TIFU by pushing my Magic: The Gathering Deck too hard at Friday Night Magic.

Submitted by splbm t3_1269uj9 in tifu

I'm posting this to get a terrible weight off my chest, and it allows me to reflect more on my mistakes.

I (18m) got into Magic: The Gathering Commander (EDH) format about a year ago. I found a local game shop (lgs) where I could play a casual tournament for $5 for a simple two packs, with the winner getting a bonus pack.

I absolutely love going there and I do whenever I feel up for it (almost every week on Tuesdays for open fun and Fridays for tournament style). I got my third deck for a Christmas present. The deck is all about the wizard archetype where I want to make infinite wizards and deal infinite damage.

A month or so back ago I ordered a game-winning combo where you would cast this instant spell called Demonic Consultation that will allow you to name a card (Thassa's Oracle) and you flip your whole deck until you find the card while removing the other cards from the game, then you cast Thassa's Oracle, A wizard creature that states if you devotion to blue (number of permanents that have a blue mana symbol in them for casting) is greater than the number of cards in your deck, you win the game. (all relevant later, and note that this is hated by a lot of people due to its efficiency)

Now to note that my deck runs 13 "tutors"- cards that can search through your deck for other cards. The reasoning for this is so I have a good likelihood of being able to find my combos and to grab responses to other players boards that I am concerned about getting out of hand. Basically the TLDR is I want to interact with the board (again, relevant in the next paragraph).

Now up until Friday I haven't had the chance to use this combo on a Friday specifically. I shuffle my deck and offer for someone to cut my deck as per standard etiquette to show I did not stack my deck a certain way to essentially cheat. I draw my hand and I see that I have Thassa's Oracle, Demonic Tutor, ramp artifact, and lands. This is a great hand because Demonic Tutor allows me to search my deck for any card and put said card into my hand without revealing it while I already have a card in hand that is half of the combo.

So the Turns go like this:

Turn 1: Play an Island and Pass.

Turn 2: Play a Swamp, Tap the Island and Swamp (turn 90 degrees sideways) to give me Blue and Black mana to cast Demonic tutor grabbing Demonic Consultation, then pass turn.

Turn 3: Play an Arid Mesa, a land that I can pay a life and sacrifice to grab a land that is a mountain or a plain. I grab a mountain and island dual land called Steam Vents that I have to pay two life in order for it to come in untapped (faced upright so I can immediately use it). I then play the combo and win.

Everyone at the table is slightly frustrated and respectably so from winning in 3 turns (its possible with very expensive cards to win turn 1). Even though I won, they just continued going until two other players started to get their infinite combos going and ultimately when one of them won, they stopped and one of them burned me on the grill for using the combo. I had the eventual thought that if you cant interact (aka stop me) on turn 3 then there is a problem with the deck (e.g: not enough countermagic, removal, etc). However, I realize that is simply not possible with every deck available in this game. I decide to own up to my mistake and apologize as a mature human. Everyone moves on, and I think less of it.

This is where it all spills over onto last night (Tuesday). Since it is open play (free to play without tournament), some casual people will come over, but its mostly the guys with the expensive decks (Talking more than a grand). I'm the first one there. As everyone shows up, some of those people from Friday are there (no kidding since they are Tuesday regulars also). As the night is moving along, its still getting brought up, with one person showing me what a "casual" deck looks like thru an image on their phone (note that almost none of everyone's decks on Fridays are casual anyway since some of the items on the list was "no loops, no infinite combos, no I win the game crap, no tutors, etc.")

Eventually I get fed up with these side comments. I brought out in a slightly unhappy tone that "I know I was reckless and stupid for doing what I did and that I am sorry from the bottom of my heart, I will cut (remove) that combo and a Wheel of Fortune" (old card worth about $300 that makes everyone discard their hand and draw a new 7 card hand). As we were continuing one comment came out that was "I wish I had a turn 3 thoracle" (simplified term for the combo). At this point I can't handle it, and I get out after losing that game and as well as apologizing to the owner for not making that game "casual" (who wasn't mad just disappointed because he didn't intend for people to bring out "big daddy" decks and that others could have done the same thing in retaliation against me). I proceed to get in the car, cry somewhat, and drive home.

