Hey guys,
Firstly thank you for any feedback given, each and every response will be appreciated and helpful regardless of the content.
In the past 8 weeks our Friday Night Magic attendance has been dwindling.
I'm a newer FLGS Owner, we've been open for roughly a year and a half, and we opened in a location with a sizable magic community, but no dedicated magic card shops within a 2 hour drive, and for a 10 year history.
When I first arrived, FNM scarcely fired. When I opened up shop, I dedicated my time to building the magic community and growing attendance. We ended up at a healthy 24 player average leading up to the release of Kaladesh. Just after the Kaladesh Pro Tour we went from 24 to 11. Then 8 player average, and even not firing FNM for the first time a couple weeks ago.
Our magic community is so large that we ended up having over 350 unique players play in our over 200 events we fired last year. But almost none of those players come back. I hear a lot of talk about the regulars being too competitive or serious about play, but as a shop owner, I feel like that's something that it almost out of my control. I make sure prize support is not top heavy, I give away random prizes, and I stay consistent offering every popular format on it's own night of the week.
That's where I need your help! What am I missing? What key element of fun do I need to add to keep players coming back and caring about playing magic, especially Standard (and yes, I get the current sigma of the Standard Format.)
If anything please let me know one unique or fun thing that your FLGS FNM destination does that gets you loyal, dedicated and keeps you coming back.
Thanks,
Struggling FLGS Owner.
Private Mod Note
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"Knowledge speaks, Wisdom Listens." ~ Jimmy Hendrix
Honestly what my shop does is add us regulars on social media and asks us for ideas. It makes us feel included. Also instead of just FNM we have Monday night magic (standard only) Wednesday night draft, thursday night modern, and friday has Modern, standard at 7pm and at 4pm is a commander tournament. so there are a variety of events throughout the week. Also the store i go to host other tournaments such as yu gi oh and weiss. We have some people who play competitive decks but a lot of us are home brews. Not to mention a large majority of our players watch MTGGoldfish videos so we embrace not just jank but jank that can be competitive. I suggest talking to the players who think the store is too competitive to check out some of saffronolive's sweet but decent decks.
I play Modern in 1 location (and have played it in a couple different stores). The one I always frequent is because the employees are awesome, their card selection is the best in my area with some of the best prices, and the entry fee is $5. The prize structure is 1 pack per player and then another pack for each win beyond the first. So, 0-1 wins gets you a pack. 2 wins is 2 packs, 3 wins for 3 packs, and 4 wins for 4 packs.
I know this may not be as attractive to someone who always expects to go 4-0 and 3-1, but it makes for a fun environment and lets me justify running a few more brews that are fun but maybe not as competitive as Tier 1 decks.
Keep in mind, answers we give are going to come with the caveat that we are not your patrons. This means that there may be things outside just the tournament structure driving people away, such as other players (being too "competitive" or just not being fun to play against) or the prize structure not being worthwhile or something else entirely. And, it could just be that Standard isn't fun for the majority of people (I don't play Standard so I am not sure if this is an issue) and that is outside your hands entirely. You would then have to hold more non Standard events. Maybe Frontier is something worth holding tournaments for if your patrons want that.
Dunno. It seems you are doing almost everything right. Maybe give more freebies in form of leftover promos. This is always welcoming.
Maybe it is an end of year thing. My shop has 50+ people, but during the same period of time, except for GPT, the attendance dropped 50 ~ 60% and lot of events didn't fired. People preferred to either play EDH or another tabletop game (the owner has a shelf of free to play boardgames). At the start of the year, the attendance started to pick up a bit. Also, I guess people may be having a MTG fatigue with so many products being released and lackluster promos being handed by WotC.
At the beginning of that shop life they used to have only 10ish players going there. The owner started giving away a booster to any event participant. Also, he sold singles for less than TCG mid. When he had a bigger clientele, he stopped doing that as he didn't need to do that anymore to attract players.
Another shop a bit far where I live is traditionally a YuGIOh/Pokemon place, so to attract a MTG crowd he just gives a free booster to any player there. It doesn't even matter if you are going to play any event. Free booster to just showing up. I heard some places having free refreshments as well, but it may be an one-time deal. My LGS would have free donuts for the players during the holidays (still it had 12 or so there out of 50 ~ 60 during fullhouse attendances).
As someone who is rather picky with where I play, maybe I can give you out some thoughts from the perspective of a more casual player...
I started playing right around after the release of DTK. As someone who was new-ish to MTG (played around Onslaught block to the original Ravnica), I was expecting to be cut some slack and have fun talking and learning to play again during FNM. I spent some time building a deck and wasn't expecting to win at all and was kinda expecting some intelligent conversations and advice. Never was I so wrong. The first FNM I joined in was during the time when the promo was Path to Exile and around 80% of the players at that time were hyper competitive. I didn't know what the majority of cards do so I had to borrow the cards and read them myself. Because of what I have been doing (reading their cards), most of my opponents got agitated, others were laughing at my misplays and the funny way I play, while others were straight up asking the shop owner why a new player like me was allowed to play in that event at all. Needless to say, I didn't show up at that store again for quite sometime.
