<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pramikon, Sky Rampart" href="#" target="_blank">Pramikon, Sky Rampart</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CRichard+Wright%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art">Richard Wright</a></em></p>
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<p>Hello, and welcome to <em>Am I the Bolas</em>?<strong> This week, a long game!</strong></p>
<p>This column is for all of you out there who have ever played some <em>Magic </em>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?"</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>I'm Mike Carrozza, and here's a Magic card.</p>
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<p><em>Are <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vraska, Soul of Stone" href="#" target="_blank">Vraska, Soul of Stone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> players in the chat? </em></p>
<p>(Post edited for brevity, clarity, and then some.)</p>
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<h2>SUBMISSION</h2>
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<p><em>Hello Mike,</em></p>
<div><em>Apologies in advance for the length of this one. Because it is now the spooky season, I thought I'd share with you a horror story involving a cursed game of Commander, which happened several years ago. It was almost definitely the worst game of Commander that I've ever played, and it also went straight into my repressed memories. In fact, I only remembered this game because I wrote down all of my games, and when I was looking through my old notes, this game had a warning label on it that brought it all back. I'm not proud of my actions that day, but I don't think they were entirely unjustified. Anyways, here it is:</em></div>
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<div><em>There was something in the air that night. There had to be, because there was a different Commander pod in the middle of a game when I arrived at the small LGS down the street, and they were still playing that same game when I left several hours later. I sat down for a game with my <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr" href="#" target="_blank">Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> enchantments deck against a slightly upgraded <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Marneus Calgar" href="#" target="_blank">Marneus Calgar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> precon, a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Loot, the Key to Everything" href="#" target="_blank">Loot, the Key to Everything</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> casual "cute" creatures deck, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pramikon, Sky Rampart" href="#" target="_blank">Pramikon, Sky Rampart</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. The Marneus and Loot players were both regulars, but the Pramikon player was a new face that I'd never seen at this LGS before. Their deck immediately stood out to me, but the player insisted that it wasn't optimized and I let it slide.</em></div>
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<div><em><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pramikon, Sky Rampart"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Loot, the Key to Everything"></div></div></em></div>
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<div><em>Thus began what is currently the longest Commander game of my entire life, lasting 18 turns and three hours (I counted). My turn-two <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oath of Lieges" href="#" target="_blank">Oath of Lieges</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> guaranteed that everyone had almost perfect mana, but Pramikon utilized many different enchantments, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghostly Prison" href="#" target="_blank">Ghostly Prison</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sphere of Safety" href="#" target="_blank">Sphere of Safety</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, to ensure that nobody could ever attack them with anything relevant. Any immediate threat would get immediately answered by Pramikon, and everyone kept playing different board wipes to try and get the game back on track, but to no avail. </em></div>
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<div><em>I couldn't contribute much to answering Pramikon's Pillowforts myself, since I was somehow mana-flooded despite the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oath of Lieges" href="#" target="_blank">Oath of Lieges</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and exiling almost all of the lands from my deck with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Endless Horizons" href="#" target="_blank">Endless Horizons</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This all culminated with a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Farewell" href="#" target="_blank">Farewell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from Pramikon on turn 15 that left tempers very high, and when Pramikon started killing opponents one by one with a buffed <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hullbreaker Horror" href="#" target="_blank">Hullbreaker Horror</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, I snapped. I called the Pramikon player out for their miserable deck and for slowing the game down to a miserable crawl. I don't remember exactly what I said, but it must've been pretty harsh as the Pramikon player responded by saying that they were never coming back to this store again. The final twist in this story is that they were true to their word, as that LGS would end up closing a few weeks later due to unrelated financial reasons.</em></div>
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<div><em><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Oath of Lieges"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sphere of Safety"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hullbreaker Horror"></div></div></em></div>
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<div><em>That brings me to my question: <strong>Am I the Bolas for calling out unfun gameplay and deckbuilding?</strong> I know I shouldn't have been as harsh or verbal as I was, but is there a more tactful way to do it that doesn't involve discouraging other players, especially right after a miserable game like that one?</em></div>
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<div><em>Sincerely,</em></div>
<div><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Remorseful Cleric" href="#" target="_blank">Remorseful Cleric</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></em></div>
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<h2>VERDICT</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>A three-hour game is always going to ratchet up some crankiness. I empathize with you. Personally, I've got a "no board wipes after hour two rule" for myself. Heck, some games, I don't play a board wipe after 90 minutes. People want to feel like their time was worth it, and a Commander game drawing far past the average long game runtime gets people checking out a bunch. I don't like watching three-hour movies all that much; you reckon I'll be particularly engaged when I have to pay attention to a dense board state of a complicated game that I have to actively participate in for that long? Build in an intermission!</p>
<p>In-game stamina is something we don't really touch on much, but it's worth keeping in mind for games that are getting a little lengthy. It shouldn't be too much of a surprise for somebody playing a control strategy like pillowfort that you aren't just depleting your opponents' resources and enforcing your inevitability, you're also really testing your opponents' patience. There's only so much fun I can be having if all my stuff isn't getting through. Whether <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Counterspell" href="#" target="_blank">Counterspell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s or combat being negated by insurmountable taxes on attacks, if all goes right, a control player is telling you how <em>you</em> get to play the game. That can wear on a player. There's only so much someone can handle before it becomes demoralizing and the slump in their shoulders becomes more pronounced, and that's when the control player feels the win coming on.</p>
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<p>Are you the Bolas for your reaction? Yeah! It was a big reaction, and there are ways to go about telling opponents that you didn't enjoy playing with them. One way is by opting out of a game with them next time. Maybe a scoop would have been warranted at the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Farewell" href="#" target="_blank">Farewell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Talk about a card worth scooping to, especially in the late game. What a miserable Game Changer I cannot stand. That said, it's a powerful card and control decks are powerful. They go hand in hand.</p>
<p>Do I blame you for popping off? Nah! Sometimes, you do need to embrace a little Bolas. It's healthy to be on the other side sometimes and learning a bit about yourself. Now you know that if somebody's playing a pillowfort deck, maybe you allow yourself to concede sooner. Maybe, during the Rule Zero conversation, while picking decks, you can outright request not to play against this type of deck. Whatever you learn to ensure that you aren't putting yourself in a position to be upset and tell someone off again.</p>
<p>As far as the Pramikon player is concerned, I would say it's incredibly difficult to be on his side when a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Farewell" href="#" target="_blank">Farewell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gets played and they've got <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hullbreaker Horror" href="#" target="_blank">Hullbreaker Horror</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> back up. I can't be completely upset with Pramikon, because, as you mentioned, they were killing people with a buffed Horror. If we compare this to playing mass land destruction, I always beg the player slamming an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Armageddon" href="#" target="_blank">Armageddon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to at least have a way to win on board, ready to go. They had the pillowfort board wipe equivalent in this game and were slamming for lethal to close it out. Sure, it's miserably slow, but I can't hold that entirely against them; that's the strategy, after all. When it comes to Commander, we expect each other to be mindful of playstyles and taking up a ton of the clock. So where does that leave control players who can't lock down a game early? Let's try to be mindful about other archetypes and recognizing that sometimes it's just how it goes. If this isn't something you're not interested in, avoid those games or be okay with conceding.</p>
<p>Also, if you're reading this and you were in that other pod that had already been there and outlasted the three-hour game, I need that story!</p>
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Am I the Bolas? - Pillowfort Time Suck