Problem with my LGS!
General forum
Posted on Dec. 30, 2015, 8:25 p.m. by Dredge4life
i've been playing mtg for about two years now, and I've moved from a casual player to one of the more competitive gamers at my LGS. However, that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy non-competitive formats, such as two-headed giant sealed events (namely Oath of the Gatewatch prerelease.). My LGS seems to disagree with me. They feel that going out of tradition and trying something new is totally out of the question, especially at prereleases (example: just giving the Ugins fate packs away without opening the Hedron or the dragon promos away without rolling the dice). It is extremely agitating to me, because I believe that the experience you get by following with the gimmicks. I was going to go with a friend for 2hg, and now I can't because GS doesn't want to deal with random rules conflicts. I don't know if this is posted in the right thread or not, or even if I'm just bellyaching over nothing, but this bothers me. I generally love spending time there, but I don't like their hesitance to try something new. I'm also wondering if this is a common thing with LGS's or if mine's unique. I'm also wondering if and how I should try to get them to change that. Help much appreciated, thanks!
Dredge4life says... #3
@TheDevicer gee I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't mean to post this thread intending to be whiny, and I definitely appreciate what I have. I was merely agitated at the hesitancy to try something new, but you're situation doesn't look so good either (not trying to be a downer here). I very much hope your situation improves, and you have a good place to play your fabulous EDH decks. With all the work you do for this site, I feel that you definitely deserve at least a place you can play without being surrounded by not-so-nice people. Good luck with your situation.
December 30, 2015 9:35 p.m.
I mean, I play a whole day of commander pretty much every week with people I love to hang out with. That's awesome and not everyone can do that. It can be bit frustrating to have to deal with shops that aren't that great. I'll have to move away from Miami at some point, but I'm stuck here for now. We'll see...
December 30, 2015 9:40 p.m.
Dredge4life says... #5
Hopefully you'll someday be able to live the dream and play some modern. I suppose I sometimes take what I have for granted. Good luck.
December 30, 2015 9:42 p.m.
Dredge4life says... #6
@TheDevicer seriously though, I do hope your situation improves. The environments you describe don't sound fun at all. I do apologize for complaining about such trivial matters when situations like yours exist (once again, not trying to be a downer). Very happy to hear that you have an EDH playgroup, as that's very important.
December 30, 2015 9:57 p.m.
I don't know why your LGS is whining about random rules conflicts.
They're obviously sanctioned or they wouldn't be running Pre-Release events. Wizards sends out card specific rulings and all kinds of documentation to go with the Pre-Release to make it as simple as possible. And those card specific rulings are open to the public too. They aren't just locked away on the registered retailers site.
It simply sounds like the owners of your LGS don't know how to read the material they're given. Of course my boss never reads the stuff either. I'm the one who typically brings it to his attention.
I've been helping conduct or solely conducting 7 event pre-release weekends of both 2HG and Sealed since Journey Into Nyx. The excuse they're feeding you is pretty sad.
If there's another one in your area, I'd suggest going there and trying the waters if you haven't already. And tell your LGS that attitudes like theirs have been the cause of disdain for players across the nation.
If they don't express concern at your discontentment for not following the simple program Wizards has set for them then all they care about is money and that's the last thing I want to see out of an LGS.
I've heard plenty of customers complain (I'm trying really hard to censor myself here... this pisses me off) about stores exactly like yours that they've experienced in their time across the nation.
But as far as 2HG, your LGS doesn't have an excuse. They receive all the materials and documentation on how to do it. There's a full kit and every time it's sent out all the instructions are so precise somebody running their very first pre-release would know exactly what to do. I haven't looked to see when the cutoff date for Pre-Release event scheduling ends but I know it's decently ahead of the actual event itself. At this point it may be too late for OGW but if I were you I would fight to increase players' interest in the format and make a strong point to your LGS to put in next set's Pre-Release. You hold the power over them as the customer. You have to play by their rules at the end of the day but you ultimately dictate the shape of their business because they will rely on YOUR business. But that requires having people in the same mindset too.
Best of luck to you.
December 31, 2015 10:43 a.m.
Dredge4life says... #8
@TMBRLZ Thank you so much for your advice (makes me feel less like an idiot, lol). I'm glad someone feels the same way I do. I wasn't aware that wizards coached LGS's in sanctioned events. There are four LGS's in my city, but only two of them are really big. As such, they have had kind of a monopoly over the player-base. The other two are fairly recent, but their formats are already more diverse than the first two. This is not to say that the first two are bad people. I very much enjoy going there and for the most part the people are very nice. I just wish that they'd do things properly, and not take the easy way out. As far as I know, the newer one that I attend can't host prereleases, which is unfortunate. I'll try to talk to the other one about it, and thanks for your suggestions.
December 31, 2015 10:57 a.m.
I'm pretty adamant about not attending pre-releases. The way I see it, the crowd at my local stores get even worse around those times. It's like those Christians that only attend mass on Christmas. Nothing against that, but you're not really a part of the active community. Those are the players I want to associate with.
That's why I can't really comment on how shops go about running pre-releases. Still, it does sound like your shop's being pretty backwards about the whole affair. TMBRLZ does raise good points about WotC's preparedness.
December 31, 2015 10:58 a.m.
Dredge4life says... #10
@TheDevicer I can totally understand not wanting to go to prerelease events, my LGS crowd gets weird around that time too, though probably far less so than yours. I generally try to attend 3 out of 4 events on prerelease weekend, because I am a regular and I do enjoy playing Magic there, and ultimately the people are very accepting and friendly. We have a few wackos, but for the most part it's not too bad. I just wish they had a better way to run events, that wasn't just taking the easy way out.
December 31, 2015 11:10 a.m.
We have randoms show up for our pre-releases as well, but they're typically players who live outside of the immediate city and are splitting their time between our LGS and possibly their more preferred local one. Some come specifically for our 2HG tournaments. A few in particular I know who almost always win them.
Or they're players who just don't have all the free time but still enjoy Magic and want sweet cards.
They're not really randoms, as I've come to recognize them over the last year and a half. They just aren't regulars.
December 31, 2015 11:19 a.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #12
My shop always does 2HG on Sunday pre-release. They don't do the silly little side games/puzzles and I can't say they are missed. They seemed more geared towards kids and that's not the crowd at my LGS.
If your LGS has been skipping 2HG every pre-release then they probably feel like they can make more money running regular sealed or there hasn't been interest in the past. If attending an alternative shop is not an option than your best bet would be to talk to other players about their intrest in 2HG and collectively request that the LGS run an event if you find the support.
Arvail says... #2
Ehhh... My area has two realistic options. I could drive two hours to play Modern, but I don't really feel like doing that. One store has the worst service ever, taking as long as an hour to give you your order of singles when the shop has less than 10 people in it on a slow day. Their FNM consists of nothing but chumps, so it's far to easy to play there. The owner ALWAYS matches my friends and I against each other so as to make sure other people can make it to relatively ok standings.
The other store has pretty much the worst community ever. I'm a decent player, so I always do at least OK at something like FNM. The mediocre players whine tons at this shop and always get agitated if you call a judge over about rulings as they misplay. Meanwhile the good players are so concerned about winning that they always come across as legit assholes.
I never have a good time at either shop. It doesn't help that I'm an introvert. Not socially inept or anything, I just prefer my own company or small gatherings. Going to FNM at the second shop leaves me exhausted and hating my life. Playing there is just socially taxing to me. I'm not a huge fan of playing well past midnight either.
Worst part is that I can't play Modern. I'm stuck with Standard. If you've got a shop you don't hate going to, count yourself lucky.
December 30, 2015 9:22 p.m.