Where to play Magic: The Gathering in Dublin

Magic: The Gathering in Dublin has more going on than it looks from the outside. There are weekly nights on both sides of the city, a draft here in Dún Laoghaire every Friday, and a steady flow of people walking in with a deck they built from a YouTube video and no idea where to use it. This is the guide we wish existed when we started running Magic: what the formats mean, what a first night is like, and where the games are.

The formats, in plain words

Draft. You do not bring a deck. Everyone opens a booster pack, takes one card, passes the rest to the left, and keeps going until the packs are gone. Three packs later you have a pile of cards and you build a 40-card deck from it on the spot. Then you play. Nobody has an advantage from the cards they own, which is why it is the best way to start.

Commander. The format most people play at kitchen tables. A 100-card deck, no duplicates, built around one legendary creature who sits in the "command zone" and can go back there instead of the graveyard when it dies. Usually four players at a table, games run an hour or more, and there is as much talking as playing. If a friend wants you to "play Magic with us", this is probably what they mean.

Standard. One-on-one with a 60-card deck built from the last couple of years of sets. It is the competitive format, the decks cost more, and the games are tight. Good once you know what you are doing. Not where to start.

Friday Night Magic here

Every Friday at 6.30pm we run a booster draft. It is €20, walk in, no booking, and it is for up to eight players. You get your three packs at the table, draft, build, and play one-on-one games that last about twenty minutes each. The cards you draft are yours to keep, so you leave with the start of a collection whether you win or not.

If you have never drafted, say so when you arrive. Someone at the table will walk you through the pick order and the deckbuilding, and nobody minds a slow first round. If you have only ever played on a phone, that is plenty.

We do not have a regular Commander night at the moment. If you have a deck and a group, you are welcome to come in and play at a table any evening, it is €5 a person an hour, capped at €15. If enough people ask for a night, we will put one on.

The draft and anything else we add are listed on our events page and on our Wizards store page.

What a first draft night is like

You arrive a bit before 6.30 and pay at the counter. There are usually a few people already there sleeving decks or arguing about last week. At 6.30 the packs come out and you sit at a table of up to eight.

The draft takes about half an hour. You open a pack, look at fifteen cards, take one, and pass the rest. The first few picks are the hard ones. After that you start to see what colours are coming your way and the picks make themselves. Then twenty minutes to build: pick two colours, about 23 spells and 17 lands, and you are done.

Then a few rounds of one-on-one games. You will lose some. Everyone loses some. Between rounds you get a coffee, and by round three you have a view on which of your cards are any good. By ten o'clock it is over and you know six or seven people you did not know at six.

Buying cards

Draft is where the cards come from at the start. After that, most people want specific cards for a deck they are building, and that is singles. We sell Magic singles online, with the stock and prices live on the page, and you can collect in the shop or have them posted. If you are chasing a card we do not have listed, ask at the counter, we can usually tell you where to get it.

If you are after sealed product, boosters or a preconstructed Commander deck, ask us what is in. If you are thinking about selling old cards rather than buying, we buy Magic too, priced at the counter, and there is more on the sell your cards page.

Other places to play in Dublin

Dublin's Magic scene is bigger than any one shop, so here is who else runs it. Days and times are from their listings on 9 October 2026, so check before you travel.

• Gamers World, 1 Jervis Street, Dublin 1. The city-centre option. Standard on Monday at 6.30pm, Modern on Tuesday at 6.30pm, Commander on Friday at 6.30pm and a draft on Saturday at 12.30pm.
• The Warchest, Hardy's Lane, Dún Laoghaire. Just down the road from us. Standard on Friday at 7pm and Commander on Saturday at 11am.
• Rogue Gaming, Francis Street, Dublin 8. A newer shop in the Liberties. Nothing on the Magic calendar the week we checked, so look at their page.
• There are also shops in Tallaght and Skerries. Play TCG Ireland lists them all with their weekly events.

If you are south of the city, the DART stops a few minutes from both our door and The Warchest's, so Dún Laoghaire gets you a draft on Friday and Commander on Saturday without going into town.

Where to start

Come to a draft. It costs €20, you need nothing, and by the end of the night you will know whether Magic is for you. If it is, the second step is a Commander deck, which is how most people in Dublin play week to week. If you want to try before you commit to a Friday, come in any evening, tell us you are new, and we will find you a game.

We are at 75 York Road, Dún Laoghaire, open till 10pm Monday to Thursday and 11pm on Friday and Saturday. If Riftbound is more your thing, it is the same idea on a Wednesday, and our Riftbound in Dublin post covers it.