Keith Capstick

WPNQ Prelim Recap: Cat/Oven claims another Standard event

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The [Card]Cauldron’s Familar[/Card] and [Card]Witch’s Oven[/Card] combo has claimed yet another Standard tournament. Predram Moazen-Sayad took down our Standard WPNQ Prelim Showdown this past Sunday with his Rakdos Sacrifice deck.

Your Showdown champ!

Pedram was able to take down the seemingly-unbeatable Brian Ching and his Bant Midrange deck in the finals.

In many ways our Top 8 on Sunday was the tale of Standard right now. We multiple Rakdos decks built around a sacrifice theme, some Jeskai Fires decks and of course the Temur Clover deck that has become wildly popular lately. There really is a healthy cat and mouse game going on in Standard right now where any of five to seven different decks can be the right call for a weekend.

On Sunday, it seems like both this Rakdos deck and Jeskai Fires were awesome choices for the metagame.

Your Standard Top 8.

After the results of the World Championship Standard has shifted a lot. Azorius Control is significantly less popular now that Temur Clover and these Food decks are running rampant. That said, Fires has obviously maintained.

I’m interested to see if Temur Reclamation will make a comeback to prey on some of these Cat/Oven decks.

Congratulations to Predram Moazen-Sayad on his finish this weekend that qualifies him for our upcoming Ultimate Showdown! He and the rest of our Top 8 qualified for our upcoming 32-person WPN  even that will have a Players Tour qualification on the line and also picked up some valuable points towards their qualification. Notably, Omar Beldon Top 8’d yet another Showdown on Sunday to open up his points lead over the competition even further. Brian Ching also put up another stellar performance to become the third player to reach the 200 point mark this season.

Now, this is the part of the article where I’d normally update you about the events we’ll be hosting this coming weekend. But in an effort to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Face to Face Games has decided to cancel a number of events in accordance with the recommendations made by Health Canada. This includes both of our upcoming WPN Prelim events this coming Sunday and the following one. If you’d like further information on how Face to Face Games events are being impacted across the country, please see our article on the subject here.

In the coming weeks we’ll be closely monitoring the situation and if anything changes, you’ll be the first to know. We hope to see you at the shop soon!

[Deck Title= First Place, Rakdos Sacrifice – Predram Moazen-Sayad]
[Creatures]
4 Cauldron Familiar
4 Dreadhorde Butcher
4 Mayhem Devil
4 Midnight Reaper
4 Priest of Forgotten Gods
1 Rankle, Master of Pranks
4 Stormfist Crusader
4 Woe Strider
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Claim the Firstborn
4 Witch’s Oven
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Blood Crypt
2 Castle Locthwain
4 Fabled Passage
6 Mountain
5 Swamp
2 Temple of Malice
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Act of Treason
4 Embereth Shieldbreaker
2 Epic Downfall
2 Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger
1 Noxious Grasp
4 Redcap Melee
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Second Place, Uro Bant – Brian Ching]
[Creatures]
1 Dream Trawler
2 Hydroid Krasis
3 Knight of Autumn
3 Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Shatter the Sky
2 Tamiyo, Collector of Tales
4 Teferi, Time Ravaler
2 Mystical Dispute
2 Narset, Parter of Veils
4 Nissa, Who Shakes the World
3 Elspeth Conquers Death
4 Growth Spiral
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Breeding Pool
1 Castle Vantress
4 Temple Garden
2 Temple of Enlightenment
4 Temple of Mystery
2 Temple of Plenty
1 Plains
1 Island
2 Fabled Passage
3 Forest
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 Aether Gust
4 Devout Decree
3 Dovin’s Veto
1 Heliod’s Intervention
2 Mystical Dispute
1 Agent of Treachery
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Third Place, Jeskai Fires – Randall Barber]
[Creatures]
2 Tithe Taker
4 Bonecrusher Giant
4 Sphinx of Foresight
4 Cavalier of Flames
1 Cavalier of Gales
3 Kenrith, the Returned King
1 Dream Trawler
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Teferi, Time Ravaler
3 Deafening Clarion
4 Fires of Invention
1 Disenchant
2 Elspeth Conquers Death
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Temple of Epiphany
3 Temple of Triumph
4 Steam Vents
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Hallowed Fountain
2 Fabled Passage
2 Castle Vantress
2 Island
2 Mountain
1 Plains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Devout Decree
1 Disenchant
1 Deafening Clarion
3 Robber of the Rich
2 Legion Warboss
2 Aether Gust
4 Mystical Dispute
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fourth Place, Temur Clover – Daniel Goetschel]
[Creatures]
4 Bonecrusher Giant
4 Lovestruck Beast
4 Fae of Wishes
4 Brazzen Borrower
4 Beanstalk Giant
4 Edgewall Innkeeper
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Lucky Clover
4 Escape to the Wilds
1 The Great Henge
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Breeding Pool
4 Stomping Ground
3 Steam Vents
3 Temple of Mystery
1 Temple of Abandon
6 Forest
4 Island
2 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Shadowspear
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Mystic Repeal
1 Redcap Melee
1 Return to Nature
1 Storm’s Wrath
1 Expansion // Explosion
1 Fling
1 Fabled Passage
1 Mass Manipulation
1 Once and Future
1 Negate
3 Aether Gust
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fifth Place, Temur Clover – Shawn Dhaliwal]
[Creatures]
4 Edgewall Innkeeper
4 Fae of Wishes
4 Brazen Borrower
4 Bonecrusher Giant
4 Lovestruck Beast
4 Beanstalk Giant
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Aether Gust
4 Lucky Clover
4 Escape to the Wilds
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Island
2 Mountain
6 Forest
3 Steam Vents
1 Temple of Epiphany
4 Stomping Ground
4 Breeding Pool
1 Temple of Abandon
2 Temple of Mystery
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Return to Nature
1 Domri’s Ambush
1 Storm’s Wrath
1 once and Future
1 Expansion // Explosion
1 Mass Manipulation
1 Fabled Passage
1 Redcap Melee
1 Mystic Repeal
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Shadowspear
2 Aether Gust
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Fling
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Sixth Place, Jeskai Fires – Richard Hawron]
[Creatures]
4 Cavalier of Flames
2 Cavalier of Gales
4 Sphinx of Foresight
3 Kenrith, the Returned King
4 Brazen Borrower
4 Bonecrusher Giant
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Teferi, Time Ravaler
4 Fires of Invention
4 Deafening Clarion
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Plains
3 Temple of Triumph
2 Castle Vantress
2 Island
4 Steam Vents
2 Mountain
3 Sacred Foundry
4 Hallowed Fountain
3 Temple of Epiphany
3 Fabled Passage
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Aether Gust
1 Dovin’s Veto
4 Robber of the Rich
1 Heliod’s Intervention
2 Devout Decree
3 Mystical Dispute
2 Elspeth Conquers Death
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Seventh Place, Jeskai Fires – Evan Keen]
[Creatures]
4 Bonecrusher Giant
4 Sphinx of Foresight
2 Cavalier of Gales
4 Cavalier of Flames
3 Kenrith, the Returned King
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Aether Gust
1 Omen of the Sea
3 Deafening Clarion
4 Teferi, Time Ravaler
4 Fires of Invention
2 Elspeth Conquers Death
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Castle Vantress
3 Fabled Passage
4 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
2 Mountain
1 Plains
3 Sacred Foundry
4 Steam Vents
3 Temple of Epiphany
3 Temple of Triumph
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Devout Decree
2 Disenchant
2 Tithe Taker
1 Aether Gust
2 Robber of the Rich
2 Mystical Dispute
3 Legion Warboss
1 Deafening Clarion
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Eighth Place, Rakdos Sacrifice – Omar Beldon]
[Creatures]
4 Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger
4 Gutterbones
3 Cauldron Familiar
4 Woe Strider
4 Mayhem Devil
4 Priest of Forgotten Gods
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Claim the Firstborn
4 Witch’s Oven
4 Tymaret Calls the Dead
2 Angrath’s Rampage
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Fabled Passage
4 Blood Crypt
3 Castle Locthwain
7 Swamp
5 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Murderous Rider
2 Pharika’s Libation
2 Embereth Shieldbreaker
1 The Akroan War
1 Duress
2 Rankle, Master of Pranks
2 Noxious Grasp
4 Redcap Melee
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Devoted Druid shines in Charlottetown

