OP, I'd like to give you the benefit of the doubt for a moment. Could the real issue behind your treatment here be your relationship with your brother? If you're really not doing anything over the top to antagonize your LGS, and you're really being treated in the way that you claim, there must be something more going on here than "Spike hate Vorthos". I have a brother I don't always get along with, and I used to go to an LGS that was mostly him and his friends. Eventually, he got really mad at me about something, and I found that that whole LGS was a very unfriendly place for a while. I actually had to leave for a larger store until our relationship improved. If you're really trying your best to be nice, and it's just getting thrown back in your face, either you're playing against the meanest Magic players this side of New Phyrexia or there's a bigger issue here.
Benefit of the doubt aside, it does sound like you might be doing a few things to make playing Magic less fun for other people at your LGS, and I would listen to some of the more constructive things people here have said about that, and see what you can do to improve the situation on your end. Still, I can't imagine it being at a level where you're attacked for it even when you're not playing Magic, not unless either you're a big jerk, they're all big jerks, or something beyond Magic is the real source of the problem here.
OP, I'd like to give you the benefit of the doubt for a moment. Could the real issue behind your treatment here be your relationship with your brother? If you're really not doing anything over the top to antagonize your LGS, and you're really being treated in the way that you claim, there must be something more going on here than "Spike hate Vorthos". I have a brother I don't always get along with, and I used to go to an LGS that was mostly him and his friends. Eventually, he got really mad at me about something, and I found that that whole LGS was a very unfriendly place for a while. I actually had to leave for a larger store until our relationship improved. If you're really trying your best to be nice, and it's just getting thrown back in your face, either you're playing against the meanest Magic players this side of New Phyrexia or there's a bigger issue here.
Benefit of the doubt aside, it does sound like you might be doing a few things to make playing Magic less fun for other people at your LGS, and I would listen to some of the more constructive things people here have said about that, and see what you can do to improve the situation on your end. Still, I can't imagine it being at a level where you're attacked for it even when you're not playing Magic, not unless either you're a big jerk, they're all big jerks, or something beyond Magic is the real source of the problem here.
My brother is involved. That much I can tell you and yes, he's done something like what you've described on more than one occasion outside of the game. His peers make up more than half of the LGS players. It was he who misinterpreted/distorted my dislike and my incapacity to deal with big combo decks as a sort of attack against them all. The truth is all I did was explain why I don't play the way they do, why I don't have this or that in my deck, why I didn't I cast this or that spell, and why I concede and lose often.
However, he's just part of the problem. There are indeed people in my LGS who have the Spike-mentality on the level that appreciation for Vorthos-style is scoffed and one in particular hit the lowest of the low when he implied I was a Spike-in-Denial. My brother isn't the only who has done distortion of my person.
I have a friend who is a Vorthos that's restricted to Serra's sanctum, birds (I have no idea why), and angels. Now I'm pretty much just a Johnny and I get a kick out of comboing out at least once in a while (including them convoluted 5-card combos that require the stars to align to get to working). My friend sat through all that stuff that I do and he goes and talks about how Angel of Mercy's from Serra's realm and protects her peoples. I honestly take that as a give-and-take kind of thing. You put up/enjoy a player's quirks and they'll reciprocate.
Even my friend had a budget variation of a competitive deck back when he played often with me. Again, sometimes you just have to deal with.
I mean, heck, I'm not a Spike and I have to deal with Spikes on a regular basis. I end up playing their turfs for a while and when we "dial down" to EDH or multiplayer 60 cards, we end up playing on my turf for a while.
I mean, this is what I can see that works in a normal situation. Perhaps yours is beyond that now, by the way you've been describing things.
I'm going to be blunt with my point and sharp with my words, so take no offense.
You LGS is stuffed of competitive EDH players. There's no way you can change that, because its a majority VS... you.
The easiest solution is to move out of the LGS and find one with a Vorthos-mindset, or bring in a seperate Vorthos Mindset Group into your LGS, if the physical space is large enough. But that suggestion is more often than not a luxury since most people don't live near 2 or more LGS.
The blunt fact is here. The levels of your Vorthos Decks and their Spike decks are too far. Have you actually won with your Vorthos deck? (Don't count some wins due to manascrew/drought as victories, because variance does indeed exist in this game to that degree.)
If 90 out of 100 games between you and a particular player he always wins, its going to be boring for him (and probably you) for sure. What more when he sets up without opposition and then you concede. Every match is not a diverse game, but more of a repitition of the same thing. Like school or work. It kills the fun.
Spike is hardly flexible. There is no way of turning a Vorthos-deck competitive, as the replacement of cards often destroys the flavor. But the mind, the Vorthos is different. You should start out building a spike deck, then flavorise it. And you need to compromise when doing so.
Personally, I play an Animar deck chokeful of Legendary Creatures. It is no spike deck, I don't play most of the infinite combos Animar is so well-known for, except for Palinchron (because I need an endgame button just in case). But melvin-wise, its pretty elegant. Lots of ramp cards (fetches, primeval, oracle, azusa, lotus cobra), lots of card draw (mulldrfiter, primordial sage, reki, the history of kamigawa), bombs (Kozilek, Ulamog, Keiga), protection (Kira, great glass spinner), removal (Arashi and Jiwari), cards people love to hate (Jhoira, Niv-Mizzet).
I built the deck with a melvin-mindset, but set Vorthos restrictions. When I play the deck, I pretend that I'm leading an army of legendaries to battle. It doesn't always pan out well flavorfully, but when it does, its an awesome sight. And it can fight with competitive decks to some degree (either that, or I haven't run into a true one.)
You seem so hellbent on siding with these guys when you don't even know them.
I could care less about them. I am getting a strong impression of you though. You can't take any kind of criticism, whether it's from me or anybody else here. You want to know whay I asked you your age? Because I swear, based on your original post (which is suspected of being straight trolling) i was concerned you might be 14 or 15 and I wanted to customize my response and frame it from that standpoint. You say you graduated college and work now? No offense, but that's jarring to me.
Finally, I wouldn't be ranting here if the treatment I've been getting didn't start going THAT bad.
i was actually just trying to sugarcoat it for you and be less harsh about the situations.
Please, I want you to focus more on these facts:
1. My words and opinions on their decks had been twisted out of proportion.
2. I've been backstabbed constantly now.
3. My decks get dissed for the way I built them to the point that they start hitting below the belt.
If you are a socially well adjusted adult human being who graduated college and got along well there, get along well with your "co-workers", how can we be having this conversation here with you whining about other players at a small town LGS bad mouthing you on Facebook? Most players at a local small town LGS are gonna be teenagers, maybe a few college age or grad students, some older guys... But it's gonna be a mix of people, most of whom are not all one clique. And your brother goes to the same shop? And bad mouths you to all the other kids... ER... Players.
