Hi all,

Effective immediately, the Gaming Events schedule for Madness Games & Comics Plano is being cut back dramatically.  As of right now, the only events we will be holding are listed below…

Saturday’s at 1:00pm --- Battlestar Galactica CCG League
Saturday’s 6pm-midnight --- open board game play
Sunday’s 3pm-7pm --- Heroclix & Horrorclix (once launched)

There are a couple exceptions though:

1) This week’s FNM (8/25) will be the final FNM here.  There will be no Thursday night drafts.  The Legacy event scheduled for 9/2 is cancelled.  Any players still holding free passes will be amply compensated.  Please contact me at for details.

2) We are strongly considering holding Dreamblade events, but nothing has been laid down as of yet.  We are working on hosting some 1k events as well.  More info on that soon.

No part of this decision has been easy.  There are a great many factors, some good, some bad, some terrible, that have all been weighed.  This has been culminating for months, but the decision has been made, and this is the direction I need to take our business.

Without question, dropping Magic events has been the toughest to come to terms with.  I greatly appreciate all the patronage and support our customers have shown us.  It is holding up my responsibility to the player base that has made this such a stressful decision, and one that I take very, very seriously.  I’m a huge advocate for constant flux and evolution as a business.  Sometimes, too much so.  I have no limitations on what we may or may not do at sometime in the future.  But for now, this is the direction we are going as a store.

Thanks,

Chris Mettler
Madness Games & Comics

“Play the Games because You Love the Game"

bulls**t.

now i have to drive 30 minutes on friday nights.

i call shenanigans. What, if I may ask, was the deciding factor on PULLING THE PLUG on magic events? BSG CCG just isnt as cool, yet it gets support? Is this what loyalty to the store gets us? I’ve played magic at “Madness” for the past 3 years, and have been a regular customer since, oh, 1999 or so when Chris Hoberg first opened the store. This does not go over well. “Play the Game because you love the game” = “hold tournaments for the game because we love the game”. In my mind, cancelling magic events puts you in the same category as baseball fever. This is really outrageous. Madness was the only place that really held FNM well. CBC does some funky draft thing, Asylum takes years to finish, and… oh yeah THATS IT.

Sooo, this is the last FNM. The last stand for Custer and his troops.

I’m very, very upset.

Love,
Matt

Standard: Ideal 31-7-8

Hi Matt,

This would really piss me off as a player if it happened to where I had been playing.  I completely understand.  I don’t blame any of you for being pissed about this.  I really don’t. 

This is what needs to be done.  I can only hope that some of you understand, even if you disagree.

Thanks,

Chris Mettler
Madness Games & Comics

“Play the Games because You Love the Game"

what was the deal? what happened? did the property manager not like you using the hallway? not like turners urine incident? just hate magic players in general? where’s the love?? and WHAT was the needle that broke the camels back?

Isn’t wizards gonna hate you for this?

You still gonna sell singles or packs?

Would you respond to a petition?

This will hurt the subway economy too, have they heard yet?

what about wendy’s?

can we play on boardgames night if we bring a piece of cardboard?

Any kind of celebratory send-off on friday like you did with McKinney, or just a eff-you go play in someone elses front yard?

Love,
Matt

Standard: Ideal 31-7-8

Wheres the love, Boog? - 22 August 2006 02:23 PM

what was the deal? what happened? did the property manager not like you using the hallway? not like turners urine incident? just hate magic players in general? where’s the love?? and WHAT was the needle that broke the camels back?

Isn’t wizards gonna hate you for this?

You still gonna sell singles or packs?

Would you respond to a petition?

This will hurt the subway economy too, have they heard yet?

what about wendy’s?

can we play on boardgames night if we bring a piece of cardboard?

Any kind of celebratory send-off on friday like you did with McKinney, or just a eff-you go play in someone elses front yard?

I’ve always done my best to take care of the players at just about every turn.  The playing in the hall is in strict violation of my lease, but I had it approved pending no complaints.  Other tennants have complained and I cannot defend idiotic situations like what Turner did.  The singles will return at some point, but not for a while. 

petition...sorry, no.  This has nothing to do with whether I think there is enough interest in the events.  It’s about my available resources (open space).

