There’s a lot to be hopeful about in Return to Ravnica. I have not seen preorder prices for boxes go up this soon since Future Sight and the Zendikar treasures. Those boxes are going to be packed with money. What’s also cool is that this set is going to get people brewing with their favorite color schemes and trying out old favorites. These favorites aren’t going to be winners, but it’ll get things moving.

This week Jason muses on potential mana bases in the upcoming Standard environment and surveys the usual assortment of tournament top finishes.

As Return to Ravnica spoilers continue, a variety of questions arise. With this incredibly popular, highly anticipated set, what are the solid buys? Are there some cards that may gain in value thanks to RtR? Should you buy a booster box now or wait until release? Are there any cards worth preordering? Sigmund touches on all these topics in this week’s article.

Jason hails the arrival of a new Legacy deck developed by QS’s own, marvels at auction-goers’ utter ignorance of Magic value, and peruses the weekend’s tournament results with his characteristic wit.

Chances are, you’re going to make a lot of money from RTR because you’re going to be actively reading and trading all through the next month or so. However, you have got to avoid losing money along the way, too! You don’t want to be stuck with Magic cards that you could have sold a few weeks ago for double the value.

As Standard rotation nears, many cards in Innistrad and Scars block prices will reach new lows. Sigmund talks about where he’s putting his money, as well as reveals a few personal takeaways from GP Boston.

The quantity of product opened is but one of several factors that determine the supply of cards in the MTGO market. In today’s article Matthew Lewis analyzes recent data from a number of online retailers to get an idea of where online Standard prices are headed next year.

I had a blast at GenCon this past weekend, mainly because I get to spend a lot of time with the larger-than-life personalities of QS. We played a lot of Danger Room and we were casually trading the whole time. This week, I’m going to share what I picked up on the language of how we trade cards from watching dozens of trades happen. This is fundamental stuff but in a way, it’s not a task for freshmen. Like in poker, either your personality sets you to playing the cards or playing the people, and this is for the readers who want to work with people to make trading easier and less tedious.

In his first article, Gervaise details the elements that distinguish the European market from the American market and overviews some helpful fundamentals.

This week Jason bears witness to an historical Magic transaction, reports the slew of typos to appear in Magic products of late, and praises recent rogue deck builders for their quixotic quest to render Magic fun.

Corbin Hosler explains why now isn’t a great time for Magic Finance, but how you can use that to your advantage!

Ryan brought Fairies to this past weekend’s GP Columbus. He details the merits of the deck and where he would make improvements.