There is nothing quite like team Magic.
The only thing better than competing at the best game in the world is doing it alongside your best friends. On Saturday when the FacetoFaceGames.com Open Series traveled to Toronto for our Team Trios Open we watched a group of close friends take down the entire event. Toronto Magic scene locals Delan Hamasoor, Cassandra Phillips and Ryan Sandrin walked away victorious.
If you play Magic anywhere near Toronto, you’ll recognize these three friends as a big part of the local competitive scene. All three of them have been strong players on the Face to Face Games Toronto Showdown series and are capable of taking down any event on any given day. On Saturday Hamasoor played the new hotness Bant [Card]Scapeshift[/Card] in Standard, Phillips played her bread and butter Dredge in Modern and Sandrin went outside his comfort zone to pilot Izzet Delver in Legacy. All three of these decks looked to be great choices on the weekend and as we now know Scapeshift in particular also took down the MTGO MCQ and Magic Fest Denver.
Joining these three in the Top 4 were Andorian, Tattrie and Geady playing Mono-Blue in Standard, Jeskai in Modern and Izzet Delver in Legacy. Huynh, Hagen and Fonseca playing Simic Nexus in Standard, Izzet Phoenix in Modern and Stoneblade in Legacy. And finally members of local Magic squad The Chilled Guild Murchison, McDonald and Scott who played Gruul in Standard, Humans in Modern and yet again Izzet Delver in Legacy. It feels like every time there’s an Open in the Toronto area these Chilled Guild players crush it and Nolan McDonald in particular has been on a heater as of late.
Now, with three formats being played all at the same time we obviously have a lot to talk about in terms of the actual games at the table. Standard is one of the most diverse formats I’ve played in a long time at the moment. Even this Scapeshift deck erupting out of nowhere to dominate the weekend is a testament to just how much you can do whatever you want in the format right now. In Modern we’re still feeling the affects of the [Card]Bridge from Below[/Card] ban and trying to sort through everything Modern Horizons offered us. Cassandra found a way to include a single copy of [Card]Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis[/Card] in her 7-0 Dredge decklist, so it looks like we haven’t seen the last of the massive graveyard monster. Lastly, in Legacy we watched Izzet Delver dominate. The format has received many new additions lately, and naturally when that happens Delver rises to the top to punish people trying flashy new cards. That said, there are a swath of new control decks on the rise featuring [Card]Arcum’s Astrolabe[/Card], so maybe we’ll see them start to prey on these Delver decks.
Congratulations again to our champions Hamasoor, Phillips and Sandrin from everyone at Face to Face Games! Additionally, we’d like to extend our thanks to both our Open Series sponsor — Ultimate Guard — who hooked up everyone in the Top 8 with some awesome swag and to our amazing judge staff! The next stop on the series is coming up on July 27 when we’ll be travelling to Lethbridge, Alberta for a Modern Open. Make sure to pre-register and we’ll see you there!
