Amidst the familiar backdrop of the chandeliers and white walls of the Montecassino Hotel, Italian sandwiches and Coffee Time donuts the FacetoFaceGames.com Open series traveled to Toronto this past weekend for a Modern Open+.

When the last card was drawn, the reigning king of Modern was victorious. John Robbins took home the trophy with Izzet Pheonix.

Robbins piloted a version of Izzet Phoenix sporting a light green splash to improve the Burn matchup post-board and maindeck [Card]Snapcaster Mage[/Card]s as his secondary threat of choice. Not only has Phoenix been crushing it as of late in Modern, but the move to Snapcaster has done a lot to improve on some of the mediocre threats the deck played in its first iterations. Robbins certainly showed that on Saturday by piloting the cantrip-dense strategy all the way to winner’s circle.

Robbins attended the event representing a local team of Magic players that go by The Chilled Guild, and to say that his teammates were excited to celebrate his victory would be an understatement.

Robbins was able to defeat Stephen Kerr’s Azorius Control deck in the Finals. If you needed any extra convincing just how good Phoenix is right now, you should take a look at the [Card]Surgical Extraction[/Card] in the maindeck of Kerr’s list.

As for the rest of the Top 8, it featured another copy of Izzet Phoenix, three copies of Grixis Death’s Shadow, T.J. Raymore’s spicy Golgari Delirium deck and a copy of 8 Rack.

Raymore’s deck utilizes [Card]Grim Flayer[/Card] and [Card]Traverse the Ulvenwald[/Card] in addition to the regular Golgari midrange cards to create a sweet little tutor engine. He also added a new card to the deck that packs a punch in [Card]Spawn of Mayhem[/Card].

The uptick in Grixis Death’s Shadow is interesting to me, and certainly something that brings a smile to my face given my long ongoing love affair with [Card]Death’s Shadow[/Card]. The deck has a lot of game against Phoenix which I think is the obvious reason for its success on Saturday. That said, it’s simply one of the most powerful decks Modern has to offer across the board, and when its firing on all cylinders this deck is a force as you can see from its results here.

In addition to the main event on Saturday we also hosted on-demand Drafts all day long. Thanks to everyone who didn’t come out for the main event, that hung out and played some Drafts or sold cards at the booth!

Congratulations again to our champion John Robbins from everyone at Face to Face Games! Additionally, we’d like to extend our thanks to our awesome judge staff on Saturday and to our Open Series sponsor — Ultimate Guard — who hooked up everyone in the Top 8 with some awesome swag. The next stop on the series is coming up in St. John’s Newfoundland on March 16, when we’ll be hosting a Modern Open. We’ll see everyone on the East Coast!