And you bum money from some people at the store as "commission" for fan fiction? How much could somebody at the store possibly be paying you to write fan fiction, that it could matter to somebody who has a real job with co-workers.
Your original rant does not sound like a well adjusted adult human college grad with a job and co workers who like him.
I was sure it was a young teenager.
Relief = Drama queen? What universe do you live in?
the universe where everybody in the LGS seems to be annoyed by the way you act when you win and when you lose.
What flavor? You said it yourself that their decks lack flavor.
YOUR deck, YOUR playstyle is supposed to be vorthos. You're the one who is breaking character.
I quit because...
sure that's why you quit
If I could actually afford to do that, you think I would've? I can't okay. I'm telling you, my LGS is the only option.
MTGO boosters cost exactly the same new. You supposedly have co-workers and a job. And unlike paper magic, you can put same cards into multiple different decks.
Dude, you're reading way too much into what I say. The guy I'm talking about hardly represents all the guys I've been playing with and does not represent the worst of them.
the point went over your head. My point is that he was sympathetic to you, going out of his way to be nice to you, and you're describing him pretty unkindly. Because he fails to live up to your Vorthos standards.
...
My co-workers.
My former college classmates.
Other online friends on a religious forum.
That's actually a fairly large group of people. Unfortunately, they don't play this game
really? It's YOUR pretend people. You can pretend they play Magic if you like, too.
The others here seem to get that gist.
what thread are YOU reading?
First person on the thread, audiox, thought you were trolling and just mocked you getting a troll infraction.
Kelnon suggested you find middle ground, as did I, and you blew us off.
Catmurderer and mondu have pointed out its your problem...
Must I go on?
What percentage of people in this thread agree with your spin on this story?
And if you think they don't want to make me a pariah, I could name a few who would.
maybe a few do.
But what is a grown man doing, whinging about his brother badmouthing him, and sweating what some kids from the Magic shop said about him on Facebook?
You say you are an adult who went to college and now has a job with co-workers.
Um, how about:
"Good luck with all of this. You keep on doing whatever you're doing. Obviously you're on the right track. You have brilliantly explained all the great reasons you have for doing all the things you do to annoy the jerks at the magic shop. Bummer they're all such *******s that have it in for Vorthos. You've done everything you could to fix the situation. I wish there was some kind of medal or certificate I could give you in recognition of all the patience you've had with these people. Sorry for suggesting that your personality might have anything to do with the fact that nobody at the LGS, including your brother, can stand you. It's fortunate that you were strong enough to ignore any of our suggestions, and recognized that your Vorthosity is simply a difficult path in life. It's a testament to your mental toughness that you're still standing after all the mean things some acquaintance wrote about you on facebook."
Is that what you were hoping to get?
I prefer being honest. Because I think honesty is more helpful to people in the long run.
Hey, a question occured to me this morning as I was reading this thread:
Who is starting the games, and how are they being started? Is someone going around the shop saying "hey anyone want to play some EDH?"? Is there a group playing EDH and you're asking if you can join in? Is it a official / semi-official EDH league or night at the shop?
Knowing this might help understand why you are getting the type of treatment you are.
You're being way too dramatic and defensive and I really don't see what point you're even still trying to argue.
Are you looking for a pat on the back? A cookie? A hug? Like you said, this thread has unanimously decided that you seem to be the bigger problem here so I don't see why you continue to be so stubborn.
If this is any indication of how you deal with realistic criticism at your LGS, then I'm sure your fellow players there would not miss you at all.
If this is any indication of how you deal with realistic criticism at your LGS, then I'm sure your fellow players there would not miss you at all.
exactly.
@aleerpsoftware: and despite the fact that most of the posters in this thread are seeing the same problem
None of us hate or dislike you at all, despite our harsh words.
But its easy to become a bit shunned or even occasional target of jokes behind your back if you come to the same place every week with that kind of attitude, and have NO INSIGHT into how your behavior comes across to other people. If more than one person is annoyed enough (at your early scooping or your behavior after wins) to actually TELL you, then I would take that as a red flag.
"oh those Spikes just don't get how fabulously 'Vorthos' I am!"
Denial and rationalization like that don't make you a horrible person. Don't make you deserve to be badmouthed on Facebook. But denial and rationalization wont make your situation any better.
I get that some people have difficulty reading others, difficulty listening, picking up social cues: Sometimes that's sheltered upbringing, sometimes its just being undersocialized and inexperienced, and sometimes it's the brain actually lacking certain abilities (as in some forms of milder autism spectrum: not being able to read emotion or facial expression well, trouble empathizing, etc. ).
I don't know what your issue is, but TRYING HARDER to see other people's viewpoints can be helpful. Being EXTRA NICE can help too, since people give far more latitude and benefit of the doubt, to a person who returns that same latitude. If people criticize you, it always stings, for anybody, but you're so much better off if you consider it might be true, and try to adjust.
If somebody tells you "you're a sore loser", just step back, recognize why he said that, and tell yourself "I MAY HAVE BEEN a little bit of a sore loser before today... But from TOMORROW, I won't be."
But again, I don't dislike you and I doubt anyone criticizing you here dislikes you. Most of us think you're a creative, intelligent person whose problems with his LGS are due largely to his own attitude. If some of us snark at you or fight you here, that's just arguing with you as an equal. nothing personal.
If you want to get ahead in this situation, reread all of dcartist's posts. He is a smart guy and he is being very honest.
I will put it like this: every story has two sides. Everyone reading this thread has only heard your side. So, under the vast majority of circumstances, everyone here should probably be sympathetic to your side of the story. However, we still are all basically saying that we see your attitude as the problem. If you choose to ignore EVERY OTHER PERSON and assume that you are right, your inability to fit in with a group of magic players is going to be the least of your problems in life.
In summation.....Star Trek wins a prolonged naval battle against superior, yet less technologically advanced, numbers, with Picard leading the assault, while Kirk takes your soul by laying out Solo and probably his manservant Chewy as well, before impregnating and ditching your Princess.
But its easy to become a bit shunned or even occasional target of jokes behind your back if you come to the same place every week with that kind of attitude, and have NO INSIGHT into how your behavior comes across to other people. If more than one person is annoyed enough (at your early scooping or your behavior after wins) to actually TELL you, then I would take that as a red flag.
You already assumed so much on my behavior that is completely BASELESS. For one thing, I do not act like this:
"oh those Spikes just don't get how fabulously 'Vorthos' I am!"
If this is the image you have of me, then your way off base. I don't act like this. This is exactly the sort of misinterpretation that's pissing me off.
I do not think Vorthos is better.
