[Community Discussion]: What is it about your LGS?
General forum
Posted on Dec. 30, 2013, 3:22 p.m. by Epochalyptik
Time for another Community Discussion thread!
This one stars your LGS! What is it about your LGS that keeps you coming back? Is there something your store offers that other stores don't? Is there something about the atmosphere or selection? How does the location and layout of the store influence your opinion?
Conversely, is there something about your store (or other stores) that you don't like? Is there something you wish it had?
As always, opinions and stories are welcome and encouraged.
It's the only one that sanctions tournaments in my city. That's why I went there first (Being a transplant from another city). I kept going back because the ownership is friendly and nice. Eventually I just started talking to and knowing the regulars and they became my friends. We go to GP's and the like together, it's been less than a year since I first walked in that store and met those people. I wouldn't go back and play online only if the people were not friendly and enjoyable to be around. I think the key is that, the people and ownership.
Being a small city, the location isn't important and the layout also.
For me the layout has never been truly important. Location wasn't an issue either, it's always the people.
I would travel 15-20 miles to go to other LGS when I lived in LA, to the places that I enjoyed because of the people. I lived in pico rivera and would travel to pasadena in the mid-90's or I lived in Pacoima and traveled to Northridge/simi valley and sometimes Granada Hills. The place in granda hills was a small comic book shop with a small 6' folding table to play, but I went because everyone was nice. Same with the shop in simi. The place in Northridge had one table to play at mainly and we would fit 6 to 8 players in big multi-player games (custom table used for all kinds of games including warhammer 40k games).
If the people are nice, the games fun, the experience enjoyable, the place is perfect for me;
December 30, 2013 3:34 p.m.
My LGS has a friendly staff and a huge selection of singles to buy from, stretching back to even alpha! They have the binders on shelves behind the counter. It's a smaller shop so event seating is limited, which is really nice since the shop I used to go to would always have upwards of 60 people at prereleases.
My only grievance is their buy prices, which are usually very low. They buy RTR/GTC shocks for around $3 a piece in store credit, $1.50 cash.
December 30, 2013 3:50 p.m.
blackmarker90 says... #5
I go to my LGS mainly because it is the only one within a 6+ hour drive, but the people there are awesome and the shop is a little on the small side, if our PTQ's get any bigger we will have to start consolidating the other goods/move to a larger venue. Buy back prices are about 80% value for store credit and cash is 50-60%.
December 30, 2013 3:59 p.m.
Servo_Token says... #6
I have the option of going to two local game stores for an FNM / Magic Event. The first is a Graham Cracker [GC comics chain store, and the second (and home LGS) is a Ma&Pa sports card / memorabilia store called Dean's Dugout.
These two shops are pretty much the textbook example of differences in a shop. If I go to GC, I can expect to find a decent selection of singles behind the glass, and two guys that definitely know their stuff when it comes to deckbuilding and card pricing. I can also expect from an event some harsh competition all 5 rounds. It is extremely crowded all of the time, and being 6'5", I have no easy time working my way around the tables. The reason that I don't come to this store is fairly simple, however; at the end of the day, I play Magic to have fun. If I go into the GC, I can expect roughly 2 of 7ish employees to treat me like a decent human being (Being the owner and one of the strictly magic guys). If I go into the GC, I can expect roughly 0 of 40ish players to treat me like a decent human being. Every time I went there as a newbie, it was like jumping into the shark tank. I would get the judge called on me, and once even DQ'd, for drawing my card before untapping my lands. I'd get sworn at by other players whenever I made a winning move. Once, my and was beaten away when I offered the guy a handshake after beating him. I don't know if this is what it's like at large tournys (GPs, etc), nor do I know what causes this terrible behavior, but this was the main reason that I quit going here. (I was also getting sick of paying $7 per FNM and leaving with nothing when I lost) The only reason that I ever even step foot in this establishment anymore is to sell bulk, which admittedly is very fairly priced. ($5 per 500 cards excluding basic lands)
Dean's on the other hand is pretty much Casual MTG Heaven. Sure, at FNMs there's guys that typically win, but everyone is genuinely a good person. Our judges are probably the most laid back dudes you'll see anywhere. When a new kid walks in and trys to play with, say, a non-standard dual deck, there's always someone willing to help them out, either by loaning them a deck, or just getting them acquainted to the place and people. Sure, the prizes aren't great (X [usually 7] packs for 1st, and X-1 packs given down to 4th), but it's definitely a worthwhile experience. Standard Booster boxes are always $100 even, FNMs are only $5, and everyone leaves with a free pack just for playing. If you are looking to buy singles, you're probably going to have a hard time, because the main shop has an extremely limited inventory, and the shop that the judges run (Basically a trade binder as a showcase, then a box full of everything else) will seldom carry a full playset of any given card, but Dean's is really just the perfect place to go if you're looking for a good time while playing. The Owners are the nicest old couple that i've ever known, and I always leave with a smile.
December 30, 2013 4 p.m.
In my area card stores have come and gone. Originally, I would visit The Annex. It was the first gaming shop I had ever been to and it was the only place in town (not being old enough to drive limited me to where I could go). The owner was nice and the players were pretty cool, and we always played casual MTG.
Second store that opened up was Initiative 17 Games. I went there because a friend I knew worked there, and eventually the owner of The Annex moved away so I could only go to Initiative 17.
