Many competitive Magic players dream of Modern midrange mirrors.
Jund versus [Card]Splinter Twin[/Card] duking it out like it’s 2015 or something. Interactive spells being slung left and right, and the careful mind games that we’ve come to adore Magic for once again become ever present in deciding your fate at any given tournament.
Well, miraculously that seems to be what happened when the FacetoFaceGames.com Open Series traveled to London, Ontario for a Modern Open this past Sunday. We had a Top 8 chalked full of creatures, removal spells and interactive strategies.
That said, they were all bested by Owen Turcotte who skipped the pleasantries and aimed burn spells straight for his opponent’s life totals. Because there’s nothing quite as interactive as a [Card]Lava Spike[/Card] straight to the dome.
Owen defeated Raymond Li and his Jund deck in the finals, just the first of six decks that I’d describe as “fair decks” in our Top 8.
Michaels Van Vaals also made the Top 8 playing Jund, Richard Yam made the semifinals on Azorius Stoneblade, TJ Raymore and Reuben Musselman both made Top 8 with a sweet Jeskai Saheeli deck, Ryan Proc made the elimination rounds with a Stoneforge-infused version of Bant Spirits and noted Face to Face Games Modern all-star Kaya Gregg rounded out our Top 8 with her beloved Eldrazi Tron deck.
Let me be the first to say that, wow, that is a lot of midrange Magic decks. I don’t know if there was just no TitanShift in the room or what, but this looks like a completely different Modern metagame than we saw at MC Barcelona just a few short weeks ago. This is the sort of Top 8 I think a lot of us imagined when we saw the banning of Looting and Hogaak and the unbanning of Stoneforge.
In addition to all the action in the main event we had a swath of other players on site all day long Drafting and playing in Commander pods. It was awesome seeing so many familiar faces!
Before I leave you for the week I’ve got a special announcement to share with you! With Wizards of the Coast’s latest announcement about the changes to global organized play, they added something called WPN Player’s Tour Qualifiers. These are ways for them to distribute Regional Player’s Tour qualifications to third party tournament organizers. And with that, we are happy to announce that our Open+ Open Series events will now hand out a Player’s Tour invitation to the champion!
Congratulations again to our champion Owen Turcotte from everyone at Face to Face Games! We’d also like to thank our awesome judge staff who ran a smooth event all day long!
With our tournament series growing every week we’ve added a feedback point of contact to our workflow in order to create the best events possible for you all in the future. If there are any changes you’d like to see from our events email us at: feedback@facetofacegames.com.
The next stop on the series is coming up on Oct. 19 when the Open Series will be traveling to Grande Prairie, Alberta for the first time for a Modern Open! Make sure to pre-register and get to testing, we’ll see you there!
[Deck Title= First Place, Burn – Owen Turcotte]
[Creatures]
4 goblin Guide
4 monastery Swiftspear
4 eidolon of the Great Revel
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 lightning Bolt
4 lava Spike
4 rift Bolt
2 skewer the Critics
2 skullcrack
4 boros Charm
4 lightning Helix
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 inspiring Vantage
4 sunbaked Canyon
2 sacred Foundry
4 bloodstained Mire
2 wooded Foothills
1 fiery Islet
3 mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 leyline of the Void
1 skullcrack
3 smash to Smithereens
4 kor Firewalker
3 path to Exile
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
[Deck Title= Second Place, Jund – Raymond Li]
[Creatures]
4 bloodbraid Elf
2 scavenging Ooze
4 tarmogoyf
2 tireless Tracker
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 liliana of the Veil
3 wrenn and Six
1 abrupt Decay
2 assassin’s Trophy
2 fatal Push
3 lightning Bolt
3 thoughtseize
3 inquisition of Kozilek
1 collective Brutality
2 kolaghan’s Command
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 barren Moor
1 blooming Marsh
2 blackcleave Cliffs
2 nurturing Peatland
2 raging Ravine
3 bloodstained Mire
3 verdant Catacombs
2 wooded Foothills
2 overgrown Tomb
1 stomping Grounds
1 blood Crypt
2 swamp
1 forest
1 mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 ancient Grudge
2 collector Ouphe
2 ashiok, Dream Render
1 collective Brutality
2 alpine Moon
3 fulminator Mage
1 huntmaster of the Fells
1 kitchen Finks
1 plague Engineer
1 vraska, Golgari Queen
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
[Deck Title= Third Place, Jund – Michael Van Vaals]
[Creatures]
3 bloodbraid Elf
1 huntmaster of the Fells
2 tireless Tracker
2 scavenging Ooze
4 tarmogoyf
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 assassin’s Trophy
3 kolaghan’s Command
3 wrenn and Six
2 fatal Push
4 inquisition of Kozilek
4 lightning bolt
4 liliana of the Veil
2 thoughtseize
