This Week in Magic 1/26-2/2

News       

• Magic the Gathering  Toolbox—Dave Guskin announces WotC’s  App.
• Additional WotC Innovations—Wizards also released a Sealed Deck builder and Pro Tour fantasy draft.
• Dark Ascension Event Decks—Goblins, Devils, and Undying Beaters are showcased in these affordable decks designed to compete at FNM.  

Standard and Block

• The Innovator’s  Guide to Dark  Ascension Standard—($SCG) Patrick Chapin shines some light onto the dark path ahead and discusses the importance of context when evaluating cards.
• The Saving Grasp for Standard—Carrie Oliver considers the applications for the flashback spell with surprising potential.
• How Stranglehold Geist will Change Standard—($SCG) Jeremy Neeman pledges his undying love for the 2/1 haster.
• Curses!—Alexander Shearer explores the maligned mechanic of Innistrad to see if we’ve reached the tipping point with these player enchantments.
• Four New Builds—Frank LePore builds around Flayer of the Hatebound and three other  Ascending sleepers.
• Smi77y on Standard—Jesse Smith shares his Titan Tokens deck and his list of favorite DKA cards in Smi77y’s Angels.

Limited

• First Pick Dark Ascension—($SCG) Ari Lax considers the cards worthy of a first pick in the second set of Innistrad block.
• The First Picks of Dark Ascension—Lee McLeod gives his take on P1P1.
• Card-by-Card Draft Evaluation—Tim Aten leaves no stone unturned in this draft-focused review of DKA.
• Dark Ascension Set Review—LSV’s review provides ratings for both limited and constructed.  He kicks things off here with white.
• Limited Edition—Richard Bland goes UR with his pre-release pool.

Vintage, Legacy, and Modern

• Dark Ascension in Modern—Todd Anderson on how cards like Faithless Looting add a new dimension to the rapidly evolving format.
• Analyzing the Modern Metagame—The biggest piece of Nassim Katita’s meta-game pie chart is “Other”, while Caw Blade comes in a distant second.
• Modern Meta-Game—Matt Sperling points to Choke and Leyline of Sanctity as two cards ready to shine in Modern.
• Modern PTQ Results—Jarvis Yu’s PTQ analysis reveals some off-beat decks with enough power to compete.
• Beating Down in Modern—Mellissa DeTora’s  Boros deck might just fill a void for fans of Wild Nacatl.
• Looting 101—Caleb Durward on Red’s new looting effect and possibilities in both Legacy and Standard.

Casual and Variant Formats

• Let’s Play Dark Ascension—Brandon Isleib juggles the lineups in his Commander decks.  See which DKA cards he’s deemed worthy of the big leagues  and what cards get cut.
• Dark Ascension Cards I’ll be Playing—Sheldon Menery’s Commander review has an entire paragraph on Lost in the Woods. 
• A Pauper Review of Dark Ascension—Alex Ullman on how Midnight Guard and Screeching Skaab will shake up this eternal format. 
• Zombies!—Jay Kirkman makes his GM debut with a relentlessly aggressive deck. 
• Pre-Con Reviews—Kirkman also reviewed Relentless Dead and Swift Justice. 

Finance

• Where’s the Value? —Kelly Reid think  the community is missing the valuable cards in DKA, creating a great environment for speculation.
• Dark Moon Rising—Ryan Bushard hands out his verdicts for DKA’s financial future.
• Modern Season is Upon Us—($QS) Sigmund Ausfresser hones in on the latest brews to breakthrough to tier-one and their financial implications.

Theory and Miscellany

• A Walk through the Multi-Verse—Zac Hill opens up the communication file for some of DKA’s more interesting designs.
• 3D Vorthos—Andrew  Sitte teams up with Eric Klug in this tribute to Mike Linnemann. Check out other famous faces from the community who have appeared in card alters as well.