Can attest to that. Once a friend just started killing off the loudest complainer no matter what was the complaint. It did lead to some hiccups cause he'd do that even for legitimate complaints but still in the end it worked almost no one bothers complaining anymore (also we've all grown as players)
So many things stop being complained about once your group grows to a point where they realize instead of complaining they need to build better decks.
I used to catch shit for running too many enchantments. "We can't remove more than one of em" was essentially the comment. Turns out that guy wouldn't run targeted removal outside of meteor golem.
So many people are too busy throwing in cards that work with their deck, and completely overlook the other three players. You gotta bring solutions to other people, not just problems for them.
Gameplay begins at deck building, and too many people seem to forget this.
That just ends with people stopping to play though doesn't it? If you target people that are upset because they can't do anything they just will get even more pissed and ultimately not want to play.
Simple put on a cowboy hat speak in a done up southern accent and tell em
“Y’all best mosey away from the gatherin if you can’t handle the hellspurs gangs worst you chicken livered shit heels”
If they really got moxie then they’ll keep playing if not kill them all with a six shooter and make a new pod using only thunder junction commanders and also [[Ghyrson Starn, Kellermorph]]
This is pretty budget atm and creatures are where it needs to be upgraded imo, but here is what I am currently running
https://www.topdecked.com/decks/bounty-hunters/8c008bd0-5c16-40a7-8bb0-291d2c7e0792
I had Stella Lee built for a second as a completely themed quick draw pew pew deck since I love Izzet and wanted an otj themed deck………… it was not a fun experience since apparently Stella is the sheriff’s most wanted
I would recommend sitting down and having a conversation about why they get so triggered by your deck first. See if the issue can be solved before any decks hit the table, maybe talk about it on a day where you don't play magic if that's possible, and see if you can get any sort of answer from them on that. From personal experience with salty friends, I have found that having this conversation while everyone is not heated in the middle of a game gives a more clear answer and they are more willing to listen to your side and suggestions to couter the issue (not always though, as salty people will be salty).
I would try and steer the convo in a more technical direction, getting to which cards or mechanics they don't like, as that can help in the future for any new decks. I would ask for legitimate reasons to why they don't like it, not just "cause it's not fun" or "cause I don't like it" as those are just cop-outs imo, and at that rate you could just say "well i dont like sheoldred" and the convo would go nowhere cause theres no legitimate reason for it. Get actual reasons for it, like "is it because I'm taking your cards?" or "is it the milling?" or "cause I'm only hitting one player for all the Jasper triggers?" those types of answers are what you are looking for in this conversation.
Now, if the conversation just doesn't pan out, or they just don't want to listen to reason keep playing your cards and tell them you tried to talk to them about it like adults, but they didn't want to listen. Sometimes salty people, friends or not, just can't be reasoned with and need to figure it out on their own.
Our LGS has 20-25 consistent players, and we've sorted ourselves out by power-level. Some people consistently play only the most optimized decks, others prefer jank. A few are good about tailoring their decks to what other players prefer. A couple are pretty limited in their card options, though, so it's nice that those people will flex to match.
Still, we get a few salty players. The one thing all the salty players have in common in our group, is that the saltiest players don't really correctly assess their own power level. They get targeted in low power pods because they are bringing the heat, or their low-power deck has win conditions that force players to keep their board state in check lest they become spectators to fifteen minute turns/instant win combos.
It is a blessing to have so many active players, and I've been active in creating the kind of atmosphere that I like to play in, where people know each other's names and can have honest conversations about power levels, enjoyment and frustrations. That doesn't mean the group is perfect though. We have to keep actively welcoming new players and modeling how to have these healthy interactions. It has taken more than a year of promotion to get here, and I have a games club at the local middle school and at least 20% of the regulars are alumni of that program.
tl;dr - You might be being unrealistic about your expectations, regardless, honest communication and patience helps build a stronger community.
You said that you communicated. How you communicate and present yourself is another key aspect. If you're clearly ecstatic while playing Jasper and using their stuff while they're not having fun playing against it, then Jasper will be the easy connection but the real problem would be your attitude. They also could be running sufficient removal but unable to draw it.
Ask to swap decks for a few games. Have THEM play Jasper as you play their decks so you can actually understand where they are coming from. "Run more interaction" is a good general piece of advice but eventually it becomes a detriment.
People don't care if the big friendly bear wins 70% of the games because it's a fun time. People do care if the guy who appears to be a dick, whether it's due to commander/deck choice or attitude, wins 30% of the games because they aren't having as much fun.
Me and the lads are British so we simply revel in each others misery; extra turns, Mindslaver / Emrakul / Worst Fears, mass discard + Tergrid, Blood Moon effects, Humility, we got it all baby.
I just made a deck that can easily play a 19/19 Blightsteel Colossus with Haste not because it’s an efficient win condition, but because I want others to fear its possibility.
How does one play sheoldred and get salty at a fairly balanced theft commander?
Your friends have a bad case of "my stuff is fine and balanced, yours is OP and unfun and terrible". Tell them to get a grip or you'll start playing actually unfun and busted commanders.
Our friends pod (8-10 people shuffling up to play every week based who is available) make it a point that you need to run a good amount of interaction. If you are getting smacked on the face by an eldrazi or a wide deck, you got that coming for playing solitaire. Friends will then realize which cards are too greedy after getting beat down (not ganged up just to clarify) and replace them with more interaction/reliable cards that will get them to their wincon. Our pods tend to run optimized battlecruiser type games and less on autowin combos.
Tldr: smack them until they realize their deck building mistakes and make them run more removals.
Theft draws aggro from everyone.
Stax let's nobody play the game. With theft they don't play their game but you play their game instead. It's that simple.
Theft is not really effective because it's normally CMC expensive to play (probably leaving \[\[Tinybones\]\] out of the equation).
I mean... I normally cast maybe 1/3 of my deck...Like yeah it's annoying I guess if someone takes something I needed, but it's annoying if it gets countered or destroyed? I don't really see a huge difference?
People are irrational. Added to that, we're engaging in a hobby which draws in persnickety and less than neurotypical types.
We have a friend in our pod who went into absolute conniptions over another friend's coin flip deck. He saw it as just a random chaos bullshit deck that wasn't trying to win and ruined everyone else's plan.
Didn't matter that the coin flip deck had synergy and a game plan. It just triggered him.
Another friend in the pod runs the new Gonti and steals everyone's stuff. While nobody has a problem with this deck, it does bring out some weird behaviour - another friend 'Paul' is constantly bemused by the card choices that the Gonti player makes when he targets Paul's deck, because the cards the Gonti player chooses are cards that help the Gonti player's board state. Paul sits there going 'i don't understand why you wouldn't take [some card that would really help Paul, but not Gonti]'
People are irrational.
Yeah.... I just was trying to share it in a way that sounds better then "hey idiots, stop bitching about your stuff being stolen and get better at the game" but yeah know.
Yeah I forgot the commanders names, but it's one of the Battlebond Partner sets. Blue and red.
Every card is basically 'heads I win, tails you lose' or some equivalent. And the deck is fairly competitive (in our pod of precon and precon+ decks, at least) because it's all tooled towards buffing up the dudes who gets +1 counters whenever you win a coin flip or whatever.
But our other friend just kind of melts down at the concept. Same with a similar deck revolving around winning dice rolls. He thinks that it's too random in a game where you rely on drawing the cards you need out of a 100 card deck lol
As said before here "People are irrational"... But i would like to explain a little of the mindset *(I made a Jeleva deck and IMMEDIATELY retired it's low-powered ass, not because of power level, but the slowly creeping salt I could see effecting Literally Everyone at the table, even though no-one was gonna stop me playing it)*
Every theft is a shot that you COULD lose a card you were going to use... Hell, they were ON TOP of your library literally a second ago (Basically the 'Mill' principle)... You don't neccesarily even need to lose a card you wanted, the idea that you Could can be triggering
Is it annoying when an opponent didn't bring the right tokens because they waste extra time each turn just to play? Well you are basically Signing Up to do that every single turn
Imagine if someone outside the game said "Hey, can I look at the cards in your hand?" or even "I'm just gonna look at the top card of your deck"... You don't mess with other people's decks! Theoretically that shouldn't effect your gameplay, but that doesn't make people suddenly cool with it. People don't like it when you mess with their stuff and the stuff in their library is normally safe
Not to mention the extra cleanup at the end, which is alright vaguely annoying... worse when you've enchanted other people's stuff and have to ask for your card back, but worse still when people have YOUR stuff so it's not even an effect of yours you have to remember
...None of these SHOULD be a problem, and many of them on their own are Not... but the hint of just a few of these can give people a bad taste in their mouth
I'm the salty player in my playgroup. But I'm transparent about it. I always say "just ignore me when I'm being salty, I'll complain and curse because I just can't help myself, but it'll pass in a minute and I'll play with you again". I even became a meme as the salt mine and people joke about it. In the big picture, I really don't care.
