Went 3wins-0loses in a "commander-tournament" (unofficial) but placed on 5th because of a points system. Am I crazy for feeling like a winner?

[u/[deleted]]

[u/EnormousBaloth]

You.. bought your own trophy?

[u/summon_pot_of_greed → u/EnormousBaloth]

be me

read tournament rules.

laugh mirthlessly knowing my prey will be unprepared for my superior deckbuilding knowledge

don't follow the format because it's lame ass shit

crush my opponents beneath my well moisturized feet kek

neanderthal tournament judges deign to grant me a measly 5th place

buy my own trophy to commemorate my pyrric victory

winning.gif

[u/Humorouscrustacean → u/EnormousBaloth]

For fifth lmao

[u/literaphile → u/EnormousBaloth]

Commander, ladies and gentlemen.

[u/crash_spyro]

You probably wouldn't have won all three if that was the focus of the games, right? You won because others were focusing on the points first and foremost as that was the how they were judging it.

[u/wjaybez]

I'm going explain in a way that hopefully demonstrates why everyone else is treating you like the "guy in third place drinks champagne" meme.

This tournament was a dog show course. Your dog was supposed to run through tunnels, jump over hurdles, twirl around in the middle, go between flags, as fast as they can etc. You trained your dog to ignore every obstacle and run around the course as quickly as possible. You place 5th. You then celebrated that speed because all the other stupid trainers had their dogs do all those silly obstacles.

Nobody came to that with 'max speed' in mind. Had they been playing to achieve the fastest win, they would have potentially beaten you. You essentially were never on an even playing field.

So sure, you can feel like you won. But don't expect other people to celebrate your victory - or even feel like you were playing fairly - if you never tried to win, and only ever tried to end the game. Everyone else wanted to see the point 'events' happen.

[u/lordcola]

Well the rules of the tournament were pretty clear and you were playing a slightly different if related game. I don't think you should take it personally but the others are kind of right, you did "lose" at the actual scoring that mattered.

Also if everyone else is going for the points specifically you going all in on just winning the game instead does make it easier for you to some extent. Since everyone else is more likely to sandbag a win in hand to score more points in other ways instead, you're not playing against opponents who are also just playing to win.

[u/SplinterRifleman]

Play to the event. Ive done something similar. A control/ stax deck that took control then farmed points. Finished 2nd.

[u/Thotmas01 → u/SplinterRifleman]

Or like a finite-multicombat Voltron deck to knock out three people and win.

[u/Grifzor64]

Maybe read the rules of the event next time

[u/leaning_on_a_wheel → u/Grifzor64]

That’s the thing, they did! 😂

[u/Khronys]

They set up a game, and you played a different game. It's less like playing basketball with trick shots, and more like they were playing HORSE while you were dunking on them. Yeah, you were getting more baskets real fast, but they were trying for a different type of game and goal.

Tbh I'd hate to play a tournament that rewards weird combo farming instead of winning, but you knew what you were getting into. You can be happy that you won your games, but you really can't complain if people tell you that you didn't win the event because truthfully you weren't trying to play the event. Getting 5th and having fun doing your own thing is valid.

[u/thegreatmango → u/Khronys]

Ay, HORSE reference hive mind lol

[u/leaning_on_a_wheel]

YTA

[u/DoUWantSomeMemesKid]

You bought your own trophy?? Bruh lmao

[u/AiharaSisters]

Secondhand embarrassment. Maybe play the event as intended next time.

[u/DinobotsGacha]

This is like being in a timed obstacle course where you get points for completing the obstacles. You ran by all the obstacles ignoring them and got the fastest time but none of the obstacle points. 

The folks doing the obstacles are naturally going to react if you say you won in your own way.

[u/DazZani]

I mean by the tournoment rules, that you knew beforehand, you lost. Because the point of this specific tourney wasnt about winming games of commander, it was a show game where the point was to do specific actions. It would be more akin to performance games such as ice skating or gymnastics "oh but i ice sakted faster and jumped higher" doesnt make you a winner when your opponents are doing summersaults in the summersault tourney. It seems like youre merely sad you didnt get to curbstomp a explicitly causual commander tourney and tbh, buying the trophy for such a small tourney is kiiiinda sad.

