Friends getting fed up...
The Kitchen Table forum
Posted on Dec. 4, 2014, 12:38 p.m. by TheAmazingSalsa
I've never been into that "play and let play" philosophy some aggro players seem to have. In my play groud, this philosophy is alive and well, basically everyone runs green/mono-green decks with huge creatures and basically no protection whatsoever, So when we face each other 1-on-1, I use my Izzet Burn/Control deck, and on free-for-alls I use a Gruul Eldrazi Spawn combo deck (STOP SPAWNING PLS).
This leads to games where I'm having fun, but the other players just want to shove my deck in my throat. Nowadays they just don't play with me or focus me during the free-for-alls, which means I play about 3 turns and then I'm out.
We are not at all professional, all decks used are not near competitive levels. Did this happen to anyone else, and If it did, what did you do to reverse the situation?
Thanks in advance
It's a pretty simple thing. You need to change your play style so that you're fun to play against, or go find another group of people to play with.
I have two friends who play like you do and both have excluded themselves from the play group by the sheer unlikeableness of their decks on several occasions. There's a lot to this discussion. I personally no longer play Rhys the Redeemed as my commander because even in a casual format like EDH, I draw an awful lot of aggro in games when he's out. Any multiplayer game where you're the best you WILL get teamed up on so you pretty often loose. One of the two friends I mentioned has a combo deck that regularly takes 10 minutes a turn in mid to late game. He loves playing that deck but no one enjoys playing with him because it really feels like he's playing by himself most of the time.
Alternatively you could really just talk to your friends and help them learn how to beat you. The upside to my friends who were devestatingly effective is that it really improves the game of the people who are willing to learn. The really casual folk though are just going to go do something else if they're not having fun.
December 4, 2014 1:08 p.m.
if they want to play big swingy creatures and you want to play more cut throat/fast decks it sounds like you guys disagree on what fun is for yourselves. You either need to agree on a format as suggested above, or find different playgroups that do agree on how to play. Do you not enjoy building similar decks to them? Decks that are at the same pace and level are important for casual games and if you have vastly different decks, games will get miserable for somebody sadly.
December 4, 2014 1:10 p.m.
GeeksterPlays says... #6
There are some deck types that are not fun to play against in casual matches (usually Control, or absurdly fast aggro) but it sounds like your friends only like the big green creatures decks... in which case they're not really expanding their game, which is a shame because the beauty of Magic is the many different types of deck!
You could suggest that they themselves look into other types of deck and see if you can encourage them to have more varied tactics, alternatively look for a local gameshop who arranges events and start attending, you'll meet other players who are not so limited in their range.
December 15, 2014 7:42 a.m.
TheAmazingSalsa says... #7
I'm slowly adding more colors to their decks, one of my friends is now running a 5 color sliver deck, and I'm slowly adding Blue to my brother's deck...
As for finding a gameshop, I really like the concept of this idea, but people that go to these shops are less interested in fun/casual games and more in winning a game. They're more competitive, and most of them are far beyond my league.
December 15, 2014 10:05 a.m.
Schuesseled says... #8
All my friends got tired of me winning so they tend to attack me first,
so I've been making even more broken decks.
Honestly you should have expected this for trying to play combo or control.
December 15, 2014 10:57 a.m.
GeeksterPlays says... #9
I usually play casually with 2 other guys from work, each one of us has at least 1 deck that we know if we use the other 2 will just gang up on us... for me it's my Infect (they don't like losing on turn 2 and 3!), for one it's a Goblin deck that can kill you so damn quickly, and the other is a Rakdos Unleashed deck that again has you dead by turn 4 if it goes well.
Any deck that is massivly controlling, or quick winning, you've got to expect to get ganged up on while playing. Also if you play with the same people on a regular basis, they learn your play style and tendancies too, again making it somewhat easier to play against you than if you were against 4-6 others at a LGS tournament, who have no idea what deck you are playing that day, or how you usually play it.
For your regualr group, maybe build something that appears to be doing very little.... then BAM! it wins out of nowhere :D
December 15, 2014 11:02 a.m.
TheAmazingSalsa says... #11
We actually tried once, no one liked my bant infect deck... Guess It's just doesn't matter which format we play, I'll always be a dick
December 15, 2014 10:52 p.m.
TheAnnihilator says... #12
And... Pillowfort. Just run Ghostly Prison, Propaganda, and Sphere of Safety and watch your opponents squirm. HA, take that mono-green dudes! That, or turbo-fog. Lol.
December 15, 2014 11:12 p.m.
JexInfinite says... #13
TheAmazingSalsa Maybe they should learn how to be better players and play good decks? If they don't like it, they should get a sideboard.
December 15, 2014 11:24 p.m.
Hallowed_Titan says... #14
This used to happen in my group. They ended up learning how to play/build better as a result. I also would let them use my decks so they could come up with new ideas/synergies.
December 15, 2014 11:52 p.m.
i played pillowfort against my buddies last night in a 5 man free for all. Needless to say no one enjoyed the game as much as i did. Opened up with a Leyline of Sanctity, turn 2 Luminarch Ascension, turn 3 Blind Obedience with the ability to spam 4/4 angel tokens, & turn 4 Ghostly Prison.
None of my friends have extremely competitive decks, but they have a variety of decks. Ping, Burn, Dragons, Vampires, Elves, Goblins, Knights, discard, & control is something that always comes up when we play.
December 16, 2014 9:05 p.m.
TheAnnihilator says... #16
I see me and addaff are quite similar in what types of mtg we enjoy --- other peoples' pain! Lol, I would've built Pillowfort eventually if Sphinx's Revelation hadn't been so dang sexy during both INN-RTR and RTR-THS standard... Now I play Jeskai Delver Control in Modern.
