In the wake of GP Atlanta and as the Phyrexian/Mirran war wages around us, the writers continue to write. Here it is, the latest issue of "This Week in Magic."
News and Tournament Coverage
- MBS Intro Decks — Trick Jarrett details the contents of all four intro packs.
- Mirrodin Besieged Spoilers — Mananation’s version of the spoiler is sortable by faction to help you make your prerelease decision.
Standard and Block
- Besieging Block Constructed — Russell Tassicker explains why small formats often provide big fun and the best chance to go infinite.
- Breaking the Siege — Brad Wojceshonek tries to get a foothold on the upcoming Standard environment by building around exciting new cards like Hero of the Bladehold.
- Down with the Sickness — David Lee explores the implications of an expanded array of Infect cards on an array of constructed formats.
- Block Head — Steven Colby breaks down the three decks currently dominating SOM block.
- Starcitygames Open — Willie Guevara breaks down the UW deck he ran and provides a tournament report.
Limited
- Mirran or Phyrexian? — PVD weighs in on this weekend’s hottest question.
- Scars of Mirrodin Draft #17 — David Ochoa builds a draft deck around Barrage Ogre.
Extended
- Playing Vampire Nighthawk in Extended — LSV solves some of Faeries post-board matchups with the powerful uncommon.
- The New Era of Extended — Josh Silvestri shares his insights into the stabilizing Extended metagame.
- One Step Ahead of Wargate (SCG $) — Gerry Thompson discusses his powerful UG Scapeshift build.
- Poppet and Lockit — As usual Conley Woods is oozing with creative ideas.
- Rogue Mirrodin Besieged Extended Decks (SCG $) — Adrian Sullivan talks BW Tokens and a new brew he’s deemed Ivan Drago.
- How to Defeat Valakut and Other Linear Strategies — Conrad Kolos looks at a 5CC list and expounds on lessons learned.
- Extended Wanderings — Richard Bland discusses several interesting Extended decks and the lessons he’s learned or relearned this season.
- PSamms at GP Atlanta — Phil Samms made the sweet sixteen in Hotlanta with his Extended Valakut deck.
Vintage and Legacy
- Voyage of the Ink Treader — Adam Barnello runs Gerry Thompson’s newest counterbalance build.
- Vintage Besieged — Andy Probasco evaluates the new set not by asking “Is this card good?” but “When is this card good?”
- The Legacy Open — AJ Sacher piloted a Progenitus deck to an impressive finish.
Casual and Variant Formats
- Commandeering the Prerelease — Robby Rothe encourages Commander players to get in on the prelease festivities this weekend.
- Koskun Falls and Other Cards — Abe Sargent has an overwhelming instinct for digging up casual gems.
- Aggro Phelddagrif — Sheldon Menery gives an alternative take on the “Group Hug” general.
- Planeswalkers and Logins — Adam Styborski delves into the new variant format based on the Duels of the Planeswalkers series.
- The Tainted Black Planeswalker — Seth Allison launches a series on various tactics for the newly released MTG Tactics.
- Standard Pauper in Brief — Dave from PureMtGO discusses the current meta for one of my favorite variant formats.
Finance
- The Financial Value of Mirrodin Besieged (SCG $) — Are there really still people out there that don’t read Ben Bleiweiss on the eve of prereleases?
- Informational Asymmetry — Kelly Reid profits from the Freakonomics theory of Informational Advantage.
- January Market Watch — Brian Grewe tracks the movers and shakers in last months’ cardboard economy.
- A Mirrodin Besieged Prelease Guide (QS $) — Corbin Hosler shares the QS suggested pickups for this weekend.
Theory and Miscellany
- One-shot the Robot — Geordie Tait rails against the design of Blightsteel Colossus.
- Revisiting Breakdown of Theory — Chingsung Chang discusses the practical applications of stage theory including stage suppression.