Sythis, Harvest's HandSythis, Harvest's Hand | Art by Ryan Yee
Hello, and welcome to Am I the Bolas? This week, end the game already!
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 [email protected] 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, I'm in Japan right now looking for this flower!
Somebody pretend to be me in the comments!
(Post edited for brevity, clarity, and then some.)
SUBMISSION
Good Afternoon,
I have been following your podcast and articles for some time now and, while reading a recent article during a lunch break at work, I was reminded of a scenario from roughly a year ago that ended up with me taking apart a deck and feeling guilty and I would appreciate your take on it.
For some context, I play with several playgroups and had, at the time, recently joined a larger playgroup that plays twice a week and people message ahead to check if we have enough players for a pod or two etc - pretty standard I'm sure for large groups trying to coordinate pods.
On the night in question, we had four people agree to meet at the local LGS after work. The players who confirmed, myself included, had recently been enjoying playing more and more competitive games with us all owning strong Bracket 4 decks that were heavily optimized and some Bracket 5 decks. For that reason, I grabbed my Scion of the Ur-DragonScion of the Ur-Dragon deck before leaving. I also grabbed a Sythis, Harvest's HandSythis, Harvest's Hand deck I own in case the group would want to switch it up.
I ended up getting caught at work and arrived late. I had texted ahead, told them not to wait up, and to start without me if needed, I'd hop in for game two.
When I arrived, a local looking for a game had joined in with them. They were around turn four - enough of the game left that I thought I'd look for a different game if there was one around. Just to be clear, none of this was a problem, I enjoy meeting new people and playing with anyone. I was, however, feeling a bit nervous about the decks I had opted to bring.
I found a pod and asked what sort of power level they were looking to play. I explained the situation and what decks I had brought. I said that the Sythis deck was the weaker of the two decks as it was not optimized, I had built it with cards I owned rather than a bespoke list. I also said that, to be clear, it's still a Sythis Enchantress deck, meaning it's hard to shut down and can spiral into some silly board states.
They said that sounded fair and that they were happy playing against it and I joked (and meant it) that if they weren't balanced I would not take any offense at being targeted or treated like an archenemy.
The problem began when I realised that only one of the other players (we can call him Player 1) was running much removal and he wasn't in the best colours to deal with enchantments. One of the players (Player 2) running an Arabella, Abandoned DollArabella, Abandoned Doll Boros deck, was also unfortunately mana screwed and couldn't find the pieces to impact the game much.
This ended up leading towards a spiralling board full of enchantments and me sat on a full grip of cards. Player 1 did a decent job of mitigating my board, tipping into a win by removing key pieces and finding a board wipe twice. Each time I rebuilt, he would manage to remove a game winning piece, but after what felt like a very long and grindy game I won through an army of flying Pegasi. I could tell that despite not complaining and us actually getting on really well, Players 2 & 3 didn't enjoy the game and were frustrated with how long it took to finish.
They asked if I would mind switching decks and I repeated the initial comments about the Scion Deck being heavily optimised and quite powerful. They said they didn't mind as long as it had a way to win if I was ahead. Not a problem, let's do this archenemy plan from turn one.
I won around turn six after casting Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat to defend my Old GnawboneOld Gnawbone and Hellkite ChargerHellkite Charger combo.
This game was a lot more fun on all sides and they all told me they enjoyed playing "archenemy" trying to stop it doing its thing, but I still felt bad about coming across as "pubstomping."
After I got home I took apart the Sythis deck and decided not to build decks that fall into any sort of category where I take long turns at a high power level without the ability to win straight away.
Am I the Bolas here, am I overthinking the pubstomping angle or should I have tried to join a different group that was a more balanced level?
Nikya
VERDICT
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 [email protected] and I'll get to it here.
It means a lot to me that you enjoy the column and the podcast so much. I cannot thank you enough for supporting AITB!
This is a lovely submission. You're in tune with the nonverbal communication of your new podmates and you were open to the discussion when they expressed their hope you would switch-up your deck. You read the situation well enough to recognize the change of pace was welcomed. I'm glad that the archenemy experience was well-received. I think this is the kind of attitude a lot of pods could use, frankly.
It's fair that you dismantled the deck. Sythis is a resilient pain in the butt of a commander and Enchantress as an archetype really can snowball without trying. Enchantments might be difficult to remove, but you get hit with a sweeper, you're supposed to feel your legs cut out from under you for a moment, at least. Instead, Sythis gives you a way back in which is what makes it such a powerful card in the command zone.
You built it to be higher-powered and the pod agreed with it. I don't think there's any pubstomping happening, really. There was an understanding of the circumstances and it just didn't turn out all that fun. You are "overthinking the pubstomping angle," but it comes from a place of compassion, which is often the case in these submissions.
The bigger problem is that the deck didn't close it out and when someone is playing a really strong deck, outclassing the rest of them at the table, there is a sense of "dear god, please just end it" that starts to take over. It's a creeping feeling that amplifies with each passing turn and rebuffed piece of interaction. The reason the Scion of the Ur-DragonScion of the Ur-Dragon deck was so much better received was because it was a boss battle where the boss knew his toolkit really well and there was a plan to wreck the table.
It's a lot of fun trying to punch above your weight. What if you actually do win? What if, right? That'd be a pretty cool story. "My Bracket 2 pile took the W over a Bracket 4 Dragon deck that can tutor for whatever it wants!" I would brag about that, for sure! Is it pubstomping? No, because it's agreed upon prior!
I don't believe that taking Sythis apart is entirely because of this game. I figure if you'd joined another pod, the deck would have performed fine, but I wouldn't be surprised if you'd told me not too long later that you'd taken Sythis apart. I think deep down, there was something else about it that wasn't working for you and now you have a new thing to consider. I don't see a Bolas here, but rather a mage learning a lesson and taking thoughts back to the drawing board. Have fun with the next brew! I hope it rules!
Mike Carrozza
Mike Carrozza is a stand-up comedian from Montreal who’s done a lot of cool things like put out an album called Cherubic and worked with Tig Notaro, Kyle Kinane, and more people to brag about. He’s also been an avid EDH player who loves making silly stuff happen. @mikecarrozza on platforms.
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