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 to see who could take home the top prize!

When you have a conversation about the Modern format since the release of Modern Horizons, you have to start with [Card]Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis[/Card]. But, there is a another force in the format. Rising in its own right and using [Card]Faithless Looting[/Card] to thwart the powerful graveyard strategy — and that is Izzet Phoenix.

The exact deck that Vincent Cuenca used to take down our Modern Showdown this past Sunday.

Of course Phoenix’s newest addition is no slouch in its own right. [Card]Aria of Flame[/Card] has provided the deck with a non-threat that dodges a lot of the graveyard hate that used to cause problems for [Card]Pyromancer Ascension[/Card]. This new powerhouse enchantment has allowed the deck a healthy dose of quick kills that can be hard to interact with. Cuenca made use of that added power on Sunday.

He triumphed over Nick Jagiello and his Jund deck in the finals.

Joining them in the Top 8 was Quinn Graham on Azorius Control, Jarad Holder playing a sweet Thopter Whir deck, Ryan Armstrong piloting the aforementioned Hogaak Bridgevine deck, Evangelos Tsiligiannis on Mono-Red Phoenix, Nicholas Flemming ruining manabases with Ponza and Adrien Levesque playing a unique take on Gifts Storm.

Now, there are certainly a lot of new toys from MH1 that have shaken up Modern’s various archetypes. But one thing remains constant — these [Card]Faithless Looting[/Card] decks are just a touch better than everything else you can do in the format.

Modern right now pic.twitter.com/vTzxEdCQga

— Matt Dilks (@MattDilks) July 2, 2019

With that said, there is a chance Wizards takes action toward Hogaak in the coming weeks and there’s still a chance the format can adjust. If you just look at our Top 8 here there are a ton of traditional archetypes that have been freshly super-charged by new cards like [Card]Wrenn and Six[/card] or [Card]Narset, Parter of Veils[/Card]. It’s nice to see such a diverse metagame, and I’m excited to see just how different Modern looks in the coming months.

With his win on Sunday, Richard cements his spot in the upcoming Ultimate Showdown, while the rest of our Top 8 have begun their march up the leader board to qualify. If you’re interested in your Ultimate Showdown point total, you can check it out here. If you’d like to inquire about your point total or report a discrepancy, please email Toronto@facetofacegames.com. This upcoming weekend at Face to Face Games Toronto we’ll be hosting pre-release Showdown to hype up the release of M20! Make sure to pre-register and we’ll see you there!

