This past Saturday the FacetoFaceGames.com Open Series traveled to London, Ontario for a 1k Modern Classic — and what went down was a perfect representation of where we’re at the current Modern format. Especially in Ontario.

Michael Lin was able to take down the entire event with his take on Storm.

Lin was able to pilot one of Modern’s most powerful linear combo strategies to take down the trophy on Saturday. Storm is obviously not new by any means to the format, but it’s the kind of deck that can really shine in the right field and can punish bad draws better than almost any deck in Modern.

One thing I’d like to point out in particular is the copies of [Card]Thing in the Ice[/Card] in Michael’s sideboard. In my opinion, this card has really risen in stock in Modern as of late. Some of Storm’s biggest predators are hyper-disruptive creature decks like Humans and Bant Spirits, and this card shines in those problematic matchups.

The rest of our Top 8 consisted of some of Modern’s staple decks — U/W Control and Burn — as well as some new contenders in two copies of Amulet Titan, another couple Dredge decks and a copy of [Card]Hardened Scales[/Card].

It’s hard to not consider the influence of Team Face to Face Games’ Pro Team player Edgar Magalhaes with these two copies of Amulet in the Top 8. Obviously this deck has existed for a while, but Edgar has recently really put some work into putting it on the map, specifically after winning a recent Face to Face Games Open in Toronto with the deck.

Funny enough, one of the reasons Edgar likes the deck is the rising popularity of Dredge, which we see here. [Card]Creeping Chill[/Card] has really done a lot to add to the power level of the deck and gives it some absurd reach when the game drags out.

All in all, this Top 8 is more of what we expect from Modern. This format is chock-full of powerful linear strategies that the format must react to. And then there’s the reactive decks, like Sheldon Downie’s U/W Control deck, that sometimes are able to come up with all the right answers.

Congratulations to Michael on his victory on Saturday. The next stop on the FacetoFaceGames.com Open Series is on Nov. 24 in Saskatoon! Get your Modern deck ready and remember to pre-register.

First Place, Michael Lin – Storm

[Deck]
[Creatures]
2 Goblin Electromancer
4 Baral, Chief of Compliance
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Noxious Revival
1 Unsubstantiate
2 Remand
2 Past in Flames
3 Grapeshot
4 Sleight of Hand
4 Opt
4 Serum Visions
4 Gifts Ungiven
4 Manamorphose
4 Desperate Ritual
4 Pyretic Ritual
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Mountain
2 Island
2 Snow-Covered Island
4 Steam Vents
4 Shivan Reef
4 Spirebluff Canal
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Wipe Away
1 Echoing Truth
1 Gigadrowse
2 Thing in the Ice
2 Abrade
2 Empty the Warrens
3 Lightning Bolt
3 Pieces of the Puzzle
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Second Place, Dustyn Nogueira – Amulet Titan

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
4 Primeval Titan
1 Reclamation Sage
4 Sakura-Tribe Scout
1 Walking Ballista
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Pact of Negation
3 Adventurous Impulse
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Summoner’s Pact
4 Amulet of Vigor
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Explore
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Boros Garrison
1 Cavern of Souls
3 Forest
4 Gemstone Mine
1 Ghost Quarter
4 Gruul Turf
1 Khalni Garden
1 Radiant Fountain
4 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Slayers’ Stronghold
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
3 Tolaria West
1 Vesuva
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Abrade
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Firespout
1 Hornet Queen
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
3 Spell Pierce
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Tormod’s Crypt
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Third Place, Adam Hobbs – Dredge

[Deck]
[Creatures]
3 Street Wraith
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Golgari Thug
4 Prized Amalgam
4 Bloodghast
4 Narcomoeba
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Cathartic Reunion
4 Creeping Chill
4 Faithless Looting
3 Life from the Loam
3 Conflagrate
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Mountain
1 Forest
1 Steam Vents
2 Blood Crypt
2 Stomping Ground
2 Gemstone Mine
2 Dakmor Salvage
1 Copperline Gorge
1 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Bloodstained Mire
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Damping Sphere
2 Gnaw to the Bone
4 Nature’s Claim
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Lightning Axe
3 Thoughtseize
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Fourth Place, Ben Lu – Amulet Titan

[Deck]
[Creatures]
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Walking Ballista
4 Sakura-Tribe Scout
4 Primeval Titan
4 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Pact of Negation
3 Adventurous Impulse
4 Ancient Stirrings
2 Explore
4 Amulet of Vigor
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Summoner’s Pact
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Simic Growth Chamber
3 Forest
1 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Cavern of Souls
3 Tolaria West
1 Ghost Quarter
4 Gemstone Mine
3 Gruul Turf
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
1 Vesuva
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
1 Slayers’ Stronghold
1 Radiant Fountain
1 Boros Garrison
1 Khalni Garden
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
1 Thragtusk
2 Tireless Tracker
1 Hornet Queen
2 Abrade
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Firespout
2 Spell Pierce
1 Negate
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Fifth Place, Brandon Emms – Dredge

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Narcomoeba
4 Bloodghast
1 Golgari Thug
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Prized Amalgam
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Shriekhorn
4 Cathartic Reunion
3 Conflagrate
4 Faithless Looting
4 Life from the Loam
4 Creeping Chill
1 Darkblast
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Arid Mesa
1 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Blood Crypt
2 Bloodstained Mire
3 Copperline Gorge
1 Dakmor Salvage
1 Gemstone Mine
1 Mana Confluence
2 Mountain
1 Scalding Tarn
2 Stomping Ground
2 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Ancient Grudge
2 Assassin’s Trophy
1 Darkblast
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Lightning Axe
3 Nature’s Claim
2 Thoughtseize
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Sixth Place, Michael Fengler – Hardened Scales

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Arcbound Worker
4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Steel Overseer
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Walking Ballista
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Hardened Scales
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Mox Opal
2 Animation Module
2 Throne of Geth
3 Welding Jar
1 Evolutionary Leap
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Forest
4 Horizon Canopy
4 Inkmoth Nexus
4 Darksteel Citadel
1 Pendelhaven
1 Ruins of Oran-Rief
1 Blinkmoth Nexus
1 Phyrexia’s Core
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Evolutionary Leap
1 Karn, Scion of Urza
2 Dismember
4 Nature’s Claim
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
4 Damping Sphere
2 Surgical Extraction
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Seventh Place, Owen Turcotte – Burn

[Deck]
[Creatures]
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Goblin Guide
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Wild Nacatl
1 Grim Lavamancer
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lava Spike
3 Rift Bolt
1 Lightning Helix
3 Boros Charm
4 Searing Blaze
4 Atarka’s Command
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Mountain
2 Stomping Ground
2 Sacred Foundry
3 Copperline Gorge
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Wooded Foothills
3 Arid Mesa
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Destructive Revelry
3 Exquisite Firecraft
3 Grafdigger’s Cage
2 Searing Blood
2 Path to Exile
2 Lightning Helix
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Eighth Place, Sheldon Downie – U/W Control

[Deck]
[Creatures]
2 Snapcaster Mage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Opt
1 Serum Visions
2 Logic Knot
1 Mana Leak
1 Spell Snare
1 Negate
4 Terminus
1 Entreat the Angels
3 Cryptic Command
4 Path to Exile
1 Oust
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Supreme Verdict
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
1 Detention Sphere
2 Search for Azcanta
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Flooded Strand
1 Scalding Tarn
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Glacial Fortress
6 Island
2 Plains
4 Field of Ruin
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Dispel
1 Negate
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Vendilion Clique
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Celestial Purge
1 Timely Reinforcements
3 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]