Magic is a game of numbers: sixty cards, twenty life, draw two cards, take seven damage, and add three counters. There are even more numbers surrounding the game — facts and figures, prices and trivia, they are everywhere. In Affinity for Numbers I uncover and highlight some of the more interesting numbers in Magic.

5 Chesley Nominations

Chesley awards are given out annually by the Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists (ASFA) to recognize great works of fantasy illustration. This year, Magic art swept the nominations for "Best Gaming-Related Illustration". The following five cards were nominated:

Clint Cearley for Mind Rot — Dragons of Tarkir

Vincent Proce for Guardian Automaton — Magic Origins

Anna Steinbauer for Blessed Spirits — Magic Origins

Ryan Yee for Fruit of the First Tree — Fate Reforged

Min Yum for Sandblast — Fate Reforged

5 Flavors of Delver

It was Legacy weekend on June 11 and 12, with two Grand Prix (Columbus and Prague) showcasing the Legacy metagame. Five different versions of Delver decks appeared in the top decks of the weekend (top-64 at Prague and top-32 at Columbus) and made up 24% of the overall total. BUG and Grixis versions were the most popular, with 9% of the top decks each.

Here's Alexander Hayne's top-8 Grixis Delver deck from Prague:

Grixis Delver ? Legacy | Alexander Hayne, Top 8 GP Prague

• Creatures (14)
• 2 Gurmag Angler
• 4 Deathrite Shaman
• 4 Delver of Secrets
• 4 Young Pyromancer

• Spells (28)
• 1 Dismember
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 4 Brainstorm
• 4 Daze
• 4 Force of Will
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 2 Cabal Therapy
• 4 Gitaxian Probe
• 4 Ponder

• Lands (18)
• 1 Tropical Island
• 2 Underground Sea
• 3 Volcanic Island
• 4 Misty Rainforest
• 4 Polluted Delta
• 4 Wasteland

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Ancient Grudge
• 2 Baleful Strix
• 1 Cabal Therapy
• 1 Darkblast
• 2 Flusterstorm
• 2 Painful Truths
• 1 Pithing Needle
• 1 Pyroblast
• 2 Surgical Extraction
• 2 Winter Orb

Buy This Deck

8 spots

Speaking of Alexander Hayne, his top-8 finish at GP Prague allowed him to crack the Magic top-25 players rankings. He moved up 8 spots to number 7 overall.

9 Eldrazi decks

With their fun largely nerfed in Modern, the Eldrazi menace lives on in Legacy. GP Prague had a particularly bad infestation — 9 of the top-64 decks were based on Eldrazi. This version by David Gutesa, finished in 39th place and included a pair of Phyrexian Metamorph.

Eldrazi ? Legacy | David Gutesa, 39th Place GP Prague

• Creatures (22)
• 2 Phyrexian Metamorph
• 4 Eldrazi Mimic
• 4 Endless One
• 4 Matter Reshaper
• 4 Reality Smasher
• 4 Thought-Knot Seer

• Spells (13)
• 2 Warping Wail
• 3 Dismember
• 2 Thorn of Amethyst
• 4 Chalice of the Void
• 2 Umezawa's Jitte

• Lands (25)
• 1 Ghost Quarter
• 2 Karakas
• 3 City of Traitors
• 3 Eye of Ugin
• 4 Ancient Tomb
• 4 Cavern of Souls
• 4 Eldrazi Temple
• 4 Wasteland

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 All Is Dust
• 2 Endbringer
• 3 Pithing Needle
• 2 Ratchet Bomb
• 2 Relic of Progenitus
• 2 Sphere of Resistance
• 2 Thorn of Amethyst
• 1 Warping Wail

Buy This Deck

22% of decks

The most successful deck of Legacy weekend by far was Miracles with 22% of the combined top decks from Prague and Columbus. Miracles was also the runner-up at both events. Here is Joe Lossett's version from Columbus.