I went to play in another store and maybe ask some advice on how to build my deck on a budget. Though people were not as easily agitated in that store, they were very much annoyed when you do misplays, like casting Wild Slash on their Ornithopter in response to them casting Shrapnel Blast. I know it's wrong but instead of explaining to me what I did wrong, people were shouting at me as if I did something very offensive to them. I tried going to that store during off-peak hours to ask for help on how to do my deck but the people treated me with a cold shoulder, even the shop owner himself. I don't play in that store anymore and I only go there when they have cards I need that are not in stock anywhere else nearby.
So I went back to the first store where I used to play and to my surprise, the hyper competitive crowd was gone. This was the time when the FNM promo was Orator of Ojutai, right after Serum Visions I think. The number of players for FNM was also steadily dropping. Maybe they were after the FNM promos only? It could drive FNM attendance up or down depending on the current promo.
I did get rid of my standard deck at that time and spent my resources on Commander. The Commander players in that same shop were very friendly and were very much willing to assist me build a deck. So much so that I was able to build a very oppressive Jhoira of the Ghitu deck by trading away my standard stuff, which ended up being axed for being too oppressive LOL. Though the Commander decks present were somehow cutthroat (plenty of infinite combos, slivers, etc.), I enjoyed playing with them and winning by accident sometimes.
A few months later, the shop run Peasant standard and that was a very unique experience to me. By placing restrictions on deckbuilding, the more casual players flocked to the shop with custom brews and it was fun for a while. Eventually, mono white weenies was too oppressive with the card pool present so the format was axed entirely.
For me, here are the things I look for in places to play:
1. Player Attitude - I don't mind playing with or against very competitive people, I just don't want playing in the same environment with people who will scream at other people's faces even for the slightest mistakes
2. Assistance - sometimes, all people need are people they can talk to, be it about improving a current deck or building a new on or just card interactions (some LGS owners are pretty snob themselves and are very clear in their intention that they just want your money, nothing else)
3. Exciting Formats - merit/demerit system for Commander, Peasant standard, I'm all up for fresh takes on existing formats just to shake things up
4. Friendliness - a friendly light-hearted play environment would surely entice me to sit down and play some games
5. Singles Prices - this won't pull me in to play at an LGS with a hyper competitive crowd, but it will pull me in to buy some of your stuff. There was this shop I frequently go to search for cards from 3rd Ed all the way to Kaladesh. Sure you have to dig through their bulk boxes but their prices and card selection are among the best in the immediate area.
Firstly thank you for any feedback given, each and every response will be appreciated and helpful regardless of the content.
In the past 8 weeks our Friday Night Magic attendance has been dwindling.
I'm a newer FLGS Owner, we've been open for roughly a year and a half, and we opened in a location with a sizable magic community, but no dedicated magic card shops within a 2 hour drive, and for a 10 year history.
When I first arrived, FNM scarcely fired. When I opened up shop, I dedicated my time to building the magic community and growing attendance. We ended up at a healthy 24 player average leading up to the release of Kaladesh. Just after the Kaladesh Pro Tour we went from 24 to 11. Then 8 player average, and even not firing FNM for the first time a couple weeks ago.
Our magic community is so large that we ended up having over 350 unique players play in our over 200 events we fired last year. But almost none of those players come back. I hear a lot of talk about the regulars being too competitive or serious about play, but as a shop owner, I feel like that's something that it almost out of my control. I make sure prize support is not top heavy, I give away random prizes, and I stay consistent offering every popular format on it's own night of the week.
That's where I need your help! What am I missing? What key element of fun do I need to add to keep players coming back and caring about playing magic, especially Standard (and yes, I get the current sigma of the Standard Format.)
If anything please let me know one unique or fun thing that your FLGS FNM destination does that gets you loyal, dedicated and keeps you coming back.
Thanks,
Struggling FLGS Owner.
I play Modern in 1 location (and have played it in a couple different stores). The one I always frequent is because the employees are awesome, their card selection is the best in my area with some of the best prices, and the entry fee is $5. The prize structure is 1 pack per player and then another pack for each win beyond the first. So, 0-1 wins gets you a pack. 2 wins is 2 packs, 3 wins for 3 packs, and 4 wins for 4 packs.
I know this may not be as attractive to someone who always expects to go 4-0 and 3-1, but it makes for a fun environment and lets me justify running a few more brews that are fun but maybe not as competitive as Tier 1 decks.
Keep in mind, answers we give are going to come with the caveat that we are not your patrons. This means that there may be things outside just the tournament structure driving people away, such as other players (being too "competitive" or just not being fun to play against) or the prize structure not being worthwhile or something else entirely. And, it could just be that Standard isn't fun for the majority of people (I don't play Standard so I am not sure if this is an issue) and that is outside your hands entirely. You would then have to hold more non Standard events. Maybe Frontier is something worth holding tournaments for if your patrons want that.
