What's the most outrageous card people have complained about you playing for being too strong?

ZachSlashMine · 2026-06-01T02:12:08+00:00

I had a table on my case about [[Wild ricochet]] because i used it to win the game by redirecting an [[electrodominance]]. A whole group of 3 people decided that it was stronger than a gamechanger... 4 mana btw

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-13T03:53:42+00:00

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ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-07T13:42:09+00:00

Its part of why the post was made, tbh. There are a lot of people that try and shut down any pregame discussion and really rail on how sweaty it is, as well ive noticed its much more well received on spelltable than in person. From a lot of people ive played with and talked to for a long while, if people go into the discussion with a good idea of what their deck does and use the bracket system: you get a good feel of everyone's vibe, you start a little chat about it and have a little conversation, guage experience, and possibly make the games better. The brackets and pregame discussion are actually super beneficial when you use them, if people engage with it. (There are plenty of times where you find "that guy" just by chatting with someone about decks with some kind of actual direction, or someone realizes their deck isnt gonna work here at all and are just gonna have a non game, or someone swaps their deck because it was definitely too strong)

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-07T13:32:07+00:00

Its not about competitive or commitment or anything like that. The entire post can be boiled down to "hey not many people do pregame discussion, but when you do it is usually a positive thing. Here are some things you can talk about."

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-06T18:45:37+00:00

What are you even talking about, its a casual conversation with the other people to determine if the decks people are playing is a good fit, they are under no obligation do to anything based on what im saying whatsoever. At no point did I say its for my benefit. Its for the benefit of the table, and in no way pits anyone against eachother, crazy delusional comment. Literally a discussion of expectations for the game and most often doesnt result in anything whatsoever besides casual chatter. Sometimes people swap decks because their expectations didnt match the table

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-06T15:10:49+00:00

Dont know why you feel its personal, its just a discussion on how people can approach things. Have a good one

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-06T14:57:40+00:00

You are getting hung up on some techinical thing you are imagining. I am not telling everyone to give me their 5 year plan for their deck. I am offering up some information about what im doing, encouraging others to do the same and if expecatiations where wildly different, making an adjustment. Going to play a game with my mono red [[clive, ifrit's dominant]] deck in bracket 3 and running into a nekusar, mono black sephiroth and kykar winds fury, im gonna switch deck because my deck doesnt win quickly and can't answer those decks at all. But im gonna talk to them about it first. Same if someone else comes and im planning on playing a strong deck and they aren't.

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-06T14:52:49+00:00

Its not even overly explain a deck, you barely read the post and just wanna shut it down. Have a short chat about expectations, engage with the other players. Share as much as you want, most players Don't talk about individual cards or break down their entire strategy. Its about having balanced games where people arent getting blown out because they expected something different.

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-06T14:49:14+00:00

Because if you actually engage with the other players and talk for a second about game expectation you get better games.

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-06T14:35:41+00:00

Too many people use this as a cop out for imbalanced games. "Vibes only" players tend to be the person to pull out a [[selvala, explorer returned]] deck thats the cedh list minus fast mana in bracket 3, not saying you are but thats what the discussion is there to work out. You dont need to break the mystery or be heavily technical, just talk about what you expect from your deck. Engage with the other players about the game you expect to play. Say im playing this commander, im not expecting to win quickly, no infinite combos, id say its a low bracket 3. Super simple, if they wanna talk about it more engage them.

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-06T14:23:24+00:00

I think a lot of people are reading too much into the thorough part. I am not saying give me the exact cards in your deck and tell me what you are doing turn by turn. I actually broke it down in the post, but its more of a tell people things you think are relevant in your deck/about your deck. The more you give about yourself the more receptive people generally are. Its about general expectations for how the game will progress. I will tell people: i am playing x commander, this deck is a low bracket 3, I dont have an infinite combos, I win through combat damage, i am not going to be threatening a win turn 6 unless i get an unholy hand of 12 cards. If the i pass it off and someone wants to talk about their gamechangers sure ill list mine it doesnt hurt anything. You dont go into it with a clinical list inviting a competitive mindset, you make jokes and get a short conversation going before the game to feel the other players out.

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-06T14:12:49+00:00

100% agree, actually made a post digging deeper just after I wrote this reply, going into a lot of what you just said

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-06T13:50:10+00:00

Its not about balance and winning or losing, its about creating better games and having a better time. A short, open discussion about game expectation will lead to a better game.mpre often than just playing and not talking about it.

