Spandex City is a hobby store specializing in comics, collectibles, and trading card games. They are located at 2914-A Mt. Holly-Huntersville Road in Charlotte, NC. The shop doubles as an ice cream parlor; carrying a selection of ice cream flavors for a milkshake, sundae, or cone. When visiting Spandex, you will find a few pinball machines and tabletop play space as well. Spandex is a great place for local comic enthusiasts to purchase new issues and related memorabilia. They can backorder any available comics for customers who missed a new release. In addition to comics, Spandex sells booster packs, boxes, and related trading card game merchandise. You can buy sealed product from the latest set of Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering. If you are interested in planning Pokémon or Magic: The Gathering with other players, Spandex offers multiple events each month. You can check their store calendar (link) to see a list of upcoming events by day. The staff at Spandex do a wonderful job running events for participants of all ages. One of the main reasons I visit Spandex is because of their employees. Their manager, Jeremy, is a great person that goes out of his way to ensure each customer has a positive experience. He remembers customers by name and invites them back for a future visit. The other employees at Spandex follow his lead by offering the same level of customer service. I recommend visiting Spandex for all your super hero and trading card game needs in North Charlotte.
Last weekend, I took the updated Gruul Aggro deck list from my previous post to a Friday Night Magic event. I made a slight sideboard edit by dropping The Immortal Sun for a Banefire. The FNM event was at The Mighty Meeple with 23 players participating. The recent metagame for this shop is about 50% of the players with aggressive decks, 40% on control decks, and 10% for mid-range decks. There is a nice mix of casual, competitive, and, semi-competitive players at The Might Meeple. I will cover an updated sideboard guide, deck strategies, and FNM recap. Updated Sideboard Guide: Esper Control: -2 Lava Coil, -4 Collision // Colossus, -1 Lightning Strike, -1 Nullhide Ferox, +1 Vivien Reid, +1 Domri, Chaos Bringer, + 3 Cindervines, +2 Legion Warboss, +1 Banefire Reclamation: -2 Lava Coil, -3 Collision // Colossus, -2 Nullhide Ferox, -2 Pelt Collector, +1 Vivien Reid, +1 Domri, Chaos Bringer, + 4 Cindervines, +2 Legion Warboss, +1 Banefire Mono Blue: -3 Nullhide Ferox, -2 Pelt Collector, +1 Shivan Fire, +2 Lava Coil, +2 Legion Warboss Mono Red: -2 Collision // Colossus, -1 Kraul Harpooner, -1 Pelt Collector, +2 Lava Coil, +2 Shivan Fire White Aggro: -3 Collision // Colossus, -2 Kraul Harpooner, -1 Pelt Collector, +2 Lava Coil, +2 Shivan Fire, +2 Fiery Cannonade Sultai Mid-range: -2 Kraul Harpooner, -2 Pelt Collector, +2 Lava Coil, +1 Vivien Reid, +1 Domri, Chaos Bringer Gruul Aggro Mirror: -3 Kraul Harpooner, -1 Lightning Strike, +2 Lava Coil, +1 Vivien Reid, +1 Domri, Chaos Bringer Nullhide Ferox is a beating against many decks in the format for game one. However, you need to expect more board wipes and other answers for games 2 and 3. I like to take one or two Nullhide Ferox out when bringing in the Planeswalkers and Banefire. Pelt Collectors are probably the weakest creature because they do not scale well later in the game. I like trading them out for Legion Warboss against control decks and Mono Blue. Shivan Fire and Lava Coil are all-stars against other creature strategies. Fiery Cannonade is used against go-wide match-ups such as Mono White or Azorious Aggro. You should not bring in Fiery Cannonade against Mono Blue. Cindervines are excellent against control and reclamation strategies. Deck Strategies:
Friday Night Magic Tournament Report: 3rd out of 23 Players Round 1: Win 2-0 against Mono Blue This match was over in two quick games. My opponent was playing Sphinx of Foresight in his deck. While it was strong scrying an extra three cards both games in the opening draw, Sphinx of Foresight is not good. My opponent was punished tapping out every time casting it on turn four or five. Gruul Aggro runs 8+ answers to every creature in Mono Blue. In addition, Mono Blue has no way to block or remove large creatures. My opponent sided in Deep Freeze for game two, but it was not enough to stop all of my threats. Round 2: Win 2-0 against 4-Color Reclamation The first game was over quickly as my opponent flooded out without finding card draw. The second game went much better for them as they landed a Cleansing Nova and Wilderness Reclamation. My opponent then played a Lyra Dawnbringer, but had no protection for it. I luckily drew Vivien Reid to take out Lyra Dawnbringer. Vivien Reid provided enough card advantage to close out the match. Round 3: Loss 1-2 against 4-Color Gates This was a tough match that I was unprepared to face. Gates Ablaze is incredibly strong against Gruul Aggro. In addition, the incremental life gain buys enough time for the Gates deck to find their pieces. I lost game one to double Gates Ablaze and a 10/10 Gatebreaker Ram. Game 2, my opponent stumbled on card draw and mana. I was able to close out the game before they could find a Gates Ablaze. Game 3 was quite close. I unfortunately drew two Skaargan Hellkite and Domri, Chaos Bringer in my first few turns. I got stuck on four lands and could not cast Domri, Chaos Bringer and play a Growth-Chamber Guardian on the same turn. I needed to do this to protect Domri from a Gatebreaker Ram on my opponents board. I believe my opponent should have played more aggressively this game. However, he found an Expansion // Explosion at the right time to draw four cards and close out the match. Round 4: Win 2-1 against Sultai Mid-range I quickly lost game 1 getting stuck on two mana for multiple turns. I let the game play out a while just to see what my opponent had in their deck. I was smart not to show a Nullhide Ferox or any combat tricks while I was losing the game. For game 2, I had an amazing start and my opponent stumbled on four mana. They were unable to hit six lands for a Find // Finality to wipe the board. Game 3, my opponent did not draw answers to a large Nullhide Ferox played on turn three. They tried to stabilize with a Hydroid Krasis, but I had creature removal in hand to get through the final points of damage. I was one turn ahead of them casting a Find // Finality to re-gain board control. There are a handful of movie theaters around Charlotte, NC that hold special movie nights throughout the year. Such events include theatrical release anniversaries, international films, limited release films, and stage-to-screen productions. Often, these showings only happen for one or two days. For example, tickets are available for a special showing of Ben-Hur to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the movie. The easiest way to find tickets for many special events is through Atom Tickets or Fathom Events. One of my favorite features of Regal Stoncrest is their bar area. Their selection of local and national craft beers is better than you would expect. My friends and I usually order a tall draft before seeing a movie. If you are interested in wine, they serve chilled wine by the glass. This is not a standard offering you would expect at a movie theater. Ashley really likes it when wines are kept in a chiller rather than room temperature or stored improperly. Another perk of visiting Regal Stonecrest is their stadium seating. The theaters have stadium seats that recline back and push out a foot rest. They are very comfortable for enjoying any movie. I will typically go out of my way to visit a theater with stadium seating. One point to keep in mind is that Regal Stonecrest has reserved seating. You will need to reserve the best seats ahead of time. My friend and I unfortunately reserved tickets at the last minute for recent a movie and had to sit in the front row. While it was not a great seat in the theater, we were still able to see the whole screen.
