It was [Card]Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis[/Card]’ last hurrah at our Montreal Mythic Championship Qualifier (MCQ) this past Saturday.

As we all now know, the Modern format’s been turned on its head, Hogaak and [Card]Faithless Looting[/Card] have been banned and [Card]Stoneforge Mystic[/Card] has been free’d to breathe some life into the format’s midrange decks.

But, that wasn’t the case on Saturday. On Saturday the menace that was Hogaak still needed to be overthrown in Montreal. And Eldrazi Tron, in the hands of Vincent Thibeault, was able to do just that.

Thibeault was able to take down Patrick Quinn and his unbelievable Five Colour [Card]Bring to Light[/Card] deck in the finals to take down the tournament. Quinn’s deck is by far the spiciest in our Top 8 and was built around three copies of [Card]Niv-Mizzet Reborn[/Card]. You don’t want to miss this one.

Joining these two in the Top 8 was Julien Abenhaim playing the new Whirza deck that has become very popular the last few weeks in Modern, Face to Face’s very own Brian Su playing Hogaak fresh off of his win at our last Montreal MCQ, Yoann Bricault playing a sweet Izzet Kiki-Jiki deck, Raphael Bellemare on Humans and both Dalia Morin and Bernard Gingras playing Mono-Red Phoenix.

And there you have it, in our last major Modern event without Hogaak ever, there was only one copy in the Top 8. I for one am happy to see Looting and Gaak go, and I think the new iteration of the format will really be able to highlight the diversity you see in our Top 8 from Saturday. Specifically decks like Quinn’s that I mentioned earlier. Gone are the days of being punished by Dredge for trying to do something sweet. It’s still Modern, so you’re going to have to have a plan for uninteractive decks, but we’ll all get at least one more turn of breathing room.

Notably, decks like Humans and Whirza took no damage from the Banned and Restricted announcement, so I’d look towards those as some of the heavy hitters in this new format.

From everyone at Face to Face Games, we’d like to extend a special thank you to everyone whop came out on the weekend. We had a whopping 223 players register for the MCQ and even more on-site playing side events, or buying and selling cards at the booth. It was an awesome day of Magic!

Before I leave you for the week I’ve got one last reminder for you. Our Toronto MCQ is coming up quickly and you’re going to want to make sure to pre-register to secure your spot. This time it’s Modern so it’s sure to be packed! We’ll see you there.

Congratulations again to our champion Vincent Thibeault from everyone at Face to Face Games! Additionally, we’d like to extend our thanks to our amazing judge staff who ran a smooth event all day long! The next stop on the FacetoFaceGames.com is coming up on the weekend of August 31 when we’ll be traveling to St. John’s, Newfoundland for our first EVER Magic Weekend! This will be the Open Series’ first ever two day event, and will feature a ton of side events to fill your time all weekend long. So, make sure to pre-register and we can’t wait to see you in St. John’s!