TLDR: Played a combo last Friday that won me the game in 3 turn cycles, got scolded for it, spilled over into last night (Tuesday) which proceeded me to leave as soon as possible.

I want everyone to note these things before asking:

#1, People haven't complained about this deck beforehand, it was just last Friday and the combo that was the issue. People haven't cared for the Wheel of Fortune but just to cover my ass I replaced it with a $4 card called Windfall that does the same thing but instead you draw cards equal to the person who had the most in their hand beforehand.

#2, The owner is a non-for-profit game store. He breaks even because he just wants to provide a safe space to play. Not to mention that because of the extra packs winners get, he is already setting himself up for a competitive setting.

#3, The combo is out of the deck now with two other combos being slotted in and one of them is not the most reliable per se.

If anyone wants to see the decklists (before and after), feel free to let me know and I can share them.

Edit: Couple of Edits to Clairify some things:

#1. The decks at the table were an Edgar Markov, Ivy, and a Simic Pairing (Basically in lames terms all high powered decks.)

#2. The cEDH players like to pick on me with jabs, but obviously those jabs on Tuesday turned into frustration and anger.

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ReflectionEterna t1_je8d5im wrote

Dude, don't post stuff like this in r/tifu. The vast majority of people have no clue what you're talking about and don't care enough to read your wall of text.

This belongs in the mtg subs.

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splbm OP t1_je8e0rd wrote

You’re not wrong, but I feel this sub would have a more unbiased opinion rather than the MtG subs.

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ReflectionEterna t1_je8eoaa wrote

The mtg subs are literally full of people with enough context to understand the situation. Non-mtg players have no idea what is going on. They have never been to a Commander Friday Night Magic.

An unqualified opinion may be unbiased, but is also based on ignorance. You wouldn't ask the general population for medical advice. You would ask medical professionals.

The only bias that mtg folk have that random gen pop folk don't is the bias of experience and knowledge of mtg and mtg culture.

If you truly want to know what a bunch of mtg players think (as this is the community that is relevant), ask them. What does it matter what non-mtg players think? You won't be sitting across from them at a table.

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splbm OP t1_je8erzw wrote

Fair enough. I’ll still keep the post up tho.

Edit: This is simply for me just to vent. I’m not exactly looking for advice here and I do not expect everyone to know what I am talking about. I just want to get the point across that I did something wrong and allow for personal growth.

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Outrageous_Fudge_440 t1_je8vbh6 wrote

Lol I enjoyed reading it and had no idea what he was OP was talking about. Don’t listen to Reflection.

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triceratropes t1_je8djfd wrote

I know it's a "casual" EDH tournament (imo that's an oxymoron but we can talk about that later) but the second you said everyone else started dropping their own infinite combos their saltiness was invalidated for me.

As a combo/lock player myself I understand the hate, but it's not like they were running suboptimal or pre-constucted decks. Also not to mention a single counterspell, ability counter, or draw spell targeting you loses you the game. They didn't have answers and you drew the nuts... welcome to mtg boys.

Sometimes people are just sore losers.

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splbm OP t1_je8dqaw wrote

People are sore losers, and it’s one of my pet peeves. I had 0 open mana so I was fucked if thassa got countered. Not to mention there was an ivy, markov, and a simic pairing so the power levels were matched.

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Setzael t1_je8cwy3 wrote

People hate combo decks.

People hate netdeckers at casuals.

If you're going to be playing anything with blue, brace yourself for that and own it haha!

Seriously though, decks like that are why I only play Commander now

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splbm OP t1_je8de71 wrote

Well the commander is Inalla. I have never netdecked and will never do that. I run 9 counter spells to cover my moves.

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No_Love_1353 t1_jeath8j wrote

Just wondering, where did you hear about this combo?

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splbm OP t1_jeb2vzm wrote

The combo is popular and well known to the point that everyone knows about it because it is arguably one of the strongest combos in the game (outside of underworld breach line which I won’t go into). It’s not necessarily where I can’t point down a single spot where it’s been heard since it’s quite ubiquitous.

I use a website called EDHREC to build my decks. It’s the go to website for EDH players as for certain commanders it will give decklists that are premade by the public. It will also show you cards that synergies with the deck and combos that are popular with that commander.

