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Smiles, good vibes, and plenty of Magic defined F2F Tour Thunder Bay this past weekend. From players battling in the Modern Super Qualifier to friends reconnecting at side events and the prize wall, the room was full of energy.
At the end of the event, Max Michieli claimed the Super Qualifier trophy with Black Tron and secured his seat at the next Regional Championship.
Black Tron – Max Michieli (1st)
Top 8 Decklists – F2F Tour Thunder Bay 2025
| Placing | Player | Archetype |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Max Michieli | Black Tron |
| 2nd | Hudson Morash | Jund |
| 3rd | Kodey Potter | Amulet Titan |
| 4th | Brandon Bain | Oculus |
| 5th | Mackenzie Milton | Ninja Bear Delver |
| 6th | Salvatore Molicola | Jund |
| 7th | Colin Jameus | Affinity |
| 8th | Hunter Mackenzie | Domain Zoo |
Interview with Champion Max Michieli
Congrats on your win, Max! Black Tron isn’t always the first deck people think of in Modern right now. What drew you to this build for Thunder Bay?
Max: “A few months back I won a local RCQ with mono green Tron, and the deck was amazing. I think Kozilek’s Command and Ugin, Eye of the Storms are some of the best cards in Modern. My only issue I had with the deck was that playing the 10 green spells in the deck was the challenging mana base. Two forests and mana rocks are not enough to consistently play those spells. So on the morning before the event, I was trying to come up with a way to have a better game against the Affinity decks, and realized that I’d been forgetting about Karn the Great Creator. So swapping green cards into Karn, Thought-Knot Seer, and moving sideboard cards Relic of Progenitus and Dismember into the main board clearly made for a much more consistent deck.”
So it sounds like you made this switch to Black Tron pretty much the morning of the event. How comfortable did you feel piloting the deck on short notice?
Max: “I’m a bit of an odd guy, and my biggest advantage I think I have is extreme confidence. I believed I was the favourite to win heading into the tournament, and through various bad matchups and complicated situations I managed to outmanoeuvre decks that should have beaten me. I’m very excited to be playing at the next level after taking a nearly 10 year hiatus from the game.”
You mentioned being able to outmaneuver bad matchups. Was there a particular match or moment in Thunder Bay where that confidence and decision-making really made the difference?
Max: “Oh absolutely. I think I had at least 4 bad matchups. First was my one loss to Broodscale Combo that felt absolutely unwinnable, and then faced the same guy in the first round of the top 8 and managed to learn enough from my loss to win when it mattered. The next was against Ruby Storm. Turns out if you mulligan to Chalice of the Void and put it on 2 there’s not much they can do to interact. And then the last one was against Amulet Titan in the top 4 matchup, and I managed to get the W through totally not being able to find a Torpor Orb for my wish board. That orb would have made it a whole lot better of a matchup. But regardless not ever scooping and making him have it and then being able to deal with his board got me there. I suppose that was more about him stumbling in the second and third games though. I absolutely shouldn’t have beaten Titan.”
You mentioned earlier that this is your first big run back after nearly a decade away. What’s it been like returning to competitive Magic after such a long break?
Max: “I’d say it’s a bit of a complex series of feelings. On one hand it’s super nice to be back playing the game that I love. But on the other hand the community isn’t at all what it once was. There’s only one store in town that hosts tournaments and it’s very far from my house out in the country, so a bit more logistically complicated. It’s also complicated in planning for the future being a business owner and newly married. My plan is to get the travelling tournaments in before I have a kid! Maybe I’ll make the Pro Tour! And as for the store. I might have to have a hand in making at least one more of those happen in our city. But we’ll see what the future holds!”
Congratulations again on both the win and your recent marriage, Max! Before we wrap up, is there anyone you’d like to give a shoutout to after this run in Thunder Bay?
Max: “Of course! First and foremost gotta give a shout out to my amazing friends the Wizards of EL, for keeping the discussion surrounding Magic going after all these years. Then I have to give a shoutout to our only Magic hosting store Carlito’s Gaming Cafe. And then to my buddies that have been keeping me not fully out of the loop with Magic and keeping the cube draft going on the occasional Saturday nights in the shop. Without all of these people, no way I’d be back in this spot.”
What’s Next
Congratulations again to Max on his win in Thunder Bay. If you want to follow in his footsteps and battle for your own Regional Championship invite, don’t miss your chance at F2F Tour Vancouver on October 4–5, 2025 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Kar Yung Tom (KYT) is the Digital Content Manager for Face to Face Games. He oversees the F2FTour.com and Magic F2F websites. He is also the lead host of the First Strike podcast.
