Battlegrounds — Local services in Midlothian

Miserable experience. This place used to rule. You used to be able to walk in and immediately to your left browse a plethora of binders bursting with Magic cards! All you had to do was ask for a binder, ask for a card or even just give them a list of cards to pull for you if you wanted. Great customer service back then. Its a decent drive for me to get there but it was always worth it and I used to be able to just send in a list ahead of time and show up with all the cards ready to go and accurate. Display cases would be filled to the brim with popular cards and current sets when I would show up.

But that was then.. I don't know if management here changed or what but I don't even recognize half the people working here anymore. Its different now. The display cases are barren and there are zero binders to pull from. There are dinky laptops on the display cases now that are so cheap and small you have to squint to see what you are even looking at. One of the employees was raving about how the new implemented "computer system" is easier and more efficient for pulling cards. He also stated I would find most of the cards I was looking for.

I did not. And it was not easier. Maybe easier for them. Its an extremely tedious, unfun, incomplete and completely inaccurate glance at their inventory. The system is finnicky too. I was putting cards in my cart and it asked me to log in with my TCG account, so I did. Then got told that was a bad idea because everyone can now "send me emails." Okay then why did it ask me for my info? That's not my job to know that. Then I lost all the cards I already "pulled" and the employee said I had to start over from scratch. So fun.

I came with a large list of cards I was hunting down but was lucky if I could find maybe 1 in every 30 cards. When I used to come here I was always surprised with how many pulls I would hit. Then I would be even more pleasantly surprised with the price when I left. Not anymore.

The worst part of this experience was after they pulled the cards I did find. I flipped threw them and It looked as if they grabbed random cards with zero knowledge of what the set symbols mean or any concern for pricing that varies from set to set. For example: I would be charged for a $10 card when I specifically carted a cheaper version that may have been like $2 or $3. The system is inaccurate.

Another example: I carted a Bribery and they didn't have the cheaper reprint in stock in their "system" so I went ahead and carted the OG $12 version. But when they pulled the cards they gave me the cheap reprint worth maybe $5 that the system said was "not in stock" but they STILL charged me the $12 for the more expensive original. Like What!? When I confronted the employee he jumped up fast like he already knew what my complaint was. Instead of going to where the boxes of cards where he pulled from earlier he went to the back of the store to grab the appropriate card for me. He knew exactly what he did and where the version I paid for was. It was blatantly obvious. And basically fraud.

Once I resolved that issue I had enough of a headache to leave. But I wish I had taken the time to review the cards. Even though its not my job to make sure they gave me the correct merchandise.

First thing I noticed while going threw cards at home was that some of the sets did not match and I got way over charged for more expensive versions of cards when I got cheaper versions. They are also charging more then TCG prices even though they are using TCG. And the worst part was I noticed some cards I paid for weren't even in the pile of cards they pulled but I was charged on the receipt. They just flat out didn't give me some of the cards and still charged me.

I cant speak for everyone but the Employees I ran into are lazy and incompetent. I'll never go back. This place sucks now and its a shame because this place used to be awesome and fun.

I could go back and argue and complain to get refunds and what not but its not even worth the 40min drive. This place can go out of business just...

Upon first entering the store it looks rather impressive, lots of merchandise hanging from the wall, and numerous gaming tables. After perusing the play area I noticed the deplorable state of some of the tables, one actually appeared to be growing mold. I prefer to game without having to use an entire bottle of hand sanitizer thank you very much. The selection of the game that I favor was woefully inadequate. I spied a guy lounging upon a stool behind the counter, and went up to ask him if one of the new deck releases had come out yet, as I didn't see it in the display case. I approached the cou ter, and stood there for a few moments, and he refused to acknowledge either my son, or myself. I finally said "hello", but he still sat there just gazing off into space. I wondered if perhaps he had a hearing problem, so I asked him a little bit louder about the deck. Still not making any eye contact with us, he proceeded to point his finger at something in the area of the gaming tables. I wondered if perhaps he was a special needs associate which I am all for, so I smiled, and tried a gentler approach at trying to engage him in a sales conversation. I was finally able to get him to answer my question that yes the game had been released, and no he did not have it. Once again, the only eye contact I could get from him was for him to roll his eyes backward to the point where I thought he may topple off of his stool. It was perfectly clear that he was not special needs, he was just under the incorrect assumption that he himself was a special person, and much too lofty to engage in conversation with us mere mortals. I apologized for "disturbing" him, and proceeded to leave the store. I do believe he may have grunted something at this point, but whatever it was, was unintelligible. He needn't worry about me darkening his doorstep ever again, as I prefer to spend my money at establishments that employ people who are not...

One of the best, if not the best, game store I have been to.

Throughout all my hobby years it has proven difficult to find a store that has the inventory, space, and friendly staff who are knowledgable to game in. The community is also outstanding leading to one of the best gaming locations period.

With that being said I only have 2 complaints, one of which can maybe not be helped so much.

1 - they sometimes struggle to update their hours at the physical location. Sure, they post updates to their Facebook page, but there have been multiple times when I have arrived and the doors are locked. The open sign with their hours is posted, but if you didn't read the FB post you wouldn't know why they're closed, and except for the locked doors it wouldn't seem like they're closed. Admittedly, it doesn't happen often, not enough to be an actual problem, but it is noticeably frustrating sometimes.

2 - their hours have updated to be less accommodating. I'm sure this is due in part to staffing, or Covid, or both. But they used to be open until midnight every night and later on the weekends. For people with full time jobs this was a godsend allowing me to gather with my gaming group and play later in the evening after work. Now, unless I try to make it out on a Friday night or a weekend there is significantly less time to get there after work and game before the shop closes at 9.

Both of those complaints are not enough to drop a star in the review, as it is still by far, bar none, the best game store I have been to over the last 20 years of gaming.

Come check it out! Get in a demo, play some card game or board games! Routine D&D sessions, there's something for everyone - you won't be...