Eventually, Initiative 17 closed down, so I had to search for another place to game. About 20 minutes away are two stores- Next Level Gaming and Game Citadel. I tried as best as I could to split my time (and money) between both stores. Game Citadel had more non-mtg stock and had very organized singles, and the players were pretty cool. Next Level Gaming could find you just about any card you want if you give them time to get one, and they usually have some of the harder-to-find cards (Diamond Valley, Bazaar of Baghdad, etc.). At some point last summer or so, Game Citadel decided to not hold business on Mondays, which was Commander night, so I stopped going there as often.
And that's where I am now. I mostly get cards online, but sometimes brick-and-mortar shops are the way to go.
December 30, 2013 4:09 p.m.
I've just recently switched my usual haunt for a new place and a new LGS. I've been away from the game for a few years but got back I to it over this summer and started attending FNM at my local card store. As good a place as it was for getting reacquainted with the fame the problem I had was that they took it all far too seriously The culture in there was very PTQ-focused and even though there were a large number of regular players they were all playing the same (admittedly powerfull) decks.
It wasn't the friendliest of atmospheres and lacked the social side I was looking for so it was beginning to put me off the game again; then I heard about another venue in town that was far more multiplayer / casual focused.
I've been going there a month or so now and it's far more suited to what I've been after, more chat, less net-decking, and a wider metagame as it's not bound by limited or standard rules. .A lot of EDH gets played there which I'm not so keen on but it's also very popular for free-for-all multiplayer which I'm far more at home with as that's how I started playing when my friends and I first picked up cards.
December 30, 2013 4:16 p.m.
I chose my LGS because of location. The first time I needed an LGS, it was GTC pre-release and so I called around so I could preregister. The store nearest to me was sold out, but the next store after that was fine. I went there and have been going there ever since.
December 30, 2013 4:43 p.m.
And so, I go there because the next one is a lot farther away and I've had no problems with them yet.
December 30, 2013 4:44 p.m.
Didgeridooda says... #11
The boxes of commons and uncommons. I know everyone has them, but they have more then I have ever seen. Brings me back a little bit I guess. Also they play EDH on sunday.
December 30, 2013 4:55 p.m.
UmbrotheUmbreon says... #12
My LGS is pretty good. From the location to the hours to the wide variety of stocked supplies it has a lot. Magic, Yugioh, Pokemon, Kaijudo, MLP, comics, snacks, drinks, dolls, clothes, board games, even a little mini arcade to play. The play area isn't big but it isn't small. Events are held during each day of the week, including DnD, Heroclix, and other stuff. Magic is Friday, Yugioh is Saturday, and Pokemon/Free gaming is Sunday.
As for the people, it is generally a friendly play area. It is light hearted and people do have fun. I for the most part go there on Sundays now, as I've stopped playing Magic competitively. Staff are really nice and friendly, and overall I enjoy going there.
It's probably the closest store to me for what I want, and their prices aren't over the top compared to other stores. Lastly, I love how they keep the packs and boxes behind the counter, to prevent people from trying to boxmap the good stuff. They sell singles, and have a pretty good collection of stuff.
Overall, amazing card store, Double Midnight Comics and Collectibles.
December 30, 2013 5:18 p.m.
ItchiUchiha117 says... #13
The card shop I go to used to kinda suck. There was some shady business going down a lot, but it cleaned up within the last year. I like it because the owner's a pretty nice guy and sells the cards at great prices. Boxes are sold for $110 flat. Don't know if that's higher than normal, but it's nice when you can get a few people together to sit down and buy a box.
December 30, 2013 5:23 p.m.
Angry_Graybeard says... #14
I've seen to many comic shops come up and close down.
There was one called Comic & Gaming Exchange that was pretty high tier. My parents used to drive me there to look at their MTG sale binders way back when. They had all the best cards for pretty good prices. They had a back room for D&D, Warhammer, and other stuff like that but the store was to far for me to go to. Eventually they got bought out by Past Present Future and now I think it's a laundry mat.
One place, Comic Connection was great. All you needed was a deck and you can go play. Me and my friend would get dropped off their either Saturdays or Sundays and just play Magic until the store closes. Late in the store's life, around Onslaught block or so, the store ended up relying SOLELY on the MTG-kids and some bad eggs got mixed in the bunch. The store ended up closing and now it's some DJ store.
Another shop we found that was open for a long time was some baseball card shop that got into the whole MTG biz. That kept him going for awhile but one day we noticed his wife was behind the counter more and more. Supposedly the guy died from lung cancer and she wasn't making ends meet at the shop so it closed. Feels bad man.
Once I found a YMCA that did small MTG tournies and the place was super cool. Also closed down.
There was maybe 2 other stores that closed down for me as well but my favorite was Specturm Comics. Even though one of the employees ripped me off in a trade when I first started playing, he later apologized to me and helped me with deck building. I won my first ever tournament with this budget discard deck they all helped me put together. Multiplayer games were always a blast, emperor games were common, we made custom ways to play the game, always cool people coming in to play, no one disrespected your cards, we even made a lot of inside jokes. Unfortunately I found out the employees had a HUGE falling out when the store was gonna close down. It's now a Laspada's Hoagie shop.To this day I'll still make jokes about "ouphes" as a calling card of sorts to find someone who used to play from that store. So far it never worked.
There's now 2 stores close to me that do MTG stuff but everything is so "by the book" and no one has casual roots around here. Oh, and if you play anything other than Standard you are considered "odd". The people there are decent enough I guess, but they just like to argue about everything and anything so I don't go to those anymore.