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Even in a format with turn-two [Card]Primeval Titan[/Card]s, lightning fast [Card]Ad Nauseum[/Card] kills and powerful finishers like [Card]Jace, the Mind Sculptor[/Card], every now and then the little green creatures get the job done.

And that’s what happened this past weekend when the F2F Tour stopped in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for a Modern event. Sebastian Steffe and his [Card]Devoted Druid[/Card] combo deck conquered the entire event.

Your F2F Tour Charlottetown champ, Sebastian Steffe.

Steffe was able to take down Adam Joyce and his Ponza deck in the finals.

Druid is in an interesting spot in Modern these days. It feels like each and every set provides new toys to battle with and Theros Beyond Death was no exception. The addition of [Card]Heliod, Sun-Crowned[/Card] gave the deck even more explosive combo potential with [Card]Walking Ballista[/Card] and [Card]Spike Feeder[/Card] offering you infinite damage and infinite life as early as turn three. It’s as easy as casting one [Card]Collected Company[/Card] finding a Heliod and a Feeder and boom, infinite life. 

And this strange collection of combo enablers and value engines was everything Steffe needed to come out on top last weekend.

Your Charlottetown Top 8.

Joining them in the Top 8 was Chris Brennan playing the Snowblade deck that’s been picking up in popularity lately after the printing of [Card]Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath[/Card], Jean-Francois Lamothe playing an old classic in Skred Red, Greg Mahen  and Cole Clarke on Jund, Gavin Grant on Mono-Green Tron and Matthew McGee-Herritt combo-killing with [Card]Ad Nauseum[/Card].

Now, with the banning of [Card]Once Upon a Time[/Card] on Monday, Steffe’s deck certainly took a big hit right after he brought home the trophy. Granted, Heliod Company remains an extremely explosive deck that can really exploit a metagame that isn’t filled with [Card]Lightning Bolt[/Card]s and [Card]Fatal Push[/Card]s. It’s not like this banning is going to completely remove the big mana decks that are making it hard to play spot-removal, so Druid might be here to stay at the top of the metagame. 

With that said, the clear next step to me is the exploration of these Uro midrange decks like the one that Chris Brennan piloted all the way to the Top 4 on Saturday. These Stoneforge decks, the [Card]Urza, Lord High Artificer[/Card] versions and the [Card]Cryptic Command[/Card] control decks all featuring the three mana titan as their finisher are all primed to blow up in Modern from where I’m sitting. So, if you’ve got a Modern event coming up I’d give Brennan’s deck a shot.

Congratulations to Sebastian Steffe and to the rest of the Top 8 on their outstanding performances this past weekend. Before I leave you for the week, I’d like to also extend a special thank you to both our judge staff and our sponsor Ultimate Guard for helping us put on a great event.

Now, normally before I give you the decklists you came here for, I’d let you know what’s next on the docket for the F2F Tour in the coming weeks. But in an effort to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Face to Face Games has decided to cancel a number of events in accordance with the recommendations made by Health Canada. If you’d like further information on how the Tour has been impacted, please see our article on the subject here.

In the coming weeks we’ll be closely monitoring the situation and if anything changes, you’ll be the first to know. We hope to see you on the F2F Tour soon!

