botb: Anybody play MTG arena?

botb 05.20.26	Hey, hmu sput
Jmal00 05.20.26	I’ll add you if you brawl
WretchedCacophony 05.20.26	"unless you’re a netdecker then begoneeee" if you're not competitive then just say so lol
evilford 05.20.26	Very few things as toxic as people who complain about netdecking
botb 05.20.26	I like coming up with my own shit and not playing against the same 3 decks over and over how is that toxic at all
JoyfulPlatypus 05.20.26	I really used to like playing magic with some coworkers, but the guy who hosted our game nights was a real prick and kind of ruined the fun for me. But my wife still play Commander together from time to time. As for Arena, I definitely used to dabble in it but haven't in a while. Maybe I could afford to try again.
evilford 05.20.26	Im not saying thats toxic at all. I just know a good number of people IRL whose identity basically revolves around how much they despise "netdecking" and won't shut up about it. I think its time to normalize the desire to win games. It doesn't make you a so-called "try-hard" or sweat or whatever to desire to be good and win. There is a lot of work that goes into refining any particular archetype and leaving all the work that other players have done on the table is pretty silly. Thats not to say there is shame in losing. And that's also not to saying that doing your own thing and brewing isn't cool. But if you actively try to shame people for running with some proven results in competitive environments, it might be time to re-evaluate your life.
botb 05.20.26	@platypus I’ve been playing since 97 (had an older brother, we both got decks around then) and have been through that whole ordeal about 3 separate times at this point. Had a high school friend steal a bunch of my cards, got a bunch of my old dual lands stolen by someone else, been in the pod with the “my parents buy me every card” kid that just plays infinite combos all the time, etc etc. I’ve found some of my most fun MTG have been either dueling with my wife or playing pre-cons with some friends. @ford oh yeah dude I mean I get that, I’m not losing sleep over it. I often will get face rolled by a deck several times and then try to rework it in my own way. It’s often times not as unbeatable as whatever the pros are playing but it makes it feel more rewarding when I win. I just don’t love any pay-to-win methods on a game that’s about strategy. If you’re dropping 200$ on wildcards every season to build the exact deck you found on the internet I just don’t see how you’d get anything out of it.