I'd have sold my cards already if I didn't like the game so much.
December 30, 2013 6:17 p.m.
brokendwarf says... #15
I know of at least 5 LGS that I have access to in my area (some are about an hour drive, so I don't go there that often). I only go to 2 so I won't discuss the other ones.
The one closest to me is Desert Dunes: Comics and Games (this isn't one of the two). It's about a 10 minute drive from my house, but I don't go there that often. As it's a fairly new store, their MTG stuff isn't spectacular. They communicate what's happening each day through their Facebook page so it's easy to know when things are happening. I know they host Commander and Pauper tournaments in addition to FNM but I've never actually gone to one before.
The next one is Stuff'N'Such, which is my 2nd most visited store. This one is more of a hobby store as they have rooms with just random interesting stuff along with just about all known card games. They have a good collection of MTG singles and just boxes upon boxes of bulk (it's not the most fun thing to look through, even if it is organized by color). I've also known one of the store managers for years. They have Yugioh the same night as Magic (assuming Magic people show up, which hasn't happened recently, I'm not sure why), and some of these people reach a new level of obnoxious to the point where you want to smack them so they'll shut up and stop speaking words cause they spout the most idiotic and retarded things.
Game Theory is next. I've gone to this one for years, but most of that was for Yugioh before I switched over to Magic. As a result of that, I still go on the day they have a Yugioh tournament but I normally get lucky and find Magic people (I'm also not the only person going there. I drive at most 4 other people including my brother). And unfortunately, I run into the same obnoxious people that go to Stuff'N'Such, plus other equally annoying people. They have a large collection of board games along with a decently-sized MTG collection.
December 30, 2013 7:01 p.m.
I have two stores I go to.
One has people that are awesome, and an atmosphere that just makes me feel like I belong there. Everyone pokes fun at me because I look much younger than I really am. Everyone looks out for one another and everyone just loves to play Magic. All of the Magic sets are neatly organized into binders. The downside to this store is that it has a crappy card case and overpriced accessories. The rare times they get good cards in the case, they are almost double what any other store would charge.
The other store is different. It is near my fathers house so I can only go there about twice a month. The people there are different. They have their own little groups that are hard to penetrate. Some people that go there are extremely mean. Although, the card case is marvelous. It always has fetch lands, shock lands, dual lands, and almost every card that people look for. The accessories are fairly priced and they have a wide selection.
This being said, I do have a store I consider to be my LGS, the first one. This is because the people are nice, and inviting. Although they can be so sarcastic sometimes it makes me feel like I am being picked on, I feel at home. That is what is important. I can stay there for hours and feel like I am there for seconds. I does not matter how impressive the card case is, it does not matter what kinds of booster packs they have, it matters about how awesome the people are.
December 31, 2013 2:27 p.m.
Dalektable says... #17
Mine is Roll the Dice. It's a gaming store, with a wide variety of things but a majority is MTG. It is a great atmosphere, i've only encountered one guy who was less than errr nice. Plus i know a lot of the staff and people who go there. It's not huge, roughly 15-30 people attend FNM on a weekly basis. But it's a great place, fairly good selection but it's mainly the familiarity that keeps me there.
December 31, 2013 2:45 p.m.
We have three shops in town.
The first is Muse Comics that is very clean and has plenty of room for magic, we get tons of people every week and everyone is so friendly. On top of the awesome crowds, Muse has a small but ussually very good case of singles that are very very reasonably priced. My only complaint is that there is only one Modern tournament a month because most people play standard. I consider this store to be my true LGS.
The Yellow King is my next LGS, it is lower key and has a great group of people as well. I only come here for there Modern tournaments because they are never the same weekend as Muse. They have a decent singles collection too.
Our last store only hosts yugioh so I don't count it as one of my LGS's. BUT they have singles from every set back to Alpha. If you need a card, theres a darn good chance its at Dalez. Unfortunately they are overpriced and can be a tad rude.
Overall, I choose my LGS based on the quality of the employees, people, and selection. Muse has all of these and it keeps me coming back.
December 31, 2013 3 p.m.
strateupjee says... #19
My LGS is a smaller store. Only about 20 or fewer for each tournament. Even with this smaller playgroup, we get people who come from half an hour away to come play at our shop because it isn't a big chain, it isn't your average store. The shop owner is a really nice, sincere guy who is willing to help someone out if they are honest and really wants to play. When I had no money, he would still sponsor me so I could play. There is something nice about the fact that we still have a competitive level of play in such a small store. He also has plans to expand, and I simply cant wait. I helped him move into the space he is in, so I have been there from the beginning, and have watched it grow. We always have fun, and no one is arrogant or self absorbed, we are all friends and I haven't found that anywhere else. It is also a 5 minute walk, so it is really close to my house!
December 31, 2013 3:49 p.m.
lookoutimscary says... #20
Slycne Atomic Empire is my LGS too, they are very inviting and the judges know what they are talking about which is nice
December 31, 2013 4:33 p.m.
For me, I mostly look for an atmosphere where you can play competitively (and, thus, expect to see some good players and tier-1 decks) but where the people are still cool and will wind up all playing EDH by the end of the night.
That's my LGS and I wouldn't go anywhere else. Most shops in the Phoenix metropolitan area (and there are too many to name; trust me) are hyper-competitive and people at those places (in my own experiences) get way too into the game and take advantage of their opponents. Certain places even have reputations like high amounts of theft, lots of cheating, very poor sportsmanship, etc.
