Combo Out!

I get that combo is part of the game. It's never been my thing, but you Johnnies out there know what I'm talking about. I appreciate a well-built combo deck as much as the next guy - that's part of what makes Dominion so fun - but shuffling up at a Commander table only to lose on turn 5 to someone packing combo really isn't a good time.

None of my kitchen table friends play combo. Maybe because they aren't into it. But, probably more likely because they know that the rabbit hole doesn't go down that far. But about once a week I get a chance to play Commander at a card shop. What do I lose to every week? Combo.

At the shop, there is no entry fee to play. If there was, I probably wouldn't go. That's not to say that I don't want to support the place, but they already give out a prize to whomever wins. It's very cool of them to give out a prize even though no one pays to play, but it also encourages people to combo kill everyone for $5 in store credit. I'd hate to give them even more incentive.

Here's the thing: for the most part, we know everyone who shows up. Usually, there's between 8 and 15 people. We also know who plays what decks. We know the combo players before they sit down. Does that stop them from winning? No. Even ganging up on them is often not enough.

The fun of this format (for me) is slamming demons into the red zone. I'm not saying that my pet deck absolutely has to be viable, but when turn 5 rolls around and it's another combo death for team demon (and everyone else) it's not really a game anymore. At that point, it's watching someone do a card trick with very complicated rules. :)

We all know that you can build a combo deck. There are lots of them. Temple Bell + Mind Over Matter usually does the job. It's two cards. One of them actually helps you get the combo.



For those of you who want to ruin your next Commander game, the combo is tapping Temple Bell to make everyone draw a card, discarding the card you drew to Mind Over Matter to untap the Temple Bell, then doing it again... and again... and again. To not lose, put something in your deck with a shuffle effect, like Blightsteel Colossus. Winner!

Losing to combo isn't a "fun" way to lose. The guys who play combo know this. I often hear, "I'm sorry," from them as they win followed shortly by, "If you guys want to play another game, I have a different deck." Inevitably, the deck they bring out is the damn deck they should have played in the first place.