[Deck Title= First Place, Devoted Druid Combo – Sebastian Steffe]
[Creatures]
4 Noble Hierarch
2 Birds of Paradise
1 Viscera Seer
1 Walking Ballista
4 Devoted Druid
2 Vizier of Remedies
3 Kitchen Finks
4 Spike Feeder
4 Heliod, Sun-Crowned
4 Ranger-Captain of Eos
1 Eternal Witness
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Collected Company
2 Finale of Devastation
4 Once Upon a Time
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Windswept Heath
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Forest
1 Plains
3 Horizon Canopy
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Godless Shrine
2 Temple Garden
2 Razorverge Thicket
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Thoughtseize
3 Veil of Summer
3 Path to Exile
1 Knight of Autumn
1 Caustic Caterpillar
1 Hexdrinker
1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
1 Collector Ouphe
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Second Place, Ponza – Adam Joyce]
[Creatures]
4 Arbor Elf
3 Klothys, God of Destiny
4 Magus of the Moon
4 Seasoned Pyromancer
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Glorybringer
2 Inferno Titan
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Once Upon a Time
4 Utopia Sprawl
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Chandra, Awakened Inferno
[/Spells]
[Lands]
7 Forest
1 Mountain
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Windswept Heath
4 Stomping Ground
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Boil
1 Weather the Storm
2 Abrade
3 Pillage
2 Obstinate Baloth
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Cindervines
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Third Place, Snowblade – Chris Brennan]
[Creatures]
3 Ice-Fang Coatl
1 Snapcaster Mage
3 Spell Queller
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Arcum’s Astrolabe
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
3 Force of Negation
2 Cryptic Command
2 Mana Leak
4 Path to Exile
1 Shadow of Doubt
1 Spell Snare
3 Teferi, Time Raveler
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Steam Vents
1 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Temple Garden
4 Flooded Strand
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Scalding Tarn
2 Field of Ruin
2 Mystic Sanctuary
1 Snow-Covered Forest
5 Snow-Covered Island
1 Snow-Covered Plains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Blood Moon
2 Veil of Summer
2 Rest in Peace
2 On Thin Ice
1 Mystical Dispute
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Aether Gust
1 Celestial Purge
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Ashiok, Dream Render
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fourth Place, Skred Red – Jean-Francois Lamothe]
[Creatures]
3 Seasoned Pyromancer
2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
1 Glorybringer
2 Stormbreath Dragon
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Chandra Torch of Defiance
1 Karn, Scion of Urza
1 Karn, the Great Creator
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Relic of Progenitus
4 Skred
4 Arcum’s Astrolabe
4 Mind Stone
2 Anger of the Gods
3 Blood Moon
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Frostwalk Bastion
2 Scrying Sheets
17 Snow-Covered Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Pithing Needle
2 Damping Sphere
3 Dragon’s Claw
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
2 Wear // Tear
1 Dead of Winter
2 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Chandra, Awakened inferno
1 Wurmcoil Engine
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fifth Place, Jund – Greg Mahen]
[Creatures]
4 Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Seasoned Pyromancer
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Wrenn and Six
4 Liliana of the Veil
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Raven’s Crime
1 Life from the Loam
2 Fatal Push
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Assassin’s Trophy
1 Kolaghan’s Command
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Forest
1 Mountain
2 Swamp
2 Blood Crypt
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Stomping Ground
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Nurturing Peatlands
1 Barren Moor
1 Forgotten Cave
1 Raging Ravine
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Ghost Quarter
3 Ashiok, Dream Render
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Assassin’s Trophy
1 Kolaghan’s Command
2 Collective Brutality
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Plague Engineer
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Sixth Place, Jund – Cole Clarke]
[Creatures]
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Bloodbraid Elf
2 Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger
2 Scavenging Ooze
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Fatal Push
3 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Lightning Bolt
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Kolaghan’s Command
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Assassin’s Trophy
3 Wrenn and Six
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Wooded Foothills
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Stomping Ground
1 Blood Crypt
1 Forest
2 Swamp
1 Mountain
1 Nurturing Peatland
2 Raging Ravine
1 Barren Moor
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Plague Engineer
2 Collective Brutality
2 Fulminator Mage
2 Stone Rain
2 Ashiok, Dream Render
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Collector Ouphe
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Damping Sphere
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Seventh Place, Ad Nauseam – Matthew McGee-Herritt]
[Creatures]
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Thassa’s Oracle
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Lightning Storm
4 Ad Nauseam
4 Pentad Prism
4 Angel’s Grace
3 Spoils of the Vault
3 Phyrexian Unlife
3 Pact of Negation
4 Lotus Bloom
2 Sleight of Hand
4 Serum Visions
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Mana Confluence
3 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Watery Grave
2 Flooded Strand
3 Temple of Deceit
1 Snow-Covered Island
1 Snow-Covered Plains
2 Darkslick Shores
3 Gemstone Mine
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Solemnity
1 Rest in Peace
1 Pact of Negation
3 Veil of Summer
3 Path to Exile
3 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Thoughtseize
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Eighth Place, Mono-Green Tron – Gavin Grant]
[Creatures]
3 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
2 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
1 Walking Ballista
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Chromatic Sphere
2 Once Upon a Time
1 All is Dust
4 Sylvan Scrying
2 Oblivion Stone
4 Chromatic Star
4 Ancient Stirrings
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
1 Warping Wail
4 Karn Liberated
4 Karn, the Great Creator
4 Expedition Map
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Blast Zone
1 Sanctum of Ugin
3 Forest
4 Urza’s Power Plant
4 Urza’s Mine
4 Urza’s Tower
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Liquimetal Coating
1 Trinisphere
1 Witchbane Orb
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Sundering Titan
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Walking Ballista
1 Oblivion Stone
3 Thragtusk
2 Nature’s Claim
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]\

Magic Super Saturday in Toronto & Quebec City

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90 teams, almost 300 players and even more battling in side events descended on the Montecassino Hotel in Toronto this past weekend. The biggest event in the history of the F2F Tour!

And lucky for me, my team and I got to take down the whole thing.

Your F2F Tour Toronto champs, Capstick, Fournier and Tzaneteas.

This was the first Team Trios stop on the F2F Tour in 2020 and we heard Toronto loud and clear — y’all really like playing some team Magic.

Fournier, Elliot and I were able to take down the event with the lineup of Dimir Inverter in Pioneer, Amulet Titan in Modern and Golgari Depths in Legacy. A week prior to the event, Fournier and I didn’t even have a third and got extremely lucky to tag Elliot in. He’s kind of a silent master in the Toronto area and plays linear decks like Burn in Modern and Depths in Legacy extremely well.

In the finals we triumphed over the team of Brian Ching, Zach Ryl and Geng Yu Xu. These three have been battling together for a while now on the Face to Face Games Toronto Showdown series and Ching in particular has been on quite the heater with his [Card]Stoneforge Mystic[/Card] decks in Modern as of late.

Your F2F Tour Toronto Top 4.

Joining us in the Top 4 were the teams of Dhaliwal – Harvey – Van Vaals as well as Duong – Luciow – Ablack. The former were another team of Toronto ringers who have been putting up big results over the past year and the ladder were a combination of St.Catharines and Toronto players.

As for the metagame in the room, it can sometimes be hard to pin down what is most successful in these big team events. With that said, both Amulet Titan in Modern and Dimir Inverter were clearly the two front-runners in their respective formats. In my — admittedly biased — experience Amulet was incredible on Saturday and was able to simply run over all of the [Card]Blood Moon[/Card]s and [Card]Ashiok, Dream Render[/Card]s people had ready for me.

That said, I was specifically impressed with Ching’s deck from the Top 4 and would be interested in exploring various [Card]Stoneforge Mystic[/Card] decks in Modern. The combination of [Card]Sword of Feast and Famine[/Card] to induce fear in Amulet players and [Card]Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath[/Card] for fair mirrors is an extremely powerful one-two-punch.

The biggest event in F2F wasn’t the only event we hosted this past weekend. The Tour also stopped in Quebec City on the very same day. With that said, we’re still preparing the lists from Quebec City, so stop back later this weekend and check out all the details from that event.

