On Saturday, June 6, the F2F Tour Stop rolled into the Hamilton Convention Centre by Carmen’s, and 100 players turned out for the Modern Regional Championship Qualifier. When the Swiss and Top Cut were done, it was Ben Langlotz holding the trophy and a 2026-27 Round 1 Regional Championship invite, piloting a UW Control deck that wins by locking opponents out of the game with the classic Scepter Chant combo.
If the name sounds familiar, it should. Langlotz has a habit of turning up to F2F events with something different every time. He took down a Legacy Showdown a while back on Oops All Spells, won the Toronto Saturday Modern Super Qualifier last November on Storm, and this time settled on a UW control shell that wins by shutting the opponent out of the game entirely. Off the table, he is also a co-founder of Fafnir’s Hoard, the Bolton, Ontario game store he opened this year to give local players a place to gather and play.
The deck’s engine is one of the oldest tricks in the game. Isochron Scepter imprinting Orim’s Chant lets you copy the Chant on your opponent’s upkeep every turn, keeping them from casting spells or attacking. The combo dates back to early-2000s Legacy “Scepter Chant” decks, and it only became a Modern option when Orim’s Chant was reprinted in Modern Horizons 3. Add Teferi, Time Raveler, who stops the opponent from casting at instant speed, and the soft lock tightens into a near-hard one.
We caught up with Ben after the event to talk format reads, the lock, and building a community space in Bolton.
The Interview
Modern is a wide-open format right now. What drew you to this UW Control build, and how would you describe what it’s trying to do?
Modern is really diverse but the top of the meta is really centralized in weaknesses. Affinity and Boros are both weak to wraths, and with the recent Violent Outburst unban I was expecting a lot of cascade decks which, along with Storm, get shut down by Orim’s Chant. This build of control was interesting to play because it’s so different from the control decks I’ve played in formats like Standard or Pioneer which just try to one-for-one and slowly pull ahead with card advantage. This build instead is just trying to survive until you can hardlock the opponent with Scepter Chant or Narset, you’re perfectly happy to 2-for-1 yourself with Solitude or take 1-for-1s with wraths just to make it closer to your locks.
The Scepter Chant combo goes back to early-2000s Legacy and only returned to Modern when Orim’s Chant was reprinted in Modern Horizons 3. How did the Scepter and Chant plan hold up over the weekend?
Despite the long history of the combo, this was actually my first time playing Scepter Chant in person. I watch a lot of Legacy content so I’ve seen the deck be piloted, I played against it a few times too as one of my friends was playing the deck in the past with Silence before Orim’s Chant was reprinted. This is certainly the best form of the combo, it is probably past its time in current-day Legacy and Orim’s Chant is obviously a massive upgrade over Silence. Scepter Chant was vital in many games, there wasn’t any one specific matchup where it came up because it shuts everyone down equally. Though it is notably weaker against certain decks like Living End that play both Otawara and Boseiju since those are the only way out from the lock.
Your list runs Narset alongside both Teferis. Which of them made the biggest impact over the weekend?
It’s hard to tell which makes the biggest impact as much of small Teferi’s and Narset’s impact is hidden because they’re locking out the opponent’s options. Big Teferi was good in a few spots but is really a flex slot. I just really like that card. Narset was probably the best because of its ability to dig deep to find interaction when behind, or the lock when needed. Its interaction with Day’s Undoing also won me quite a few games.
Outside of competing, you co-founded Fafnir’s Hoard in Bolton this year. How does being a store owner shape the way you approach an event like this, and how did you prepare for this one?
Opening Fafnir’s Hoard was a revelation, I thought I knew all the Magic players in Bolton and I was shown how wrong I was. I’ve met so many new people and the local community has been extremely supportive. Bolton has been lacking a card store since I started playing Magic, there’s a store 45 minutes in every direction but they all form a sort of circle around Bolton. So I’m glad we can provide a place for organized play where one was sorely lacking. Being an owner means I don’t have nearly as much time to prepare and travel for events as I did before. All my prep for this event was theorizing about the format. I was going to play Storm, because that’s the deck I’ve played the most since MH3’s release and I also had all the cards already, until I heard some insane stats about UW control, and I really wanted to put Wrath of the Skies in my deck, which made me settle on UW.
Before we wrap, any shout-outs to the people who helped you along the way?
First shout-out has to go to January for lending me the 10 or so cards I was missing from the deck (including the 2nd Isochron Scepter, bonus points for being the white border one, I normally hate white border cards but in this case I think it’s really funny) so big thanks for that. Also April Farren and Derek Berry for helping me a lot in terms of travel, testing, and finding cards, both now and in the past, as well as being cool people to hang out with. Finally the rest of the guys at Fafnir’s Hoard for minding the shop so I could spend a day off playing Magic, as well as Fantasy Forged in Orangeville for all the help they gave me in the past, I could not have gotten to where I am now without their incredible support.
The Decklist
Creatures (4)
Artifacts (1)
Modern RCQ Top 8
More From Tour Stop Hamilton
The Modern RCQ shared the floor with a full Saturday slate, and it wasn’t the only path to a Regional Championship invite. The Secrets of Strixhaven Sealed Regional Championship Qualifier ran six rounds of double elimination, sending its top finishers home with RC invites of their own.
The Standard Regional Championship Qualifier rounded out the RCQ lineup, alongside a CEDH Double Up and an afternoon Chaos Sealed, giving everyone from grinders to Commander players a reason to be in the room.
What’s Next
The Tour heads west to Langley, BC for a one-day stop on Saturday, June 13 at the Coast Langley City Hotel & Convention Centre. Regional Championship Qualifiers in Standard, Modern, and Secrets of Strixhaven Sealed headline the day, with CEDH, Chaos Sealed, and on-demand events alongside.
Whether you’re chasing an RC invite or just dropping in for a day of Magic, we’ll see you in Langley.
Kar Yung Tom (KYT) is the Digital Content Manager for Face to Face Games. He oversees the F2FTour.com and Magic F2F websites.