My shop's not perfect, but after having tried all the places within a reasonable driving distance of where I live, I can safely say this one's the best.
December 31, 2013 8:24 p.m.
The shop nearest me is mostly a comic book store. They have Magic cards and Warhammer figures, and the usual allotment of other toys and games, as well as posters and T-shirts, etc.
I'm only into M:tG, though and they have a very limited stock of product, don't sell singles, and when it comes to playing, they offer FNM - 3 Drafts and 1 Standard each month, and sometimes do Legacy or more Standard on Tuesdays, but the atmosphere is not comfortable: The TO is surly and is always yelling at people, a lot of the regular players are snobbish and unhelpful to newer players, and the play space is small and cramped with the tables too close together and usually cluttered with boxes of comic books.
Everything is overpriced, and there is very limited prize support at events. If I have the extra time for travel, I much rather go to a couple others in the area.
There is one an hour's drive south that specializes in Magic and Dungeons & Dragons gaming. They have a huge stock of cards, sell singles and bulk lots at very reasonable prices, and the space is HUGE. It's a large warehouse with dozens of tables, spaced out very comfortably, well lit, etc. and the staff is very friendly, professional and accommodating. Not only that, but they stay open until 2am Fri-Sat and in addition to FNM (in which they do both Draft and Standard every week), they have Saturday afternoon Sealed Limited, Saturday evening EDH, Wednesday night Casual, and mix in more Standard, Modern, and Legacy on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Alternatively, there's a shop about an hour's drive to the north that is very small, can barely fit more than a dozen players at a time, but has the friendliest staff and core group of players anywhere. They specialize in cards - Magic, Baseball, YuGiOh, World of Warcraft, etc. so have tons of product and will gladly open boxes and packs to find specific cards for you.
My local LGS makes having fun difficult, but the long travel time to the other places makes it hard to get into regular gaming. If I lived closer to the one down south, I'd probably be there every day.
December 31, 2013 8:52 p.m.
MonsterFinder221 says... #23
Well, there aren't really a lot of shops that sell MTG here in Manila, (Capital of the Philippines,) I don't know if I can count a small bookstore/medium magazine shop a Gaming store, but it has binders of cards and stuff. Somewhat limited selection of cards though. (But they sell Revised edition lands for $1.30 and I'm planning on selling mine to fund my expenses) they almost always have the singles the latest sets (Theros-Innistrad) and they categorize the rest into binders of $0.10, $1, $2 $3 and $4. Another thing that sucks is that they don't have chairs, (Being a small shop and all. Imagine a normal size apartment, It's somewhat that big.) so you end up looking at binders while standing up in front of the counter. Apart from singles they also sell booster packs, Commander decks, oversized cards, T-shirts, overpriced $3 20-sided dice and some 2nd hand sleeves and deckboxes (And a comic with a promo card that comes with it)
There is also another place that sells MTG merchandise, It's conveniently at the other side of the mall on the top floor. (The one already mentioned above is in the basement level.) They have more limited cards (only from Theros until return to ravnica) but they also sell Ultra Pro deckboxes and sleeves, Yu-Gi-Oh! and pokemon, which is nice. It's more of a stand than a shop.
January 3, 2014 7:35 a.m.
gnarlicide says... #24
I have like 2 or 3 shops in my area, but I only go to 1. The reason is that the other players there are really nice. They aren't dicks while you're playing against them. They even go as far as providing good feedback at the end of a round. Another reason is the owner. This guy is awesome, if you are short on cash, you can trade into a tournament if you want. He also has the best prices on sealed product in town and doesn't get into the hype of "market value" of special sets like C13, MMA or FTV20. Which means they go really quick. He offers awesome prizes. Example: if you draft, you can expect about three boxes to be given away in prizes. If you play modern, the dude gives out packs, and the winner gets some crazy promo rare, (the dude gave out the SDCC planes walkers once and another time he gave out a judge promo Dark Confidant just to name a few). He also provides military and student discounts on singles and packs. Which means his packs are about 3.25 and singles are 10 percent off. The dude is also open damn near every day of the year and does MTG like 4 or 5 days a week.
Many of the players there are pretty pro, too. We have a 2x state champ that plays there. A dude who won the SCG dragons maze event a while ago (sealed, I think). A couple guys have been to various pro tours and so on. So not only are you playing against quality players, but you are also learning more as you go.
The other shops in the area either the owner is a douche or the other players are obnoxious.
January 3, 2014 8:24 a.m.
KnightsBattlecry001 says... #25
For me it's the atmosphere. Everyone is pretty cool and laid back. Everyone plays to have fun, but will get competitive if they need to. Also most of the people there i went to high school with so it's great to hang out with people I normally wouldn't hardly see. The people who run my lgs are also some of the nicest people you will ever meet. Usually after FNM a bunch of us will all just set around with the owners and talk anything and everything there is about magic, movies, video games, and comics. Don't think there has been a time we left before one in the morning. It's a great place and can't see myself going anywhere else to play magic.
January 3, 2014 8:47 a.m.
