Vazi, Keen NegotiatorVazi, Keen Negotiator Illustrated by José Parodi
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 [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 and I'm never going to play Final Fantasy.
But I will die for this lil' angel. Nobody tell me anything devastating!
This week, building to your taste or your playgroup's?
(Post edited for brevity, clarity, and then some.)
HELLO, MIKE
I’m a long time reader, first time writer, and I absolutely LOVE the column and podcast! Your advice has helped me puzzle through so many difficult situations on game night, and I’m really grateful for that.
This situation isn’t so much about gameplay, but more about some tension between me and my friends about deckbuilding.
One of the things I enjoy most about four-player Commander is the politics and deal-making aspect. I like to play this up by building decks with interactive strategies or play styles. When I say interactive, I mean the decks encourage table talk and decision making. I’m not running more removal or board wipes or anything like that. As an example, my favorite deck is a Vazi, Keen NegotiatorVazi, Keen Negotiator list centered around kingmaking then switching sides to rally the table against the archenemy. Additionally, I also like to build decks that I think are are underrepresented in the playgroup, to see how people react and to foster more creative deckbuilding (this comes up later).
Most of my friends tolerate and enjoy playing against my decks, but one friend doesn’t seem to like many of my decks, especially the more interactive ones. Their decks are built in a more traditional battlecruiser style, and even though they’re able to withstand interaction and board wipes pretty well, this player will still lean towards targeting me if I’m playing an interactive deck. They usually express their discontent at the start of the game by asking me to play another deck, telling me to play another deck, or switching to a stronger deck, even if my deck isn’t that powerful. This is a strong pattern, and as someone who tracks their decks’ wins and losses, I’ve noticed a correlation with a deck’s win rate and it’s interactivity.
The Bolas situation happened a couple days ago, when I decided to start brewing a stax deck. It’s not that I’m a naturally hateful person, I’m just interested to see how the group reacts. When I called this friend up to tell them about it, they obviously got upset, which I don’t blame them for. However, after that they started talking about how they’re going to build a targeted land destruction deck aimed only at my stax deck, and how they’re going to constantly try to deny it resources every time they play against it.
I don’t play to win and I want the table to have a good time. However, the games I enjoy the most involve more player interaction than average, and more interaction than this friend likes. So far, none of the other players in our playgroup have complained about my decks, and one other friend has also talked about how some of their more interactive decks (they just built a Deadpool, Trading CardDeadpool, Trading Card control deck based on sacrificing and reanimating Deadpool over and over) have received similar hate from the same friend.
The question is this: Am I the Bolas for pushing the playgroup in new directions with my different and interactive decks? And what’s a good solution to solve the tension in our playgroup? We’re all just trying to have a good time, after all.
Thanks,
Kellan, Inquisitive ProdigyKellan, Inquisitive Prodigy
HOWDY, RAVEN!
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.
Kellan, thank you so much for the kind words. I'm glad the column has helped you navigate some tricky situations! That's always been the goal so to have somebody just outright tell me warms my heart. Thank you for that.
Your submission's super interesting. It's easy to see this one from both sides. If I were someone who didn't want to play socially interactive games but rather focused on deck building to battlecruise to a win with technical threat assessment, I wouldn't love to see you coming to the table. I'd get pretty salty if every experience I had with my friends playing Magic resulted in the perfect play being tipped over by somebody striking a deal. Every time? Oof. Once in a while? That's Magic, baby! As much as I like Vazi, Keen NegotiatorVazi, Keen Negotiator, the way it can warp a game like group hug can be a little taxing on some strategies.
Side note, I think of Vazi as Vazi Keen as if that's their name. As if it's Vazi Keen, Negotiator and not Vazi, Keen NegotiatorVazi, Keen Negotiator. Like I'd say "Hey, Vazi Keen!" if we were friends. And then they'd be like "what'd you call me?" and I'd sheepishly repeat it before they corrected me. Whatever, no big deal!
That said, one of the defining features of Commander is its multiplayer nature, and therefore the inevitability of table talk. I love politics at the table. I love getting to decide whether I'm in the mood for a deal or to shut it down. I get to express myself in Commander and part of that extends to being able to be flexible in my approach to politics and table talk.
I also think that part of my responsibility as someone who's part of a regular playgroup is to do anything you can to make sure you're invited back. Yes, you can be the most active person in a playgroup, you still need to be invited back, whether explicitly or implicitly. If somebody in your playgroup finds out you'll be there and they sigh dejectedly, then maybe there's some air to clear here. That's why I personally like that you called your friend and discussed your plans to build a stax deck (not inherently Bolas behavior, but close). I like that he made his feelings clear.
It seems that this player doesn't like how hard you're going into the politics and table talk. If somebody asks me not to play a particular deck, that's an opening to a discussion. "Why do you not want me to play this deck?" It seems like he'll have no problem telling you why.
I think you aren't the Bolas for wanting to build decks that push the group to explore different deckbuilding styles. If people are into it, that's great! If they're interested in moving with that meta, that's awesome. It seems, however, you've got one person who is less into it and if you can throw him a bone now and then, that'd probably go a long way. Have something straightforward, maybe borrow one of his decks.
Compromise. Don't do it to the extent where you lose your flame for the game, but most definitely recognize that you're in the driver's seat here. Your friend likes you enough to keep playing with you guys and to be honest in his reactions. That's good friendship. Open communication! Lots to celebrate! Nurture that friendship by showing him that he's heard and his feelings mean something to you. He pulls out a deck to hold his own against yours so that he can play the way he wants to while you play the way you want to. Meeting him on his level from time to time will go a long way, I promise (as far as I can promise anything).
Not the Bolas, but some improvements are definitely within reach.
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