("Angel" by metropilot, licensed under Creative Commons)
How awesome is Luminarch Ascension?
With a hand of two lands and that card, always take the hand, even if everything else is inappropriate. It's the quintessential multiplayer card: in four-player games, you've got the necessary quest counters on it in two rounds - quicker if you have more players. And since the ability is instant-speed, you can pump out those tokens at your leisure. In fact, don't cast anything else. Why would you? You'll win off of Luminarch, or if it gets wasted, off of the cards you've saved by not casting anything else.
Luminarch Ascension is so awesome, in fact, that I never use it in any of my decks. I used to: the first time my Rhys the Redeemed completely took over the game in the fifth round of the game, I basked in the awe and envy of my mates. The second time it got destroyed, but my 5+ angels weren't wiped quick enough, and it was victory for me.
After that, I've never won a game after resolving Luminarch Ascension. The targeting is infernal: when people know you'll automatically win if nothing is done, they're gonna do something. What's more, it won't be a kind, happy race: people go sour. They stop smiling, joking, talking. It becomes a race to destroy not your deck but you, the jerk who uses Luminarch Ascension. So I took it out of my decks. What's the point of making everyone angry and losing?
That's our subject today: cards that draw ire. Many cards, techniques and playstyles are strong, effective and fast - in a vacuum. In practice, they draw such hatred and attention to you that they're not worth playing, especially since we're in budget country here: it's hard to build a deck that completely ignores what your opponents are doing unless you're throwing hundreds of dollars at the problem (unless you intend to destroy all lands; don't, it's stupid).
I've compiled a short list of the most (in)famous of cards in the "hit me" department. You might disagree with it, it might not suit your playgroup, you might think it stupid - but when you get wrecked in every game even though you're playing "amazing cards", you might want to check the list out again.The cards are in alphabetical order.
Top 10 Cards That Draw Ire
In general, when a card makes your opponents feel desperate, you've got a candidate for this list. Avacyn is exactly that kind of card: it's big, it's flashy, and many decks can't deal with it in reasonable time. Especially dangerous (both for you and your opponents) as a Commander, since you're giving your opponents plenty of turns to beat you down for such an unpleasant choice. And once it gets dealt with, you become the president of Blame City. Similar cards: Darksteel Forge, Iona, Shield of Emeria
You know what's not fun? Slowly draining away everything everyone has. While Call to the Grave and similar cards aren't necessarily unfairly powerful against all decks (although some can be completely wrecked by it), it's just not a fun card: everyone keeps losing something, which starts to annoy people, which they (rightly) blame on you. If you can somehow work around the effect (Zombie tribal, death-trigger creatures), all the worse. Similar cards: Copper Tablet, Cunning Lethemancer
This will be a controversial choice, since many people think Chaos Warp and similar tuck cards are an integral part of Commander, due to their Commander-ridding nature. In reasonable amounts this holds true, but more often than not tuck effects are solely used to wreck someone's game plan before he ever gets to do anything. The rest of his or her game is spent on tormenting the tucker in any way possible. Similar cards: Bant Charm, Condemn
With this card we're talking ridiculous amounts of power, but that's not necessarily what draws the hate. It's more in the fact that the amount of resources you gain off of it feels at the same time unfair and excessive. When you're facing a Consecrated Sphinx, you face someone gains tons of resources, while you get breadcrumbs. That creates envy, which in turn creates hate. Similar cards: Sheoldred, Whispering One, Wellwisher
If you think tucking a Commander is not fun, wait until you face this bad boy. While it makes a ton of sense playing cards like this in the format, it's hardly a wise idea: deny someone their Commander, and the rest of their deck (often dangerous in its own right) will come right at you. Use cards like this with caution. Similar cards: Meddling Mage, Nevermore
I believe I've pretty much made my point about this card in the above slice of my gaming life. Luminarch draws hate since it gives so much for so little. Very quickly (often immediately) the other players are going to figure out that getting you out of the game is going to benefit everyone, and act accordingly. Similar cards: Aura Shards, Bloodchief Ascension
"You win the game" effects really shouldn't be a part of EDH. Most playgroups I know ban all alternate wincons outright, which makes sense, since in the fairly slow format they're far too easy to fulfill. Mayael's Aria is a particularly nasty example: in the voltron environment of EDH (think Uril, the Miststalker) 20 power is nothing at all. Similar cards: Biovisionary, Felidar Sovereign
No one likes lockdown. It can be fun to play (I don't particularly enjoy it but some people clearly do; sadist bastards) but it's never fun to play against. That's why cards like Rule of Law rub people the wrong way: you're telling people how to play the game instead of letting them do what they want. You can be sure the one spell they can cast each turn is coming your way. Similar cards: Æther Barrier, Contamination
I'd really prefer it if everyone played with their own cards in EDH. A sharply-placed steal effect (especially enchantment-based ones, since at least they can be destroyed) can be awesome, but most of the time people play these spells to make up for their lack of imagination. Similar cards: Threads of Disloyalty, Twist Allegiance
I'd really prefer it if everyone played with their own cards in EDH. A sharply-placed steal effect (especially enchantment-based ones, since at least they can be destroyed) can be awesome, but most of the time people play these spells to make up for their lack of imagination. Similar cards: Threads of Disloyalty, Twist Allegiance
Isn't lockdown fun? Now, no one gets to do anything (except me, with some wicked combo or other). It should be obvious why cards like this are hated far and wide. Control is often said to be a hated archetype (often by control players, to seek pity), but the problem is more in the lockdown department: control the game all you want, but let me at least try something, goddamn it! Similar cards: Stasis, Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
In addition to the cards discussed above, I'd like to bring attention to a few gaming styles and types of decks that gather hatred, and which you should think twice about before playing. Some of them don't automatically make you the target, but even so they're all boring and degenerate ways of playing - steer clear!
Land destruction: tactical land destruction is fine, repeated destruction is not
Massed counterspells: repeatedly countering spells instead of playing your own is bound to draw hate
Pointless group hug: if you make a group hug deck, have a way to win
Repeated board nullifying: boardwiping over and over without a point is aggravating
Wrong environment: don't bring a competitive deck into a casual game and vice versa
Massed counterspells: repeatedly countering spells instead of playing your own is bound to draw hate
Pointless group hug: if you make a group hug deck, have a way to win
Repeated board nullifying: boardwiping over and over without a point is aggravating
Wrong environment: don't bring a competitive deck into a casual game and vice versa
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