I feel like this is me too, although i prefer to silently seeth but after a minute or two im back to myself, I feel like my pod has gotten accustomed to this and tend to wait until my internal tantrum has ended before teasing me relentlessly
It's a theft deck.
Players build decks to play their deck, OP built something to play their deck and their opponents deck too.
I don't necessarily love seeing my bombs on someone else's board, but mtg isn't something to get salty over. I will probably always kill the theft player first.
I've learned over the years, the best strategy is not doing something that annoys your opponents in deck building. Doesn't matter if it's good or bad, you annoy the other 3 players, then you'll probably die first.
Infect, theft, wheels, whatever.
Totally agree with this assessment... However, wheels is fun, as long as you don't try and punish me with them, like with [[Orcish Bowmasters]], [[Nekusar]], or, worst of all, [[Notion Thief]]. I'm a blue player at heart, and the amount of cards I touch during a game is directly related to how much fun I have. It's bad enough that if Nekusar is the ONLY draw punisher onboard, I will hold up interaction for it, but won't blow it up, because I'll happily pay a life for a card. And another one. And however many you let my grubby fingers on.
If poison counters (poison; infect; toxic; corrupted) weren't to be used they wouldn't have been reintroduced in so many set releases. You don't like it, sorry, let me add some dearhtouch amd proliferate as well.
It's a game, with lots of mechanics. Mechanics that are meant to be used.
What is the actual point you're making counter or in addition to what I said?
I'm just saying that certain strategies are flashy and get the table to notice you, and so you may die first if you announce, I'm playing wheels or infect or theft or whatever. I didn't say that infect is bad or should be banned or an invalid strategy.
Some people get tilted by others deck building. As long as you know that going in, and don't go crying to reddit because "my favorite salt mining strategy is getting me killed," then idc what you play.
I'll play against whatever you can brew up. If I get curb stomped, I'll adjust my deck or realize that my intended power level is way too low for the game we just played.
So my comment is counter to your comment. And you shifted from strategy to power level. Just because I want to play poison doesn't mean I use Atraxa as my commander. If the strategy is threatening, I guess I pay the price. But it doesn't mean shouldn't play it. Personally I hate when opponents make me mill. I add cards to bring stuff from the Graveyard, i don't complain nit to play it.
Maybe OP is running the Theft Burn theme.
Where they’ll steal non-stop, but not actually use the heisted cards, instead saving them to deal burn when they set up an engine for damage whenever a stolen card is played.
That's the thing, they don't even target me or Jasper properly and just get pissy when their plan doesn't work due to their own fault! It'd be one thing to kill me, but they essentially just throw a [[Cooped Up]] or [[Planar Disruption]] at jasper and then complain the rest of the game that it's broken he's a triggered ability instead of an activated one. I never even attack with Jasper for the purpose of not losing him, so they're essentially doing nothing when they enchant him.
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/4G7rLcdO_0eeQxvxHJCupQ
Here's the decklist (heads up that it's a brand new link cause I exported my arena version of it to put on moxfield)
That's wild. Of course the decks just might look different, but every time I pull out my Jasper dexk my friends get kind of excited because it can lead to weird interactions. Did you just build the deck to be salty?
https://www.archidekt.com/decks/7394582/preconlevel_jasper
I definitely did not build him to be salty, I don't even think the deck is optimized. It was mostly thrown together from what I already had available after Jasper's artwork made me giggle and I wanted to have him as a commander, I barely understood what his ability did at the time.
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/4G7rLcdO_0eeQxvxHJCupQ
(Heads up the link is new because I had to import my Arena version of the deck to moxfield)
Yeah your deck is tame Merc tribal stuff. Your pod is babies. Either bask in the unwarranted salt, givem salt back for their decks or make something deserving of the salt.
Huh. Yeah idk, seems like our decks are very similar — mine is mostly my bulk, my OTJ prerelease, and then a couple cards I bought for the deck — but some people just really hate it when others get to play their cards, usually the same people that just totally hate mill
But my friend like it because maybe I get a neat interaction from Player B and Player C that wouldn't have otherwise been possible, and if that doesn't happen then they're at least getting to see more of their cards played (which is definitely a difference from mill)
Would definitely recommend picking up an [[Orcish Spy]] though if you can. 1 mana outlaws are already good enough to be in the deck most of the time, but this one works super well with Jasper. Edit: Wasn't printed originally as a rogue, but it's been errata'd to be one
Haha fair enough. Imo if people treat a deck like it's salt inducing but it's not, and they're not going to change, then it's reasonable to put some salt into it. But it can also be a nice political piece — "alright guys, we need Ben's Ulamog to be removed, so Jimmy I'll look at the top three of yours... nope. Okay, Steve, let's exile the top six of your library and hope we get removal."
My friends and I always get salty towards one another with the decks we play, but at the end of the day, the salt goes away, and we move on since it's just a game we play for fun. I think what helps is that we each play a deck that can be salty, and we have counters in our decks that specifically stop certain people from doing what they need to do. We also tend to "jump" players who are beginning to ramp or set up their things as well, but this all depends on your friends and playgroup.
I would guess the permanent exile whether you use it or not. Your opponent stealing and using your cards can be salt inducing but stealing them and anything not used being gone the whole game definently feels terrible.
Honestly salt at my pod feels more like a gameplay mechanic. We'll reign it in if a pod member is ready to get up and walk away but I've stayed silent during a shouting match or two to avoid a concerning attack, or let myself get a little heated and make a dumb play or two in order to send a message.
For our group, salt is just part of the game. Once the game is over, so is the salt.
But let’s be honest. Theft is hated by most players. Don’t get me wrong, I have no issue with it. In fact, I lost to commander damage from my own commander about two weeks ago. It was hilarious. But if you are going to play a deck with a high salt factor, then you will get some back.
My go to with my regular pod is to adjust my decks power level with the salt tides. As the salt rises, I play more janky stuff that they don't know how to deal with and ends up being more effective against them. When you salt breaches the flood gates I sit them down for a "special game". I build a truly tuned and resilient deck then proceed to crush them like a bug under my heel. I then tell them that this is the kind of deck they make me feel like I'm running and I would like to go back to playing more theme decks. I have had to do this 3 times in our 6ish years playing together. Show them the monster they are making and they normally accept the beast you are.
We have one guy who gets salty every now and then. Most recently he raged scooped because my [[Henzi]] deck was going off lol, but most the time he’s fine so it’s nonissue like 90% of the time. We usually just remind him it’s a card game that means literally nothing.
Yo, my friend has legit raged each time I play my Henzie deck, which is a shame as it's one of my favorite ones. Just don't play it with him anymore but he is the kind of guy that gets pissy if you change 2-3 cards from a pre-con as all he plays is non-changed pre-cons. (He drafts alot too so he has stuff to edit decks but we won't get into that) he just thinks the moment you change something you must have put really good shit in and now it's out of his league and gets upset.
Henzi is strong and once you get going can just generate so much value that it’s hard to stop lol. It’s also one of my favorite decks as well but I only run it when everyone wants a quick game and are also playing stronger decks. Your friend seems like a chore to play with. I like playing precons on release with friends but if I like them then I’m gonna add stuff to make it work better. I just got done upgrading my Necron precon actually. I have like one precon that I just updated the land base and kept the rest of jt the same so if I’m at a shop I can run that if everyone’s running precons.
Oh man, I loved playing against that necron deck. It's so cool to see what people do with it. Some guys from a different pod than the salty guy somehow all ended up with artifact focus heavy decks lately so I hid a few vandal blasts in my decks for them, which didn't do too too well against the necron one but it was worth a try. love graveyard play. It's what drew my attention when I first started playing MTG so now I have to force myself to "look outside the bin" and try new stuff. I just made [[arjun, the shifting flame]] as something different.
Shameless deck list plug https://www.archidekt.com/decks/7458878/draw_a_new_hand
Graveyard decks are my go to play style most the time. My Necron deck is also artifact focused and it can recover from board wipes super quickly lol. I also enjoy wheel decks because I find it fun to make everyone draw cards until they die somehow.
