After weeks of Izzet Phoenix’s dominance in Modern, another [Card]Faithless Looting[/Card] deck put on a show this past weekend as the FacetoFaceGames.com Open Series traveled to Kelowna, B.C. — Dredge.

Ryan McKerricher harnessed the power of his graveyard and with the help of [Card]Narcomeba[/Card], [Card]Bloodghast[/Card] and friends he was able to bring home the trophy.

Dredge has, of course, been a fixture of the Modern format for the past few years ever since the unbanning — and subsequent re-banning — of [Card]Golgari Grave-Troll[/Card]. The deck obviously attacks on a drastically different angle than your average Modern deck and often forces its opponent to have dedicated graveyard hate to interact. On Saturday, McKerricher was able to juke and jive his way around that hate using his [Card]Nature’s Claim[/Card]s to become champion. McKerricher defeated Conner Phillips and his [Card]Hardened Scales[/Card] deck in the finals.

Scales is a deck that has waxed and waned in its effectiveness in Modern, but has always had the kind of explosiveness to compete with the top of the format. While capable of some frustrating draws, [Card]Arcbound Ravager[/Card] accounts for some seemingly instant kills and this deck is a serious contender at any Modern event as Phillips showed this weekend.

The rest of our Top 8 featured Thomas Piercey playing Izzet Phoenix, David Holmberg on Tron, Jacob Hanley who chose Mono-Red Phoenix over Izzet, Austin Drake playing Burn, Chris Danek on old-school Jund and Ben Elliot playing the coolest Esper deck I have ever seen in my life.

Seriously, Elliot’s Esper deck had a full four copies of [Card]Kaya, Orzhov Usurper[/Card] and another four copies of [Card]Unmoored Ego[/Card]. You do not want to miss this brew.

In addition to the action in the main event we had players on site all day battling in side events. This was the first major event ever hosted in Kelowna, and we had a great time bringing competitive Magic to the city. We also had a few lucky Face to Face Games Open Trial winners in attendance. Don’t forget you can win byes to an upcoming Open by competing in our Trials. Check out our event schedule for a Trial near you.

Congratulations again to our champion Ryan McKerricher from everyone at Face to Face Games! Additionally, we’d like to extend our thanks to both our Open Series sponsor — Ultimate Guard — who hooked up everyone in the Top 8 with some awesome swag and to our amazing judge staff! The next stop on the series is coming up this Saturday in Edmonton, Alberta where we’ll be hosting a Modern Open+! Make sure to pre-register and we’ll see you there.

