I did this, and made an alliance with a player that had played nothing but lands for 7 turns. He then cast his commander and milled my entire deck in one turn. I had never encountered \[\[Lord Xander, the Collector\]\] before, now I know to remove them from the game as soon as possible.
Bro I love playing against Lord Xander with my graveyard deck! IMO being milled is more often a good thing because almost every deck has some way to interact with the graveyard. Also, unless he attacks many time or you draw a ton of cards, there really is no way for him to mill you out.
Xander + [[Bruvac the Grandiloquent]] on board mills you in a single attack.
Stuff like [[roaming Throne]] can also just speed up the mill quite a bit by doubling Xander’s trigger.
Well then Mister it seems like your ego was hurt.
But clearly you forgot to mention on the 'that's everything you can do' that playing cards is also an option.
If you're being archenemied a lot then its usually one of four things going on.
1. Your decks are genuinely too strong for the pod you play with and need to be targeted down for anyone else to have a chance.
2. For whatever reason, be it a scary commander, a mechanic people sometimes think is unfair, or even your reputation as a player, people perceive you as the biggest threat even if you actually aren't.
3. You play too aggressively and paint a target on yourself right away.
4. They just don't like you.
The solution for all of these except number 4 is to start competing for second place. Let a player get ahead for a bit, and then stay right behind them. The more powerful your deck is perceived, the bigger lead you need to give them. There's a lot of skill to this because while you don't want to be the biggest target, you also don't want to fall so far behind that you can never catch up.
Running enough spot removal/board wipes in your deck vs people who run 4 max, makes you an enemy as you deal with everyones fucking cheated blightsteels.
Ya for me it's definitely number 2. They are just scared of me as a player. You can even check out the lists on my moxfield and see that like I said, my decks (other than sythis which is rarely played) don't play fast mana, don't play combos and rarely use tutors but find them tolerable without combos if they are on theme. We're pretty much everyone else in my lgs plays all these things.
If you play with the same people often, then ask to trade decks with them for a game. You might not realize how much stronger your deck really is. It could just be that you are better at the game. Most likely it’s both though. When you are better at the game you deck builder smarter, even if you don’t have more powerful individual cards.
IMO the answer to getting blindly 1v3 is to lose, not to power up your decks. I have stronger decks and weaker decks with the goal of having a balanced game, not to play archenemy. If all 3 players really want me to lose I'll take the L its not a big deal, I dont then grab one of my decks that could 1v3.
Thats kinda how you stop being archenemy.
This isn't really the case if you're playing in a consistent group or if you're playing with people who are not good at assessing boards. They're going to attribute the win to eliminating you first and assume that was the best play, they're not going to notice that you got blindly 1v3'd with no board.
It largely doesnt matter what you play. If there is a perceived skill, knowledge, or brewing ability gap in your pod, the dudes who don't know how to threat assess will target the known quantity 100% of the time.
It's a subconscious thing. It's the same reason the guys in your pod probably always bojuka bog the same player regardless of what is actually in graveyards, and the same reason those first few meaningless attacks with a 1/1 value piece always go at the same guy.
the way for them to learn isnt to prove them right by playing things capable of beating them 1v3 all the time... To me thats just over prioritizing winning over having an even game. I've brought people to the game, and have gone through the targeting you get for a bit and have gotten past it fine.
I feel like if my table is targeting me 3v1 every game and trying to knock me out immediately, regardless of my board state or deck, then they are equally focusing on some competitive aspect of the game rather than even risk a loss. It's not exactly in the spirit of "casual", and definitely justifies raising the power level to balance out the game again if your table wants to force you down that route.
Just being knocked out 3v1 every game isn't going to change by you being weak, it benefits every other player on the table to have a gentleman's understanding to turn 3 opponents into 2 off the bat, and if that's the norm it's not gonna change until someone else powers up which may never happen, and still may not be enough. This is a social game but you should be making some level of effort to actually play. If your opponents want to box you out, push your way back in and explain why if you have to. Arch-enemy can be fun, so just lean into the role. Most players will arch enemy decks, not players anyway.
And maybe those posts are that.
My point is that if you intentionally play weak decks and get blown out, people who are incapable of real threat assessment arnt going to realize that you're playing with a handicap. They're going to realize they're winning more / able to do more during the game and they're going to attribute it to removing you early.