December 16, 2014 10:56 p.m.
TheAmazingSalsa says... #17
TheAnnihilator: Oh lord you nasty fuck! But yeah, MtG isn't as fun when everyone's having an equal amount of fun. If I'm not the only one happy among my friends, it usually means I'm losing.
December 17, 2014 12:39 a.m.
Coming from a background in fighting games I've found out when somebody has been put into the position you have yourself in, it actually makes people into better players because of it. That drive to do better than the person that is constantly beating you is what makes a person better at them. This applies to MTG as well and honestly if your friends can't handle the heat either find another playgroup or sink to there level and play mono green stompy for the rest of your life.
I'm not saying say screw your buddies all together and I applaud you for trying to introduce them to the other sides the games offer. You're sewing the seeds of inspiration hopefully. You just have to nurture it well and you'll have a group of full fledge magic players that can appreciate different styles and strategies instead of what i feel a lot of newer players tend to and hate anything that might be misconstrued as you being an asshat in the game.
December 20, 2014 8:02 p.m.
TheAmazingSalsa says... #19
I gotta say guys, getting/forcing them to play different deck archetypes is working wonders... I just spent the last weeks building/tuning different budget commanders for them.
I built a Krenko, Mob Boss and a Talrand, Sky Summoner, while letting my brother use my Teysa, Orzhov Scion and myself running a Daxos of Meletis enchantment/aura deck..
The game was so smooth, everyone was focused when their game got too strong, and having cards on the board like 2 Perplexing Chimeras made the experience so good..
I'm falling in love with commander.
December 20, 2014 9:51 p.m.
Commander is THE BEST format I've ever played giving you the best variety never playing the "same game" twice unlike most 60 card formats (with 4 of 10 dif cards and 20ish lands) where you play the same game every time and people get use to/tired of your deck and gang up on you, and with commander you can go as slow as (and I've seen them) a deck with no real win con but every thing in it is designed to make a more fun game for all (Veteran Explorer I'm looking at you) to decks that (I have one that can do it in 1v1 NOT "french" though) kill on turn 3 consistently. Now there is a new format I'm wanting to try that mite be just the thing to break them of their "green stompy" ways is called "tiny leaders" and it's very much like commander with a few very important changes first 
cap on ALL cards in the deck (X is always 0 for casting cost calculations) next 50 card decks and 25 life you still have a commander but "tucking" commanders is out of the question (it's something to the effect that if your commander would be sent to the grave, to exile OR put into your deck you may put it back in the command zone) maybe you could build a few of these decks and let every one play them and rotate who gets to play what deck every game. Now I've been playing for over 16 years and needless to say I've gotten both my 12yo and one of the 8yo twins (yes I have 3 kids) playing and it's gotten to where I play my worst deck and give both of them really good decks and I still win 95% of the time because I know my decks and how to "dismantle" them so what I've done now is I went out and bought the "dual decks anthology" box set with 8 dif decks at about the same power level and sleeved them up and started playing with those decks when I play my kidos so as to give them a better gaming experience, and you know what? My 8 year old son FINALLY beat me on his own today (I only told him that he could pump that attacking creature +1/+1 and kill me rather than leaving me at 1 life) I don't know maybe I'm just rambling on cause it's 2:45am and maybe you have already solved your problems but on the other hand maybe I gave you something's to think about. Hope this helps in some way
January 16, 2015 3:48 a.m.
I found myself in a similar situation with my first playgroup. It wasn't a specific style I was playing, or that they were playing, but rather I just kept winning. They would team up on me, call me names, and outright tell me I wasn't allowed to play in certain matches. There really is not solid way to counteract it in my experience. I tried changing my play style, but didn't end up having any fun. I tried boosting their understanding of mechanics and tuning their play style to combat mine, but that didn't work either.
I genuinely hope your play group was not like my first. These people that I once called my friends allowed this game to interfere with their integrity and our friendship. They did some backstabbing stuff in the end of it all. Spreading gossip at our LGS, lying to me about where and when we would meet, and even stealing some cards. In the end, I found a new play group that was better suited for me, with people at my skill level and some decency/humanity.
I hope things work out for you guys. Mind who you makes friends with.
January 16, 2015 11:35 a.m.
Wow, some of the horror stories. A lot about winning is being a gracious winner, especially if you win all the time. One thing I do, which many of you can't do easily but can attempt, is play a deck once a night and rotate decks and win conditions. Some have said that they change their play style but soon get tired or bored. The object of multiplayer is about having fun, not winning. EDH has gone far in promoting this style of play, well the group that sets rules and bannings does. Not saying that all your problems will be solved, but maintaining a fluid meta game, keeps the group interested and content.
February 4, 2015 1:58 p.m.
TheAmazingSalsa says... #24
UPDATE
after a while, I realized what I had to do all along...
My play group is still the same. they didn't change a thing (nor decks), they still hate most of the decks I use, but now I'm running a pillow-fortress Defender deck (with Colossus of Akros as my wincon.) So I basically stay alive until I blow someone up with a 20/20. I still get hatred, of course, but now they just can't kill me, so I'm still having fun.
The other thing I do is get into a FFA with the izzet burn control, pick a player at random, and then just destroy the player before he/she has a chance of recovering. This makes up for the years of picking on me, retribution bitchez!
In anyway, i'm having fun now, and still pissing people off! Everybody wins :P
VampireArmy says... #2
you could always make a Red/Black Field wipe deck. Nothing but wipes that way no one gets creatures ever.
December 4, 2014 12:48 p.m.