Omo, Queen of Vesuva Illustrated by Chun Lo

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! You might see your story in the column. You might even hear it on the podcast. Which podcast? 

THIS PODCAST!

I'm Mike Carrozza, aka Mark Carbonza, and I've heard of Bear hugs, but Badger Hugs???

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze!

This week, a reputation's impact on threat assessment.

(Post edited for brevity, clarity, and a little hot sauce.)

HEY, MARK!

Hello Mark/Mike!

Last night, my friends and I were playing in-person, and one of them is playing his Omo, Queen of Vesuva deck which he essentially built as a "kindred kindred" deck. His Omo deck is pretty good and is known for being explosive. All of us are wary of it in general. That game, due to lifelink effects from the other players as well as them not absorbing as much aggro, three of us are close to 40 while Mr. Omo deck is at 18. It's my turn and I see that he can tap for 20+ mana on his next turn due to that one Locus land, and he has a Guardian Project in play, and he has a full hand of seven. I decide to alpha strike and put him at two life. After this, he scoops and leaves. Later on, he says to me via DM:

"In general, I'll always call it BM (bad manners) when everyone is at 40 health and we're focus killing a player who has seven combined power on the board. I was literally not a threat, you just kept saying I was while you kept attacking me lol."

Am I the Bolas for sending near lethal at him? Yes, he would've had to sit for another 30 minutes, but do I need to turn off threat assessment when considering the time left until game finish? In a casual game with friends, should I be more concerned about not KOing someone too early?

Thanks so much!
M

M, I'M SO HAPPY YOU WROTE!

Thank you so much for writing in, M! As I mention every week, without the folks who write in, there is no column without your submissions. Whether it's your own story, a topic you want discussed, or a Reddit post, if you, the reader, have something to share, send it over to amithebolas@gmail.com. Full disclosure, this submission came to us courtesy of the EDHRECast Patreon Discord, and if you're already part of that, you'll have seen my reaction to this. 

Let's assess the facts:

1. Omo's deck, in the short time since its printing (this submission came only about two weeks after Omo was spoiled), your friend's deck has gained a reputation for popping off and being explosive. 
2. The Omo deck had a full grip with access to more than 20 mana when they untap. 
3. The deck is a "kindred kindred" deck, meaning it is very likely highly creature based with a Guardian Project in play, meaning that there's a good chance that that seven-card hand remains stocked. 
4. The game, if the Omo is not a threat, could be going for about a half hour longer. 

Every point provided shows that the Omo deck, if left to have another turn, would likely be able to take the game. It does seem that Omo has been focused on throughout the game, but once again, the deck's reputation has made it a target. I guess, I mean, not just the deck's reputation: if you told me a deck had access to more than twenty mana and had a draw engine, we'd at least have to try to point some removal that way. That said, people love to say, "The best kind of removal is player removal," so making a concerted effort to move that needle is fair. This is good threat assessment, not just for you, but for the table.

I don't think you're the Bolas for focusing on them and essentially taking them out. You meant to keep them on the back foot and forced them to play defensively, but scooping took care of that for you in the end. 

Here's where I have a problem with all this. Not with you, M. I'll address the Omo player. Let's read this again, knowing everything we know:

"In general, I'll always call it BM (bad manners) when everyone is at 40 health and we're focus killing a player who has seven combined power on the board. I was literally not a threat, you just kept saying I was while you kept attacking me lol."

This is just flat-out bullsh!!!. It is BM to focus on a player who has nothing going on while the table is developing; it's not great to punch when people have missed land drops and are overall not doing much. Even if they have a crazy reputation where they can pop off with very little, if many turns go by and they're in check, maybe alpha striking would have been a problem.

What isn't BM is claiming you weren't a threat when your board had access to both of the strongest resources in the game: mana and card draw. The attempt at minimization is shameful. "Killing a player who has seven combine power on the board"; honey, Gravecrawler, Zulaport Cutthroat, a Zombie token, and Phyrexian Altar makes five power on the board and wins the game. Many powerful creatures happen to be under-statted so they can still have powerful textboxes justified at their mana costs. Seven power does not mean you aren't a threat. Why not mention all the other stuff you had going on?

Because you know, deep down, you were absolutely the threat. 

When the game is over and you walk away from the table, it's over. If you're going to guilt trip me, do it to my face, buddy. It's time to take in some self-reflection. Why would people be attacking you and insisting that you're the threat? If it wasn't clear, please see points one through three above. If your opponents agree that you're the threat and you've been receiving a bunch of attention, please consider how you play the deck. It seems to be explosive and scary. Remember, managing your opponents at the table is also part of what makes a good deck pilot. I explained in another article that this concept is a lot like jury management in Big Brother. If you look like a threat and you have been a threat, you are a threat. You need to find out if your objective next time is to either lean in or find ways to mitigate this perception.

Thanks for reading, thanks for writing, and happy gaming!