Magic: The Gathering Weekly at Spikes Lounge — Commerce

Somebody across the table groans at a topdeck, a pod starts arguing politics, and the whole table leans in when a deck finally does what it was built to do. None of that survives a screen. Spikes Lounge in Commerce keeps that going every Monday night, and the format is not decided in advance — Draft, Sealed or Commander, chosen by whoever actually walks in. Sets in rotation include Final Fantasy, Lorwyn and TMNT. What makes it worth the drive from Montebello or East LA is that nobody there is precious about it: if you have never drafted, the regulars will walk you through pick order without making it a lesson, and Commander pods take all comers. Entry runs ten to twenty-one dollars depending on what is running, and parking is free. Text the friend who still has a shoebox of cards from high school and tell them the pod has a seat.