TheLameSauce says... #26
I have two LGSs close by me. They are quite different in the way that they're run and they each have things about them I like and dislike. One of them is a lot more FNM and competition focused, running standard modern and legacy events fairly regularly. This is where I get most of my tournament fix and trading in since a lot more people also go to this store. The other one is much more casual play based. The previous owner was well loved by the group of friends that got me into magic because he was just a really nice, and down to earth guy. He was in it for the community and the love of the people he worked with (where as, the other store very much functions as a business with business ideals). The casual store just recently changed owners to a much younger but equally down to earth guy. They've been doing more drafts, cube, and EDH stuff, which are my favorite formats. The bummer is that the majority of the magic playing community here are far more competitively minded, so the more casual store gets about half the amount of people coming in to play magic as the other.
January 3, 2014 9:03 a.m.
I actually drive about 30 minutes away to play Magic anymore. The store I go to, Sports Collector's Universe, has always treated me fairly. The very first time I went there, not knowing anyone, I had just missed a sale they were having on Shocklands. I had mentioned this on their Facebook page, and they had set aside 2 Temple Garden for me at the sale price. I've made tons of friends there and the employees are all super friendly. Not to mention the sales/events they have. Mini masters, Modern, Legacy, Commander, Draft, you name it they've done it.
This is opposed to my local game store. They've done a lot better recently, but they aren't very organized and the players aren't very nice. They have been trying to do more events lately, but they don't advertise them well. The main reason I don't play there however is the people. The employees themselves are nice for the most part, but the players can be pretty douchy and hard to deal with.
Typically I would rather make the 30 minute drive and pay tolls to play.
January 3, 2014 9:06 a.m.
There are 2 games stores that I go to, but only one is really local. The owner, kev is a great dude, he is always giving us regulars deals on stuff and helping us out in whatever way he can. We have midnight prereleases and there's always coffee and sandwiches and pasta salad. Its not just kev that makes me love that game store thought. the crowd who goes out there are mostly really nice folks looking to have some fun.
Theres a few things I dislike about my LGS. We dont have monitors for posting pairings, kev just walks in the room with a piece of paper with all the pairings, and just hollers over everyone to announce it. As you can imagine, it gets a little frenzied. I also wish the competition was a little more competitive. There are 2 mentally challenged guys that play there, like 6 little kids, and a few folks who barely know how to play. then theres about 8 of us ''spikes''.who play for blood (just learned that term a few days ago). So basically the last round tends to be the only real competition. But i dont mind, every one is really friendly and no one gets pissed and flips the table.
Basically I wish my LGS was more organized, and a little more competitive. But I love it out there
January 3, 2014 9:27 a.m.
NobodyPicksBulbasaur says... #29
My LGS is pretty terrible overall. It's small, in a basement, and owned by a guy who doesn't know squat about MtG. I keep coming back because it's the only one in town. The only other option is 30+ minutes away in the nearest "real" town. All my other MtG friends go to this shop, too, so it's either deal with it or ditch my friends.
January 3, 2014 11:15 a.m.
I'm not a huge fan of mg LGS. First off its a half hour drive for me and everywhere else is 45min+. The owner and other employees are cool but they offer no reason to buy cards there over ordering them on SCG other than waiting. They sell at SCGs price and buy at their price giving a small bonus if used for store credit. They price their boosters at the same price as wal*mart. The players there keep me coming back though. They are all very nice and helpful, I just wish that the shop gave me a reason to buy cards there instead of online. I wouldnt mind paying more than I would on TCGplayer or E-bay but paying the highest price on the internet for singles just rubs me the wrong way. On top of that there have been single that 4 or 5 people have asked about and instead of ordering some in for players to buy they just dont carry it until someone sells it to them.
So i guess over all I go back because its the only place to go and the people are pretty nice. Just with the owner was a better business man.
January 3, 2014 11:16 a.m.
Absinthman says... #31
There are four stores in my city that I know about. Dark Marksman is off limits because of its inconvenient location. The second is Mephit which I don't visit that much despite the fact that of all the stores, it's probably the closest to my workplace. I have been there once and it was ok but nothing special. Then, there are two stores that I visit quite regularly because I like FNM drafts and these two stores alternate their drafting times on a weekly basis (one week, Black Knight does standard at 3pm and drafts at 6pm, while Naiad schedules these events exactly the other way, and the next week they switch times). I like Black Knight less than the Naiad because it's larger and I simply like smaller playgroups, but the main reason why I keep returning to Naiad is that it's run by a friend of mine whom I have known as a Magic player since when I was working part time in another LGS which unfortunately is no more. He's a good guy and is able to create a really nice atmosphere at his store.
January 3, 2014 11:29 a.m.
My LGS gives participation packs for every tournament. No other store around here does that.
January 3, 2014 1:49 p.m.
crystalizeq says... #33
I really like my store, but it does have some downsides. It does only drafts, and the sealed pre-release events, nothing else. But it is still fun to draft with the players there. And the players are very kind and helpful. There are also two drafts, one starting at 6 and the other at 8. The one at 6 usually attracts younger and newer players, and so prizes are distributed for each win you have. The one at 8 just distributes packs to the top 8. I still usually end up going to the 6 because a lot of my friends go at that time.
January 3, 2014 1:56 p.m.
CrimsonKing says... #34
I have 3 stores in my location with a very divrse meta games and a very competive atmosphere. The one I attend the most is 3 minutes away from my house and me and a group of friends of mine established an FNM there not to long ago. We're a pretty competive group who love helping new players. If your in Cincinnai come to Up up and away comics!
January 3, 2014 2 p.m.