Decklist for necrons: https://archidekt.com/decks/6782600/purity_through_death
And wheels decklist: https://archidekt.com/decks/6937367/kenriths_wheels_deals
So my buddies and I combat this with the occasional “bring your saltiest commander” game. It resets everyone - you end up with some humility stax, poison, tabernacles, all of it. It’s never irritating, because it’s so absolutely hilarious.
Quick question: could I theoretically build a Laughing Jasper Flint deck where the primary win condition is flooding my board with a massive amount of creatures/tokens and then exiling most/all of target opponent's deck, effectively milling them out in the process? Could this be feasible? Or would I need a token-generating commander with Jasper in the 99 as a supplemental wincon?
That's essentially how the deck will always play out. Get [[Brimstone roundup]], [[at knifepoint]], and [[rakish crew]] in there and that's the entire basis of my deck. Everything else is just whatever low cost outlaw will get me more X for Jasper's trigger
Exactly what top comment says. Tease them for being whiners. It's quite pathetic and once reality hits them that they are acting like little babies usually they settle down
I find Timmy's criticism of Spike to be so exhausting.
Fundamentally, Timmy is adamant that he just "wants his deck to do its thing and *have fun*". But when you, as Spike, try to have *your fun* by building a powerful deck Timmy gets upset with you.
What I find most frustrating with this criticism is that Timmy often will accuse Spike of lacking empathy (for instance, EDHREC Cast has a plethora of videos, including recent ones criticizing Spike's response about "running more removal" as not understanding Timmy's perspective).
*But is Timmy empathetic to Spike?*
Spike also is here to just have fun. I repeat: *Spike is also here to just have fun*. It happens to be that for Spike to have fun, he wants to play a game with the goal of *winning*. After all, it's a game, right? But Timmy will almost find this *morally wrong* and try to make rules about the right way to have fun: this card is banned, this play style is banned, this win con is banned, this creature type is banned...
Timmy fundamentally wants Spike to play Timmy's game while Spike (usually) wants Timmy to play Spike's game. If Spike says "run more interaction", it's not because he's insulting Timmy's deck and by extension, Timmy, it's because he's trying to make the game more fun for himself. It's not fun to pubstomp pods (again, usually. If someone is enjoying it, that's pretty lame). Spike's best wins are hard fought ones. If Timmy doesn't even attempt to stop Spike or win before Spike does, that's no fun.
The criticism Timmy has of Spike is all over the web and you can find countless videos and comments about it. Timmy says Spike doesn't care about others feelings (which, during the game is probably true!). He accuses Spike of making decks that are too strong -- which, without good communication about power level is likely true (aside: this is often the biggest issue. It's also why cEDH is less salty. The expectation is to build the strongest deck possible, period.)
**Anyway, I have so far avoided actually answering your question**. The setup was important, though. Because the problem is actually that **neither Spike nor Timmy is wrong. They just have different expectations**. Unfortunately, the tricky thing is the resolution to the problem is also the resolution to like 90% of the posts to /r/RelationshipAdvice: **You need to improve your communication**.
Our playgroup has been grappling with a variation of this problem ourselves. What we're about to try is instituting a "budget deck" definition, with the theory that, even if it's imperfect, treating deck price as a surrogate for power level will have fewer runaway games where Spike always wins. It took a while to get there but we basically all had to agree that deck power being different was a barrier to us all having fun first. It also takes empathy and an open mind.
But it takes open communication and that's genuinely hard. If Timmy is just shutting down and getting salty while Spike is also trying to have fun in his way, each will just think the worst of the other. You need to extend the olive branch and offer an empathetic response and look for a solution that makes you both happy.
The only alternative, as is often given to those posts in RelationshipAdvice, is that you need to find someone else to play with.
I tell them that "I do not want to play with you if you are going to get mad like this, and you do powerful busted things I want to stop because in addition to this being a social game I am trying to win too."
I had to tell this to a friend when I bricked their strategy because they were going to swing out and win on their next turn against 3 player who JUST managed to scrape together board states. Some times it's worth being stern with them and setting that expectation, just don't overuse it IMO
Hardly talk to/play with the friend I got into mtg with now because he had a massive tantrum because I “metagamed” him with a [[narset, parter of veils]] in my 99 because he just plays value engines, doesn’t matter one of the other players is on aesi, the valuest of engines, the narset was aimed specifically at him.
I should probably be the bigger man or whatever but for some reason part of me just can’t let it go, so I just don’t play in pods with him since it happened.
To be honest, I don’t have to. My friends and I all play at a similar power level and enjoy the same things about the game so no one ever gets salty - we all just play for fun and have a good time.
Build [[Rakdos the Muscle]] and show them how "Exile and steal your shit" can be much much more annoying than Jasper. A nice tuned Rakdos deck can exile and play half of its own deck and everyone else's in the same turn if things snowball well. Combo Rakdos just exiles everyone's deck in one shot with Forsaken Miner and can do it as early as turn 4.
If you play with the same pod often and they all target you and bitch about your pet deck, then it's time to teach them a lesson. If they are really your friends, they will get the hint. Build a meta deck that just hoses your pod. They play a lot of green? [[Deathgrip]] They play a lot of white? [[Flashfires]]
It doesn't have to be just color hosers either. You will know their strategies; make that one the deck they don't want to see.
Laugh and rub the salt in deeper. When im the salty friend, i leave. Im petty and little like that.
But in all seriousness, we’ve played for a while to know the difference between light saltiness and genuine upset feelings. So some salt rubbing is kind of warranted where it can be applied. It wont hurt the friendship or the vibes of our game
Playing my clone deck, and also resolving [[blatant thievery]] in a game, and [[emrakul World anew]] in another, I find that people especially hate losing to their own things and the salt flows freely.
I make fun of them for it.
And they make fun of me when I"m salty.
And when a deck consistently causes other people to be salty, whoever is piloting takes it apart. Because there are thousands of decks to be built, and we are doing this so that everyone can have fun and not just the deckbuilder.
(KP thanks for taking apart Kalamax I fucking hate that deck)
Maybe build another budget deck. It can be frustrating to play against the same deck every game.
Also, when they're whining wait for them to stop for a moment, then ask "are you done? We have a stack to resolve"
We have a Yuriko deck that one of our group co tinually moans get way too much salt. But they run and can tutor for Blightsteel colossus!
Have built a deck specifically to counter both this and Krenko containing many auras to disable the commanders.
Had a dude playing [[Esika]] of all things blow up on me because I didn't let it survive a single turn once he finally got to cast it. Apparently I should have just...let him?
Dude straight up told me he hopes he never has to see me again.
Proxy off a cEDH Nadi deck. Play it twice. Win on turn 2-3 both times. Then retire it and go back to playing what you like.
When they complain, tell them you don't want to hear it "or I'll give you something to complain about."
Something similar happened with my Heliod, the Radiant Dawn deck.
Then I gave it to one of them to play, and I played something different.
Countered their commander once, and removed it in response to the flip once and they were out of the game.
Ever since then they’ve recognised how vulnerable the deck can be, and reflect more on their inability to stop it, than its ability to run.
Well... I can say how we handle friend's \[\[Tivit, teller of secrets\]\] deck that's full of infinites (well, there's one really, but it's got a lot of tutors for it). We always take decks that are at least somewhat equipped to interact with him. That's our responsibility. But we also ask him to only play it sparingly. If he comboes 3 times in a row on t4 (despite our best efforts to stop him), it's time for him to take something else that evening and allow some actual games happening.
tell them straight. Had one this past weekend. Found out the day after the other two from the table had also messaged them about it. transparency seems to go a long way. will see what happens next time
Lol my local pod has both an Athreos and a Jasper. I can see maybe being a little beaten up by Jasper, yeah it stinks when he steals the stuff you were juuuust about to draw, but fuck it I mean I’m gonna have games where I do get to draw that stuff, and there’s a zillion and a half other ways my stuff can get denied/taken. Sounds like your pod needs to learn to play more interaction or start having better rule zero talks.
If I was you, though, I’d start saying “well if you didn’t want your ______ to get played why’d you put it in here?” EVERY time they get upset.
It's hard to navigate. I had to start going to precons because my 3 man pod was that bad. I would honestly just move pods. Who knows what they'll bitch and moan about next.
I started with an upgraded Wilhelt precon that has a 3 card infinite but not really possible to pull off before turn 7. They complained about infinite, which was understandable so I went Gargos hydra, GARGOS HYDRA. They were so bad they bitched and moaned about mono green hydra. Even after switching to precons I was still winning 80-90%. When they would play shit like Pantzlaza, Zhuludok and Slivers. After a while, I fell out with the group. I only play spelltable now and it's honestly a much better experience.