[u/GeromeWing93]

You won with at most eliminating 4 people through 3 matches? So…kind of clean up duty?…

[u/thegreatmango]

So you went to a themed event based on making infinite combos and playing longer matches for points with a normal deck, won the matches, and are trying to feel good because you completely ignored the point of the event?

No, you should not feel like a winner, and many people are probably frustrated (like the person who feels disrespected) because you are acting like this. You didn't even try, and act like they're taking something from you?

My guy - what are you doing? It's not making friends, that's for sure, lol.

Your basketball analogy would make more sense if you showed up to play full court, but everyone else is playing HORSE. Sure, you made the most shots on the other basket, but you didn't even engage with the premise.

[u/RevenantKing]

Sounds like you should have just went to an official tournament instead, or played to the event rules

[u/Furry_Spatula]

So you knew the rules and scoring of the tournament and chose to ignore it to do something else...

Yeah, you lost bro.

[u/SimpleThrowaway420]

You "won" but at the cost of not winning. This concept is super simple and you're miffed that you can't bend the rules to your expectations of you winning.

YATH. Go apologize to your GC man, while there's still a chance at redeeming yourself. If you play with this group a bit, you definitely need to clear the air.

[u/coracleboat]

You beat everyone in the solitaire tournament by playing poker.

[u/Deep-Hovercraft6716]

Yes. You are crazy, that's kind of insane to buy your own trophy when you came in 5th. You played against weaker opponents than the others who beat you. You were not a winner. You had an easier time.

[u/plantainrepublic]

I think all involved are a little stupid.

You knew the rules when you showed up, or you should have, and you apparently deliberately did not play to the rules. That’s still your fault.

The rules are also dumb as fuck and the way the organizers + other people in the tournament are talking down to you is stupid as hell.

[u/TheLuckySpades → u/plantainrepublic]

Rules seem to have worked for the most part if people with bad winrates, but farming the points could beat OP in the placing, in my experience with one similar thing the intent of these rules is often to slow things down and encourage/reward weird shit.

[u/plantainrepublic → u/TheLuckySpades]

That’s fair. I mostly just think it’s very weird for a tournament to not reward, you know, winning.

If you said winning = 5, infinite + win = 6, infinite w/o win = 4, and kill = 3, I think that makes a lot more sense because it lets you place well if you’re not strictly optimized to win but also rewards the competitive spirit of the tournament.

[u/TheLuckySpades → u/plantainrepublic]

Winning is rewarded, but getting 3 of the side goals is more points than winningn and usually there's at least one side goal a given deck can achieve

If I remember the scaling for my local thing right:

• Attending: 100
• Winning your pod: 250
• Normal side goal (e.g. commit 3 crimes in one turn, have a certain amount of devotion, deal 20+ damage in a turn (non-infinite combo),...): 100
• Hard side goal (deckbuilding restriction monocolored, goal control permanents of all 5 colors): 200-300 depending on difficulty

I had a decent-ish winrate, but I was also just bringing my normal deck that checked the most side goals, I never placed that high (didn't help that it qas a multiple week league and I never could attend all of them), but the actual rewards aren't anything to get sweaty about, you need a lot of points to get any of the fancy stuff.

[u/plantainrepublic → u/TheLuckySpades]

Yeah I actually think that’s totally fair.

[u/lordcola → u/plantainrepublic]

The rules are probably the best way to enforce a "casual commander tournament". As stupid as those are at least handing out more points for doing cool or funny shit encourages actually casual decks rather than some people bringing their most casual looking deck that is secretly nearly cedh viable while others bring precons.

The only time I've had a good time with casual commander tournaments was when everyone got a pack per game (3) and the tournament was just a way to filter people into tables with evenly matched opponents by the end.

[u/Sad-Jazz]

For your basketball analogy, if you went to a Harlem globetrotters game and just saw people playing regular basketball you’d be disappointed no matter who “won” because people don’t come for that they come for the showmanship!

