Brute Force Games — Local services in San Diego

Good selection, large store and lots of players but overpriced by a good margin. MTG Collector's boxes are nearly $50 more then places like Card Kingdom, $70 more then ebay offers(Explorers of Ixilan, $279.99, Card Kingdom $224, Ebay $206)(Commander Masters, $299, Card Kingdom $219, TCG Med $210, Market $168). Prices will NOT be adjusted at point of sale to TCG median, sometimes selling for tens if not hundreds of dollars more then the common sell values on higher end older/more rare singles. IE $600 cards selling for $900.

Singles below $50 sell at a good price and they have a great selection. If you are looking for anything over $150-200 or sealed product, I would skip out and buy online or elsewhere. I know brick and mortar stores have to sell at higher prices but the increase on these products are pretty excessive, adding nearly 33% to the median listed prices.

𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭- 𝘼𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨: I will be back. When I came to the old store I always appreciated the singles collection and the speed at which the staff got the cards to the customer. I travel to San Diego on a semi-regular basis and hope that there are some improvements.

I understand selling a card for at least the price it was bought at. At the same time, I did go into the store after my innitial post on another trip and stood around the counter for about 5 minutes before being addressed. There was only one customer at the register and two people behind the displays. It almost seemed as if they were actively ignoring customers unless they called out to them. Then seemed annoyed when they finnaly came over. It was almost like, if you weren't a regular customer, you were treated as an annoyance. When finally seen, the person behind the counter was very dismissive. This was in late 2023 so about a year and a few months ago(March 2025). I was looking into new collectors boxes at the time.

I have not gone back since and gone to LA and Las Vegas to get high end purchases. I am not a whale by any means but do spend between $300-$1200 on trips and am more then willing to give business to stores, on a regular basis, if only to support locally owned brick and mortar stores. I also like the feeling of getting my cards, in hand at the store. It brings back the good old feelings of being that Revised/4th Edition player again as a kid.

They have a great store, selection wise. I just hope it isn't ruined by customer service and price hikes. At the same time, that doesn't address the price hikes in premium products like collectors boxes. I live in Arizona and at the stores that I go to, they usually sell, at least in person, at a little more then market price online. Meanwhile, they have to limit box purchases from stores in California that will send people over to buy out the stock of premium boxes only to sell them at inflated prices.

That was the case with the Collector's boxes. I understand singles, especially older cards, but the response does not address the price hikes in new, popular collector's items. I know about the initial box limits by major distributors, their price increases, etc. Once again, the response still didn't explain the increase on brand new collector's boxes that were priced far above the market...

I am a regular at Brute Force and I'll be honest it's only just okay at best, and let me explain my thoughts:

Prices for sealed/singles products can be a lot on the extreme/high side more often than not.

The staff is overall polite. Eddie is nice but can come off a bit aggressive at times. I've seen the same staff at Brute for years and I swear Crystal is the only one who recognizes me, everyone else still asks for my name even though I put in an order every time I'm there. It can make even me as a regular feel a bit like an outsider at times.

There are not enough tables to support casual play when there is an event going on, which can really stink when that's your whole goal of showing up. They need to find a way to incorporate a few more tables with some of the extra open space they have (they have a lot).

The venue is overall clean and well-lit but I (as a small skinny dude) can start to feel a bit sweaty if I'm in the building too long and trust me you start to smell other players at times.

Parking is good and is fully handicap accessible.

Overall, if there was a better shop for singles/casual play I'd go there. However for now Brute Force, while not being the best of all time, is currently the best right now and for that reason, I'll continue to frequent...

Amazing time! I had my first in store tournament Saturday for the war of the spark prerelease. I've always been intimidated about the idea of playing in a shop because I don't feel I have the same knowledge or experience as most players I assume do events at shops. Everyone there, staff and players, made me feel like a part of. I never felt like my lack of knowledge was an issue. Everyone was more then willing to help me with my deck, explain how the tournament works, and help me understand cards. I was blown away at how amazing and fun everything was. I went into the event thinking I would have fun and let a bunch of people get some basically free wins from me, but I actually ended up winning because of the help I got with my deck. I am so grateful to Sean for creating a shop with such an amazing and welcoming atmosphere that even someone new like me could come in and have an amazing, welcoming, and encouraging experience. I would highly recommend them to anyone of any skill level....