Toronto sure does love [Card]Celestial Colonnade[/Card].
It’s prominence comes and goes with it’s positioning in the metagame, but every now and then we have an event where it seems like everyone is casting [Card]Cryptic Command[/Card].
Hell, this weekend even know [Card]Devoted Druid[/Card] sympathizer Ryan “BantCharm” Sandrin was uttering “counter/draw” while putting the over-costed instant on the stack. And he was able to ride his Bant Snow deck all the way to becoming our Modern Showdown champion!
Ryan defeated Boston Schatteman and his Izzet [Card]Through the Breach[/Card] deck in the finals.
These snow decks have been looming on the outskirts of the Modern metagame for quite a while now. They were mostly cannibalized by Urza and Oko while they were legal. Now, with the addition of Uro as a powerful late-game engine, it might be time to get back to playing a bit of midrange in Modern. Ryan was actually one of two Bant-based snow decks in our Top 8, and Brian Ching also put up a Top 8 finish with his Azorius Stoneblade deck. The fact is [Card]Arcum’s Astrolabe[/Card] it a pretty fundamentally broken card and it pairs nicely with the similarly busted [Card]Teferi, Time Raveler[/Card], so I imagine this won’t be the last strong performance from this kind of deck we’ll see in Modern.
Joining them in the Top 8 was Mathew Loong playing Jund as usual but this time with two copies of Kroxa from Theros Beyond Death, Seungho Heo and Wilson Wong both playing Burn and Derek Berry playing his Eldrazi Tron deck.
Maybe the most staggering result from the weekend is the complete lack of [Card]Primeval Titan[/Card] decks in the Top 8. It seems like these players have found the way to beat one of Modern’s most feared archetypes at the moment. Fournier event went as far as splashing for three copies of [Card]Blood Moon[/Card] which is a healthy amount of respect.
Congratulations to Ryan Sandrin on his finish this weekend that qualifies him for our upcoming Ultimate Showdown! The rest of our Top 8 also picked up some valuable points towards their qualification. If you’re interested in your Showdown point total, check out our tracker here.
This upcoming weekend is jam packed for Face to Face Games Toronto! Firs we’ve got out Team Trios F2F Tour event at the Montecassino Hotel on Saturday and then we’re following that up with our first Pioneer WPNQ Qualifier on Sunday. It is going to be an awesome weekend to battle in the city, so make sure you sign up for the Trios event HERE and the Pioneer event HERE!
[Deck Title= First Place, Bant Snow – Ryan Sandrin]
[Creatures]
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Ice-fang Coatl
3 Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Supreme Verdict
3 Force of Negation
2 Mana Leak
4 Thoughtseize
4 Path to Exile
4 Arcum’s Astrolabe
2 Teferi, Time Raveler
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
2 Cryptic Command
1 Archmage’s Charm
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Field of Ruin
2 Mystic Sanctuary
1 Temple Garden
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Breeding Pool
4 Flooded Strand
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Snow-covered Plains
1 Snow-covered Forest
6 Snow-covered Island
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Return to Nature
1 Aether Gust
3 Ashiok, Dream Render
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Celestial Purge
2 Mystical Dispute
3 Veil of Summer
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
[Deck Title= Second Place, Izzet Breach – Boston Schatteman]
[Creatures]
4 Snapcaster MAge
1 Brazen Borrower
4 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Through the Breach
4 Opt
3 Omen of the Seas
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Spell Snare
4 Remand
3 Archmage’s Charm
2 Force of Negation
3 Cryptic Command
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Steam Vents
1 Breeding Pool
3 Mystic Sanctuary
7 Island
1 Mountain
1 Desolate Lighthouse
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Abrade
2 Aether Gust
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Blood Moon
1 Brazen Borrower
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Flusterstorm
3 Relic of the Progenitus
2 Veil of Summer
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
[Deck Title= Third Place, Burn – Seungho Heo]
[Creatures]
4 Goblin Guide
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Boros Charm
4 Lightning Helix
4 Rift Bolt
3 Searing Blaze
3 Skewer the Critics
4 Lava Spike
2 Skullcrack
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Mountain