I just like playing that way.
I do not like being told to change my play style because I don't tell others either.
I concede because, as Stigma_Lasher over there has stated, I know the low win percentage of my decks.
I don't know what your issue is, but TRYING HARDER to see other people's viewpoints can be helpful. Being EXTRA NICE can help too, since people give far more latitude and benefit of the doubt, to a person who returns that same latitude. If people criticize you, it always stings, for anybody, but you're so much better off if you consider it might be true, and try to adjust.
The problem with the criticism I'm getting is that it's based on a false premise. How can I be a sore loser when I have no problems with losing?
Heck I even admitted that I'll try not to concede too often, but honestly, it's not like that ever helped me either.
But again, I don't dislike you and I doubt anyone criticizing you here dislikes you. Most of us think you're a creative, intelligent person whose problems with his LGS are due largely to his own attitude. If some of us snark at you or fight you here, that's just arguing with you as an equal. nothing personal.
Look, I know you guys are sincere but really, you guys are assuming SO MUCH about me just from this thread. Why not give that the benefit of the doubt too?
All right, just so I won't be as confused right now from what you said. Let's review what and everyone else thinks is wrong with me:
1. I'm a sore loser.
2. I have the attitude of #1.
3. Rinse and Repeat 1 and 2.
I have a friend who is a Vorthos that's restricted to Serra's sanctum, birds (I have no idea why), and angels. Now I'm pretty much just a Johnny and I get a kick out of comboing out at least once in a while (including them convoluted 5-card combos that require the stars to align to get to working). My friend sat through all that stuff that I do and he goes and talks about how Angel of Mercy's from Serra's realm and protects her peoples. I honestly take that as a give-and-take kind of thing. You put up/enjoy a player's quirks and they'll reciprocate.
Honestly, I've been trying to do what you've doing for the many years I've known these guys, even before I started getting more active in this game (contrary to what some here have assumed). It's just really not working out that well on my end and honestly, the Facebook backstabbing was what really crossed the line. I've put a lot before I put up this thread. I've tried being nice.
However, I'm not a saint. Okay, what I just went through this past week with those guys has gone beyond what I can take.
I'm not asking for a pat in the back from anyone here. I was just hoping for advice that would help me deal with the attitude without giving the guys at my LGS more reason to boost their ego. So far, with all due respect to dcartist, I just think that assuming the blame on me is just a repeat of what my playgroup already does.
This is more for everyone, rather than the OP:
People are surprisingly quite spiteful; sometimes if you're looked at as "that guy," maybe because of a past mistake/misunderstanding, you will be forever branded that way. And hated/trolled to hell and back. Why? Because it's easy to. Just as easy as it is to not notice or put time into hating a person, it's just as easy for people to not take the time to try and understand other people.
Take one of my friends. He's a huge rager. Or at least was. Used to always get mad at losing. Complaining about luck/has road rage/"I f***ing hate eating vegetables." Or some bs. Because of that, he's branded as "the rager." And well...the group tends to make it a point to troll the **** out of him whenever possible. Or snide remarks. Or what have you.
These days, he's a bit calmer (well, there's traces left, but he makes it a point to avoid it...mostly because it'll only justify the trolling/hating). Guess what? He's still the subject of complete and utter scrutiny. Sometimes to the point that maybe...it's overboard.
What I'm trying to say is, I wouldn't put it past people to be complete douches. Maybe the OP is actually telling it as it is. Besides, they're a group. And he's the lone wolf. It's easy to hate when you're in a group. Cuz other group members got your back. A bit reminiscent of mob psychology, really.
@OP: I don't know how to help you. Either try your best to change/conform and maybe they'll stop *****ing...but eh, if your rep is that low, it's hard to change it. Or just don't show up anymore. Or push through it. Your options are limitless...the outcomes all seem rather bleak though, tbh.
Open your mind to the possibility that it may be you that's the problem.
This could be something to look into. I mean...even if you still think you're the victim...like, maybe be the better man and play it off like it's "your fault," hopefully you can get some rep back or something. It's hard though. If people are thick-skulled, then they're just thick-skulled.
Reprints the one card that people point to when saying that art objectifies women.
Well done Wizards.
Liliana does not objectify women in any way at all. We have gotten to a point in our society that every single picture of a women must be objectifying a women in some negative way......blah blah blah.. That is not the case. (((Sarcasm)))Picture of a girl drinking a milk shake, must be sex related and putting women down, picture of girl sitting on a beach, picture of a girl driving a car, picture of a girl on the moon at a new space station.)))
You have a picture of an attractive strong power women who girls dress up as for anime conventions. What more do you want? The picture is fine, happy to see a reprint. Sick of of seeing people claim that everything in existence must be putting women down. Then all I have to do is replace the word "women" with anything else to get the same mentality; fish, cats, arabs, blacks, jews, men, environment, whites, chinese, old people, etc. It doesn't matter what word I put in. Stop sucking life out of everything man. That artwork of her is awesome. Stop putting stuff down man. Just stop. If the picture was really as negative as you claim she would totally nude, in a kitchen, making sandwiches and giving blow jobs. Her abilities would be horrible as well. +1 do nothing -2 do nothing -6 do nothing. Instead liliana of the veil is an amazing planeswalker comparable to jace, the mind sculpter with great art to appreciate.
My suggestion listen to some comedy radio for a while, pandora is free, youtube is free there is something out there for you. ***** go make fun of somebody. The whole world is so serious and campaigning for some cause, or someones rights, everything is a hate crime, racist, sexist. blah blah blah.
"O no mcdonalds must be slandering a hate crime against skinny people every time they make a big mac." hahaha jeeze You're just someone perpetuating another groups negative perspective that they've made you believe is correct. Look at the picture for a hour and tell me what's wrong with it? I don't see anything.
I have heard vague rumors of a moustache-dispensing vending machine in a distant laundromat, across the street from a tattoo parlor. However, this information is shaky, and time is of the essence.
The blunt fact is here. The levels of your Vorthos Decks and their Spike decks are too far. Have you actually won with your Vorthos deck? (Don't count some wins due to manascrew/drought as victories, because variance does indeed exist in this game to that degree.)
Very few authentic wins (and yeah, I say this in agreement with your criteria).
If 90 out of 100 games between you and a particular player he always wins, its going to be boring for him (and probably you) for sure. What more when he sets up without opposition and then you concede. Every match is not a diverse game, but more of a repitition of the same thing. Like school or work. It kills the fun.
You should start out building a spike deck, then flavorise it. And you need to compromise when doing so.
I've already said this but I really like to rephrase it into an honest question.
How can I do that without feeling like I'm lying to myself? I would love to make a deck that's at least competitive enough to keep them off my back. However, that one comment in Facebook about me being a Spike-in-Denial really, really... ugh.