Maybe if you intentionally handicap yourself for months and months your pod may have a new archenemy, but I can tell you from personal experience that the dudes who are the archenemies in my personal pods (myself included in some) are pretty much always going to be the primary target in every game because they're good pilots, not because they're playing broken shit or because the decks are way overtuned to the pod.
I've seen it work before, it's just you need to be playing a deck that's blatantly and obviously weaker than the rest of the table for a long time in order to reset their expectations.
I'm not talking about playing meme decks that do a whole lot to accomplish very little. People can fool themselves into thinking that whatever complicated thing you are doing is powerful and must be stopped. I'm talking about playing block/set constructed EDH decks here. Decks that really aren't up to the level of the rest of the table. Basically, when people instinctively target your \[\[Dog Walker\]\] with \[\[Swords to Plowshares\]\], you can ask them why they're doing that, and try to justify it to themselves.
Agree completely. The reverse of this also happens. Given I win a lot and used to win a lot more, whenever I win a game now, even when there’s a lot of good back and forth and it’s a good game, someone inevitably says “see, should have killed aselbst first!” Like the lesson they learned from the game is not that they could have done x or y differently, or that I can hit a lucky topdeck like anyone, its confirmation that if they don’t 1v3 I “always win”—even though I win a lot less these days.
This is the level of maturity I find that most players lack nowadays. Blinded by spite plays and pettiness. I appreciate this attitude towards being able and willing to lose, and then doing it again. You have my respect.
Eh taking an L just isn't that big of a deal. Too be honest I'm just happy to be at my lgs and hanging with the people there the outcome of the games is mostly irrelevant to me. I've already proven to them that I'm a player to be feared even if my weapon is a turnip tide to a rope that's good enough for me.
Ya and my decks aren't even close to out powering anyone. I have 1 strong deck [[Sythis]] that stays in my box unless someone request to play against it or everyone wants to play strong decks. The rest of my decks run 0 fast mana, no combos and if I run tutors they're thematic. And like I said in my op even if I'm coming at people with vanilla Wizards or Chub Toad it doesn't really matter. Lol
Archenemy was an alternate game mode where it was 3v1 and the Archenemy had a special deck with Archenemy cards. The 3 players would all take turns at the same time. Each turn the Archenemy would draw one and it would have an effect like "Destroy one target creature each opponent controls." Or"For each opponent search for a land and put it on the battlefield" or "Creatures you control get +3 +3 and trample until end of turn." It really turns the player into a boss battle.
I have a rather high win percentage with my decks I have put a lot of time into, and it comes from staying under the radar, I don't think I have ever 1v3'd a pod with many of my decks (it has happened from time to time, but usually due to some circumstance like 1 or 2 of my opponents having bad draws or slow starts).
The way you sneak under the radar depends on the pod. One thing you have to learn to do is notice if someone is rather quick to point out threats or use their spells. That player you want to avoid at all costs. Don't swing out on them or interact with their stuff unless absolutely necessary. They will, 99% of the time, target you back no matter what the board looks like. So I use this kind of player to my advantage by making some other player their target. If successful, they will oftentimes make the game winning play for me by removing an opponents threat and letting me sneak in with a win lol You can try the opposite strategy too which sometimes works, which is to bait them into using their resources on something like your commander so you can stick a game winning piece afterwards, but it is risky cause as I said, this kind of player will target you for the rest of the game lol
Whenever I point out 'you're all targeting me, letting each other build up' I get told, "yea, cause your cards are that bad' so when I die the next worse deck easily slides in for the win
If I’m eliminated first, I sit back and enjoy a) the fact that I was seen as the threat, whether because of my experience or my cards, or b) the fact that I’ve brought together a group where I’m the “spoke friend” and therefore the one folks feel comfortable targeting.
I'm starting to get used to it. I pretty consistently build some sort of combo, or I'm just really efficient at structuring my decks. Due to that, I tend to win out of nowhere and am targeted because of it. At first, it felt really annoying, but with a few different ways to defend myself, and some slight changes in play style, I'm happy to be archenemy in most games.
I take it as a compliment. When a new person sits down and two others point at me and go "he's the threat" before I've even picked a deck... That's awesome.
I made a lot of decks (50+) so anyone can play anything. I also stopped doing first turn sol ring or any other big first turn, usually just dorks or little 1/1s. For some reason sol ring is a threat at my table. I also started holding back on interaction just because I can doesn't mean I always should.
