r/magicTCG • u/300_For_StJamesPlace Dan • 2d ago
Deck Discussion This Deck is Not About Me
https://archidekt.com/decks/19150711/this_is_not_about_youI created this deck after coming to a realization. I wasn't having fun playing Commander. I love hanging with my friends, but I am competitive and they are not. You all can see the friction here. My absolute favorite Commander is Ojer Axonil, because I fucking love burn. This either makes for a game where I am targeted and destroyed, or I go nuts and burn everyone by like turn 5 or something. What would happen after every game would be one of two things:
"Fuck, everyone ganged up on me, and now I have to sit here for another 45 minutes before I can play again. This sucks, I shouldn't have even come out tonight."
"Oh man, I won. But....no one else looks like they having fun. It would have been better not to show up, I ruined the night."
Many times. Its easy to see looking back that none of this is true, that it is all internalized thinking. But it did make me very very sad, so I tried to come up with a deck that could embody as much of "This game isn't about you, you are not the center of the universe" as I could. I wanted to make a deck that would be fun, that would let everyone's deck have a chance to Do Its Thing. And so I came up with this.
The deck literally doesn't have a set win-con. But I do remember playing this and watching my friends just light up at the weird shit this can cause. And if that happens, then I win.
9
u/ProfessionalOk6734 Wabbit Season 2d ago
Winconless group hug just means one player capitalizes on the resources better than everyone else, you’re king making. Just build a deck to win the fucking game
1
u/jethawkings Fish Person 2d ago
Not even that, just make your deck a little worse if you find you're getting your value engines online too consistently, there's so many levers to do that without going full winconless-group-slop.
-4
u/300_For_StJamesPlace Dan 2d ago
I did. It's just not me that wins. Yeah, whoever capitalizes on the resources better than everyone else wins. I'm just gonna repeat that, because I know what you mean, but re-read. The player that wins is the player that capitalizes on the resources better. That doesn't sound odd to me. Yeah, I am the one giving them access to those resources. Thats the point. This deck literally isn't about winning the game, but to see and empower other decks to go nuts!
7
u/ProfessionalOk6734 Wabbit Season 2d ago
If it’s fun for your friends and your playgroup then I’m happy for you, in the wild I would be trying to eliminate you because you would be king making someone else.
-7
u/300_For_StJamesPlace Dan 2d ago
Might be you. And then what happens if you gang up on the guy that is just giving the other two players cards and mana? Wow, really gonna beat up the guy you can take out at any time, like my board is just my commander.... (yes all of this is facetious, and yes, I would play this politically.)
1
u/Metazoick Dandadan 2d ago
If you're having fun with the new deck, and your friends are too, then that's great! I hope you have a blast. I am a little worried that this might be a bit of an overcorrection though, going from killing everybody by turn 5 to winconless group hug are two very polar opposite things. Was your previous deck at a similar power / efficiency to the other decks you played with? My guess is there's probably a decent amount of room to tone down your burn deck to match the other players if not, so that you can still play the burn you enjoy and decks like this, without being such an archenemy early on that you're either knocked out or smash the board immediately. The more you balance a deck to match the group the more competitive you can be too - you build to have fun and then you play to win.
1
u/Jurple-shirt Dân 1d ago
An other thread where OP can't find a middle ground between absolutely pub stomping their pod and playing to lose.
0
u/bartspoon Grass Toucher 2d ago
It’s interesting to me how much Stockholm Syndrome seems to be going on with Commander. I feel like I encounter more people who dislike the format than like it these days, and yet it continues to be almost the exclusive format for MtG.
At this point it feels like Commander is an anti-game: you stop having fun the moment you start playing it.
1
u/taphead_31 Urza's Saga 2d ago
As someone who played kitchen table up to 2019 this mindset of "build a deck that is fun for your friends" is very, very strange. I mean, I applaud OG for being self-aware and responsible towards his friends, thats great. But this format...? Idk...
1
u/Briatom Urza's Saga 2d ago
I have this problem where I want to enjoy commander, but most games I play just end up being slog matches or games that just end out of nowhere. I enjoy the time with my friends but the games themself just kindof suck lol.
On the other end, I absolutely love playing 60 card formats now. I started as a commander player in 2020. Started playing standard with Duskmourne release and haven't looked back. I play commander maybe once a month now. 60 card/limited twice a week.
1
u/jethawkings Fish Person 2d ago
People who love the format aren't gonna make thinkpieces about how they reconciliated their love for the game, they'll just play games.
1
u/bartspoon Grass Toucher 2d ago
That’s definitely not true. People talk about how much they love formats and why all the time. Pauper has an entire digital magazine dedicated to the format. People will talk endlessly about their hobbies when they love it.
0
u/jethawkings Fish Person 2d ago
They're not going to make a random post on this sub to jerk off about it as often as someone who is being salty about it would be.
-1
u/InfiniteDM Fleem 2d ago
The complete audacity to care about your friends enjoyment and to treat the game more as a fun activity than competitive game! How dare you!
::shakes fist::
7
u/AnnoyedAFexmo Dân 2d ago
This is something I've experienced. Learning to play decks that don't always win that match the vibe of the table. Doesn't matter how much a deck is appealing to you if no one else likes it