First Place – Hamasoor, Phillips and Sandrin
Standard
[Deck Title= Scapeshift – Delan Hamasoor]
[Creatures]
4 Arboreal Grazer
4 Hydriod Krasis
4 Elvish Rejuvanator
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Teferi, Time Ravaler
4 Growth Spiral
2 Grow from the Ashes
4 Circuitous Route
4 Scapeshift
2 Prison Realm
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Simic Guildgate
1 Azorius Guildgate
1 Blast Zone
1 Blossoming Sands
2 Breeding Pool
4 Field of the Dead
2 Forest
1 Glacial Fortress
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Hinterland Harbor
2 Island
1 Memorial to Genius
1 Plains
1 Selesnya Guildgate
1 Sunpetal Grove
2 Temple Garden
2 Temple of Mystery
1 Thornwood Falls
1 Tranquil Cove
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Ajani’s Welcome
3 Veil of Summer
3 Dovin’s Veto
1 Crushing Canopy
3 Ixalan’s Binding
2 Ripjaw Raptor
1 Shifting Ceratops
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Modern
[Deck Title= Dredge – Cassandra Phillips]
[Creatures]
3 Golgari Thug
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Narcomoeba
3 Prized Amalgam
4 Bloodghast
1 Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Creeping Chill
4 Shriekhorn
4 Life from the Loam
4 Bloodghast
4 Cathartic Reunion
4 Faithless Looting
2 Conflagrate
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Stomping Ground
3 Copperline Gorge
2 Blood Crypt
1 Blast Zone
1 Gemstone Mine
2 Mountain
1 Forgotten Cave
3 Bloodstained Mire
3 Wooded Foothills
2 Arid Mesa
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Lightning Axe
4 Nature’s Claim
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Thoughtsieze
1 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Darkblast
1 Shenanigans
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Legacy
[Deck Title= Izzet Delver – Ryan Sandrin]
[Creatures]
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Dreadhorde Arcanist
2 True-name Nemesis
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Brainstorm
4 Chain Lightining
1 Forked Bolt
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Ponder
2 Preordain
2 Vapor Snag
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
1 Fireblast
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Bloodstained Mire
2 Island
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
4 Polluted Delta
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Volcanic Island
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Electrickery
2 Flusterstorm
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Pyroblast
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Abrade
1 NullRod
2 Price of Progress
2 Smash to Smithereens
1 Sulfur Elemental
1 Sulfuric Vortex
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Second Place – Andorian, Tattrie and Geady
Standard
[Deck Title= Mono-Blue Aggro – Jorj Andonian]
[Creatures]
4 Spectral Sailor
4 Tempest Djinn
4 Merfolk Trickster
4 Siren Stormtamer
2 Pteramander
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Lookout’s Dispersal
4 Curious Obsession
4 Dive Down
3 Wizard’s Retort
3 Opt
1 Negate
1 Essence Capture
1 Unsummon
3 Spell Pierce
[/Spells]
[Lands]
20 Island
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Cerulean Drake
2 Aether Gust
1 Tale’s End
2 Essence Capture
1 Negate
2 Entrancing Melody
2 Surge Mare
1 Kasmina’s Transmutation
1 Narset, Parter of Veils
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Modern
[Deck Title= Jeskai Control – Bill Tattrie]
[Creatures]
4 Snapcaster Mage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Narset, Parter of Veils
2 Teferi, Time Ravaler
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
4 Opt
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Path to Exile
3 Lightning Helix
2 Logic Knot
1 Electrolyze
2 Force of Negation
3 Cryptic Command
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Magmatic Sinkhole
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Field of Ruin
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Flooded Strand
2 Celestial Colonade
1 Sulfur Falls
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Steam Vents
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Plains
1 Mountain
3 Island
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Chandra, Awakened Inferno
1 Settle the Wreckage
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Spell Queller
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Timely Reinforcements
2 Stony Silence
1 Celestial Purge
2 Ashiok, Dream Render
2 Dovin’s Veto
1 Engineered Explosives
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Legacy
[Deck Title= Izzet Delver – Sam Gready]
[Creatures]
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Dreadhorde Arcanist
2 True-name Nemesis
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Brainstorm
2 Preordain
2 Vapor Snag
4 Ponder
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Chain Lightning
1 Forked Bolt
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
1 Fireblast
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Polluted Delta
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Flooded Strand
1 Bloodstained Mire
2 Volcanic Island
1 Steam Vents
