Start a Vorthos community, website, web group and find likeminded people to continue your enjoyment of the game. You may have to use the internet if your local area is dry of like minded individuals.
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?
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.
When I started playing FNMs I played birds (soulcatchers ft....w?). Slowly I kept getting better until I was one of the better players at my shop. I actually was 1 game from Top 8ing at my first regionals with a homebrewed Rakdos deck... Then I quit playing a couple years later.
Why did I quit? Because I basically won every single week... I was in a College town so a lot of the players left when they would graduate. I grew into one of the older guys with all the cards and could make the better decks, had more experience in drafts etc etc. Dont get me wrong there were a few people around the same level as me and it was a pretty good play group but none of us had won and PTQs or anything like that. Because of that I stopped learning... I noticed I wasnt getting any better. I was always on the cusp of top 8ing. Winning side events... nothing spectacular.... Basically I got bored. That and being in a college town I learned of funner things to do with a lot better m to f ratio...
The main reason I quit though was the normal week to week challenge was gone. I am sure that is what those "spikes" feel when they play you... it's a known outcome. In fact they are probably pissed when you do beat them because you arnt supposed to... it's like a college football team beating an NFL team... it just shouldnt happen. Now if you played a deck closer to the same level it would be a lot less of an issue... I was a hardcore competitive person but if I lost to a decent deck I didnt care nearly as much as loosing to junk because of mana screw or something similar.
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.
The thing you're not getting here is that it's gone too far. Okay? The Facebook thing was the last straw. I'm telling you that' it's not because of this one incident. I'm just practically fed up. My patience has run out. I have tried the whole 'blame yourself and change it' advice you've already given me and it's not working. Why do you think I'm so irritated? There's only so much blame I can shift on myself and bend my back adjusting to people.
Seriously, what advice can we possibly give that addresses your situation other than what's already been offered and casually dismissed?
Have you been paying attention? Even you said I could try a Spike deck then flavorize it and I did not dismiss that. I've been looking to try it. However, I just need advice on how to not feel like I'm lying to myself, playing a deck just for the sake of something competitive. If possible, I was even hoping that someone could give me an idea on how turn my upcoming Intet deck into something that'll give them a challenge.
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.
It's not really the money as it is about paying stuff online. I can't do it. The system is not well protected where I am. The last time I paid money over the internet, a glitch skewered my transaction.
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.
I think posted all of the ones on my MTGS blog. Oh and thanks for asking, cuz again, I was hoping that somebody could throw in some deck-building advice for me to think about.
Start a Vorthos community, website, web group and find likeminded people to continue your enjoyment of the game. You may have to use the internet if your local area is dry of like minded individuals.
Do you know any active online community outside these forums? I've already joined a clan so I have to look outside.
P.S.
As to some of the recent responses, thanks. The truth is with the truly limited M:TG resources and areas in my town, you can only expect a very small community. Hence, it just so happens to be my bad luck that those who play gradually start developing into the competitive mentality. You've also helped me admit the fact that no matter how I accept the way they play, my mindset really makes it hard for me to give these guys the challenge they crave. It's either I find a way to make a flavorful but strong deck or hang around some place online.
Now to those of you who think me narcissistic, please stop assuming. Really. I've had people in my real life tell me the complete opposite. My best friend in college often wonders why I let people diss me without care. Some even worry about how apathetic I am now to insults and overall bullying. Let it be known I've already had over 50% of my life getting that treatment. If anything, I've been diagnosed with the self-esteem of a zombie because of that. Last time I checked, that's the complete opposite of a narcissist. What you think you read that seems to indicate one is in fact me, whose patience has run thin. Narcs make drama for themselves from the get-go. It takes a lot for me to put a thread like this and guess what? That lot had happened.
Well, on the whole making a spike deck then making it flavorful thing- I've done this many a time. My current EDH deck is like that, supposed to tell the story of Braids as she explores Dominaria after coming out of a rift. I think it's pretty interesting, actually.
As for Intet...well, he likes big fatties that you couldn't normally cast easily, and any R/U/G likes cards like Hive Mind, New Frontiers, Manacharged Dragon, etc.
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Aleerp , I understand wherew you are coming from. It seems like you have a few options:
1) Continue playing your style. They will not change their style of playing just as you won't become an all out Spike player.
2) Quit the game. Give in to them and give up something you enjoy.
3) Compromise. Make a story about a mad scientist who is hell bent on taking over the world and the other mages are trying to stop him. What tools would he have? Or how about a ruthless warrior/gladiator who wants to take down opponents? Or a monk who wants to keep peace between the war torn lands? Or a druid whose lands are being trespassed on from a war he is trying to stay out of and must defend himself and his land? With these type of things you are playing their type of game with your own artistic freedom.
"I like playing a certain way, and unwilling to adjust to different norms and values of others." "I also like to "rage quit."
Frankly, if you're that into storylines build a new format that's got competitive elements and Vorthos friendly by perhaps taking elements from other formats like Cube. Then place in a scoreboard element that introduces roleplaying elements or something. Because it seems to me you're trying to squeeze a rushing river through a tube of tooth paste.
1. Each of you have different outcomes and expectations
2. You're not as tolerant
3. If you don't like how the games go, then socially engineer something to promote the qualities you desire and make it fun for other persons
Otherwise, amp up your decks and take on some qualities for other peoples. I enjoy some elements, I've tossed in cards that "I just really wanted to try out once or twice" and threw them into competitive decks. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. But hilarious when they work out.
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Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.
Individualities may form communities, but it is institutions alone that can create a nation.
Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.
Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.
I'm over twenty-two and write content for a marketing company. How that is relevant to you is beyond me
No offense, but the reason I asked is that you just dont sound 21. You seem way too socially awkward to be 21z
Based on the totality of your posts in this thread, I thought you were a teenager, and living at home, while your brother is "backstabbing" you at the LGS. Especially given that you tell us you write for a living, we can take the content you express to be exactly as you intended it.
