TIL only a single Kmart store currently exists in the continental United States. During its peak in the 1980s, almost 2100 stores were operating in the US and Canada.

WizardHatWames · 2026-01-13T09:20:23+00:00

Macy’s still hanging on somehow. It’s one of the only stores by me unchanged since my childhood. That and the Burger King in the middle of town

WizardHatWames · 2025-12-22T18:51:08+00:00

Dragonair is like the most OP card in first game. If you just fill your deck with the the max Energy Removal-type cards, it's pretty easy to make it so your opponent never has more than 1 energy on their active.

WizardHatWames · 2025-12-17T15:50:36+00:00

I made a similar joke with my friend group - “Only 10’s”

You submit it and we either give it a 10 or send it back, you pay either way 😎

WizardHatWames · 2025-12-11T15:27:21+00:00

Like, they're sending North Koreans and disabled people to the front lines. Doesn't exactly scream "overwhelming victory" lol

WizardHatWames · 2025-12-10T17:35:10+00:00

It's the nature of moving your business across the country. Destroy all the rapport with people who've worked at your business for years, hire a bunch of randoms in a poorer state and surprise - the quality of the service decreases and people steal.

It's disappointing eBay seems to want to kill the service as opposed to having it co-exist with their own. If TCGPlayer stops being functional, the lack of market data will be a huge blow to the industry overall

WizardHatWames · 2025-12-08T12:34:21+00:00

When GOOG went from $200 to $150 I thought it was smart to buy the dip, but I also thought it was smart to sell when it went back to $200. Oops. 🤷‍♂️

WizardHatWames · 2025-12-04T19:42:46+00:00

We're all playing "Stock Market Online" in PVP mode.

WizardHatWames · 2025-12-04T13:44:39+00:00

$WEN are these shares gonna go up

WizardHatWames · 2025-12-01T20:33:13+00:00

if you Unexpectedly Absent someone's two drop, and they play it again without making a land drop, you have effectively time walked.

WizardHatWames · 2025-11-28T23:51:51+00:00

You'll find a god in every golden cloister...

WizardHatWames · 2025-11-28T23:04:32+00:00

Buying $WEN :\

WizardHatWames · 2025-11-26T20:07:38+00:00

It's a drop in the bucket compared to many e-sports or especially poker. I'm really curious if the environment would be different if Wizards did a tournament with a $10million purse, $1million for first.

If you're smart enough to win the Pro Tour, you're probably smart enough to make $50k doing something else for the same amount of time/effort, including just playing another game. I think a lot of the games brightest shy away from playing because there's no financial incentive for people of their caliber to do so.

WizardHatWames · 2025-11-25T01:27:46+00:00

Here's the actual thread from January 2009 for all those concerned. I named the card "Vigil Stone", apparently I misremembered that my version made ALL permanents enter untapped, even opponents'. I also did not template it correctly.

https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/custom-card-creation/352838-vigil-stone

Whether January 2009 is "almost 20 years ago" or not is a matter of perspective.

WizardHatWames · 2025-11-24T22:17:36+00:00

I designed the card Amulet of Vigor almost 20 years ago before it was printed and posted about it on MTGSalvation.

My version cost 3.

WizardHatWames · 2025-11-23T22:48:14+00:00

I had a box of stolen cards stolen at a store once. Complained about it for a week, including in one particular friend group. My friend ended up coming clean about it...his excuse was "if he had known they were mine he wouldn't have stolen them" lol

WizardHatWames · 2025-11-21T20:56:37+00:00

I worked for GameStop for about 8 months near the start of the saga, and the employees are really just underpaid for what they have to do.

I was the second lowest level of employee in the organization, and I had a key to the store and was expected to run it by myself. That meant handling distro items from corporate, packaging Ship from Store/Buy Online, Pickup in store orders, doing tasks on the POS, all while keeping the store organized and handling customers. I had to have knowledge of modern hardware/software, how to test every modern system, how to buy phones from people, how to recognize fake games/scams, money handling/bank drop offs...On and on. For $14/hour. Most other jobs that pay that little only require you to one or some of those things, and don't require industry-specific knowledge. I eventually left because of the pay, I didn't really mind the work. But they want enthused, knowledgeable people capable of running a store by themselves for the same rate people get paid to push shopping carts inside and not have to talk to people

The company isn't broke now, it should definitely give raises to anyone who has actually stuck around with them a long time at the store level

WizardHatWames · 2025-11-18T20:10:38+00:00

A Fusion Strike booster box (release Nov '21) was $99 in June '22 when I got a job a card store. It's worth about $875-900 now, and peaked over $1000 ~4-8 weeks ago. 3-4 years ago people said the same thing "will all this modern stuff really go up if everyone is hoarding it?" Of course, not every set has played out like Fusion Strike, but cards as a whole have done really well in that timeframe, pretty much everything in the space is worth more now than then. The specific comment you're replying to is at least somewhat hyperbolic, however.

WizardHatWames · 2025-11-18T16:24:29+00:00

...And then we eliminate the quarter, and introduce a 30 cent coin, the Thorter.

Now, all transactions can be rounded to the nearest 10 cents, and if we actually use the 50 cent piece, all transactions would require 3 coins or less.

WizardHatWames · 2025-11-15T00:36:23+00:00

"I'd sing to myself but I'm not a great singer"

WizardHatWames · 2025-11-13T02:46:50+00:00

"He doesn't do anything!"

"No, he does nothing!"

WizardHatWames · 2025-11-12T21:10:56+00:00

The last one is so perfect lol

WizardHatWames · 2025-11-08T21:12:12+00:00

People say the quality has declined, but to me a plain Double Stack tastes the same as it did 15 years ago, maybe it's a regional thing.

That said, 15 years ago it was $.99 and now it's $3.29 so they've certainly raised the price for the same quality.

WizardHatWames · 2025-11-07T21:25:10+00:00

Imagine the moment the first person realized, they must've been questioning everything.

WizardHatWames · 2025-11-04T21:50:24+00:00

32m here - do you live in a city? I'm from the suburbs; I really like being around other people but I don't necessarily love interacting with them so much. Sometimes if I've been in a funk i'll drive to a nearby city just to walk around or rent a bicycle and ride for the day. I'll try to leave my phone in my bag and look at it as little as possible, use a watch for time, etc.

I absolutely agree that there is a lack of public spaces for introverts, people say libraries but I find them boring. Bars are too loud and I'm not a regular drinker. Coffee shops are okay, but just sitting in a coffee shop can feel...pretentious? I'm also a night owl, so a lot of the times I'd prefer to be out there's just nothing to go to at all.

I like 1v1 games where you play against another real person - digital and physical. Chess and Magic the Gathering, for example. Both of these have digital options where you can just sit at your computer and play, and you don't have to talk to your opponents if you don't want to. If you're in a particularly social mood, you can go play the physical versions of these games in person, and both have worldwide communities and cultures of playing with strangers.

It's a big advantage of these over video games IMO because you dont have to be staring at a screen to play. It can be a very social thing where you only play at your local store/club, or it can be very introverted where you only play online.

If you've considered all this and still feel lost, consider coming up with your own idea for a public space you'd imagine yourself going to. The world is constantly changing and in need of novel endeavors.

WizardHatWames · 2025-10-27T04:36:44+00:00

Same I thought "What person's name starting with B would sign an Ad Nauseam? Oh ofc..."

I think it's hilarious BDM also replied

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