Regal Stonecrest is one of the best movie theater experiences in Charlotte, NC. I encourage you take advantage of the amenities the next time you want to see a new or limited release movie. MAGIC: THE GATHERING: GRUUL AGGRO STANDARD DECK LIST, SIDEBOARDING GUIDE, AND Tournament REPORT3/29/2019
Gruul Aggro is an aggressive creature deck that overwhelms your opponent's board. The deck enjoys curving out and dropping large threats each turn. I have piloted it to a 7-1-1 record in two weekly Standard Showdowns at Get Some Game. I love playing Steal Leaf Champion and other aggressive creatures. The deck is budget friendly as it excludes Vivien Reid and Rekindling Phoenix. While I believe you can add one or two Vivien to the sideboard, it is not a requirement. The Immortal Sun is also a card that can get swapped out of the sideboard for a Shapers' Sanctuary, Dire Fleet Daredevil, or Domri, Chaos Bringer. Your best match-ups are against other aggressive decks. The worst match-ups worst against Sultai and Grixis mid-range decks. I have played a few causal games against a Sultai player and lost them all. You really need Rekindling Phoenix or Sharrgan Hellkite to have a chance. Control is beatable since most of your creatures are individual threats. You must be careful not to over-extend into a board wipe. I will go over the deck list, sideboarding, and a recent tournament report.
After playing this current deck list, I recommend the following changes:
Sideboarding Guide: Esper Control: -2 Lava Coil, -4 Collision // Colossus, -1 Lightning Strike, +1 Vivien Reid, +1 Domri, Chaos Bringer, + 3 Cindervines, +2 Legion Warboss, (I would add the Immortal Sun on the Draw for a Lightning Strike) Reclamation: -2 Lava Coil, -2 Collision // Colossus, -2 Nullhide Ferox, +1 Vivien Reid, +1 Domri, Chaos Bringer, + 4 Cindervines Mono Blue: -3 Nullhide Ferox, -1 Pelt Collector, -1 Collison // Colossus, +2 Shivan Fire, +2 Lava Coil, +1 Legion Warboss Mono Red: -2 Collision // Colossus, -1 Kraul Harpooner, +2 Lava Coil, +1 Shivan Fire Mono White: -3 Collision // Colossus, -3 Kraul Harpooner, +2 Lava Coil, +2 Shivan Fire, +2 Fiery Cannonade Sultai Mid-range: -2 Kraul Harpooner, -2 Nullhide Ferox, +2 Lava Coil, +1 Vivien Reid, +1 Domri, Chaos Bringer, (I would add the Immortal Sun on the Draw for a Lightning Strike) Gruul Aggro Mirror: -3 Kraul Harpooner, -1 Lightning Strike, +2 Lava Coil, +1 Vivien Reid, +1 Domri, Chaos Bringer Standard Showdown Tournament Report: 4-0 Record, 1st Place out of 15 People
Match 1: 2-1 against Josh on Temur Reclamation Game 1 began with a typical curve of Llanowar Elves into Steel Leaf Champion. I followed up with a Nullhide, putting a fast clock on the board. My opponent stumbled on blue mana and was unable to recover. Game 2 went a lot longer as my opponent hit repeated land drops with Growth Spiral and countered several threats. He was able to land a Wilderness Reclamation and stole my Ripjaw Raptor off Entrancing Melody. I started to flood out around that time and was unable to land another threat. After my opponent dropped a Hydroid Krasis, I decided to concede. Game 3 was quite close. I got off to a fast start chipping away life as my opponent kept drawing answers. He hit a few Growth Spiral and Chemister’s Insight to stay in the game. Life totals kept swinging as he drew back to back Hydroid Krasis. I finally landed a Ghalta, Primal Hunger that he was unable to counter or kill. Match 2: 2-1 against Bram on White/Red Aggro Game 1 starts with Llanowar Elves eating a shock. I drop a Pelt Collector followed by Steel Leaf Champion. My opponent makes a few small creature drops and starts trading resources with my larger creatures. He stumbles on three mountains and the game is over fairly quickly when Nullhide Ferox hits the board. Game 2 goes much better for my opponent as he plays a flurry of spells killing my smaller creatures and dealing me damage. I am unable to stabilize the board with any big creatures. He has Lava Coil, Goblin Chainwhirler, and all the right answers to finish me off. Game 3 goes better for me as I land a Pelt Collector and Steel Leaf Champion. My opponent drops Ghitu Lavamancer and a Goblin Chainwhirler on the board. He misplays a sequence by casting Fanatical Firebrand and sacrificing it to hit me for one damage. Next, he hit me with a Skewer the Critics and Wizard’s