[Deck Title=First Place, Dredge – Ryan McKerricher]
[Creatures]
1 Golgari Thug
4 Stinkweed Imp
1 Street Wraith
4 Bloodghast
4 Prized Amalgam
4 Narcomoeba
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Cathartic Reunion
4 Life From the Loam
4 Faithless Looting
4 Creeping Chill
3 Shriekhorn
3 Conflagrate
2 Darkblast
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Mountain
1 Mana Confluence
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Gemstone Mine
1 Steam Vents
2 Stomping Grounds
2 Blood Crypt
3 Copperline Gorge
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Damping Sphere
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Ancient Grudge
4 Nature’s Claim
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Leyline of the Void
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title=Second Place, Hardened Scales – Conner Phillips]
[Creatures]
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Walking Ballista
4 Arcbound Worker
4 Steel Overseer
1 Spellskite
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Ancient Stirrings
3 Welding Jar
3 Animation Module
1 Throne of Geth
4 Hardened Scales
4 Mox Opal
[/Spells]
[Lands]
5 Forest
4 Inkmoth Nexus
2 Horizon Canopy
4 Darksteel Citadel
2 Llanowar Reborn
1 Phyrexia’s Core
1 Blinkmoth Nexus
1 Pendelhaven
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 Nature’s Claim
3 Dismember
2 Damping Sphere
2 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Spellskite
1 Basilisk Collar
2 Surgical Extraction
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title=Third Place, Izzet Phoenix – Thomas Piercy]
[Creatures]
4 Thing in the Ice
2 Crackling Drake
1 Bedlam Reveler
4 Arclight Phoenix
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Surgical Extraction
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Opt
4 Serum Visions
4 Faithless Looting
4 Thought Scour
2 Lightning Axe
1 Gut Shot
2 Pyromancer Ascension
4 Manamorphose
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Polluted Delta
1 Sulfur Falls
2 Steam Vents
3 Spirebluff Canal
2 Mountain
3 Island
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Dispel
2 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Ravenous Trap
2 Abrade
1 Beacon Bolt
1 Echoing Truth
2 Spell Pierce
1 Shatterstorm
2 Blood Moon
1 Rending Volley
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title=Fourth Place, Mono-Green Tron – David Holmberg]
[Creatures]
3 Wurmcoil Engine
3 Walking Ballista
2 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
1 Worldbreaker
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
4 Karn Liberated
4 Sylvan Scrying
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Chromatic Star
4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Expedition Map
4 Oblivion Stone
2 Relic of Progenitus
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Urza’s Tower
4 Urza’s Mine
4 Urza’s Power Plant
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Sanctum of Ugin
4 Forest
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Crucible of Worlds
2 Spatial Contortion
3 Thought-Knot Seer
3 Thragtusk
3 Nature’s Claim
3 Surgical Extraction
1 Dismember
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title=Fifth Place, Mono-Red Phoenix – Jacob Hanley]
[Creatures]
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Soul-Scar Mage
4 Arclight Phoenix
2 Bedlam Reveler
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Light up the Stage
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Faithless Looting
4 Lava Spike
4 Manamorphose
1 Lightning Axe
1 Forked Bolt
3 Gut Shot
3 Skewer the Critics
[/Spells]
[Lands]
18 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Lightning Axe
2 Dragon’s Claw
2 Abrade
1 Shattering Spree
2 Blood Moon
3 Molten Rain
3 Tormod’s Crypt
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title=Sixth Place, Burn – Austin Drake]
[Creatures]
4 Goblin Guide
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
1 Grim Lavamancer
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Rift Bolt
4 Skewer the Critics
4 Boros Charm
3 Lightning Helix
3 Searing Blaze
2 Skullcrack
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Arid Mesa
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Inspiring Vantage
3 Mountain
2 Sacred Foundry
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Deflecting Palm
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
2 Kor Firewalker
3 Path to Exile
2 Rest in Peace
2 Wear // Tear
2 Smash to Smithereens
2 Skullcrack
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title=Seventh Place, Esper Ego – Ben Elliott]
[Creatures]
2 Geist of Saint Traft
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Unmoored Ego
4 Kaya, Orzhov Usurper
3 Liliana of the Veil
4 Fatal Push
3 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition on Kozilek
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Gideon of the Trials
3 Path to Exile
2 Settle the Wreckage
1 Urza’s Ruinous Blast
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Godless Shrine
3 Watery Grave
1 Hallowed Fountain
3 Flooded Strand
3 Marsh Flats
2 Polluted Delta
2 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Shambling Vent
2 Ghost Quarter
2 Swamp
1 Plains
1 Island
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Timely Reinforcements
2 Runed Halo
2 Rest in Peace
3 Negate
1 Dispel
2 Celestial Purge
2 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

[Deck Title=Eighth Place, Jund – Chris Danek]
[Creatures]
3 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Dark Confidant
3 Scavenging Ooze
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Liliana of the Veil
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Fatal Push
3 Assassin’s Trophy
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Kolaghan’s Command
3 Lightning Bolt
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Mountain
1 Forest
2 Swamp
1 Twilight Mire
1 Stomping Ground
1 Blood Crypt
2 Overgrown Tomb
3 Raging Ravine
1 Wooded Foothills
3 Bloodstained Mire
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Alpine Moon
1 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Damnation
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Fulminator Mage
1 Damping Sphere
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Ancient Grudge
2 Kitchen Finks
1 Duress
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Engineered Explosives
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]