Montreal played host to one of the biggest events on the Canadian Magic calendar this past weekend as hundreds of players gathered for high-stakes Standard competition, side events, and community celebration. Here’s everything you need to know from the F2F Tour Montreal Weekend.
QUICK LINKS
Main Event Recap
The F2F Tour returned to Montreal from May 23–25, bringing 447 players to battle in the Standard format for their shot at Regional Championship glory. When the dust settled, it was Linden Koot who stood atop the field with a finely tuned build of Azorius Omniscience, punching his ticket to both the Pro Tour and the World Championship.
Azorius Omniscience – Linden Koot (1st)
Top 8 Players & Decks
| Placement | Player | Deck |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Linden Koot | Azorius Omniscience |
| 2nd | Rei Zhang | Izzet Aggro |
| 3rd | Mohamad Qadi | Izzet |
| 4th | Jayson Babin | Dimir Midrange |
| 5th | Noe Offman | Izzet Prowess |
| 6th | Félix Vincent Ardea | Izzet Prowess |
| 7th | Sébastien Lachance | Mono-Red Aggro |
| 8th | Kevin Anctil | W-U-R-G Beanstalk |
A special congratulations to Sébastien Lachance for earning his first Pro Tour invitation with a Top 8 finish. Sébastien is a pillar of the Quebec Magic community and the creator of mtgquebec.ca, a site dedicated to supporting and spotlighting the local scene.
Interview: Linden Koot, Regional Champion
Fresh off his Regional Championship win, we caught up with Linden Koot to talk about his deck-building decisions, how he navigated the aggressive metagame, and what advice he has for players aiming to break through at the next big event.
1. Azorius Omniscience made up about 9% of the field in Montreal, sitting behind Izzet Prowess at 29% and Mono-Red at 11%. What made you confident in that choice, and did those percentages line up with what you were expecting going into the weekend?
These percentages line up with exactly what I was expecting. I felt that with Omni I could tune the deck to beat or be favoured versus these aggro decks and leverage the 40 percent red, aggressively slanted metagame. I felt good that Prowess was pushing decks like Dimir (a notoriously bad matchup) out of the meta.
I was expecting there to be a big uptick in Mono-Red after the 2nd American RC, with it winning the event, and Prowess to come down from its around 32–35 percent down to about 25–30.
2. Can you walk us through your deck-building approach? Were there any specific card choices or overall philosophy that you felt gave you an edge in the tournament?
I felt that the two deck-building choices that gave me an edge in the event were:
- Cutting Moment of Truth for the bodies that mill or loot (Fallaji and Oracle)
- Choosing to lean into a heavy transformational sideboard plan
3. Izzet Prowess seemed to be one of the most popular decks that weekend. How did you plan to handle that matchup, and how did those games actually play out for you?
Overall, I played versus Prowess 8 times in my 17 rounds. My record was 6-2 versus Prowess. I had seen the trend of Prowess players cutting Slickshots from the 75 throughout the RC season. My plan for playing Omni was to leverage this, as Slickshot is the best stand-alone card for the Prowess decks in the matchup (in my opinion). Out of the 8 times I played versus it, only 2 had Slickshots in the 75. So overall, that was partly what made the matchup swing more in my direction.
Additionally, the 4 Fallaji and 3 Oracle helped a lot in that matchup too, as it stops you from getting chip-shotted in the early turns, buying you the extra time you need to assemble the combo or play into backup plans.
I also found the transformative sideboard plan to be very effective versus Prowess. It can make the counters like Spell Pierce awkward when you start slamming Bezas, Overlords, and Dragons into play. Particularly, Overlord is difficult to kill or awkward to bounce. The white Overlord is quite powerful, especially when you can cheat its Impending with Scrollshift.
The two Cavern of Souls were insurance for predicted Disdainful Strokes or counters that could be effective against the creatures. Scrollshift was also a piece of the puzzle. It allowed you to enhance the Overlords, creating a “nut draw” of turning it on fast, and flickering the Lockdown is a nasty play on your opponent’s turn, getting to sweep again or protect from the Flood Maws.
4. With over 470 players in the field, was there a particular round or moment where it clicked that you might take the whole thing?
Making the Top 8 after my crazy match versus RB Leyline was a moment where I felt it was possible that I could take it down. Having the support and hype from all my friends gave me motivation and energy. It really was a surreal moment.
5. These long events can be exhausting. How did you stay mentally sharp and manage the pressure, especially near the end?
Doing lots of these large events helps a lot. Building stamina is something that takes time. But it’s extremely important to make sure you are fed and drink water. It sounds easy, but it’s very easy to forget in a long and exciting event. Not taking care of your physical needs is a quick way to crash and burn.
And again, support from my friends — would not have been able to do it without them. Them all cheering me on meant the world to me.
6. For players hoping to break through at the next Regional Championship, what’s the most important lesson from your run that you’d want to share?
I would say be creative and don’t be afraid to go against the grain in the testing process — trying new things or twists in “stock lists.” I like to try new things in Magic in terms of how I like to build decks. Often, they don’t work out and get abandoned in testing, which can lead to registering more “stock lists.” But for this event, my swing paid off.
Many people thought my strategies and deck-building choices were crazy (and they kind of were). For example, not playing 4 Stock Up, not playing Moment of Truth, playing Stroke of Midnight, my sideboard plans, etc. But I had my reasons for what I was doing; additionally, in my testing, it was surprisingly working, so I chose to see it through.
Not to say I did not note criticism with testing partners. Many iterations of the list and plans were tuned and refined with help before I got to the one I landed on. But “fortune favours the bold,” apparently. Having people to chat with about your ideas is also incredibly important.
Montreal Metagame at a Glance
The Standard field in Montreal featured a heavy concentration of red-based aggressive decks, with Izzet Prowess making up 29% of the metagame and Mono-Red Aggro following at 11%. Azorius Omniscience, the winning archetype, was the third most-played deck at 9%, followed by a mix of control and midrange strategies like Jeskai Control, Dimir Midrange, and Jeskai Oculus.
Despite Izzet’s dominance in raw numbers, the Top 8 featured more variety, including Dimir, Mono-Red, and multicolor brews like Beanstalk and Overlords.
Winners Gallery
From Modern Super Qualifiers to the $5K Sunday Open and Legacy Champs, here’s a visual roundup of the players who rose to the top across the weekend’s marquee events.
Next Stop: Nanaimo – June 14, 2025
The F2F Tour stops in Nanaimo on Saturday, June 14, for a full day of Magic at the Coast Bastion Hotel. The marquee event is a Modern Super Qualifier, where players can compete for invites and prizes in one of the game’s most popular formats.
In addition to the Super Qualifier, players can join side events including Canadian Highlander, Commander, and a Final Fantasy Sealed 2HG event. Whether you’re looking to spike a competitive tournament or play casually with friends, there’s something for everyone.
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.