You complain about ALL the "Spikes and Melvins" as "Narcs", in a way that indicates that you perceive them as some kind of peers. Given that (1) every small town LGS MtG group I've ever heard of has a significant number of teenagers playing at it and (2) the "bullying behavior" you complain about on Facebook sounds like teens too... It means you're telling is that a 21 year old college graduate man with a job who is getting extremely upset over the disrespect he's getting from high school kids.
The thing you're not getting here is that it's gone too far. Okay? The Facebook thing was the last straw. I'm telling you that' it's not because of this one incident. I'm just practically fed up. My patience has run out. I have tried the whole 'blame yourself and change it' advice you've already given me and it's not working. Why do you think I'm so irritated? There's only so much blame I can shift on myself and bend my back adjusting to people.
My " '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." comment stands.
It doesn't sound like something a socially competent, independent adult to me. It's the kind of description I expect to hear from somebody mid-teens who lives at home, has little experience dealing with adults in society, not somebody 22, graduated college, has a job.
For goodness sake man, you're sweating the opinion of a bunch of high school kids and a few adults who are (by your own description) too stupid or too "narcissistic" for you to be able to talk to them man-to-man and say "Obviously we got off on the wrong foot here. I'd like it if we could get along." an adult person who feels that way about a play group (especially one with teens in it) would have the self respect to either stand up to them or the dignity to just stop dealing with such people, WITHOUT having this conversation.
Some even worry about how apathetic I am now to insults and overall bullying. Let it be known I've already had over 50% of my life getting that treatment. If anything, I've been diagnosed with the self-esteem of a zombie because of that.
Are you in counseling? You mentioned specifically being "diagnosed" with low self esteem. If you've spent over half your life being an "insult and bully" magnet from somebody, maybe you need to listen to our advice more carefully.
I'm not saying that bullying and being insulted are your fault, or that you have any of it coming, but ultimately the only behavior you can control is your own, not theirs. There is no doubt in my mind that you are misreading a lot of behavior, and you are not a great judge of how your own behaviors are perceived. What you describe in yourself is perceived by most of us here as socially awkward.
No amount of protests on your part (claims that you got along great with co-workers and college friends) is going to convince us that you're not an annoying winner & sore loser (among other things). Just take the example of people being annoyed at how you act when you win, and how you quit early when you lose.
People who play with you find it annoying. People here in the thread find it annoying. Regardless of whether you think you have some rock solid justification in your own mind for why you behave this way... why not stop doing it?
Why not stop just stop annoying people? Quit making excuses, quit rationalizing that all the teens and adults at the LGS are "narcissistic jerks". Recognize that YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO LEARN ABOUT US HUMANS.
Dealing with social situations is a SKILL, a skill you still have time to improve on, but you'll only learn something if you stop blaming other people.
That may come off harsh, but seriously, your close friends should have talked to you about this already instead of humoring you.
For goodness sake man, you're sweating the opinion of a bunch of high school kids and a few adults who are (by your own description) too stupid or too "narcissistic" for you to be able to talk to them man-to-man and say "Obviously we got off on the wrong foot here. I'd like it if we could get along." an adult person who feels that way about a play group (especially one with teens in it) would have the self respect to either stand up to them or the dignity to just stop dealing with such people, WITHOUT having this conversation.
What? I don't have a right to rant every now and then because I've had it? Why do you keep missing the part about me getting weary of having to follow advice like yours?
At the very least, cut me some slack. I've been dealing with these people long before I started playing. I have tried everything that involves changing myself or doing something about myself instead of trying to change others. However, stop sounding like it's the perfect solution to problems like this. You're really not reading the part about me getting tired of it all.
This point still stands: If this were the first I've had this kind of treatment, I wouldn't be putting this up.
No amount of protests on your part (claims that you got along great with co-workers and college friends) is going to convince us that you're not an annoying winner & sore loser (among other things). Just take the example of people being annoyed at how you act when you win, and how you quit early when you lose.
People who play with you find it annoying. People here in the thread find it annoying. Regardless of whether you think you have some rock solid justification in your own mind for why you behave this way... why not stop doing it?
You know, you're just repeating what other people here have been saying. I've already stated pages prior, that I'll try to concede less and even go so far as to build a better deck. The difference between them and you is that you're not only repeating it, you're being needlessly blunt.
What you call 'justifying', 'dismissing' or whatever, you're beginning to confuse with me asking honest questions like how can I flavorize a deck without lying to myself or how long do I have to let my opponents play the game by themselves before conceding.
Captioned pictures? While telling someone else they don't sound mature? No offense, but are we even being serious here?
Aleerp, if I were you I wouldn't even bother responding anymore to people who have never met you, and yet assume they know everything about you and your LGS. It's one thing to be skeptical of someone's story, or to offer constructive criticism to someone when asked, but quite another to attack someone on a very deep and personal level even to the point of basically labeling them as dysfunctional while only working with half information.
I agree with the sports analogies, but I also believe you could easily become a little more competitive without compromising who you are. That's why I suggested not labeling yourself so much. It's binding thoughts like "I'm just a Vorthos" that make you feel like you're compromising yourself when you venture even slightly out of the box that such a label inevitably creates. You are who you are. If you want to be more competitive, be more competitive. What's stopping you? It's not like being competitive is wrong or harmful in some way. You can always go back if you don't like it. There's no rule that says simply because you care about flavor and lore that you can't also kick people's face in a game of Magic with a deck inspired by your favorite flavor and lore.
