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49 players came out to compete at this weekend’s F2F Tour Stop in Saskatoon. After nine rounds of competition, it was Kody Lyons who emerged victorious, piloting 4C Rhinos to his first F2F Tour Top 8 finish.
4C Rhinos – Kody Lyons (1st)

Interview with Kody Lyons

When asked about the victory, Kody shared:
“It feels great! I usually play off-meta decks, so this is my first time Top 8ing an F2F event. Switching to a proven deck like 4C Rhinos really paid off.”
He also praised his choice of Rough // Tumble as “absolutely underplayed” and highlighted critical adjustments such as his inclusion of one-ofs like Solitude and Brazen Borrower.
Regarding the Saskatoon metagame, Kody noted:
“Belcher and Energy variants are popular here. We have a lot of competitive players who want to play the best decks available.”
On unbanned cards, he added:
“It’s mostly Green Sun’s Zenith and Mox Opal-related strategies, but they didn’t show up much in the Top 8. I brewed some Splinter Twin FOMO stuff but decided to leave that at home, haha.”
Finally, Kody gave a shoutout:
“Jason made Top 4 at this event. It’s only his second F2F event, and he transitioned from Yu-Gi-Oh! Very impressive.”
Kyle Gellert on the Format
Kyle Gellert, a frequent Top 8 finisher, noted the strong performance of Energy decks in Saskatoon. He observed that none of the Top 8 decks used recently unbanned cards:
“None of the decks in the Top 8 played any of the cards that were recently unbanned.”
Kyle also highlighted the strength of certain synergies, saying:
“Energy is still really good. And Phelia + Overlord of the Balemurk is a very good synergy.”
Kyle attributed his consistency to staying engaged with Magic even when not actively playing:
“I think a big thing is that I stay consistently engaged with the game. Even if I’m not regularly playing, I’m still reading about Magic or listening to a podcast about it.”
The Rest of the Top 8:

- 2nd Place: Joshua Saruga (Boros Energy)
- 3rd Place: Jason Luong (Belcher)
- 4th Place: Charles Powell (Boros Energy)
- 5th Place: George Ren (Belcher)
- 6th Place: Brian Bonnell (Esper Goryo’s)
- 7th Place: Kyle Gellert (Mardu Energy)
- 8th Place: Edward Phung-Tieu (Esper Goryo’s)
Looking Ahead: Ottawa
The F2F Tour continues in Ottawa! Don’t miss your chance to compete and enjoy another exciting weekend of Magic: The Gathering. Details here: https://f2ftour.com/event/f2f-tour-ottawa-weekend-2025


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.