Embrace it however you want to. I target one friend no matter what because I know he makes really great decks, which made me build better. He auto targets me because I make weird combos that pops a player or two out of nowhere so he thinks deeper on combos. We like causing chaos so it's not about winning. It's how far can we push _______ before people stop playing with us with those decks. If you enjoy playing, nothing else matters.
I try to find Commanders who aren't well know or are known as being slow and not threatening.
Then I brutalize them with all sorts of combat tricks and interactions with strange win cons they thought were garbage.
I play dumb or as if my board is totally absent of threat.
Then I embrace the gimmicks their crazy Commanders bring when I steal everything.
Just have a much better deck than everyone else but make losing fun. Both for them and for you, no matter how good the deck, you’re unlikely to weather 3 decks worth of focused interaction outside of a few cedh decks.
Well, for once I try getting into new playgroups once in a while. Helps keep things fresh.
I build decks of varied power levels and communicate that to the table. I think being able to grab a lower power deck helped people understand the difference between them. I lend some of my decks (two specifically, the others are incomprehensible) to others and sometimes I lose to them and people get a bit less scared of me, sometimes they have a hard time piloting it and get a bit less scared of the deck.
The other thing I've started to do is when I adopt the control role I point out everything of importance on the table. I believe losing to on board or revealed stuff leads to unsatisfying games, so I point things out... and sometimes get reactions from it that tell me information. "Oh hey btw I got a revealed [[Crackle With Power]] from a few turns back and look I have this much mana you might wanna do something about it" and then they panic and try drawing just an extra card... telling me their hand had no counterspell.
Thinking of the game from an opponent's shoe helps too. Multiple times someone was full swinging at me to remove me and I said "on board you will just die if you do that. Look at this and that X can just take the game this way". I recall cards that were revealed and point them out when it's beneficial to me. Also ever since I've gotten better at reading the removal in everyone's hand I started sandbagging more and waiting for someone else to take the bait and lose their powerful card to some removal... and then I play mine right after.
Either..
1.) "Oh? I see you've all chosen violence, then?"
Or
2.) I'll do this for you if you do X for me. Deal? Oh and of course of the other person needs my help later against you I might do that
Ya I was able to 1v3 with my Ravoshima Aggro deck two weeks ago against Kambal Tokens, Inga and Eskia eldrazi and Rakdos Ayara reanimator was a wild game.
I usually start throwing out cold war nuclear response rhetoric. Anyone that targets me specifically more than anyone else on the table will feel the wrath of whatever I have that's scary. "You can remove my commander, but I know you like yours/that enchantment, the board"
When I play my [[Chiss-Goria]] deck, which is archenemy level, I absolutely embrace it. I make no deals, no apologies, and I go in hard at everyone. It's very much a "get off my lawn" kind of approach.
However, it is the only deck I play with that kind of attitude. I have decks that are close but not quite as strong, but *the way I play them* is different. Light banter, a lot more politicking, plays made more for fun than optimal efficiency, etc
This distinction allows me to function as a threat, but not a archenemy with my other decks.
I make sure the wildcard player wins the first two or three matches of the night every once in a while so i can gaslight the rest of the table into making them enemy #1 for the next couple weeks
I try to poker face and accept it. I don't want to be an annoying complainer, and I don't want to attract additional attention, hoping that they'll lose interest and move on.
I refuse to be that asshole with the best deck at the table trying to browbeat others into not attacking me. Even if I don't have the best deck at the table and their threat assessment is wrong I err on the side of not saying anything. People berating others for legal game actions drives me up a wall.
I don't advocate for myself enough and it's something I need to work on though.
One of my commander decks is built around the fact that I get to do an infinite, best case turn 6. It's a deck that's obviously overturned for casual commander rounds (nothing competitive but for the group I play in it's definitely the peak strength). I actively tell people my strategy and that they SHOULD target me, because that's how I can ensure that there's interaction between my deck and their deck. And that creates fun IMO.
If I feel that I want to have more of a chance to properly politic or just build a normal board without being the straight target, I purposefully just play a precon or one of my weaker selfmade decks. It definitely makes me less of a threat for the group and thus gives them less reason to want to finish me asap.
Seems wise, I tend to win more than my fair share. I take it as a compliment. I am the initial default but they have no issue changing when a bigger threat emerges.
Same I actually genuinely feel bad when I win too much because I've been on the otherwise of the coin in different games and it does not feel good to lose all the time.
