Magic is a game of numbers: sixty cards, 20 life, draw two cards, take 7 damage, and add three counters. There are even more numbers surrounding the game—facts and figures, prices, and trivia are everywhere. In Affinity for Numbers, I uncover and highlight some of the more interesting numbers in Magic.
4
The number of creatures in Michael Major's Grand Prix San Diego–winning decklist: U/R Tutelage Mill
U/R Tutelage Mill ? Magic Origins Standard | Michael Major
- Creatures (4)
- 4 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
- Spells (29)
- 1 Dig Through Time
- 2 Send to Sleep
- 2 Roast
- 2 Whelming Wave
- 4 Anger of the Gods
- 4 Magmatic Insight
- 4 Tormenting Voice
- 4 Treasure Cruise
- 1 Monastery Siege
- 4 Sphinx's Tutelage
- 1 Alhammarret's Archive
- Lands (27)
- 4 Island
- 5 Mountain
- 1 Bloodstained Mire
- 1 Flooded Strand
- 4 Radiant Fountain
- 4 Shivan Reef
- 4 Swiftwater Cliffs
- 4 Temple of Epiphany
- Sideboard (15)
- 1 Whelming Wave
- 4 Fiery Impulse
- 1 Seismic Rupture
- 4 Negate
- 1 Encase in Ice
- 1 Disperse
- 3 Annul
Yes, you can now be milled to death at the highest levels of tournament Magic. Is Elixir of Immortality Standard-legal?
5 Minutes
The amount of time you'll have to build your deck in Magic Online 8–4, single-elimination Drafts starting with the August 26 downtime
Wizards of the Coast is testing halving dedicated deck-building time because the latest Magic Online client lets you actually multitask and build your deck while drafting.
5 and 1
The record of the Community Team in the Magic Online Community Cup going into this year's event
The Community Cup is an invitation-only tournament in which a group of players elected by the Magic community (the heroes) face off against a team of Wizards of the Coast employees (the villains) in a series of events.
Our heroes have dominated the tournament series, and there's plenty of pressure for this year's crew to keep the beats flowing. At Gathering Magic, we have very high expectations for one Community Cupper in particular:
No pressure, boss!
This is gonna be fun for us either way . . .
The 2015 Community Cup will be held September 15 and 16, and there is generally some coverage and a great deal of Twitter-based taunting.
12
The number of Magic World Championship 2015 invitees competing in the tournament for the first time; half the field
The first-timers are Ari Lax, Antonio del Moral León, Martin Dang, Magnus Lantto, Joel Larsson, Seth Manfield, Martin Mueller, Brad Nelson, Steve Rubin, Thiago Saporito, Mike Sigrist, and Ondrej Strasky.
The 2015 World Championship will be August 27–30, 2015 and will take place in Seattle, Washington during PAX Prime.
19
The number of spots Mike Sigrist gained in the top-twenty-five rankings by making it to the finals of Pro Tour Magic Origins
This feat also allowed Sigrist to edge out Eric Froehlich and snag the player-of-the-year title.
$25
The average one-day price increase of the five Zendikar fetch lands after Mark Rosewater revealed the following on his blog:
Misty Rainforest increased by the most, more than doubling to about $78. Prices slipped back down by an average of $2.32 one week later. You should probably sell now.
58.95 Tickets
The cost of this Goblins deck in Magic Online tickets.
Goblins ? Magic Origins Standard | seedy_k
- Creatures (17)
- 2 Frenzied Goblin
- 3 Goblin Piledriver
- 4 Foundry Street Denizen
- 4 Goblin Glory Chaser
- 4 Goblin Rabblemaster
- Spells (22)
- 2 Wild Slash
- 3 Lightning Strike
- 4 Stoke the Flames
- 4 Dragon Fodder
- 4 Hordeling Outburst
- 1 Call of the Full Moon
- 4 Obelisk of Urd
- Lands (21)
- 21 Mountain
- Sideboard (15)
- 1 Wild Slash
- 1 Goblin Heelcutter
- 1 Hall of Triumph
- 1 Magma Spray
- 2 Mardu Scout
- 4 Roast
- 3 Searing Blood
- 2 Smash to Smithereens
The deck went 4–0 in a recent Standard Daily Event. Goblins is the cheapest archetype on Magic Online, less than 25% the cost of the average Abzan Midrange deck; plus, you'll never be color-screwed.
150 Coins
The cost of a booster pack within Magic Duels—the new Magic: The Gathering game recently released for iPhone, iPad, PC, and Xbox One
That converts to about $2. Magic Duels is a freemium game, however, so you can also earn coins in the game . . . but let's be honest: You're an addict, and you're gonna buy packs.
315
The number of times Sphinx's Tutelage has been traded in the last seven days via the card-trading site Puca Trade
It was the most traded card in that time period, which is unsurprising given the deck's recent attention grab. Also: The art is sweet.
4,192 Players
Number of players who showed up to compete in last weekend's Grand Prix tournaments
Grand Prix London set the record for the largest Standard Grand Prix (2,152 players), and Grand Prix Detroit set the record for the largest Team Limited Grand Prix (2,040, or 680 teams).
For those trivia lovers out there, Grand Prix Las Vegas, held in June 2013, set the all-time record for number of players, with 4,492 turning out to play Limited. The largest Modern Grand Prix was GP Richmond, held in March 2014 (4,303 players), and the largest Legacy Grand Prix was GP New Jersey, held in September 2014 (4,003 players).
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.