If I make a deck that's competitive and then flavorize it, how can I do it without proving that? How can I not make it feel like I'm just making an excuse?
Believe me, these are honest questions. Another reason why I put up this thread was also with the small hope that somebody can help me figure out a deck that is flavorful, competitive, and something I'd have some relative amount of pleasure using.
I built the deck with a melvin-mindset, but set Vorthos restrictions. When I play the deck, I pretend that I'm leading an army of legendaries to battle. It doesn't always pan out well flavorfully, but when it does, its an awesome sight. And it can fight with competitive decks to some degree (either that, or I haven't run into a true one.)
I've considered seeing it that way and if the WUBRG guy wasn't already using a similar concept, I'd have used your deck right off the bat.
Hmm... maybe I should propose another deck concept here that I got planned. It's a long shot but I'd rather have it critiqued here and now so I can quickly look for other deckbuilding options.
Open your mind to the possibility that it may be you that's the problem.
If I did, if I once again considered it as my fault, it wouldn't be different from what the LGS people have been telling me (and may I just add over half my life).
Oddly enough, what makes my co-workers and my college peeps different from them was that they weren't quick to label me as the person everybody hated.
If I did, if I once again considered it as my fault, it wouldn't be different from what the LGS people have been telling me (and may I just add over half my life).
What other people tell you and what you admit to yourself are two different things. It doesn't matter if people tell you that you're the problem, when you refuse to admit it.
Even if it weren't your fault, the solution lies completely in you. Don't expect for a group of people to change for your benefit. And don't tell me you don't want them to change their attitudes, because if you do I'll call you a liar to your face.
Stop whining for God's sake and do something about it. Either try to gain their acceptance, or stop going there if it makes you so unhappy.
If they keep on making disparaging remarks towards your preferred playstyle, NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO PLAY AGAINST THEM.
Oddly enough, what makes my co-workers and my college peeps different from them was that they weren't quick to label me as the person everybody hated.
Then play with your coworkers and college peeps.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
Stop whining for God's sake and do something about it. Either try to gain their acceptance, or stop going there if it makes you so unhappy.
Look, I've already said that I've been trying so hard, long before this thread to do the former and the latter is impossible because there's no other place to play. I've checked.
I wouldn't have blown up via making this thread if I didn't have enough of what I've been getting.
So, have you considered playing magic with these people in a different way? What about creating a custom set/cube, and then moderating drafts for everyone else to enjoy? You get to enjoy putting together your custom set/cube oozing with lots of flavor, and everyone else gets to happily ignore the fact that all the cards in your cube/set have flavor text that was said by the same cast of 15 characters.
I honestly have more fun using Magic Set Editor and watching everyone else enjoy the product of my work than actually playing the game. Maybe this type of creative endeavor would be more to your liking?
EDIT: Another solution, given that you've "graduated college and have a real job" would be for you to move to a larger city, where it is likely there will be a greater incidence of fellow Vorthoses (my personal interpretation of the plural for "Vorthos" :P)
EDIT: Another solution, given that you've "graduated college and have a real job" would be for you to move to a larger city, where it is likely there will be a greater incidence of fellow Vorthoses (my personal interpretation of the plural for "Vorthos" :P)
Moving out is a bit of a long shot. My current salary and position can't give me that luxury (not just yet anyway ^^; ).
So, have you considered playing magic with these people in a different way? What about creating a custom set/cube, and then moderating drafts for everyone else to enjoy? You get to enjoy putting together your custom set/cube oozing with lots of flavor, and everyone else gets to happily ignore the fact that all the cards in your cube/set have flavor text that was said by the same cast of 15 characters.
How does cube thing work? I've heard it of before but nobody in my area has ever tried it. I don't know if I can pull this off with my LGS but I am interested in doing it. All my siblings play this game now so if I get tired of my LGS, I could at least do it with them.
Besides, they're a group. And he's the lone wolf. It's easy to hate when you're in a group. Cuz other group members got your back. A bit reminiscent of mob psychology, really.
I think i should really emphasize how it's really just this group and this group alone that has problems with me. Plenty of other people I know don't do what they do. My college classmates didn't. My co-workers don't. Family friends don't.
I've been trying for a lot longer than some here think. This thread is just really the result of getting really fed up with it all. My options are running dry to the point that I fear that even desperate measures (a.k.a. flavorized Spike deck) are just gonna blow up in my face.
I really don't get all the bashing of the OP here. If the OP was really as arrogant and self-centered as some are claiming him to be, he wouldn't be asking strangers on the internet for advice, and he would certainly be out of control with rage after all the criticism he's received. I've seen forumgoers get madder over Avaycn Restored speculation than I see him getting over clear attacks on his character.
To the OP, if you're really doing everything you can to improve things on your end, and you're still getting this kind of backlash, the only real advice I have for you is to leave the situation for a while. The best way to heal relationships is with time. Give yourself a break and you should find everyone at least a little more receptive to you when you get back. If you're really being attacked simply for being who you are, while consciously trying to get along with those around you, then you're basically being bullied. Fortunately, this isn't a school, and you don't have to be there if you don't want to be. Which is good, because such a situation is only going to get worse if you stay in it now.
I would suggest you stop labeling yourself, though. Even if "Vorthos" exactly describes your interest in Magic, you sound like you might hold a little too tightly to that label. You are who you are. You're not a "Vorthos". No one is. Not really.
Magic players all come in different shapes, sizes and style. Being 65% spike myself, I love winning, but I also think of new tech and be ahead of the meta. I gmhave found other magic players are quick to criticize my choices because they haven't read about it in a scg article it it didn't make an appearance in a top 8.
My point is that everyone has an opinion, and there are some that are quick to point out how wrong something is without giving it a chance and it's not a vorthos or spike thing or whatever. So don't take it personally.
The people at your LGS show up to do one thing: play. When you fold to them constantly, they aren't playing. In their eye, they are wasting their time. What's the point in playing with someone who's going to scoop 'em up anytime they get going with their game plan? I get that you are bored facing the same things over and over...oh man, do I get it. But hey, you said yourself it's a small LGS with no other alternatives around; repetition is a given at that point.
Others, here and there (it seems) have labelled you a "sore loser", a title you deny on the grounds that you don't care about win or lose. Understandable. But perhaps the term isn't as baseless as it seems. You clearly do not like losing to something that you've seen before. It causes you to concede from any game where you feel like you don't have a chance, which seems like most all of them.
My point here is that you should only be conceding when death is on the stack. When the end is right there, staring you in face only a few phases away. A concession is premature when it's when your opponent sets up shop and you have no answer for it right away. Stick it out to the end, damnit. Maybe the answer is the next draw for you.
