This past weekend, we saw more evidence that Magic is continually on the uptrend as seats to the main event Modern Super Qualifier in Fredericton were sold out. The rest of the room was filled with players who decided to brave the weather for some side events action.
66 players competed and Rakdos Scam took home another trophy. That’s 2 for 2 since the start of Round 5! Not only that, 3 of the top 8 decklists were also Rakdos.
Rakdos Scam – Dustin Little (1st)
Congratulations to Dustin Little once again on his big win!
Dan Snider, who has been making a name for himself over the past year, finished in the top 4 with Creativity.
Creativity – Dan Snider (4th)
Planeswalkers (4)
He was happy to share with me why Creativity is a great choice at the moment.
The short answer is that the death of Creativity has been greatly exaggerated.
The long answer is that I think the deck was a good choice for the tournament for several reasons;
First off, I expected Scam and 4c Bean/Omnath piles to be the most represented decks at the top tables, both of which this deck is heavily-favoured against.
Most importantly however, the presence of SB hate for Creativity is at an all-time low. “Hallowed Moonlight” and “Orvar, the All-Form” have been cut from sideboards because of the dwindling meta-share. This means that the post-board games feel very free. We can bring in relevant cards while the opponent is stuck with few ways to interact meaningfully.
I think that this version of the archetype will remain a strong choice in the current Modern landscape for as long as the following conditions remain true:
1) Sideboard hate is sparse
2) Scam is the ‘best deck’
3) Creativity doesn’t come back with a vengeance (this list fares poorly in the mirror-match).
With Fredericton in the books, one of our biggest events is the next one on deck. F2F Tour Calgary Weekend is a must-see 3-day celebration about all things Magic. Grab yourself a Weekend Package or sign up for an event today!
Be sure to check out F2FTour.com for more information to see the upcoming events!
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.