QUICK LINKS
Fifty players gathered at the F2F Tour Stop in Nanaimo to battle through a competitive Modern field. After seven rounds and a stacked Top 8, it was Sean Hunter who emerged victorious with Dimir Oculus, defeating Boros Energy in the finals and not dropping a match once he reached the elimination rounds.
Top 8 Results – F2F Nanaimo Modern Super-Qualifier
| Place | Player | Deck |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sean Hunter | Dimir Oculus |
| 2 | Zachary Allsopp | Boros Energy |
| 3 | Alex Hatch | Dimir Oculus |
| 4 | Brian Ly | Boros Aggro |
| 5 | Noel Robin | W-U-R-G Energy |
| 6 | Rob Stach | Boros Storm |
| 7 | Spencer McKay-Fisher | Mono-Blue Merfolk |
| 8 | Selkirk Watmough | W-U-B-R-G Aggro |
Dimir Oculus – Sean Hunter (1st)
Artifacts (1)
Sean was one of two players in the Top 8 on Dimir Oculus, a deck he’s been comfortable with since the printing of Psychic Frog. Here’s what he had to say after taking down the tournament:
Interview with Sean Hunter – Dimir Oculus Champion
Dimir Oculus made up 2 of the top 8 spots. What drew you to the deck for this event, and did you expect to see another Oculus pilot in the top 8?
I have been playing Dimir variants for a hot minute, basically since Psychic Frog was printed, so I felt comfortable piloting the deck and understood how to play the important match-ups in Modern. I did not expect to see another Oculus pilot in the top 8 since the deck is not that well represented, but I was pleasantly surprised!
Boros has been dominating the recent F2F Tour events. How did you prep for that expected matchup, and what’s your general gameplan against those aggressive Boros variants?
Boros is a very good deck, probably the best one in Modern at the moment, which led me to playing the Oculus build over the traditional Murktide build with Orcish Bowmasters and Kaito. The unearth package plus getting 2/2 manifest dread bodies shines against aggressive strategies, which I expected to be popular. The gameplan involves interacting as much as possible as they try to curve out while attempting to stick a threat that they are unable to answer. My prep involved hoping to win the die roll or praying they would not have a turn one play followed by two one drops!
Can you walk through your build? Any spicy tech or card choices that you felt gave you an edge? The list looks pretty clean but I’m curious about any decisions that felt important.
Absolutely! Pretty traditional build of the deck, which I got from PieGonti on Discord, that had a few maindeck bullets, such as Stern Scolding and Engineered Explosives, to help with the Boros match-up. The Meathook Massacre out of the sideboard in particular was insane against Boros and got me out of a couple tight spots. Jace, the Mind Sculptor was very good in the one mirror match I played as well.
Was there a particular round or moment where you felt like things were clicking, or where it started to feel like you might take the whole thing?
Boy howdy there sure was! Round four I was paired with local legend Kevin Besta who claims I am the luckiest fella around. Turns out he is right! In our game three he is able to curve out with Ocelot Pride, making a bunch of cats, and chip away at my life total bringing it to a measly two. He then put a Phlage on the stack against my untapped Watery Grave thinking the match was over. But alas, I had the lone Cling to Dust in my hand to exile a creature and gain three life! I untapped and drew The Meathook Massacre to cook his kitties and buffer my life total enough to finish the game with my beefy Psychic Frog. From there I was able to double ID into the top 8 and savagely 2-0 each of my opponents to earn this sweet trophy I am currently looking at.
What was your read on the meta going into the weekend? Were you expecting certain decks to show up, and how did the actual field compare to your predictions?
I thought this event would be filled with aggressive decks and #decksthatIown. I was expecting Energy, Prowess, and Zoo to be the most popular decks which turned out to be pretty spot on from what I saw. It was pretty cool to see some OLD school Modern decks, such as Affinity or Cheerios (which I played against round two) make an appearance. The gentleman I played against in the second round said that he has not played Modern in a long time and just brought the deck he had. The Mox Opal unban clearly helped those players out!
These tournaments can be mentally taxing. How do you stay sharp and manage pressure, especially in those crucial later rounds?
Besides giving the cliche answer of staying hydrated and eating well, which is obviously important, I would recommend not getting ahead of yourself and staying in the moment. It is super easy to look ahead and think to yourself “oh man, I need to win three more rounds to top 8”, but in reality you just need to take each match one game at a time, one turn at a time, and one game action at a time. Nobody can play perfectly for an entire tournament, but slowing down and making the best play available gives you the maximum chances of doing well. Getting lucky helps too!
For other players looking to break through at their next event, what’s the biggest thing you learned from this run that you’d want to pass along?
For a format that is as wide open as Modern, I would recommend playing what you know and are comfortable with. I cannot honestly say that Dimir Oculus is the best deck in Modern, but it was the deck that I was best at and understood how to win with. It is super easy to get wrapped up with netdecking the new hotness, but in reality your win rate will suffer from doing so unless you put in the time and effort to prepare properly. Also, I learned that winning all your matches is the easiest way to win an event so if you are looking to break through at your next event just don’t lose!
Anything you want to plug—content, socials, upcoming events, or just shout-out anyone who helped you prep for this win?
I used to stream every Wednesday (my dudes) but that ship has long sailed since becoming a teacher and especially recently as I am getting married in two weeks! Maybe I will make a triumphant return over the Summer to prepare for the Regional Championship. My Twitch is BaronOfBaconMTG if anyone is interested in keeping tabs on me to find out if I start streaming again. Y’all can find me on Twitter (@BaronOfBaconMTG) where I regularly post about paper and online events that I play in. Beyond local stuff, I am planning to attend the F2F Tour stop in Vancouver and then the Regional Championship in Calgary. Big shout-out to PieGonti for providing the winning decklist and to all of the Victoria Magic homies who came to game last weekend. Winning is cool and fun, but it really is all about the Gathering 🙂
Next Stop: Red Deer – July 5–6, 2025
The F2F Tour heads to Red Deer next on July 5–6 at Westerner Park. This full weekend of Magic features everything from Modern and Standard qualifiers to Commander pods, Mystery Booster Sealed, Chaos events, and more. Whether you’re grinding for a Regional invite or just playing for prize wall tickets with friends, there’s something for everyone at Canada’s premier Magic tour. Don’t miss it.
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.
