During the Top 8 of Sunday’s Modern Ultimate Showdown, Toronto grinder Omar Beldon looked at me and quietly said, “lands that make multiple mana are powerful.”

The fact is, doing the most powerful thing in the shortest amount of time possible is the name of the game in Modern. And on Sunday, Matthew Dilks cast [Card]Primeval Titan[/Card] ahead of schedule early and often in order to take down his second Ultimate Showdown title with Amulet Titan.

The Ultimate Showdown is an Invitational event run by Face to Face Games Toronto to reward each player with 100+ Sunday Showdown Series points at the end of the season. This time, 39 players came out to battle.

Both Dilks, and his teammate in the Amulet cabal, last year’s champion Edgar Magalhaes, made it to the elimination rounds with similar versions of the archetype that they worked on together. If you pay any attention to the Toronto Magic scene, you know these two are favourites to win just about any tournament they enter. And well, they showed up in Top 8 once again with their pet deck.

As for Omar’s comment about mana, well if you look at the Top 8 decks below, you’ll see that a full four out of eight of them are able to cheat on mana with their manabase. Turns out big mana is still just great.

As you might imagine, the rest of the Top 8 consisted of four decks that get to the board quite quickly, Humans, [Card]Hollow One[/Card], Grixis [Card]Death’s Shadow[/Card] and Storm. On Sunday it was all about going big or going fast.

A huge thank you from Face to Face Games Toronto goes out to everyone that came out to battle on Sunday. We love this event, and we hope you do to. It’s awesome to be able to celebrate the Showdown Series that you all have made so great.

Congratulations to Dilks on his second win, and to Andrew Gordon who was this season’s Showdown points champion. For a more in depth look at our Top 8, check out our player profiles below. Our next season of the Sunday Showdown Series begins this coming Sunday. We’ll be hosting a Two-Headed Giant Battlebond tournament for charity. Come on out, bring a friend and help a good cause!

Quite possibly the most feared player in the city, Dilks made his name in Legacy with his beloved R/G Lands deck and has become an extremely well-rounded player in the past two years. Most recently, he Top 8’d the Eternal Weekend Legacy Championships where he decided to put down Lands in favour of Golgari Depths.

Dilks has also won a Face to Face Games Open in Toronto playing Modern. He and Edgar Magalhaes have both been working on Amulet Titan in Modern over the course of the past few years and Dilks certainly showed the master a thing or two on Sunday by one-upping him for his second trophy.

Dilks has also started to write about his Eternal format battles right here on this website.

[Deck Title= First Place, Amulet Titan – Matthew Dilks]
[Creatures]
4 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
4 Primeval Titan
4 Sakura-Tribe Scout
3 Trinket Mage
1 Skyshroud Ranger
1 Walking Ballista
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Summoner’s Pact
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Amulet of Vigor
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Pact of Negation
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Gemstone Mine
4 Simic Growth Chamber
4 Gruul Turf
1 Boros Garrison
3 Tolaria West
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Radiant Fountain
1 Cavern of Souls
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Spell Pierce
1 Dismember
3 Abrade
1 Reclamation Sage
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1 Hornet Queen
2 Engineered Explosives
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Alex Nikolic certainly made a splash on Sunday. Although an obviously accomplished player, he wouldn’t have been my first choice to make the finals of such a star-studded event. Nikolic is a Toronto-based player who isn’t that familiar with Modern, but made a nice metagame call by play Mono-Green Tron in a room that has been really unprepared for it in recent weeks.

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

Anthony Evangelista was another player who made an impressive deep run in Modern on Sunday. He’s primarily a Legacy player who plays U/W Miracles and picked up Grixis Death’s Shadow for this event. Luckily for him, this deck plays quite similarly to a Legacy deck and Anthony played extremely well to pilot such a difficult deck to a good finish on Sunday.

[Deck Title= Third Place, Grixis Death’s Shadow – Anthony Evangelista]
[Creatures]
4 Death’s Shadow
3 Gurmag Angler
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Street Wraith
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Temur Battle Rage
4 Thoughtseize
2 Deprive
3 Stubborn Denial
3 Fatal Push
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Dismember
1 Kolaghan’s Command
4 Serum Visions
1 Opt
4 Thought Scour
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Polluted Delta
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Watery Grave
2 Blood Crypt
1 Steam Vents
1 Island
1 Swamp
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Kolaghan’s Command
1 Abrade
1 Deprive
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Stubborn Denial
1 Ceremonious Rejection
3 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Collective Brutality
2 Young Pyromancer
2 Pyroclasm
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Isaak Krut is on a pretty impressive heater. In recent months he’s Top 8’d both Grand Prix Milwaukee and Grand Prix Montreal to burst onto the Pro Magic scene. On the weekend, he found himself in yet another Top 8 with Mono-Green Tron in Modern. Isaak is quickly making his mark as one of Toronto’s best players and I would do your best to avoid playing against him at your next event if you’re trying to win.