Still, you must be prepared for the very real possibility that even if you woke up tomorrow and were exactly like the other people at your LGS, they still might not accept you. It's hard to change other people's opinions, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. If these people are really abusive to the point of making you this upset, they might not like you even if you changed absolutely everything about yourself. That's why simply telling you to conform here has no merit. If things are really this bad, I still think it would be a good idea to simply leave the situation, at least for a little while. Even a few weeks away from this might give you the clearer head and fresh perspective you need to figure out the solution that works best for you in this matter.
What you call 'justifying', 'dismissing' or whatever, you're beginning to confuse with me asking honest questions like how can I flavorize a deck without lying to myself or how long do I have to let my opponents play the game by themselves before conceding.
To answer your second question: As long as you are getting turns and aren't locked. Nobody will complain if you concede in light of someones infinite combo, or when you are hard locked (and usually not when you are soft locked) out of the game.
"Hey man, you've got me this time. Do you mind if I concede?"
People will usually see this as very respectful. You're telling them they've done a good job and beaten you, and asking them if they would like you to continue. Sometimes, when they have a combo, they'll respond with:
"Well, alright, but do you mind if I just play out what I was doing really quick?"
And you should say yes every time.
Though you may thing it's appropriate to very much show your relief or exasperation sometimes, some people take it as rude, offensive, even sarcastic. It's a bit awkward for everyone at that point.
On the flavorful->competitive discussion: Renenberm the flavor of the game is that YOU are a planeswalker, and are doing this batle with other planeswalkers, or another planeswalker in a duel. So, if you could see yourself as any color combination...what would it be? find that, build a deck with it. You say R/U/G? That's not entirely unviable in standard. Is it something else? Cool, find it, and let the spikes KNOW that you want to get more competitive.
dcartist, I'm 21 years old, live at home, and think I would take offense to people attacking me on facebook. I guess you just don't have emotions when you hit 21, or at least aren't supposed to? I'll be 21 in 16 days. I guess I really need t ogrow up fast, because I still feel things when people insult me too much over a long period of time.
The OP may seem like he's whining sometimes in the thread, but maybe NOT personally attacking him would be a good ideA?
What do you people want, for him to just say "I'm an *******, and everyone else is fine, and bullying never happens, and if you get bullied it must be your fault."
Seriously, has everyone here just never been bullied? You forget, you play Magic, you're a nerd. Some of us have grown up and gotten stronger, which is cool, but some people are still getting bullied, and you're acting like it must be their fault. Way to g ofolks, bully wins again...
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dcartist, I'm 21 years old, live at home, and think I would take offense to people attacking me on facebook. I guess you just don't have emotions when you hit 21, or at least aren't supposed to? I'll be 21 in 16 days. I guess I really need t ogrow up fast, because I still feel things when people insult me too much over a long period of time.
please read the entire thread and the comments of the OP in their totality, including his responses to suggestions and frank criticism, defending his actions during losses, and in particular, the eyeroll-inducing protests that he doesnt care about winning and how a win results in collapsing on the table in relief (and then the even more eyeroll inducing insistence that he meant relief at the game finally ending). That is not the level of basic insight I anticipate from a 21 year old. It takes no special sixth sense to recognize what playing with Aleerpsoftware must be like for his fellow LGS people. I honestly thought the OP was a teenager and so I asked.
More than 1 person besides myself thought initially that the thread itself was troll bait. I held off on being too blunt, but any time the obvious (and yes, its painfully obvious) was presented, we just got denial that any of this is the OP's fault. We got this rationalization that an entire LGS group has it in for aleerpsoftware simply because of his Vorthosity.
The OP may seem like he's whining sometimes in the thread, but maybe NOT personally attacking him would be a good ideA?
its honest, blunt critique of the situation, based on judgments made from the OP's responses in this thread. It's not meant to be cruel. Ive tried not to be gratuitous in any negative portrayal of any issues (but i refuse to compromising accuracy).
What do you people want, for him to just say "I'm an *******, and everyone else is fine, and bullying never happens, and if you get bullied it must be your fault."
i certainly didn't say that. But How about recognizing that certain actions will NOT be positively perceived by ANYBODY. Even AFTER people pointed out the common sense reasons others would not like his behavior after wins, and not like his quitting early, he simply ignored that. Based on that set of exchanges alone, I have to question the rest of the OP's perceptions of the situation and basic social competence.
I don't say this out of a desire to be cruel.
But if almost everybody in your LGS in your town hates your guts, and people are trashing you on Facebook to the point where you feel you're being bullied, then come on!!! Then the problem isn't the quality of your decks. And if you're an adult, you should be able to recognize this point without people in an MTG thread dragging you by the nose to it.
Seriously, has everyone here just never been bullied? You forget, you play Magic, you're a nerd. Some of us have grown up and gotten stronger, which is cool, but some people are still getting bullied, and you're acting like it must be their fault. Way to g ofolks, bully wins again...
OP's first post drew comments from multiple posters suggesting he was largely at fault in the first two pages. Why? Because people just have it in for him?
Nothing the OP explicitly described sounds like bullying. Certainly obody is beating him up. Nobody in that LGS is in position to "bully" a 21 year old adult. Some may not like him very much, and somebody may mock him on Facebook, but they have no power over him.
I'm giving honest advice and insight, and he already ignored it when I sugar coated it the first few posts.
Even my last post is actually a sugar-coated, restrained version of what I really think of the situation.
Nobody is asking aleerpsoftware to say "I'm an *******, and everyone else is fine, and bullying never happens, and if you get bullied it must be your fault."
He is NOT an "*******". The other people are not ALL "fine". And people do get bullied. It's not ALL his fault either.
But please read the entire thread and please be honest with yourself. He is a pariah & gettig attacked on favebook because his LGS is not "Vorthos-friendly enough"??? And he's lookin for ways to conform without sacrificing his Vorthos principles too much? And he can't play MTGO because of some vague reason that Makes little sense?