Chris Mettler
Madness Games & Comics

“Play the Games because You Love the Game"

I am going to choose to believe that Madness is no longer supporting Magic due to Wizards raising their prices, and that you, as a concerned Magic advocate are attempting to force them to lower prices through a boycott in order to benefit us, the players.  But then I wonder why support the other games that Wizards produces if this is the case.  Particularly when those games have nowhere near the fan base nor the allure of what has been the world’s most popular CCG for the past 12 years.  I’ve tried six other CCG’s in the past, and they are always short-lived and impossible to play without opponents.  Miniatures games can be interesting, but lose appeal when you realize that you have to carry around a fair-sized box or suitcase to transport them and can’t really just have a quick pick-up game like you can with cards.  Are you going to be selling singles in the future or pretty much calling it quits on catering to the Magic crowd altogether?  I’ve tried a few of the other stores but just liked Madness better--this is very disappointing.  Will you be doing anything special for the final week?

EDIT:  There was a Turner urine incident?!

Christian - 22 August 2006 02:38 PM

I am going to choose to believe that Madness is no longer supporting Magic due to Wizards raising their prices, and that you, as a concerned Magic advocate are attempting to force them to lower prices through a boycott in order to benefit us, the players.  But then I wonder why support the other games that Wizards produces if this is the case.  Particularly when those games have nowhere near the fan base nor the allure of what has been the world’s most popular CCG for the past 12 years.  I’ve tried six other CCG’s in the past, and they are always short-lived and impossible to play without opponents.  Miniatures games can be interesting, but lose appeal when you realize that you have to carry around a fair-sized box or suitcase to transport them and can’t really just have a quick pick-up game like you can with cards.  Are you going to be selling singles in the future or pretty much calling it quits on catering to the Magic crowd altogether?  I’ve tried a few of the other stores but just liked Madness better--this is very disappointing.  Will you be doing anything special for the final week?

Hi Christian,

The price increase didn’t make for a joyful morning, but it doesn’t have anything directly to do with this.  I deeply appreciate the patronage of all the regulars, but at a certain point, what is best for the business takes priority over most anything else.  We’ve been discussing it internally (Hoberg and I) for the past six months.  The time came to make the decision, that’s all.  The singles will be gone for a while, but back eventually.

Thanks,

Chris Mettler
Madness Games & Comics

“Play the Games because You Love the Game"

Christian - 22 August 2006 02:38 PM

EDIT:  There was a Turner urine incident?!

yes, involving the drinking fountain. as I understand it…

Chris Mettler
Madness Games & Comics

“Play the Games because You Love the Game"

he shall be lynched for this.

well, what time will madness close on fridays now?

time to hit the bottle again, drink my sorrows away.

Love,
Matt

Standard: Ideal 31-7-8

Well I am upset but I completely understand though from a business perspective. In fact, I was under the impression until like a month ago that Wotc alctually reimbursed the shops for running FNM. Yes! I couldn’t see how the margins from $5 and a pack could pay back even someone working minimum wage and electricity/AC unless there were 30+ people or something. Plus, FNM is the lifeblood of magic. I don’t care about any other CCG or game cause there’s no tourneys with 15-20+ people a week like there is for MTG.

So WotC raised prices? this is absurd. this company is so damn greedy it makes me sick. I really really hate em. It’s obvious from their absurd singles prices, promotion of the pro tour like it’s the damn lottery, and printing of more and more sets with intentional bad cards. Not to metion MTGO which is pure snake oil.

though, I did smell this coming, with the constant reduction of playspace. I’m glad you did pick one extreme or the other though. Doing something half-@$$ wasn’t working - though just conserning playspace. You do have the most gracious payouts of any tourney i’ve seen, and great people coming to it, and very quick execution of FNM.

If it is done, this is good timing, before Time Spiral comes out. Still, i’m sad. Comic Asylum has such crappy payouts and it takes forever, and CBC’s format is only good if you draft there too, boo.

:(

I hope it’s true that every snowflake is unique, because I never want to see one like this again.

I’d been driving half an hour for FNM for months, it wasn’t too bad.
I’m just not gonna play on fridays anymore, it’s too far to go to any of the other stores.
PTQs, MHC events, Pre-releases and releases should be enough to keep me on my toes.

if you guys didn’t see this coming you weren’t paying very much attention.

Matt- the “needle” that broke the camels’ back was not one thing, so be careful of the conclusions you come to.

Boog- Players need to realize that gaming and life are two very separate things, perhaps this will assist them in that realization. Although I will miss your special events. I look forward to Dreamblade events if you decide to hold them.

good luck with the business,

Kevin

“Wasn’t our plan just to get to 900 life and f***’em?”

Coldsnap Sealed: who cares
Coldsnap Draft: who cares

Thanks guys.  And to be clear, this is NOT a direct result of Turner, although it certainly didn’t help the situation. 

Also, to be clear, we will still be carrying packs and boxes, and eventually singles once more.  The price increases go into effect as of 9/22/06, so nothing changes for now, but will be adjusted then.  Plus, I’ve got to do some strategizing, but I might be able to be even sharper on box prices without having to bear the additional expenses, but we’ll see. 

