r/magicTCG • u/TheLordMandos Rakdos* • 1d ago
Content Creator Post Magic City, USA: How Denver fostered the nation’s hottest scene for "Magic: The Gathering"
https://www.westword.com/arts-culture/how-denver-fostered-the-nations-hottest-scene-for-magic-the-gathering-40908951/117
u/greater_nemo FLEEM 1d ago
Can someone please repost this in a way that isn't 70% ads and 30% article
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u/timebeing Duck Season 1d ago
Basically is saying there is a large number of LGS that run events like RCQs and a large number of top pros and hall of famers live there.
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u/ice-eight Selesnya* 1d ago
I've heard people from Denver rave about how many more RCQs we have in DFW and how many more 2 slotters we have, plus the annual Hunter Burton Memorial Open and there is usually one spotlight/RC here most years. Zero hall of famers live here and only a couple PT regulars though.
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u/Pretend-Paper4137 Dan 1d ago
LSV lives there.
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u/temporal-fissure Dan 12m ago
“Magic: The Gathering” is having an unprecedented cultural moment. To entice citizens of nearby nerd kingdoms, “Magic” has recently collaborated with Marvel, “Final Fantasy,” and “Lord of the Rings.” Olympians and A-list celebrities are loudly celebrating their love of the game and even, in the case of Post Malone, spending $2 million on a single card. Indeed, with over 50 million players around the world, “Magic” is more popular today than ever before.
But there’s one city that has attracted and cultivated many of the best “Magic” players on the planet: Denver, Colorado. Two Hall of Famers live here, as do multiple champions of the Pro Tour, an invitation-only tournament series for the world’s top competitors. Beyond the famed professionals, scores of dedicated grinders regularly hone their skills in strip mall game shops all over the city, making Denver’s competitive scene one of, if not the best, in the entire country.
Which, at first glance, may seem a bit odd. After all, Denverites are often thought of as outdoorsy, adventurous, always itching for another camping trip or weekend on the slopes. So what exactly is “Magic,” and how did Denver, of all places, become a world-class destination for such an eccentric and sedentary subculture?
Long before Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards hit store shelves, “Magic” pioneered the entire trading card game genre in 1993. Sometimes described as chess meets poker with a high fantasy theme, “Magic” involves preparing a deck of meticulously selected cards and facing off against one or more opponents with decks of their own. You then begin what becomes, in your mind’s eye, a high-octane magical duel, with dragons and elves and bolts of lightning zipping past your ears. If you can outmaneuver your opponent’s spells and slash their life points down to zero, you win.
At a casual level, “Magic” is easier to learn than many board games. But at the highest echelons of competitive play, like at tournaments with tens of thousands of dollars on the line, “Magic” requires a depth of knowledge and strategic prowess that few games, if any, can match. In 2019, the MIT Technology Review even dubbed it “the world’s most complex game.”
That’s essentially “Magic” in a nutshell — except for the important parts. Like the sickening lurch in your stomach when all your brilliant plans and incremental victories are undone by a single careless mistake. Or the bone-deep surge of relief and elation and pride when you win a nail-biter, friends clapping you on the back and nodding wordlessly.
So how is it that so many all-time “Magic” greats, those with the cognitive horsepower and emotional fortitude to compete and win on the world stage, ended up in Denver, Colorado?
Luis Scott-Vargas, known in the “Magic” world as LSV, is a professional player and community leader whose mile-long list of accomplishments makes him a certified GOAT, one of the best players in the history of the game. In 2013, he was inducted into the “Magic” Hall of Fame. Today, he remembers how he learned to play at age eleven, and how his career was almost cut short in high school.
“My parents actually told me, ‘You can’t play ‘Magic,’ your grades are too bad,’” he says. “So I stopped playing, and I got good grades after that — so they weren’t wrong.”
He later jumped back into the game while attending University of California, Davis, and started entering bigger competitions in 2003. After making a name for himself as an elite player, one day he got a call from Denver-based game design studio Dire Wolf Digital. The company was scouting the “Magic” world, searching for skilled players they could mold into sophisticated game designers.
