Welcome to another 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 players battled in the Modern format to see who could qualify themselves for the Ultimate Showdown.

It was a big weekend for Modern.

Between our Sunday Showdown, our Face to Face Games Open in Ottawa and the SCG Tour event in Texas this was the weekend that we would find out exactly what kind of impact that Guilds of Ravnica would have on Modern.

And for Leslie Walderman and his Mono-Red Steamkin deck, that impact was tremendous.

Leslie was able to take down the entire the entire event while wielding two new weapons from Guilds of Ravnica: [Card]Runaway Steamkin[/Card] and [Card]Arclight Phoenix[/Card].

With every new set it seems like there’s some brand new linear combo strategy the crops up around a new engine. With this set, that engine is [Card]Runaway Steamkin[/Card]. Platinum pro Gerry Thompson has been an advocate of this strategy for a few weeks since the set has come out, and it certainly served Leslie well on Sunday.

You see, with this red deck you get a deck that functions very similarly to Storm. It chains a bunch of spells together in one turn and uses Steamkin to constantly replenish its mana. Now where this decks shines in comparison to Storm is its ability to create inevitability. With the combination of [Card]Bedlam Revler[/Card] and [/Card]Arclight Phoenix[/Card] it can very easily amass an unstoppable board from virtually nothing, and can rebuild that board a turn later just as fast.

After Leslie, we have just about everyone you’d expect in a Face to Face Games Toronto Modern Top 8. Chris Flink managed to defeat all odds and make it all the way to the finals with his trusty Ad Nauseum deck, Delan Hamasoor was as consistent as always with Humans, Francis Choi piloted a wild Scapeshift deck and well, Liam Kane won games of Magic as usual. Oh, and Chris Ha Top 8’d his fiftieth (roughly) tournament in a row playing Jund.

In addition to these mainstays we had Dominic Harvey Top 8 with his unique version of [Card]Krark-Clan Ironworks[/Card] combo. Dominic has just recently moved to the city and has certainly made his presence felt by Top 8ing both this event and the Modern Open+ last weekend. Welcome Dominic!

With his win on Sunday, Leslie cements his spot in the upcoming Ultimate Showdown and the rest of our Top 8 have begun their march up the leader board to qualify. This upcoming Sunday at Face to Face Games Toronto we are hosting a Team Trios Showdown. That’s right grab a couple friends and come on out to play Standard, Modern and Legacy!

First Place, Leslie Walderman – Mon-Red Steamkin

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Arclight Phoenix
4 Bedlam Reveler
4 Runaway Steamkin
3 Monastery Swiftspear
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Manamorphose
4 Fiery Temper
4 Faithless Looting
4 Desperate Ritual
2 Tormenting Voice
2 Burst Lightning
2 Risk Factor
1 Insult // Injury
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Ramunap Ruins
16 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Tormond’s Crypt
2 Abrade
1 Hazoret, the Fervent
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
3 Molten Rain
2 Shrine of Burning Rage
2 Dragon’s Claw
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Second Place, Chris Flink – Ad Nauseum

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Simian Spirit Guide
1 Laboratory Maniac
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Ad Nauseam
4 Angel’s Grace
4 Phyrexian Unlife
4 Serum Visions
3 Sleight of Hand
3 Spoils of the Vault
4 Lotus Bloom
4 Pentad Prism
1 Echoing Truth
1 Lightning Storm
3 Pact of Negation
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Island
1 Plains
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Temple of Deceit
3 Temple of Enlightenment
2 Darkslick Shores
2 Seachrome Coast
4 Gemstone Mine
2 City of Brass
1 Nephalia Academy
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Bontu’s Last Reckoning
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Thoughtseize
1 Wear // Tear
1 Slaughter Pact
2 Path to Exile
1 Vendillion Clique
1 Sphinx of the Final Word
1 Swan Song
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Third Place, Liam Kane – Bant Spirits

