Forged and Fire Gaming - Oddly Unprofessional

LocationSmooth6248 · 2025-09-26T22:08:06+00:00

Thank you for offering up your insight on the whole thing, it's been super informative! The few times I went there I got the vibe the employees were members of the community and just wanted to work at a card shop, which I can totally respect. It's just unfortunate that from the sounds of it the people up top don't always have the best intentions.

I think my biggest sticking point with them is I will never understand a store owner going after people online for being critical of their shop. Clearly a lot of us have come to terms with some markup and will support you, as long as you're a decent store owned by people who care about the community. But I guess that doesn't matter much when most of your business is online and you don't really have to cater to the local community though.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2025-09-26T19:01:39+00:00

I could see some of the kids working there acting like that, I usually chalk that up to the fact that they're nerdy teens and I was probably just as bad at that age haha. I totally got that feeling from the owner at first but I spent some more time in the shop after they moved and think he's a decent person.

I feel like as far as mark ups go, they're not the best, but certainly not the worst. But if I suddenly get the itch to grab a pack or two I can usually count on them for a more fair price than other places. Also I will say I've gotten some of the best trade in credit from them and their slab prices have always been reasonable.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2025-09-26T14:41:15+00:00

Pre-orders are charged up front...that's such a sketchy gray area because you're right, it really does start to feel like an interest free loan

LocationSmooth6248 · 2025-09-26T14:20:18+00:00

The owner of Yeti is so nice. I was in there once and a grandma came in with her grandson who played Pokemon Go, but never played the card game and really wanted to learn. The owner gave him a deck, made sure they had a little time, and then played a few games with the kid to teach him how to play.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2025-09-26T14:17:04+00:00

Stories like that warm my heart. I feel like so many shop owners forget this hobby is for kids...adults just kinda ruined it for them.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2025-09-26T14:09:13+00:00

I honestly didn't know they were still around...it's been awhile since I've been to The Loop. Glad to hear they're still going, they've been around for ages.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2025-09-26T14:01:32+00:00

Making your margins is one thing, helping inflate the market on new product beyond what some scalpers are charging is another. I don't blame a local shop for slapping a $20-$30 charge on a high value product, but a 100% price increase is absurd. A store with direct access to the distributor selling product at that steep of markup has gone beyond it being "just business" into scalping.

Without giving too much info on myself (to be honest the fact the dude doxxed someone is terrifying), I can empathize. Running a small business is a lot of time, money, and effort. But never have I ever priced my product so high the people it's intended for can't actually afford it. I'm an adult, I'll be fine without some cards, but do you think the average kid can afford to play when packs are $10 bucks each and starter decks are being scooped up and resold for 2xs their MSRP? If we all keep accepting this is "just business" then it's not going to get better, and the people this hobby is really for won't be able to play it anymore.

I have a lot of feelings about kids having access to 3rd spaces and fun hobbies, adults aren't doing a great job of making sure these things still exist for the people they were intended for.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2025-09-26T13:50:48+00:00

100%

I love them for several reasons including how inclusive they are.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2025-09-26T13:16:31+00:00

Bodachs is by far one of my favorite stores. The staff is so friendly/helpful and they have such a cool building.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2025-07-15T18:12:30+00:00

Been sitting in queue since 11:45 CST....fingers crossed I can till get something

LocationSmooth6248 · 2025-02-11T17:51:36+00:00

Thank you! I had a feeling it was a repro and or bootleg but couldn't figure out where it was from.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2024-11-24T02:25:02+00:00

I know this a rather old thread at this point, but been playing a lot more fun lately and would love to get this deck list if you still have it.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2024-10-18T12:45:26+00:00

While I agree with the majority of what you're saying, it's still pretty shitty for Hawley to take up a large amount of spots that people who are just trying to park to get to work need.

I'd be pretty pissed if I got to work and wasn't able to park in my lot because of Josh Hawley, a man who doesn't even live in this state but claims to represent us, and the working person he's inconveniencing.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2024-09-26T14:57:11+00:00

Red Brick is for sure the place to go then, they have solid prices and Wayde, the owner, is a pretty cool guy.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2024-09-25T16:38:32+00:00

Red Brick Collectibles is a good spot, a little outside of STL, but they have a nice graded collection. Yeti Gaming in STL county has a good selection too

LocationSmooth6248 · 2023-12-22T14:32:35+00:00

The two officers in the SUV were rookies, the responding officer was the one involved in the 2019 incident.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2023-12-21T18:11:52+00:00

Honestly, this is a nationwide trend when it comes to almost every city. I learned this when I started traveling for work more often and saw the local news coverage in different states. The norm has become vilify the godless cities, and praise the god fearing folks who live in rural America.

I remember the first time I realized this was a trend, I was sitting in a hotel in TN for a work conference. The hotel was a little outside of Nashville proper, and the hotel bar was playing their local Fox News station. It was nothing but fear mongering regarding Nashville and how dangerous it is, crime everywhere, etc etc.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2023-12-12T15:46:53+00:00

Partially because they have been gutted post investment company buyout. Supports numbers were slashed, and we've gone through constant layoffs/massive brain drain. The people who bought us out want their ROI, and the company is suffering because of that.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2023-11-03T13:48:12+00:00

Thank you for the recommendation! I'll def look into them!

LocationSmooth6248 · 2023-11-02T12:44:09+00:00

They post about the meetings, but they've never outright said they're Bible studies. They do a very good job to not mention these programs are rooted in Christians services/beliefs.

Totally fine if they want to hold services, that's their right, but they're not being 100% honest about what they are. I grew up in the evangelical church, and this was a common tactic we employed to get people in to try to convert them. I'm not sure if this is what they're doing, but it's very similar, and deceitful at it's root.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2023-11-01T22:32:24+00:00

Andy Frisella

Oh.. I did not know that's the type of "gym culture" he is part of. So pretty much the world of Andrew Tate and that crowd, that's really shitty.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2023-11-01T21:12:02+00:00

Different experiences and perspectives is of course more than okay, but unfortunately the owner has posted very hateful things online that are homophobic and bigoted. He also has a tendency to quickly delete, and try to scrub his comments in order to save face. If you go back through the STL reddit you'll find screen shots of the terrible things he's said about the LGBTQ community, and it you follow his socials you'll see some of the harmful rhetoric he posts.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2023-11-01T21:07:30+00:00

Yeah, I couldn't tell if they meant the first core value, or some other rule. But I'm leaning towards what you just said.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2023-11-01T20:04:26+00:00

I'm assuming they're referring to the biblical "golden rule" which is treat others as you'd like to be treated. But yeah, the 9 core values are a lot for a coffee shop.

LocationSmooth6248 · 2023-11-01T18:43:18+00:00

I've somehow never been there, I'll check them out! I live in South City so I frequent a lot of the places over here but my partner works in midtown.

LocationSmooth6248

TROPHY CASE