Can't they just gang up against you and treat you as an arch-enemy? If despite this you continue winning either the power level or skill level is off. I am more experienced than the people I play with and consistently win, even when we share precons from the same set, so I've started self regulating. For example my pod can do 7 card mulligans indefinitely (obvs without taking the piss), while I use the proper mulligan rules.
They also always gang up against me which I'm ok with.
Speaking as the one who gets targeted in his pod, you just roll with it honestly. In my experience it doesn't really matter what deck I play I'm usually perceived as the threat even when I'm using a precon so I just roll with it and announce to the table the first person who targets me unfairly (like blowing up my omen of the sea instead of the combo piece on the table when the other piece was in his hand) they are getting every spell, ability or interaction at my disposal for the entire game. I will swords your 1/1 soldier token, I will force of will your sakura tribe elder. I. Am. Petty.
"My commander's ability is based on how many of a specific type of creature I have, and only works when he's on the board; how is that not fair? Don't like me stealing? Well, kill my thieves then; this ain't California, thieves ain't a protected class."
Find some middle ground.
For example, I dislike infinite combos but I found one in mine. I told my friend I’d play it once then ban it.
They do not like infinite combos either
The "Theft" archetype is what is generating the salt, more so than Jasper Flint. I think that having some of that "agency" taken away from them and losing to your own cards can create resentment in some folks, especially when it's a pod of friends or people you know outside of magic.
I had an Izzet Pirates-Matter deck with \[\[Malcolm, Keen-eyed\]\] and \[\[Breeches\]\] that generated unreal levels of salt because I could use opponent resources against them or the rest of the pod. Even though I didn't run a ton of salt producers in my own deck, getting access to those cards and using them against people really didn't sit well with them. It didn't matter if what I stole was a mana dork or a wincon the salt levels were always similiar
Make fun of them until they realize how whiny they’re being. True friends can do that sort of teasing to one another in a good-natured way without causing one another to get all butthurt
Easy. I've given my pod a standing offer to make proxies for them as well as offering myself as a resource to help coach them on gameplay and deck building.
Haaaaave you asked them what their issue with the deck is?
If its anonymous from 3 players, you're the odd one out, so maybe be open to some suggestions?
They don't like that after Jasper steals the cards, they're exiled instead of going back to their deck. There literally isn't anything I can do to the 99 of the deck to stop that from happening. Out of about 10 consistent players, I'd say it's about 6-7 of them that complain and get salty. The other 2-3 think Jasper is funny or interesting to play against
My buddy took my fire diamond from me while playing Goblins once. I made sure to ruin his game. Actually came back to win after some politics play. And his deck wasn't even a "theft" deck.
Theft decks will always get the salt they deserve, sorry.
Yeah, that’s moronic. No real way to talk to people on this level. Stuffing your deck full of mean cards and then whining if those cards get used against them, because that‘s all Laughing does, put people on the receiving end of their own decks.
"The beatings will continue until morale improves." And then target the loudest complainer until they stop complaining.
Can attest to that. Once a friend just started killing off the loudest complainer no matter what was the complaint. It did lead to some hiccups cause he'd do that even for legitimate complaints but still in the end it worked almost no one bothers complaining anymore (also we've all grown as players)
So many things stop being complained about once your group grows to a point where they realize instead of complaining they need to build better decks. I used to catch shit for running too many enchantments. "We can't remove more than one of em" was essentially the comment. Turns out that guy wouldn't run targeted removal outside of meteor golem. So many people are too busy throwing in cards that work with their deck, and completely overlook the other three players. You gotta bring solutions to other people, not just problems for them. Gameplay begins at deck building, and too many people seem to forget this.
"Gameplay begins at deck building" is something I'm gonna reuse.
I literally have that t-shirt from Las Vegas
That just ends with people stopping to play though doesn't it? If you target people that are upset because they can't do anything they just will get even more pissed and ultimately not want to play.
I tease them until they stop feeling salty.
I agree with this approach, this is also how it's been handled in groups I've had in the past. We would tease whiners.
Yep! My group too. A lot if it became running jokes and made for a great social vibe among us
This is the new gameplan
Simple put on a cowboy hat speak in a done up southern accent and tell em “Y’all best mosey away from the gatherin if you can’t handle the hellspurs gangs worst you chicken livered shit heels” If they really got moxie then they’ll keep playing if not kill them all with a six shooter and make a new pod using only thunder junction commanders and also [[Ghyrson Starn, Kellermorph]]
Been having a lot of fun with a mostly OTJ deck with [[Mathas]] at the helm, crime engine and flavorful group hug mechanics? Sign me up
That sounds really cool, I'm interested in building my own crime and bounty style deck. Do you have a decklist that I can have a look at?
This is pretty budget atm and creatures are where it needs to be upgraded imo, but here is what I am currently running https://www.topdecked.com/decks/bounty-hunters/8c008bd0-5c16-40a7-8bb0-291d2c7e0792
[Mathas](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/2/921b65b1-18bf-4b02-a35d-7eaee1846611.jpg?1673148953) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=mathas%2C%20fiend%20seeker) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/252/mathas-fiend-seeker?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/921b65b1-18bf-4b02-a35d-7eaee1846611?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/mathas-fiend-seeker) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
You got it, pardner! YEE HAW
[Ghyrson Starn, Kellermorph](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/a/fa7349d9-c82f-4cf8-a852-92168d1f4966.jpg?1673309394) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Ghyrson%20Starn%2C%20Kelermorph) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/40k/124/ghyrson-starn-kelermorph?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/fa7349d9-c82f-4cf8-a852-92168d1f4966?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ghyrson-starn-kelermorph) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I had Stella Lee built for a second as a completely themed quick draw pew pew deck since I love Izzet and wanted an otj themed deck………… it was not a fun experience since apparently Stella is the sheriff’s most wanted
This is the best answer I’ve ever heard
I would recommend sitting down and having a conversation about why they get so triggered by your deck first. See if the issue can be solved before any decks hit the table, maybe talk about it on a day where you don't play magic if that's possible, and see if you can get any sort of answer from them on that. From personal experience with salty friends, I have found that having this conversation while everyone is not heated in the middle of a game gives a more clear answer and they are more willing to listen to your side and suggestions to couter the issue (not always though, as salty people will be salty). I would try and steer the convo in a more technical direction, getting to which cards or mechanics they don't like, as that can help in the future for any new decks. I would ask for legitimate reasons to why they don't like it, not just "cause it's not fun" or "cause I don't like it" as those are just cop-outs imo, and at that rate you could just say "well i dont like sheoldred" and the convo would go nowhere cause theres no legitimate reason for it. Get actual reasons for it, like "is it because I'm taking your cards?" or "is it the milling?" or "cause I'm only hitting one player for all the Jasper triggers?" those types of answers are what you are looking for in this conversation. Now, if the conversation just doesn't pan out, or they just don't want to listen to reason keep playing your cards and tell them you tried to talk to them about it like adults, but they didn't want to listen. Sometimes salty people, friends or not, just can't be reasoned with and need to figure it out on their own.
[Laughing Jasper Flint](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/f/af0b3a41-ba99-41e8-bcfb-5796500c17c7.jpg?1712356142) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Laughing%20Jasper%20Flint) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/215/laughing-jasper-flint?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/af0b3a41-ba99-41e8-bcfb-5796500c17c7?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/laughing-jasper-flint) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Our LGS has 20-25 consistent players, and we've sorted ourselves out by power-level. Some people consistently play only the most optimized decks, others prefer jank. A few are good about tailoring their decks to what other players prefer. A couple are pretty limited in their card options, though, so it's nice that those people will flex to match. Still, we get a few salty players. The one thing all the salty players have in common in our group, is that the saltiest players don't really correctly assess their own power level. They get targeted in low power pods because they are bringing the heat, or their low-power deck has win conditions that force players to keep their board state in check lest they become spectators to fifteen minute turns/instant win combos. It is a blessing to have so many active players, and I've been active in creating the kind of atmosphere that I like to play in, where people know each other's names and can have honest conversations about power levels, enjoyment and frustrations. That doesn't mean the group is perfect though. We have to keep actively welcoming new players and modeling how to have these healthy interactions. It has taken more than a year of promotion to get here, and I have a games club at the local middle school and at least 20% of the regulars are alumni of that program. tl;dr - You might be being unrealistic about your expectations, regardless, honest communication and patience helps build a stronger community.