Vorthos:
I highly highly highly doubt the issue is that you're a Vorthos. By that I mean that I highly doubt these kids players all congregate and go "Oh, I think he's Vorthos! Yeah, let's get him!". I'm not denying that the peeps may in fact be ********s; humanity seems to be full of those types. But considering that even you yourself have hinted that they don't actually have any idea what Vorthos really means, I think this whole argument of yours (as stated in the OP and even in the title of the thread) is a bit flawed.
The issue is you and your relation to your group. It has nothing to do with being Vorthos. No offense (and I sincerely mean that), but that just reeks of trying shift the focus off of yourself and onto some perceived prejudice on behalf of the playgroup towards art nerds.
Self Respect:
To me, where this all begins and ends is that you just don't fit into the playgroup. It's unfortunate, and I do feel for you in that regard. These people do not sound like friends. So why are you linked to them on Facebook? Why do you care what they say or think? They've made clear that they are not going to be respectful or friendly towards you, so why are you still trying to? Yeah, I get that it's your only outlet to play Magic, but have a little more respect for yourself than to subject yourself to this kind of crap on a regular basis. Take a break from Magic. Pursue other endeavors.
Your brother sounds like an asshat, and I'd advise either finding some common ground with him from which to improve your relationship or just avoiding being in a situation in which you are surrounded by him and his friends. Didn't you say your other siblings play too? Play with them, then. Let him go hang with the douchebags. Have more respect for yourself than to put yourself through what sounds like hell for the sake of a damn card game.
I really don't get all the bashing of the OP here. If the OP was really as arrogant and self-centered as some are claiming him to be, he wouldn't be asking strangers on the internet for advice, and he would certainly be out of control with rage after all the criticism he's received.
The OP is asking for advice, but not acting on any advice. He's whining, not raging. These are incredibly negative behaviors and are indicative of his narcissistic belief that he's done nothing wrong and everyone else is entirely to blame.
This is despite the fact that he admits to poor behavior when playing with other folks that creates an un-fun experience, win or lose - acting out how "relieving" his wins are and conceding whenever he realizes his non-competitive deck isn't going to win (which it only does when the opponent is unable to interact due to mana flood/screw).
This isn't about being a 'Vorthos' this is about being a huge drama queen. This is about being a sore loser, a sore winner (dramatic enactments of how 'relieving' it is to crush someone manascrewed is the ultimate rub-ins douche manuever), and then whining when people say they don't want to play with you and refusing to be introspective in the slightest.
@aleerpsoftware: How old are you? Really? And what do you do for a living?
Your reactions to this whole situation (and this thread) don't sound like those of an adult (and I'm not even holding you up to the standard of "mature adult". I'm just saying it sounds like you're a kid and fibbing to us about the college and job). No offense intended, I'm sure others have noticed too. Are you being straight with us? Because "I'm can't stand my brother and I'm being bullied on facebook for being a Vorthos" sure doesn't sound like a 21 year old problem to me.
Ultimately it doesn't matter. You don't want any advice that involves changing anything about YOU. You just want advice that... I guess involves mind controlling the bad kids or making them disappear... or just validating that they're bad people. I dunno. You want us to go talk to those kids?
Seriously, what advice can we possibly give that addresses your situation other than what's already been offered and casually dismissed?
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Re: MTGO:
If you graduated college and have a job, even a low paying one (are living at home, no rent?) and play Magic at the LGS, you can easily afford to play MTGO.
Heck, if you like, I'm happy to just GIVE you few hundred of my commons and uncommons & junk rares to start you off. It costs nothing to download the program and register, and you can play games in the casual rooms for free. New boosters cost the same as real life. All you have to do is spend a little money to buy a few key rares for your EDH deck, and there's a thriving market for rares in the game system.
I'd be happy to start you off, and I'm sure there's plenty of people here who'd donate cards to get you started, right guys? Like we really don't need all 16 copes of every common merfolk, right?
My decks are all pretty Vorthos and flavor-oriented. I dominate with quite a few of them in my casual pool. There is no reason you can't both have a good deck and a flavorful one.
The reality here is that you probably aren't a very good deck builder. That's okay. Not every is, or ever will be. But you have to understand you are playing a game with a winner and a loser. That means people are going to be competitive. Trash talk is a part of that - but if it's approaching the point of bullying, you need to speak up for yourself, or leave. Sometimes it is just a matter of letting people know they are going to far - bullies aren't necessarily irredeemable monsters. I've got a friend in my playgroup who was going through a rough patch because he hadn't found a job outside of retail since he graduated college. He started to take our normal gameplay banter and smack talk personally, and felt like we were ganging up on him. He had to tell us what his issues were before we addressed them, though.
If that doesn't work, or they are too competitive for you, stop playing with them. It sounds like they are a group of jerks, and you seem a little oversensitive about what amounts to a card game. Switch to MTGO and play casual. If it's building decks you like, find a deck-builder website (there are many), and showcase your creations. There is a whole community built around that. In any case, I'm curious as to what your decks look like. Could you send me your decklists, at least of the deck or decks they smack talk the most? It may be as simple as finding better, but still flavorful, alternatives to some of your cards.
Benefit of the doubt aside, it does sound like you might be doing a few things to make playing Magic less fun for other people at your LGS, and I would listen to some of the more constructive things people here have said about that, and see what you can do to improve the situation on your end. Still, I can't imagine it being at a level where you're attacked for it even when you're not playing Magic, not unless either you're a big jerk, they're all big jerks, or something beyond Magic is the real source of the problem here.
My brother is involved. That much I can tell you and yes, he's done something like what you've described on more than one occasion outside of the game. His peers make up more than half of the LGS players. It was he who misinterpreted/distorted my dislike and my incapacity to deal with big combo decks as a sort of attack against them all. The truth is all I did was explain why I don't play the way they do, why I don't have this or that in my deck, why I didn't I cast this or that spell, and why I concede and lose often.
However, he's just part of the problem. There are indeed people in my LGS who have the Spike-mentality on the level that appreciation for Vorthos-style is scoffed and one in particular hit the lowest of the low when he implied I was a Spike-in-Denial. My brother isn't the only who has done distortion of my person.
Even my friend had a budget variation of a competitive deck back when he played often with me. Again, sometimes you just have to deal with.
I mean, heck, I'm not a Spike and I have to deal with Spikes on a regular basis. I end up playing their turfs for a while and when we "dial down" to EDH or multiplayer 60 cards, we end up playing on my turf for a while.
I mean, this is what I can see that works in a normal situation. Perhaps yours is beyond that now, by the way you've been describing things.
燃える時計秘密めく花の香り
www.pokemoncrossroads.com
You LGS is stuffed of competitive EDH players. There's no way you can change that, because its a majority VS... you.
