Anti-Social Commanders
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on June 16, 2014, 11:32 a.m. by MindAblaze
Everyone knows somebody who plays a commander deck that just pisses you off. It's not that they're playing banned cards or degenerate combos...they're just playing a style that rubs you the wrong way or that does something that makes the game unfun for most other people at the table.
What commanders rub you the wrong way?
Servo_Token says... #3
A Kid at my shop runs a white weenie/voltron deck using this guy as a commander, and it easily wins a lot of games on turn 6 or so. I know that's how a lot of people like to play, but I prefer to actually do fun things in commander as opposed to racing.
June 16, 2014 11:52 a.m.
Hjaltrohir says... #4
Uril, the Miststalker or Isamaru, Hound of Konda voltron builds really piss me off.
June 16, 2014 11:56 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #5
I like playing in more competitive, cutthroat playgroups, so I dislike decks that don't really do anything. Group hug and group slug are boring to me, and I especially hate decks that don't have their own win conditions. I used to play with a guy who ran 40 counterspells or so alongside about three Mind Control effects. That was it. That was the whole deck. We just stopped playing him after two games.
June 16, 2014 12:02 p.m.
Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund is a tad annoying, because nobody gets to cast their budget three-color Dragon Commanders. Nothing plain gamebreaking or really cheap, it's just awful to sit on Nicol Bolas with fifty lands open.
June 16, 2014 12:19 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #8
Haha...Gaddock Teeg
. That's cruel.
For me...it has to be Chaos guy...as much as I appreciate it. My friend runs this Norin the Wary chaos deck just to troll people. Confusion in the Ranks and Possibility Storm are just ridiculous in a large group game.
@ Epochalyptik Why have your own win condition when you can just steal theirs?
This is why I originally asked the question; I told my buddy that I was thinking of building a mono-blue "steal all the stuff" deck around Thada Adel, Acquisitor and he told me "you don't want to be that guy." I enjoy seeing who "that guy" is for everyone.
June 16, 2014 12:46 p.m.
lemmingllama says... #9
Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon is the worst, dying by turn 3 is awful. Also Merieke Ri Berit is a mean one, I use her as a commander and people will refuse to play me since they can't play creatures without me stealing them.
June 16, 2014 12:48 p.m.
miracleHat says... #10
Here is the problem, i am already running the anti social generals (kaalia/v-clique).
As for what pisses ME off, i have to normally play against 2 oloro decks at the same time as well as a Daxos of Meletis lifegain deck.
June 16, 2014 12:52 p.m.
The only commanders that have truely bugged me so far minus the ones that don't have a real win con on their own are the Commanders like Animar, who has protection from two colors. Outside that it's free game, if it's a more competitive group, I have my Prossh deck that wins quickly while keeping field empty. If its laid back, I'll run my Riku or Naya deck.
June 16, 2014 1:47 p.m.
mowservision says... #12
It's not so much the commanders that bother me, it's the people who play them. My friends aren't as competitive as I get but they still try to build decks to win instead of having fun. I have my kitchen table decks, and then I have my separate decks I take to shops for stronger opponents. All my friends' decks are in between, so I usually play a fast I'm-a-dick-and-you-lose kind of game or wait and watch the slow, underpowered race for resources game. It's quite maddening. I want my friends to see the line between casual and competitive.
That being said, I can't stand it when one of my friends plays his Rubinia Soulsinger build. It's been around for a long time and was the bane of my existence when I first got into commander. I wasn't as good as I am now, making decks, deciding what to do in a game, etc., but it brings back frustrating memories of going against something composed entirely of counterspells and fogs. No endgame, just a poorly built control deck.
June 16, 2014 3:12 p.m.
Kaalia of the Vast
Nath of the Gilt-Leaf
Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
The last one especially is a douchey general to play with. You will INSTANTLY be the target.
June 17, 2014 noon
MindAblaze says... #14
I guess Kaervek the Merciless fits into that category too. People don't like being told they can't cast their stuff.
What about Anowon, the Ruin Sage ?
June 17, 2014 12:11 p.m.