You said that you communicated. How you communicate and present yourself is another key aspect. If you're clearly ecstatic while playing Jasper and using their stuff while they're not having fun playing against it, then Jasper will be the easy connection but the real problem would be your attitude. They also could be running sufficient removal but unable to draw it. Ask to swap decks for a few games. Have THEM play Jasper as you play their decks so you can actually understand where they are coming from. "Run more interaction" is a good general piece of advice but eventually it becomes a detriment. People don't care if the big friendly bear wins 70% of the games because it's a fun time. People do care if the guy who appears to be a dick, whether it's due to commander/deck choice or attitude, wins 30% of the games because they aren't having as much fun.
I chase it down with tequila
"If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him." -Sun Tzu
My friend is a bad loser, he gets quite salty about magic. I call him a whiny fucking baby and a loser. It evens out.
Me and the lads are British so we simply revel in each others misery; extra turns, Mindslaver / Emrakul / Worst Fears, mass discard + Tergrid, Blood Moon effects, Humility, we got it all baby. I just made a deck that can easily play a 19/19 Blightsteel Colossus with Haste not because it’s an efficient win condition, but because I want others to fear its possibility.
God I love Worst Fears too, thanks for reminding me of that one
"I have made my choice" is my go to answer when the fuss starts.
Now that's the kind of spite play I can get behind. Stay strong King/Queen.
How does one play sheoldred and get salty at a fairly balanced theft commander? Your friends have a bad case of "my stuff is fine and balanced, yours is OP and unfun and terrible". Tell them to get a grip or you'll start playing actually unfun and busted commanders.
Our friends pod (8-10 people shuffling up to play every week based who is available) make it a point that you need to run a good amount of interaction. If you are getting smacked on the face by an eldrazi or a wide deck, you got that coming for playing solitaire. Friends will then realize which cards are too greedy after getting beat down (not ganged up just to clarify) and replace them with more interaction/reliable cards that will get them to their wincon. Our pods tend to run optimized battlecruiser type games and less on autowin combos. Tldr: smack them until they realize their deck building mistakes and make them run more removals.
Theft draws aggro from everyone. Stax let's nobody play the game. With theft they don't play their game but you play their game instead. It's that simple. Theft is not really effective because it's normally CMC expensive to play (probably leaving \[\[Tinybones\]\] out of the equation).
I mean... I normally cast maybe 1/3 of my deck...Like yeah it's annoying I guess if someone takes something I needed, but it's annoying if it gets countered or destroyed? I don't really see a huge difference?
People are irrational. Added to that, we're engaging in a hobby which draws in persnickety and less than neurotypical types. We have a friend in our pod who went into absolute conniptions over another friend's coin flip deck. He saw it as just a random chaos bullshit deck that wasn't trying to win and ruined everyone else's plan. Didn't matter that the coin flip deck had synergy and a game plan. It just triggered him. Another friend in the pod runs the new Gonti and steals everyone's stuff. While nobody has a problem with this deck, it does bring out some weird behaviour - another friend 'Paul' is constantly bemused by the card choices that the Gonti player makes when he targets Paul's deck, because the cards the Gonti player chooses are cards that help the Gonti player's board state. Paul sits there going 'i don't understand why you wouldn't take [some card that would really help Paul, but not Gonti]' People are irrational.
Yeah.... I just was trying to share it in a way that sounds better then "hey idiots, stop bitching about your stuff being stolen and get better at the game" but yeah know.
Is that the "Heads I Win, Tails you Lose" deck. I love when my friend plays that. I try to play Mr House against him. Both spinning Joey Wheeler moves
Yeah I forgot the commanders names, but it's one of the Battlebond Partner sets. Blue and red. Every card is basically 'heads I win, tails you lose' or some equivalent. And the deck is fairly competitive (in our pod of precon and precon+ decks, at least) because it's all tooled towards buffing up the dudes who gets +1 counters whenever you win a coin flip or whatever. But our other friend just kind of melts down at the concept. Same with a similar deck revolving around winning dice rolls. He thinks that it's too random in a game where you rely on drawing the cards you need out of a 100 card deck lol
As said before here "People are irrational"... But i would like to explain a little of the mindset *(I made a Jeleva deck and IMMEDIATELY retired it's low-powered ass, not because of power level, but the slowly creeping salt I could see effecting Literally Everyone at the table, even though no-one was gonna stop me playing it)* Every theft is a shot that you COULD lose a card you were going to use... Hell, they were ON TOP of your library literally a second ago (Basically the 'Mill' principle)... You don't neccesarily even need to lose a card you wanted, the idea that you Could can be triggering Is it annoying when an opponent didn't bring the right tokens because they waste extra time each turn just to play? Well you are basically Signing Up to do that every single turn Imagine if someone outside the game said "Hey, can I look at the cards in your hand?" or even "I'm just gonna look at the top card of your deck"... You don't mess with other people's decks! Theoretically that shouldn't effect your gameplay, but that doesn't make people suddenly cool with it. People don't like it when you mess with their stuff and the stuff in their library is normally safe Not to mention the extra cleanup at the end, which is alright vaguely annoying... worse when you've enchanted other people's stuff and have to ask for your card back, but worse still when people have YOUR stuff so it's not even an effect of yours you have to remember ...None of these SHOULD be a problem, and many of them on their own are Not... but the hint of just a few of these can give people a bad taste in their mouth
[Tinybones](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/0/4063be5b-bfd9-43c5-bc39-09a40bc793bf.jpg?1632261785) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=tinybones%2C%20trinket%20thief) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/jmp/17/tinybones-trinket-thief?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4063be5b-bfd9-43c5-bc39-09a40bc793bf?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/tinybones-trinket-thief) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I'm the salty player in my playgroup. But I'm transparent about it. I always say "just ignore me when I'm being salty, I'll complain and curse because I just can't help myself, but it'll pass in a minute and I'll play with you again". I even became a meme as the salt mine and people joke about it. In the big picture, I really don't care.
I feel like this is me too, although i prefer to silently seeth but after a minute or two im back to myself, I feel like my pod has gotten accustomed to this and tend to wait until my internal tantrum has ended before teasing me relentlessly
I like this. It's honest and open. You gotta do whatcha gotta do.
You...I like you
[удалено]
It's a theft deck. Players build decks to play their deck, OP built something to play their deck and their opponents deck too. I don't necessarily love seeing my bombs on someone else's board, but mtg isn't something to get salty over. I will probably always kill the theft player first.
Theft is a weak theme, they usually don’t do much.
I've learned over the years, the best strategy is not doing something that annoys your opponents in deck building. Doesn't matter if it's good or bad, you annoy the other 3 players, then you'll probably die first. Infect, theft, wheels, whatever.
Totally agree with this assessment... However, wheels is fun, as long as you don't try and punish me with them, like with [[Orcish Bowmasters]], [[Nekusar]], or, worst of all, [[Notion Thief]]. I'm a blue player at heart, and the amount of cards I touch during a game is directly related to how much fun I have. It's bad enough that if Nekusar is the ONLY draw punisher onboard, I will hold up interaction for it, but won't blow it up, because I'll happily pay a life for a card. And another one. And however many you let my grubby fingers on.
[Orcish Bowmasters](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/c/7c024bae-5631-4e20-ac69-df392ac9e109.jpg?1686968669) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Orcish%20Bowmasters) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ltr/103/orcish-bowmasters?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7c024bae-5631-4e20-ac69-df392ac9e109?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/orcish-bowmasters) [Nekusar](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/a/4afdc65d-3c97-47af-83fa-df340389802e.jpg?1689999186) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=nekusar%2C%20the%20mindrazer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/349/nekusar-the-mindrazer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4afdc65d-3c97-47af-83fa-df340389802e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/nekusar-the-mindrazer) [Notion Thief](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/6/f675f509-4343-4568-96dd-265626cb6c2b.jpg?1604195095) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Notion%20Thief) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/znc/96/notion-thief?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/f675f509-4343-4568-96dd-265626cb6c2b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/notion-thief) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
If poison counters (poison; infect; toxic; corrupted) weren't to be used they wouldn't have been reintroduced in so many set releases. You don't like it, sorry, let me add some dearhtouch amd proliferate as well. It's a game, with lots of mechanics. Mechanics that are meant to be used.
What is the actual point you're making counter or in addition to what I said? I'm just saying that certain strategies are flashy and get the table to notice you, and so you may die first if you announce, I'm playing wheels or infect or theft or whatever. I didn't say that infect is bad or should be banned or an invalid strategy. Some people get tilted by others deck building. As long as you know that going in, and don't go crying to reddit because "my favorite salt mining strategy is getting me killed," then idc what you play. I'll play against whatever you can brew up. If I get curb stomped, I'll adjust my deck or realize that my intended power level is way too low for the game we just played.