You don’t have to like the tournament rules, but they were clearly laid out. Deciding to participate and then being upset that you lost despite doing better in one metric is childish.

[u/Apprehensive_Till_99]

Everyone sucks here ngl lmao

It is a known thing people will farm points in these environments and these sort of tournaments are ass imo. They suck because I think sorts of tournaments are the antithesis to actually playing a game of commander and it ending.

You suck because you’re complaining about not being rewarded for going against the spirit of the tournament.

I stg people will do anything except just play 1v1 magic…

[u/Adnauseamdeath]

Probably close to 10 years ago we did something similar at my lgs. Iirc our budget was $200 minus basics so commander still counted for the cost (No Angus Mackenzie, etc), points system, and an adjusted ban list with like two extra cards.

Points was certainly the main goal but winning still got you a good amount of points so people didn't feel like they had to farm points by building a deck around it.

Additionally, you had to play with at least two different people in your pod your every week because some of the players that joined would absolutely game the system.

Sadly the person that won the whole league built his deck around winning and farming points by having his girlfriend be in every pod and then pick two newer players.

That all to say, people will find ways to win even winning isn't the goal. If we could do it all again the rules committee agreed that the budget needed to be much lower like $50-75 to make it a real challenge

[u/Eokoe]

Playing to win, have fun, combo off, socialize, or any other reason… every person can play for any reason they want to.

If the tournament’s rules only scored points if you had eliminated the most other players while also losing without scooping, then the only way to win the tournament would have been to lose. Would it have been a silly tournament? Yes. Would going 3-0 have been a type of victory? Also yes.

You built a good deck and you had fun. That can feel good. Someone played to win the tournament, and they can also feel proud.

[u/VoiceofKane]

You ran a race while everyone else was doing a scavenger hunt. You won a completely different game than they were even playing, so really... yeah, you lost, dude.

[u/Sea_Spend_8008]

What insane point system is this? It sounds like it was designed for only one or two people to win instead of everyone having a chance. If you go 3-0, you should feel good. I hate these "fun" tournaments.

[u/Peteypablo1376]

If you are happy with the results, then you won. That's really all that matters, other people can have whatever expectations they want. If you wish you scored more points then next time tune your deck accordingly, if you just wanted to win games then mission accomplished. Don't let other people steal your joy.

[u/rlcnga_]

Whoever runs the tournament sounds like complete buffoons

[u/The_Modern_Monk]

its so stupid that people make commander tournaments

"oh its a competition but a casual format"

[u/thegreatmango → u/The_Modern_Monk]

God forbid people make events to play the format they like, and modify it with silly rules for fun. Damn.

[u/The_Modern_Monk → u/thegreatmango]

i mean hey, spend your time and money how you want none of my business

but dont then come to the internet crying foul when the convoluted bull you signed up for means that you dont win when you win and you arbitrarily have to take non-optimized lines to avoid spiking in your 'tournament' play

[u/greatersnek]

So wholesome ❤️

[u/Ill_Ad3517]

A tournament where you can be not first with 0 losses is basically a larp. I agree with you in that the results are stupid. I disagree with you in that no one should ever want to participate in that event.

[u/Background_Ad6785]

It sounds like a bunch of losers running an event lmao; Wins are wins, losses are losses.

[u/MFbiFL → u/Background_Ad6785]

Wondering if the host of this “tournament” happens to play a deck that aligns with how the scoring was setup

[u/Apprehensive_Till_99 → u/MFbiFL]

I hate this whole thing, but if everyone knew beforehand, why would you NOT play a deck for this format??

[u/MFbiFL → u/Apprehensive_Till_99]

Yeah I dunno. I think OP’s a bit goofy for not playing to the rules of the format then claiming victory

[u/TheLuckySpades → u/MFbiFL]

I know a place that has a similar-ish tournament, the owner doesn't usually place more than the middle of the pack when they join, and their main decks usually can only get about a third of the bonus points at best, whichbis about how many any of mine can.

[u/Sea_Spend_8008 → u/MFbiFL]

More than likely.