Now, without further ado, here are the Top 4 lists from Toronto:

F2F Tour Toronto Top 4 Trios Decklists

First Place: Fournier, Capstick and Elliot

Pioneer

[Deck Title= Dimir Inverter – Daniel Fournier]
[Creatures]
4 Inverter of Truth
3 Thassa’s Oracle
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Censor
4 Dig Through Time
4 Fatal Push
2 Hero’s Downfall
4 Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
1 Narset, Parter of Veils
4 Opt
3 Thought Erasure
4 Thoughtseize
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Choked Estuary
4 Drowned Catacomb
3 Fabled Passage
3 Fetid Pools
6 Island
3 Swamp
4 Watery Grave
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Cry of the Carnarium
2 Legion’s End
4 Mystical Dispute
2 Narset, Parter of Veils
4 Pack Rat
1 The Scarab God
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Modern

[Deck Title= Amulet Titan – Keith Capstick]
[Creatures]
4 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
4 Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
4 Primeval Titan
4 Sakura-Tribe Scout
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Amulet of Vigor
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Once Upon a Time
1 Pact of Negation
4 Summoner’s Pact
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Breeding Pool
4 Castle Garenbrig
2 Cavern of Souls
1 Field of the Dead
2 Forest
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Golgari Rot Farm
2 Gruul Turf
1 Hanweir Battlements
1 Radiant Fountain
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
4 Simic Growth Chamber
2 Snow-Covered Forest
2 Tolaria West
2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
1 Vesuva
1 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Aether Gust
3 Beast Within
3 Dismember
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Field of the Dead
3 Mystical Dispute
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Tireless Tracker
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Legacy

[Deck Title= Golgari Depths – Elliot Tzaneteas]
[Creatures]
4 Dark Confidant
4 Elvish Reclaimer
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
4 Vampire Hexmage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Abrupt Decay
1 Assassin’s Trophy
4 Crop Rotation
3 Duress
4 Mox Diamond
1 Sylvan Scrying
4 Thoughtseize
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Bayou
1 Bojuka Bog
4 Dark Depths
1 Forest
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Nurturing Peatland
1 Sejiri Steppe
1 Swamp
4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Wasteland
4 Thespian’s Stage
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Assassin’s Trophy
1 Force of Vigor
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Karakas
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
2 Pithing Needle
2 Plague Engineer
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Sylvan Safekeeper
2 Veil of Summer
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Second Place: Ryl, Ching and Xu

Pioneer

[Deck Title= Mono-Green Devotion – Zach Ryl]
[Creatures]
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Jadelight Ranger
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Voracious Hydra
2 Voyaging Satyr
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Karn, the Great Creator
4 Nissa, Who Shakes the World
4 Vivien, Arkbow Ranger
4 Wolfwillow Haven
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Castle Garenbrig
16 Forest
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Damping Sphere
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
1 God-Pharaoh’s Statue
1 Nylea’s Disciple
1 Pithing Needle
1 Questing Beast
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Shadowspear
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
1 The Great Henge
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
1 Verdurous Gearhulk
1 Walking Ballista
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Modern

[Deck Title= Bant Snowblade – Brian Ching]
[Creatures]
4 Ice-Fang Coatl
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Arcum’s Astrolabe
1 Batterskull
2 Cryptic Command
3 Force of Negation
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Mana Leak
4 Path to Exile
1 Spell Snare
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
3 Teferi, Time Raveler
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Breeding Pool
3 Field of Ruin
4 Flooded Strand
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Mystic Sanctuary
1 Snow-Covered Forest
6 Snow-Covered Island
2 Snow-Covered Plains
1 Temple Garden
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Aether Gust
2 Ashiok, Dream Render
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Mystical Dispute
1 Return to Nature
2 Timely Reinforcements
3 Veil of Summer
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Legacy

[Deck Title= Temur Painter – Geng Yu Xu]
[Creatures]
4 Emry, Lurker of the Loch
4 Goblin Engineer
3 Goblin Welder
4 Painter’s Servant
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Arcum’s Astrolabe
1 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Grindstone
1 Lion’s Eye Diamond
3 Lotus Petal
1 Mishra’s Bauble
3 Mox Opal
3 Oko, Thief of Crowns
3 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Soul-Guide Lantern
2 Veil of Summer
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Ancient Tomb
1 Great Furnace
2 Misty Rainforest
3 Scalding Tarn
1 Snow-Covered Forest
1 Snow-Covered Island
2 Snow-Covered Mountain
1 Taiga
1 Tropical Island
1 Volcanic Island
2 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Echoing Truth
2 Karn, Scion of Urza
3 Lightning Bolt
1 Pithing Needle
2 Return to Nature
1 Sai, Master Thopterist
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Trinisphere
1 Veil of Summer
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Third Place: Dhaliwal, Harvey and Van Vaals

Pioneer

[Deck Title= Dimir Inverter – Shawn Dhaliwal]
[Creatures]
4 Inverter of Truth
3 Thassa’s Oracle
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Dig Through Time
4 Fatal Push
1 Hero’s Downfall
4 Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
2 Mystical Dispute
2 Narset, Parter of Veils
4 Opt
3 Thought Erasure
4 Thoughtseize
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Choked Estuary
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Fabled Passage
1 Fetid Pools
6 Island
3 Swamp
4 Watery Grave
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Cast Down
2 Damping Sphere
1 Doom Blade
2 Hero’s Downfall
3 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Legion’s End
1 Mystical Dispute
1 Narset, Parter of Veils
1 Thassa’s Oracle
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Modern

[Deck Title= Amulet Titan – Dominic Harvey]
[Creatures]
3 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
4 Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
4 Primeval Titan
4 Sakura-Tribe Scout
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Amulet of Vigor
1 Ancient Stirrings
4 Once Upon a Time
1 Pact of Negation
1 Primal Command
4 Summoner’s Pact
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Breeding Pool
4 Castle Garenbrig
2 Cavern of Souls
1 Field of the Dead
2 Forest
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Golgari Rot Farm
2 Gruul Turf
1 Hanweir Battlements
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Radiant Fountain
4 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Snow-Covered Forest
2 Tolaria West
2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Vesuva
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Aether Gust
2 Beast Within
1 Bojuka Bog
3 Dismember
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Flashfreeze
1 Force of Vigor
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Mystical Dispute
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Legacy

[Deck Title= Sultai Zenith – Michael Van Vaals]
[Creatures]
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Dryad Militant
2 Gilded Goose
4 Ice-Fang Coatl
3 Leovold, Emissary of Trest
2 Noble Hierarch
1 Plague Engineer
1 Questing Beast
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Arcum’s Astrolabe
4 Brainstorm
1 Force of Negation
4 Force of Will
4 Green Sun’s Zenith
3 Oko, Thief of Crowns
1 Sylvan Library
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Bayou
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Karakas
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Polluted Delta
3 Snow-Covered Forest
2 Snow-Covered Island
1 Snow-Covered Swamp
1 Tropical Island
1 Underground Sea
3 Verdant Catacombs
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Carpet of Flowers
1 Collector Ouphe
1 Fatal Push
4 Leyline of the Void
1 Mindbreak Trap
2 Nissa, Vital Force
1 Pithing Needle
2 Plague Engineer
1 Veil of Summer
1 Vendilion Clique
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Fourth Place: Duong, Luciow and Ablack

Pioneer

[Deck Title= Sram Auras – Dap Duong]
[Creatures]
4 Alseid of Life’s Bounty
3 Aphemia, the Cacophony
2 Dryad Militant
4 Hateful Eidolon
4 Sram, Senior Edificer
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 All That Glitters
4 Cartouche of Solidarity
4 Ethereal Armor
3 Gryff’s Boon
4 Karametra’s Blessing
4 Sentinel’s Eyes
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Godless Shrine
1 Mana Confluence
6 Plains
1 Swamp
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Apostle of Purifying Light
2 Damping Sphere
2 Dead Weight
1 Deafening Silence
2 Gideon of the Trials
2 Hushbringer
2 Tomik, Distinguished Advokist
1 Trial of Ambition
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Modern