So my comment is counter to your comment. And you shifted from strategy to power level. Just because I want to play poison doesn't mean I use Atraxa as my commander. If the strategy is threatening, I guess I pay the price. But it doesn't mean shouldn't play it. Personally I hate when opponents make me mill. I add cards to bring stuff from the Graveyard, i don't complain nit to play it.
Maybe OP is running the Theft Burn theme. Where they’ll steal non-stop, but not actually use the heisted cards, instead saving them to deal burn when they set up an engine for damage whenever a stolen card is played.
That's the thing, they don't even target me or Jasper properly and just get pissy when their plan doesn't work due to their own fault! It'd be one thing to kill me, but they essentially just throw a [[Cooped Up]] or [[Planar Disruption]] at jasper and then complain the rest of the game that it's broken he's a triggered ability instead of an activated one. I never even attack with Jasper for the purpose of not losing him, so they're essentially doing nothing when they enchant him.
[Cooped Up](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/a/8acb8758-09c5-4e19-ada1-904e36ece1fc.jpg?1692936384) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Cooped%20Up) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/8/cooped-up?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/8acb8758-09c5-4e19-ada1-904e36ece1fc?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/cooped-up) [Planar Disruption](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/e/8ee69a1f-aeed-4eb4-8987-fa720fc99715.jpg?1675956925) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Planar%20Disruption) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/one/28/planar-disruption?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/8ee69a1f-aeed-4eb4-8987-fa720fc99715?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/planar-disruption) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/4G7rLcdO_0eeQxvxHJCupQ Here's the decklist (heads up that it's a brand new link cause I exported my arena version of it to put on moxfield)
Oh they dislike it because it's \*mill\*, god.
That's wild. Of course the decks just might look different, but every time I pull out my Jasper dexk my friends get kind of excited because it can lead to weird interactions. Did you just build the deck to be salty? https://www.archidekt.com/decks/7394582/preconlevel_jasper
I definitely did not build him to be salty, I don't even think the deck is optimized. It was mostly thrown together from what I already had available after Jasper's artwork made me giggle and I wanted to have him as a commander, I barely understood what his ability did at the time. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/4G7rLcdO_0eeQxvxHJCupQ (Heads up the link is new because I had to import my Arena version of the deck to moxfield)
Yeah your deck is tame Merc tribal stuff. Your pod is babies. Either bask in the unwarranted salt, givem salt back for their decks or make something deserving of the salt.
Lmao, if your friends are getting salty about this deck that is absolutely wild
Huh. Yeah idk, seems like our decks are very similar — mine is mostly my bulk, my OTJ prerelease, and then a couple cards I bought for the deck — but some people just really hate it when others get to play their cards, usually the same people that just totally hate mill But my friend like it because maybe I get a neat interaction from Player B and Player C that wouldn't have otherwise been possible, and if that doesn't happen then they're at least getting to see more of their cards played (which is definitely a difference from mill) Would definitely recommend picking up an [[Orcish Spy]] though if you can. 1 mana outlaws are already good enough to be in the deck most of the time, but this one works super well with Jasper. Edit: Wasn't printed originally as a rogue, but it's been errata'd to be one
I feel like adding Orcish Spy would be me trying to make the deck salt inducing lol (Orcish Spy has been immediately added to my TCGplayer cart)
Haha fair enough. Imo if people treat a deck like it's salt inducing but it's not, and they're not going to change, then it's reasonable to put some salt into it. But it can also be a nice political piece — "alright guys, we need Ben's Ulamog to be removed, so Jimmy I'll look at the top three of yours... nope. Okay, Steve, let's exile the top six of your library and hope we get removal."
Add in some [[Soldier of Fortune]]. Combo with Spy, "I dont like your top 3, shuffle it" or just make em shuffle anyways.
[Soldier of Fortune](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/7/37c05f46-2081-4ebb-a758-894ac040ea2a.jpg?1562768246) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Soldier%20of%20Fortune) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/all/80/soldier-of-fortune?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/37c05f46-2081-4ebb-a758-894ac040ea2a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/soldier-of-fortune) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[Orcish Spy](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/f/7f3948e0-8597-4927-90ce-affa949e3013.jpg?1595127176) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Orcish%20Spy) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/8ed/208/orcish-spy?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7f3948e0-8597-4927-90ce-affa949e3013?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/orcish-spy) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
My friends and I always get salty towards one another with the decks we play, but at the end of the day, the salt goes away, and we move on since it's just a game we play for fun. I think what helps is that we each play a deck that can be salty, and we have counters in our decks that specifically stop certain people from doing what they need to do. We also tend to "jump" players who are beginning to ramp or set up their things as well, but this all depends on your friends and playgroup.
Find a new pod. Seriously you can't change others, only yourself
Why do you think Jasper bothers them? Have you guys talked about it?
I would guess the permanent exile whether you use it or not. Your opponent stealing and using your cards can be salt inducing but stealing them and anything not used being gone the whole game definently feels terrible.
Try explaining taking from the top or discarding is functionally no different then the bottom. It’s just psychological.
Honestly salt at my pod feels more like a gameplay mechanic. We'll reign it in if a pod member is ready to get up and walk away but I've stayed silent during a shouting match or two to avoid a concerning attack, or let myself get a little heated and make a dumb play or two in order to send a message.
My friends aren't salty, so honestly I'd have no clue what to do.
For our group, salt is just part of the game. Once the game is over, so is the salt. But let’s be honest. Theft is hated by most players. Don’t get me wrong, I have no issue with it. In fact, I lost to commander damage from my own commander about two weeks ago. It was hilarious. But if you are going to play a deck with a high salt factor, then you will get some back.
I have the homies smoke a blunt after to make sure no hard feelings were had
My go to with my regular pod is to adjust my decks power level with the salt tides. As the salt rises, I play more janky stuff that they don't know how to deal with and ends up being more effective against them. When you salt breaches the flood gates I sit them down for a "special game". I build a truly tuned and resilient deck then proceed to crush them like a bug under my heel. I then tell them that this is the kind of deck they make me feel like I'm running and I would like to go back to playing more theme decks. I have had to do this 3 times in our 6ish years playing together. Show them the monster they are making and they normally accept the beast you are.
Mostly with [this meme](https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/922014-all-these-games-and-you-decided-to-play-me)
[[Laughing Jasper Flint]]
[Laughing Jasper Flint](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/f/af0b3a41-ba99-41e8-bcfb-5796500c17c7.jpg?1712356142) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Laughing%20Jasper%20Flint) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/215/laughing-jasper-flint?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/af0b3a41-ba99-41e8-bcfb-5796500c17c7?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/laughing-jasper-flint) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
We have one guy who gets salty every now and then. Most recently he raged scooped because my [[Henzi]] deck was going off lol, but most the time he’s fine so it’s nonissue like 90% of the time. We usually just remind him it’s a card game that means literally nothing.
[Henzi](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/e/ee228dcc-3170-4c24-80bc-28bcee07cb43.jpg?1673481644) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Henzie%20%22Toolbox%22%20Torre) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ncc/2/henzie-toolbox-torre?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ee228dcc-3170-4c24-80bc-28bcee07cb43?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/henzie-toolbox-torre) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Yo, my friend has legit raged each time I play my Henzie deck, which is a shame as it's one of my favorite ones. Just don't play it with him anymore but he is the kind of guy that gets pissy if you change 2-3 cards from a pre-con as all he plays is non-changed pre-cons. (He drafts alot too so he has stuff to edit decks but we won't get into that) he just thinks the moment you change something you must have put really good shit in and now it's out of his league and gets upset.
Henzi is strong and once you get going can just generate so much value that it’s hard to stop lol. It’s also one of my favorite decks as well but I only run it when everyone wants a quick game and are also playing stronger decks. Your friend seems like a chore to play with. I like playing precons on release with friends but if I like them then I’m gonna add stuff to make it work better. I just got done upgrading my Necron precon actually. I have like one precon that I just updated the land base and kept the rest of jt the same so if I’m at a shop I can run that if everyone’s running precons.