The easiest solution is to move out of the LGS and find one with a Vorthos-mindset, or bring in a seperate Vorthos Mindset Group into your LGS, if the physical space is large enough. But that suggestion is more often than not a luxury since most people don't live near 2 or more LGS.
The blunt fact is here. The levels of your Vorthos Decks and their Spike decks are too far. Have you actually won with your Vorthos deck? (Don't count some wins due to manascrew/drought as victories, because variance does indeed exist in this game to that degree.)
If 90 out of 100 games between you and a particular player he always wins, its going to be boring for him (and probably you) for sure. What more when he sets up without opposition and then you concede. Every match is not a diverse game, but more of a repitition of the same thing. Like school or work. It kills the fun.
Spike is hardly flexible. There is no way of turning a Vorthos-deck competitive, as the replacement of cards often destroys the flavor. But the mind, the Vorthos is different. You should start out building a spike deck, then flavorise it. And you need to compromise when doing so.
Personally, I play an Animar deck chokeful of Legendary Creatures. It is no spike deck, I don't play most of the infinite combos Animar is so well-known for, except for Palinchron (because I need an endgame button just in case). But melvin-wise, its pretty elegant. Lots of ramp cards (fetches, primeval, oracle, azusa, lotus cobra), lots of card draw (mulldrfiter, primordial sage, reki, the history of kamigawa), bombs (Kozilek, Ulamog, Keiga), protection (Kira, great glass spinner), removal (Arashi and Jiwari), cards people love to hate (Jhoira, Niv-Mizzet).
I built the deck with a melvin-mindset, but set Vorthos restrictions. When I play the deck, I pretend that I'm leading an army of legendaries to battle. It doesn't always pan out well flavorfully, but when it does, its an awesome sight. And it can fight with competitive decks to some degree (either that, or I haven't run into a true one.)
i was actually just trying to sugarcoat it for you and be less harsh about the situations.
If you are a socially well adjusted adult human being who graduated college and got along well there, get along well with your "co-workers", how can we be having this conversation here with you whining about other players at a small town LGS bad mouthing you on Facebook? Most players at a local small town LGS are gonna be teenagers, maybe a few college age or grad students, some older guys... But it's gonna be a mix of people, most of whom are not all one clique. And your brother goes to the same shop? And bad mouths you to all the other kids... ER... Players.
And you bum money from some people at the store as "commission" for fan fiction? How much could somebody at the store possibly be paying you to write fan fiction, that it could matter to somebody who has a real job with co-workers.
Your original rant does not sound like a well adjusted adult human college grad with a job and co workers who like him.
I was sure it was a young teenager.
the universe where everybody in the LGS seems to be annoyed by the way you act when you win and when you lose.
YOUR deck, YOUR playstyle is supposed to be vorthos. You're the one who is breaking character.
sure that's why you quit
MTGO boosters cost exactly the same new. You supposedly have co-workers and a job. And unlike paper magic, you can put same cards into multiple different decks.
the point went over your head. My point is that he was sympathetic to you, going out of his way to be nice to you, and you're describing him pretty unkindly. Because he fails to live up to your Vorthos standards.
really? It's YOUR pretend people. You can pretend they play Magic if you like, too.
what thread are YOU reading?
First person on the thread, audiox, thought you were trolling and just mocked you getting a troll infraction.
Kelnon suggested you find middle ground, as did I, and you blew us off.
Catmurderer and mondu have pointed out its your problem...
Must I go on?
What percentage of people in this thread agree with your spin on this story?
maybe a few do.
But what is a grown man doing, whinging about his brother badmouthing him, and sweating what some kids from the Magic shop said about him on Facebook?
You say you are an adult who went to college and now has a job with co-workers.
Um, how about:
"Good luck with all of this. You keep on doing whatever you're doing. Obviously you're on the right track. You have brilliantly explained all the great reasons you have for doing all the things you do to annoy the jerks at the magic shop. Bummer they're all such *******s that have it in for Vorthos. You've done everything you could to fix the situation. I wish there was some kind of medal or certificate I could give you in recognition of all the patience you've had with these people. Sorry for suggesting that your personality might have anything to do with the fact that nobody at the LGS, including your brother, can stand you. It's fortunate that you were strong enough to ignore any of our suggestions, and recognized that your Vorthosity is simply a difficult path in life. It's a testament to your mental toughness that you're still standing after all the mean things some acquaintance wrote about you on facebook."
Is that what you were hoping to get?
I prefer being honest. Because I think honesty is more helpful to people in the long run.
Who is starting the games, and how are they being started? Is someone going around the shop saying "hey anyone want to play some EDH?"? Is there a group playing EDH and you're asking if you can join in? Is it a official / semi-official EDH league or night at the shop?
Knowing this might help understand why you are getting the type of treatment you are.
Are you looking for a pat on the back? A cookie? A hug? Like you said, this thread has unanimously decided that you seem to be the bigger problem here so I don't see why you continue to be so stubborn.
If this is any indication of how you deal with realistic criticism at your LGS, then I'm sure your fellow players there would not miss you at all.
The Saga of Arkay
@aleerpsoftware: and despite the fact that most of the posters in this thread are seeing the same problem
None of us hate or dislike you at all, despite our harsh words.
But its easy to become a bit shunned or even occasional target of jokes behind your back if you come to the same place every week with that kind of attitude, and have NO INSIGHT into how your behavior comes across to other people. If more than one person is annoyed enough (at your early scooping or your behavior after wins) to actually TELL you, then I would take that as a red flag.
"oh those Spikes just don't get how fabulously 'Vorthos' I am!"
Denial and rationalization like that don't make you a horrible person. Don't make you deserve to be badmouthed on Facebook. But denial and rationalization wont make your situation any better.
I get that some people have difficulty reading others, difficulty listening, picking up social cues: Sometimes that's sheltered upbringing, sometimes its just being undersocialized and inexperienced, and sometimes it's the brain actually lacking certain abilities (as in some forms of milder autism spectrum: not being able to read emotion or facial expression well, trouble empathizing, etc. ).
I don't know what your issue is, but TRYING HARDER to see other people's viewpoints can be helpful. Being EXTRA NICE can help too, since people give far more latitude and benefit of the doubt, to a person who returns that same latitude. If people criticize you, it always stings, for anybody, but you're so much better off if you consider it might be true, and try to adjust.
If somebody tells you "you're a sore loser", just step back, recognize why he said that, and tell yourself "I MAY HAVE BEEN a little bit of a sore loser before today... But from TOMORROW, I won't be."