[Deck Title= Burn – Andrew Luciow]
[Creatures]
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Goblin Guide
4 Monastery Swiftspear
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Boros Charm
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
4 Rift Bolt
4 Searing Blaze
4 Skewer the Critics
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Bloodstained Mire
3 Inspiring Vantage
5 Mountain
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Sunbaked Canyon
4 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Deflecting Palm
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Path to Exile
2 Rest in Peace
3 Skullcrack
3 Smash to Smithereens
1 Wear // Tear
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Legacy

[Deck Title= Eldrazi Stompy – Muk Ablack]
[Creatures]
4 Eldrazi Mimic
3 Elvish Spirit Guide
3 Endbringer
4 Endless One
4 Matter Reshaper
1 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Reality Smasher
4 Thought-Knot Seer
2 Walking Ballista
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Once Upon a Time
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Ancient Tomb
1 Blast Zone
4 Cavern of Souls
2 City of Traitors
4 Eldrazi Temple
3 Eye of Ugin
1 Forest
1 Karakas
3 Wasteland
1 Wastes
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 All Is Dust
1 Karakas
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Sorcerous Spyglass
3 Thorn of Amethyst
2 Warping Wail
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Congratulations once again to Daniel Fournier, Elliot Tzaneteas and I guess myself from everyone at Face to Face Games on their outstanding performances this past weekend! Before I leave you for the week, I’d like to also extend a special thank you to both our judge staff and our sponsor Ultimate Guard for helping us put on a great event.

The next stop on the F2F Tour is coming up this Saturday, March 7 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island where we’ll be hosting Modern! Make sure to pre-register and we’ll see you on the battlefield!

WPNQ Prelim Recap: Sultai dominated in Pioneer

by

It took us a few events, but I think we’ve found the grindy midrange deck Toronto players love to play in Pioneer. Sultai Delirium dominated our WPN Qualifier Showdown this past weekend by putting four copies in the Top 8.

But even that kind of domination wasn’t enough to stop Lucas Worrell and his beloved Spirits deck. He was able to overcome Ishkana and friends on his way to a Showdown victory on Sunday.

Your Showdown champ, Lucas Worrell.

It’s funny, because despite Spirits being a traditionally favourable matchup for Sultai, Lucas was able to tear through the deck on the way to his win. Including absolutely destroying me in the semifinals. The kid is a great competitor and loves this deck and it’s obviously no surprise to see him take down another Showdown and move up the leaderboard towards the top slot. He defeated Pete Smith on Sultai in the finals.

As for the dominance of Sultai itself, I think there’s a few reasons for that. First, it’s just a know phenomenon at this point that Toronto players gravitate towards this kind of deck. Midrange is always popular in the city and this deck is no exception to that rule. Edgar Magalhaes and I were both in Top 8 with the same 75 and I can confidently say that a major reason we chose to pilot it is that it’s extremely fun (while also being pretty good).

The second reason is the way Dimir Inverter has impacted the format. The combo control deck struggles a little against aggressive decks but has been putting up great results lately in Pioneer. So, the natural next step for competitive players is to build an interactive deck that beats aggro and has game against Inverter — which is why many people have arrived at Sultai.

Joining us in the Top 8 was Massimo Gordillo on Mono-Red Aggro, Daniel Fournier playing Inverter, Bill Irons rounding out the suite on Sultai Players and Robert Chalkey on Izzet Ensoul.

This event on Sunday was one of four total WPN Preliminary events that will lead up to our WPN Qualifier. In short, the Top 8 from each of these four prelims will battle it out in a 32 player event at the end of the season to qualify for the Players Tour.

Congratulations to Lucas Worrell on his finish this weekend that qualifies him for our upcoming Ultimate Showdown! He and the rest of our Top 8 qualified for our upcoming 32-person WPN  even that will have a Players Tour qualification on the line and also picked up some valuable points towards their qualification. Notably, his Top 8 finish pulls Daniel Fournier into second place on our Showdown leaderboard behind Omar Beldon. It’s still an uphill battle if anyone is going catch Beldon, but at least someone else has crested the 200 point mark. If you’re interested in your Showdown point total, check out our tracker here.

This upcoming weekend at Face to Face Games Toronto we’ll be hosting our second consecutive WPN Qualifier Showdown, but this time it will be Standard! Make sure to pre-register and we’ll see you at the shop!

