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 Guilds of Ravnica Standard for our special Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifier Showdown!
Standard is brand new with the release of Guilds of Ravnica, so I for one was looking forward to the results of this event for weeks to see just how Toronto would adapt to this new format.
In classic early-Standard fashion the event was won by a deck with 22 Mountains, Pasha Meshkati’s Mono-Red Aggro deck featuring a full four copies of [Card]Experimental Frenzy[/Card].
Standard has become a lot more diverse in recent weeks. The beginning of the format was dominated by B/G Midrange which put two copies in the Top 8 here as well. That said, last weekend at GP New Jersey Team Face to Face Games member Eli Kassis put Jeskai Control on the map by taking home the trophy — which really dwarfed the number of Golgari decks that have been popping up.
On Sunday, we had a nice smattering of the archetypes that were present in Jersey. There was a U/R [Card]Arclight Phoenix[/Card] deck which also popped up in response to Jeskai, another red deck to go with Meshkati’s, one Jeskai Control deck and a full two Boros decks.
Omar Beldon once again showed off his range with an innovative take on Boros that played a lot of token synergies. Beldon also showed off his impressive ability to Top 8 every event and lose in the quarterfinals.
Em Cuthbert also showed up to play on Sunday and showed that whenever they decide to play Magic they make the Top 8 with ease.
With his win on Sunday, Pasha cements his spot in the upcoming Ultimate Showdown and the next Regional Pro Tour Qualifier, while the rest of our Top 8 have begun their march up the leader board to qualify. This upcoming weekend at Face to Face Games Toronto is going to be all about Modern. We’ve got a special 3k Modern event at Next level Con in Mississauga on Saturday followed by a Modern 1k Sunday Showdown. Make sure to pre-register and get your Modern deck tuned up for a full weekend of Modern action!
First Place, Pasha Meshkati – Mon-Red Aggro
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Fanatical Firebrand
4 Ghitu Lavarunner
4 Goblin Chainwhirler
2 Rekindling Phoenix
4 Runaway Steam-Kin
4 Viashino Pyromancer
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Wizard’s Lightning
4 Shock
4 Experimental Frenzy
4 Lightning Strike
[/Spells]
[Lands]
22 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Banefire
3 Fiery Cannonade
3 Fight with Fire
3 Lava Coil
4 Treasure Map
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Second Place, Isaac Krut – B/G Midrange
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Merfolk Branchwalker
4 Jadelight Ranger
1 Elvish Rejuvenator
2 Wildgrowth Walker
3 Carnage Tyrant
2 Seeker’s Squire
3 Ravenous Chupacabra
2 Midnight Reaper
1 Golgari Findbroker
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Vivien Reid
1 Assassin’s Trophy
1 Vraska, Golgari Queen
3 Find // Finality
2 Vraska’s Contempt
1 Cast Down
[/Spells]
[Lands]
8 Forest
5 Swamp
2 Memorial to Folly
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Woodland Cemetery
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 Duress
3 Deathgorge Scavenger
1 Midnight Reaper
1 Cast Down
1 The Eldest Reborn
2 Wildgrowth Walker
1 Detection Tower
1 Ritual Soot
1 Golden Demise
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Third Place, Matthew Lategan – B/G Midrange
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Merfolk Branchwalker
2 Seeker’s Squire
2 Wildgrowth Walker
3 Ravenous Chupacara
2 Golgari Findbroker
4 Jadelight Ranger
2 Midnight Reaper
3 Doom Whisperer
3 Carnage Tyrant
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Find// Finality
2 Assassin’s Trophy
2 Vivien Reid
[/Spells]
[Lands]
6 Swamp
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Woodland Cemetery
10 Forest
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 Duress
2 Vraska, Relic Seeker
1 Plaguecrafter
3 Ritual of Soot
1 Wildgrowth Walker
3 Vraska’s Contempt
1 Assassin’s Trophy
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Fourth Place, Justin Harkness – Mon-Red Aggro
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Ghitu Lavarunner
4 Fanatical Firebrand
4 Runaway Steam-Kin
4 Viashino Pyromancer
4 Goblin Chainwhirler
2 Rekindling Phoenix
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Experimental Frenzy
4 Wizard’s Lightning
4 Shock
4 Lightning Strike
[/Spells]
[Lands]
22 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Lava Coil
3 Fiery Cannonade
4 Treasure Map
2 Banefire
3 Fire with Fire
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Fifth Place, Em Cuthbert – U/R Phoenix
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Enigma Drake
4 Crackling Drake
4 Arclight Phoenix
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Opt
4 Shock
4 Warlord’s Fury
4 Crash Through
2 Maximize Velocity
4 Chart a Course
3 Tormenting Voice
2 Lava Coil
1 Beacon Bolt
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Steam Vents
4 Sulfur Falls
1 Izzet Guildgate
6 Mountain
5 Island
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Niv-Mizzet, Parun
2 Murmuring Mystic
2 Fiery Cannonade
1 Banefire
1 Firemind’s Research
1 Lava Coil
1 Negate
2 Disdainful Quote
2 Dive Down
1 Beacon Bolt
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Sixth Place, Brady Bachan – Boros Angels
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Adanto Vangaard
3 Tocatli Honor Guard
1 Remorseful Cleric
2 Boros Challenger
2 Tajic Legion’s Edge
1 Legion Warboss
3 Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice
2 Rekindling Phoenix
2 Lyra Dawnbringer
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Conclave Tribunal
2 Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants
4 Lava Coil
1 Shock
4 History of Benalia
2 Justice Strike
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Boros Guildgate
4 Clifftop Retreat
4 Sacred Foundry
7 Mountains
9 Plains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Bounty Agent
1 Deafening Clarion
1 Citywide Bust
1 Fiery Cannonade
1 Tocatli Honor Guard
1 Karn, Scion of Urza
1 Remorseful Cleric
1 Rekindling Phoenix
2 Ixalans Binding
1 Experimental Frenzy
1 Fight with Fie
3 Dire Fleet Daredevil
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Seventh Place, Omar Beldon – Boros Tokens
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Adanto Vanguard
4 Benalish Marshal
4 Dauntless Bodyguard
4 Venerated Loxodon
4 Skymarcher Aspirant
4 Tocatli Honor Guard
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Pride of Conquerors
2 Legion’s Landing
4 History of Benalia
3 Conclave Tribunal
4 Heroic Reinforcements
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Sacred Foundry
14 Plains
4 Clifftop Retreat
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 Treasure Map
2 Immortal Sun
2 Lyra Dawnbringer
2 Lava Coil
2 Banefire
2 Bounty Agent
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
Eighth Place, Duncan McGregor – Jeskai Control
[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Crackling Drake
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Niv-Mizzet, Parun
1 Ral, Izzet Viceroy
3 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
4 Opt
3 Syncopate
3 Essence Scatter
1 Negate
4 Sinister Sabotage
4 Chemister’s Insight
1 Expansion // Explosion
4 Deafening Clarion
1 Star of Extinction
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Clifftop Retreat
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Sulfur Falls
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Steam Vents
6 Island
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Negate
2 Revitalize
2 Seal Away
1 Justice Strike
1 Fiery Cannonade
2 Invoke the Divine
1 Lyra Dawnbringer
1 Niv-Mizzet, Parun
1 Star of Extinction
1 Siege- Gang Commander
1 Expansion // Explosion
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
