This is it. We’re done. It’s go time. Last weekend was $10K Los Angeles—it was a great event, and I’ll get to more on it later—but this coming weekend is the event that everyone has been waiting for. Pro Circuit Atlanta is only four days away. By the time you read this, some of the best players in the game will have some of the most heavily tested decks in history safely tucked away in suitcases and carry-on bags. If you’re qualified for Atlanta and you don’t know what to play by now, you probably shouldn’t show up. Marvel Modern Age is probably the most difficult, diversified, and downright exciting format in the game’s history. This PC should be one of the most skill-intensive in history. If you’re curious about whom the real contenders are going to be, Ben Kalman will have a preview article up this week that will introduce you to several of the more prominent professional players and their testing teams. And, of course, Metagame.com will have live coverage of the event as it happens. Before it’s time to worry about what’s happening this Friday, though, let’s talk about what transpired over the past week.

We kicked things off on Monday with a very predictable article from Rian Fike. Naturally, the topic up for discussion was none other than Multiple Man. Along with a decklist, Ryan provided a complete history of this interesting mutant. He also gave us what is perhaps the first concrete piece of the PC Atlanta puzzle . . . sort of.

Also on Monday was the third installment of the Fan Card Crossover. The winning character was none other than Nyssa Raatko. To be honest, I was a little bit surprised at the result. In any case, the next vote—with results available tomorrow—is on art descriptions. The top five reader submissions will be put up for a vote, and the winning art description will be used to create the art for the card. As always, if you want to participate, make sure to check in on the next installment of the Fan Card Crossover.

On Tuesday, Mike Hummel presented us with his weekly insight into the inner workings of R&D. This week, he answered a myriad of questions about the reasons behind certain development decisions in the X-Men set. Want to know why Sub-Mariner’s not a Mutant? Want to know why Erg’s art isn’t correct? For the answers to these and many more inquiries, read the article.

On Wednesday, Michael Barnes ruined the surprise of my latest Golden Age deck idea by revealing it to the world. Curse you, Michael Barnes! Long story short, Last Stand is pretty ridiculous in a Morlocks deck. There, now you know the secret tech. Read his article for more on the specifics, and perhaps some insight into what a Modern Age Morlocks deck might look like.

On Thursday, Nate Price delved into some game theory in The Price is Right. What do chess, checkers, poker, Sun Tzu’s Art of War, and Vs. System have in common? What, exactly, is a partial-information game? You’ll have to read the article to find out!

Friday brought Tim Willoughby’s Two Turns Ahead. This week, the focus was on the initiative. Tim’s under the impression that it’s good to build decks that can thrive on either initiative. Who’da thunk it? Otherwise, he recommends that you choose the initiative your opponent doesn’t. That doesn’t sound very impressive, but then again, I can’t ever really do any of Tim’s articles justice. They’re all really, really good. And you should read them. End of story.

On Saturday, instead of a Ben Kalman feature (he’s working on his PC preview article), we had a bit of math from Olav Rokne. He ran through all the hard numbers on how likely it is to hit a given drop, when you should mulligan, and other such things. With all the fun involved in Vs. System, it’s easy to forget all the complex probabilities that are involved in every draw step. If you’re rusty on your statistical analysis, Olav clears things up.

The week closed out with the eighteenth installment of Cerebro. Paul Ross did his usual excellent job of covering rules questions generated from the X-Men set.

Of course, articles weren't the only thing that happened in the world of Vs. System this week. As I mentioned earlier, this past weekend was $10K Los Angeles. This was a unique championship tournament, as it marked one of the first domestic $10Ks where several foreign pros made the trip to participate. In a surprise to many attendees, notables such as Andre Muller and Alex Brown decided to drop in on L.A. on their way to Pro Circuit Atlanta. At the end of the day, though, Doug Tice took home his second Sealed Pack $10K trophy.

But remember, while winning a $10K trophy is a great accomplishment, it pales in comparison to the prestige of winning a Pro Circuit. By this time next week, we'll know who the next name on that very short roster will be. Will Tice's team take home another trophy? Will this be the PC where American dominance finally comes to an end? If you want to know, be sure to check in on the coverage this weekend. Incidentally, there will be a delay in the next Week in Review column, as I will be playing in the PC myself. See you there!