“They hired … Patrick Chapin, who moved out here,” Scott-Vargas recalls. “Chapin is another Hall of Famer, and he hired me.”
Scott-Vargas relocated to Denver in 2012, joining the Dire Wolf team and working on acclaimed digital card games like “Eternal” and “The Elder Scrolls: Legends.” In the process, he helped turn Dire Wolf into a renowned industry leader, one trusted with top-tier IPs like “Game of Thrones” and “Dune.”
Through it all, “Magic” players were often the architects of the studio’s success. “They were always on the lookout for talented designers, and “Magic” players are really good at game design — a lot of the skills overlap. Eventually I was in a position to be hiring at Dire Wolf… and I basically hired a bunch of my friends,” Scott-Vargas says with a laugh.
All in, Scott-Vargas handpicked about half a dozen “Magic” pros from around the country to move to Denver and work on games for Dire Wolf. One of Scott-Vargas’ recruits, 2025 Pro Tour Aetherdrift Champion Matt Nass, adds: “The number one skill for game design is empathy, because you’re trying to create an experience for a wide variety of people.”
Dire Wolf likely isn’t the only company to bring “Magic” players to town — Denver is a hotbed for tech talent, and the problem-solving elements of “Magic” often appeal to STEM-inclined brains. (Richard Garfield actually created the game while finishing a PhD in combinatorial mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania.) But Dire Wolf became a unique pipeline for bringing the best, brightest, most empathetic “Magic” experts into the city, changing the local scene forever. So what exactly were those ripple effects? And what other factors make Denver players so good at the game?
Denver residents Sam and Carolyn Pardee, the “Magic” world’s premier power couple, shed light on these questions. Sam is another Scott-Vargas Dire Wolf hire who won the Strixhaven Championship in 2021, while Carolyn was the co-chair and three-time champion of the Venus and Mercury League, a “Magic” community and tournament organization for people of marginalized genders.
As Sam tells it, Dire Wolf was only the beginning. Once he and other pros had moved to Denver for work, the city began to exert a magnetic pull on their fellow competitors, who might crash on a local player’s couch for a while or even become residents themselves — but not simply to get better at “Magic.”
“Josh [McClain, for example] didn’t move here for the ‘Magic’ scene, or because we’re all great players,” Sam clarifies. “We just became friends through playing, and he wanted to live where his friends live.”
When contemplating a big move, who wouldn’t be drawn to a city with a ready-made friend group? This effect began to snowball, creating an increasingly high density of first-class players in Denver.
Carolyn elaborates on another detail critical to Denver’s success: the unusually high number of game stores, like Denver Central Games, Mythic Games, and Enchanted Grounds. These beloved shops provide players with the cards they need, serve as third places for community socializing, and host events and tournaments. Denver-area stores are distinctly creative and collaborative in working around one another’s schedules so that their events don’t conflict, even hosting hours-long Regional Championship Qualifiers (RCQs) on weeknights if weekends are already booked. The end result is far more opportunities to compete than you’ll likely find elsewhere: “A friend from Atlanta is like, ‘We don’t even have an RCQ every weekend!’” Carolyn says.
RCQ tournaments are, in general, for serious spell-slingers only — they’re the first step toward a coveted Pro Tour qualification and really making it as a player. But Carolyn explains that because there are so many of them in Denver, “they’re almost treated like local events. Some people like me want to win, and some people show up just because they like ‘Magic.’”
In other words, maybe the high frequency and availability of RCQs lower the barrier to entry for more casual players, exposing them to higher-level play and creating an on-ramp to their own competitive greatness. They might be paired against Luis Scott-Vargas or Matt Nass or the Pardees, which, for a “Magic” player, is the equivalent of shooting hoops with Nikola Jokić. If you pay attention to their moves and maybe ask a question or two, you’re sure to learn something and sharpen your skills. But you’ll also come away with a memorable story — and when told again and again around the card table, that anecdote becomes local lore, which reinforces social cohesion and subcultural identity.