Lightning. What he should have done was waited with mana up to catch me blocking with Steel Leaf Champion on the Chainwhirler. Before combat damage, he could have killed off the Steel Leaf Champion with Fanatical Firebrand. He could have better utilized his mana for another creature and hit me with the spells next turn. I was able to put him on the backfoot by playing additional blockers and swinging in with Steel Leaf Champion. He could not recover from the board state and a lethal attack the following turn. Match 3: 2-0 against Carl on Esper Control Game 1 I got lucky with my opponent stumbling on three mana. He was unable to draw a 4th land in three turns with a Kaya’s Wrath in hand. Game 2 went much longer as my opponent hit land drops and double blue for counter spells. He wiped the board twice with Kaya’s Wrath. I drew well getting to four mana and kept playing threats. One turn, I cast Dire Fleet Daredevil to Thought Erasure his hand. He promptly countered the spell with an Absorb. I knew he had a trump card in his hand that he wanted to protect. On five mana, he cast Teferi, Hero of Dominaria to tuck my Steel Leaf Champion. This left me with a lonely Daredevil on board with him at eight life. I luckily drew The Immortal Sun with six mana available to stop Teferi and begin drawing additional cards. I made a mistake by attacking Teferi instead of my opponent because I thought Mortify could hit artifacts. This gave my opponent two extra turns to find an answer. I was able to attack for lethal before he could get enough mana to cast Chromium, the Mutable. Match 4: 2-1 against Jaiden on Azban Knights Game 1 started off with a Llanowar Elves into Growth-Chamber Guardian and Gruul Spellbreaker. My opponent played a Knight of Grace, Knight of Malice, and Vraska, Golgari Queen. I was able to keep putting pressure on him by having larger threats on the board. He kept playing small creatures while I played Nullhide Ferox and a Steel Leaf Champion. I was ultimately able to deal lethal damage before he could get a History of Benalia to trigger its third chapter. Game 2 went much better for him. He started off with curving out multiple knights and a History of Benalia. Whenever I stabilized the board with a Steal Leaf Champion or Spellbreaker, he had an answer to them. After playing Vraska, Golgari Queen followed by Vraska, Relic Seeker; I was in a bind. It felt like I was one step behind the whole game and lost to his board. Game 3 began with playing Llanowar Elves into a Pelt Collector, Growth-Guardian, and Spellbreaker. He was able to stick early knights and a History of Benalia. Luckily, I drew a Thrashing Brontodon to stop History of Benalia from hitting its third chapter. We traded several threats and exchanged attacks. I had to kill an Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants before it took over the game. I chained Growth-Guardian's adapt activation to dig them out of my deck. Unfortunately, I made one crucial misplay by not dropping a 6th land before adapting for my 4th Growth-Guardian. My opponent was able to cast Assassin’s Trophy on it in response to the first adapt activation. Had I had a 6th land in play, I could have activated again to find a crucial blocker. Thankfully, I drew a Nullhide Ferox the next turn to block. Meanwhile, my opponent played back to back History of Benalia putting a short clock on me. I was dead next turn based on the current board state of knight tokens. My board just had an Adapted Growth-Guardian and Nullhide Ferox. The only card in my hand was a Collision // Colossus. I had sided out three of them after the first game but added one back. My opponent was at eight life and could take exactly lethal if he only put one blocker in front of each of my creatures. I could cast Colossus on the Nullhide Ferox for four mana and deal exactly lethal through a two-toughness knight token. As an act of desperation, I attacked with both creatures and my opponent blocked accordingly. I cast Colossus on the Nullhide Ferox and my opponent was shocked without an answer in hand. I had just won the match and tournament. My opponent commented after that he had not seen Collision // Colossus played earlier in the match and did not anticipate it. |
Follow Me
on Instagram @card_knock_life Categories
All
Archives
February 2024
This website contains affiliate links to TCGPlayer
|