This is not how typical 21 year olds think or act. Doesn't make him an *******. But it means he seriously lacks certain basic insights.
No one said Aleerp's a saint. But to tell him he's dysfunctional and that his friends are hiding this fact from him as if you actually have any clue about that from an argument over the Internet is absurd.
But just for argument's sake, let's say you're right, and Aleerp has serious issues with ego, immaturity, and sportsmanship. Would such a person ever actually listen to harsh, critical advice from random strangers on an Internet forum? No. So you're wasting your time even responding to such a person.
Now let's say you're wrong, and Aleerp was simply venting in his OP, and, then, out of shock from the initial responses he got, has frustratingly spent the rest of this thread trying to defend himself from attack. Now you have someone who might actually listen to harsh, critical advice, but the advice he's getting is insulting and wrong.
Either way, responding so critically to Aleerp yields no positive result, so what is the point of it? It surely can't be likened to anything resembling advice.
So you hate your LGS and you can't play on MODO for some reason...why are you still playing this game? It seems like it's far too much trouble at this point, especially if you already have D&D as another hobby that seems to better suit your personality.
Dcartist (Not quoting your post just because I don't feel I could do it justice with quotes (= )
I feel like you didn't read the first part of MY post, either I did note that his way of showing how he feels can be annoying (seriously, putting your head down in relief? Comes off kinda jerk-like man. No matter how you do that, it looks bad) I just also think people are being kinda bullies. I will say, that you make some good points.
Aleerp, stop being so defensive. People would see that you were taking their advice, if every time you did it wasn't in a post that started with you telling someone they don't understand your plight. Try just...ignoring those kinds of things, and responding to the parts that matter
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Well sorry to aleerpsoftware if I hurt his feelings. I don't mean to say he's a bad person in any way.
I am perceiving this thread as Aleerpsoftware asking this:
"I keep losing is this 'game called get along with the LGS' I believe it's because everybody there hates Vorthos (and therefore me) and therefore dont give Vorthos a fair chance and unfairly gang up on me, to the point that some are bullying me on Facebook. How can I tweak my Vorthos thing so that I can do better at this 'game called get along with the LGS' without sacrificing Vorthos, which is an integral part of who I am? Btw, i am 100% positive that the reason I come always come DEAD LAST in the 'game called get along with the LGS' has NOTHING to do with my actual SKILLs at getting along with people. The LGS is a bunch of Narcissistic jerks who are not worth getting along with, my brother is a jerk, and I've spent 50% of my life dealing with crap like this. I am sure that I have excellent skills at getting along with people because I didn't have major conflicts with a few people at college, and no major conflicts with my online coworkers. So just to be clear, since some of you have suggested changing an approach that is not working, i have to EMPHASIZE how utterly wrong you are about my SKILLS and TACTICS for getting along with these people. I dont believe i should have to modify my behavior when i lose or when i win, because if it bothers the LGS, that is their problem... Obviously I have tried everything i can with these these people and it impossible for me to get along with the LGS... But maybe if you could help me modify my Vorthos decks a little, I can turn this all around."
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The 'game called get along with the LGS' is a game with strategy just like MtG is. You lose life points when you annoy people. Even if you personally can't see the REASON your quitting too early in games bothers people, how hard is it to stop the hemorrhage of life points by listening to people when they tell you something annoys them?
Your current abilities In the 'game called get along with people in general' may truly be pretty decent, and not as bad as I perceive it. Maybe you're good at 'game called get along with people in general' but not good at 'game called get along with the LGS'.
Or the reason you're losing the 'game called get along with the LGS' may simply be that the 'game called get along with the LGS' may indeed just be a particularly difficult version of getting along with people.
Maybe it's simply impossible for anybody to win at the 'game called get along with the LGS' while remaining Vorthos.
But the way I perceive things based on the postings here, there are at least a FEW glaring weaknesses in your skillset in 'game called get along with people in general', which are affecting your ability to win at 'game called get along with the LGS'.
I have definitely overemphasized my opinion that the average 21 year old with college and a job under his belt should have most of those basic skills (partly based on my initial failure to believe you're over 21) . I apologize for that. In my desire to really shake you loose from what i perceive to be stubborn refusal to acknowledge obvious truths, i've kind of hammered home the emphasis on your part in this, which may have given you the impression that I think you deserve this mistreatment. (though I did explicitly write that you didn't deserve to be treated like that, and I will re-emphasize that you don't deserve Ro be treated like that). Obviously fault lies with some people in LGS as well. But you don't get to change their opinions except through modifying your own behavior. Getting along with even "narcissistic" people is a SKILL. You have a good mind obviously so you are capable of gaining new SKILLS if you're actually OPEN to the idea that maybe you need to "UP YOUr GAME".
But you clearly have no other avenue to play MtG, your only option to play MtG is The LGS (your reasons for being unable to use MTGOs secure server sound vague and don't make sense to me, but bottom line is you won't play mTGO) and you therefore desperately want to win 'game called get along with the LGS'.
This game is clearly very difficult, but telling us over & over again how they are terribly difficult and narcissistic and you are already doing everything you can, sounds more like somebody who just wants to complain and get a hug. It doesn't sound like somebody who wants to win.
But the first step to getting better at any game is recognizing that maybe you're not as good as you think you are at it.
^ There are some good points. It needs to be about "How can I get better at this?" other than "THESE GUYS ARE BAD!" It doesn't matter at this point in the thread, what matters now is getting better
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I'm going to defend OP here, he's definitely not a troll, he's spending excessive effort defending himself from some of our more... aggressive posts, and he's doing it well (at least he didn't burst into RAGE or something along those lines.)
And now, to turn the sword 180 degrees...
