Standard

Showdown Recap: Jan 29th – Standard

Welcome to our fifth weekly Showdown Recap, where we take a look at what happened at Face to Face Games Toronto’s weekly Sunday Showdown, a series of 1k events feeding into the Ultimate Showdown 5k Invitational. This week, a host of familiar faces turned out for the first Aether Revolt Standard Showdown.

Of course, Standard was recently shaken up significantly by not only the powerful cards of Aether Revolt, but also the significant and unusual bannings of [card]Smuggler’s Copter[/card], [card]Reflector Mage[/card], and [card]Emrakul, the Promised End[/card]. That immediately invalidated most of the leading strategies of Kaladesh Standard, which were either aggressive decks fueled by the Copter, or a variety of decks trying to efficiently cast Emrakul, through Delirium or the powerful [card]Aetherworks Marvel[/card]. Instead, as the SCG Open the previous weekend showed, the week one format was dominated by the [card]Saheeli Rai[/card]/[card]Felidar Guardian[/card] combo, trumped by [card]Walking Ballista[/card] BG and GW decks.

The format already began to evolve in its second week at the Showdown, with several powerful aggressive decks taking advantage of people trying to prepare for the existing metagame. Showdown mainstay Liam Kane made it to the finals with Mardu Vehicles, unfazed by the banning of [card]Smuggler’s Copter[/card]. Instead, the even-larger [card]Heart of Kiran[/card] beats down, with the mirror-breaker [card]Aethersphere Harvester[/card] as backup. Erik Traikov, on the other hand, looked further back, to the RW Tokens strategy featuring [card]Servo Exhibition[/card] and [card]Reckless Bushwhacker[/card] that we saw at Pro Tour Kaladesh. Capable of explosive starts and powerful Surge turns, this deck is definitely one to keep an eye on in coming weeks as players cut anti-aggro cards from their sideboards.

Jeskai Saheeli continued to put out results despite this, with two of Face to Face Games Toronto’s own, Em Cuthbert and Anthony Cameron making it to the quarterfinals with control variants of the combo strategy. Em brought my updated list from my article on the deck, while Anthony chose to add some midrange resilience in the form of [card]Chandra, Torch of Defiance[/card] and sideboard [card]Nahiri, the Harbinger[/card]/[card]Gideon, Ally of Zendikar[/card], powerful planeswalkers.

A couple players took advantage of the new wide-open Standard format to brew a bit. Tanner Ramussen brought an innovative blue-black tribal Constructs deck, featuring a lot of resilient artifacts alongside [card]Metallic Mimic[/card] and [card]Tezzeret, the Schemer[/card]. With powerful disruption in [card]Fatal Push[/card] and [card]Metallic Rebuke[/card], this deck could prove to be a serious player! Adrien Foucal, on the other hand, took an RG Energy shell and added a dash of midrange spice to it, with [card]Rishkar, Peema Renegade[/card] fueling 5-drops like [card]Verdurous Gearhulk[/card] and [card]Skysovereign, Consul Flagship[/card].

However, in the end, Standard tends to be a format that rewards consistent and reliable strategies, and Jeff Swaluk took down the whole event with the BG Delirium Aggro deck that Brennan DeCandio won SCG Columbus with. Never discount the sheer power of an aggressive deck with [card]Tireless Tracker[/card]!

With his win, Jeff becomes the fifth player to qualify for the Ultimate Showdown, and pushes forward into second place in the standings! Liam’s finals finish not only qualifies him, but pushes him right into a comfortable lead on the scoreboard. Congratulations to our top 8, and as always, thanks to everyone for coming! Join us this Saturday for a 3k Facetofacegames.com Toronto Modern Open, followed by a Modern Showdown on the Sunday! Preregister for both events now!

Jeff Swaluk – BG Delirium Aggro – 1st

[deck]
[Creatures]
4 Walking Ballista
4 Grim Flayer
4 Winding Constrictor
3 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
2 Tireless Tracker
4 Mindwrack Demon
4 Verdurous Gearhulk
[/Creatures]

[Spells]
2 Fatal Push
3 Traverse the Ulvenwald
4 Grasp of Darkness
2 Ruinous Path
1 To the Slaughter
[/Spells]

[Lands]
4 Blooming Marsh
3 Evolving Wilds
6 Forest
6 Swamp
4 Hissing Quagmire
[/Lands]

[Sideboard]
2 To the Slaughter
2 Transgress the Mind
2 Natural State
2 Lost Legacy
1 Fatal Push
1 Ishkahah, Grafwidow
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Ob Nixilis, Reignited
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Noxious Gearhulk
1 Nissa, Vital Force
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Liam Kane – Mardu Vehicles – 2nd