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No_Love_1353 t1_jeb3y01 wrote

It’s been awhile since I’ve played competitively, but isn’t using analysis tools like that the definition of netdecking?

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splbm OP t1_jeb4xtv wrote

Not necessarily because a) there is so many cards I can’t remember, b) I look at what cards synergize with the deck and take those cards to brew my own deck

Netdecking is usually defined as buying/using/copying a deck seen in a tournament and sometimes on the internet (basically MtG plagiarism) The difference being I brewed my own deck using a bit of research, thus, it doesn’t fit the definition well.

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DKGroove t1_je8e28i wrote

As someone who plays magic here is some feedback:

Your deck is closer to C-EDH than not. Thoracle with demonic consultation is THE example combo for it. Adding in more than about four tutors REALLY sets you up as CEDH. For a casual game you can still have the combo in your deck just don’t use it so early. Also trying to say everyone should have interaction by turn three just doesn’t make sense. Some decks don’t even come online until they have all five colors out (usually turn 3 or 4 is the mark for that).

The players you were up against also need to grow the hell up. It’s a game. They can be bitter but it should be over that night. Them bringing it up almost a week later is SHITTY.

My sage wisdom is build the deck you want (put Wheel of Fortune and Thoracle back in) and just remember to have your rule 0 conversation before the game. Ask how hard they’re playing, what turn they can win on, and their opinion on infinites. That will save you heartache; if they say they’re playing hard and really good then pull out this deck, if they say they’re playing battle cruiser magic then pick a slower deck. It’s why I always bring like 5 decks to my LGS

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splbm OP t1_je8el0z wrote

I do agree with you on the closeness to cEDH. It currently has a power rating of 8 (preventing cEDH is staples like dockside, ad naus, and mana rocks)I also have 5 decks on me at different power levels. I knew to pick that deck when there was a markov, an ivy, and a simic pairing.

And as far as the interaction comment goes, that was why I apologized after realizing I was wrong.

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DKGroove t1_jeb4h4g wrote

I’d say that isn’t power rating 8.

Just because you’re missing a few CEDH staples doesn’t mean it isn’t CEDH. Budget CEDH decks exist that avoid expensive cards (meaning all the mana rocks, most of the lands, and Dockside). You’re definitely CEDH just low tier CEDH. So on the CEDH scale I’d guess your a 5/10. I have a CEDH deck that can win turn one without any of the free mana rocks, any counter spells, or ad naus. It’s a rakdos deck with a singular counter spell that only counters counter spells.

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splbm OP t1_jeb6ge4 wrote

I go off a chart on the Commander Plaza discord server for deckrating (which is where I have had my deck submitted and rated as a power 8 by multiple cEDH players). The lowest rating I’ve gotten is a 7.5 (dude cited no free countermagic, no imperial seal, no duals as to his reason).

Point being that my deck is definitely in high power-cEDH territory. It is just subjective ratings by different people with different mindsets that constitutes their own definitions of deck rating.

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DKGroove t1_jeb9f11 wrote

If your deck is an 8 none of mine break 6. And if true CEDH players are rating your deck as an 8 then I would guess that makes it a CEDH 8. Which is 10+ on the casual scale

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splbm OP t1_jeb9uyr wrote

I can message you a copy of the chart if you so desire.

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OkVolume1 t1_je911nk wrote

So, you're saying you did a disappearing act at Magic?

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FatalOrgasm93 t1_je8y0hm wrote

Sounds like you beat the old guard and they cried about it

It's actually why I quit magic

I was terrible but I beat a few of them with a couple lucky combos and they were so mad they complained until the owner as a long term friend of most of us Laughed them out of the store but it was so jarring because my deck was maybe $200 of mostly booster luck and a few choice cheap cards I needed And 40 y/os where crying because I got lucky and beat the deck they'd spent far too much money on

Hopefully they grow and you can continue to play the game as actually intended

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splbm OP t1_jecsfpf wrote

I wont stop. I'm sorry that other people forced you out, but I won't let that happen to me.

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imhoopjones t1_je8blgo wrote

Mtg sucks

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splbm OP t1_je8bpot wrote

I will say that it certainly isn’t for everyone, but I do enjoy it and have found something else I like to do.

Edit: not to mention, as a shy person, this has grown my outlet to make friends.

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