The FaceToFaceGames.com Open Series made a stop in London, Ont. over the weekend for some Modern action west of the city. Berent Batur piloted the much maligned W/R Prison deck to the top spot, proving once again that if you try hard enough you can win with anything in this format.
Berent reached out to me on Twitter to emphasize that he’d really like this prison archetype to get more exposure so it certainly sounds like he’s put a lot of work into playing the deck and refining his list. Blood Moon is one of the most game-ending cards in the format right now and Chalice of the Void mops up a lot of the matchups where turning everything into Mountains is sub-par. I will admit that at first glance these decks often looks like a pile, but there is a method to the madness and it worked out for Batur on Saturday.
The remainder of the Top 8 is just about everything as well as the kitchen sink—also some Kitchen Finks. U/R Storm had two copies in the Top 8 and Ad Nauseum also showed up, proving just how integral being fast is in Modern right now. I’m a huge fan of this G/W Company deck from Sean Nolan and would love to take that for a spin if I ever get the chance. Ramunap Excavator just has got to be the most fun card to play with, but for me, not for you, you don’t get any lands.
I’d also take notice of this B/W Eldrazi deck if you’re looking to play any Modern in the coming weeks. Brad Nelson played it at the StarCityGames team event over the weekend and a similar deck Top 8’d the Magic Online RPTQ. Maybe Wasteland Strangler is the real deal?
First Place- Berent Batur, R/W Prison
[Deck]
[Creatures]
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
4 Simian Spirit Guide
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Blood Moon
2 Oblivion Ring
3 Lightning Helix
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Gideon Jura
3 Gideon of the Trials
2 Gideon Ally of Zendikar
4 Nahiri, the Harbinger
2 Anger of the Gods
3 Wrath of God
4 Chalice of the Void
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Arid Mesa
1 Clifftop Retreat
2 Mountain
8 Plains
3 Rugged Prairie
3 Sacred Foundry
3 Temple of Triumph
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Defense Grid
4 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
2 Blessed Alliance
1 Elspeth, Suns Champion
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Wrath of God
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Second Place- Kevin Fang, Abzan
[Deck]
[Creatures]
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Grim Flayer
2 Tireless Tracker
2 Siege Rhino
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Lingering Souls
1 Collective Brutality
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
1 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Fatal Push
3 Path to Exile
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
3 Liliana of the Veil
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Marsh Flats
2 Windswept Heath
2 Swamp
1 Forest
1 Plains
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Godless Shrine
1 Temple Garden
2 Shambling Vents
1 Stirring Wildwood
3 Blooming Marsh
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Golgari Charm
2 Kambul, Consul of Allocation
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Collective Brutality
3 Stony Silence
1 Damnation
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Flaying Tendrils
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Maelstrom Pulse
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Third Place- Troy Formosa, Burn
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Goblin Guide
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Searing Blaze
4 Rift Bolt
4 Skullcrack
4 Lightning Helix
4 Lava Spike
4 Boros Charm
4 Lightning Bolt
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Stomping Ground
2 Arid Mesa
3 Mountain
4 Inspiring Vantage
4 Bloodstained mire
3 Sacred Foundry
3 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Path to Exile
3 Kor Firewalker
1 Searing Blood
1 Rest in Peace
1 Stony Silence
2 Deflecting Palm
4 Destructive Revelry
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Fourth Place- Jordan Raposo, B/W Eldrazi & Taxes
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Leonin Arbiter
4 Tidehollow Sculler
2 Dark Confidant
4 Eldrazi Displacer
3 Wasteland Strangler
4 Flickerwisp
1 Bladesplicer
4 Thought-knot Seer
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Path to Exile
4 Aether Vial
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Ghost Quarter
2 Shambling Vents
1 Godless Shirne
1 Swamp
2 Plains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Blessed Alliance
2 Mirran Crusader
2 Rest in Peace
2 Zealous Persecution
2 Stony Silence
2 Eidolon of Rhetoric
2 Aven Mindcensor
2 Grafdiggers Cage
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Fifth Place- Alex Frank, Ad Nauseum
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Simian Spirit Guide
1 Laboratory Maniac
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Lightning Storm
2 Spoils of the Vault
4 Angels Grace
2 Solemnity
4 Ad Nauseum
2 Pact of Negation
4 Serum Visions
1 Desperate Ritual
4 Lotus Bloom
3 Opt
1 Mystical Teachings
3 Pentad Prism
4 Phyrexian Unlife
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Gemstone Mine
1 Swamp
1 Plains
1 Island
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Tolaria West
3 City of Brass
4 Temple of Enlightenment
3 Temple of Deceit
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Silence
2 Path to Exile
1 Echoing truth
2 Disenchant
1 Solemnity
1 Pact of negation
3 Pithing Needle
4 Leyline of Sanctity
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Sixth Place- Sam Campbell, U/R Storm
[Deck]
[Creatures]
2 Goblin Electromancer
4 Baral, Chief of Compliance
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Noxious Revival
1 Empty the Warrnens
2 Grapeshot
2 Past in Flames
3 Remand
4 Sleight of hand
4 Serum Visions
4 Opt
4 Desperate Ritual
4 Pyretic Ritual
4 Manamorphose
4 Gifts Ungiven
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Mountain
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Scalding Tarn
3 Island
3 Spirebluff Canal
3 Steam Vents
3 Shivan Reef
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Shattering Spree
2 Swan song
1 pyroclasm
1 Echoing Truth
2 Dismember
3 Pieces of the Puzzle
1 Empty the Warrens
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Seventh Place- Sean Nolan, G/W Company
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Voice of Resurgence
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Courser of Kruphix
2 Aven Mindcensor
1 Eternal Witness
2 Ramunap Excavator
2 Tireless Tracker
2 Scavenging Ooze
1 Asuza, Lost but Seeking
4 Noble Hierarch
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Collected Company
4 Path to Exile
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Windswept Heasth
3 Wooded Foothills
4 Ghost Quarter
2 Temple Garden
1 Gavony Township
2 Horizon Canopy
5 Forest
2 Plains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Stony Silence
1 Kitaki, Wars Wage
1 Elspeth, Suns Champion
1 Whisperwood Elemental
2 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Quasali Pridemage
2 Shapers Sanctuary
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Engineered Explosives
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Eighth Place- Hayden Jeanson, U/R Storm
[Deck]
[Creatures]
2 Goblin Electromancer
4 Baral, Chief of Compliance
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Gifts Ungiven
3 Remand
4 Pyretic Ritual
2 Grapeshot
4 Sleight of Hand
4 Manamorphose
4 Desperate Ritual
4 Serum Visions
4 Opt
2 Past in Flames
1 Noxious Revival
1 Empty the Warrens
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Snow-Covered Island
3 Island
4 Steam Vents
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Shivan Reef
1 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Wipe Away
1 Echoing Truth
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Empty the Warrens
4 Pieces of the Puzzle
2 Swan Song
2 Shattering Spree
2 Dismember
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Can’t get enough of the Open Series? Join us on Dec. 2 with two friends as we’ll be hosting a Team Trios Open a Seneca College in Toronto !