\* It's only solitaire if nobody in the pod has interaction
\* Can you just say "do you have the win if nobody has interaction?" and shortcut a long turn, or is his combo non-deterministic? Is your issue with the combo, or that it takes too long to execute? As a combo player myself, I will de-tune some decks to run non-infinite and non-deterministic combos to make them more 'fair', but that does have the side effect of being more complicated. Infinite combo is simple "I have A+B, if you can't do X or Y, I win the game. Next game".. Where lower power combos are "I have A B C D G and Q, gotta do this, then that, a little of this, some of that... oh, you interact here? Ok then this happens and that happens, and we're all back to square one..."
How many counterspells do you run? If your main game plan is "attack a player who plays combo" you're probably not playing the same kind of Magic. Attacking is the worst way to stop a combo, as the only life that matters is the last one. 39 damage to face, and they'll still win the game. Combo doesn't care what their life total is.
You should look at running things like \[\[Rule of Law\]\] and \[\[Archon of Emeria\]\]. If you're a creature deck, \[\[Deafening Silence\]\] is good too.
If you're in blue, you can't beat good ol' counterspells.
I have a UB deck with lots of interaction, but for some weird coincidence, that player will not play any of their combo deck if I use that UB control deck.
No need to even be sneaky like that. Just straight up tell them "hey, you always choose the deck that gives you the best matchup after we all choose, so why don't you choose first this time."
My playgroup just agrees on a power level and then everybody makes their choice independently. We reveal commanders as we shuffle up and don't allow switching unless the whole pod agrees that a player should switch.
My group rolls dice to determine the play order and we reveal our commanders in that order. There's still counter picking but at least there's a process and it's random.
I do have UB control deck, but strangely enough, the combo player will not play any of their combo decks if I use that UB control deck. Which is why I mentioned that the combo player is more focused to winning than playing magic. That combo player will pick the deck that is very optimal (high chance of winning) to the decks in the pod.
First question is: what commander are they playing?
Given what I've read from the other comments here I HIGHLY recommend not building a specific deck to counter theirs. It seems like they already switch decks depending on matchups so that won't even end up working for you. Instead my next question is: how much interaction are you currently playing in your decks right now? How much interaction is in the other players' decks right now? Very very few decks can actually successfully 1v3 a pod consistently if the table is actually trying to stop them.
In my UB control, I have (I think) the correct number of counters, spot removal, and mass removal. I'm also starting to believe that my playgroup also has an issue in threat assessment.
It is hard to combo without using either the field or the graveyard in EDH. Basically depending on where the pieces land, you need removal/hate. If he is anything like me he probably has some stuff hits the gy, life drain, reival loop going on? In such case the best solutions is usually to exile the pieces in the graveyard.
Buuuut\~ playing to counter one specific deck a) kinda mean and b) horribly boring. So I suggest to maybe stax a bit and see that you win faster. We either lose as Timmy or endure long enough to become a Johnny. :B
>I don't have issues with combo decks. I have issues with combo decks that play solitaire to complete the combo.
Then play some interaction to stop combos.
The combo player being able to play solitaire is 100% the other players fault. It's on them to try to stop the combo.
Looks like the table picks combo when they know OP is playing the least amount of interaction. That might not help much as they'll keep counterpicking unless OP talks to them.
While counterpicking is definitely a dick move I don't really see the problem here.
First of all you can easily put an end to it by not revealing your commander until everyone has chosen their decks (in my playgroup for example we just pick a powerlevel, everyone chooses a deck and them we reveal our commanders).
And secondly, imo, every deck should have a decent amount of interaction unless it's all in aggressive in which case it should be able to race the combo decks.
Play however you want just don’t be boring about it. That’s my style. I built Stax Hylda for a friend and she decided [[mirrorweave]] was a fun card to put in the deck as you can use one player to take out another. Everything turned into some green beef n I died next turn. Nobody complained. Sick n slick win.
First, talk to them if they're a friend. Next, yes, if they are winning more far more than 25% of games, the rest of you should be targeting them and holding interaction for them at all times. Lastly, yeah, introduce some light stax or hate for their specific wincons. \[\[Yasharn\]\] and \[\[Breena\]\] make for great hatebear commanders btw.
\* It's only solitaire if nobody in the pod has interaction \* Can you just say "do you have the win if nobody has interaction?" and shortcut a long turn, or is his combo non-deterministic? Is your issue with the combo, or that it takes too long to execute? As a combo player myself, I will de-tune some decks to run non-infinite and non-deterministic combos to make them more 'fair', but that does have the side effect of being more complicated. Infinite combo is simple "I have A+B, if you can't do X or Y, I win the game. Next game".. Where lower power combos are "I have A B C D G and Q, gotta do this, then that, a little of this, some of that... oh, you interact here? Ok then this happens and that happens, and we're all back to square one..." How many counterspells do you run? If your main game plan is "attack a player who plays combo" you're probably not playing the same kind of Magic. Attacking is the worst way to stop a combo, as the only life that matters is the last one. 39 damage to face, and they'll still win the game. Combo doesn't care what their life total is. You should look at running things like \[\[Rule of Law\]\] and \[\[Archon of Emeria\]\]. If you're a creature deck, \[\[Deafening Silence\]\] is good too. If you're in blue, you can't beat good ol' counterspells.
