Next Level Gaming

Goodyear's late-night TCG hub: Pokemon, One Piece and Magic singles, sealed product, free play tables and weekly tournaments open until midnight on weekends.

Just south of I-10 on Dysart Road, tucked behind Aaron's, Next Level Gaming is built around one idea printed right on its site: buy, sell, trade, play. It is a locally owned store where the card counter and the tables share equal billing, and the play area is big, with 58 seats that anyone can use for free to crack packs, trade with friends or get a game in. Vending machines stocked with snacks, drinks and frozen food make long sessions easy.

The card lineup is wide. Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece, Lorcana, Union Arena, Dragon Ball Super, Grand Archive, Gundam and OMNI TCG are all on the list, sold as sealed product, bulk and singles. The store also carries sports cards, video games and collectibles. If a specific single is not in the case, the shop points players to its TCGplayer storefront, which helps when you are finishing a deck or chasing a particular print.

Organized play is what sets this Goodyear card shop apart. The posted weekly schedule runs One Piece on Wednesdays at 7pm, Lorcana on Fridays at 6:30pm, Yu-Gi-Oh! locals on Saturdays at 1pm, and Pokemon on Sundays at 1pm, followed by Union Arena at 4pm. Reviewers keep coming back to the staff, describing the employees as extremely nice and helpful, and one called it the best card shop in Arizona.

Hours are unusually long for a card store: 10am to 10pm Sunday through Thursday, and 10am to midnight on Friday and Saturday. For quiet browsing or a trade-in, weekday mornings and early afternoons are the safest bet. If you want a crowd, show up for a tournament night, and check the store's event calendar or Discord first, because the schedule can shift around new releases.

Collectors looking for Pokemon cards Goodyear side of the West Valley will find this an easy stop off the freeway. Call 623-248-7458 before driving over if you are after something specific.