The Mana Vault at a Glance

History

The Mana Vault opened its doors in February of 2023. Owners, Sam Bolender, Adam Hamdan, and Jeff Green saw an opportunity to fill a void and do something special in Milwaukee for the casual and competitive Magic scene. They set out to create a store that was designed by players, for players. So in less than a year and a half, they quickly built a reputable store while establishing a strong presence in the vending scene with their booth at Magic Cons in the US and overseas.

Throughout the midwest, they're well-known as a competitive Magic: The Gathering store, but also specializing in organizing and supporting Vintage Pokémon. The store seats up to 64 players, including an on-camera feature match area for live-streamed play. Their store regulars include a set of accomplished, skilled players who win marquee events and even compete at the Pro Tour level.

Visit on 9/7/2024

52 wizards came out to battle on Saturday, September 7th for the $2K event, From The Vault Legacy 15. As a featured guest for this tournament, the pressure was on! Not only did they have a bounty on my head for $10 store credit at The Mana Vault, I also included my own Foil Goliath Beetles.

Fortunately for the store and my small, but growing Foil Goliath Beetle collection, I had a relatively successful day piloting Grixis Delver to a 4-2 record and 10th place finish. After a strong 3-0 start, I fell to local hero Oliver Voegeli on Eldrazi in 3 games, who also happened to win a raffled Foil Bug hat immediately before our match. A couple of rounds later, I lost my win-and-in match to Nyles Breecher, who eventually won the entire event on Nadu Breakfast. GGs!

Formats

The main Magic formats supported at the store include Competitive Commander, Legacy, Premodern, and Casual Commander, drawing an increasing amount of players from their loyal customer base.

Inventory

The Mana Vault has an extensive online inventory on their TCGPlayer Store. Considering the frequency of their presence at Magic Cons, it's only natural to see that they have some of the best inventory around, including Dual Lands, Power 9, EDH staples, and high end foils. For in-store customers, their kiosk immediately helps locate inventory while providing a quick price check as well, speeding up the purchasing process for everyone involved.

Food Options

Milwaukee is known for both their cheese and beer, so there's an abundance of delicious food options. Recently, Top Chef Finalist Dan Jacobs, owner and head chef of DanDan competed on the most recent season of Top Chef: Wisconsin. His restaurant is merely a 13 minute drive away from The Mana Vault. Right next door to the store is Faklandia Brewpub, another great option for players & visitors looking for a quick bite or drink.

Transportation

Only a 10-minute drive from the University of Milwaukee campus or the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, visiting the store is easy and convenient for students and competitors. It also happens to be only an hour and a half drive north of Chicago or directly east of Madison, WI. And less than 2 hours directly south of Green Bay, WI. It's easiest to get to and from the store by car, with ample parking in the connected lot or along the street.