To OP, let me sum up the whole thing. Long story short:
1) You're a Vorthos, but your LGS' players are Spike.
2) Your decks have a terrible win-ratio (you admitted it, so being blunt here)
3) You concede often halway through a match (but reducing it now)
4) Your LGS players are... jerks for making fun of you everywhere.
And then, when I come up with recommendations, I got
A) I'm trying to concede less and go as far as building a better deck
B) Some other guy is using an idea similar to yours, so I can't.
C) How do I flavorise a deck without lying to myself.
And here are my responses, I'm not going to soften my words this time:
A) You don't "try". You just do it. Oh, I'm not referring to conceding, I'm referring to building better decks. Because your win-ratio is atrocious, you need to improve it. I've pointed out its this horrendous win-ratio that's actually driving both you and your opponents bored and nuts.
So basically, if you don't improve on your decks / build better ones, the situation is never going to be solved, and you will be venting for the rest of the thread.
B) Well, I did recommend my deck, and your reasoning is pretty valid, but you didn't have to stop there. Deckbuilding is all about creativity. Research on good cards and act on them with your creativity. Deckbuilding is a skillful process, even more so when flavorising it.
Actually, you should send your deck to the EDH forums, you'll get more help there. Then post a link here.
C) That's a outdated thought. Flavorising a deck is not lying to yourself. You seem to have a one-definition concept on flavor. Flavor does not work like that. Flavor adapts itself to the environment and enhances it, makes otherwise cardboard movement into... something else.
You need to recognise that, and act on it.
That "Lying to myself" part makes me begin to doubt that your a true Vorthos. Vorthos is about creativity, imagination when it comes to deckbuilding. There are no lies, there is only unimagined beauty to be created and built around the decks. That's why I said start with a Spike deck, then flavorise it, not the other way round.
I have a serious question for the OP. Several times you've mentioned "playing my way" with respect to being a Vorthos. I'm curious as to what this actually looks like. So far we've established that to you being a Vorthos means building your deck in a flavorful way. So far so good. Is there anymore to your Vorthos play style? Do you tell a story as you play through a game? Do you make plays that a spike would consider "strategically subobtimal" if they would better fit the game's storyline? Or do you build your deck with flavor, but generally just think about the game mechanically while you play? I'm just curious, because I'm not familiar with this type of thing.
aleerpsoftware here's the thing if you let people bully you they will, you got to stand up for yourself boss it's the only way they'll stop. I got bullied too so I can relate. Put your intent list up so we can help you make a spikeish deck while kepping it Voroths.
You seem like a cool guy who needs to work on his people skills and there's nothing wrong with that. It's a hard skill to learn.
I'm just being blunt here so it nothing personal. Take a break for a while it might do you some good.
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When I started playing FNMs I played birds (soulcatchers ft....w?). Slowly I kept getting better until I was one of the better players at my shop. I actually was 1 game from Top 8ing at my first regionals with a homebrewed Rakdos deck... Then I quit playing a couple years later.
Why did I quit? Because I basically won every single week... I was in a College town so a lot of the players left when they would graduate. I grew into one of the older guys with all the cards and could make the better decks, had more experience in drafts etc etc. Dont get me wrong there were a few people around the same level as me and it was a pretty good play group but none of us had won and PTQs or anything like that. Because of that I stopped learning... I noticed I wasnt getting any better. I was always on the cusp of top 8ing. Winning side events... nothing spectacular.... Basically I got bored. That and being in a college town I learned of funner things to do with a lot better m to f ratio...
The main reason I quit though was the normal week to week challenge was gone. I am sure that is what those "spikes" feel when they play you... it's a known outcome. In fact they are probably pissed when you do beat them because you arnt supposed to... it's like a college football team beating an NFL team... it just shouldnt happen. Now if you played a deck closer to the same level it would be a lot less of an issue... I was a hardcore competitive person but if I lost to a decent deck I didnt care nearly as much as loosing to junk because of mana screw or something similar.
I'm over twenty-two and write content for a marketing company. How that is relevant to you is beyond me.
The thing you're not getting here is that it's gone too far. Okay? The Facebook thing was the last straw. I'm telling you that' it's not because of this one incident. I'm just practically fed up. My patience has run out. I have tried the whole 'blame yourself and change it' advice you've already given me and it's not working. Why do you think I'm so irritated? There's only so much blame I can shift on myself and bend my back adjusting to people.
Have you been paying attention? Even you said I could try a Spike deck then flavorize it and I did not dismiss that. I've been looking to try it. However, I just need advice on how to not feel like I'm lying to myself, playing a deck just for the sake of something competitive. If possible, I was even hoping that someone could give me an idea on how turn my upcoming Intet deck into something that'll give them a challenge.
It's not really the money as it is about paying stuff online. I can't do it. The system is not well protected where I am. The last time I paid money over the internet, a glitch skewered my transaction.
I think posted all of the ones on my MTGS blog. Oh and thanks for asking, cuz again, I was hoping that somebody could throw in some deck-building advice for me to think about.
Do you know any active online community outside these forums? I've already joined a clan so I have to look outside.
P.S.
As to some of the recent responses, thanks. The truth is with the truly limited M:TG resources and areas in my town, you can only expect a very small community. Hence, it just so happens to be my bad luck that those who play gradually start developing into the competitive mentality. You've also helped me admit the fact that no matter how I accept the way they play, my mindset really makes it hard for me to give these guys the challenge they crave. It's either I find a way to make a flavorful but strong deck or hang around some place online.
Now to those of you who think me narcissistic, please stop assuming. Really. I've had people in my real life tell me the complete opposite. My best friend in college often wonders why I let people diss me without care. Some even worry about how apathetic I am now to insults and overall bullying. Let it be known I've already had over 50% of my life getting that treatment. If anything, I've been diagnosed with the self-esteem of a zombie because of that. Last time I checked, that's the complete opposite of a narcissist. What you think you read that seems to indicate one is in fact me, whose patience has run thin. Narcs make drama for themselves from the get-go. It takes a lot for me to put a thread like this and guess what? That lot had happened.