CastleSiege says... #35
I don't really have a good LGS to go to... There are three "near" me that I know of: One of them is too far away and I can't afford to drive there every weekend for FNM. Another just isn't popular enough and there's never anyone there for FNM. And the finally one, the one I had been going to a lot until recently. I just found out maps their boxes before selling packs. Not going to give them my business anymore if they're going to pull a shady act like that. Yeah it's good from a business standpoint but they're also ripping off their customers.
Until I find a new shop to go to, me and some friends have just been meeting up at one of our houses every weekend to play.
January 3, 2014 2:19 p.m.
CrimsonKing, love that shop. :P My friend actually knows the owner and the owner and my friend's dad set up the Cincy Comic Con every year.
January 3, 2014 2:24 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #37
What do you think is the most important amenity for a store to have?
I have two "local" stores - one in walking distance and one in driving distance.
The store in walking distance is old, and it shows. The store is dusty and cramped, and the game room (which is only reachable by leaving the store, then walking around the block to the back entrance) is in horrible condition. It smells foul, it has no ventilation or AC, and it has only broken folding chairs and crusted felt tables. The bathroom, which doubles as a cleaning closet, is so putrid that players would rather leave the game room and walk down the next block to use the Burger King bathrooms.
In complete contrast, the other store is well-cleaned and properly kept. The game room is actually connected to the store, and the sales counter runs from the main room into the game room. It has AC and heat. It also has proper high-top wooden tables with backed chairs and playmats at every spot. There's a coffee machine and snacks. The bathroom is kept spotless, and there are air fresheners in both the game room and bathroom.
The problem is, the store in town gets business because most of the university students can't drive to the other place. It's a shame.
January 3, 2014 2:38 p.m.
By far the most important thing about my LGS is the crowd. It's a brand new store called Thunderdome Games (highly suggest it for anyone in the twin cities in minnesota) that is almost singlehandedly made by the owner. He works every day for most of the time it's open. He's always willing to help with decks or other things, much like any single person who works there is. All formats but vintage are represented, but another major selling point for me is that there is a lot of edh played when nothing else is happening. There is virtually always someone there I recognize who's down for a game, and I've never had a bad experience with someone taking a game too seriously. Also, there is a good mix of fun homebrews and more competitive decks in standard, edh, modern, and legacy.
January 3, 2014 2:53 p.m.
I usually play at muse comics in colorado springs. The staff and players are friendly and the Friday night standard tournaments are held at a reasonable time. My main reason for going is the time of the tournaments, 5pm til about 10pm if we do 5 rounds. Finding a babysitter for my kid can be a pain so I don't get to go as often as I like. The other shop that I know hosts magic is enchanted realms. They have a decent selection of singles and from what I could tell a large number of players. Their games run a couple hours later than muse but they are friendly and have beer.
January 3, 2014 5:09 p.m.
My LGS of choice is a little sports memorabilia shop only a couple blocks from my house and well within walking distance. That was originally the reason I started going there, but the players kept me going back. It is the perfect mix of casual competitiveness that I crave, and they are all great people who will help each other out even to the point of loaning a poorer player a given card like Voice of Resurgence so their deck has a better chance. They see magic as I do, a game that's only boundary should be your skill not your income, and that helps everyone going there a lot and keeps things fresh.
Aside from that, the other huge factor keeping me coming back is the owner. He owns and runs it by himself so there's not a huge selection of singles and the like, and his true knowledge base lies solely with the sports side of the shop, and there isn't a ton of space, but he's a great guy who also helps out players when he can and strongly supports the regulars. For example, I wanted one of the new commander decks but was short on the cost of it until payday. He just gave it to me and told me to get him back whenever I get the chance. Me and my bro bought a box of theros (at $95!) from him but forgot to leave $5 each aside for FNM that night. He let us jump in for free saying "You did just buy a box after all, and you can't let those cards sit unused all week.". He threw a christmas party for all of us for the last FNM before christmas, and we had pizza, drinks and a free commander deckbox to go along with our $5 entry. He is a really cool and nice guy, and even though there is another bigger shop only another 20 minutes away with better singles and pack prices, I'd much rather spend my money at his shop just to give him the support.
That is what I think makes a good card shop a great one.
January 3, 2014 5:11 p.m.
There's four that I'm going to comment on. Mind you, I live in the middle of nowhere, life of a farmer lol.
The first one is The Book Nook in West Plains, Missouri, about an hour and a half roundtrip. The FNM scene is relatively new, and we've somewhat recently moved into advanced status, so more supplies and prize support. I love it for the atmosphere, the players, and the store owner. The owner is a huge nerd from an older era, and has a passion for games and fantasy stuff in general. There are a good variety of players, and for most part, the bad apples have been chased away. We got a younger crowd whom are learning how to play magic and do well. It has been a blast watching them grow as a player. The competitive players we have are laid back, so it feels like a casual environment despite knowing dang well you better bring you A game. As for the shop yourself, it's a Book Store first and foremost that has been opened for probably a few decades, with a touch of nerd stuff thrown in. There's enough room for 22 players, which for a time before my absence, wasn't enough. However the game room is upstairs, so not wheelchair accessible (though owner would likely set up a table downstairs but we haven't ran into that yet). The singles are very lacking, and only recently has the owner been stocking up on them. However there are always variety of packs, boosters, and gaming supplies to suit your needs. So far the schedule has been draft/standard/modern/standard, with little other gaming unless people come in. It's more or less a dedicated FNM hotspot, but not a dedicated gaming spot. I go here when I can to support the owner, probably main reason i come by.