[Deck Title= First Place, Eldrazi Tron – Vincent Thibeault]
[Creatures]
4 Matter reshaper
4 reality Smasher
4 thought-Knot Seer
3 walking Ballista
1 endbringer
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Ugin, the Ineffable
1 warping Wail
2 all is Dust
2 Mind Stone
4 chalice of the Void
2 Dismember
4 expedition Map
4 Karn, the Great Creator
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 wastes
4 urza’s Tower
4 urza’s Power Plant
4 urza’s Mine
2 Blast Zone
1 Sea Gate Wreckage
1 cavern of Souls
2 ghost Quarter
4 eldrazi Temple
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 leyline of the Void
1 Graftdigger’s Cage
1 pithing Needle
1 ensnaring Bridge
1 liquimetal Coating
1 Mycosynth Lattice
1 ratchet Bomb
1 tormod’s Crypt
1 warping Wail
1 spatial Contorsion
1 batterskull
1 dismember
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title=Second Place, 5C Bring to Light – Patrick Quinn]
[Creatures]
3 birds of Paradise
3 ice-fang Coatl
1 knight of Autumn
1 bloodbraid Elf
3 Niv-Mizzet Reborn
1 tolsimir, Friend to Wolves
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Wrenn and Six
2 teferi, Time Reveler
2 Assasins’s Trophy
1 dreadbore
2 izzet Charm
3 lightning Helix
1 thought Erasure
1 kaya’s Guile
1 kolaghan’s Command
1 Unmoored Ego
1 supreme Verdict
3 bring to Light
4 Arcum’s Astrolabe
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 breeding Pool
1 godless Shrine
1 misty Rainforest
1 overgrown Tomb
4 pillar of the Parun
3 prismatic Vista
2 snow-Covered Forest
1 snow-Covered Island
1 Snow-Covered Mountain
2 Snow-Covered plain
1 snow Covered swamp
1 steam Vents
1 stomping Ground
1 temple Garden
2 windswept Heath
1 wooded Foothills
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 abrupt decay
1 Dovin’s Veto
1 lavinia, Azorius Renegade
1 Ashiok, Dream Render
1 deafening Clarion
1 fulminator Mage
1 izzet Staticaster
1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1 Kaya, Orzov Usurper
1 Maelstrom Pulse
4 leyline of the Void
1 fracturing Gust
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Third Place, Whirza – Julien Abenhaim]
[Creatures]
4 Urza, Lord High Artificer
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 detention Sphere
3 teferi, Time Raveler
3 thopter Foundry
1 time Sieve
4 arcum’s Astrolabe
1 damping Sphere
1 ensnaring Bridge
1 grafdigger’s Cage
2 karn, the Great Creator
4 mishra’s Bauble
4 mox Opal
2 nihil Spellbomb
2 pentad Prism
1 pithing Needle
1 sword of the Meek
4 whir of Invention
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 flooded Strand
1 hallowed Fountain
1 inventors’ Fair
1 polluted Delta
4 prismatic Vista
6 snow-covered Island
1 snow-covered Plain
1 snow-covered Swamp
1 watery Grave
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 ceremonious Rejection
1 engineered Explosives
1 ensnaring Bridge
4 leyline of the Void
1 Mycosynth Lattice
2 path to Exile
1 sword of the Meek
2 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
1 thopter Foundry
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fourth Place, Izzet Kiki – Yoann Bricault]
[Creatures]
4 snapcaster Mage
1 vendilion Clique
4 brineborn cutthroat
2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror breaker
4 pestermite
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 burst Lightning
3 cryptic Command
2 force of Negation
4 lightning Bolt
1 magmatic Sinkhole
4 Opt
1 Peek
4 remand
2 spell Snare
1 twisted Image
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Desolate Lighthouse
4 Snow-Covered Island
2 snow-Covered Mountain
4 Polluted Delta
4 scalding Tarn
3 steam Vents
3 sulfur Falls
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Abrade
3 anger of the Gods
2 blood Moon
2 crackling Drake
2 dragon’s Claw
1 grim Lavamancer
2 surgical Extraction
1 Vendilion Clique
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fifth Place, Hogaak – Brian Su]
[Creatures]
4 Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
4 vengevine
4 stitcher’s Supplier
4 satyr Wayfinder
4 carrion Feeder
4 gravecrawler
3 bloodghast
2 glowspore Shaman
1 slitherhead
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 lightning Axe
2 collective Brutality
2 assassin’s Trophy
4 faithless Looting
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 verdant Catacomb
4 wooded Foothills
2 bloodstained Mire
2 swamp
1 nurturing Peatland
1 dryad Arbor
2 blood Crypt
2 overgrown Tomb
2 blackcleave Cliffs
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 thoughtseize
4 leyline of the Void
3 force of Vigor
1 shenanigans
2 fatal Push
2 rotting Regisaur
1 collective Brutality
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Sixth Place, Humans – Raphael Bellemare]
[Creatures]
4 Noble Hierarch
4 thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 reflector Mage
4 Thalia’s Lieutenant
4 Meddling Mage
2 unsettled Mariner
2 Kitesail Freebooter
3 phantasmal Image
4 Mantis Rider
4 champion of the Parish
2 Deputy of Detention
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 aether Vial
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 unclaimed Territory
4 Horizon Canopy
4 Cavern of Souls
1 Waterlogged Grove
1 Island
1 Plains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Plague Engineer
1 Dismember
1 Gaddock Teeg
3 Auriok Champion
2 Grafdigger’s Cage
2 damping Sphere
1 Militia Bugler
1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
2 Collector Ouphe
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Seventh Place, Mono-Red Phoenix – Dalia Morin]
[Creatures]
4 arclight Phoenix
2 Bedlam Reveler
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Soul-Scar Mage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 faithless Looting
1 finale of Promise
1 forked Bolt
4 lava Spike
4 light up the Stage
2 gut Shot
4 lava Dart
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Manamorphose
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 fiery Islet
15 mountain
1 Sunbaked Canyon
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Abrade
1 Dismember
3 Dragon’s Claw
1 flame Slash
1 kozilek’s Return
2 Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
1 Shenanigans
4 Surgical Extraction
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Eighth Place, Mono-Red Phoenix – Bernard Gingras]
[Creatures]
4 soul-Scar Mage
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 arclight Phoenix
1 Bedlam Reveler
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Lightning Bolt
4 faithless Looting
4 light up the Stage
4 lava Dart
4 Manamorphose
4 Lava Spike
2 Shrine of Burning Rage
2 Gut Shot
1 Crash Through
[/Spells]
[Lands]
16 Mountain
2 Sunbaked Canyon
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Kari Zev’s Expertise
3 Dragon’s Claw
2 Abrade
2 Harsh Mentor
1 Bedlam Reveler
1 Dismember
1 rending Volley
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]