QUICK LINKS
With new cards from Outlaws of Thunder Junction available to be used, it was an exciting time this past Saturday to see what players would come up with to compete in the F2F Tour Modern Super Qualifier in Toronto.
95 players came to game. Both finalists ended up on Rakdos Scam while Scion Leyline made a huge splash with 3 copies in the top 8.
I managed to catch up with Legacy veteran Jody Scott, who brought a unique take on Rakdos Scam to the table, notably excluding Sheoldreds. Jody had previously top 8ed multiple Modern Super Qualifiers.
Rakdos Scam – Jody Scott (1st)
KYT: Hey Jody! Congrats on the big win. Tell me a bit about yourself.
Jody: Hi, my name is Jody Scott and I’m thrilled to have taken first place at the Magic the Gathering Super Qualifier! I predominately play Legacy, apart from these larger events for Modern.
My Rakdos Scam list was a twist on the traditional list, where I opted out of Sheoldred due to the mana constraints and lack of Fable of the Mirror-Breaker. Instead, I found success with Stalker, which proved to be a game-changer by its ability to grow beyond bolts and other creatures and trample, courtesy of Inti.
Also, do not sleep on Force of Despair as it came up in more thAn one matchup that helped me win.
KYT: No Sheoldreds?
Jody: I could not play him because of less mana sources and cutting Fable of the Mirror-Breaker. I wanted to lean into Stalker and Inti.
Sheoldred would have been good in a lot of matchups that I played. But since I was not on the traditional Rakdos list, it couldn’t be brought into this one.
I should also say that I had previous success with the traditional Rakdos scam list as I made top 8 of out the last 2 or 3 Modern Super Qualifiers that I played here at Face. I wanted to change things up with this Stalker/Inti list due to the banning of Violent Outburst.
KYT: Are you super competitive in Legacy?
Jody: I was to be before/during COVID. Played in a bunch of Super Qualifiers and the GPs. Now I just try and get out to 1ks and do weeklies.
I was never aspiring to be on the Pro Tour. Just a casual playing bigger events.
KYT: I hope we keep seeing you at our big events. Congrats again on the sweet victory!
I also got to talk to Andy Peters, noted Kingston legend and former co-host of mine of the First Strike podcast, who managed to put up a phenomenal result with Temur Prowess.
Temur Prowess – Andy Peters (3rd)
Artifacts (4)
Enchantments (2)
KYT: From your tweets, you put together the deck physically at the last hour, so how did you know Prowess was going to be sick?
Andy: Prowess was always on the brink of playability in Modern. Adding a flying threat that you can choose to deploy on two or save for later has lot of implications for certain popular decks. Yawgmoth for example can’t Grist it on 2 if you plot it and you can use it to kill Grist.
The rest of the format is trying to out midrange each other with Scion Leyline pushing out traditional creature/aggressive decks. This made it a perfect opportunity for people to not be prepared for a low to the ground aggro deck. I think it is also one of the best abusers of Pick Your Poison. Gets to leverage it being 1 mana the best.
KYT: Did you prepare with anyone and did you have an expected metagame in mind?
Andy: I built the deck with Edgar Magalhães. With Modern in sort of a lame duck period, it’s hard to tell what people are going to do but Prowess doesn’t care too much what the opponent is trying to do.
KYT: Speaking of unpredictability, were you surprised with the results at the event? Especially with 3 copies of Scion Leyline in top 8 and a pair of Rakdos Scam finishing in the finals?
Andy: No. Scion Leyline is one of the best shells in the format and if you don’t respect it in deckbuilding it will walk all over you. Scam is similar to Prowess in the sense that it doesn’t care too much about what kind of cardboard is on the other side. It is mostly trying to execute its own game plan but instead of the speed of Prowess, it has more disruption.
KYT: What would you say are the pillars of the format then? Seems like you think there’s a lot of viable options?
Andy: Pillars of the format are Zoo, Yawgmoth, Rakdos Scam, Amulet, and hopefully now, Prowess.
KYT: Thanks for your time, Andy. Good luck in Montreal!
As the F2F Tour Super Qualifier in Toronto comes to a close, the innovative decks and spirited competition have set a high bar for Round 7. This event showcased the adaptability and creativity of players, who brought their best strategies to the forefront, shaping an exciting future for the Magic: The Gathering competitive scene.
Next up is one of our biggest events of the year – our F2F Tour Weekend in the great city of Montreal. Featuring a mix of competitive play and casual fun over three days, there’s a place for everyone, from aspiring champions to social strategists. We look forward to the vibrant interactions and strategic battles that Montreal promises to offer.
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.