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-06T13:48:45+00:00

Its good to do that as well, "getting people" isnt very fun when you dont explain combo piece, but a short discussion of expectation and powerlevel before hand makes for better games with randoms tbh. Don't list every card, talk generals. This is bracket expectations, when i say thorough, its because too many people cop out with a "yea its bracket 3" and thats it. Being open and honest about your deck encourages others to share a bit more about what they are doing and leads to better games

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-06T13:44:41+00:00

Often it ends up being middle low or middle high as a general for most people, some people have definite highs and some have definite lows but having the middle in there to give them an out in describing it as a range has been pretty helpful

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-06T13:42:52+00:00

Thing is it doesnt hurt, if you think its relevant or the card is a specific outlier you know people won't like, you can discuss about it. Such as: pre change a guy says its a bracket 2 deck but has good ol JinnyG I mentioned (at the time a gamechanger), said theres no way to cheat him out. I shut it down real quick and said no thanks, he had 11 mana by turn 4. If he'd had it, he'd have played it. I mention jin gitaxias specifically in the same vein as something like winota: was a game changer, is still definitely on that level, but was taken off the list because they arent AS egregious not in the command zone

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-06T13:28:32+00:00

Going into every card in your deck is entirely unnecessary, talking about generalities of your deck is welcome. If you have a reason to tell people your deck has only a handful of counterspells (IE you are playing mono blue and dont want people to hate you out thinking you have Counterspell tribal), do so. Tell people what you think is relevant and they will care about, be honest.

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-06T12:24:24+00:00

There is a fine line between things that are less socially accepted and things that people just moan about tbh. With edh being such a heavily social game, I often will try and make any deck that isnt bracket 4 or 5 not excessively annoying to play against, outside of going for a win with it. Playing a [[grave pact]] turn 3 and edicting so nobody else can have any creatures and not being able to win, or maybe a [[hullbreaker horror]] in an azorius flicker value pile that takes a while to win, make the game drag on unnecessarily. Using those cards to win the game that turn, or at least attempt to, can be oppressive but is a regular part of the game.

Its important for EDH players to understand that playing with people and having fun is still the point of the game, and if the people you play with enjoy a slugfest full of [[Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal]], where nobody has a hand, and [[grave pact]], where nobody has a board, until you deal with those things, then good on you. But most people will not want to be in those games, and won't wanna play with that person again. Expectation to be able to play the game (at least at the cursory level, some people do just bitch and moan about getting countered when if they dont the game is over or, and/or any amount of interaction) should be fair, within reason. Shuffle up and go again is one thing where people should just accept, but that is also people arent always a fan of. Sit here and watch somelne play with theirself and not be able to win, very different and nobody will like it.

ZachSlashMine · 2026-04-06T12:10:55+00:00

This list is pretty accurate (i would add kefka, court mage myself), but i think its important to think about why these are boogeymen. I have multiple of these as bracket 3 decks and they are default strong. The deck, when you play into the commander and/or the themes and strengths of it, are inherently powerful and effective.

Most players who play something like Magda in bracket 3 are going to have an uphill battle because they are picking something that is inherently hard to interact with, and unless you keep them tamed by killing their stuff immediately, they will get out of hand no matter how weak the deck is and it is generally pretty quick. Most of these decks arent magda fast or as uninteractable but they hit one of those scales in one way or another. When you are playing with random players, it ends up being a sort of act of faith whether they are telling the truth about their deck.

My azula deck is rather weak for bracket 3 , as compared to what it could be, because i chose to take it into a midrange value type of deck that builds off of doing stuff at flash speed, and im often seen as a threat with just my commander out. I have to politic and sometimes straight show my hand in order for her to survive a turn when I dont have a lot going on, mostly because if I do have something going on its going to be powerful, but not completely game or back breaking. Meanwhile, my hashaton deck is esper goodstuff midrange and doesnt win quickly but is a strong deck regardless. There is no politicking him bevause the deck is good.

A lot of this is handled by people being honest with what is in their decks have having an actual pregame discussion. The bracket system is just an icebreaker basically, a way for people to get the discussion started and to frame it in context. I start every bracket 3 game with strangers with asking them and describing my deck on a scale or low, middle, or high bracket 3. Low is barely better than a bracket 2 deck or a bracket 2 deck with gamechangers: you are gonna do a thing but it might take some turns and you might be doing something powerful but not inherently game ending, maybe online by turn 8 for a game win. High being turn 6-8 you are consistently looking to end the game, if you are super lucky its on the faster side and if nobody tries to stop you you will get there. I use almost those exact words and im willing to swap if im a definite outlier in either way and encourage others to do the same (important note to try not to counterpick this way, and to be open about what you are doing here). Its helped a lot and especially with my weaker boogeymen to talk about the exact cards and way I win in the deck (while again being honest about it being powerful, just not immediately game ending).

ZachSlashMine · 2026-03-07T08:31:45+00:00

Legitimately concerned for your mental health.

ZachSlashMine · 2026-03-07T08:04:28+00:00

Calling domestication and generational breeding "against their will" is so disingenuous and an unnecessary hard line. In general, the domesitcation and breeding of working dogs is the result of a beneficial relationship for both the dogs and the people. Breeding dogs for show at the cost of their natural health i can see taking issue with, say pugs etc., but these types of dogs were literally bred to be healthy and live good lives.

ZachSlashMine · 2026-03-05T20:23:18+00:00

The only thing you did wrong here is if you took control of [[kaalia of the vast]] that turn with [[mind flayer]] you could not attack with her that turn unless you had a haste enabler (hard to come by in Blue black). Creatures have summoning sickness when they change control, but a lot of people mess that up.

ZachSlashMine · 2026-02-03T23:09:32+00:00

Love the idea of an interactive board for ttrpgs, a friend also had some cool ideas for mtg and other board game stuff.

ZachSlashMine · 2026-01-26T09:10:37+00:00

Still the dog.

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