I don't know that it's really commanders that make the game un-fun. You can always build a deck which will beat any type of deck, if you can't they tend to ban the cards anyway. I really just find decks piloted by certain players really un-fun. If you are going to build a $5k deck at least know how to win the game with it. That way your opponents don't waste a few hours watching you tutor for a win con.
June 17, 2014 6:11 p.m.
NotSoLuckyLydia says... #16
There are no commanders I sit across from and think "Ugh, this guy," except for a new player playing Kaalia of the Vast with a smug grin on his face, then getting angry when I remove his general for the fourth time because it dies to a gentle breeze.
June 19, 2014 6:38 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #17
I guess the question is about "which commanders tempt people to play like a douche?"
Each person's level of restraint is different...some people chose to abuse Sylvan Primordial , other people didn't. But I think we have some visceral response to certain commanders like "I wonder if I have to stop this person before they make the game unfun."
June 19, 2014 7:03 p.m.
blue-kronik says... #18
Why has Azami, Lady of Scrolls not hit this thread or am I missing something?
June 20, 2014 1:49 a.m.
Hjaltrohir says... #19
Another general that really bugs me is Oloro, Ageless Ascetic .
So many people play him and he gives you quite a large advantage but the main reason was i was playing my bant aggro build against 3 OTHER F***ING OLOROS
That is why i hate him
June 20, 2014 2 a.m.
miracleHat says... #20
@awesomeguy37, i also have to go against 3 lifegain decks (2 oloro, 1 daxos) and it is pretty easy to get rid of their life total. you could change your aggro deck to a deck that kills be general damage with Rafiq of the Many or Jenara, Asura of War . The problem with the former is that you will get zeroed on immediately. Then of course, you could make a completely different deck.
June 20, 2014 8:56 a.m.
Hjaltrohir says... #21
I also have a Sigarda, Host of Herons voltron build @miracleHat but when i play that one they all team up on me so in the end i have to play my bant :(
June 20, 2014 11:33 a.m.
When I set out to build anti-social deck Kaervek the Merciless was the first one to come to mind, followed by Heartless Hidetsugu . So I built a mean spirited deck with both of them.
June 20, 2014 4:51 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #23
Personally,these are the only players that bug me (usually, I try to stay cool-headed, but it becomes more difficult around these players):
People who try to find an excuse to target someone the whole game (if it's multiplayer).
Anyone who has a deck comprised of 98% cards off of Epochalyptik's List of EDH Staples and Power Cards. ESPECIALLY, when they think that doing so makes them a better deck builder than those who don't. -.- smh... wake up, dude.
Anyone who refuses to play with a particular playe rbecause they lost to their "bad deck". I think it's pretty immature.
Anyone who takes advantage of other players by pointing out all the neat little surprises from other player's decks in order to make themselves seem as non-threatening opponents so that they can win the game in an infinite combo that no one can react to since everyone had to use their answers on what they perceived to be the only threats in the game.
Anyone who immediately assumes since they just beat you, that they are now in charge in remaking your entire deck from the bottom up. Card suggestions, everyone can appreciate, but when you belittle another player by assuming that loss = bad deck, I can't help but see you as a bully.
end rant. lol
June 21, 2014 9:24 p.m.
miracleHat says... #24
@MagicalHacker, would it bother you if i pointed out combos in other players decks, while i was playing an aggro deck and completely ignored them because i knew that the combos couldn't do anything now that people were aware of what was coming up?
June 21, 2014 9:27 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #25
Nah, that's not bad at all! In fact, the downside to infinite combos is that they're rather fragile, so if one person has an answer, that player has to try to rebuild a combo again. This would encourage players to adopt less fragile win cons although they may not win immediately with them. Aggro strategy is a good example of this.
The issue is that people act on what they know, and its hard to convince others that an infinite combo player is a threat when you're building an army and theyre not.
June 21, 2014 10:33 p.m.
jpgcoleman says... #26
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir Counter decks. Grand Arbiter Augustin IV counter decks. Vendilion Clique counter decks. Talrand, Sky Summoner counter decks. Or pretty much anyone running a counterspell theme. That is just supper long and BORING.
June 23, 2014 5:36 p.m.
