Last weekend over 375 of the best Magic players from across Canada gathered in Calgary for the Face to Face Tour Weekend and Canada's Regional Championship. It was the culmination of months of qualifying events, and twelve invitations to the Pro Tour, two invitations to the World Championship, and the title of Canada's Regional Champion were all on the line. After thirteen rounds of Pioneer followed by a Top 8 playoff, Randall Litman from Calgary claimed the title and the trophy piloting Rakdos Demons.

Congratulations to Randall Litman, winner of Canada's Regional Championship!

"I felt like it was well positioned and had to continue my streak of registering 4x Archfiend of the Dross in all of the Pioneer Regional Championships I play," Litman said of his decision to play Rakdos Demons. His best card of the weekend was Archfiend of the Dross because "He's big, he flies, and he doesn't afraid of anything."

Litman defeated Julian David on Izzet Phoenix in the finals. Izzet Phoenix was the most-played deck of the weekend, but the fresher Rakdos Demons, featuring Unstoppable Slasher from Duskmourn, ultimately emerged victorious.

Congratulations to Randall Litman and Julian David!

Congratulations to the Top 8

Congratulations to the Top 8!

At the end of thirteen Swiss rounds of Standard, eight players advanced to the Top 8, including Noah Mannholland, one of two players who ended Day 1 undefeated, and Dustyn Nogueira, who made the Top 8 of the Regional Championship in Edmonton last year.

While you might look at this Top 8 and think that a fair number of players registered Acererak Combo since two copies made it all the way to the semifinals, Nogueira and Scrutton were in fact the only two players on the deck!

"I was going to play Phoenix until the Thursday before, but this deck had better vibes," Nogueira said.

With the recent expansion of Pro Tour invites at the Regional Championships, the Top 12 finishers in Calgary earned invites to the Pro Tour. You can see the decklists of the Top 12 players here.

An Evolving Metagame

The Pioneer metagame has taken a new shape in the past months, with cards like the Overlords from Duskmourn fueling Zur, Eternal Schemer decks, Enduring Innocence bolstering the ranks of Selesnya Company, and both Rakdos and Mono-Black Demons on the rise.

Longtime Pioneer staples like sacrifice, Azorius Control, Enigmatic Incarnation, and Greasefang are still holding their own, too.

Congratulations again to this weekend's players on a great tournament of terrific and hard-fought matches and excellent competition. Catch the next Face to Face Tour Weekend during the next Regional Championship cycle!

Find out more about how you can qualify for the Regional Championship and the Pro Tour by visiting here and finding out more from your regional organizer!