[Deck Title= Fourth Place, Mono-Green Tron – Isaak Krut]
[Creatures]
2 Walking Ballista
2 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
1 World Breaker
3 Wurmcoil Engine
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Oblivion Stone
3 Relic of Progenitus
4 Chromatic Star
4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Expedition Map
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Sylvan Scrying
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
4 Karn, Liberated
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Urza’s Mine
4 Urza’s Tower
4 Urza’s Powerplant
5 Forest
1 Sanctum of Ugin
1 Ghost Quarter
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Nature’s Claim
3 Thragtusk
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
2 Spatial Contortion
2 Surgical Extraction
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Edgar Magalhaes is Gold Pro Magic player and member of the Team Face to Face Games Pro Team. He’s won two Face to Face Games Opens wielding his beloved Amulet Titan and has five Grand Prix Top 8s to his name.

Over the past couple of years Edgar has made a name for himself as one of the best Magic players in Canada and represents the Toronto Magic community as a Pro Tour regular. He’s also started to write about the game right here on this very website.

[Deck Title= Fifth Place, Amulet Titan – Edgar Magalhaes]
[Creatures]
4 Sakura-Tribe Scout
1 Skyshroud Ranger
3 Trinket Mage
4 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
4 Primeval Titan
1 Walking Ballista
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Amulet of Vigor
4 Summoner’s Pact
1 Pact of Negation
1 Engineered Explosives
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Slayer’s Stronghold
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
4 Simic Growth Chamber
4 Gruul Turf
1 Boros Garrison
4 Gemstone Mine
3 Forest
2 Grove of the Burnwillows
3 Tolaria West
1 Khalni Garden
1 Radiant Fountain
1 Vesuva
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Ghost Quarter
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Spell Pierce
3 Abrade
1 Dismember
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Hornet Queen
1 Ramunap Excavator
1 Relic of Progenitus
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Delan Hamasoor is without a doubt one of the most pleasant opponents that Toronto has to offer. He is always lovely to play against, and is a tough opponent at that.

Hamasoor played Infect in the first three rounds of this event to get underneath some of the big mana decks and combo decks and then switch to Humans for the ladder rounds. Delan has been grinding hard over the past year or so and has really honed his skills, and is one of the most deserving players of success in the city.

[Deck Title= Sixth Place, Humans – Delan Hamasoor]
[Creatures]
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Thalia’s Lieutenant
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Meddling Mage
4 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Phantasmal Image
4 Reflector Mage
4 Mantis Rider
2 Militia Bugler
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Aether Vial
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Horizon Canopy
4 Cavern of SOuls
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Unclaimed Territory
2 Seachrome Coast
1 Plains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Whirler Rogue
1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1 Damping Sphere
1 Sin Collector
2 Izzet Staticaster
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Dire Fleet Daredevil
1 Gaddock Teeg
3 Knight of Autumn
1 Gut Shot
2 Dismember
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Leslie Walderman is yet another Toronto regular that made the Top 8 on Sunday. I’ve always known Les to be the type to show up with something spicy in his deck and he didn’t disappoint on Sunday.

Les has made the Top 8 of back-to-back Showdown Series events with this spicy Mono-Red Hollow One deck. [Card]Arclight Phoenix[/Card] has certainly made its mark on Modern and while everyone is trying to fit it into their Izzet decks, Les is over here beating down into the Top 8 of tournaments.

[Deck Title= Seventh Place, Mono-Red Pheonix – Les Walderman]
[Creatures]
4 Flameblade Adept
4 Hollow One
4 Arclight Pheonix
3 Bedlam Reveler
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Goblin Lore
4 Burning Inquiry
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Manamorphose
4 Fiery Temper
2 Lightning Axe
1 Maximize Velocity
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Ramunap Ruins
16 Mountains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Molten Rain
3 Blood Moon
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Hazoret, the Fervent
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Risk Factor
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Sam Shoffner is another player that I’d describe as always pleasant to play against. He’s always played his decks well, from Affinity in Modern, to Elves in Legacy and now Storm in Modern. He’s the type to really put the time in to refine his skills with a deck, and on Sunday that landed him in the Top 8.

[Deck Title= Eighth Place, Storm – Sam Shoffner]
[Creatures]
4 Baral, Chief of Complaince
3 Goblin Electromancer
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Opt
4 Serum Visions
4 Sleight of Hand
4 Desperate Ritual
4 Pyretic Ritual
4 Manamorphose
2 Grapeshot
1 Remand
1 Unsubstantiate
4 Gifts Ungiven
2 Past in Flames
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Repeal
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Shivan Reef
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Steam Vents
2 Island
2 Snow-Covered Island
1 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Pieces of the Puzzle
2 Abrade
2 Lightning Bolt
2 Empty the Warrens
1 Dismember
1 Flame Slash
1 Echoing Truth
1 Wipe Away
1 Gigadrowse
1 Spell Pierce
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]