To be honest, I hate commanders that make a player's turn last half an hour. Oh, you just copied your Time Stretch ?... Wake me when September ends!
So, I always try to be "that guy" that is that makes the game shorter, by any means possible. I run Nekusar and I either give other players lots of draws, so that they win earlier, or win before turn 9 (7 if lucky) with just damage.
June 24, 2014 3:12 a.m.
For me it isn't really the commander that rubs me the wrong way, it is the player. In our old group there was one player whose play style would rub me the wrong way every time, and cause me to focus on him for the majority of the game.
The thing that pissed me off the most was his habit of not declaring what he was doing on his turn. The rest of the group was very good about announcing what cards they were playing. He'd never tell us he was playing Homeward Path , he would just lay it down quietly and pass the turn. Sure it is my responsibility to know the board state of my opponents, but him playing cards quietly while the rest of us announced our moves felt like borderline cheating.
June 25, 2014 3:31 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #30
phc, I'm one of the players that tends to do the same thing and I can describe my reasoning for it, although I don't know if I can speak for the player you are specifically talking about.
For me, I go into silent mode when I know there's a player who will work up the cards I'm playing so as to make me look as threatening as possible to players in order to both nerf my strategy and simultaneously suck up all the answers from people's hands.
If they point out my cards while I'm being silent, then they look manipulative and just douchey, so regardless if they point it out or not, either way it works in my favor.
Just out of curiosity, do you have anyone like that in your meta?
June 25, 2014 3:46 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #31
I do that also from time to time, but it's usually because nobody is paying attention and I'll make an effort to say "oh btw I did this, any responses?" It's usually when somebody is like "who's turn is it" that it comes out...
I'm not going to wait to take my turn because somebody got distracted by a killer clown on your Supernatural season 2 dvd...
June 25, 2014 3:49 p.m.
I feel like Ob Nixilis, Unshackled is a new contender for a pretty antisocial card to play in multiplayer EDH.
June 25, 2014 4:21 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #33
Devonin, how so? I think he's a great card because of the players who just search up a couple of cards to infinite combo and win. It might be abusable, but he's the same colors and cmc as mikaeus, so how bad could he be?
... Wait....
June 25, 2014 4:58 p.m.
I tend to shift back and forth in my play group as "that guy," depending on who I'm playing against and what they are playing, but "that guy" in our group typically finds himself sitting on mono-blue control most of the time. Freaking Teferi, man. Freaking Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir . Teferi, and a guy in our group who used to play him, is why my Ruric Thar deck is a thing.
My Roon of the Hidden Realm deck (still haven't uploaded to tapped out) is my most Anti-Social because it's the one that will trick you into thinking it is your friend but, every time, it ends up locking the game down and deciding you don't get to do anything ever again. I mean, a Torpor Orb turns it off, but still.
Kaervek tends to get a lot of hate in my group, and for a few different reasons. One of those being that I tend to just pick one person, hate them out, then go around the table until everyone is dead now, another being that sometimes the deck runs "unfun cards" for the entire purpose of ruining games. (Some people deserve it.)
One thing I found strange was listing Ruric Thar, the Unbowed as Anti-Social. I Got 99 Problems, But Counter Spells Ain't One is almost the perfect anti-blue agenda deck (mono blue control being one of my least favorites) and nobody in my play group cares because it's a mid-range deck running as few non-creatures as possible, so they see it as non-threatening provided they do not provoke it. Yeah, that much needed board wipe will coast you six to the face, but it will also cost you one of my combat steps. ...or three, or until I decide your lifeless corpse isn't worth hitting anymore.
A few of my own personal disliked commanders, besides Teferi, are usually the ones that scream combo player. Sharuum the Hegemon , Maralen of the Mornsong , etc, and it is the decks that do nothing but play with themselves that I see as honestly Anti-Social. See Also: Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
TehCoopeh says... #2
Melek, Izzet Paragon "Oh look at this lightning bolt. I'm going to cast it and I'll copy it with this guildmage, and copy it with Melek, and then I'll copy Melek's triggered ability to copy it again, and I'll just wipe your entire board. And then I'll draw six cards with Concentrate ."
June 16, 2014 11:52 a.m.