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 we had players in the store all weekend long playing Modern, first on Saturday for our Last Chance Qualifier Showdown and the Regional Pro Tour Qualifier on Sunday.

There are few players more feared in the Toronto Magic community than Matthew Dilks. And on Saturday at the LCQ that remained the case, as he was able to take down yet another event with Amulet Titan.

Dilks and Team Face to Face Games member Edgar Magalhaes have been working on this deck relentlessly in recent weeks, ever since Edgar’s victory at our last Toronto Open+. The list has gone through a lot of iterations, but this spicy [Card]Trinket Mage[/Card] version is the latest and greatest. Dilks rolled through the event without losing a match.

If you set your eyes on the rest of the Top 8, you’ll see one common theme — Bant Spirits. I even played the deck to a semifinals appearance, and if I can win with it you know it’s good. There was a lot of Ironworks Combo in the room on Saturday and I think that led to a day of success for this disruptive creature strategy. Spirits is just great, and in my opinion is just a strict upgrade to Humans right now. If you’re playing a Modern tournament in the coming weeks it would be my number one choice.

Rounding out our Top 8 was one copy of Titan Shift that made the finals before losing to Dilks, a copy of Ironworks Combo that promptly lost to Spirits, a copy of the Grixis Prison deck that’s been floating around Magic Online and a nice Mono-Red Hollow One brew that Leslie Walderman brought.

There were quite a few decks trying to make [Card]Arclight Phoenix[/Card] work on Saturday and Les was the only one who seemed to be having a lot of success. Notably, he seemed to be the only one without blue cards in his deck, so maybe this wild hybrid is the next step for trying to break this powerful new Guilds of Ravnica mythic.

With Dilks in the winner’s circle, the stage was set for our Modern RPTQ on Sunday where four players would earn a spot at the next Pro Tour.

But before I tell you all about that, check out the decklists from this Top 8:

First Place, Matthew Dilks – Amulet Titan

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Primeval Titan
4 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
4 Sakura Tribe Scout
2 Skyshroud Ranger
2 Trinket Mage
1 Walking Ballista
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Pact of Negation
4 Summoner’s Pact
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Amulet of Vigor
1 Engineered Explosives
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Simic Growth Chamber
4 Gruul Turf
1 Boros Garrison
4 Gemstone Mine
2 Grove of the Burnwillows
3 Forest
3 Tolaria West
1 Radiant Fountain
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Khalni Garden
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Vesuva
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
1 Slayer’s Stronghold
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Abrade
2 Surgical Extraction
3 Spell Pierce
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Ruric Thar, Unbowed
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Ramunap Excavator
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Hornet Queen
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Second Place, Joshua Santangelo – Titan Shift

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Primeval Titan
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Wood Elves
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Relic of Progenitus
4 Scapeshift
4 Search for Tomorrow
2 Summoner’s Pact
1 Prismatic Omen
2 Anger of the Gods
3 Lightning Bolt
1 Sweltering Suns
2 Explore
3 Farseek
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Cinder Glade
2 forest
3 Misty Rainforest
7 Mountain
4 Stomping Ground
4 Valakut, The Molten Pinnacle
4 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Abrade
1 Ancient Grudge
3 Damping Sphere
1 Destructive Revelry
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
3 Obstinate Baloth
2 Reclamation Sage
1 Thragtusk
1 Tireless Tracker
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Third Place, Keith Capstick – Bant Spirits

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Drogskol Captain
4 Spell Queller
4 Phantasmal Image
4 Supreme Phantom
3 Reflector Mage
2 Selfless Spirit
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Path to Exile
3 Aether Vial
4 Collected Company
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Misty Rainforest
2 Windswept Heath
2 Flooded Strand
3 Horizon Canopy
2 Cavern of Souls
2 Botanical Sanctum
1 Seachrome Coast
1 Moorland Haunt
1 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Temple Garden
1 Island
1 Forest
1 Plains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Stony Silence
3 Rest in Peace
2 Dromoka’s Command
2 Unified Will
2 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Knight of Autumn
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Disdainful Stroke
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Fourth Place, Lucas Worrell – Bant Spirits

