Controller
Scott, John, and myself are all very control-minded. We love to make decks that control the game. John weaves an intricate, chess-like defense with artifacts and enchantments until he can get some freaking huge dragon out and go pounding.
The Rattlesnake
A Rattlesnake player is one that threatens others with what they could do if you come their way…ready and poised to strike.
When Mark T. plays with us, he sits in the corner of our FFA game and says little. He attacks nobody and silently does the rattlesnake routine by threatening with big green creatures. He watches all of us kill each other, then when he’s forced to, or when there are enough players out, he starts attacking. This political strategy has worked several times.
The Agitator
I, Ricomyer, use plenty of “I’m warning you, don’t hurt me” cards, but I also use cards that tick off everybody. I call these type of players “Agitators.” They only exist in FFA games, because in 1x1 there is no downside to “agitating” your one opponent. All too frequently I get a kick out of playing something that changes the whole FFA game and turn everybody’s focus to me. I have Humility and Pestilence and other such world changing cards in many of my decks. My creature-less deck is a good example of this. Of course this usually gets me killed quickly. But when one of my combos works, I am king of the world! That is until my wife calls and tells me it’s time to come home {whimper}.
Maniuplator
Alex and Mike are very competitive, and will use every (legal) means they can to beat you. They will to use logic, threaten, and otherwise try to convince you to attack somebody else. If you attack them when there is another powerful player in the game, you can bet they will let you know about it. Of course the term “Manipulator” is probably a little bit of an exaggeration because I don’t think they act upset when they really aren’t, or try to get you riled up so you make a mistake. But politics are a big part of their game.
Aggressor
The opposite of the defensive, control player is the Aggressor. Alex is the ultimate aggressor in our group. His favorite colors are Red/Black. “The best defense is a good offense.”
Infinite Combo Man
Mark D’s decks are famous for nasty infinite or near-infinite combos. I recall playing against him when he had 2500 life and bringing him almost down to the point of beating him. These decks are sometimes not fun to play against.
Even though I know something big is coming from a player like Mark, I have a hard time attacking early because I don’t want to pick on them. It just seems mean to take somebody out in the first few minutes when the whole FFA game may last 2hrs. Poor Mark, laying down land every turn and maybe throwing out an artifact or enchantment that can't do anything (right now...), totally defenseless, like a little rabbit. I can't hurt a rabbit, can I?
But if we all don’t attack soon then the combo will come out and it’s all over. It’s all or nothing if you play serious combo decks like these. Either you are out early (little fun) or you win suddenly when your combo comes out (little fun for anybody else). Well, I suppose I like winning that way too, but I guess the difference is my combos don’t guarantee “game over” once the game has gone on long enough to draw all the pieces. Or maybe I just need some cheese with my whine.