[Deck Title= First Place, Bant Spirits – Lucas Worrell]
[Creatures]
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
2 Spectral Sailor
4 Rattle Chains
4 Selfless Spirit
4 Supreme Phantom
2 Brazen Borrower
4 Empyrean Eagle
4 Nebelgast Herald
4 Spell Queller
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Collected Company
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Botanical Sanctum
4 Breeding Pool
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
2 Plains
4 Temple Garden
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Rest in Peace
4 Mystical Dispute
1 Settle the Wreckage
2 Damping Sphere
4 Deputy of Detention
2 Devout Decree
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Second Place, Sultai Delirium – Peter Smith]
[Creatures]
1 Walking Ballista
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
1 Ishkana, Grafwidow
2 Courser of Kruphix
1 Nimble Obstructionist
1 Murderous Rider
1 Tireless Tracker
4 Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
1 Lazav, the Multifarious
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
4 Satyr Wayfinder
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Nissa, Who Shakes the World
1 Assassin’s Trophy
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Grapple with the Past
3 Traverse the Ulvenwald
4 Thoughtseize
4 Fatal Push
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Forest
2 Swamp
1 Ipnu Rivulet
1 Island
1 Watery Grave
3 Fabled Passage
1 Botanical Sanctum
4 Breeding Pool
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Blooming Marsh
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Damping Sphere
1 Noxious Grasp
1 Assassin’s Trophy
3 Mystical Dispute
1 Notion Thief
1 Nimble Obstructionist
1 Hostage Taker
1 Reclamation Sage
3 Leyline of the Void
2 Languish
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Third Place, Sultai Delirium – Keith Capstick]
[Creatures]
4 Satyr Wayfinder
4 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
4 Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
1 Murderous Rider
2 Courser of Kruphix
2 Tireless Tracker
1 Ishkanah, Grafwidow
1 Walking Ballista
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Eat to Extinction
1 Tamiyo, Collector of Tales
2 Nissa, Who Shakes the World
2 Abrupt Decay
3 Traverse the Ulvenwald
4 Fatal Push
4 Thoughtseize
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Blooming Marsh
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Breeding Pool
1 Watery Grave
1 Opulent Palace
3 Fabled Passage
2 Forest
2 Island
1 Swamp
1 Ipnu Rivulet
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Leyline of the Void
3 Unmoored Ego
3 Mystical Dispute
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Sultai Charm
1 The Scarab God
2 Tireless Tracker
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fourth Place, Izzet Ensoul – Robert Chalkey]
[Creatures]
4 Bomat Courier
4 Gingerbrute
2 Hope of Ghirapur
4 Skilled Animator
4 Stonecoil Serpent
2 Emry, Lurker of the Loch
1 Hangarback Walker
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Ensoul Artifact
4 Ghostfire Blade
1 Shadowspear
4 Shrapnel Blast
2 Wild Slash
2 Metallic Rebuke
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Steam Vents
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Shivan Reef
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Mutavault
3 Spire of Industry
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Experimental Frenzy
2 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Karn, Scion of Urza
1 Hangarback Walker
2 Lava Coil
3 Mystical Dispute
1 Stubborn Denial
1 Bonecrusher Giant
3 Damping Sphere
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fifth Place, Sultai Delirium – Edgar Magalhaes]
[Creatures]
4 Satyr Wayfinder
4 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
4 Urp, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
1 Murderous Rider
2 Courser of Kruphix
2 Tireless Tracker
1 Ishkanah, Grafwidow
1 Walking Ballista
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Abrupt Decay
3 Traverse the Ulvenwald
4 Fatal Push
4 Thoughtseize
1 Eat to Extinction
1 Tamiyo Collector of Tales
2 Nissa, Who Shakes the World
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Blooming Marsh
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Breeding Pool
1 Watery Grave
1 Opulent Palace
3 Fabled Passage
2 Forest
2 Island
1 Swamp
1 Ipnu Rivulet
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Leyline of the Void
3 Unmoored Ego
3 Mystical Dispute
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Sultai Charm
1 The Scarab God
2 Tireless Tracker
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Sixth Place, Sultai Delirium – Bill Irons]
[Creatures]
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Walking Ballista
4 Satyr Wayfinder
4 Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
1 Murderous Rider
2 Courser of Kruphix
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
1 Brain Maggot
1 Ishkanah, Grafwidow
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Fatal Push
3 Traverse the Ulvenwald
2 Grisly Salvage
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
2 Abrupt Decay
4 Thoughtseize
2 Nissa, Who Shakes the World
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Botanical Sanctum
1 Watery Grave
1 Opulent Palace
2 Island
2 Forest
1 Swamp
3 Fabled Passage
4 Blooming Marsh
4 Breeding Pool
4 Overgrown Tomb
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Damping Sphere
3 Unmoored Ego
1 Notion Thief
3 Mystical Dispute
2 Sultai Charm
1 Chanweb Arachnus
1 Duress
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Seventh Place, Mono-Red Aggro – Massimo Gordillo]
[Creatures]
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Soulscar Mage
1 Zurgo Bellstriker
3 Eidolon of the Great Revel
2 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
4 Bonecrusher Giant
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Torbran, Thane of Redfell
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
4 Wild Slash
4 Lightning Strike
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Castle Embereth
14 Mountain
4 Ramunap Ruins
4 Mutavault
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Abrade
1 Eidolon of the Great Revel
2 Fry
2 Lava Coil
2 Collective Defiance
3 Rampaging Ferocidon
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Hazoret the Fervent
1 Rending Volley
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Eighth Place, Dimir Inverter – Daniel Fournier]
[Creatures]
3 Thassa’s Oracle
4 Inverter of Truth
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Thoughtseize
4 Fatal Push
4 Opt
3 Thought Erasure
1 Censor
1 Narset, Parter of Veils
2 Hero’s Downfall
4 Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
4 Dig Through Time
1 Mystical Dispute
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Choked Estuary
4 Drowned Catacomb
3 Fetid Pools
4 Watery Grave
3 Swamp
6 Island
3 Fabled Passage
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Mystical Dispute
2 Narset, Parter of Veils
1 The Scarab God
2 Legion’s End
4 Pack Rat
1 Cry of the Carnarium
1 Negate
1 Doom Blade
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Showdown Recap: Ryan Sandrin’s love for Bant pays off

by

Toronto sure does love [Card]Celestial Colonnade[/Card].

It’s prominence comes and goes with it’s positioning in the metagame, but every now and then we have an event where it seems like everyone is casting [Card]Cryptic Command[/Card].

Hell, this weekend even know [Card]Devoted Druid[/Card] sympathizer Ryan “BantCharm” Sandrin was uttering “counter/draw” while putting the over-costed instant on the stack. And he was able to ride his Bant Snow deck all the way to becoming our Modern Showdown champion!

Your Showdown champ, Ryan Sandrin.

Ryan defeated Boston Schatteman and his Izzet [Card]Through the Breach[/Card] deck in the finals.

These snow decks have been looming on the outskirts of the Modern metagame for quite a while now. They were mostly cannibalized by Urza and Oko while they were legal. Now, with the addition of Uro as a powerful late-game engine, it might be time to get back to playing a bit of midrange in Modern. Ryan was actually one of two Bant-based snow decks in our Top 8, and Brian Ching also put up a Top 8 finish with his Azorius Stoneblade deck. The fact is [Card]Arcum’s Astrolabe[/Card] it a pretty fundamentally broken card and it pairs nicely with the similarly busted [Card]Teferi, Time Raveler[/Card], so I imagine this won’t be the last strong performance from this kind of deck we’ll see in Modern.

Your Modern Showdown Top 8.

Joining them in the Top 8 was Mathew Loong playing Jund as usual but this time with two copies of Kroxa from Theros Beyond Death, Seungho Heo and Wilson Wong both playing Burn and Derek Berry playing his Eldrazi Tron deck.

Maybe the most staggering result from the weekend is the complete lack of [Card]Primeval Titan[/Card] decks in the Top 8. It seems like these players have found the way to beat one of Modern’s most feared archetypes at the moment. Fournier event went as far as splashing for three copies of [Card]Blood Moon[/Card] which is a healthy amount of respect.

Congratulations to Ryan Sandrin on his finish this weekend that qualifies him for our upcoming Ultimate Showdown! The rest of our Top 8 also picked up some valuable points towards their qualification. If you’re interested in your Showdown point total, check out our tracker here.

This upcoming weekend is jam packed for Face to Face Games Toronto! Firs we’ve got out Team Trios F2F Tour event at the Montecassino Hotel on Saturday and then we’re following that up with our first Pioneer WPNQ Qualifier on Sunday. It is going to be an awesome weekend to battle in the city, so make sure you sign up for the Trios event HERE and the Pioneer event HERE!

