MTG

1921 readers

3 users here now

Magic: the Gathering discussion

General discussion, questions, and media related to Magic: the Gathering that doesn't fit within a more specific community. Our equivalent of /r/magicTCG!

Type [[Card name]] in your posts and comments and CardBot will reply with a link to the card! More info here.

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

andrew@mtgzone.com

mike@mtgzone.com

Do you fake falling behind in Commander to avoid getting focused on? (mtgzone.com)

submitted 4 months ago by TheMagicer@mtgzone.com to c/mtg@mtgzone.com

14 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I've noticed that in my playgroup when someone is falling behind in Commander they usually get much, much less heat, to the point that they're able to ramp their mana and then just win out of nowhere after everyone has depleted their resources etc., so I was wondering if one could actually fake it and if you do do you have any tips for it?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] Artemis201@mstdn.social 5 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (8 children)

@TheMagicer I guess it depends on what you mean by "fake falling behind".
I do conserve my resources to avoid being perceived as a threat. That's not only proper resource logistics, it's also saving my stuff from removal to reduce risk.
I will also argue that I am not a threat based on my board state compared to other players, or try to convince people that some plays are unnecessary.

I think the difference is between lying about my luck vs being strategic in how I present my board state

[–] TheMagicer@mtgzone.com 3 points 4 months ago (7 children)

Yes, I guess that's what I meant! In my playgroup we're all new to MTG and I've noticed that everyone almost always taps out all mana (unless they have a removal/counterspell in hand), me included.

I should probably start avoiding going all-in like you do, to reduce both how I'm perceived by others and the resources I commit up until the boardwipe. I guess it can be a proper strategy, thanks!

[–] Artemis201@mstdn.social 4 points 4 months ago (2 children)

@TheMagicer carefully conserving resources is actually a very important skill in the game.

I play a Iroas aggro deck that can be very explosive, but is bad at drawing cards.
It needs to get to 7 devotion for Iroas, but any extra creatures don't bring much benefit while do bring a lot of risk. If I have no cards in hand and get board wiped, I'm basically done. So I always try to hold back as much as I can after 7 devotion to prepare.

Im glad you're thinking about this! A real level up.

[–] Artemis201@mstdn.social 4 points 4 months ago

@TheMagicer of course I have other decks that are better at drawing cards so it's fine if they overextend because I can probably draw out of it. Definitely deck-dependent

[–] TheMagicer@mtgzone.com 2 points 4 months ago

You're right, very deck-dependent! One of us runs a heavily upgraded Pantlaza precon that's basically all creatures, and once they managed to win even after three board wipes even though they kept casting ALL creatures they could lol

So, yeah, I can see how overextending after you get to 7 devotion can leave you empty-handed when the wipe comes. Definitely something I'll keep in mind in future!

load more comments (4 replies)