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Arid Mesa
4 Inspiring Vantage
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Sunbaked Canyon
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Path to Exile
2 Searing Blood
3 Smash to Smithereens
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Deflecting Palm
2 Skullcrack
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Exquisite Firecraft
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
[Deck Title= Fourth Place, Burn – Wilson Wong]
[Creatures]
4 Goblin Guide
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Rift Bolt
4 Lava Spike
4 Skewer the Critics
4 Boros Charm
3 Searing Blaze
3 Lightning Helix
2 Skullcrack
1 Shard Volley
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Sunbaked Canyon
2 Fiery Islet
4 Inspiring Vantage
2 Sacred Foundry
3 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Kor Firewalker
3 Path to Exile
3 Smash to Smithereens
2 Rest in Peace
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Skullcrack
2 Tunnel Ignus
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
[Deck Title= Fifth Place, Four-Colour Snow – Daniel Fournier]
[Creatures]
4 Ice-fang Coatl
3 Snapcaster Mage
1 Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Arcum’s Astrolabe
4 Path to Exile
3 Opt
2 Spell Snare
1 Deprive
1 Mana Leak
1 Wind’s of Abandon
3 Force of Negation
3 Teferi, Time Raveler
2 Archmage’s Charm
2 Cryptic Command
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Steam Vents
1 Temple Garden
1 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Flooded Strand
6 Snow-covered Island
1 Snow-covered Plains
1 Snow-covered Forest
2 Mystic Sanctuary
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Force of Negation
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Mystical Dispute
2 Timely Reinforcements
3 Veil of Summer
3 Blood Moon
2 Ashiok, Dream Render
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
[Deck Title= Sixth Place, Eldrazi Tron – Derek Berry]
[Creatures]
4 Matter Reshaper
4 Thought-knot Seer
4 Reality Smasher
2 Walking Ballista
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Karn, the Great Creator
1 Ugin, the Ineffable
1 Karn Liberated
1 Warping Wail
2 Dismember
1 All is Dust
4 Expedition Map
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Once Upon a Time
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Urza’s Tower
4 Urza’s Mine
4 Urza’s Power Plant
4 Eldrazi Temple
2 Blast Zone
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Forest
1 Wastes
1 Scavenger Grounds
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Spatial Contortion
1 Walking Ballista
1 sundering Titan
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Shadow Spear
1 Torpor Orb
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
1 Liquimetal Coating
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
[Deck Title= Seventh Place, Azorius Stoneblade – Brian Ching]
[Creatures]
4 Spell Queller
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Stoneforge Mystic
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Jace the Mind Sculptor
2 Teferi, Time Raveler
2 Cryptic Command
3 Force of Negation
2 Mana Leak
2 Spell Snare
4 Path to Exile
4 Opt
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Snow-covered Plains
5 Snow-covered Island
1 Mystic Sanctuary
4 Field of Ruin
2 Celestial Colonnade
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Glacial Fortress
4 Flooded Strand
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Mystical Dispute
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Rest in Peace
2 Ashiok, Dream Render
1 Celestial Purge
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Winds of Abandon
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Kor Firewalker
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]
[Deck Title= Eighth Place, Jund – Matthew Loong]
[Creatures]
2 Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Bloodbraid Elf
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Wrenn and Six
4 Liliana of the Veil
3 Fatal Push
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Thoughtseize
3 Assassin’s Trophy
3 Kolaghan’s Command
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Blood Crypt
2 Bloodstained Mire
1 Forest
1 Mountain
2 Nurturing Peatland
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Raging Ravine
1 Stomping Ground
2 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Damping Sphere
2 Pillage
3 Collective Brutality
3 Fulminator Mage
2 Plague Engineer
1 Huntmaster of the Fells
2 Ashiok, Dream Render
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]