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

Fifth Place, Matt Perantinos – Grixis Prison

[Deck]
[Spells]
1 Bottled Cloister
1 Witchbane Orb
4 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
1 Damping Sphere
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Pyrite Spyglass
1 Pithing Needle
2 Expedition Map
4 Mox Opal
4 Welding Jar
4 Mishra’s Bauble
3 Engineered Explosives
3 Chalice of the Void
1 Tormod’s Crypt
4 Whir of Invention
1 Artificer’s Intuition
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Flooded Strand
1 Misty Rainforest
4 Island
4 Tolaria West
2 Glimmervoid
1 Watery Grave
1 Steam Vents
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Academy Ruins
1 Inventor’s Fair
1 Ipnu Rivulet
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Defense Grid
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
1 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Spellskite
2 Sai, Master Thopterist
1 Padeem, Consul of Innovation
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Sixth Place, Adam Farren – Bant Spirits

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Supreme Phantom
2 Selfless Spirit
3 Phanasmal Image
1 Rattlechains
4 Spell Queller
1 Remorseful Cleric
4 Drogskol Captain
3 Reflector Mage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Path to Exile
3 Aether Vial
4 Collected Company
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Windswept Heath
3 Misty Rainforest
2 Flooded Strand
3 Horizon Canopy
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Breeding Pool
1 Temple Garden
2 Botanical Sanctum
1 Seachrome Coast
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Forest
1 Plains
1 Island
1 Moorland Haunt
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Dromoka’s Command
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Knight of Autumn
2 Geist of Saint Traft
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Seventh Place, Leslie Walderman – Mono-Red Hollow One

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Bedlam Reveler
4 Arclight Phoenix
4 Hollow One
4 Flameblade Adept
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Fiery Temper
4 Manamorphose
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Faithless Looting
4 Goblin Lore
4 Burning Inquiry
2 Maximize Velocity
[/Spells]
[Lands]
16 Mountain
2 Ramunap Ruins
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Shrine of Burning Rage
3 Blood Moon
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Dismember
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Hazoret, the Fervent
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Eighth Place, James Arquette – Ironworks Combo

[Deck]
[Creatures]
1 Sai, Master Thopterist
1 Myr Retriever
4 Scrap Trawler
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Krark-Clan Ironworks
4 Mox Opal
4 Terrarion
4 Chromatic Star
2 Chromatic Sphere
1 Spine of Ish Sah
4 Ichor Wellspring
4 Mindstone
2 Pyrite Spellbomb
3 Engineered Explosives
4 Ancient Stirrings
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Darksteel Citadel
2 Forest
3 Grove of the Burnwillows
3 Buried Ruin
2 Inventor’s Fair
2 Yavimaya Coast
2 Glimmervoid
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Negate
4 Galvanic Blast
3 Nature’s Claim
2 Assassin’s Trophy
1 Defense Grid
1 Damping Sphere
1 Sai, Master Thopterist
1 Wurmcoil Engine
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

After the LCQ on Saturday, and with the rumblings around the Ontario Magic scene in mind, I think most people expected quite a bit of Ironworks Combo on Sunday. The deck has put up consistent results over the past few months, is just inherently very powerful and gives you the kind of game you need to spike an event like this.

From my perspective, it was this metagame analysis that led Shawn Dhaliwal, Joshua Lawrence Grace, Josh Buitenhuis and Wilson Douglas to qualifying for the Pro Tour.

Once again we see two copies of Bant Spirits atop the RPTQ, once again emphasizing just how well-positioned it was heading into the weekend. In addition to those two decks, we had two control builds with quite a bit of hate towards KCI, along with the obvious swath of removal spells you need to beat Spirits. It’s clear to me that this weekend was a dance around those two top decks — KCI and Spirits. We saw Spirits be able to shine in a room full of combo, but here we also see the ability that these fair control decks have to capitalize when the format gets creature dense.