Maybe it is an end of year thing. My shop has 50+ people, but during the same period of time, except for GPT, the attendance dropped 50 ~ 60% and lot of events didn't fired. People preferred to either play EDH or another tabletop game (the owner has a shelf of free to play boardgames). At the start of the year, the attendance started to pick up a bit. Also, I guess people may be having a MTG fatigue with so many products being released and lackluster promos being handed by WotC.
At the beginning of that shop life they used to have only 10ish players going there. The owner started giving away a booster to any event participant. Also, he sold singles for less than TCG mid. When he had a bigger clientele, he stopped doing that as he didn't need to do that anymore to attract players.
Another shop a bit far where I live is traditionally a YuGIOh/Pokemon place, so to attract a MTG crowd he just gives a free booster to any player there. It doesn't even matter if you are going to play any event. Free booster to just showing up. I heard some places having free refreshments as well, but it may be an one-time deal. My LGS would have free donuts for the players during the holidays (still it had 12 or so there out of 50 ~ 60 during fullhouse attendances).
I started playing right around after the release of DTK. As someone who was new-ish to MTG (played around Onslaught block to the original Ravnica), I was expecting to be cut some slack and have fun talking and learning to play again during FNM. I spent some time building a deck and wasn't expecting to win at all and was kinda expecting some intelligent conversations and advice. Never was I so wrong. The first FNM I joined in was during the time when the promo was Path to Exile and around 80% of the players at that time were hyper competitive. I didn't know what the majority of cards do so I had to borrow the cards and read them myself. Because of what I have been doing (reading their cards), most of my opponents got agitated, others were laughing at my misplays and the funny way I play, while others were straight up asking the shop owner why a new player like me was allowed to play in that event at all. Needless to say, I didn't show up at that store again for quite sometime.
I went to play in another store and maybe ask some advice on how to build my deck on a budget. Though people were not as easily agitated in that store, they were very much annoyed when you do misplays, like casting Wild Slash on their Ornithopter in response to them casting Shrapnel Blast. I know it's wrong but instead of explaining to me what I did wrong, people were shouting at me as if I did something very offensive to them. I tried going to that store during off-peak hours to ask for help on how to do my deck but the people treated me with a cold shoulder, even the shop owner himself. I don't play in that store anymore and I only go there when they have cards I need that are not in stock anywhere else nearby.
So I went back to the first store where I used to play and to my surprise, the hyper competitive crowd was gone. This was the time when the FNM promo was Orator of Ojutai, right after Serum Visions I think. The number of players for FNM was also steadily dropping. Maybe they were after the FNM promos only? It could drive FNM attendance up or down depending on the current promo.
I did get rid of my standard deck at that time and spent my resources on Commander. The Commander players in that same shop were very friendly and were very much willing to assist me build a deck. So much so that I was able to build a very oppressive Jhoira of the Ghitu deck by trading away my standard stuff, which ended up being axed for being too oppressive LOL. Though the Commander decks present were somehow cutthroat (plenty of infinite combos, slivers, etc.), I enjoyed playing with them and winning by accident sometimes.
A few months later, the shop run Peasant standard and that was a very unique experience to me. By placing restrictions on deckbuilding, the more casual players flocked to the shop with custom brews and it was fun for a while. Eventually, mono white weenies was too oppressive with the card pool present so the format was axed entirely.
For me, here are the things I look for in places to play:
1. Player Attitude - I don't mind playing with or against very competitive people, I just don't want playing in the same environment with people who will scream at other people's faces even for the slightest mistakes
2. Assistance - sometimes, all people need are people they can talk to, be it about improving a current deck or building a new on or just card interactions (some LGS owners are pretty snob themselves and are very clear in their intention that they just want your money, nothing else)
3. Exciting Formats - merit/demerit system for Commander, Peasant standard, I'm all up for fresh takes on existing formats just to shake things up
4. Friendliness - a friendly light-hearted play environment would surely entice me to sit down and play some games
5. Singles Prices - this won't pull me in to play at an LGS with a hyper competitive crowd, but it will pull me in to buy some of your stuff. There was this shop I frequently go to search for cards from 3rd Ed all the way to Kaladesh. Sure you have to dig through their bulk boxes but their prices and card selection are among the best in the immediate area.
RBW Mardu Reveler
Commander:
UW Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper - One-Punch Griffin || UR Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain - Historic Tribal Superfriends
GR Omnath, Locus of Rage - Turbo Lands Spellslinger || WURBG Scion of the Ur-Dragon - Living Death Reanimator
BGonti, Lord of Luxury - Gonti's Midnight Party
Under Construction:
WGU Rubinia Soulsinger - Enchantress || RBGU Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder - Cascading Artifacts
RU Jhoira of the Ghitu - Dragonstorm Eldrazi || RU Mizzix of the Izmagnus - Spellslinger
WURBG The Ur-Dragon - Cloning for the Win || WGU Roon of the Hidden Realm - Creature Toolbox
RBGU Vial Smasher the Fierce Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix - Lots'a Combos || BW Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim - Reanimator Combo
WBGU Atraxa, Praetors' Voice - Modified Precon
BUR Nekusar, the Mindrazer || U Arcanis the Omnipotent - Artifact "Storm"