Miracles ? Legacy | Joe Lossett, 2nd place GP Columbus

• Creatures (8)
• 2 Venser, Shaper Savant
• 3 Snapcaster Mage
• 3 Vendilion Clique

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

• Spells (28)
• 3 Swords to Plowshares
• 4 Brainstorm
• 4 Force of Will
• 2 Entreat the Angels
• 3 Ponder
• 4 Terminus
• 4 Counterbalance
• 4 Sensei's Divining Top

• Lands (22)
• 2 Plains
• 4 Island
• 1 Arid Mesa
• 1 Cavern of Souls
• 2 Karakas
• 2 Tundra
• 2 Volcanic Island
• 4 Flooded Strand
• 4 Scalding Tarn

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Back to Basics
• 1 Engineered Explosives
• 2 Flusterstorm
• 2 Moat
• 1 Pithing Needle
• 1 Pyroblast
• 2 Red Elemental Blast
• 2 Rest in Peace
• 1 Swords to Plowshares
• 1 Wear // Tear

Buy This Deck

45 points

None other than Jon Finkel currently sits in first place in the 2015-2016 Draft Master standings with 45 points. The player with the most Booster Draft match points from Swiss rounds at Pro Tours in the 2015-16 Premier Play season is awarded the Draft Master title along with an invite to the2016 Magic World Championship. Finkel's lead isn't a large one. Two players have 43 points and four are sitting on 42.

84% of top decks

Brainstorm is big in Legacy, it is known. It appeared in 84% of the top-32 decks at GP Columbus and 75% of the top-64 decks at GP Prague.

$661

The cheapest deck from Legacy weekend was this Burn deck by Tyler Pressley. Tyler took 15th place at GP Columbus and his deck cost a mere $661.

Burn ? Legacy | Tyler Pressley, 15th place GP Columbus

• Creatures (13)
• 2 Grim Lavamancer
• 3 Monastery Swiftspear
• 4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
• 4 Goblin Guide

• Spells (28)
• 4 Fireblast
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Price of Progress
• 2 Flame Rift
• 4 Chain Lightning
• 4 Lava Spike
• 4 Rift Bolt
• 2 Sulfuric Vortex

• Lands (19)
• 7 Mountain
• 1 Barbarian Ring
• 3 Arid Mesa
• 4 Bloodstained Mire
• 4 Wooded Foothills

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Ashen Rider
• 1 Ensnaring Bridge
• 3 Exquisite Firecraft
• 1 Pyroblast
• 1 Pyrostatic Pillar
• 1 Relic of Progenitus
• 3 Searing Blaze
• 1 Searing Blood
• 2 Smash to Smithereens
• 1 Tormod's Crypt

Buy This Deck

$1,213

Alpha-edition Forcefield spiked to an all-time high this week, clearing $1,200. It didn't see significant play on Legacy weekend, but it is on the reserved list so supply is fixed.

$4,249

The most-expensive deck from Legacy weekend was Shardless BUG by Pierre Sommen at GP Prague. It weighed in at a hefty $4,249 and finished in 44th place.

Shardless BUG ? Legacy | Pierre Sommen, 44th place GP Prague

• Creatures (16)
• 4 Baleful Strix
• 4 Deathrite Shaman
• 4 Shardless Agent
• 4 Tarmogoyf

• Planeswalkers (4)
• 4 Liliana of the Veil

• Spells (18)
• 4 Abrupt Decay
• 4 Brainstorm
• 4 Force of Will
• 2 Hymn to Tourach
• 4 Ancestral Vision

• Lands (22)
• 1 Swamp
• 2 Bayou
• 2 Misty Rainforest
• 2 Tropical Island
• 3 Underground Sea
• 4 Polluted Delta
• 4 Verdant Catacombs
• 4 Wasteland

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Disfigure
• 1 Forest
• 2 Hymn to Tourach
• 2 Leyline of the Void
• 2 Pithing Needle
• 3 Thoughtseize
• 2 Toxic Deluge
• 1 Umezawa's Jitte

Buy This Deck

That's all the numbers I have for you today. If you also have an affinity for numbers, and have one you think I should share, let me know on Twitter @MrVigabool.