[deck]
[Creatures]
4 Toolcraft Exemplar
4 Thraben Inspector
3 Inventor’s Apprentice
4 Veteran Motorist
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
1 Depala, Pilot Exemplar
1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Shock
4 Unlicensed Disintegration
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
3 Heart of Kiran
2 Aethersphere Harvester
2 Cultivator’s Caravan
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Spire of Industry
4 Inspiring Vantage
4 Concealed Courtyard
5 Mountain
5 Plains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Selfless Spirit
1 Pia Nalaar
1 Cultivator’s Caravan
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Key to the City
1 Fatal Push
3 Harnessed Lightning
2 Authority of the Consuls
1 Declaration in Stone
3 Fragmentize
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Tanner Rasmussen – UB Constructs – 3rd/4th

[deck]
[Creatures]
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
4 Walking Ballista
4 Metallic Mimic
4 Scrap Trawler
2 Marionette Master
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Renegade Map
4 Fatal Push
2 Grasp of Darkness
2 Metallic Rebuke
2 Tezzeret’s Touch
4 Tezzeret, the Schemer
1 Ob Nixilis, Reignited
2 Reverse Engineer
[/Spells]
[Lands]
6 Swamp
4 Island
4 Choked Estuary
2 Sunken Hollow
4 Spire of Industry
2 Inventor’s Fair
1 Blighted Cataract
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Lost Legacy
2 Yahenni’s Expertise
2 Dispel
2 Essence Extraction
2 Gonti, Lord of Luxury
2 Yahenni, Undying Partisan
2 Baral’s Expertise
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Erik Traikov – RW Tokens – 3rd/4th

[deck]
[creatures]
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Inventor’s Apprentice
4 Toolcraft Exemplar
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
4 Reckless Bushwhacker
3 Pia Nalaar
1 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
[Spells]
4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
4 Servo Exhibition
2 Shock
4 Outnumber
[/Spells]
[Lands]
5 Plains
6 Mountain
3 Needle Spires
4 Inspiring Vantage
4 Concealed Courtyard
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 Selfless Spirit
1 Fragmentize
2 Release the Gremlins
2 Collective Effort
1 Stasis Snare
1 Shock
1 Declaration in Stone
1 Needle Spire
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Adrien Foucal – Temur Energy – 5th-8th

[deck]
[Creatures]
4 Bristling Hydra
4 Tireless Tracker
4 Greenbelt Rampager
4 Servant of the Conduit
4 Voltaic Brawler
2 Verdurous Gearhulk
3 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Attune with the Aether
4 Harnessed Lightning
1 Shock
2 Incendiary Flow
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Aether Hub
4 Mountain
6 Forest
3 Botanical Sanctum
1 Game Trail
2 Cinder Glade
1 Lumbering Falls
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 Negate
1 Island
2 Confiscation Coup
1 Verdurous Gearhulk
1 Natural Obsolesence
3 Shock
2 Natural State
1 Nature’s Way
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Em Cuthbert – Jeskai Saheeli – 5th-8th

[deck]
[Creatures]
3 Torrential Gearhulk
3 Felidar Guardian
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Saheeli Rai
4 Anticipate
2 Immolating Glare
1 Oath of Jace
4 Glimmer of Genius
4 Harnessed Lightning
1 Fumigate
4 Disallow
2 Negate
2 Revolutionary Rebuff
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Spirebluff Canal
4 Inspiring Vantage
2 Needle Spires
1 Wandering Fumarole
4 Aether Hub
7 Island
2 Plains
3 Port Town
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Spell Queller
1 Torrential Gearhulk
1 Fragmentize
2 Negate
2 Dispel
1 Fumigate
3 Radiant Flames
1 Immolating Glare
1 Quarantine Field
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Jack Cooke – RG Energy – 5th-8th

[deck]
[Creatures]
4 Bristling Hydra
4 Electrostatic Pummeler
1 Tireless Tracker
4 Servant of the Conduit
4 Longtusk Cub
4 Voltaic Brawler
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Invigorated Rampage
4 Built to Smash
4 Attune with the Aether
4 Harnessed Lightning
4 Blossoming Defense
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Aether Hub
7 Forest
3 Mountain
3 Game Trail
2 Cinder Glade
[/Lands]
[sideboard]
4 Shock
3 Tireless Tracker
2 Natural State
2 Nissa, Vital Force
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Cinder Glade
1 Heroic Intervention
[/sideboard]
[/deck]

Anthony Cameron – Jeskai Saheeli – 5th-8th

[deck]
[Creatures]
3 Torrential Gearhulk
3 Felidar Guardian
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Saheeli Rai
4 Anticipate
4 Disallow
4 Harnessed Lightning
4 Glimmer of Genius
2 Immolating Glare
2 Negate
2 Revolutionary Rebuff
1 Fumigate
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Inspiring Vantage
4 Aether Hub
3 Port Town
2 Needle Spires
1 Wandering Fumarole
6 Island
2 Plains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Immolating Glare
2 Ceremonious Rejection
3 Spell Queller
2 Radiant Flames
3 Nahiri, the Harbinger
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Quarantine Field
1 Fumigate
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

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