I’d specifically like to highlight  Josh Buitenhuis’ Grixis Control deck, because well it is a thing of beauty. This deck has not been popular outside of the hands of Corey Burkhart for years, but Josh managed to brew up something that could land him a Pro Tour qualification and for that I commend him. This deck does look to have both a good KCI and Humans matchup, while it also looks to shine against other midrange decks, so maybe he’s on to something.

Before I leave you I’d also like to shine a light on the two members of Toronto’s Magic community that will be attending their first Pro Tour with this qualification. Shawn Dhaliwal is the definition of a grinder in the area. He’s out at every big event with the biggest smile on his face and deserves this more than possibly any other player. Josh Lawrence Grace has also shown constant commitment to getting better over the last couple years, and he was rewarded this weekend with Magic’s highest qualification. This game can be tough on all of us sometimes and to see deserving players like this achieve their goals is awesome.

Thanks to everyone who came out this weekend to celebrate Modern, the RPTQ and Toronto Magic with us. This upcoming weekend we’ll be hosting a special Ultimate Masters Sealed Showdown. Make sure to pre-register because this one will fill up fast!

First Place, Shawn Dhaliwal – Bant Spirits

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Supreme Phantom
4 Spell Queller
4 Drogskol Captain
1 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Reflector Mage
3 Selfless Spirit
3 Phantasmal Image
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Aether Vial
3 Path to Exile
4 Collected Company
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Botanical Sanctum
1 Temple Garden
1 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain
3 Flooded Strand
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Windswept Heath
1 Plains
1 Forest
1 Island
1 Moorland Haunt
1 Cavern of Souls
3 Horizon Canopy
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Knight of Autumn
3 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
1 Dromoka’s Command
2 Disdainful Stroke
1 Unified Will
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Tormod’s Crypt
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Second Place, Joshua Lawrence Grace – Bant Spirits

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Selfless Spirit
3 Phantasmal Image
4 Supreme Phantom
4 Drogskol Captain
3 Reflector mage
4 Spell Queller
1 Geist of Saint Traft
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Collected Company
3 Aether Vial
2 Path to Exile
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Island
1 Plains
1 Forest
2 Botanical Sanctum
1 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Temple Garden
3 Horizon Canopy
1 Moorland Haunt
1 Seachrome Coast
1 Cavern of Souls
3 Flooded Strand
1 Windswept Heath
3 Misty Rainforest
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Knight of Autumn
2 Damping Sphere
1 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Stony Silence
1 Unified Will
2 Dromoka’s Command
3 Rest in Peace
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Third Place, Josh Buitenhuis – Grixis Control

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Thoughtseize
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Dreadbore
3 Kolaghan’s Command
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Supreme Will
4 Cryptic Command
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Search for Azcanta
3 Fatal push
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Thought Scour
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Polluted Delta
3 Bloodstained Mire
2 Watery Grave
2 Steam Vents
1 Blood Crypt
2 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Drowned Catacomb
1 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Field of Ruin
3 Island
1 Swamp
1 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Fulminator Mage
2 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Collective Brutality
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Negate
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Damnation
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Fourth Place, Wilson Douglas – U/W Control

[Deck]
[Creatures]
2 Vendilion Clique
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
4 Terminus
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Ancestral Vision
1 Oust
4 Path to Exile
4 Opt
2 Negate
1 Mana Leak
1 Spell Snare
3 Cryptic Command
1 Condemn
2 Hieroglyphic Illumination
3 Rest in Peace
1 Detention Sphere
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Field of Ruin
2 Hallowed Fountain
3 Celestial Colonnade
4 Flooded Strand
1 Prairie Stream
1 Glacial Fortress
3 Plains
6 Island
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Celestial Purge
2 Dispel
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Stony Silence
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Spell Queller
1 Lyra Dawnbringer
1 Baneslayer Angel
2 Timely Reinforcements
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]