I haven't played paper in over a year and very much consider myself a student of the game, studying interactions and always looking at ways to refine my routes of play (for the ultra-rare opportunity that I do get to a shop!). I managed to visit Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada this winter and got some MTG games in on the side!
Heavy Meta, the HMSVU Cast, and many others talk about community and player experiences, a lot. It's for good reason, they shape how and more importantly, why we play Magic.
Kapow Ltd, a medium sized shop in Alberta, to me, embodies all the qualities that I look for and keep me engaged in this obsession that is MTG and fostering a community.
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<Note: I'm purely writing this to detail my experiences. This shop had no idea who I was, so in my option these guys got it without any prompting, and I think this bodes very well for new stores!>
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Coming into a new card/hobby store for the first time can be intimidating, I always feel a bit like the new kid in school. Stores that are dark, dank, and underground don't help! I've been to quite a few stores throughout my travels, and the ones that project a bright, well laid out, and CLEAN atmosphere really strike me as shops that are not only interested in catering to the old crowd, but expanding their customer base to easily introduce people walking off the street to fun new experiences!
The same could be said for the player bases that these stores cater to. I played my first tournament in years (Mono Red, you know it!!), flukishly won every match, and despite professing to be a beginner (which is entirely true) was met with friendly and encouraging players from all skill levels. You simply don't get that in an store that doesn't look after its player base by tending to the needs of veterans and newbies alike. Owners that get to know their customers and maintain the healthy and happy atmosphere in their stores share the benefits with their players!
Kapow Ltd. was great, not only in the shop chatting strategy and sussing out what I was interested in playing, but they also had a presence over email, on Twitter, and Facebook. The days of having a stagnant website were people only know where your store is located and your phone number are long behind us. Interacting, and engaging with players and potential customers is SO key for people passing through, and establishing the nature of your brand on the local scene. I connected with players in the shop, online, as well as with the store owners over email.
For me, Kapow Ltd. seemed genuinely interested in helping me connect with local players, and making it easy to access all formats of Magic (and really spurred my recent interest in EDH). This principle is so basic but I think can be so easily overlooked in established stores that don't look beyond their current player base.
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I'm away from Alberta right now, but I can't wait to go back and play at Kapow Ltd.! There have only been a few shops that really spurred my excitement to play in their specific environment. If I had to boil it down to 3 principles it would be these: Approachability (friendliness/atmosphere), Accessibility (all playing abilities/genders/social backgrounds), and Connectivity (In store/Social media).
Shout out to Heavy Meta for establishing a similar presence over twitter, and big shout out to the Eh Team for inviting me to hang out while I was in the area (Definitely next time I'm in Calgary!!). Big thanks to Wallie and Nick of Kapow too :)
#BurnOnBurninators
#MakeTimeToHelpNewPlayers
#RETWEETTOBEENTEREDFORFREEGBSTECH!!
@Ricostravels
Re: my red deck, I can only think that I got very lucky with my card draw. While my list seems very very fast, it looks like it'd be easy to disrupt with the right pieces in play. Hopefully will get to run this list again soon :)
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