Infinite Combos, EDH and Meta
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Sept. 20, 2017, 4:05 p.m. by Profet93
How do you guys deal with "that" player at the table? When I say "that player," I am reffering to the guy who just sucks the fun out of the game. The guy who says no infinite combos, but then takes a card out of your graveyard, goes infinite with your card, kills ONLY you, and justifies it because he says "going infinite is ok if you can use other people's cards." Then that same guy gets mad that you only countered his stuff when his stuff was the biggest threats but when he only counters your stuff, you don't do anything.
Moreover, he gets mad at others for not playing "logically." He wants people to be really really quick with their turns (not that me or any other players take a long time, he just can't wait for his turn). Im playing a new deck I made and asked if I'm done with my turn as I'm searching my deck for lands and I said I'm not sure. He's like "what do you mean you're not sure, you should check your mana and see what other options you have before searching your deck so time isn't wasted." I told him that since it's a new deck, there are a lot of options and I am not sure which one I want to do, so I'm going with the easy option first which is ramping.
He says politics is stupid but then most games I've played with him, he politically makes alliances with other players to not attack each other so that he only kills me.
He makes fun of a couple other players at our shop and calls them big fat losers with beards and no girlfriends. It's ironic because his girlfriend is obese. Not trying to start anything with regards to weight, but it's stupid how he makes fun of other people without any shame, and only wants to play magic his certain way and gets mad if you disagree.
He has a very cocky, know-it-all voice. I'm not really sure what I can do about it/him. I would sit down and try having a conversation with him about it, but even after trying to make small talk with him, it's clear that despite his superb deck building abilities, he is quite in-adept at just being friendly with people in a way that doesn't make fun of other people
PhotogenicParasympathetic says... #3
Play whatever combos you want. If there's only one player complaining, then he can find a different group that caters to him. If it's a group decision to not allow combos, then enforce it if he tries to use one.
September 20, 2017 4:33 p.m.
im sorry but what a douchebag. if its a shared opinion thats he's a jerk, then kick him out of your playgroup. nobody has time fo that.
September 20, 2017 4:42 p.m.
DrukenReaps says... #5
I'm a very relaxed person so I tend to be able to just ignore this kind of behavior. When I was in high school we had an mtg club and there was a guy similar to what you describe. He would throw his deck across a room if he lost. Occasionally he threw other people's decks. This being a high school it was a very controlled environment so the teacher in charge of the club (awesome guy) set down some rules and told him he can't come unless he abides the rules.
Basically my advise is talk with the store owner. Tell the owner this guy is very disruptive to the environment of the store. Tell him about all of the stuff you have told us and how it makes the store a less appealing place to be. The more of you that say so the more likely the owner will set out some rules or talk with the guy.
If this is not a possibility and since you have tried conversing with him 1 on 1 I would get the whole table involved in the conversation. When you all sit down to play with him the whole table needs to tell him that his comments and hypocrisy is unwelcome. Say that you would like to have him keep playing but only if he can change his attitude. At the very least dial back the stuff he says. The more people at the table and the more specific examples you can bring to his attention the better.
September 20, 2017 5:14 p.m.
He's incapable of it. I remember one time I asked him a simple question as to why he hated "Person X" and his response was anger at me like I should know why he has such deep seated hatred.
It's a group decision not to allow combos. Personally, I don't mind combos. But the group does not like them, so they aren't allowed. Which is why I suspect he only killed me instead of the entire table. Still, it's wrong.
Some people don't like him, some people love him, some people are indifferent. Kind of a mixed bag.
I haven't talked to him 1 on 1 about it directly. I just talked to him about that specific instance in which he was being hipocritical. Is it worth talking to him 1 on 1 at the risk of weakening whatever "ties of friendship" remains?
The store owner idea is nice. I don't want to go over his head, but that's an idea that I'm willing to consider. Since he is a mixed bag, I'm not sure how the store owner (rather co store-owners) would react.
September 20, 2017 6:19 p.m.
"in-adept" doesn't really work... "inept" does.
Sounds like you are unlucky... Have you tried giving him a wedgie? or perhaps a swirly??
September 20, 2017 6:56 p.m.
I personally play hate decks (The Hate Game) against those types of people. Its just my way of making them understand it could always be worse and its never fun to be on the receiving side of a deck like that.
Granted playing this way definitely makes some people not like you but you play that way until everyone gets the point... The point being that decks that are made to "suck the fun out" are not good; unless people say there are no rules, at which point be totally fine if 4 other people gang up on you the second they realize what deck you are playing.
September 20, 2017 7:09 p.m.
Lol I apologize. I have yet to do so, but I do not believe in violence
September 20, 2017 7:17 p.m.
I have a mono blue Talrand deck which I could use to just stop him constantly if I wanted to. I just choose not to be an asshole unlike others.
He countered my diabolic tutor and then copied it. So for 2 turns I used Rishadan Port and Mirage Mirror (port 2) to tap two 2 lands, one of which being his only red source.
He (and one other person) said that strip mining his land would be more fair. To which I responded "land destruction is frowned upon in this meta" (i personally don't mind getting my lands blown up, but others do). He says he can at least get his land back if it dies instead of being tapped down. I said, yeah, I know :P
September 20, 2017 7:20 p.m.
Don't play with people like that. Don't enter the deck arms race. Don't put yourself in a position of constantly worrying about the game. You'll burn yourself out and be mad at the game when you should be having fun with a game. Avoid people who don't share the same game ethics you do.
September 20, 2017 10:43 p.m.
Haha, game ethics... There's the problem, all these meta rules. If your group is so into ill-defined controls placed on a game that should already be self-controlling then the problem starts there. So we have all these rules being made and who gets to define them? and when will they be in effect? and now we are leaving room for interpretation. Little meta-rules means that suddenly you require a clear set of expectations with some form of governing body or arbiter. I wish you luck.
My group plays laissez faire, with a single IMPLIED constraint that we should change our decks up here and there. No playstyle is any more or less valid; it almost always winds up that even the most "unfair" playstyles end up getting collaboratively balanced.
September 21, 2017 1:16 a.m.
I don't think the people in my group want to even have a discussion about this. Since everyone is just trying to have a good time, any potential conflict disengagement is preferred.
There are only so many people at the shop and they've known him much longer than me. I don't know how they'll side, just not sure how comfortable I am to tell someone "I don't like playing with you, I don't want to have any future games with you."
September 21, 2017 2:11 a.m.
Just play however you want and carry a few "Silence" cards in your pocket for when anyone starts complaining about anything.
Magic should be played to have fun. Don't intentionally ruin other people's fun but don't just let others ruin your fun either.
September 21, 2017 2:59 a.m.
If infinite combos are that big of a deal you could hit them with semantics and say your combos aren't infinite because they have a built in stopping point and can't end the game in a draw. Or you could just build a deck that denies players their resources. The second was the original reason I built Anafenza, the Foremost hatebears. The healthier option is to just open up a discourse with your playgroup and let them know how you are feeling.
greyninja says... #2
That's a huge bummer; especially if they aren't willing to talk about it in an uncontroversial manner
September 20, 2017 4:32 p.m.