As of March 15, @ 5:00 PM:

Release day prices:

Adventurer’s Guild – No pricing yet
Happy Harbor – $13.33/pack, on sale Friday
Mission Fun & Games – $269.95/box, $11.95/pack, on sale Friday
Red Claw Gaming – No pricing yet
Star Lotus Games – $275/box, $14.28/pack, on sale Friday
Taps For Effect Games – $310/box, $15/pack, on sale Friday
Warp One – Sold Out
Warp Two – $280/box, $15/pack, $50/4 packs, on sale Friday
Warp Three – $285/box, on sale Friday
Wizard’s Sherwood – No pricing yet
Wizard’s UofA – No pricing yet

Events:

Adventurer’s Guild:
Saturday @ 12:00 PM – Modern Masters 2017 Draft, details to come
Sunday @ 6:00 PM – Modern Masters 2017 Draft, details to come

Happy Harbor:
Friday @ 6:00 PM – Modern Masters 2017 Draft, $42 entry

Mission Fun & Games:
Sunday @ 12:00 PM – Modern Masters 2017 Draft, $45 entry, 32 person limit
Based off a pod of 8 prizing will be 4-3-2-2-1 Modern Masters 2017 packs.

Star Lotus Games:
Sunday @ 12:00 PM until 4:00 PM – Modern Masters 2017 Draft, $30 entry for first draft, 3 rounds, 8 person pods launch as they fill
Booster pack of standard legal set per round win.

Taps For Effect:
Friday @ 7:00 PM – Modern Masters 2017 Draft, $35, 16 person limit
Saturday @ 12:00 PM – SUPER MODERN FEAT. MM17 DRAFT, $40

Warp Two:
Friday @ 6:30 PM – Modern Masters 2017 Draft, $35 entry, 36 person limit.

Saturday @ 12:00 PM – Modern masters 2017 Draft, $35 entry, 56 person limit
Prizing based on record after 4 rounds.
Facebook Event Here.

Warp Three:
Saturday @ 10:00 AM – Modern Masters 2017 Sealed, $60 entry

Wizard’s Sherwood:
Friday @ 6:30 PM – Modern Masters 2017 Booster Draft $40 entry, 24 person limit, can call to preregister.

Wizard’s UofA:
April 1st MM17 draft – details to come

EDIT March 15, 7:45 PM: The Fort [Fort Saskatchewan] is hosting a Modern Masters 2017 Draft Saturday @ 6:30 PM, $40 entry

The springtime tradition of speculating on the year’s Masters set has begun! Eternal Masters releases on June 10th, sixteen days from now (Future readers, time until / elapsed from release will have to be calculated manually). Reprint news is trickling in at a card every hour or two, and excitement is building.

So what do we know about this set?
– MSRP is $9.99 USD / pack, or ~$12.99 CDN (At today’s 1.30 CDN/USD).
– A box contains 24 packs, so a box MSRP of $239.76 USD or ~$311.76 CDN.
– As a large set, it contains 15 Mythics, 53 Rares, 80 Uncommons, and 101 Commons.
– Only Wizards Play Network stores get it. (No mass market stores or general hobby shops)
– Each pack has a foil.
– They are reprinting Mana Crypt. Mana Crypt. Did not expect that one. It’s never been in a booster or had a rarity before!

Notice that I didn’t list how many boxes would be available. That’s no mistake; as of this time, every store in Edmonton is able to receive a release shipment of 8 to 32 boxes and a first wave shipment of 8 boxes.  Distributors are not divulging any information on how additional boxes will be allocated.

From personal estimates of stores around the city, and assuming no extra allocation, there will be 300+ boxes (7200+ packs) of EMA in Edmonton on June 10th. For comparison, an Advanced Plus store in town usually has 80-240 boxes (2880 – 8640 packs) of a new expansion on release day. There are at least ten active stores in town. Also, no Walmart sources. We’re looking at a fifth or a tenth of usual set availability on day one of EMA, with no guarantees for restocks past the first wave.

So far, some shops have put some boxes up for presale. The Adventurer’s Guild has sold through their preorders at $315 CDN + tax. The Warp chain has boxes available for $370 +tax. Variant Edition has sold through part of their allocation at $330+tax. Red Claw Gaming has a few preorders at $370+tax.

Some of these prices seem high, but let’s look at trustworthy online shops:

– FacetoFace Games is sold out at $369.99 CDN.
– Gamekeeper.ca has 10 boxes remaining at $359.99 CDN.
– Starcitygames has 14 11 9 5 boxes remaining at $349.95 USD, ~$455 CDN.
– TCGPlayer lists their lowest preorder box at $310 USD, ~$403 CDN.