As for Intet...well, he likes big fatties that you couldn't normally cast easily, and any R/U/G likes cards like Hive Mind, New Frontiers, Manacharged Dragon, etc.
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1) Continue playing your style. They will not change their style of playing just as you won't become an all out Spike player.
2) Quit the game. Give in to them and give up something you enjoy.
3) Compromise. Make a story about a mad scientist who is hell bent on taking over the world and the other mages are trying to stop him. What tools would he have? Or how about a ruthless warrior/gladiator who wants to take down opponents? Or a monk who wants to keep peace between the war torn lands? Or a druid whose lands are being trespassed on from a war he is trying to stay out of and must defend himself and his land? With these type of things you are playing their type of game with your own artistic freedom.
Frankly, if you're that into storylines build a new format that's got competitive elements and Vorthos friendly by perhaps taking elements from other formats like Cube. Then place in a scoreboard element that introduces roleplaying elements or something. Because it seems to me you're trying to squeeze a rushing river through a tube of tooth paste.
1. Each of you have different outcomes and expectations
2. You're not as tolerant
3. If you don't like how the games go, then socially engineer something to promote the qualities you desire and make it fun for other persons
Otherwise, amp up your decks and take on some qualities for other peoples. I enjoy some elements, I've tossed in cards that "I just really wanted to try out once or twice" and threw them into competitive decks. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. But hilarious when they work out.
Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.
Individualities may form communities, but it is institutions alone that can create a nation.
Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.
Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.
Based on the totality of your posts in this thread, I thought you were a teenager, and living at home, while your brother is "backstabbing" you at the LGS. Especially given that you tell us you write for a living, we can take the content you express to be exactly as you intended it.
You complain about ALL the "Spikes and Melvins" as "Narcs", in a way that indicates that you perceive them as some kind of peers. Given that (1) every small town LGS MtG group I've ever heard of has a significant number of teenagers playing at it and (2) the "bullying behavior" you complain about on Facebook sounds like teens too... It means you're telling is that a 21 year old college graduate man with a job who is getting extremely upset over the disrespect he's getting from high school kids.
My " '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." comment stands.
It doesn't sound like something a socially competent, independent adult to me. It's the kind of description I expect to hear from somebody mid-teens who lives at home, has little experience dealing with adults in society, not somebody 22, graduated college, has a job.
For goodness sake man, you're sweating the opinion of a bunch of high school kids and a few adults who are (by your own description) too stupid or too "narcissistic" for you to be able to talk to them man-to-man and say "Obviously we got off on the wrong foot here. I'd like it if we could get along." an adult person who feels that way about a play group (especially one with teens in it) would have the self respect to either stand up to them or the dignity to just stop dealing with such people, WITHOUT having this conversation.
Are you in counseling? You mentioned specifically being "diagnosed" with low self esteem. If you've spent over half your life being an "insult and bully" magnet from somebody, maybe you need to listen to our advice more carefully.
I'm not saying that bullying and being insulted are your fault, or that you have any of it coming, but ultimately the only behavior you can control is your own, not theirs. There is no doubt in my mind that you are misreading a lot of behavior, and you are not a great judge of how your own behaviors are perceived. What you describe in yourself is perceived by most of us here as socially awkward.
No amount of protests on your part (claims that you got along great with co-workers and college friends) is going to convince us that you're not an annoying winner & sore loser (among other things). Just take the example of people being annoyed at how you act when you win, and how you quit early when you lose.
People who play with you find it annoying. People here in the thread find it annoying. Regardless of whether you think you have some rock solid justification in your own mind for why you behave this way... why not stop doing it?
Why not stop just stop annoying people? Quit making excuses, quit rationalizing that all the teens and adults at the LGS are "narcissistic jerks". Recognize that YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO LEARN ABOUT US HUMANS.
Dealing with social situations is a SKILL, a skill you still have time to improve on, but you'll only learn something if you stop blaming other people.
That may come off harsh, but seriously, your close friends should have talked to you about this already instead of humoring you.
What? I don't have a right to rant every now and then because I've had it? Why do you keep missing the part about me getting weary of having to follow advice like yours?
At the very least, cut me some slack. I've been dealing with these people long before I started playing. I have tried everything that involves changing myself or doing something about myself instead of trying to change others. However, stop sounding like it's the perfect solution to problems like this. You're really not reading the part about me getting tired of it all.
This point still stands: If this were the first I've had this kind of treatment, I wouldn't be putting this up.
You know, you're just repeating what other people here have been saying. I've already stated pages prior, that I'll try to concede less and even go so far as to build a better deck. The difference between them and you is that you're not only repeating it, you're being needlessly blunt.
What you call 'justifying', 'dismissing' or whatever, you're beginning to confuse with me asking honest questions like how can I flavorize a deck without lying to myself or how long do I have to let my opponents play the game by themselves before conceding.
They have answered these questions. You haven't.
Aleerp, if I were you I wouldn't even bother responding anymore to people who have never met you, and yet assume they know everything about you and your LGS. It's one thing to be skeptical of someone's story, or to offer constructive criticism to someone when asked, but quite another to attack someone on a very deep and personal level even to the point of basically labeling them as dysfunctional while only working with half information.
I agree with the sports analogies, but I also believe you could easily become a little more competitive without compromising who you are. That's why I suggested not labeling yourself so much. It's binding thoughts like "I'm just a Vorthos" that make you feel like you're compromising yourself when you venture even slightly out of the box that such a label inevitably creates. You are who you are. If you want to be more competitive, be more competitive. What's stopping you? It's not like being competitive is wrong or harmful in some way. You can always go back if you don't like it. There's no rule that says simply because you care about flavor and lore that you can't also kick people's face in a game of Magic with a deck inspired by your favorite flavor and lore.
