Influx Games

Born from living-room Yu-Gi-Oh nights, the Permian Basin's largest TCG store packs its downtown Midland tables for Pokemon, One Piece, and Lorcana events.

Influx Games started as Saturday Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments in a living room and grew into what it bills — credibly — as the Permian Basin's largest TCG store. The downtown location on East Illinois Avenue is built around play space first: rows of tables that fill up for Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece, Digimon, Flesh and Blood, and Lorcana events throughout the week. If competitive or casual TCG play is your entry point into the hobby, this is the Midland card shop that treats it as the main event rather than a sideline.

The retail side keeps pace with the event calendar. Sealed product and singles span every major game the community plays, with CCG supplies, sleeves, and accessories stocked deep. Japanese-import fans will find product lines like One Piece and Digimon represented alongside the Western staples — an increasingly rare spread outside big-city stores. Voted a top retailer in 2025, the shop backs its inventory with a 4.8-star Google rating, and reviewers repeatedly single out how welcoming the community is to brand-new players. More than one considers it better than card shops in far bigger cities.

Hours follow the player schedule rather than mall hours: closed Monday and Tuesday, 1PM to 9PM Wednesday and Thursday, 1PM to 11PM Friday, noon to 11PM Saturday, and 1PM to 10PM Sunday. Friday and Saturday nights are the shop at full volume — arrive early if you want a seat at a draft or locals tournament.

For Pokemon cards Midland players want to actually play rather than just collect, Influx is the obvious home base. Check the schedule on their site before visiting, pick your game night, and bring a deck.