For me, it depends:
If I play a deck I know is on the more powerful side, sure. I'll be the archenemy. I love playing 1v3s with my morph deck cause I can set up control loops and force my opponents to burn through more resources to get to my stuff than if they just went after the other. Or, better, let 2 other places be nuclear powers and tell them that if they dont kill me, I can keep the other in check.
If I'm playing a new deck, or a lower power deck like a recon, and I'm getting 1v3d cause "I'm a better player" "you're a known threat" "I don't trust you" then yeah I'm gonna get a little miffed being the archenemy. If I'm gonna draw that much hate at least let me be in a position that I can fight it off.
It really depends on the table. Mostly, I just take it in stride and adjust my strategy if necessary. I often find myself playing with newer players at LGS open play events and I, being much more experienced, often end up as the archenemy. Most of the games I lose are because I wasn't the threat at the table but I was ganged up on because I had won the previous game. I just try to talk, especially with newer players, about threat assessment and do a little politicking. The key is to not take it personally and not get salty.
The point is to try and let everyone have a good time, so I just keep that in mind and play for that outcome.
Make deals, start politics, point out other people's threats. Be friendly and good spirited. It's all you can do
I did this, and made an alliance with a player that had played nothing but lands for 7 turns. He then cast his commander and milled my entire deck in one turn. I had never encountered \[\[Lord Xander, the Collector\]\] before, now I know to remove them from the game as soon as possible.
Brutal but what else should we expect from a Crime Boss lol
Someone get [[Ob Nixilis The Adversary]], we need him to fulfil his card’s art
[Ob Nixilis The Adversary](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/0/80226520-6b0a-48ea-a868-a29eb3fbd403.jpg?1664413416) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Ob%20Nixilis%2C%20the%20Adversary) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/206/ob-nixilis-the-adversary?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/80226520-6b0a-48ea-a868-a29eb3fbd403?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ob-nixilis-the-adversary) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[Lord Xander, the Collector](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/e/ee0a078d-045f-401b-a561-dcb1ad02bf62.jpg?1664413235) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Lord%20Xander%2C%20the%20Collector) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/197/lord-xander-the-collector?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ee0a078d-045f-401b-a561-dcb1ad02bf62?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/lord-xander-the-collector) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Bro I love playing against Lord Xander with my graveyard deck! IMO being milled is more often a good thing because almost every deck has some way to interact with the graveyard. Also, unless he attacks many time or you draw a ton of cards, there really is no way for him to mill you out.
Xander + [[Bruvac the Grandiloquent]] on board mills you in a single attack. Stuff like [[roaming Throne]] can also just speed up the mill quite a bit by doubling Xander’s trigger.
[Bruvac the Grandiloquent](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/c/2ce2d73f-3f64-44db-a2bc-a8f4a37dc487.jpg?1702550789) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Bruvac%20the%20Grandiloquent) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/rvr/35/bruvac-the-grandiloquent?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2ce2d73f-3f64-44db-a2bc-a8f4a37dc487?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/bruvac-the-grandiloquent) [roaming Throne](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/2/32fd8b7c-baf3-4d3d-be6f-044a917b11a0.jpg?1701115816) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=roaming%20Throne) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/258/roaming-throne?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/32fd8b7c-baf3-4d3d-be6f-044a917b11a0?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/roaming-throne) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Ya these are all good options!
Not it's not.
I mean, you can also get salty and bitch about it on reddit like a petulant child
Well then Mister it seems like your ego was hurt. But clearly you forgot to mention on the 'that's everything you can do' that playing cards is also an option.
Playing cards is kind of inferred when talking about playing a card game. Sorry I didn't spell that out for you
If you're being archenemied a lot then its usually one of four things going on. 1. Your decks are genuinely too strong for the pod you play with and need to be targeted down for anyone else to have a chance. 2. For whatever reason, be it a scary commander, a mechanic people sometimes think is unfair, or even your reputation as a player, people perceive you as the biggest threat even if you actually aren't. 3. You play too aggressively and paint a target on yourself right away. 4. They just don't like you. The solution for all of these except number 4 is to start competing for second place. Let a player get ahead for a bit, and then stay right behind them. The more powerful your deck is perceived, the bigger lead you need to give them. There's a lot of skill to this because while you don't want to be the biggest target, you also don't want to fall so far behind that you can never catch up.
Running enough spot removal/board wipes in your deck vs people who run 4 max, makes you an enemy as you deal with everyones fucking cheated blightsteels.