Next up is Grove's Gamer Guild, a more dedicated hobby shop. It's about a three hour round trip, but I like going up there for special events. The atmosphere isn't near as relaxed, but there's often more players, and it's not always MTG, plus always a casual game going on, or board games if you're into that. They've recently started hosting SCG opening qualifiers I guess? So I expect them to get a bit more attention. They have a good variety of singles too and the owner loves EDH and Legacy, which is a plus for me. The owner is pretty knowledgeable about the game though he hates the current state of affairs, or rather, has for a while now. Some don't seem to like him though, think his ego is too big, I think he's pretty humble just likes to toot his own horn occasionally, but who doesn't? They also are starting to get big on Pokemon. The prize support this store gives is nuts at time though.
Next up is Poplar Bluff Sierra Pheonix Gaming, if I lived closer, this would be my go to store, and might be in next few years. The store runs various games from warhammer, to various table top, and every format of MTG. They have a pretty impressive selection of singles and various gaming supplies. There's almost always a game going on here, and they play well into the night while doing midnight-releases too. He has pretty good prize support, though mostly packs.
Next up, is a computer store in Alton that's relatively new to the scene. The guy recently relocated while trying to get sanctioned, and was turned down due to the emptyness of his shop, though I'm sure his smaller cramped shop would have passed, which sucked, a lot. However he was able to re-apply recently. I like this scene a lot more despite being mostly high schoolers. The owner likes the older format more so it's been mostly modern/legacy, and recently, EDH. There's a good amount of room to play, and they do roleplaying too, but the shop' inventory is very lacking, atleast for now. This has become my main shop due to both distance and the format played. He has a decent prize set-up.
I guess what I look for in a store is mostly the environment, both the players and the owner. Book Nook gets most of my business due to the owner being a great guy and helping me out a lot, but I would go to the bluff more often if I was closer due to the fact they game more and it isn't all standard, while maintaining a good prize support system.
January 3, 2014 9:16 p.m.
gnarlicide says... #42
To me, the most important amenities to have are:
1.) good tables and chairs. I have sat in too many shops where the tables were sticky or the chairs were all jacked up. It makes for a bad experience.
2.) well ventilated. This also includes heat and AC. Nobody likes a stinky shop. You have to sit there for a minimum of three hours, you gotta be able to breathe.
3.) clean freaking restroom. I have yet to go to a shop that has one, which says a lot because I travel on business often and have played in many shops. Come on owners, give a kid a free fat pack to clean the bathroom if you can't. It's too easy.
4.) quality snacks. I know this doesn't happen very often, but nobody can live off of candy bars, chips and Mountain Dew. Not every player has time to eat dinner after work before a 630 pm FNM. Even something as simple as a microwave and some frozen burritos or corn dogs go a long way.
Epochalyptik are you interested in starting up a shop? After seeing so many shops in this country, I have sparked an interest in starting one myself. So far I have just been taking in and writing down all of the good qualities about each one and trying to put those qualities together. The only X-factor to me is, players. As an owner, gaining a big player base is good, but how do you mitigate the ones that make the whole shop bad? I have refused to continue going to shops based on how the players act alone. Maybe I am the only one that does that, but it don't want to lose business because of a bunch of douche bags. Just my two cents.
January 3, 2014 10:12 p.m.
killroy726 says... #43
I go to two both for me have their pros and cons. the one I love the most is small and where I play EDH on Saturdays. With that being said it does have the better single card selection, however their is and issue with the owner of the store and how he does business. but the other customers are great and I like hanging around them. The second store is about twice the size of the previous (which isn't saying much). It is also newer than the other store. this store has a massive amount of people for FNM and their conduct is not toward my liking. however the store's selection of MTG related products and friendly staff make me want to come back. But as you can see Im torn between the two. I just go to the one that best suits my needs at the time.
January 3, 2014 11:53 p.m.
smash10101 says... #44
I live in a town with a huge density of LGSs. There is the one by my house, which generally has crappy prereleases, but has great edh on Monday nights and nice people. The one I usually go to for prereleases is easy for me to get to when I have a car. They have great prize distributions. I don't really like the edh there though. Too much mass land destruction and such. Also, not too many edh players. For the last prerelease, I went to one I hadn't been to before. It's kind of far, but I liked it.
January 4, 2014 2:31 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #45
@gnarlicide: I am indeed interested in starting a shop. The major obstacle right now is a lack of startup capital. I don't feel that I'm in a position to take out the loan necessary to start such a venture, and I would be doing plenty of research beforehand.
As an owner, you'd have to remember that the reputation of your shop depends largely on impressions. If there's a player who degrades the atmosphere and experience for others, you need to deal with it. If he or she sticks around, others will view him or her as a reason not to come, and they will view you negatively as well for not having the responsibility to remove the problem.
Of course, the politics are often complicated. However, what needs to be done needs to be done.
January 4, 2014 2:56 a.m.
DovahWalrus says... #46
The shop I go to apparently doesn't hand out enough promos, but the fact that its 5 minutes away and has a great atmosphere is enough to keep me coming back.
January 4, 2014 3:34 a.m.