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 barren Moor
3 blackcleave Cliffs
1 blood Crypt
4 bloodstained Mire
1 forest
1 mountain
2 nuturing Peatlands
2 overgrown Tomb
2 raging Ravine
1 stomping Ground
2 swamp
3 verdant Catacombs
1 wooded Foothills
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 ancient Grudge
1 ashiok, Dream Render
1 choke
2 collective Brutality
2 collector Ouphe
2 fulminator Mage
1 ghost Quarter
1 kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 plague Engineer
1 surgical Extraction
1 weather the Storm
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
[Deck Title= Fourth Place, Azorius Stoneblade – Richard Yam]
[Creatures]
4 stoneforge Mystic
4 snapcaster Mage
2 vendilion Clique
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 opt
4 path to Exile
4 spell Snare
4 mana Leak
2 force of Negation
4 cryptic Command
1 sword of Feast and Famine
1 batterskull
2 jace, the Mind Sculptor
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 flooded Strand
2 scalding Tarn
6 island
2 plains
4 field of Ruin
2 hallowed Fountain
2 glacial Fortress
2 celestial Colonnade
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 surgical Extraction
2 ceremonious Rejection
2 spell Pierce
1 disdainful Stroke
2 celestial Purge
1 disenchant
2 timely Reinforcements
3 supreme Verdict
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
[Deck Title= Fifth Place, Eldrazi Tron – Kaya Gregg]
[Creatures]
4 matter Reshaper
1 endbringer
3 walking Ballista
4 reality Smasher
4 thought-Knot Seer
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 all is Dust
4 chalice of the Void
2 dismember
4 expedition Map
4 karn, the Great Creator
2 mind Stone
2 ugin, the Ineffable
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 urza’s Mine
4 urza’s Power Plant
4 urza’s Tower
2 wastes
4 eldrazi Temple
3 ghost Quarter
2 blast Zone
1 cavern of Souls
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 batterskull
1 crucible of Worlds
1 ensnaring Bridge
1 grafdigger’s Cage
1 liquidmetal Coating
1 mycosynth Lattice
1 mystic Forge
1 relic of Progenitus
1 sorcerous Spyglass
1 tormod’s Crypt
1 torpor Orb
1 walking Ballista
2 warping Wail
1 witchbane Orb
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
[Deck Title= Sixth Place, Jeskai Saheeli – Reuben Musselman]
[Creatures]
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Felidar Guardian
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Seasoned Pyromancer
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Saheeli Rai
3 Terferi, Time Raveler
4 Serum Visions
4 Remand
4 Lightning Helix
3 path to Exile
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Steam Vents
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Sulfur Falls
1 Glacial Fortress
2 Island
2 Plains
1 mountain
1 Fiery Islet
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Flooded Strand
3 Field of Ruin
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Ashiok, Dream Render
2 Stoney Silence
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Abrade
2 Force of Negation
2 Dovin’s Veto
1 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Geist of Saint Traft
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
[Deck Title= Seventh Place, Bant Spirits – Ryan Proc]
[Creatures]
1 Geist of Saint Traft
2 phantasmal Image
2 unsettled Mariner
4 mausoleum Wanderer
2 selfless Spirit
3 rattle Chains
4 supreme Phantom
4 drogskol Champion
4 spell Queller
4 noble Hierarch
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 collected Company
3 aether Vial
2 path to Exile
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 moorland Haunt
1 forest
1 island
1 plains
1 misty Rainforest
4 flooded Strand
2 windswept Heath
1 breeding Pool
1 temple Garden
1 hallowed Fountain
3 botanical Sanctum
4 waterlogged Grove
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 rest in Peace
2 thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 ceremonious Rejection
2 disdainful Stroke
2 deputy of Detention
1 geist of Saint Traft
2 knight of Autumn
1 settle the Wreckage
1 damping Sphere
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
[Deck Title= Eighth Place, Jeskai Saheeli – TJ Raymore]
[Creatures]
4 stoneforge mystic
4 felidar guardian
2 snapcaster mage
2 seasoned pyromancer
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 spell pierce
4 remand
3 path to exile
3 lightning helix
4 serum visions
1 sword of light and shadow
1 batterskull
3 teferi, time reveler
4 saheeli rai
1 jace, the mind sculptor
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 flooded strand
4 scalding tarn
2 steam vents
1 sacred foundry
2 hallowed fountain
1 seachrome coast
2 spirebluff canal
1 fiery islet
1 plains
1 mountain
2 island
1 field of ruin
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 ashiok dream render
1 dovin’s veto
1 abrade
2 timely reinforcements
1 anger of the gods
3 stoney silence
1 geist of st traft
2 force of negation
1 ceremonious rejection
1 spell queller
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]