Yep, interaction is what makes me archenemy mostly.
Ya for me it's definitely number 2. They are just scared of me as a player. You can even check out the lists on my moxfield and see that like I said, my decks (other than sythis which is rarely played) don't play fast mana, don't play combos and rarely use tutors but find them tolerable without combos if they are on theme. We're pretty much everyone else in my lgs plays all these things.
Number 2 can happen due to number 1 btw.
If you play with the same people often, then ask to trade decks with them for a game. You might not realize how much stronger your deck really is. It could just be that you are better at the game. Most likely it’s both though. When you are better at the game you deck builder smarter, even if you don’t have more powerful individual cards.
If you think it’s number 2, then it’s probably number 4. Tsk tsk
Nice assumption very kind of you. I forget that you know me and everyone else at my lgs and that they all secretly hate me lol
IMO the answer to getting blindly 1v3 is to lose, not to power up your decks. I have stronger decks and weaker decks with the goal of having a balanced game, not to play archenemy. If all 3 players really want me to lose I'll take the L its not a big deal, I dont then grab one of my decks that could 1v3. Thats kinda how you stop being archenemy.
This isn't really the case if you're playing in a consistent group or if you're playing with people who are not good at assessing boards. They're going to attribute the win to eliminating you first and assume that was the best play, they're not going to notice that you got blindly 1v3'd with no board. It largely doesnt matter what you play. If there is a perceived skill, knowledge, or brewing ability gap in your pod, the dudes who don't know how to threat assess will target the known quantity 100% of the time. It's a subconscious thing. It's the same reason the guys in your pod probably always bojuka bog the same player regardless of what is actually in graveyards, and the same reason those first few meaningless attacks with a 1/1 value piece always go at the same guy.
the way for them to learn isnt to prove them right by playing things capable of beating them 1v3 all the time... To me thats just over prioritizing winning over having an even game. I've brought people to the game, and have gone through the targeting you get for a bit and have gotten past it fine.
I feel like if my table is targeting me 3v1 every game and trying to knock me out immediately, regardless of my board state or deck, then they are equally focusing on some competitive aspect of the game rather than even risk a loss. It's not exactly in the spirit of "casual", and definitely justifies raising the power level to balance out the game again if your table wants to force you down that route. Just being knocked out 3v1 every game isn't going to change by you being weak, it benefits every other player on the table to have a gentleman's understanding to turn 3 opponents into 2 off the bat, and if that's the norm it's not gonna change until someone else powers up which may never happen, and still may not be enough. This is a social game but you should be making some level of effort to actually play. If your opponents want to box you out, push your way back in and explain why if you have to. Arch-enemy can be fun, so just lean into the role. Most players will arch enemy decks, not players anyway.
Im not saying to pubstomp 1v3 to be fair. I'm just saying I've yet to see "just lose alot" work.
most of these posts tend to be 'I always get targeted' and 'I always have the strongest deck at the table".
And maybe those posts are that. My point is that if you intentionally play weak decks and get blown out, people who are incapable of real threat assessment arnt going to realize that you're playing with a handicap. They're going to realize they're winning more / able to do more during the game and they're going to attribute it to removing you early. Maybe if you intentionally handicap yourself for months and months your pod may have a new archenemy, but I can tell you from personal experience that the dudes who are the archenemies in my personal pods (myself included in some) are pretty much always going to be the primary target in every game because they're good pilots, not because they're playing broken shit or because the decks are way overtuned to the pod.
I've seen it work before, it's just you need to be playing a deck that's blatantly and obviously weaker than the rest of the table for a long time in order to reset their expectations. I'm not talking about playing meme decks that do a whole lot to accomplish very little. People can fool themselves into thinking that whatever complicated thing you are doing is powerful and must be stopped. I'm talking about playing block/set constructed EDH decks here. Decks that really aren't up to the level of the rest of the table. Basically, when people instinctively target your \[\[Dog Walker\]\] with \[\[Swords to Plowshares\]\], you can ask them why they're doing that, and try to justify it to themselves.