But again, I don't dislike you and I doubt anyone criticizing you here dislikes you. Most of us think you're a creative, intelligent person whose problems with his LGS are due largely to his own attitude. If some of us snark at you or fight you here, that's just arguing with you as an equal. nothing personal.
I will put it like this: every story has two sides. Everyone reading this thread has only heard your side. So, under the vast majority of circumstances, everyone here should probably be sympathetic to your side of the story. However, we still are all basically saying that we see your attitude as the problem. If you choose to ignore EVERY OTHER PERSON and assume that you are right, your inability to fit in with a group of magic players is going to be the least of your problems in life.
You already assumed so much on my behavior that is completely BASELESS. For one thing, I do not act like this:
If this is the image you have of me, then your way off base. I don't act like this. This is exactly the sort of misinterpretation that's pissing me off.
I do not think Vorthos is better.
I just like playing that way.
I do not like being told to change my play style because I don't tell others either.
I concede because, as Stigma_Lasher over there has stated, I know the low win percentage of my decks.
The problem with the criticism I'm getting is that it's based on a false premise. How can I be a sore loser when I have no problems with losing?
Heck I even admitted that I'll try not to concede too often, but honestly, it's not like that ever helped me either.
Look, I know you guys are sincere but really, you guys are assuming SO MUCH about me just from this thread. Why not give that the benefit of the doubt too?
All right, just so I won't be as confused right now from what you said. Let's review what and everyone else thinks is wrong with me:
1. I'm a sore loser.
2. I have the attitude of #1.
3. Rinse and Repeat 1 and 2.
Is that right?
Honestly, I've been trying to do what you've doing for the many years I've known these guys, even before I started getting more active in this game (contrary to what some here have assumed). It's just really not working out that well on my end and honestly, the Facebook backstabbing was what really crossed the line. I've put a lot before I put up this thread. I've tried being nice.
However, I'm not a saint. Okay, what I just went through this past week with those guys has gone beyond what I can take.
I'm not asking for a pat in the back from anyone here. I was just hoping for advice that would help me deal with the attitude without giving the guys at my LGS more reason to boost their ego. So far, with all due respect to dcartist, I just think that assuming the blame on me is just a repeat of what my playgroup already does.
Open your mind to the possibility that it may be you that's the problem.
"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
People are surprisingly quite spiteful; sometimes if you're looked at as "that guy," maybe because of a past mistake/misunderstanding, you will be forever branded that way. And hated/trolled to hell and back. Why? Because it's easy to. Just as easy as it is to not notice or put time into hating a person, it's just as easy for people to not take the time to try and understand other people.
Take one of my friends. He's a huge rager. Or at least was. Used to always get mad at losing. Complaining about luck/has road rage/"I f***ing hate eating vegetables." Or some bs. Because of that, he's branded as "the rager." And well...the group tends to make it a point to troll the **** out of him whenever possible. Or snide remarks. Or what have you.
These days, he's a bit calmer (well, there's traces left, but he makes it a point to avoid it...mostly because it'll only justify the trolling/hating). Guess what? He's still the subject of complete and utter scrutiny. Sometimes to the point that maybe...it's overboard.
What I'm trying to say is, I wouldn't put it past people to be complete douches. Maybe the OP is actually telling it as it is. Besides, they're a group. And he's the lone wolf. It's easy to hate when you're in a group. Cuz other group members got your back. A bit reminiscent of mob psychology, really.
@OP: I don't know how to help you. Either try your best to change/conform and maybe they'll stop *****ing...but eh, if your rep is that low, it's hard to change it. Or just don't show up anymore. Or push through it. Your options are limitless...the outcomes all seem rather bleak though, tbh.
I guess...try something. Idk, I got nothing man.
This could be something to look into. I mean...even if you still think you're the victim...like, maybe be the better man and play it off like it's "your fault," hopefully you can get some rep back or something. It's hard though. If people are thick-skulled, then they're just thick-skulled.
I've already accepted this for quite a while. It's why I don't bother trying so hard to make my deck catch up.
Very few authentic wins (and yeah, I say this in agreement with your criteria).
Yep, that's pretty much how things go.
I've already said this but I really like to rephrase it into an honest question.
How can I do that without feeling like I'm lying to myself? I would love to make a deck that's at least competitive enough to keep them off my back. However, that one comment in Facebook about me being a Spike-in-Denial really, really... ugh.
If I make a deck that's competitive and then flavorize it, how can I do it without proving that? How can I not make it feel like I'm just making an excuse?
Believe me, these are honest questions. Another reason why I put up this thread was also with the small hope that somebody can help me figure out a deck that is flavorful, competitive, and something I'd have some relative amount of pleasure using.
I've considered seeing it that way and if the WUBRG guy wasn't already using a similar concept, I'd have used your deck right off the bat.
Hmm... maybe I should propose another deck concept here that I got planned. It's a long shot but I'd rather have it critiqued here and now so I can quickly look for other deckbuilding options.
If I did, if I once again considered it as my fault, it wouldn't be different from what the LGS people have been telling me (and may I just add over half my life).
Oddly enough, what makes my co-workers and my college peeps different from them was that they weren't quick to label me as the person everybody hated.
What other people tell you and what you admit to yourself are two different things. It doesn't matter if people tell you that you're the problem, when you refuse to admit it.
Even if it weren't your fault, the solution lies completely in you. Don't expect for a group of people to change for your benefit. And don't tell me you don't want them to change their attitudes, because if you do I'll call you a liar to your face.
Stop whining for God's sake and do something about it. Either try to gain their acceptance, or stop going there if it makes you so unhappy.
If they keep on making disparaging remarks towards your preferred playstyle, NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO PLAY AGAINST THEM.
Then play with your coworkers and college peeps.
"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
Look, I've already said that I've been trying so hard, long before this thread to do the former and the latter is impossible because there's no other place to play. I've checked.
I wouldn't have blown up via making this thread if I didn't have enough of what I've been getting.
They don't play this game. -.-
I honestly have more fun using Magic Set Editor and watching everyone else enjoy the product of my work than actually playing the game. Maybe this type of creative endeavor would be more to your liking?
EDIT: Another solution, given that you've "graduated college and have a real job" would be for you to move to a larger city, where it is likely there will be a greater incidence of fellow Vorthoses (my personal interpretation of the plural for "Vorthos" :P)
Moving out is a bit of a long shot. My current salary and position can't give me that luxury (not just yet anyway ^^; ).
How does cube thing work? I've heard it of before but nobody in my area has ever tried it. I don't know if I can pull this off with my LGS but I am interested in doing it. All my siblings play this game now so if I get tired of my LGS, I could at least do it with them.
I think i should really emphasize how it's really just this group and this group alone that has problems with me. Plenty of other people I know don't do what they do. My college classmates didn't. My co-workers don't. Family friends don't.