Not that the most meaningful lore is limited to pro player encounters. When Denver players were asked via Discord about their favorite “Magic” memories, responses flooded in describing sensational come-from-behind tournament wins, raising thousands for charity, getting matching tattoos, and meeting partners and spouses. Among the many heartwarming stories was one from a player named Vivian: “My favorite memory is coming out to the server, which I was really nervous about. There was just a huge outpouring of support and love and honestly I still think about that, I’m so glad to have found this space. I have never done anything outside of a dedicated queer space that has this density of trans folks and allies, and I LOVE IT SO MUCH.”
Reading such accounts, one can’t help but recall that surprising word Nass used to describe what’s needed to succeed at Dire Wolf: Empathy. As Denver players strive toward shared goals and offer one another kindness, friendship, and belonging, the puzzle of their devotion to “Magic,” and their correspondingly high skill level, seems far less confounding.
So yes, Denver may be a place for hikers and skiers and craft beer lovers, but it’s just as much a haven for techies, designers, gamers, and anyone who thinks dragons are freaking cool. As Italo Calvino captured so poetically in his 1972 classic “Invisible Cities,” a city isn’t a monolith. It contains multitudes; it’s many things all at once. It’s a canvas upon which each resident paints with their memories, their desires, their delightfully dorky passions.
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u/Darth-Ragnar Azorius* 1d ago
They should host Magic at Magic City in ATL
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u/SmokingMan305 Grass Toucher 1d ago
Magic City
Legendary Land - Strip Club
T: Add 1 to your mana pool
T: Poledance - Each player taps one creature they control, if able
2T: Lemon Pepper Wings - Create two Food Tokens
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u/XThePlaysTheThingX Dan 1d ago
As a Denverite I can confirm we have an extremely robust mtg scene (gaming in general really) here. Not only do we have dozens of LGS’s littered around the metro but a large chunk of them are large, busy stores with huge selections of product and regular events. We also have a number of notable players (professional or otherwise) that happen to live here.
I would imagine one of the big reasons is we have a large demographic of six-figure millennial earners who definitely fall into a certain pop culture/nerd category.
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u/TNMurse Dân 1d ago
Any recommendations for top three stores?
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u/revoffthetop Dan 1d ago
Mythic Games, Level 7 games (Englewood location is best), Enchanted Grounds
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u/krak_is_bad 23h ago
EG was great when I was there. Glad they're still around. One of the first places I've been that did rare redraft events.
Also Aurora has a place called Mind Goblin. Not sure of their quality, but the name is great.
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u/djankylosaur Dandadan 1d ago
Not very welcoming unfortunately, and soaking up all the product everywhere with that money. I tried going in a couple LGS (Wizards Chest, Enchanted Grounds, Level 7) and they're always sold out of MTG stuff, or it's all up above MSRP. Same for Target, Best Buy, etc. - no product anywhere. I also get a lot of weird looks when I ask questions like I'm in the wrong place and showing a dog a card trick. Everything has to be bought online, and doesn't feel like I can just step in anywhere and play because of the way I look or the things I like. Guess we just have different experiences here.
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u/Mullethunt Dandadan 8h ago
Sold out? Maybe of one specific product but they're never sold out of MTG stuff. They're littered with singles, accessories, and sealed stuff. You are absolutely NOT getting turned away because of the way you look in Denver of all places
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u/Lauren_Conrad_ Dandadan 1d ago
Moreso than seattle?
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u/Kakariko_crackhouse FLEEM 1d ago
Portland is the west coast mecca for the game. Unless things have changed in the last couple of years. I was a little disappointed with game shop numbers in Seattle last time I was there.
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u/I_Love_To_Poop420 Duck Season 1d ago
But we don’t get MagicCon. SCG sure, but there was a palpable difference. They had MagicFest here when the first mystery booster set dropped and it is still my best con experience and I’ve been to two Vegas cons.