2 Island
1 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Blood Moon
2 Price of Progress
2 Smash to Smithereens
2 Pyroblast
1 Sulfuric Vortex
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Abrade
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
1 Sulfur Elemental
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Third Place – Huynh, Hagen and Fonseca
Standard
[Deck Title= Simic Nexus – Sean Fonseca]
[Spells]
1 Drawn from Dreams
2 Chemister’s Insight
1 Narset, Parter of Veils
1 Callous Dismissal
4 Nexus of Fate
3 Search for Azcanta
4 Root Snare
4 Growth Spiral
4 Opt
4 Wilderness Reclamation
1 Nissa, who shakes the world
4 Tamiyo, Collector of Tales
1 Blink of an Eye
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Memorial to Genius
4 Hinterland Harbor
4 Breeding Pool
5 Island
5 Forest
3 Blast Zone
3 Temple of Mystery
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Thrashing Brontodon
2 Biogenic Ooze
1 Spell Pierce
2 Negate
2 Cerulean Drake
2 Aether Gust
3 Veil of Summer
2 Shifting Ceratops
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Modern
[Deck Title= Izzet Phoenix – William Hagen]
[Creatures]
4 Thing in the Ice
4 Arclight Pheonix
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Magmatic Sinkhole
1 Sleight of Hand
1 Lava Dart
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Finale of Promise
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Serum Visions
4 Faithless Looting
4 Manamorphose
4 Opt
4 Thought Scour
3 Aria of Flame
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Steam Vents
4 Spirebluff Canal
1 Fiery Islet
3 Islands
1 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Flooded Strand
1 Polluted Delta
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Ral, Izzet Viceroy
1 Dispel
1 Saheeli, Sublime Artificier
2 Spell Pierce
1 Force of Negation
1 Abrade
1 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Blood Moon
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Shatterstorm
1 Magmatic Sinkhole
1 Rending Volley
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Legacy
[Deck Title= Azorius Stoneblade – Steven Huynh]
[Creatures]
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True-name Nemesis
3 Snapcaster Mage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Jace, the Mind Scuptor
2 Narset, Part of Veils
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Force of Will
1 Force of Negation
1 Back to Basics
2 Spell Pierce
1 Counterspell
2 Council’s Judgement
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Plains
6 Island
2 Tundra
4 Flooded Strand
4 Prismatic Vista
2 Polluted Delta
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Disenchant
2 Containment Priest
1 Celestial Purge
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Spell Snare
1 Back to Basics
1 Vendillion Clique
2 Flusterstorm
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Fourth Place – Murchison, McDonald and Scott
Standard
[Deck Title= Gruul – Ross Scott]
[Creatures]
4 Nullhide Ferod
3 Ripjaw Raptor
4 Thorn Lieutenant
4 Growth Chamber Guardian
4 Rekindling Pheonix
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Gruul Spellbreaker
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Shock
3 Lava Coil
3 Domri, Anarch of Bolas
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Stomping Ground
4 Rootbound Crag
9 Forest
7 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Legion Warboss
1 Collision // Colossus
1 Cindervines
1 Vivien Reid
3 Shifting Ceratops
3 Veil of Summer
2 Fry
1 Thrashing Brontodon
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Modern
[Deck Title= Humans – Nolan McDonald]
[Creatures]
3 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Thalia’s Lieutenant
4 Reflector Mage
4 Mantis Rider
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Meddling Mage
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Phantasmal Image
2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Aether Vial
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Cavern of Soul
1 Waterlooded Grove
4 Horizon Canopy
1 Plains
1 Island
4 Unclaimed Territory
4 Ancient Ziggurat
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Auriok Champion
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Damping Sphere
2 Dismember
2 Plague Engineer
2 Grafdigger’s Cage
2 Deputy of Detention
2 Militia Bugler
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Legacy
[Deck Title= Izzet Delver – Adrian Murchison]
[Creatures]
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Dreadhorde Arcanist
2 True-name Nemesis
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
2 Preordain
2 Vapor Snag
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Chain Lightning
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Flooded Strand
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Arid Mesa
1 Polluted Delta
4 Wasteland
3 Volcanic Island
2 Island
1 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Pyroblast
2 Hydroblast
2 Abrade
2 Flusterstorm
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Narset, Parter of Veils
1 Rough // Tumble
1 Force of Negation
1 Null Rod
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]