When I lived in florida my local gaming store was not very fun to go to.When a prerelease happened they did not have room or seats for everyone so some of us would end up standing. The entire store smelled like a bag of ass beacuse so many people so close together. They had a reasonable selection though and the owner was a cool person. I just did not have fun playing in a room full of uppety jerks and no personal space. When I moved here to california the first gaming store I went to looked very nice and clean but they had the worst selection I have ever in my life seen. I took some of my stuff in to sell when I was tight on money and they turned down a lot of good stuff like my Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or my beta Royal Assassin which genuinely surprised me. Glad I ended up keeping that stuff.
The new place I go to is awesome. They have prices a few dollars lower then what im accustomed to playing and they have a good selection which is cool since I am the kind of guy who will come in there and drop a few hundred every week provided you have the singles I want. There is plenty of room to play in there too. It is the biggest place I have been to with some of the best people I have played with. I love how if the store doesn't have what I need I can 9 out of 10 times find a trader whos got it.
January 4, 2014 5:23 a.m.
LGS vs kitchen table
LGS: wider variety of people, restricted to Monday nights
kitchen table: smaller group of people, any time
Factors: brother has been scheduled to work on Mondays so we pick a different day for kitchen table EDH, Christmas break came in with a week straight of Christmas parties, two days off (neither of which was a Monday and both of which were used for catching up on chores / errands / etc.), then a week of New Years parties and things (like football).
In spite of how seldom I am there lately, I really like my LGS. They host tons of events (every week night, I think) and sell all kinds of interesting games. The people are friendly and seem to be good judges. The LGS has been around for a long time now so there are definitely some long-standing regulars and almost a guild-like hidden hierarchy (or something) relating to the people who have been playing the game forever and the people who have run the store for ever and their social networks.
The store is very clean and any evening that you visit, you will find it packed with kids and adults. It is sort of family centered rather than being college-kid centered (although that demographic is also present).
I'm just too busy lately. I thought I would have more time over Christmas like I did over Thanksgiving but that was not the case. My brother says that he plans to start going again now that they stopped scheduling him for commander nights, but I might be looking at Spring Break or summer - depending on what my job situation shapes into as well ...
January 4, 2014 8:40 a.m.
CaveShinobi says... #49
The one I go to is Armageddon, in the city I live in. It's pretty much the only LGS in the area, and I'm already used to going there, since I already know some of the regulars and they're usually pretty nice people. The shop owner is also pretty chill and helped me out in getting into the game when I first went to the store.
Right now, I'm studying in another city and I've tried going to another LGS, just to see how it was, but the owner seemed somewhat aloof and it was still a 15/25 minute walk in a really crowded city. And, since I have to catch a train every day to go back home, I don't really like the idea of staying there and possibly losing track of time. In the end, I find myself going back to Armageddon, even if not as much as I used to before I started studying in another city.
January 4, 2014 11:15 a.m.
I frequent two stores, The Fortress when I'm at school, and Fanfare Entertainment when I'm home. Before going away to school, I had only ever been to Fanfare, so getting acquainted with a different store was eye opening.
Fanfare is a large shop in a strip mall that has TONS of non-MTG merchandise, I think fully half the store is devoted to comicbooks and memorabilia. There's two main areas for play, "the cage" in the back seats about 32 players, and then another area up front by the windows that seats another 12. This is fine once everyone is seated, but getting in and out of your spot or changing tables after each round is a cluster. Their selection of singles is pretty weak, and they have never, in my recollection, refilled any of the common/uncommon/bulk rare binders after they open their initial 6 booster boxes for a new set. Prizes for events get pretty sweet if you win, and the competition can be tough. Last night my friend won the standard event and got $40 in credit (which he used along with $5 of his own) to buy 4 RTR shocks. I won my pod of the draft and got $12 in credit, along with my promo. The staff is friendly, but not always particularly knowledgeable. The clientele range from a handful of grinders, to a bunch of netdeckers to what always seems like a small herd of children. My biggest gripe with the store is that you can't use store credit to enter another event, you always have to put cash down ($15 for draft sucks, and you can't bring your own packs). That coupled with the generally higher-than-TCG prices on singles and cramped space make it a solid 7/10.
The Fortress is an interesting contrast. While the store itself is smaller, there are two basement levels full of tables to play, making 100+ person prereleases doable. More of the store is devoted to MTG, the owners and staff are experts,and the prices are much better. Until recently, though, they didn't have binders for the more recent sets, and the prizes are rather anemic compared to Fanfare (FNM first usually takes $20 or so). However, everyone who doesn't top 8 at FNM gets a pack, and they are very generous with promos as well. On the draft side of things, the winner of the pod gets 6 packs, although the top two usually split and take 5 each. You can also save your packs and use them for the next draft, letting you play for $5 ($13 if you have to buy packs). Socially, I like the player base of the Fortress more, a very nice group of guys. There are also some people with prodigious collections, that will ALWAYS trade for value. This is amazing for converting my bulk rares into usable staples or trade-fodder.
Overall I like the Fortress more, the atmosphere, policies, space and selection outweigh the smaller prizes, especially with my terrible MTG luck lately.
Slycne says... #2
I've just found my local store Atomic Empire to offer basically the best mix on all the desirable fronts when it comes to an LGS. The staff and customers, for the most part, are friendly. Most everyone learns your name after a few weeks. It also offers a nice laid back feel with amenities like a bar, but it still has enough serious folks to scratch my competitive itch. The prize payouts are nice and fair as well.
But perhaps the best aspect is that they have space. Be it a hundred and change attended PTQ or running smaller events along side tabletop games like Warhammer, there often plenty of space for everyone.
December 30, 2013 3:32 p.m.