The new hours for Friday are 11am-9pm, effective next week. (9/1/2006)

On a seperate note, I’ll be checking with DCI about the possibility of still holding other events such as the release events, but for now, I can’t promise anything.

Chris Mettler
Madness Games & Comics

“Play the Games because You Love the Game"

Wheres the love, Boog? - 22 August 2006 02:46 PM

time to hit the bottle again, drink my sorrows away.

That, sir, is a very BAD plan!  I agree with Nathan:  Assylum has the weakest prize payouts I’ve ever seen.  A couple of weeks ago I went undefeated all night and through the Top 4 (note no prizes to 5-8) and earned two prize packs for my trouble.  Maybe I’ll check Craze out.

Phylar - 22 August 2006 03:16 PM

So WotC raised prices?

received this morning directly from Wizards…

Due to global economic pressures and certain cost increases, Wizards of
the Coast will increase the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP)
of its front list and backlist Magic: The Gathering(r) Trading Card Game
and Star Wars(tm) and Dungeons & Dragons(r) Miniatures products
effective September 22, 2006. Even with this increase, our games remain
competitively priced with other products in the industry and will
continue to deliver the high quality our fans have come to know. As
always, our retail customers have the freedom to charge whatever price
they see fit.

The MSRP increase will affect the following products:
Magic: The Gathering & Magic: The Gathering Online
Booster Packs: $3.99
Tournament and Theme Decks: $12.29 (excluding 9th Edition Core Set Theme
Decks)
Fat Packs: $34.99

Dungeons & Dragons(r) and Star Wars(tm) Miniatures
Booster Packs: $14.99
Huge Packs: $21.99

Chris Mettler
Madness Games & Comics

“Play the Games because You Love the Game"

I’m somewhat glad(from a personal standpoint) that this happened before October… I have recently been considering getting another job(or two), just so I could fit at least 1 night of MTG in each week, since I don’t get to play much any more, and I’m glad I didn’t change my schedule around just to get ****ed like the rest of you(not that you had any choice :()...

Chris: I understand that it’s your responsibility to take care of your employees, your business, and yourself by taking care of the best interests of the store, but why the hell cut it all off with 3 days notice? I think Matt’s right about shenanigans… I don’t want to accuse you of anything, as you have the right to close the whole damn store down if you want to, but I just don’t see how the hell you HAVE TO cut off MTG in one fell swoop… I mean, if you have been discussing this for months, then I see no reason not to notify your player base that you *might* have to cut off parts or all of MTG. Lots of people spend their hard-earned money at your store every week, and to just cut it all off like this seems disrespectful and unappreciative…

And i’m really happy that Comic Asylum is starting to have Legacy tournaments on weekends, because I would REALLY hate to have spent over $200 on cards(in the last couple of weeks) just so that I could ONLY continue to play Legacy on Magic Workstation… I mean, i’ve been waiting 9 months for an alternate format(Extended, Legacy, Proxied-Up Vintage, etc.) to come along; to finally get something going and have it be a waste of $$ would have been really aggravating… As such, I appreciate the 4 tournaments that you did hold, I think it was a great experience, especially for the winners, and I hope that some time in the near future(Pending WotC’s realization that not all MTG players will bend over for them; Seriously, they are some greedy SOBs) you are able to get events going again, though somehow I doubt it. :(

...and last but not least, I’m going to miss all the great players that go to madness, and also having somewhere to go for playtesting… but life goes on.

---

Current Decks:
UG Aggro
Mono-Green Turbo-Allosaurus!
Mono-Red BURN

RGD Draft: 25-7-2
RGD Sealed: ***Censored***

$34.99 for a ****ing Fat Pack????? Are they crazy?
I refused to buy them even at 29.99(i’d usually only get them at Gamestop for $20 each), after all, you’re just getting 6 boosters, a novel, and a die… wow, what a bad business decision. Then again, more and more people are beginning to pour hundreds of $$ into MTG every week… maybe this was a result of all the polls they’ve been doing(realization of how much $$ people spend on their product can drive them to realize whether or not a price hike would affect sales, and by how much)... even still, i’m really damned close to just quitting. Poker is looking SO much better to me right now, and it’s FREE(well, for me at least ; none of these bullshit $5-and-you-win-2-packs payouts)...

Funny how everything is always one-sided when it comes to the business aspect…

---

Current Decks:
UG Aggro
Mono-Green Turbo-Allosaurus!
Mono-Red BURN

RGD Draft: 25-7-2
RGD Sealed: ***Censored***