Am I The Bolas? - Moving to EDHREC (A Last One about Proxies and Power Level)
Nuka-Cola Vending Machine Illustrated by Anthony Devine
I HAVE SOME NEWS
Before we move ahead with the latest Am I The Bolas? article you're here for, I have some news.
You may have noticed that a couple of weeks ago, AITB was on Commander's Herald and EDHREC on the same day. That's because Am I The Bolas? is moving to EDHREC from now on! In fact, that was supposed to be the day we make the announcement, but this one is the official real deal.
Commander's Herald will always be the site that took a chance on a little ding dong from Canada and allowed me to give you my takes on stories every week. I hope you continue to support Commander's Herald and you follow me over to EDHREC to keep reading.
This does mean that the archives of past articles are over here on Commander's Herald and things will look a little sparse for me over at EDHREC, but with time, that'll grow and the folks who enthusiastically write in, discovering the column will still have a way to dive into the back catalogue here.
I appreciate you all. Thank you so much. See you on EDHREC!
Hello, and welcome to Am I the Bolas?
This column is for all of you out there who have ever played some Magic and wondered if you were the bad guy. I'm here to take in your story with all of its nuances so I can bring some clarity to all those asking, "Am I the Bolas?"
I'm ready to hear you out and offer advice. All you have to do is email amithebolas@gmail.com with your story, a pseudonym you want to use, and of course, only include details you don't mind in the column! You might see your story below one day. You might even hear it on the podcast. Which podcast?
I'm Mike Carrozza, aka Mark Carbonza, and it's been a pleasure, Commander's Herald!
Find me over on EDHREC from now on. Here's my archive link there.
This week, a classic discussion that wraps three things into one. We've seen all of these before, but now they're together.
(Post edited for brevity, clarity, and then some.)
HELLO, MIKE
Hello Mike,
I have been dealing with some serious inner turmoil over whether or not I am the Bolas when it comes to a specific player and their extensive use of proxies. In my area, we have a few LGSs where people can shuffle up and play casual Commander and cEDH. There is one local player who shows up each week to casual Commander at each location with several decks that are, in an effort to be fair to them, only about 75% proxies on average, but usually more. At the beginning of the game, the question of "are you cool with proxies" is always asked, and the answer is always yes from people who have never played with this specific player before. Then, this player will proceed to control the board and dominate the game through the use of cards that are of exponentially higher power level that the average casual player has never even heard of, let alone played against or dreamed of acquiring due to the price of the card. On occasion, the cards aren't even available yet - for example, a Nuka-Cola Vending Machine was in a deck weeks before the Fallout set was released.
I fondly remember letting everyone know that I had built a new deck and was giving it my first trial run at a casual table, then watching as myself and two other players in my pod got completely curb stomped by an Obeka, Splitter of Seconds deck on turn four immediately after. I was upset about being locked out from my turns, but the more upsetting thing was that this keelhauling was done with a smile, while this player was really psyched about how badly their deck was whooping up on all of us. I tried changing venues to avoid them, but having this happen consistently at multiple locations and tables, I have made the decision to decline to play with this person in an effort to play enjoyable and interactive games where anyone can have a shot at winning with a deck built with honest-to-goodness Magic cards.
This has been eating away at me for a while and has caused several other players and I to get visibly salty at the table and scoop. I feel like I am being a Bolas by having an issue with the way they go about using almost exclusively proxied decks, but I also suspect that the lack of being able to read the table and scaling back to a power level that lets everyone have a shot at winning might also be contributing to the bad taste in my mouth. Proxies are high on the list of things that divide players, so I am interested in hearing your thoughts on how to act when faced with a situation like this.
Thank you,
Saltwater Stalwart
HOWDY, SALTWATER STALWART!
Thank you for writing and asking me to weigh in on your story. As I mention every week, if folks don't write to me, there's no column, so if you, the reader, want to send me a story, whether it's your own or one from Reddit or a friend's, please send it to amithebolas@gmail.com and I'll get to it here.
This one might be a little quick because we've covered all of this kind of thing before!
I want to begin with this. If you are not having a good time when you play against a player and you've given them a number of chances, you've got two choices. Either talk to them about what it is that is bothering you and see if there's room for compromise, or move onto another table and decline to play with them. In this situation, it doesn't feel like you're hurting for opponents and it seems like that player's MO is ruffling feathers of folks who aren't familiar. I'd say it's fair not to want to play with them again. That's that!
If you wanted to chat with them, I don't think the proxies are the real issue here, it seems. I understand some new cards that aren't even available are hitting the table, but if this opponent's got them printed, we'll be seeing the cards soon enough anyhow. Plus, they're Magic cards with text on them. You can parse things out and work out the board state and whatnot. I think the real issue is with the power level of the decks. It sounds like this is the common thread.
If the cards are legible and clearly announced, I don't mind proxies. I think the game's drained wallets plenty - it's getting more expensive and I don't think a game like this should have such a massive barrier to entry that someone who can't drop a couple hundred bucks on a deck shouldn't get to experience this thing we love so much. That said, there's such a thing as budget Commander, but I digress.
The issue, as stated above, is the power level and that's the conversation that should be had. Yes, they should lead with "are you cool with proxies?" but they should also take the time to let people know that their decks are lockout decks that stomp a table on turn four. We've got brackets to use and if that doesn't work for them, we can still have an honest conversation about when our decks do a thing and what kind of thing that is. If you've experienced this player stomping without much effort or warning, proxies or not, I wouldn't be stoked to play with this player again either. I'd give them a chance, which you have, and they haven't fared much better. I'd say you did what you can, no need to harp on it. Enjoy your games, buddy. Find a pod that'll enjoy your rate of play and vice versa.
A proxy, a power level, and an "I'm avoiding this player" story all wrapped into one. What a way to go out. Not the Bolas.
Thanks again, everybody!
