Scion of HalasterScion of Halaster | Art by Milivoj Ćeran

Hello, and welcome to Am I the Bolas? This week, playing with powering down!

This column is for all of you out there who have ever played some Magic and wondered if you were the bad guy. I'm here to take in your story with all of its nuances so I can bring some clarity to all those asking, "Am I the Bolas?"

I'm ready to hear you out and offer advice. All you have to do is email amithebolas@gmail.com with your story, a pseudonym you want to use, and of course, only include details you don't mind in the column! You might see your story below one day. You might even hear it on the podcast. Which podcast?

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(Post edited for brevity, clarity, and then some.)

SUBMISSION

VERDICT

Thank you for writing and asking me to weigh in on your story. As I mention every week, if folks don't write to me, there's no column, so if you, the reader, want to send me a story, whether it's your own or one from Reddit or a friend's, please send it to amithebolas@gmail.com and I'll get to it here.

What's up, Bolcuts! What an interesting submission. My knee-jerk reaction to this is "but you don't need to proliferate each opponent every time." Then we get into the territory of this section here:

"As the deck is not that quick, I do not have the luxury not to proliferate on someone, and even if I do, it's when I'm sure I can finish the game, which makes them feel like I'm in charge of whether they get to play or not."

Having the group respond in a way that it feels like your decision to not proliferate the poison counter on them is still a negative action... that's a tough position to be in, considering people already act that way when you actually do put a poison counter on them! It's likely that you've got plenty of cards that put poison counters on each opponent, so the issue stems from this idea that you then "have" to proliferate on everyone, including the player off to a slow start because your deck is slow and you need your game plan online fighting the feeling your opponents have of you being "in charge of whether they get to play or not".

So while this deck is powered down by the standards of the other decks you described, it seems to inject an unpleasant dynamic at the table. Is this something you've discussed with the playgroup in the past? I have to assume that some discussion has been had for you to have the insight that players are feeling like you are in control of whether they can play their decks. I think a more direct discussion should be had about what people feel about the deck and there may be a way to reframe it, because while you describe the deck as slow, it certainly speeds things up when you introduce poison counters.

I think the framing on this deck needs to be outside the scope of power level or Bracket. Instead, I think this deck should be presented as the deck to pull out when you're putting yourself in the position of being the game's clock and it's not so much a battle anymore, but rather a race.

The elephant in the room here is -

No, not that one. Commander players infamously hate poison counters and infect, so much so that when I was starting out in Commander in 2013, one of the regular debates you had surrounding the format was whether or not infect should be scaled for the higher life totals in Commander. Most groups self-police themselves out of infect, save for that one guy who most often inspires groans, but over the years, infect has been most accepted at tables, at least in my experience.

Does it still kind of suck because it truncates the timeline you thought you had and no amount of life gain can get you out of this whole? Yeah, totally. Does it remain a fine and fair enough game mechanic when not paired with the most absolutely ridiculous proliferate suites? Yeah, sure, why not. Tainted StrikeTainted Strike on a fatty is like any big creature gets to do commander damage, and Triumph of the HordesTriumph of the Hordes is a slightly less (or more) boring Craterhoof BehemothCraterhoof Behemoth. Infect inspires the kind of sarcastic slow clap of "oh, great, you did the thing, yeah, wow, great stuff, good job," but it remains enough of a novelty in my play experiences that, when I see it, it's this new obstacle that offers you a challenge you might find rewarding to overcome.

I think taking this kind of framing to the playgroup might help the table be more excited to deal with the deck. Implement this along with some deck-specific rules such as "mana screwed players don't get poison counters if it can be avoided" and maybe you'll find yourself avoiding wearing the Bolas crown.

Let me know how it goes. I can see this one going either way. Maybe your group gains an appreciation for the deck or I could see the group asking you to not play it... or even dismantle it.

Either way, please send me a follow-up when you have news!

Thanks for writing in!