[Deck Title= First Place, Bant Snow – Ryan Sandrin]
[Creatures]
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Ice-fang Coatl
3 Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Supreme Verdict
3 Force of Negation
2 Mana Leak
4 Thoughtseize
4 Path to Exile
4 Arcum’s Astrolabe
2 Teferi, Time Raveler
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
2 Cryptic Command
1 Archmage’s Charm
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Field of Ruin
2 Mystic Sanctuary
1 Temple Garden
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Breeding Pool
4 Flooded Strand
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Snow-covered Plains
1 Snow-covered Forest
6 Snow-covered Island
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Return to Nature
1 Aether Gust
3 Ashiok, Dream Render
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Celestial Purge
2 Mystical Dispute
3 Veil of Summer
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Second Place, Izzet Breach – Boston Schatteman]
[Creatures]
4 Snapcaster MAge
1 Brazen Borrower
4 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Through the Breach
4 Opt
3 Omen of the Seas
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Spell Snare
4 Remand
3 Archmage’s Charm
2 Force of Negation
3 Cryptic Command
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Steam Vents
1 Breeding Pool
3 Mystic Sanctuary
7 Island
1 Mountain
1 Desolate Lighthouse
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Abrade
2 Aether Gust
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Blood Moon
1 Brazen Borrower
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Flusterstorm
3 Relic of the Progenitus
2 Veil of Summer
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Third Place, Burn – Seungho Heo]
[Creatures]
4 Goblin Guide
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Boros Charm
4 Lightning Helix
4 Rift Bolt
3 Searing Blaze
3 Skewer the Critics
4 Lava Spike
2 Skullcrack
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Mountain
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Arid Mesa
4 Inspiring Vantage
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Sunbaked Canyon
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Path to Exile
2 Searing Blood
3 Smash to Smithereens
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Deflecting Palm
2 Skullcrack
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Exquisite Firecraft
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fourth Place, Burn – Wilson Wong]
[Creatures]
4 Goblin Guide
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Rift Bolt
4 Lava Spike
4 Skewer the Critics
4 Boros Charm
3 Searing Blaze
3 Lightning Helix
2 Skullcrack
1 Shard Volley
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Sunbaked Canyon
2 Fiery Islet
4 Inspiring Vantage
2 Sacred Foundry
3 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Kor Firewalker
3 Path to Exile
3 Smash to Smithereens
2 Rest in Peace
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Skullcrack
2 Tunnel Ignus
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fifth Place, Four-Colour Snow – Daniel Fournier]
[Creatures]
4 Ice-fang Coatl
3 Snapcaster Mage
1 Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Arcum’s Astrolabe
4 Path to Exile
3 Opt
2 Spell Snare
1 Deprive
1 Mana Leak
1 Wind’s of Abandon
3 Force of Negation
3 Teferi, Time Raveler
2 Archmage’s Charm
2 Cryptic Command
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Steam Vents
1 Temple Garden
1 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Flooded Strand
6 Snow-covered Island
1 Snow-covered Plains
1 Snow-covered Forest
2 Mystic Sanctuary
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Force of Negation
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Mystical Dispute
2 Timely Reinforcements
3 Veil of Summer
3 Blood Moon
2 Ashiok, Dream Render
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Sixth Place, Eldrazi Tron – Derek Berry]
[Creatures]
4 Matter Reshaper
4 Thought-knot Seer
4 Reality Smasher
2 Walking Ballista
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Karn, the Great Creator
1 Ugin, the Ineffable
1 Karn Liberated
1 Warping Wail
2 Dismember
1 All is Dust
4 Expedition Map
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Once Upon a Time
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Urza’s Tower
4 Urza’s Mine
4 Urza’s Power Plant
4 Eldrazi Temple
2 Blast Zone
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Forest
1 Wastes
1 Scavenger Grounds
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Spatial Contortion
1 Walking Ballista
1 sundering Titan
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Shadow Spear
1 Torpor Orb
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
1 Liquimetal Coating
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Seventh Place, Azorius Stoneblade – Brian Ching]
[Creatures]
4 Spell Queller
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Stoneforge Mystic
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Jace the Mind Sculptor
2 Teferi, Time Raveler
2 Cryptic Command
3 Force of Negation
2 Mana Leak
2 Spell Snare
4 Path to Exile
4 Opt
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Snow-covered Plains
5 Snow-covered Island
1 Mystic Sanctuary
4 Field of Ruin
2 Celestial Colonnade
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Glacial Fortress
4 Flooded Strand
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Mystical Dispute
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Rest in Peace
2 Ashiok, Dream Render
1 Celestial Purge
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Winds of Abandon
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Kor Firewalker
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Eighth Place, Jund – Matthew Loong]
[Creatures]
2 Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Bloodbraid Elf
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Wrenn and Six
4 Liliana of the Veil
3 Fatal Push
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Thoughtseize
3 Assassin’s Trophy
3 Kolaghan’s Command
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Blood Crypt
2 Bloodstained Mire
1 Forest
1 Mountain
2 Nurturing Peatland
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Raging Ravine
1 Stomping Ground
2 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Damping Sphere
2 Pillage
3 Collective Brutality
3 Fulminator Mage
2 Plague Engineer
1 Huntmaster of the Fells
2 Ashiok, Dream Render
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Jozef Telecki brings the snow to Lethbridge

by

The F2F Tour has stopped in Lethbridge, Alberta twice now — but remarkably we’ve only had one champion. This past weekend Jozef Telecki went back-to-back as he claimed his second Lethbridge trophy in the Modern format.

F2F Tour Lethbridge champ, Jozef Telecki,

Jozef was able to take down our previous event in Lethbridge using the power of Dredge prior to the banning of [Card]Faithless Looting[/Card]. But now, with the busted graveyard deck neutered, Telecki was able to triumph with a much more interactive deck — Snow Control. From what I can tell this looks to be a brew that took down our event on Saturday and both Telecki and another Top 8 competitor in Tom Cairns both played it to incredible finishes. 

These snow decks have popped up here and there since the printing of [Card]Arcum’s Astrolabe[/Card] in Modern Horizons and they have very similar counterparts in the Legacy format that are tied together with the format’s powerful cantrips. It seems like Telecki and Cairns may have cracked the formula to make it work in Modern as well. 

He triumphed over Taylor Kitson and his Eldrazi & Taxes deck in the finals.

Your Lethbridge Open Top 8.

Joining them in the Top 8 was Cairns playing the exact same archetype as Telecki like I said, Thomas Loraas and Jason Racine both playing Eldrazi Tron even with the absence of [Card]Mycosynth Lattice[/Card], Ivan James Mararaeg playing Amulet Titan and Mason Scharback on the Dimir Whirza deck that Face to Face Games writer Eli Kassis has popularized lately. 

Honestly, I think the results from Lethbridge are pretty incredible. It’s so rare that you see a completely new deck like this take down an entire tournament, but here we had TWO copies of it in the Top 8 and it resulted in Telecki’s second consecutive Lethbridge championship. What an incredible story. 

These Snow decks do seem to have some legs to them. Obviously getting to play a bunch of colours offers you some of the best spells that the format has to offer and the addition of [Card]Wrenn and Six[/Card] to the format really helps you tie both your early game and your mana development together. They also had a few copies of [Card]Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath[/Card] from Theros Beyond Death to completely take-over the board and grind out value. This deck is a work of art!

