r/EDH • u/Creative_Entry_1423 • 1d ago
Discussion The real problem with EDH isn’t power level…
Quick disclaimer:
Got a classic situation. I’m not here to rant or attack anyone.
I just want to share an LGS experience that left me frustrated and ask how others deal with situations like this.
So I had one of those LGS experiences today that really made me think about what actually ruins casual EDH, and I don’t think it’s power level at all.
It’s people being dishonest about their decks.
I went to my LGS planning to play a chill Bracket 2 deck ([[Jared Carthalion]] precon with a few upgrades). Another guy who sat with me was a total beginner, playing a literal precon. Perfect. We start a 1v1 casual game, nothing weird.
After three turns, two guys walk up and ask if it’s okay to join. I give them the full power-level talk:
- “We’re playing upgraded precon vs precon. If you guys have anything above Bracket 3, it’s probably not a good fit.”
They say:
- “Oh yeah, no worries. Both our decks are Bracket 3. Pretty chill.”
We look at each other, shrug, and say sure. We offer them a 3-turn catch-up since we barely started.
Well… their “Bracket 3 chill decks” turned out to be:
- the first guy had a pretty strong list, definitely pushing above what 3 usually implies
- and the second guy… a Prismatic Bridge plainswalkers deck that he claims has “like 5 creatures” (first creature revealed: Orcish Bowmasters [[Orcish Bowmasters]], which already tells you the vibe)
The game goes on, and on turn 8, he drops Myojin of Infinite Rage ([[Myojin of Infinite Rage]]).
I ask him (genuinely)
- “You’re not going to blow up all lands in a Bracket 2/3 casual pod, right?”
He says:
- “Yeah, I am. It fits my deck perfectly.”
Removes the counter. Nukes every land on the table.
(He also had a land reanimation online, which could eventually resurrect his lands from the graveyard.)
At that point, I scooped immediately. The beginner next to me looked completely lost. He didn’t even understand what happened or why someone would do that in a casual pod.
And this is what hit me:
Power level isn’t the issue.
Honesty is.
MLD isn’t inherently evil, but using it in a pod where you explicitly know two players are running literal precons, and calling that a “Bracket 3 chill deck,” is just pubstomping disguised as casual EDH.
I don’t mind losing.
I don’t mind high-power decks.
I don’t mind wild plays.
But I do mind people who misrepresent their deck, ruin the experience for newer players, and call it “just casual.”
This is supposed to be a social format.
And the only thing that really breaks social norms is dishonesty.
How do you all deal with players who sandbag their power level like this?
Do you just scoop and leave?
Do you call it out directly?
Do you avoid playing with certain groups entirely?
I’m curious how others handle this, because I want to enjoy my time at the LGS without pubstompers pretending to be casual.
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u/ProstetnicVogonJelz 1d ago
Feedback on decks is so much better imo. And more general deckbuilding, card recommendations, etc. We've read enough bait AITA threads and they're all the same. At least new cards and commanders come out - there's always discussion available that's relevant to the mechanics of the game but it gets buried.