[Deck Title= First Place, Izzet Phoenix – Vincent Cuenca]
[Creatures]
4 Arclight Phoenix
4 Thing in the Ice
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Thought Scour
3 Aria of Flame
4 Faithless Looting
2 Finale of Promise
1 Lava Dart
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Magmatic Sinkhole
2 Opt
4 Serum Visions
2 Sleight of Hand
2 Surgical Extraction
4 Manamorphose
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Flooded Strand
3 Island
1 Mountain
4 Polluted Delta
4 Spirebluff Canal
3 Steam Vents
1 Fiery Islet
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Abrade
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Blood Moon
2 Force of Negation
2 Narset, Parter of Veils
2 Ravenous Trap
1 Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
1 Shatterstorm
2 Spell Pierce
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Second Place, Jund – Nick Jagiello]
[Creatures]
3 Dark Confidant
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Seasoned Pyromancer
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Wrenn and Six
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
2 Fatal Push
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Thoughtseize
3 Assassin’s Trophy
3 Nihil Spellbomb
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Blood Crypt
2 Bloodstained Mire
1 Snow-covered Forest
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Snow-covered Mountain
2 Overgrown Tomb
2 Raging Ravine
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Ancient Grudge
2 Collective Brutality
1 Collector Ouphe
1 Anger of the Gods
3 Fulminator Mage
4 Leyline of the Void
1 Throes of Chaos
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Genesis
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Third Place, Azorius Control – Quinn Graham]
[Creatures]
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Vendilion Clique
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Narset, Parter of Veils
2 Teferi, Time Raveler
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
4 Serum Visions
1 Oust
4 Path to Exile
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Spell Snare
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Mana Leak
1 Logic Knot
2 Force of Negation
3 Cryptic Command
1 Detention Sphere
1 Wrath of God
1 Supreme Verdict
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Celestial Colonnade
3 Field of Ruin
1 Ghost Quarter
4 Flooded Strand
2 Glacial Fortress
2 Hallowed Fountain
6 Island
2 Plains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Lyra Dawnbringer
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Monastery Mentor
1 Cataclysmic Gearhulk
1 Stony Silence
1 Damping Sphere
3 Rest in Peace
1 Dovin’s Veto
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Celestial Purge
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fourth Place, Thopter Whir – Jarad Holder]
[Spells]
1 Battle at the Bridge
3 Serum Visions
4 Thoughtseize
4 Whir of Invention
4 Mishra’s Bauble
4 Mox Opal
1 Welding Jar
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Pithing Needle
1 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Damping Sphere
4 Sword of the Meek
4 Thopter Foundry
1 Time Seive
2 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Ghirapur Aether Grid
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Academy Ruins
4 Darkslick Shores
1 Glimmervoid
1 Inventor’s Fair
3 Island
1 Swamp
4 Polluted Delta
3 Spire of Industry
1 Steam Vents
2 Watery Grave
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Collective Brutality
1 Echoing Truth
2 Liliana of the Veil
2 Unmoored Ego
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
1 Witchbane Orb
1 Herald of Anguish
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fifth Place, Hogaak Bridgevine – Ryan Armstrong]
[Creatures]
4 Carrion Feeder
4 Gravecrawler
4 Insolent Neonate
4 Stitcher’s Supplier
4 Bloodghast
4 Vengevine
4 Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Faithless Looting
4 Altar of Dementia
4 Bridge From Below
1 Lightning Axe
1 Darkblast
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Blackcleave Cliffs
3 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Marsh Flats
1 Swamp
1 Gemstone Mine
2 Overgrown Tomb
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 Leyline of the Void
4 Nature’s Claim
3 Duress
2 Silent Gravestone
2 Assassin’s Trophy
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Sixth Place, Mono-Red Phoenix – Evangelos Tsiligiannis]
[Creatures]
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Soul-Scar Mage
4 Arclight Phoenix
2 Bedlam Reveler
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Manamorphose
4 Light up the Stage
4 Faithless Looting
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Gut Shot
3 Lava Dart
2 Finale of Promise
[/Spells]
[Lands]
15 Mountain
2 Sunbaked Canyon
1 Fiery Islet
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Shatterstorm
2 Abrade
2 Blood Moon
2 Dragon’s Claw
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
2 Ravenous Trap
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Leyline of the Void
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Seventh Place, Ponza – Nicholas Flemming]
[Creatures]
4 Arbor Elf
4 Tireless Tracker
2 Birds of Paradise
1 Courser of Kruphix
3 Glorybringer
2 Inferno Titan
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
4 Karn, The Great Creator
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Blood Moon
4 Stone Rain
4 Pillage
[/Spells]
[Lands]
9 Forest
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Stomping Ground
1 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Anger of the Gods
3 Thragtusk
3 Relic of Progenitus
1 Liquimetal Coating
1 Pithing Needle
1 Trinisphere
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Mycosynth Lattice
1 Ensnaring Bridge
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Eighth Place, Gifts Storm – Adrien Levesque]
[Creatures]
4 Baral, Chief of Compliance
4 Goblin Electromancer
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Noxious Revival
3 Opt
3 Quicken
3 Serum Visions
3 Sleight of Hand
4 Desperate Ritual
2 Grapeshot
4 Manamorphose
4 Pyretic Ritual
1 Rebuild
1 Empty the Warrens
4 Gifts Ungiven
2 Past in Flames
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Fiery Islet
2 Island
1 Mountain
3 Shivan Reef
2 Snow-covered Island
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Steam Vents
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Flusterstorm
3 Lightning Bolt
1 Abrade
1 Shenanigans
2 Aria of Flame
1 Dismember
2 Empty the Warrens
2 Fact or Fiction
1 Magmatic Sinkhole
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]