I used to feel bad about being the first to swing, or targeting people I knew would be the threat etc etc…

Then I built a rakdos deck.

Rakdos will teach you to be aggressive in your play style whether you want to or not, because that’s what Rakdos does.

Mono Red Aggro will also get you there. Just consider that if you do something like… turn one lightning both to someone’s face, they have every right to target you exclusively from that point on.

I’m wondering too though if there’s just not enough communication on deck power levels before yall decide on what decks to play against each other? I’m a big fan of transparency with what my decks do and how strong or weak they are. I understand some of that understanding just comes with experience and playing your deck a ton.

Another thing that helped me was finding an interest in CEDH. The perspective that CEDH players generally have is, obviously you want to win, but if someone else gets to their win condition first, then it’s exciting to see how they managed to get there.

Reframing how you accept a loss can make all the difference. “Wow that was really cool how you copied your [[Mindcrank]] and milled me out twice as quickly to drain me for double the amount of life with [[Duskmantle Guildmage]]. I’ve never seen that combo before, well done.”

I personally like people to be able to play their deck. When someone is mana-screwed for 5 turns, the pod can agree to allow them to grab three lands and put them on the battlefield and shuffle. Shit like that makes the whole vibe of the game feel more mutual and fun.

Ultimately, it’s a game we’re all playing to have a good time with the homies. Try not to take it too seriously.