It’s hard to believe that its been seven whole years since we at Face to Face Games started traveling to host big events. First with the ManaDeprived Super Series and now the FaceToFaceGames.com Open Series that we’ve grown to span the entire country.

This weekend in St. John’s, Newfoundland we surpassed another milestone when we hosted our first ever two day Open at our inaugural Magic Weekend, and the reception from the east coast community was incredible! We had a great time spending the entire weekend with everyone battling.

And of course, when the last card was drawn, we had our first ever Magic Weekend champion to crown — Michael Warr triumphed over the rest of the competition with his Modern TitanShift deck.

While it was a huge weekend for us at Face to Face, it was also a big weekend for the Modern format at large. Of course, this was the first weekend of major events after the banning of both [Card]Faithless Looting[/Card] and [Card]Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis[/Card] and the unbanning of [Card]Stoneforge Mystic[/Card]. That means this was one of the first big events to see what this new format really looks like.

And while everyone was fired up to see some Stoneforges enter the battlefield, Warr let everyone know that there’s still a tried and true way to punish midrange decks in Modern — make a bunch of mana and put a [Card]Primeval Titan[/Card] on the stack. In fact, Warr defeated yet another big mana deck in Nick Gosse’s Mono-Green Tron deck in the finals.

With the influx of Stoneforge there was obviously a big hope from everyone that we’d get some good old midrange mirrors in Modern. But apparently, the Karns and Titans in St. John’s had other plans.

Joining Warr and Gosse in the Top 8 was Robert Hermanto on Mono-Red Eldrazi, Shane Crewe-Wyatt playing Burn, Nicholas McNeil piloting Neoform Combo, Chris Stoyles on Jund, David Pike on Amulet Titan and Michael’s brother Marcel Warr who also Top 8’d with TitanShift.

As you’ll notice, our Top 8 was absolutely packed to the brim with decks looking to cast big spells ahead of schedule, or linear decks that go underneath the rest of the format. Lots of mana and fast kills was the theme of the tournament.

Our inaugural Magic Weekend was chalked full of awesome storylines. Of course it was awesome to see the Warr brothers Top 8 together, especially after Marcel was able to take down one of our Trials to secure some byes for the event.

If you take a look at that Top 8 photo, you’ll see a ton of similar attire among our players. And that’s because our event was absolutely dominated by a group of friends from a local store called Salt Road Magic that landed five of the eight slots in the Top 8.

Outside of all of the action in the main event, we also had players on site all weekend battling in our three constructed events, Commander pods and buying and selling cards at the booth. We could not be more excited about the reception we got from the St. John’s community and we’re excited to bring you more of these Magic Weekends in the future!

Before I leave you for the week I’ve got one last reminder for you. Our Toronto MCQ is coming up quickly and you’re going to want to make sure to pre-register to secure your spot. This time it’s Modern so it’s sure to be packed! We’ll see you there.

Congratulations again to our champion Michael Warr from everyone at Face to Face Games! Additionally, we’d like to extend our thanks to our amazing sponsors — Ultimate Guard and Oakie Doakie Dice — for helping us make this event a reality. We’d also like to thank our awesome judge staff who ran a smooth event all day long!

With our tournament series growing every week we’ve added a feedback point of contact to our workflow in order to create the best events possible for you all in the future. If you there are any changes you’d like to see from our events email us at: feedback@facetofacegames.com.

The next stop on the series is coming up this Saturday Sept. 7 when we’ll be traveling to beautiful Edmonton, Alberta for a Modern Open. Grab your [CArd]Stoneforge Mystic[/Card]s, make sure to pre-register and we’ll see you there!

[Deck Title= First Place, TitanShift – Michael Warr]

[Creatures]

4 Sakura-Tribe Elder

4 Primeval Titan

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

4 Scapeshift

4 Search for Tomorrow

1 Reclamation Sage

1 Anger of the Gods

1 Sweltering Suns

2 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss

2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance

2 Summoner’s Pact

2 Lightning Bolt

2 Abdrade

3 Farseek

[/Spells]

[Lands]

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Windswept Heath

2 Misty Rainforest

4 Wooded Foothills

4 Stomping Ground

2 Cinder Glade

1 Field of the Dead

4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle

1 Sheltered Thicket

3 Mountain

1 Forest

1 Snow-Covered Forest

3 Snow-Covered Mountain

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

1 Force of Vigor

1 Sweltering Suns

1 Anger of the Gods

3 Obstinate Baloth

1 Tireless Tracker

2 Fry

2 Crumble to Dust

2 Damping Sphere

2 Beast Within

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Second Place, Mono-Green Tron – Nick Gosse]

[Creatures]

3 Wurmcoil Engine

1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

2 Walking Ballista

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

4 Karn Liberated

2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

4 Chromatic Sphere

4 Chromstic Star

4 Ancient Stirrings

4 Expedition Map

3 Relic of Progenitus

4 Sylvan Scrying

2 Oblivion Stone

4 Karn, the Great Creator

[/Spells]

[Lands]

4 Urza’s Tower

4 Urza’s Mine

4 Urza’s Powerplant

3 Snow-Covered Forest

1 Buried Ruin

1 Ghost Quarter

1 Blast Zone

1 Sanctum of Ugin

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

2 Nature’s Claim

2 Spatial Contortion

2 Thragtusk

1 Walking Ballista

1 Pithing Needle

1 Liquimetal Coating

1 Crucible of Worlds

1 Ensnaring Bridge

1 Oblivion Stone

1 Trinipshere

1 Witchbane Orb

1 Mycosynth Lattice

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Third Place, Mono-Red Eldrazi – Robert Hermanto]

[Creatures]