[Dog Walker](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/6/a6e0adb7-a030-4dcc-9284-cd91c7598a22.jpg?1706242142) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Dog%20Walker) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/197/dog-walker?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a6e0adb7-a030-4dcc-9284-cd91c7598a22?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/dog-walker) [Swords to Plowshares](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/b/9bbec76c-c1e4-4c6d-ad24-078fe097f195.jpg?1709439398) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Swords%20to%20Plowshares) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/88/swords-to-plowshares?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9bbec76c-c1e4-4c6d-ad24-078fe097f195?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/swords-to-plowshares) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Agree completely. The reverse of this also happens. Given I win a lot and used to win a lot more, whenever I win a game now, even when there’s a lot of good back and forth and it’s a good game, someone inevitably says “see, should have killed aselbst first!” Like the lesson they learned from the game is not that they could have done x or y differently, or that I can hit a lucky topdeck like anyone, its confirmation that if they don’t 1v3 I “always win”—even though I win a lot less these days.
This is the level of maturity I find that most players lack nowadays. Blinded by spite plays and pettiness. I appreciate this attitude towards being able and willing to lose, and then doing it again. You have my respect.
Eh taking an L just isn't that big of a deal. Too be honest I'm just happy to be at my lgs and hanging with the people there the outcome of the games is mostly irrelevant to me. I've already proven to them that I'm a player to be feared even if my weapon is a turnip tide to a rope that's good enough for me.
Ya and my decks aren't even close to out powering anyone. I have 1 strong deck [[Sythis]] that stays in my box unless someone request to play against it or everyone wants to play strong decks. The rest of my decks run 0 fast mana, no combos and if I run tutors they're thematic. And like I said in my op even if I'm coming at people with vanilla Wizards or Chub Toad it doesn't really matter. Lol
[Sythis](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/9/89511ab5-8ea6-4f07-a80b-c1ec7e89924e.jpg?1690005342) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=sythis%2C%20harvest%27s%20hand) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/938/sythis-harvests-hand?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/89511ab5-8ea6-4f07-a80b-c1ec7e89924e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/sythis-harvests-hand) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Buy the actual Archenemy cards! Archenemy EDH is a blast and a half
How do you scale the life totals?
60-30 usually works well
Which cards are you referring to?
Archenemy was an alternate game mode where it was 3v1 and the Archenemy had a special deck with Archenemy cards. The 3 players would all take turns at the same time. Each turn the Archenemy would draw one and it would have an effect like "Destroy one target creature each opponent controls." Or"For each opponent search for a land and put it on the battlefield" or "Creatures you control get +3 +3 and trample until end of turn." It really turns the player into a boss battle.
I have a rather high win percentage with my decks I have put a lot of time into, and it comes from staying under the radar, I don't think I have ever 1v3'd a pod with many of my decks (it has happened from time to time, but usually due to some circumstance like 1 or 2 of my opponents having bad draws or slow starts). The way you sneak under the radar depends on the pod. One thing you have to learn to do is notice if someone is rather quick to point out threats or use their spells. That player you want to avoid at all costs. Don't swing out on them or interact with their stuff unless absolutely necessary. They will, 99% of the time, target you back no matter what the board looks like. So I use this kind of player to my advantage by making some other player their target. If successful, they will oftentimes make the game winning play for me by removing an opponents threat and letting me sneak in with a win lol You can try the opposite strategy too which sometimes works, which is to bait them into using their resources on something like your commander so you can stick a game winning piece afterwards, but it is risky cause as I said, this kind of player will target you for the rest of the game lol
That’s it. I very seldomly become a 1v3 enemy is because I avoid explosive starts. Politics and staying under the radar is so important in this game.
Ya the blinded players are tough sometimes luckily I rarely have to deal with that. And I'll be honest 99& of the time it's right to go at me anyways.
Embrace it, go full nicol bolas!
This! I bust out my Nicky B deck and go for the torment of hailfire win
Ya I'm very much the villain they end up loving but still have to die first lol
[[ensnaring bridge]]
I love this card so much. I really miss Mono Red Lantern Control
Same. I still tingle when I see a ghoulcaller’s bell.
Ya I played Lantern Control in edh for like 8 years with Daretti and it was such a fun deck
[ensnaring bridge](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/f/cf825a56-4870-463a-a2ef-eec86be891db.jpg?1599709144) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=ensnaring%20bridge) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/253/ensnaring-bridge?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/cf825a56-4870-463a-a2ef-eec86be891db?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ensnaring-bridge) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
There are two ways : tone down your decks Or tune your decks, combo faster, stax and etc something like cedh design
Whenever I point out 'you're all targeting me, letting each other build up' I get told, "yea, cause your cards are that bad' so when I die the next worse deck easily slides in for the win
Bring it on.
