This past weekend was all about the Modern format.
Guilds of Ravnica is out and Standard is booming, but Modern remains the constant puzzle that we’ve come to love it as. Luckily, Face to Face Games hosted a Modern Open this past weekend in Ottawa and we got a fresh look at where the Canadian Modern scene is at.
Samuel Leduc piloted his [Card]Hardened Scales[/Card] deck through a tough Ottawa crowd to take home the trophy.
Samuel played one of two copies of [Card]Hardened Scales[/Card] in our Top 8. This deck wields the power of both [Card]Ancient Stirrings[/Card] and [Card]Mox Opal[/Card] and functions quite similarly to the traditional Affinity deck we’re used to in Modern.
The major difference with this deck is just its sheer number of high impact cards. The old Affinity decks had a lot of air, but with [Card]Hangarback Walker[/Card], Stirrings and a pure “I win” card like [Card]Hardened Scales[/Card] there’s a lot to deal with if you want to beat this deck.
Joining Scales in Top 8 are a whole swath of other unique linear archetypes that Modern is known for. We had a copy of Tron, Titan Shift, Merfolk, Grishoalbrand, [Card]Hollow One[/Card] and a controlling version of U/R Breach.
With the addition of [Card]Assassin’s Trophy[/Card] to Modern with Guilds of Ravnica a lot of people were excited to try out midrange decks like Jund again. From my perspective, that could be part of the reason for what we see in this Top 8. Decks like Tron and Titan Shift have always done a good job of preying on those decks, so it might be time for them to shine if people are feeling nostalgic about midrange.
If you pay a lot of attention to Modern, I’d imagine this Top 8 isn’t foreign to you. All of these decks attack on different axis’ and are able to do their thing in a very fast way if left unchecked.
Turns out, in a tournament filled with decks racing each other — Hardened Scales is a pretty good choice.
Congratulations to Samuel on his impressive victory on Saturday. The next stop on the FacetoFaceGames.com Open Series is on Nov. 10 in Calgary. We’ll be hosting a 5K Modern Open+ there! Make sure to pre-register ahead of time, and it might not be such a bad idea to pick up a few copies of Hardened Scales while you’re at it.
First Place, Samuel Leduc – Hardened Scales
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Arcbound Worker
4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Hardened Scales
4 Walking Ballista
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Steel Overseer
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Mox Opal
3 Welding Jar
2 Animation Module
1 Evolutionary Leap
2 Throne of Geth
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Horizon Canopy
4 Darksteel Citadel
5 Forest
4 Inkmoth Nexus
2 Blinkmoth Nexus
2 Pendelhaven
1 Phyrexia’s Core
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 Damping Sphere
4 Nature’s Claim
2 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Dismember
2 Karn, Scion of Urza
1 Evolutionary Leap
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Second Place, Scott Beaudin – Grishoalbrand
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Worldspine Wurm
4 Simian Spirit Guide
2 Borborygmos Enraged
4 Griselbrand
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Faithless Looting
4 Cathartic Reunion
4 Night’s Whisper
4 Nourishing Shoal
1 Manamorphose
4 Through the Breach
2 Desperate Ritual
4 Goryo’s Vengeance
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Temple of Malice
1 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
5 Swamp
3 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 Leyline of Sanctity
3 Pact of Negation
1 Collective Brutality
1 Bontu’s Last Reckoning
2 Thoughtseize
2 Shattering Spree
2 Anger of the Gods
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Third Place, Mike Brierley – Titan Shift
[Deck]
[Creatures]
1 Reclamation Sage
4 Primeval Titan
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Anger of the Gods
3 Farseek
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Scapeshift
4 Search for Tomorrow
2 Summoner’s Pact
1 Explore
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Cinder Glade
2 Forest
7 Mountain
1 Sheltered Thicket
3 Stomping Ground
4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
2 Windswept Heath
1 Verdant Catacombs
4 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Obstinate Baloth
2 Damping Sphere
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Ancient Grudge
1 Nature’s Claim
1 Back to Nature
1 Carnage Tyrant
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Tireless Tracker
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Fourth Place, Michael Baranov – Hardened Scales
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Walking Ballista
4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Steel Overseer
4 Arcbound Worker
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Throne of Geth
2 Evolutionary Leap
2 Animation Module
4 Hardened Scales
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Mox Opal
3 Welding Jar
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Pendelhaven
2 Horizon Canopy
7 Forest
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Inkmoth Nexus
2 Blinkmoth Nexus
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
2 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Dismember
4 Nature’s Claim
4 Damping Sphere
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Fifth Place, David Laskar – Tron
[Deck]
[Creatures]
2 Ulamog the Ceaseless Hunger
3 Wurmcoil Engine
2 Walking Ballista
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Karn Liberated
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Relic of Progenitus
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Expedition Map
4 Chromatic Star
4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Sylvan Scrying
4 Oblivion Stone
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Urza’s Tower
4 Urza’s Mine
4 Urza’s Power Plant
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Horizon Canopy
1 Sanctum of Ugin
3 Forest
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Rest in Peace
3 Tarmogoyf
2 Thragtusk
3 Nature’s Claim
2 Spatial Contortion
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Sixth Place, Jacky But – Hollow One
[Deck]
[Creatures]
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3 Gurmag Angler
4 Flameblade Adept
4 Bloodghast
4 Street Wraith
4 Hollow One
4 Flamewake Phoenix
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Collective Brutality
4 Burning Inquiry
4 Faithless Looting
4 Goblin Lore
4 Lightning Bolt
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Stomping Ground
1 Swamp
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Blood Crypt
3 Mountain
3 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Bloodstained Mire
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Thoughtseize
2 Engineered Explosives
3 Fatal Push
3 Grim Lavamancer
3 Leyline of the Void
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Seventh Place, Kevin Burroughs – Merfolk
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
4 Harbinger of the Tides
4 Merfolk Trickster
3 Phantasmal Image
1 Merrow Reejerey
4 Master of Waves
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Aether Vial
4 Spell Pierce
4 Spreading Seas
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Minamo, School at Water’s Edge
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1 Tectonic Edge
4 Mutavault
3 Wanderwine Hub
10 Islands
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 Deprive
2 Echoing Truth
2 Tectonic Edge
3 Gut Shot
4 Relic of Progenitus
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Eighth Place, Phillip Blythe – U/R Breach
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Emrakul, the Aeon’s Torn
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Serum Visions
4 Opt
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Abrade
4 Remand
2 Blood Moon
3 Electrolyze
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Cryptic Command
3 Through the Breach
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Sulfur Falls
2 Stream Vents
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Hallowed Fountain
4 Flooded Strand
1 Desolate Lighthouse
1 Mountain
7 Island
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Wear // Tear
3 Dispel
1 Negate
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Rest in Peace
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Vendilion Clique
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]