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Noble Hierarch
1 Birds of Paradise
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Rattlechains
4 Supreme Phantom
3 Selfless Spirit
2 Phantasmal Image
4 Spell Queller
4 Drogskol Captain
1 Geist of Saint Traft
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Collected Company
4 Path to Exile
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Flooded Strand
3 Windswept Heath
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Breeding Pool
1 Temple Garden
3 Botanical Sanctum
1 Forest
1 Plains
1 Island
1 Mutavault
1 Moorland Haunt
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Worship
2 Dromoka’s Command
1 Damping Sphere
2 Stony Silence
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Geist of Saint Traft
3 Unified Will
1 Remorseful Cleric
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Fourth Place, Jacob Pasqualoni – Jund

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Dark Confidant
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Bloodbraid Elf
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Liliana of the Veil
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
2 Kolaghan’s Command
1 Abrupt Decay
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Fatal Push
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Thoughtseize
1 Maelstrom Pulse
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Overgrown Tomb
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
3 Raging Ravine
3 Bloodstained Mire
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Blood Crypt
1 Stomping Grounds
1 Treetop Village
2 Swamp
1 Forest
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Kitchen Finks
1 Dreadbore
2 Collective Brutality
3 Fulminator Mage
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Damping Sphere
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Engineered Explosives
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Fifth Place, Francis Choi – Bring to Light Scapeshift

[Deck]
[Creatures]
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Remand
2 Search for Azcanta
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Scapeshift
3 Bring to Light
3 Cryptic Command
4 Search for Tomorrow
2 Repeal
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Jace, the Mind Sculpter
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Mountain
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Prairie Stream
4 Steam Vents
3 Island
2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
1 Plains
2 Scalding Tarn
4 Stomping Ground
2 Forest
1 Breeding Pool
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Negate
2 Dispel
2 Damping Sphere
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Creeping Corrosion
1 Ancient Grudge
2 Nature’s Claim
2 Primeval Titan
1 Crumble to Dust
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Sixth Place, Chris Ha – Jund

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Tarmogoyf
1 Tireless Tracker
3 Dark Confidant
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Bloodbraid Elf
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
4 Liliana of the Veil
3 Assassin’s Trophy
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Fatal Push
2 Kolaghan’s Command
3 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Stomping Grounds
1 Blood Crypt
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Raging Ravine
3 Bloodstained Mire
1 Wooded Foothills
2 Forest
2 Swamp
1 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Damnation
2 Collective Brutality
1 Engineered Explosives
3 Leyline of the Void
2 Ancient Grudge
3 Fulminator Mage
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Seventh Place, Delan Hamasoor – 5C Humans

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Thalia’s Lieutenant
4 Kitesail Freebooter
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Meddling Mage
4 Phantasmal Image
4 Mantis Rider
4 Reflector Mage
2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Aether Vial
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Unclaimed Territory
4 Horizon Canopy
1 Seachrome Coast
1 Plains
1 Island
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Sin Collector
1 Gaddock Teeg
2 Militia Bugler
1 Dire Fleet Daredevil
2 Dismember
2 Knight of Autumn
2 Izzet Staticaster
1 Gut Shot
1 Damping Sphere
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Eighth Place, Dominic Harvey – Ironworks Combo

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Scrap Trawler
1 Myr Retriever
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Krark-clan Ironworks
4 Thopter Foundry
3 Sword of the Meek
4 Ichor Wellspring
4 Terrarion
4 Chromatic Star
1 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Mishra’s Bauble
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Mox Opal
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Darksteel Citadel
2 Buried Ruin
2 Inventor’s Fair
3 Blooming Marsh
1 Botanical Sanctum
1 Island
1 Swamp
4 Spire of Industry
1 Yavimaya Coast
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 Fatal Push
4 Nature’s Claim
3 Metallic Rebuke
1 Assassin’s Trophy
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Sai, Maverick Thopterist
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]