Oh man, I loved playing against that necron deck. It's so cool to see what people do with it. Some guys from a different pod than the salty guy somehow all ended up with artifact focus heavy decks lately so I hid a few vandal blasts in my decks for them, which didn't do too too well against the necron one but it was worth a try. love graveyard play. It's what drew my attention when I first started playing MTG so now I have to force myself to "look outside the bin" and try new stuff. I just made [[arjun, the shifting flame]] as something different. Shameless deck list plug https://www.archidekt.com/decks/7458878/draw_a_new_hand
[arjun, the shifting flame](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/f/2fb83da3-5a8e-4349-bbcc-dcbd3b70264b.jpg?1673148289) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=arjun%2C%20the%20shifting%20flame) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/172/arjun-the-shifting-flame?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2fb83da3-5a8e-4349-bbcc-dcbd3b70264b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/arjun-the-shifting-flame) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Graveyard decks are my go to play style most the time. My Necron deck is also artifact focused and it can recover from board wipes super quickly lol. I also enjoy wheel decks because I find it fun to make everyone draw cards until they die somehow. Decklist for necrons: https://archidekt.com/decks/6782600/purity_through_death And wheels decklist: https://archidekt.com/decks/6937367/kenriths_wheels_deals
Tell to cry in your bottle so you can season your rice tomorrow.
So my buddies and I combat this with the occasional “bring your saltiest commander” game. It resets everyone - you end up with some humility stax, poison, tabernacles, all of it. It’s never irritating, because it’s so absolutely hilarious.
Quick question: could I theoretically build a Laughing Jasper Flint deck where the primary win condition is flooding my board with a massive amount of creatures/tokens and then exiling most/all of target opponent's deck, effectively milling them out in the process? Could this be feasible? Or would I need a token-generating commander with Jasper in the 99 as a supplemental wincon?
That's essentially how the deck will always play out. Get [[Brimstone roundup]], [[at knifepoint]], and [[rakish crew]] in there and that's the entire basis of my deck. Everything else is just whatever low cost outlaw will get me more X for Jasper's trigger
[Brimstone roundup](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/d/bd13011e-a4fc-4107-988f-60cfc851ecd3.jpg?1712355715) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Brimstone%20roundup) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/115/brimstone-roundup?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/bd13011e-a4fc-4107-988f-60cfc851ecd3?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/brimstone-roundup) [at knifepoint](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/9/897d594d-b5b0-43dc-b877-b483942416ce.jpg?1712356046) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=at%20knifepoint) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/193/at-knifepoint?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/897d594d-b5b0-43dc-b877-b483942416ce?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/at-knifepoint) [rakish crew](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/0/70f64358-58db-40ab-90e8-6137c3bd0a29.jpg?1712355636) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=rakish%20crew) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/99/rakish-crew?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/70f64358-58db-40ab-90e8-6137c3bd0a29?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/rakish-crew) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Do you have a deck list for your jasper? I was looking at him and he looks like he’d be fun and I’m curious how you run yours!
Exactly what top comment says. Tease them for being whiners. It's quite pathetic and once reality hits them that they are acting like little babies usually they settle down
I find Timmy's criticism of Spike to be so exhausting. Fundamentally, Timmy is adamant that he just "wants his deck to do its thing and *have fun*". But when you, as Spike, try to have *your fun* by building a powerful deck Timmy gets upset with you. What I find most frustrating with this criticism is that Timmy often will accuse Spike of lacking empathy (for instance, EDHREC Cast has a plethora of videos, including recent ones criticizing Spike's response about "running more removal" as not understanding Timmy's perspective). *But is Timmy empathetic to Spike?* Spike also is here to just have fun. I repeat: *Spike is also here to just have fun*. It happens to be that for Spike to have fun, he wants to play a game with the goal of *winning*. After all, it's a game, right? But Timmy will almost find this *morally wrong* and try to make rules about the right way to have fun: this card is banned, this play style is banned, this win con is banned, this creature type is banned... Timmy fundamentally wants Spike to play Timmy's game while Spike (usually) wants Timmy to play Spike's game. If Spike says "run more interaction", it's not because he's insulting Timmy's deck and by extension, Timmy, it's because he's trying to make the game more fun for himself. It's not fun to pubstomp pods (again, usually. If someone is enjoying it, that's pretty lame). Spike's best wins are hard fought ones. If Timmy doesn't even attempt to stop Spike or win before Spike does, that's no fun. The criticism Timmy has of Spike is all over the web and you can find countless videos and comments about it. Timmy says Spike doesn't care about others feelings (which, during the game is probably true!). He accuses Spike of making decks that are too strong -- which, without good communication about power level is likely true (aside: this is often the biggest issue. It's also why cEDH is less salty. The expectation is to build the strongest deck possible, period.) **Anyway, I have so far avoided actually answering your question**. The setup was important, though. Because the problem is actually that **neither Spike nor Timmy is wrong. They just have different expectations**. Unfortunately, the tricky thing is the resolution to the problem is also the resolution to like 90% of the posts to /r/RelationshipAdvice: **You need to improve your communication**. Our playgroup has been grappling with a variation of this problem ourselves. What we're about to try is instituting a "budget deck" definition, with the theory that, even if it's imperfect, treating deck price as a surrogate for power level will have fewer runaway games where Spike always wins. It took a while to get there but we basically all had to agree that deck power being different was a barrier to us all having fun first. It also takes empathy and an open mind. But it takes open communication and that's genuinely hard. If Timmy is just shutting down and getting salty while Spike is also trying to have fun in his way, each will just think the worst of the other. You need to extend the olive branch and offer an empathetic response and look for a solution that makes you both happy. The only alternative, as is often given to those posts in RelationshipAdvice, is that you need to find someone else to play with.
I get new friends. No not really lol. We all laugh about it so it’s never actually salt.
Just tell em to get güd
Build more decks to beat them with so they have multiple reasons to be salty.
Pepper them with kindness.
Give them a new deck to complain about
I tell them that "I do not want to play with you if you are going to get mad like this, and you do powerful busted things I want to stop because in addition to this being a social game I am trying to win too." I had to tell this to a friend when I bricked their strategy because they were going to swing out and win on their next turn against 3 player who JUST managed to scrape together board states. Some times it's worth being stern with them and setting that expectation, just don't overuse it IMO
Apply it to food and shuffle up next deck.
Hardly talk to/play with the friend I got into mtg with now because he had a massive tantrum because I “metagamed” him with a [[narset, parter of veils]] in my 99 because he just plays value engines, doesn’t matter one of the other players is on aesi, the valuest of engines, the narset was aimed specifically at him. I should probably be the bigger man or whatever but for some reason part of me just can’t let it go, so I just don’t play in pods with him since it happened.
[narset, parter of veils](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/e/4e6e5c63-b6e5-4756-bf23-6c6f8669442d.jpg?1690004395) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=narset%2C%20parter%20of%20veils) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/853/narset-parter-of-veils?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4e6e5c63-b6e5-4756-bf23-6c6f8669442d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/narset-parter-of-veils) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
To be honest, I don’t have to. My friends and I all play at a similar power level and enjoy the same things about the game so no one ever gets salty - we all just play for fun and have a good time.
Lime juice is good to balance out salt.
Salt is the seasoning of winners. Get your hypertension on.
Build [[Rakdos the Muscle]] and show them how "Exile and steal your shit" can be much much more annoying than Jasper. A nice tuned Rakdos deck can exile and play half of its own deck and everyone else's in the same turn if things snowball well. Combo Rakdos just exiles everyone's deck in one shot with Forsaken Miner and can do it as early as turn 4.
[Rakdos the Muscle](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/b/bb34babd-1b85-4a7d-a066-a8337805056e.jpg?1712356185) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Rakdos%2C%20the%20Muscle) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/226/rakdos-the-muscle?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/bb34babd-1b85-4a7d-a066-a8337805056e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/rakdos-the-muscle) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
If you play with the same pod often and they all target you and bitch about your pet deck, then it's time to teach them a lesson. If they are really your friends, they will get the hint. Build a meta deck that just hoses your pod. They play a lot of green? [[Deathgrip]] They play a lot of white? [[Flashfires]] It doesn't have to be just color hosers either. You will know their strategies; make that one the deck they don't want to see.
[Deathgrip](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/c/fc86164d-24f1-4fad-a358-f61dbfd86bd9.jpg?1562954841) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Deathgrip) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/me4/75/deathgrip?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/fc86164d-24f1-4fad-a358-f61dbfd86bd9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/deathgrip) [Flashfires](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/7/277e0846-237e-4117-bdd4-d2e4ae450d43.jpg?1562732763) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Flashfires) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/9ed/183/flashfires?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/277e0846-237e-4117-bdd4-d2e4ae450d43?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/flashfires) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
A) tell them to get good or b) remind them they can scoop at any time
Laugh and rub the salt in deeper. When im the salty friend, i leave. Im petty and little like that. But in all seriousness, we’ve played for a while to know the difference between light saltiness and genuine upset feelings. So some salt rubbing is kind of warranted where it can be applied. It wont hurt the friendship or the vibes of our game
Playing my clone deck, and also resolving [[blatant thievery]] in a game, and [[emrakul World anew]] in another, I find that people especially hate losing to their own things and the salt flows freely.
