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This past Saturday, the F2F Tour stopped in Edmonton, where 91 players gathered to compete in the Modern Super Qualifier. In a tournament full of intense battles and innovative decks, Teran Hancock emerged victorious, piloting Gruul Eldrazi to first place. Teran’s powerful strategy, which leveraged the newly popularized Ugin’s Labyrinth and Through the Breach combo, led him to secure his championship title. Ash Loraas, another standout performer, also showcased Gruul Eldrazi and advanced to the top 8, embodying the fun and camaraderie of the event.
Top 8 Finishers:
The competition was fierce, with some incredible decks making their way to the top. Here are the players and decks that reached the pinnacle of this event:
- Teran Hancock – Gruul Eldrazi
- Andrew Traynor – Dimir Murktide
- Eric Purvis – Mono-Blue Merfolk
- Ryan Primdahl – Esper Goryo’s
- DJ Corless – Rakdos Scam
- Conner Buchanan – Gruul Eldrazi
- Ash Loraas – Gruul Eldrazi
- Rob Stach – Ruby Storm
Let’s dive into interviews with our champion, Teran Hancock, and top 8 player Ash Loraas, who both piloted Gruul Eldrazi.
Interview with Teran Hancock, Winner of the Edmonton Modern Super Qualifier
KYT: Congratulations on taking down the event, Teran! Can you introduce yourself and tell us about the deck you played this weekend?
Teran: My name is Teran, I’m from Lethbridge, Alberta, and have been playing Magic since Eldritch Moon. This weekend I took RG Through the Breach to Face to Face Edmonton.
With the introduction of MH3, the deck got a huge boost with cards like Devourer of Destiny and Kozilek’s Command. These cards allowed me to ramp, fix draws, and interact in key moments. But the biggest upgrade was Ugin’s Labyrinth, which really pushed the deck to the next level.
Gruul Eldrazi – Teran Hancock (1st)
[mtg_deck]
4 Through the Breach
4 Kozilek’s Command
3 All Is Dust
1 Kozilek’s Return
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 The One Ring
4 Talisman of Impulse
2 Ulamog, the Defiler
4 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
4 Devourer of Destiny
4 Sowing Mycospawn
4 Karplusan Forest
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Ugin’s Labyrinth
1 Boseiju, Who Endures
1 Gemstone Caverns
1 Commercial District
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Forest
Sideboard
4 Thought-Knot Seer
4 World Breaker
3 Trinisphere
2 The Stone Brain
2 Kozilek’s Return
[/mtg_deck]
KYT: It seems like MH3 really gave this deck a big boost! What led you to bring this version of Gruul Eldrazi into the event, especially since you switched from Mono Green Eldrazi Tron last minute?
Teran: The deck was on my radar before the Nadu and Grief bans, but it struggled against those decks. After the bans, I figured the meta would be full of Boros, UB Frogtide, and Yawgmoth, so I picked a deck that could go over the top of those strategies.
I switched from Mono Green Eldrazi Tron the night before the event to Breach. I hadn’t even played Breach before, but it felt like the right call.
KYT: Bold move to make such a big switch so close to the event! What was your toughest matchup throughout the event?
Teran: The top 8 was really tough. I faced DJ Corless on RB Hollow One in the quarterfinals, and his deck puts on a fast clock. I managed to stabilize with Kozilek’s Command and close out with Through the Breach.
The finals against Andrew Traynor on UB Frogtide were the most challenging. His countermagic and fast Murktide clock were hard to deal with. Game 3 came down to the wire, but I managed to find what I needed with Ancient Stirrings to seal the win.
KYT: Wow, sounds like an amazing finals! Is there anyone you want to shout out for helping you prepare for this event or supporting you along the way?
Teran: I want to thank a bunch of people but mainly three groups that helped me along various steps of the way. Firstly, I want to thank my local scene in Lethbridge and my LGSs of Showcase Comics and Hobbies along with Treasure Chest Games. Without them and Face to Face Games hosting the event, none of this would have been possible.