1 Hazoret the Fervent

4 Eldrazi Obligator

4 Reality Smasher

4 Simian Spirit Guide

4 Thought-Knot Seer

4 Eldrazi Mimic

4 Eternal Scourge

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance

2 Smuggler’s Copter

4 Serum Powder

4 Chalice of the Void

3 Dismember

[/Spells]

[Lands]

1 Mountain

2 Wastes

3 Ghost Quarter

3 Blinkmoth Nexus

2 Sulfurous Springs

4 Eldrazi Temple

4 Ramunap Ruins

2 Gemstone Caverns

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

2 Shattering Blow

2 Tormod’s Crypt

2 Abrade

2 Socerous Spyglass

2 Leyline of the Void

3 Ratchet Bomb

1 Sun Droplet

1 Warping Wail

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fourth Place, Rakdos Burn – Shane Crewe-Wyatt]

[Creatures]

4 Eidolon of the Great Revel

4 Goblin Guide

1 Grim Lavamancer

4 Lightning Skelemental

4 Monastery Swiftspear

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

4 Bump in the Night

4 Lava Spike

4 Rift Bolt

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Searing Blaze

3 Skewer the Critics

[/Spells]

[Lands]

2 Scalding Tarn

4 Mountain

2 Arid Mesa

4 Blackcleave Cliffs

2 Blood Crypt

2 Wooded Foothills

4 Bloodstained Mire

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

1 Grim Lavamancer

2 Colletive Brutality

4 Searing Blood

2 Skullcrack

3 Smash to Smithereens

3 Rakdos Charm

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Fifth Place, Neoform Combo – Nicholas McNeil]

[Creatures]

1 Laboratory Maniac

2 Griselbrand

4 Allosaurus Rider

1 Street Wraith

1 Wild Cantor

4 Simian Spirit Guide

2 Autochthon Wurm

4 Chancellor of the Tangle

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

4 Summoner’s Pact

4 Nourishing Shoal

4 Manamorphose

4 Eldritch Evolution

1 Conflagrate

4 Neoform

4 Serum Visions

1 Pact of Negation

1 Edge of Autumn

[/Spells]

[Lands]

4 Botanical Sanctum

3 Gemstone Mine

2 Breeding Pool

1 Island

4 Waterlogged Grove

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

1 Nature’s Claim

2 Force of Vigor

3 Slaughter Pact

2 Pact of Negation

3 Veil of Summer

4 leyline of Sanctity

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Sixth Place, Amulet Titan – David Pike]

[Creatures]

4 Sakura Tribe Scout

4 Asusa, Lost but Seeking

4 Primeval Titan

1 Walking Ballista

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

1 Coalition Relic

4 Summoner’s Pact

1 Pact of Negation

3 Karn, the Great Creator

2 Engineered Explosives

4 Amulet of Vigor

4 Ancient Stirrings

[/Spells]

[Lands]

2 Forest

2 Snow-Covered Forest

4 Gemstone Mine

4 Gruul Turf

4 Simic Growth Chamber

1 Boros Garrison

3 Tolaria West

1 Cavern of Souls

1 Khalni Garden

1 Vesuva

1 Field of the Dead

1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion

1 Ghost Quarter

1 Radiant Fountain

1 Slayer’s Stronghold

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

1 Engineered Explosives

1 Force of Vigor

2 Abrade

1 Bojuka Bog

1 Negate

1 Tormod’s Crypt

1 Pithing Needle

1 Grafdigger’s Cage

1 Crucible of Worlds

1 Mycosynth Lattice

1 Wurmcoil Engineered

1 Reclamation Sage

1 Obstinate Baloth

1 Hornet Queen

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Seventh Place, TitanShift – Marcel Warr]

[Creatures]

4 Sakura-Tribe Elder

4 Primeval Titan

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

4 Scapeshift

1 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss

2 Kahlni-Heart Expedition

2 Sumnoner’s Pact

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Search for Tomorrow

1 Sweltering Suns

1 Anger of the Gods

2 Explore

3 Farseek

[/Spells]

[Lands]

2 Cinder Glade

1 Misty Rainforest

1 Sheltered Thicket

4 Stomping Ground

4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle

1 Verdant Catacombs

2 Windswept Heath

4 Wooded Foothills

3 Mountain

1 Field of the Dead

1 Forest

3 Snow-Covered Mountain

1 Snow-Covered Forest

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

1 Fry

1 Magmatic Sinkhole

2 Damping Sphere

2 Relic of Progenitus

2 Veil of Summer

1 Collector Ouphe

1 Weather the Storm

1 Reclamation Sage

1 Tireless Tracker

1 Force of Vigor

2 Obstinate Baloth

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

[Deck Title= Eighth Place, Jund – Chris Stoyles]

[Creatures]

3 Scavenging Ooze

4 Tarmogoyf

1 Plague Engineered

1 Seasoned Pyromancer

4 Bloodbraid Elf

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

3 Wrenn and Six

3 Liliana of the Veil

1 Liliana, the Last Hope

2 Fatal Push

4 Inquisition of Kozilek

4 Lightning Bolt

2 Thoughtseize

1 Abrupt Decay

1 Assassin’s Trophy

2 Kolaghan’s Command

1 Maelstrom Pulse

[/Spells]

[Lands]

3 Blackcleave Cliffs

2 Nurturing Peatland

2 Raging Ravine

1 Blood Crypt

2 Overgrown Tomb

1 Stomping Ground

2 Wooded Foothills

3 Bloodstained Mire

3 Verdant Catacombs

1 Forest

1 Mountain

2 Swamp

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

1 Ancient Grudge

2 Collector Ouphe

1 Plague Engineered

2 Ashiok, Dream Render

2 Ghost Quarter

3 Fulminator Mage

1 Weather the Storm

1 Vraska, Golgari Queen

1 Assassin’s Trophy

1 Huntmaster of the Fells

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]