Oh dear. The American sources can’t ship across the border, but they’re already reaching above $400 CDN.

Set prices long term are going to depend upon restocks. If it’s like Modern Masters 2013, with one release wave and a small restock wave, boosters will be incredibly difficult to find for even three times MSRP. Modern Masters 2015, on the other hand, could still be bought from distributors (in small amounts) for two months after release, and you can still find it around the city for MSRP.

I’ll be working out Variant Edition’s preorder prices for this evening. Given the five seven calls I’ve fielded while writing this article, there is certainly interest in these boxes.

TL;DR There’s nowhere near enough EMA for everyone, given the current numbers. Prices are high. If we get reasonable restocks for a few weeks, prices will drop. I wish I had more information.

Warp 2 ran a 1.5k Modern event on Saturday. Here are the Top 8 results and the roughly-formatted decklists.

Quarterfinals [Round 7]:
Robert Trueblood defeats Jeremey Schofield 2-1
Parker Connors defeats Kyle Hauck 2-1
Corey Crowfoot defeats Jesse Groat 2-1
Josh St. Amand defeats Tyler White 2-0
Semifinals [Round 8]:
Parker Connors defeats Robert Trueblood 2-0
Josh St. Amand defeats Corey Crowfoot 2-1
Finals [Round 9]:
Parker Connors defeats Josh St. Amand 2-1

Parker Connor's Spicy Rice - 1st Place

Deck (60) 4 Eidolon of the Great Revel 4 Monastery Swiftspear 4 Goblin Guide 2 Grim Lavamancer 4 Boros Charm 4 Searing Blaze 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Lava Spike 4 Skullcrack 4 Rift Bolt 2 Lightning Helix 1 Shard Volley 4 Mountain 3 Sacred Foundry 1 Stomping Ground 3 Arid Mesa 4 Bloodstained Mire 4 Wooded Foothills Planeswalker (0) Creature (0) Sorcery (0) Instant (0) Artifact (0) Enchantment (0) Land (0)

Sideboard (15) 2 Exquisite Firecraft 1 Phyrexian Unlife 4 Destructive Revelry 2 Molten Rain 2 Mutagenic Growth 1 Searing Blood 3 Path to Exile

Josh St. Amand's Skred Brown - 2nd Place

Planeswalkers (4) 4 Koth of the Hammer Creatures (7) 3 Hangarback Walker 1 Wurmcoil Engine 1 Solemn Simulacrum 2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar Artifacts (12) 1 Batterskull 3 Relic of Progenitus 3 Mind Stone 2 Trading Post 1 Pyrite Spellbomb 2 Ratchet Bomb Enchantments (4) 4 Blood Moon   (0)

Lands (23) 20 Snow-Covered Mountain 3 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle Spells (10) 2 Skred 1 Dead // Gone 4 Lightning Bolt 3 Anger of the Gods Sideboard (15) 1 Stormbreath Dragon 1 Skred 1 Slagstorm 2 Vandalblast 1 Crumble to Dust 1 Sowing Salt 2 Ensnaring Bridge 1 Pithing Needle 2 Chalice of the Void 1 Grafdigger’s Cage 1 Spellskite 1 Kozilek’s Return

Robert Trueblood's Infect - 3rd/4th Place

Deck (60) 4 Glistener Elf 2 Apostle’s Blessing 4 Blighted Agent 4 Gitaxian Probe 2 Spell Pierce 2 Twisted Image 2 Dismember 2 Become Immense 1 Dryad Arbor 3 Groundswell 4 Might of Old Krosa 4 Noble Hierarch 2 Rancor 4 Vines of Vastwood 1 Spellskite 3 Breeding Pool 3 Forest 4 Inkmoth Nexus 4 Misty Rainforest 1 Pendelhaven 2 Windswept Heath 2 Wooded Foothills Planeswalker (0) Creature (0) Sorcery (0) Instant (0) Artifact (0) Enchantment (0) Land (0)

Sideboard (15) 2 Spell Pierce 1 Twisted Image 1 Spellskite 3 Relic of Progenitus 2 Nature’s Claim 2 Serum Visions 2 Viridian Corrupter 2 Wild Defiance