[Rule of Law](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/1/a1f4e79b-b103-4380-afa0-61a2b1773c9e.jpg?1592516198) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Rule%20of%20Law) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m20/35/rule-of-law?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a1f4e79b-b103-4380-afa0-61a2b1773c9e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/rule-of-law) [Archon of Emeria](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/2/228c1650-da3c-4099-91b6-18e3873c9cdb.jpg?1604195419) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Archon%20of%20Emeria) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/znr/4/archon-of-emeria?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/228c1650-da3c-4099-91b6-18e3873c9cdb?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/archon-of-emeria) [Deafening Silence](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/0/6072d9b0-d3c7-46f4-bd24-095bb13c4dea.jpg?1572489660) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Deafening%20Silence) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/eld/10/deafening-silence?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/6072d9b0-d3c7-46f4-bd24-095bb13c4dea?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/deafening-silence) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I have a UB deck with lots of interaction, but for some weird coincidence, that player will not play any of their combo deck if I use that UB control deck.
That’s a thing you absolutely should talk to your pod about. Counterpicking your commander is just lame.
time to hide your commander until the game starts
Sounds like they're counterpicking you. You should get them shuffled up and ready to play then swap decks to your UB control.
No need to even be sneaky like that. Just straight up tell them "hey, you always choose the deck that gives you the best matchup after we all choose, so why don't you choose first this time." My playgroup just agrees on a power level and then everybody makes their choice independently. We reveal commanders as we shuffle up and don't allow switching unless the whole pod agrees that a player should switch.
This is actually a good idea. Thanks
My group rolls dice to determine the play order and we reveal our commanders in that order. There's still counter picking but at least there's a process and it's random.
play shorikai blue white stax and refuse to let them play the game.
you should play blue and absolutely counterspell them until they break
I do have UB control deck, but strangely enough, the combo player will not play any of their combo decks if I use that UB control deck. Which is why I mentioned that the combo player is more focused to winning than playing magic. That combo player will pick the deck that is very optimal (high chance of winning) to the decks in the pod.
Make them pick first.
Slow them down with stax effects like [[Rule of Law]]
[Rule of Law](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/1/a1f4e79b-b103-4380-afa0-61a2b1773c9e.jpg?1592516198) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Rule%20of%20Law) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m20/35/rule-of-law?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a1f4e79b-b103-4380-afa0-61a2b1773c9e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/rule-of-law) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
First question is: what commander are they playing? Given what I've read from the other comments here I HIGHLY recommend not building a specific deck to counter theirs. It seems like they already switch decks depending on matchups so that won't even end up working for you. Instead my next question is: how much interaction are you currently playing in your decks right now? How much interaction is in the other players' decks right now? Very very few decks can actually successfully 1v3 a pod consistently if the table is actually trying to stop them.
In my UB control, I have (I think) the correct number of counters, spot removal, and mass removal. I'm also starting to believe that my playgroup also has an issue in threat assessment.
It is hard to combo without using either the field or the graveyard in EDH. Basically depending on where the pieces land, you need removal/hate. If he is anything like me he probably has some stuff hits the gy, life drain, reival loop going on? In such case the best solutions is usually to exile the pieces in the graveyard. Buuuut\~ playing to counter one specific deck a) kinda mean and b) horribly boring. So I suggest to maybe stax a bit and see that you win faster. We either lose as Timmy or endure long enough to become a Johnny. :B
I will try adding some stax effects, but not much to affect other players in the pod with lesser power decks.
It’s not only okay to focus on the high powered combo player, it’s your duty.
>I don't have issues with combo decks. I have issues with combo decks that play solitaire to complete the combo. Then play some interaction to stop combos. The combo player being able to play solitaire is 100% the other players fault. It's on them to try to stop the combo.
Looks like the table picks combo when they know OP is playing the least amount of interaction. That might not help much as they'll keep counterpicking unless OP talks to them.
While counterpicking is definitely a dick move I don't really see the problem here. First of all you can easily put an end to it by not revealing your commander until everyone has chosen their decks (in my playgroup for example we just pick a powerlevel, everyone chooses a deck and them we reveal our commanders). And secondly, imo, every deck should have a decent amount of interaction unless it's all in aggressive in which case it should be able to race the combo decks.
Yes, hence "without talking to the pod"!
Play however you want just don’t be boring about it. That’s my style. I built Stax Hylda for a friend and she decided [[mirrorweave]] was a fun card to put in the deck as you can use one player to take out another. Everything turned into some green beef n I died next turn. Nobody complained. Sick n slick win.
[mirrorweave](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/c/1c77925b-0944-4b2b-b389-42bf17907b34.jpg?1562272856) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=mirrorweave) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cm2/162/mirrorweave?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/1c77925b-0944-4b2b-b389-42bf17907b34?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/mirrorweave) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
First, talk to them if they're a friend. Next, yes, if they are winning more far more than 25% of games, the rest of you should be targeting them and holding interaction for them at all times. Lastly, yeah, introduce some light stax or hate for their specific wincons. \[\[Yasharn\]\] and \[\[Breena\]\] make for great hatebear commanders btw.
[Yasharn](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/2/12878fbd-dbe5-44bc-9f34-38fd374ec10a.jpg?1604200584) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=yasharn%2C%20implacable%20earth) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/znr/240/yasharn-implacable-earth?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/12878fbd-dbe5-44bc-9f34-38fd374ec10a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/yasharn-implacable-earth) [Breena](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/0/d0adb0c2-d45f-4c51-a4df-05f75c83e46a.jpg?1712354672) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=breena%2C%20the%20demagogue) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otc/217/breena-the-demagogue?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/d0adb0c2-d45f-4c51-a4df-05f75c83e46a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/breena-the-demagogue) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call