting with a sick Metalworker). That's a lot of advantage to give away. Metalworker decks are also super-susceptible to things like Serenity (since they love to dump their hand and overcommit) and more importantly Null Rod, since almost all of them are looking at Metalworker/Forgemaster as their engine. That's not to say you can't beat down with 3/5 & 5/3, but you can do more damage there. The meta will adjust.
That being said, against all these fish decks, Razormane Masticore might have to stat making appearances... that's what turned the tide in Vintage.
As for being in the cast, love to and we tried one week but our schedules haven't been very complimentary.
You know as I was clicking the PureMTGO link this morning I thought "I sure miss The state of the program". I always looked forwared to friday to see Erik's latest thoughts and to see the latest hot and cold card trends.
I am very glad you have decided to take up the mantle, they are some big shoes to fill.
I hope so. I have been in five Classic queues in the last couple months, and we never got past 14.