Congratulations to Jozef Telecki and to the rest of the Top 8 on their outstanding performances this past weekend. Before I leave you for the week, I’d like to also extend a special thank you to both our judge staff and our sponsor Ultimate Guard for helping us put on a great event.

The next stop on the F2F Tour is coming up this Saturday in both Toronto, Ontario where we’ll be hosting our first Team Trios event of the year and Quebec City, where we’ll be hosting a Modern event. Make sure to pre-register for Quebec City HERE and Toronto HERE and we’ll see you on the battlefield!

[Deck Title= First Place, Four-Colour Snow – Jozef Telecki]
[Creatures]
4 Ice-Fang Coatl
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
1 Abominable Treefolk
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Arcum’s Astrolabe
4 Assassin’s Trophy
4 Drown in the Loch
4 Wrenn and Six
4 Dead of Winter
3 Force of Negation
1 Kologhan’s Command
1 The Royal Scions
1 Cryptic Command
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Fabled Passage
4 Field of Ruin
1 Lonely Sandbar
4 Prismatic Vista
3 Snow-covered Forest
4 Snow-covered Island
1 Snow-covered Mountain
2 Snow-covered Swamp
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Fatal Push
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Weather the Storm
2 Ashiok, Dream Render
1 Force of Negation
1 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Leyline of the Void
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Second Place, Eldrazi & Taxes – Taylor Kitson]
[Creatures]
2 Charming Prince
4 Eldrazi Displacer
3 Flickerwisp
4 Giver of Runes
4 Leonin Arbiter
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Tidehollow Sculler
2 Wasteland Strangler
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Path to Exile
4 Aether Vial
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Ghost Quarter
1 Plains
1 Shambling Vent
2 Silent Clearing
1 Snow-covered Swamp
1 Snow-covered Plains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 Kor Firewalker
2 Leonin Relic-Warder
2 Mirran Crusader
4 Plague Engineer
3 Rest in Peace
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Third Place, Eldrazi Tron – Thomas Loraas]
[Creatures]
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
4 Matter Reshaper
4 Reality Smasher
4 Thought-Knot Seer
2 Walking Ballista
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Warping Wail
2 Ugin, the Ineffable
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
4 Expedition Map
4 Karn, the Great Creator
2 All is Dust
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Dismember
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Blast Zone
1 Cavern of Souls
4 Eldrazi Temple
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Scavenger Grounds
1 Tectonic Edge
4 Urza’s Mine
4 Urza’s Power Plant
4 Urza’s Tower
2 Wastes
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Liquidmetal Coating
1 Pithing Needle
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
2 Spatial Contortion
1 Sundering Titan
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Torpor Orb
1 Walking Ballista
1 Wurmcoil Engine
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fourth Place, Four-Colour Snow – Tom Cairns]
[Creatures]
2 Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
1 Abominable Treefolk
4 Ice-Fang Coatl
2 Snapcaster Mage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Arcum’s Astrolabe
4 Assassin’s Trophy
4 Drown in the Loch
4 Wrenn and Six
4 Dead of Winter
3 Force of Negation
1 Kologhan’s Command
1 The Royal Scions
1 Cryptic Command
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Fabled Passage
4 Field of Ruin
1 Lonely Sandbar
4 Prismatic Vista
3 Snow-covered Forest
4 Snow-covered Island
1 Snow-covered Mountain
2 Snow-covered Swamp
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Fatal Push
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Weather the Storm
2 Ashiok, Dream Render
1 Force of Negation
1 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Leyline of the Void
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fifth Place, Amulet Titan – Ivan James Macaraeg
]
[Creatures]
4 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
4 Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
4 Primeval Titan
4 Sakura-Tribe Scout
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Once Upon a Time
1 Pact of Negation
4 Summoner’s Pact
4 Amulet of Vigor
1 Engineered Explosives
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Bojuka Bog
2 Breeding Pool
4 Castle Garenbrig
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Field of the Dead
2 Forest
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Grove of the Burnwillows
2 Gruul Turf
1 Hanweir Battlements
1 Radiant Fountain
4 Simic Growth Chamber
2 Snow Covered Forest
2 Tolaria West
2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
1 Vesuva
1 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Aether Gust
3 Beast Within
1 Dismember
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Field of the Dead
2 Force of Vigor
2 Mystical Dispute
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Tormod’s Crypt
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Sixth Place, Dredge – Connor Davies]
[Creatures]
3 Merchant of the Vale
4 Nacromoeba
4 Bloodghast
4 Prized Amalgam
2 Ox of Agonas
4 Stinkweed Imp
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Life of the Loam
2 Golgari Thug
1 Darkblast
1 Conflagrate
4 Cathartic Reunion
4 Shriekhorn
4 Creeping Chill
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Bloodstained Mire
3 Wooded Foothills
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Stomping Ground
2 Blood Crypt
2 Mountain
3 Copperline Gorge
1 Dakmor Salvage
1 Forgotten Cave
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Thoughtseize
4 Nature’s Claim
3 Lightning Axe
2 Magus of the Moon
1 Blast Zone
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Conflagrate
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Seventh Place, Eldrazi Tron – Jason Racine]
[Creatures]
3 Walking Ballista
3 Matter Reshaper
4 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Reality Smasher
2 Endbringer
1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Ugin, the Ineffable
1 Karn Liberated
2 All is Dust
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
2 Warping Wail
1 Spatial Contortion
1 Mind Stone
1 Dismember
4 Karn, the Great Creator
4 Expedition Map
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Urza’s Mine
4 Urza’s Power Plant
4 Urza’s Tower
4 Eldrazi Temple
2 Blast Zone
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Buried Ruin
2 Wastes
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Orbs of Warding
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Pithing Needle
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Walking Ballista
1 Mystic Forge
1 Liquidmetal Coating
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
1 Batterskull
1 Shadowspear
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Eighth Place, Dimir Whirza – Mason Scharback]
[Creatures]
4 Urza, Lord High Artificier
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Fatal Push
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
1 Despise
1 Drown in the Loch
3 Archmage’s Charm
3 Whir of Invention
2 Cryptic Command
4 Mishra’s Bauble
4 Arcum’s Astrolabe
1 Nihil’s Spellbomb
1 Pithing Needle
1 Sword of the Meek
2 Thopter Foundry
2 Talisman of Domminance
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Field of Ruin
1 Flooded Strand
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Mystic Sanctuary
3 Polluted Delta
3 Scalding Tarn
5 Snow-covered Island
1 Snow-covered Swamp
2 Watery Grave
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Get
3 Ashiok, Dream Render
3 Aether Gust
1 Battle of the Bridge
1 Collective Brutality
2 Dead of Winter
2 Mystical Dispute
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Damping Sphere
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]