The last Friday of August brings Magic: The Gathering Casual Commander back to CJ Sports and Collectibles on Friday, August 28, 2026, with tables open 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM Mountain Time inside Cottonwood Mall. End-of-month Fridays at CJ Sports tend to run late and loose — school is back in session, the summer travel crowd is home, and the evening pods often stretch right up to closing. If you have been meaning to try organized Commander play in Albuquerque and have not gotten around to it, this is an easy first visit.
Commander is the multiplayer Magic format built around a single legendary creature and ninety-nine singleton cards, and casual pod play is where it lives most comfortably. At CJ Sports there is no registration window, no round structure, and no prize wall to chase. You show up whenever it suits you, find three other players, and start. Because there is nothing on the line, tables spend more time talking through interactions, teaching new players, and building the sort of three-way political standoffs that make the format worth playing. Preconstructed decks are welcome as-is. Upgraded precons, budget builds and long-running personal brews all show up in the same pods, and a short power-level conversation before the first shuffle sorts out who plays with whom.
The store itself is a two-in-one operation. On the trading card game side you will find Magic singles and sealed, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece, and Riftbound. On the collectibles side, CJ Sports carries a full sports card inventory — baseball, basketball, football, and hockey, vintage through current release, raw and graded — plus autographs, memorabilia, and scheduled box breaks. It is genuinely common to see a player finish a Commander game and immediately start flipping through a 1980s football box on the counter. For collectors who play, that combination is rare and worth supporting.
CJ Sports and Collectibles is inside Cottonwood Mall at 10000 Coors Bypass NW, Suite C-204, Albuquerque, NM 87114. The northwest-side location is convenient from Rio Rancho, Corrales, Paradise Hills, and the whole west mesa, and it comes with free, plentiful mall parking. Playing inside a mall also means air conditioning, restrooms, and a food court within a two-minute walk — small things that matter across a long Friday session. Store hours run 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday through Saturday and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM Sunday. The shop line is 505-832-7499.
Come if you are a returning player who quit somewhere around the last decade, a parent wanting a weeknight activity with a kid, a Rio Rancho local avoiding the cross-town drive, or a competitive player who just wants to unplug and play something fun. Practical tips: get there before 6:00 PM if you want maximum pod choice, bring a deck box, sleeves, dice, and a playmat, carry cash or card for singles pickups, and say clearly what your deck does before the game starts. Entry cost is not listed on the published calendar, so call ahead if that matters. Follow @cjsportsabq on Instagram or CJSports33 on Facebook for schedule changes.