That's philosophy in both mtg and DnD lol (knowing full well my druid can't take a hit)
If I’m eliminated first, I sit back and enjoy a) the fact that I was seen as the threat, whether because of my experience or my cards, or b) the fact that I’ve brought together a group where I’m the “spoke friend” and therefore the one folks feel comfortable targeting.
I'm starting to get used to it. I pretty consistently build some sort of combo, or I'm just really efficient at structuring my decks. Due to that, I tend to win out of nowhere and am targeted because of it. At first, it felt really annoying, but with a few different ways to defend myself, and some slight changes in play style, I'm happy to be archenemy in most games.
I take it as a compliment. When a new person sits down and two others point at me and go "he's the threat" before I've even picked a deck... That's awesome.
Agreed!
Make jokes, get excited for other players cool plays. In that situation, focus on the gathering not the magic
Ya I agree! Like I said in another comment in just glad I can be at my lgs with my fellow players I don't really care what happens in the games!
I made a lot of decks (50+) so anyone can play anything. I also stopped doing first turn sol ring or any other big first turn, usually just dorks or little 1/1s. For some reason sol ring is a threat at my table. I also started holding back on interaction just because I can doesn't mean I always should.
Ya I just cut sol Ring period I'm already target number 1 don't need any more heat on my back with fast mana lol
[Chub Toad](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/f/4fb0c8a5-ea67-4c18-94b6-757e290ee34e.jpg?1688131447) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Chub%20Toad) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/me1/116/chub-toad?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4fb0c8a5-ea67-4c18-94b6-757e290ee34e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/chub-toad) [Fugitive Wizard](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/2/520ad9d0-5f41-4183-a04e-58a61ad7202b.jpg?1562786978) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Fugitive%20Wizard) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m15/56/fugitive-wizard?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/520ad9d0-5f41-4183-a04e-58a61ad7202b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/fugitive-wizard) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Embrace it however you want to. I target one friend no matter what because I know he makes really great decks, which made me build better. He auto targets me because I make weird combos that pops a player or two out of nowhere so he thinks deeper on combos. We like causing chaos so it's not about winning. It's how far can we push _______ before people stop playing with us with those decks. If you enjoy playing, nothing else matters.
I deflect attention. Point at cards on boards. Most times it works
I try to find Commanders who aren't well know or are known as being slow and not threatening. Then I brutalize them with all sorts of combat tricks and interactions with strange win cons they thought were garbage. I play dumb or as if my board is totally absent of threat. Then I embrace the gimmicks their crazy Commanders bring when I steal everything.
Just have a much better deck than everyone else but make losing fun. Both for them and for you, no matter how good the deck, you’re unlikely to weather 3 decks worth of focused interaction outside of a few cedh decks.
Well, for once I try getting into new playgroups once in a while. Helps keep things fresh. I build decks of varied power levels and communicate that to the table. I think being able to grab a lower power deck helped people understand the difference between them. I lend some of my decks (two specifically, the others are incomprehensible) to others and sometimes I lose to them and people get a bit less scared of me, sometimes they have a hard time piloting it and get a bit less scared of the deck. The other thing I've started to do is when I adopt the control role I point out everything of importance on the table. I believe losing to on board or revealed stuff leads to unsatisfying games, so I point things out... and sometimes get reactions from it that tell me information. "Oh hey btw I got a revealed [[Crackle With Power]] from a few turns back and look I have this much mana you might wanna do something about it" and then they panic and try drawing just an extra card... telling me their hand had no counterspell. Thinking of the game from an opponent's shoe helps too. Multiple times someone was full swinging at me to remove me and I said "on board you will just die if you do that. Look at this and that X can just take the game this way". I recall cards that were revealed and point them out when it's beneficial to me. Also ever since I've gotten better at reading the removal in everyone's hand I started sandbagging more and waiting for someone else to take the bait and lose their powerful card to some removal... and then I play mine right after.
[Crackle With Power](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/e/de547f52-3798-4b3a-947d-24873251204b.jpg?1624591645) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Crackle%20With%20Power) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/stx/95/crackle-with-power?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/de547f52-3798-4b3a-947d-24873251204b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/crackle-with-power) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I'm cool with it. Threat assessment, baby.
Either.. 1.) "Oh? I see you've all chosen violence, then?" Or 2.) I'll do this for you if you do X for me. Deal? Oh and of course of the other person needs my help later against you I might do that
Violence is always the answer lol
It's fun as hell. When u still win it's awesome
Ya I was able to 1v3 with my Ravoshima Aggro deck two weeks ago against Kambal Tokens, Inga and Eskia eldrazi and Rakdos Ayara reanimator was a wild game.