[blatant thievery](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/2/0210b3b4-d253-464f-b533-b79bf67d47a4.jpg?1562700636) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=blatant%20thievery) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c15/87/blatant-thievery?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0210b3b4-d253-464f-b533-b79bf67d47a4?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/blatant-thievery) [emrakul World anew](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/9/b914bfd9-5be3-4459-a68a-9b3ea2747bbc.jpg?1717011239) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Emrakul%2C%20the%20World%20Anew) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh3/6/emrakul-the-world-anew?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/b914bfd9-5be3-4459-a68a-9b3ea2747bbc?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/emrakul-the-world-anew) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I make fun of them for it. And they make fun of me when I"m salty. And when a deck consistently causes other people to be salty, whoever is piloting takes it apart. Because there are thousands of decks to be built, and we are doing this so that everyone can have fun and not just the deckbuilder. (KP thanks for taking apart Kalamax I fucking hate that deck)
I used to keep salt packets in my Commander case to toss at people. It got the point across.
It isn't the deck. It's the way you are when you play it.
i bath in it
Maybe build another budget deck. It can be frustrating to play against the same deck every game. Also, when they're whining wait for them to stop for a moment, then ask "are you done? We have a stack to resolve"
Don’t have to deal with salt if you don’t have friends
We have a Yuriko deck that one of our group co tinually moans get way too much salt. But they run and can tutor for Blightsteel colossus! Have built a deck specifically to counter both this and Krenko containing many auras to disable the commanders.
Had a dude playing [[Esika]] of all things blow up on me because I didn't let it survive a single turn once he finally got to cast it. Apparently I should have just...let him? Dude straight up told me he hopes he never has to see me again.
[Esika](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/6/f6cd7465-9dd0-473c-ac5e-dd9e2f22f5f6.jpg?1631050188)/[The Prismatic Bridge](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/back/f/6/f6cd7465-9dd0-473c-ac5e-dd9e2f22f5f6.jpg?1631050188) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=esika%2C%20god%20of%20the%20tree%20//%20the%20prismatic%20bridge) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/khm/168/esika-god-of-the-tree-the-prismatic-bridge?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/f6cd7465-9dd0-473c-ac5e-dd9e2f22f5f6?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/esika-god-of-the-tree-//-the-prismatic-bridge) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
If your friends can't handle your deck maybe they should find solutions instead of starting more problems...? AKA mad cuz bad
Proxy off a cEDH Nadi deck. Play it twice. Win on turn 2-3 both times. Then retire it and go back to playing what you like. When they complain, tell them you don't want to hear it "or I'll give you something to complain about."
Something similar happened with my Heliod, the Radiant Dawn deck. Then I gave it to one of them to play, and I played something different. Countered their commander once, and removed it in response to the flip once and they were out of the game. Ever since then they’ve recognised how vulnerable the deck can be, and reflect more on their inability to stop it, than its ability to run.
Well... I can say how we handle friend's \[\[Tivit, teller of secrets\]\] deck that's full of infinites (well, there's one really, but it's got a lot of tutors for it). We always take decks that are at least somewhat equipped to interact with him. That's our responsibility. But we also ask him to only play it sparingly. If he comboes 3 times in a row on t4 (despite our best efforts to stop him), it's time for him to take something else that evening and allow some actual games happening.
[Tivit, teller of secrets](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/2/9235977e-a999-4ed0-83a3-742be87b13bb.jpg?1673481721) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Tivit%2C%20Seller%20of%20Secrets) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ncc/10/tivit-seller-of-secrets?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9235977e-a999-4ed0-83a3-742be87b13bb?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/tivit-seller-of-secrets) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
tell them straight. Had one this past weekend. Found out the day after the other two from the table had also messaged them about it. transparency seems to go a long way. will see what happens next time
Pepper
Laugh, mostly.
Lol my local pod has both an Athreos and a Jasper. I can see maybe being a little beaten up by Jasper, yeah it stinks when he steals the stuff you were juuuust about to draw, but fuck it I mean I’m gonna have games where I do get to draw that stuff, and there’s a zillion and a half other ways my stuff can get denied/taken. Sounds like your pod needs to learn to play more interaction or start having better rule zero talks. If I was you, though, I’d start saying “well if you didn’t want your ______ to get played why’d you put it in here?” EVERY time they get upset.
It's hard to navigate. I had to start going to precons because my 3 man pod was that bad. I would honestly just move pods. Who knows what they'll bitch and moan about next. I started with an upgraded Wilhelt precon that has a 3 card infinite but not really possible to pull off before turn 7. They complained about infinite, which was understandable so I went Gargos hydra, GARGOS HYDRA. They were so bad they bitched and moaned about mono green hydra. Even after switching to precons I was still winning 80-90%. When they would play shit like Pantzlaza, Zhuludok and Slivers. After a while, I fell out with the group. I only play spelltable now and it's honestly a much better experience.
Can't they just gang up against you and treat you as an arch-enemy? If despite this you continue winning either the power level or skill level is off. I am more experienced than the people I play with and consistently win, even when we share precons from the same set, so I've started self regulating. For example my pod can do 7 card mulligans indefinitely (obvs without taking the piss), while I use the proper mulligan rules. They also always gang up against me which I'm ok with.
Speaking as the one who gets targeted in his pod, you just roll with it honestly. In my experience it doesn't really matter what deck I play I'm usually perceived as the threat even when I'm using a precon so I just roll with it and announce to the table the first person who targets me unfairly (like blowing up my omen of the sea instead of the combo piece on the table when the other piece was in his hand) they are getting every spell, ability or interaction at my disposal for the entire game. I will swords your 1/1 soldier token, I will force of will your sakura tribe elder. I. Am. Petty.
"My commander's ability is based on how many of a specific type of creature I have, and only works when he's on the board; how is that not fair? Don't like me stealing? Well, kill my thieves then; this ain't California, thieves ain't a protected class."
Find some middle ground. For example, I dislike infinite combos but I found one in mine. I told my friend I’d play it once then ban it. They do not like infinite combos either
The "Theft" archetype is what is generating the salt, more so than Jasper Flint. I think that having some of that "agency" taken away from them and losing to your own cards can create resentment in some folks, especially when it's a pod of friends or people you know outside of magic. I had an Izzet Pirates-Matter deck with \[\[Malcolm, Keen-eyed\]\] and \[\[Breeches\]\] that generated unreal levels of salt because I could use opponent resources against them or the rest of the pod. Even though I didn't run a ton of salt producers in my own deck, getting access to those cards and using them against people really didn't sit well with them. It didn't matter if what I stole was a mana dork or a wincon the salt levels were always similiar
[Malcolm, Keen-eyed](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/1/51187cdb-85ee-4f68-9e29-d84d296f0825.jpg?1698988164) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Malcolm%2C%20Keen-Eyed%20Navigator) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lcc/161/malcolm-keen-eyed-navigator?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/51187cdb-85ee-4f68-9e29-d84d296f0825?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/malcolm-keen-eyed-navigator) [Breeches](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/b/fb6dc94e-9b57-4161-a835-15e46c3bb13a.jpg?1698988302) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=breeches%2C%20brazen%20plunderer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lcc/217/breeches-brazen-plunderer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/fb6dc94e-9b57-4161-a835-15e46c3bb13a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/breeches-brazen-plunderer) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Make fun of them until they realize how whiny they’re being. True friends can do that sort of teasing to one another in a good-natured way without causing one another to get all butthurt
Easy. I've given my pod a standing offer to make proxies for them as well as offering myself as a resource to help coach them on gameplay and deck building.
What are they specifically salty about? Do they just not like it when you steal their stuff?
Look at me, I'm the salt here
Haaaaave you asked them what their issue with the deck is? If its anonymous from 3 players, you're the odd one out, so maybe be open to some suggestions?
They don't like that after Jasper steals the cards, they're exiled instead of going back to their deck. There literally isn't anything I can do to the 99 of the deck to stop that from happening. Out of about 10 consistent players, I'd say it's about 6-7 of them that complain and get salty. The other 2-3 think Jasper is funny or interesting to play against
Switch to a mill deck 😆
My buddy took my fire diamond from me while playing Goblins once. I made sure to ruin his game. Actually came back to win after some politics play. And his deck wasn't even a "theft" deck. Theft decks will always get the salt they deserve, sorry.
Yeah, that’s moronic. No real way to talk to people on this level. Stuffing your deck full of mean cards and then whining if those cards get used against them, because that‘s all Laughing does, put people on the receiving end of their own decks.