I also want to thank the Medicine Hat crew of Jozef, Tom, and Linden for getting me to the event and talking me out of playing Tron. Finally, I want to thank the testing group hosted by Andrew Traynor, Ash Loraas, and Graham Bird. This group is full of amazing people and has helped all of us become better Magic players (7 members of the top 8 were from this group) and stay connected.
The most important part of these events isn’t the Magic, it’s the Gathering. As you can see from the photo of me after the finals, as much as winning is great, the friends I’ve made in Magic will last a lot longer than my memory of winning today.
Seeing people from all over the country that you may not see again for months, talking to your teammates between rounds to hear all the stories from blowouts to bad beats, to the dinners afterward when everyone is laughing and just happy to be together.
I couldn’t ask for a better community to be a part of, and I can’t wait to see everyone again at the RC in Calgary soon.
Interview with Ash Loraas, Top 8 Competitor at the Edmonton Modern Super Qualifier
KYT: Ash, great to have you here! You’re known as “Mermaid Man”—can you tell us about the deck you played this weekend and how you ended up choosing Gruul Eldrazi?
Ash: Hey everyone, it’s Mermaid Man 🧜♂️! I played Gruul Eldrazi. My coworker Conner B, who also top 8’d this event, and I chose this deck because it was the deck that abused Ugin’s Lab the best post-Nadu ban.
This deck also had a lot of non-games where we would just Through the Breach a fatty and hope that would beat 95% of the room, which it did.
I had no playtesting with the deck minus an FNM the night before. I just trusted my coworkers’ thoughts and played the broken cards.
Gruul Eldrazi – Ash Loraas (7th)
[mtg_deck]
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 All Is Dust
4 Devourer of Destiny
3 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
4 Kozilek’s Command
4 Sowing Mycospawn
4 Talisman of Impulse
4 Through the Breach
4 The One Ring
3 Ulamog, the Defiler
2 Boseiju, Who Endures
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Cavern of Souls
4 Eldrazi Temple
1 Forest
1 Gemstone Caverns
4 Ugin’s Labyrinth
4 Karplusan Forest
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
Sideboard
2 Kozilek’s Return
2 The Stone Brain
3 Trinisphere
4 Thought-Knot Seer
4 World Breaker
[/mtg_deck]
KYT: Sounds like you made a great call with the deck choice! So, going into the event with minimal playtesting, what was your overall strategy?
Ash: Honestly, the plan was simple—play the broken cards, trust the deck’s power, and hope that was enough.
Through the Breach into a big fatty was the main game plan, and Ugin’s Lab really helped the deck be as explosive as possible.
KYT: Every tournament has its challenges. What would you say was your toughest matchup during the event?
Ash: The worst matchup was Merfolk, which Mermaid Man played twice this event. I managed to beat it in the Swiss, but I couldn’t swim through it the second time—evil prevailed!
The Goryo’s deck is also not a great matchup, but I never saw it.
KYT: It must have been tough to face Merfolk twice! Despite that, it seems like you had a great time. What was the most enjoyable part of the event for you?
Ash: The most enjoyable part was hanging out with my friends. All of them were hyping me up as I was winning, and we went out for dinner afterward to celebrate Teran’s win and everyone’s success.
We also found out the trophy cannot hold liquid, so future winners don’t try it! But thanks to everyone who came to the event—Face to Face wouldn’t be able to host these events if it wasn’t for everyone attending and making it fun.
KYT: (laughs) I’ll definitely keep that in mind for future winners. Anyone you want to shout out for supporting you through this event?
Ash: I wouldn’t be Mermaid Man if I didn’t have my Barnacle Boy, so shout out to Alex Hatch for dressing up with me! Also, I have a group of friends who test in Discord with me, and we were about 20% of the room, and 7 of us made top 8.
Shout out to all of them for supporting me this event. I recently got out of the hospital for a twisted bowel, and everyone was checking up on me, and the staff was very accommodating with my needs, so thank you to everyone for that.
Eternally grateful to be in the position I am.
As we wrap up our coverage of the Edmonton Modern Super Qualifier, we’re already looking forward to the next F2F Tour stop in Regina on September 14. Will we see another shakeup in the Modern metagame? Stay tuned to find out!
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.