Corey Crowfoot's Infect - 3rd/4th Place

Deck (60) 4 Glistener Elf 4 Vines of Vastwood 3 Mutagenic Growth 2 Pendelhaven 2 Windswept Heath 2 Wooded Foothills 1 Spellskite 4 Blighted Agent 4 Noble Hierarch 3 Become Immense 2 Apostle’s Blessing 2 Groundswell 4 Gitaxian Probe 2 Rancor 1 Dismember 1 Spell Pierce 3 Might of Old Krosa 1 Twisted Image 1 Dryad Arbor 4 Inkmoth Nexus 2 Forest 3 Breeding Pool 2 Verdant Catacombs 3 Misty Rainforest Planeswalker (0) Creature (0) Sorcery (0) Instant (0) Artifact (0) Enchantment (0) Land (0)

Sideboard (15) 1 Dismember 1 Spell Pierce 2 Twisted Image 1 Viridian Corrupter 2 Dispel 3 Nature’s Claim 3 Pulse of Murasa 2 Wild Defiance

Jesse Groat's Infect - 5th/8th Place

Deck (60) 4 Blighted Agent 4 Glistener Elf 4 Gitaxian Probe 4 Vines of Vastwood 4 Noble Hierarch 3 Might of Old Krosa 3 Become Immense 3 Groundswell 3 Mutagenic Growth 2 Apostle’s Blessing 1 Spellskite 1 Rancor 1 Slip Through Space 1 Dismember 1 Spell Pierce 1 Serum Visions 1 Twisted Image 4 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills 4 Inkmoth Nexus 3 Breeding Pool 2 Pendelhaven 2 Forest Planeswalker (0) Creature (0) Sorcery (0) Instant (0) Artifact (0) Enchantment (0) Land (0)

Sideboard (15) 1 Spellskite 2 Dismember 1 Spell Pierce 1 Twisted Image 1 Pulse of Murasa 3 Nature’s Claim 1 Wild Defiance 1 Dryad Arbor 1 Grafdigger’s Cage 1 Dispel 1 Viridian Corrupter 1 Pithing Needle

Tyler White's Jeskai - 5th/8th Place

Deck (60) 2 Vendilion Clique 4 Lightning Helix 1 Cryptic Command 4 Celestial Colonnade 1 Eiganjo Castle 4 Snapcaster Mage 4 Geist of Saint Traft 3 Restoration Angel 1 Archangel Avacyn 4 Path to Exile 2 Spell Snare 2 Remand 3 Mana Leak 4 Lightning Bolt 2 Electrolyze 1 Plains 1 Cavern of Souls 3 Scalding Tarn 3 Flooded Strand 1 Mountain 1 Arid Mesa 2 Ghost Quarter 2 Steam Vents 1 Hallowed Fountain 2 Sacred Foundry 2 Island Planeswalker (0) Creature (0) Sorcery (0) Instant (0) Artifact (0) Enchantment (0) Land (0)

Sideboard (15) 1 Keranos, God of Storms 1 Crumble to Dust 2 Grafdigger’s Cage 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Kozilek’s Return 2 Wear / Tear 2 Dispel 2 Aven Mindcensor 1 Stony Silence

Jeremey Schofield's Insolent Dredge - 5th/8th Place

Deck (60) 4 Blackcleave Cliffs 4 Golgari Grave-Troll 4 Vengevine 4 Prized Amalgam 4 Stinkweed Imp 1 Life from the Loam 2 Rotting Rats 4 Bloodghast 4 Lotleth Troll 1 Lightning Axe 4 Faithless Looting 4 Gravecrawler 4 Insolent Neonate 1 Drownyard Temple 2 Swamp 2 Blood Crypt 3 Overgrown Tomb 4 Verdant Catacombs 4 Bloodstained Mire Planeswalker (0) Creature (0) Sorcery (0) Instant (0) Artifact (0) Enchantment (0) Land (0)

Sideboard (15) 2 Thoughtseize 2 Abrupt Decay 4 Ancient Grudge 2 Darkblast 3 Gnaw to the Bone 1 Big Game Hunter 1 Imp’s Mischief

Kyle Hauck's GR Tron - 5th/8th Place

Planeswalker (6) 4 Karn Liberated 2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon Creature (8) 2 Spellskite 2 Wurmcoil Engine 2 World Breaker 2 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger Sorcery (11) 4 Ancient Stirrings 3 Firespout 4 Sylvan Scrying Artifact (15) 4 Chromatic Star 4 Expedition Map 4 Chromatic Sphere 3 Oblivion Stone Land (20) 2 Forest 4 Grove of the Burnwillows 2 Sanctum of Ugin 4 Urza’s Mine 4 Urza’s Power Plant 4 Urza’s Tower

Sideboard (15) 1 Spellskite 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Lightning Bolt 3 Thragtusk 4 Nature’s Claim 3 Warping Wail

The first post is dedicated to Science!
… I’m not sure where this will end up.