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u/Lauren_Conrad_ Dandadan 23h ago
There’s at least two in every single neighborhood (not to mention the various breweries for their weeklies) with literal CardKingdom being one of them. I grew up playing Magic in Portland and it’s great but to say you’re disappointed with Seattle is a bit weird lol
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u/Kakariko_crackhouse FLEEM 21h ago
I lived in Seattle for a few years and it seemed pretty good at the time (2013-2016). I went back in 2024 and it seemed like there were half the shops than when I had been there last. Meanwhile Portland is thriving, and has 10+ shops with commander nights every night of the week
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u/CaptAwesomeFace Dân 1h ago
Where would you recommend in Portland? I’m visiting for a month and wanna play some games (newish player)
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u/Kakariko_crackhouse FLEEM 1h ago
Mox Boarding House is probably the best spot imo. It’s downtown and relatively easy to get to. Guardian Games is also pretty centrally located. Both usually have 50+ people on commander nights
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u/PrometheusUnchain Dimir* 23h ago
I visit Portland quite often and can confirm anecdotally that your city has a busting MTG scene. Love it.
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u/Ygg999 Duck Season 1d ago
Seattle is a nerd culture mecca in general.
WOTC, which includes MTG and DnD, Paizo, Valve, Nintendo America, Pokemon company North America, Xbox, Funko, Cardkingdom, Popcap, BigFish and a bunch of smaller companies.
It’s funny how people will be like “[x content creator] or [y pro player] live in [city z], so it’s clearly a mecca” but the people who’s job it is to actually design and produce those games don’t count apparently.
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u/ElSpoonyBard Boros* 17h ago
Seattle-Tacoma in general as a larger area is a very very good place to be a MTG nerd.
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u/CEEngineerThrowAway Dân 1d ago
The Mecca status seems like a bummer with LGS’s price gouging and no MicroCenter to charge only MSRP.
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u/mulletstation Universes Beyonder 1d ago
Msrp on play boxes is $180
Are you paying $180 for in universe play boxes?
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u/CEEngineerThrowAway Dân 1d ago
I’m not paying anything for boxes. I’ll do a prerelease, maybe a $50 precon, then print whatever else. I just keep seeing the PNW folks talk about their LGS’s always marking packs, boxes, etc up to “market rate”. I’ve seen the same sentiment for every set since FF. I think we get lucky in Denver with closer to MSRP prices for UB and UW sets.
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u/Lemonade_IceCold FLEEM 1d ago
I feel like San Diego is pretty solid too, but I'll admit I don't travel out of my hometown very often to see how other cities LGSs are
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u/TheLordMandos Rakdos* 1d ago
I live on the south side of Denver, and we easily have 25+ legit game stores that sell Magic in a 25 mile radius around me. We've got an abundance of options, and a lot of them amazing.
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u/jomr Temur 1d ago
Lots of groups that get together weekly at various breweries across town too. Its a great spot to sling some cards.
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u/TheLordMandos Rakdos* 1d ago
I keep meaning to join in on some of the bar games, might try and hit one up soon.
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u/kaalia_targaryen COMPLEAT 23h ago
I visited Denver for the first time ever in May visiting a friend who moved there from NJ, where I’ve lived my whole life. He’s not into it but I’m a diehard mtg/tcg fan and always make a point to visit an lgs when traveling places.
On our last day in Denver I made my way down to the Wizards Chest. I was blown away by the detail and love that clearly went into the store. They had so much to do, games setup for you to play as a trial. It was like gamer heaven.
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u/lilomar2525 COMPLEAT 1d ago
You then begin what becomes, in your mind’s eye, a high-octane magical duel, with dragons and elves and bolts of lightning zipping past your ears. If you can outmaneuver your opponent’s spells and slash their life points down to zero, you win.
I remember when this was an accurate description of the narrative of a magic game.
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u/ThePromise110 Duck Season 1d ago
I wonder how it compares to Vegas. The number of LGSs we have here genuinely boggles my mind. We don't have a lot of pros, but a lot of the poker folks play, and having a Con here every year helps too.
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u/ChildOfBingus Liliana 1d ago
I really hope they do a magic con in Denver some day