Still Magical, After All These Years

By Jaime Fuller

DSC_35272When I was 12 or 13, one of my older cousins was visiting from California and exposed us to the world of Magic: The Gathering. As a kid who had always found delight in the mythical and magical, I dove right in. I didn’t know anyone else who played it besides my mom. She and I developed our Magic collections and would give ourselves tons of life each game, so that we could reach our most powerful spells and creatures sprinkled within our 500-card decks. That was the only way to judge whose deck was strongest. To be honest, I think we were matched fairly evenly.

By the time I started high school and got into team sports like dance team and track, the fantasy game had lost its intrigue for me. I still appreciated how wonderful it was, but immersed myself in newer, exciting hobbies where I could make friends…and not hang out with my parents.

Just a few months ago, thinking Magic must have lost its popularity by now, I gave my Magic card collection to charity. I thought even my coveted, plastic-sheet-protected, deck-dominating cards were worthless at this point. Boy, was I wrong.

Had I simply walked into Top Deck Hobbies on Monroe, newly opened within the last six months, I would have discovered that Magic cards are as far from obsolete as fairy tales. The reason for its existence is to serve all the needs of Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts. I asked employee Mitch Hoesing if the cards are still valuable. He asserted that indeed they are—the most expensive Magic card is worth $40,000. Hold up? Can I buy my cards back, please?

Top Deck’s inventory also includes Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and over 500 flavors of board games. Magic gamers may drop in to play tournaments whenever they like and can buy or sell cards at the store. Top Deck carries roughly 400,000 cards from varying games, the majority being Magic cards.

This is the second location for Top Deck Hobbies; the first opened in Lebanon five years ago. Until the Corvallis location gets settled, the Lebanon store is serving as a storage unit. Top Deck’s online store is wildly popular, ranked top five on the West Coast and selling the most Magic cards in Oregon.

Ah…Magic…the mana, spells, Illusionary Wall, Scaled Wurm, trample. Those were some fun times.

Top Deck Hobbies is located at 2001 NW Monroe Avenue, #100. To contact them, call 541-405-4059 or email sales@topdeckhobbies.com. Their online store is at www.topdeckhobbies.com.

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