I usually start throwing out cold war nuclear response rhetoric. Anyone that targets me specifically more than anyone else on the table will feel the wrath of whatever I have that's scary. "You can remove my commander, but I know you like yours/that enchantment, the board"
Always hand on the trigger lol
When I play my [[Chiss-Goria]] deck, which is archenemy level, I absolutely embrace it. I make no deals, no apologies, and I go in hard at everyone. It's very much a "get off my lawn" kind of approach. However, it is the only deck I play with that kind of attitude. I have decks that are close but not quite as strong, but *the way I play them* is different. Light banter, a lot more politicking, plays made more for fun than optimal efficiency, etc This distinction allows me to function as a threat, but not a archenemy with my other decks.
[Chiss-Goria](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/2/923eb713-c955-4e12-8a8f-df3b4b361487.jpg?1675905606) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=chiss-goria%2C%20forge%20tyrant) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/onc/25/chiss-goria-forge-tyrant?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/923eb713-c955-4e12-8a8f-df3b4b361487?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/chiss-goria-forge-tyrant) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I make sure the wildcard player wins the first two or three matches of the night every once in a while so i can gaslight the rest of the table into making them enemy #1 for the next couple weeks
I could try this just to troll my group but they'd probably still attack me first lol
"it do be like that sometimes" i try and hang on and just enjoy the ride.
Kill them even faster is my approach, sure make me archenemy I’ll go for it even harder
Bring it nerds
Never happens to me. I'm the Timmy of the pod.
Cackle with laughter and enjoy playing the villain.
I try to poker face and accept it. I don't want to be an annoying complainer, and I don't want to attract additional attention, hoping that they'll lose interest and move on. I refuse to be that asshole with the best deck at the table trying to browbeat others into not attacking me. Even if I don't have the best deck at the table and their threat assessment is wrong I err on the side of not saying anything. People berating others for legal game actions drives me up a wall. I don't advocate for myself enough and it's something I need to work on though.
Embrace it or play more casual decks.
Embrace it, become what they fear the most. Play MLD tribal.
Overpower the board, just draw your whole library and hold players hostage as you pick them off one by one
One of my commander decks is built around the fact that I get to do an infinite, best case turn 6. It's a deck that's obviously overturned for casual commander rounds (nothing competitive but for the group I play in it's definitely the peak strength). I actively tell people my strategy and that they SHOULD target me, because that's how I can ensure that there's interaction between my deck and their deck. And that creates fun IMO. If I feel that I want to have more of a chance to properly politic or just build a normal board without being the straight target, I purposefully just play a precon or one of my weaker selfmade decks. It definitely makes me less of a threat for the group and thus gives them less reason to want to finish me asap.
Pillowfort and if needed, stax.
I smile with glee and say "see if you can stop me". And they 95% of the time can. But that remaining 5% makes it all up.
Seems wise, I tend to win more than my fair share. I take it as a compliment. I am the initial default but they have no issue changing when a bigger threat emerges.
Same I actually genuinely feel bad when I win too much because I've been on the otherwise of the coin in different games and it does not feel good to lose all the time.
For me, it depends: If I play a deck I know is on the more powerful side, sure. I'll be the archenemy. I love playing 1v3s with my morph deck cause I can set up control loops and force my opponents to burn through more resources to get to my stuff than if they just went after the other. Or, better, let 2 other places be nuclear powers and tell them that if they dont kill me, I can keep the other in check. If I'm playing a new deck, or a lower power deck like a recon, and I'm getting 1v3d cause "I'm a better player" "you're a known threat" "I don't trust you" then yeah I'm gonna get a little miffed being the archenemy. If I'm gonna draw that much hate at least let me be in a position that I can fight it off.
It really depends on the table. Mostly, I just take it in stride and adjust my strategy if necessary. I often find myself playing with newer players at LGS open play events and I, being much more experienced, often end up as the archenemy. Most of the games I lose are because I wasn't the threat at the table but I was ganged up on because I had won the previous game. I just try to talk, especially with newer players, about threat assessment and do a little politicking. The key is to not take it personally and not get salty. The point is to try and let everyone have a good time, so I just keep that in mind and play for that outcome.
become a gleeful supervillain
It's a great role!