[Deck Title= First Place, Izzet Phoenix – John Robbins]
[Creatures]
4 Arclight Phoenix
2 Crackling Drake
4 Thing in the Ice
2 Snapcaster Mage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Flame Slash
1 Gut Shot
1 Izzet Charm
1 Surgical Extraction
4 Thought Scour
4 Opt
4 Manamorphose
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Serum Visions
4 Faithless Looting
2 Lightning Axe
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Bloodstained Mire
4 Spirebluff Canal
2 Island
2 Mountain
3 Scalding Tarn
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
1 Stomping Ground
2 Steam Vents
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Blood Moon
1 Beacon Bolt
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Spell Pierce
1 Dispel
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Life Goes On
1 Ceremonious Rejection
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Second Place, Azorius Control – Stephen Kerr]
[Creatures]
4 Snapcaster Mage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Detention Sphere
3 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
4 Cryptic Command
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Logic Knot
2 Mana Leak
1 Negate
4 Opt
4 Path to Exile
2 Peek
1 Search For Azcanta
1 Spell Snare
1 Surgical Extraction
4 Terminus
1 Timely Reinforcements
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Field of Ruin
4 Flooded Stran
1 Glacial Fortress
2 Hallowed Fountain
7 Island
2 Plains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Baneslayer Angel
2 Celestial Purge
1 Circle of Protection Red
1 Condemn
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Dispel
2 Negate
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Timely Reinforcements
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Third Place, Golgari Delirium – T.J. Raymore]
[Creatures]
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Grim Flayer
1 Walking Ballista
1 Scavenging Ooze
3 Spawn of Mayhem
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Fatal Push
3 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Collective Brutality
2 Nihil Spellbomb
4 Mishra’s Bauble
3 Assassin’s Trophy
1 Nameless Inversion
4 Traverse The Ulvanwald
2 Liliana of the Veil
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Marsh Flats
2 Windswept Heath
3 Overgrown Tomb
4 Blooming Marsh
2 Forest
2 Swamp
1 Field of Ruin
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Languish
2 Collective Brutality
3 Surgical Extraction
1 Tireless Tracker
3 Fulminator Mage
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Liliana the Last hope
2 Kitchen Finks
1 Maelstrom Pulse
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fourth Place, Grixis Death’s Shadow – Dayle Chapman]
[Creatures]
4 Death’s Shadow
4 Gurmag Angler
4 Street Wraith
3 Snapcaster Mage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Mishra’s Bauble
4 Thought Scour
3 Serum Visions
1 Faithless Looting
3 Fatal Push
4 Thoughtseize
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Stubborn Denial
2 Temur Battle Rage
2 Dismember
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Polluted Delta
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Watery Grave
1 Blood Crypt
1 Steam Vents
1 Island
1 Swamp
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Lightning Bolt
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Hurkyll’s Recall
1 Collective Brutality
1 Abrade
1 Grim Lavamancer
2 Disdainful Stroke
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Liliana the last hope
2 Kolaghan’s command
1 Jace Vryn’s Prodigy
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fifth Place, Grixis Death’s Shadow- Mike Dojcsak]
[Creatures]
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Street Wraith
4 Gurmag Angler
4 Death’s Shadow
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Dismember
1 Faithless Looting
4 Fatal Push
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Mishra’s Bauble
2 Serum Visions
4 Stubborn Denial
2 Temur Battle Rage
4 Thoughtseize
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Watery Grave
1 Swamp
2 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Polluted Delta
2 Scalding Tarn
1 Island
1 Steam Vents
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Collection Brutality
2 Disdainful Stroke
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Jace Vryn’s Prodigy
1 Kolaghan’s Command
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Hurkyll’s Recall
3 Surgical Extraction
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Sixth Place, Grixis Death’s Shadow – Alex Bradbury]
[Creatures]
4 Street Wraith
4 Death’s Shadow
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3 Gurmag Angler
3 Snapcaster Mage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Temur Battle Rage
2 Dismember
4 Fatal Push
4 Stubborn Denial
4 Thoughtscour
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Thoughtseize
1 Faithless looting
3 Mishra’s Bauble
2 Serum Visions
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Watery Grave
1 Steam Vents
2 Blood Crypt
4 Polluted Delta
3 Bloodstained Mire
3 Scalding Tarn
1 Swamp
1 Island
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Liliana of the Veil
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Collective Brutality
1 Jace Vryn’s Prodigy
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Kolaghan’s Command
1 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Disdainful Stroke
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Seventh Place, 8 Rack – Chris Preston]
[Spells]
4 The Rack
4 Shrieking Affliction
4 Raven’s Crime
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
2 Fatal Push
3 Wrench Mind
2 Collective Brutality
4 Smallpox
3 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Bontu’s Last Reckoning
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Field of Ruin
4 Mutavault
4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
13 swamp
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Lilana of the Veil
1 Bontu’s Last Reckoning
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Pithing Needle
2 Damping Sphere
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Waste Not
3 Delirium Skeins
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Eighth Place, Izzet Phoenix- Richard Yam]
[Creatures]
2 Pteramander
2 Crackling Drake
4 Arclight Phoenix
4 Thing in the Ice
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Thought Scour
4 Opt
4 Serum Visions
4 Faithless Looting
4 Manamorphose
2 Lightning Axe
3 Surgical Extraction
1 Gut Shot
4 Lighting bolt
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Steam Vents
3 Island
2 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Flooded Strand
4 Spirebluff Canal
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Abrade
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Ral, Izzet Viceroy
2 Dispel
1 Spell Pierce
2 Blood moon
3 Dragon’s claw
1 Rending volley
1 Shatterstorm
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]