It's just these guys.
I've been trying for a lot longer than some here think. This thread is just really the result of getting really fed up with it all. My options are running dry to the point that I fear that even desperate measures (a.k.a. flavorized Spike deck) are just gonna blow up in my face.
To the OP, if you're really doing everything you can to improve things on your end, and you're still getting this kind of backlash, the only real advice I have for you is to leave the situation for a while. The best way to heal relationships is with time. Give yourself a break and you should find everyone at least a little more receptive to you when you get back. If you're really being attacked simply for being who you are, while consciously trying to get along with those around you, then you're basically being bullied. Fortunately, this isn't a school, and you don't have to be there if you don't want to be. Which is good, because such a situation is only going to get worse if you stay in it now.
I would suggest you stop labeling yourself, though. Even if "Vorthos" exactly describes your interest in Magic, you sound like you might hold a little too tightly to that label. You are who you are. You're not a "Vorthos". No one is. Not really.
My point is that everyone has an opinion, and there are some that are quick to point out how wrong something is without giving it a chance and it's not a vorthos or spike thing or whatever. So don't take it personally.
The people at your LGS show up to do one thing: play. When you fold to them constantly, they aren't playing. In their eye, they are wasting their time. What's the point in playing with someone who's going to scoop 'em up anytime they get going with their game plan? I get that you are bored facing the same things over and over...oh man, do I get it. But hey, you said yourself it's a small LGS with no other alternatives around; repetition is a given at that point.
Others, here and there (it seems) have labelled you a "sore loser", a title you deny on the grounds that you don't care about win or lose. Understandable. But perhaps the term isn't as baseless as it seems. You clearly do not like losing to something that you've seen before. It causes you to concede from any game where you feel like you don't have a chance, which seems like most all of them.
My point here is that you should only be conceding when death is on the stack. When the end is right there, staring you in face only a few phases away. A concession is premature when it's when your opponent sets up shop and you have no answer for it right away. Stick it out to the end, damnit. Maybe the answer is the next draw for you.
Vorthos:
I highly highly highly doubt the issue is that you're a Vorthos. By that I mean that I highly doubt these
kidsplayers all congregate and go "Oh, I think he's Vorthos! Yeah, let's get him!". I'm not denying that the peeps may in fact be ********s; humanity seems to be full of those types. But considering that even you yourself have hinted that they don't actually have any idea what Vorthos really means, I think this whole argument of yours (as stated in the OP and even in the title of the thread) is a bit flawed.The issue is you and your relation to your group. It has nothing to do with being Vorthos. No offense (and I sincerely mean that), but that just reeks of trying shift the focus off of yourself and onto some perceived prejudice on behalf of the playgroup towards art nerds.
Self Respect:
To me, where this all begins and ends is that you just don't fit into the playgroup. It's unfortunate, and I do feel for you in that regard. These people do not sound like friends. So why are you linked to them on Facebook? Why do you care what they say or think? They've made clear that they are not going to be respectful or friendly towards you, so why are you still trying to? Yeah, I get that it's your only outlet to play Magic, but have a little more respect for yourself than to subject yourself to this kind of crap on a regular basis. Take a break from Magic. Pursue other endeavors.
Your brother sounds like an asshat, and I'd advise either finding some common ground with him from which to improve your relationship or just avoiding being in a situation in which you are surrounded by him and his friends. Didn't you say your other siblings play too? Play with them, then. Let him go hang with the douchebags. Have more respect for yourself than to put yourself through what sounds like hell for the sake of a damn card game.
The OP is asking for advice, but not acting on any advice. He's whining, not raging. These are incredibly negative behaviors and are indicative of his narcissistic belief that he's done nothing wrong and everyone else is entirely to blame.
This is despite the fact that he admits to poor behavior when playing with other folks that creates an un-fun experience, win or lose - acting out how "relieving" his wins are and conceding whenever he realizes his non-competitive deck isn't going to win (which it only does when the opponent is unable to interact due to mana flood/screw).
This isn't about being a 'Vorthos' this is about being a huge drama queen. This is about being a sore loser, a sore winner (dramatic enactments of how 'relieving' it is to crush someone manascrewed is the ultimate rub-ins douche manuever), and then whining when people say they don't want to play with you and refusing to be introspective in the slightest.
Your reactions to this whole situation (and this thread) don't sound like those of an adult (and I'm not even holding you up to the standard of "mature adult". I'm just saying it sounds like you're a kid and fibbing to us about the college and job). No offense intended, I'm sure others have noticed too. Are you being straight with us? Because "I'm can't stand my brother and I'm being bullied on facebook for being a Vorthos" sure doesn't sound like a 21 year old problem to me.
Ultimately it doesn't matter. You don't want any advice that involves changing anything about YOU. You just want advice that... I guess involves mind controlling the bad kids or making them disappear... or just validating that they're bad people. I dunno. You want us to go talk to those kids?
Seriously, what advice can we possibly give that addresses your situation other than what's already been offered and casually dismissed?
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Re: MTGO:
If you graduated college and have a job, even a low paying one (are living at home, no rent?) and play Magic at the LGS, you can easily afford to play MTGO.
Heck, if you like, I'm happy to just GIVE you few hundred of my commons and uncommons & junk rares to start you off. It costs nothing to download the program and register, and you can play games in the casual rooms for free. New boosters cost the same as real life. All you have to do is spend a little money to buy a few key rares for your EDH deck, and there's a thriving market for rares in the game system.
I'd be happy to start you off, and I'm sure there's plenty of people here who'd donate cards to get you started, right guys? Like we really don't need all 16 copes of every common merfolk, right?
The reality here is that you probably aren't a very good deck builder. That's okay. Not every is, or ever will be. But you have to understand you are playing a game with a winner and a loser. That means people are going to be competitive. Trash talk is a part of that - but if it's approaching the point of bullying, you need to speak up for yourself, or leave. Sometimes it is just a matter of letting people know they are going to far - bullies aren't necessarily irredeemable monsters. I've got a friend in my playgroup who was going through a rough patch because he hadn't found a job outside of retail since he graduated college. He started to take our normal gameplay banter and smack talk personally, and felt like we were ganging up on him. He had to tell us what his issues were before we addressed them, though.
If that doesn't work, or they are too competitive for you, stop playing with them. It sounds like they are a group of jerks, and you seem a little oversensitive about what amounts to a card game. Switch to MTGO and play casual. If it's building decks you like, find a deck-builder website (there are many), and showcase your creations. There is a whole community built around that. In any case, I'm curious as to what your decks look like. Could you send me your decklists, at least of the deck or decks they smack talk the most? It may be as simple as finding better, but still flavorful, alternatives to some of your cards.
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