Still, you must be prepared for the very real possibility that even if you woke up tomorrow and were exactly like the other people at your LGS, they still might not accept you. It's hard to change other people's opinions, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. If these people are really abusive to the point of making you this upset, they might not like you even if you changed absolutely everything about yourself. That's why simply telling you to conform here has no merit. If things are really this bad, I still think it would be a good idea to simply leave the situation, at least for a little while. Even a few weeks away from this might give you the clearer head and fresh perspective you need to figure out the solution that works best for you in this matter.
Just stop playing the game OP if it causes you so much distress.
The Saga of Arkay
To answer your second question: As long as you are getting turns and aren't locked. Nobody will complain if you concede in light of someones infinite combo, or when you are hard locked (and usually not when you are soft locked) out of the game.
"Hey man, you've got me this time. Do you mind if I concede?"
People will usually see this as very respectful. You're telling them they've done a good job and beaten you, and asking them if they would like you to continue. Sometimes, when they have a combo, they'll respond with:
"Well, alright, but do you mind if I just play out what I was doing really quick?"
And you should say yes every time.
Though you may thing it's appropriate to very much show your relief or exasperation sometimes, some people take it as rude, offensive, even sarcastic. It's a bit awkward for everyone at that point.
On the flavorful->competitive discussion: Renenberm the flavor of the game is that YOU are a planeswalker, and are doing this batle with other planeswalkers, or another planeswalker in a duel. So, if you could see yourself as any color combination...what would it be? find that, build a deck with it. You say R/U/G? That's not entirely unviable in standard. Is it something else? Cool, find it, and let the spikes KNOW that you want to get more competitive.
dcartist, I'm 21 years old, live at home, and think I would take offense to people attacking me on facebook. I guess you just don't have emotions when you hit 21, or at least aren't supposed to? I'll be 21 in 16 days. I guess I really need t ogrow up fast, because I still feel things when people insult me too much over a long period of time.
The OP may seem like he's whining sometimes in the thread, but maybe NOT personally attacking him would be a good ideA?
What do you people want, for him to just say "I'm an *******, and everyone else is fine, and bullying never happens, and if you get bullied it must be your fault."
Seriously, has everyone here just never been bullied? You forget, you play Magic, you're a nerd. Some of us have grown up and gotten stronger, which is cool, but some people are still getting bullied, and you're acting like it must be their fault. Way to g ofolks, bully wins again...
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More than 1 person besides myself thought initially that the thread itself was troll bait. I held off on being too blunt, but any time the obvious (and yes, its painfully obvious) was presented, we just got denial that any of this is the OP's fault. We got this rationalization that an entire LGS group has it in for aleerpsoftware simply because of his Vorthosity.
its honest, blunt critique of the situation, based on judgments made from the OP's responses in this thread. It's not meant to be cruel. Ive tried not to be gratuitous in any negative portrayal of any issues (but i refuse to compromising accuracy).
i certainly didn't say that. But How about recognizing that certain actions will NOT be positively perceived by ANYBODY. Even AFTER people pointed out the common sense reasons others would not like his behavior after wins, and not like his quitting early, he simply ignored that. Based on that set of exchanges alone, I have to question the rest of the OP's perceptions of the situation and basic social competence.
I don't say this out of a desire to be cruel.
But if almost everybody in your LGS in your town hates your guts, and people are trashing you on Facebook to the point where you feel you're being bullied, then come on!!! Then the problem isn't the quality of your decks. And if you're an adult, you should be able to recognize this point without people in an MTG thread dragging you by the nose to it.
OP's first post drew comments from multiple posters suggesting he was largely at fault in the first two pages. Why? Because people just have it in for him?
Nothing the OP explicitly described sounds like bullying. Certainly obody is beating him up. Nobody in that LGS is in position to "bully" a 21 year old adult. Some may not like him very much, and somebody may mock him on Facebook, but they have no power over him.
I'm giving honest advice and insight, and he already ignored it when I sugar coated it the first few posts.
Even my last post is actually a sugar-coated, restrained version of what I really think of the situation.
Nobody is asking aleerpsoftware to say "I'm an *******, and everyone else is fine, and bullying never happens, and if you get bullied it must be your fault."
He is NOT an "*******". The other people are not ALL "fine". And people do get bullied. It's not ALL his fault either.
But please read the entire thread and please be honest with yourself. He is a pariah & gettig attacked on favebook because his LGS is not "Vorthos-friendly enough"??? And he's lookin for ways to conform without sacrificing his Vorthos principles too much? And he can't play MTGO because of some vague reason that Makes little sense?
This is not how typical 21 year olds think or act. Doesn't make him an *******. But it means he seriously lacks certain basic insights.
But just for argument's sake, let's say you're right, and Aleerp has serious issues with ego, immaturity, and sportsmanship. Would such a person ever actually listen to harsh, critical advice from random strangers on an Internet forum? No. So you're wasting your time even responding to such a person.
Now let's say you're wrong, and Aleerp was simply venting in his OP, and, then, out of shock from the initial responses he got, has frustratingly spent the rest of this thread trying to defend himself from attack. Now you have someone who might actually listen to harsh, critical advice, but the advice he's getting is insulting and wrong.
Either way, responding so critically to Aleerp yields no positive result, so what is the point of it? It surely can't be likened to anything resembling advice.
http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1959
I feel like you didn't read the first part of MY post, either I did note that his way of showing how he feels can be annoying (seriously, putting your head down in relief? Comes off kinda jerk-like man. No matter how you do that, it looks bad) I just also think people are being kinda bullies. I will say, that you make some good points.
