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Showdown Recap: Modern

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 Modern, and let me tell you, it was an aggressive Top 8.

If there’s one thing that you can count on in Modern it’s that every once and a while everyone will sleep on Affinity — and it will crush a tournament. Sunday was that tournament.

Our Modern Showdown champ Erik Traikov.

Our Top 8 on Sunday was filled with aggro decks. There were three copies of Affinity, two copies of Humans and a copy of B/R Hollow One. The last two decks were a copy of Amulet and a copy of Ad Nauseum, two linear combo decks.

Turns out, if you don’t bring your Ancient Grudges and removal spells in this format, you’re going to get punished.

As of late Humans has been the deck to beat in the format and that was the story here as well. Affinity has recently become a way to thwart the Humans menace and I think that’s why we saw the Top 8 that showed up on Sunday.

Recent GP champion Edgar Magalhaes has made his impact on the greater Toronto area and I can only assume that his galaxy brain was all over this Amulet decklist from Adrian Lau in Top 8.

As for the Ad Nauseum deck, well it was Chris Flink. The guy just doesn’t miss Modern Showdown Top 8s with that deck.

Another shout out goes to Quinn Graham, who’s been a staple at our Showdown series and cracked his first Top 8 on Sunday.

Our Modern Top 8.

Modern is always going to be the kind of format where decks can have “their weekend.” Some times the fair decks like Jeskai and Jund will come out and pray on the likes of Humans and Affinity. Other times, Affinity is going to run right through the Trons of the world. This time, the little artifacts won.

The Showdown series is really heating up headed into the Ultimate Showdown and you’ve got a chance this coming weekend to add to your point total at our Team Trios Showdown. That’s right, you’ll get a chance to both test for Grand Prix Toronto AND qualify for the Ultimate Showdown all in on day! Register now.

With his win on Sunday Erik cements his spot in the Face to Face Games Ultimate Showdown. Congratulations Erik!

First Place, Erik Traikov- Affinity

[Deck]
[Creatures]
1 Master of Etherium
2 Etched Champion
4 Steel Overseer
4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Vault Skirge
4 Signal Pest
4 Ornithopter
2 Memnite
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Karn, Scion of Urza
1 Thoughtcast
4 Cranial Plating
4 Springleaf Drum
3 Galvanic Blast
1 Welding Jar
4 Mox Opal
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Spire of Industry
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
4 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Spell Pierce
2 Damping Sphere
1 Ray of Revelation
2 Etched Champion
2 Ghirapur Aether Grid
2 Thoughtseize
1 Rest in Peace
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
3 Ancient Grudge
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Second Place, Shawn Dhaliwal- Humans

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thalia’s Lieutenant
4 Phantasmal Image
4 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Meddling Mage
4 Reflector Mage
4 Mantis Rider
1 Restoration Angel
1 Dark Confidant
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Aether Vial
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Horizon Canopy
1 Plains
2 Seachrome Coast
4 Unclaimed Territory

[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Reclamation Sage
2 Dire Fleet Daredevil
2 Xathrid Necromancer
2 Sin Collector
2 Izzet Staticaster
2 Dismember
1 Kataki, War’s Wage
1 Auriok Champion
1 Restoration Angel
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Third Place, Massimo Gordillo- U/B

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Arcbound Ravager
2 Etched Champion
1 Master of Etherium
4 Memnite
3 Ornithopter
3 Signal Pest
3 Steel Overseer
4 Vault Skirge
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Galvanic Blast
4 Cranial Plating
4 Mox Opal
4 Springleaf Drum
2 Karn, Scion of Urza
2 Smuggler’s Copter
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
4 Inkmoth Nexus
4 Spire of Industry
1 Island
1 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Etched Champion
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Damping Sphere
2 Ghirapur Aether Grid
2 Rest in Peace
1 Spell Pierce
1 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Whipflare
1 Dispatch
1 Torpor Orb
1 Thoughtseize
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Fourth Place, Taimur Rashid- B/R Hollow One

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Bloodghast
4 Flameblade Adept
4 Flamewake Phoenix
3 Gurmag Angler
4 Hollow One
4 Street Wraith
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Burning Inquiry
2 Collective Brutality
4 Faithless Looting
4 Goblin Lore
4 Lightning Bolt
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Mountain
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Stomping Ground
1 Swamp
3 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Ancient Grudge
1 Collective Brutality
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Fatal Push
2 Grim Lavamancer
3 Leyline of the Void
2 Liliana of the Veil
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Fifth Place, Connor McNamee- Affinity

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Signal Pest
4 Ornithopter
4 Vault Skirge
1 Master of Etherium
3 Steel Overseer
2 Memnite
4 Etched Champion
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Mox Opal
4 Cranial Plating
4 Springleaf Drum
3 Galvanic Blast
2 Welding Jar
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Inkmoth Nexus
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
4 Darksteel Citadel
2 Spire of Industry
2 Glimmervoid
1 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Grafdigger’s Cage
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Ghirapur Aether Grid
2 Whipflare
1 Rest in Peace
1 Stubborn Denial
1 Spell Pierce
1 Thoughtseize
1 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Spellskite
1 Blood Moon
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Sixth Place, Chris Flink- Ad Nauseum

[Deck]
[Creatures]
1 Laboratory Maniac
4 Simian Spirit Guide
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Angel’s Grace
4 Phyrexian Unlife
4 Ad Nauseum
4 Serum Visions
3 Sleight of Hand
1 Mystical Teachings
2 Spoils of the Vault
3 Pact of Negation
1 Echoing Truth
1 Lightning Storm
4 Pentad Prism
4 Lotus Bloom
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Plains
4 Gemstone Mine
2 City of Brass
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Mikokoro, Centre of the Sea
1 Darkslick Shores
2 Seachrome Coast
3 Temple of Deceit
3 Temple of Enlightenment
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Bontu’s Last Reckoning
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
2 Gigadrowse
2 Duress
1 Porphory Nodes
2 Wear // Tear
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Seventh Place, Quinn Graham- Humans

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Champion of the Parish
2 Restoration Angel
4 Thalia’s Lieutenant
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Phantasmal Image
1 Dark Confidant
4 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Mantis Rider
4 Meddling Mage
3 Reflector Mage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Aether Vial
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Horizon Canopy
1 Island
1 Plains
2 Seachrome Coast
4 Unclaimed Territory
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Auriok Champion
1 Dark Confidant
2 Gut Shot
1 Izzet Staticaster
2 Kataki, War’s Wage
2 Kessig Malcontents
1 Lantern Scout
2 Sin Collector
1 Vithian Renegades
1 War Priest of Thune
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Eighth Place, Adrian Lau- Amulet

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Sakura-Tribe Scout
4 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
4 Primeval Titan
1 Walking Ballista
1 Reclamation Sage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Summoner’s Pact
1 Pact of Negation
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Amulet of Vigor
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Explore
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Forest
4 Gemstone Mine
4 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Khalni Garden
1 Radiant Fountain
1 Vesuva
1 Slayer’s Stronghold
1 Boros Garrison
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
3 Gruul Turf
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
3 Tolaria West
1 Bojuka Bog
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Ruric Thar, Unbowed
1 Hornet Queen
3 Obstinate Baloth
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Kozilek’s Return
1 Firespout
2 Dismember
2 Relic of Progenitus
3 Spell Pierce
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

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