Mr. House, President and CEOMr. House, President and CEO Illustrated by Joseph Meehan
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 made 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 here at EDHREC to keep reading.
This does mean that the archives of past articles are over 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, too.
I appreciate you all. Thank you so much. Let's get into it!
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, aka Mark Carbonza, and it's time to say welcome to the team full time, Mikey!
I promise to make less fart jokes (I made a lot, and "less" means still making some here and there).
This week, the house has spoken.
(Post edited for brevity, clarity, and then some.)
HELLO, MIKE
Hello,
I have joined a Commander playgroup, rounding out the group of four, being invited by a friend from work. While I've known the work friend for several years before joining, the three have been friends since high school. We are all now in our mid-to-late 30s to give you an idea of how long I'm talking.
The group has been super welcoming and a great time. The elephant in the room is that I played Magic in middle school, a few times in Arena, and a couple of times during Christmas at work with the friend coworker. They have all been playing for nearly two decades.
Again, the group has treated me well, pointing me to helpful precons, giving me leniency in games, and also treating me as the threat when warranted.
Getting to the meat of things: the group has some house-banned commanders from some tense spats in the past. One of these commanders fits me like a glove in terms of playstyle, color arrangement, and even just creature theme and art.
Would I be the Bolas if I were to inquire about being an exception to the ban rule? With the understanding that I probably won't know how to build/play to the same level of table flipping frustration, am I just poking at old wounds?
I'd rather leave out which commander it is if we can.
Signed,
Newbie
HOWDY, NEWBIE!
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.
I love this submission. There are so many interesting pieces to this that makes me pretty stoked to get into it.
First, I want to say a big "hell yeah, that rules" about joining a playgroup of folks who've welcomed you so much and treat you in a way you appreciate. That's awesome, and I wish this for everybody looking to join a playgroup. It's a beautiful thing!
Secondly, I think the line you're walking in this group is a difficult one to tow. As the new guy, you've got to adapt to their rules and determine how you like it while also being careful not to overstep or change things up too much as to avoid the possibility of not being invited back, etc.
I think the way they've taken you in tells me that you'll be alright altogether.
Finally, I think your desire to play a commander that is house-banned is definitely fair. You weren't around for the banning and don't know exactly what caused it.
I believe it should be fine for you to inquire about their reasoning, but be prepared to be met with the possibility of not being encouraged to build that deck.
To the readers, I should probably tell you that Newbie has asked me not to include the legendary creature in question, but they have disclosed it to me.
To give you an idea, it's a commander that I would also kind of sigh at if I saw it in the command zone, but I wouldn't be rushing to push it off my table. It's definitely a difficult creature to deal with, and for experienced players to be upset at the sight of it, I should say I don't think they're totally overreacting by banning it.
As Commander players, I'd say it's pretty likely that we came to the format long after the banned cards list was established. When you get into the format and see that GriselbrandGriselbrand is banned, I would hope your first instinct isn't to say "hey, I want to play that card" and try to get away with it in your deck. You play by the rules, right?
In this case, there are some extra rules. This playgroup has seen some things they'd rather avoid in the future.
It's fair to question why it's banned and to ask if you could potentially build it, but a card like that (again, sorry I can't give you all the information, readers) even being CloneCloned is brutal and could still cause issues at the table again.
It's not a banned commander in the game overall, so if you wanted to put together the deck and have it for when you find yourself at an LGS or playing with other people, nobody can stop you there.
However, in this playgroup, you'll need to run it by them and be ready for a negative response.
You are new, and they've given you a lot of grace, though I don't think they're likely to bend here. I could be wrong, though!
You are not the Bolas for wanting to ask. You would be if you showed up with the deck built and ready to go at the group's table.
Okay...warning....
I will tell you who the creature is.
It's....
.....
Did you really think I'd betray Newbie's trust?
Thanks for reading!
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