Aleerp, stop being so defensive. People would see that you were taking their advice, if every time you did it wasn't in a post that started with you telling someone they don't understand your plight. Try just...ignoring those kinds of things, and responding to the parts that matter
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I am perceiving this thread as Aleerpsoftware asking this:
"I keep losing is this 'game called get along with the LGS' I believe it's because everybody there hates Vorthos (and therefore me) and therefore dont give Vorthos a fair chance and unfairly gang up on me, to the point that some are bullying me on Facebook. How can I tweak my Vorthos thing so that I can do better at this 'game called get along with the LGS' without sacrificing Vorthos, which is an integral part of who I am? Btw, i am 100% positive that the reason I come always come DEAD LAST in the 'game called get along with the LGS' has NOTHING to do with my actual SKILLs at getting along with people. The LGS is a bunch of Narcissistic jerks who are not worth getting along with, my brother is a jerk, and I've spent 50% of my life dealing with crap like this. I am sure that I have excellent skills at getting along with people because I didn't have major conflicts with a few people at college, and no major conflicts with my online coworkers. So just to be clear, since some of you have suggested changing an approach that is not working, i have to EMPHASIZE how utterly wrong you are about my SKILLS and TACTICS for getting along with these people. I dont believe i should have to modify my behavior when i lose or when i win, because if it bothers the LGS, that is their problem... Obviously I have tried everything i can with these these people and it impossible for me to get along with the LGS... But maybe if you could help me modify my Vorthos decks a little, I can turn this all around."
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The 'game called get along with the LGS' is a game with strategy just like MtG is. You lose life points when you annoy people. Even if you personally can't see the REASON your quitting too early in games bothers people, how hard is it to stop the hemorrhage of life points by listening to people when they tell you something annoys them?
Your current abilities In the 'game called get along with people in general' may truly be pretty decent, and not as bad as I perceive it. Maybe you're good at 'game called get along with people in general' but not good at 'game called get along with the LGS'.
Or the reason you're losing the 'game called get along with the LGS' may simply be that the 'game called get along with the LGS' may indeed just be a particularly difficult version of getting along with people.
Maybe it's simply impossible for anybody to win at the 'game called get along with the LGS' while remaining Vorthos.
But the way I perceive things based on the postings here, there are at least a FEW glaring weaknesses in your skillset in 'game called get along with people in general', which are affecting your ability to win at 'game called get along with the LGS'.
I have definitely overemphasized my opinion that the average 21 year old with college and a job under his belt should have most of those basic skills (partly based on my initial failure to believe you're over 21) . I apologize for that. In my desire to really shake you loose from what i perceive to be stubborn refusal to acknowledge obvious truths, i've kind of hammered home the emphasis on your part in this, which may have given you the impression that I think you deserve this mistreatment. (though I did explicitly write that you didn't deserve to be treated like that, and I will re-emphasize that you don't deserve Ro be treated like that). Obviously fault lies with some people in LGS as well. But you don't get to change their opinions except through modifying your own behavior. Getting along with even "narcissistic" people is a SKILL. You have a good mind obviously so you are capable of gaining new SKILLS if you're actually OPEN to the idea that maybe you need to "UP YOUr GAME".
But you clearly have no other avenue to play MtG, your only option to play MtG is The LGS (your reasons for being unable to use MTGOs secure server sound vague and don't make sense to me, but bottom line is you won't play mTGO) and you therefore desperately want to win 'game called get along with the LGS'.
This game is clearly very difficult, but telling us over & over again how they are terribly difficult and narcissistic and you are already doing everything you can, sounds more like somebody who just wants to complain and get a hug. It doesn't sound like somebody who wants to win.
But the first step to getting better at any game is recognizing that maybe you're not as good as you think you are at it.
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And now, to turn the sword 180 degrees...
To OP, let me sum up the whole thing. Long story short:
1) You're a Vorthos, but your LGS' players are Spike.
2) Your decks have a terrible win-ratio (you admitted it, so being blunt here)
3) You concede often halway through a match (but reducing it now)
4) Your LGS players are... jerks for making fun of you everywhere.
And then, when I come up with recommendations, I got
A) I'm trying to concede less and go as far as building a better deck
B) Some other guy is using an idea similar to yours, so I can't.
C) How do I flavorise a deck without lying to myself.
And here are my responses, I'm not going to soften my words this time:
A) You don't "try". You just do it. Oh, I'm not referring to conceding, I'm referring to building better decks. Because your win-ratio is atrocious, you need to improve it. I've pointed out its this horrendous win-ratio that's actually driving both you and your opponents bored and nuts.
So basically, if you don't improve on your decks / build better ones, the situation is never going to be solved, and you will be venting for the rest of the thread.
B) Well, I did recommend my deck, and your reasoning is pretty valid, but you didn't have to stop there. Deckbuilding is all about creativity. Research on good cards and act on them with your creativity. Deckbuilding is a skillful process, even more so when flavorising it.
Actually, you should send your deck to the EDH forums, you'll get more help there. Then post a link here.
C) That's a outdated thought. Flavorising a deck is not lying to yourself. You seem to have a one-definition concept on flavor. Flavor does not work like that. Flavor adapts itself to the environment and enhances it, makes otherwise cardboard movement into... something else.
You need to recognise that, and act on it.
That "Lying to myself" part makes me begin to doubt that your a true Vorthos. Vorthos is about creativity, imagination when it comes to deckbuilding. There are no lies, there is only unimagined beauty to be created and built around the decks. That's why I said start with a Spike deck, then flavorise it, not the other way round.
You seem like a cool guy who needs to work on his people skills and there's nothing wrong with that. It's a hard skill to learn.
I'm just being blunt here so it nothing personal. Take a break for a while it might do you some good.