The Deceiver Exarch/Splinter Twin combo is banned at my kitchen table.¹

It isn’t even just that combo that is banned. Any two-card "I win!" combo is banned.

Introduction, or “Good God, man! What made you do that!?”

Years ago, my playgroup consisted of just four or five players. We regularly played at one of the players’ office (the guy had a conference room with chairs and a great table perfect for six Magic players to stretch out around), but there were other employees working late, so we headed to the local game store within walking distance.² While the store had a regular Draft that night, we got there before the Draft started and squeezed around one of the plastic tables with the foldout legs, leaving room for the drafters at the main tables. We were through our first game and into our second when one of the regulars at the store plopped down and watched us play for a few minutes. Our game wrapped up, and he asked to get in on the next one.

There is always a little reluctance to include a stranger in a tight-knit playgroup. The four of us were friends and knew each other fairly well. We had a sense of how each other played and had some idea of what to expect from them. A new player in the mix changes the dynamic and leaves you wondering if what was the correct play before is still the correct play now. In essence, you don’t know how good the new player is—or how good his deck is—so you aren’t sure if you should go after him early or not.

In spite of our reluctance, we added him in. I mean, we were playing at a game store! Part of the benefit of playing at a game store is the ease of meeting new players. What if this guy was someone we would want to play with on a regular basis? How will we ever know if he would make a nice addition to the group if we never let him play? It doesn’t make much sense to shut ourselves off this benefit. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?

The game started pretty much as expected. Someone played an early creature, someone else got a little mana-screwed, but generally by turn four, things were starting to happen. The creature hordes were building, and a bizarre mix of permanents were hitting the board, promising another quirky game of Chaos. It was at this point when the new player dropped his two-card combo and ended the game.³

He explained how the cards interacted and how the loop would cause each of us to die. He happily explained how he had to wait through the last two turns because two of us were playing Blue, and this was the first time we were both tapped out. We were good sports about it and offered to let him play in the next game, preferably with something else. He said he didn’t have another deck for multiplayer. Thankfully, the Draft for the night was starting, and he headed on his way. A nice guy who played a deck that was anything but fun.

We banned combos in our little group before the night was out.

Admittedly, this was a poor reaction, taken for all the wrong reasons. We did not want to have to load our decks with counterspells, focusing the game around whether a combo would go off. Simply put, we enjoyed our quirky decks and didn’t want our games run over by an instant combo that our fun decks simply couldn’t handle.

We could have made efforts to improve our decks so we weren’t so vulnerable to such combos. As new decks and players come into a group, it is an opportunity for a group to evolve and become better than it was before. Instead, we just said, “No.”

While this was a knee-jerk reaction at the time, I’ve come to realize it was the right move, taken for the wrong reasons. Step back from this single game and consider the big picture for a moment.

Background, or Why You Play Casual Magic

Some people play it because of the fantasy aspect. The whole idea of dragons, goblins, and wizards makes the game alive. GatheringMagic has had Vorthos Wednesday for this style of player for quite a while now. When I started playing (we’re talking Ice Age or so, just so you understand the perspective), the friends who introduced me to the game tried to sell it to me as wizards battling each other, with the library as your book of spells. For the longest time, the imagery of the game was what made it fun for me and several of the guys who introduced me to Magic. I still consider my framed Overgrown Tomb⁴ hanging from the wall in my living room to be among my coolest possessions.

Some people play because of the group interaction. The game could just as easily be Monopoly, Balderdash, or poker, just so long as you spend time with like-minded people on a regular basis and have a good time. My first playgroup was with a friend who introduced me to his other friends who played Magic. While the friend soon stopped playing, I stayed with that same group for many years after that. Many of those players became close friends. My current group started because I moved to Boston and wanted to make friends. We meet every week and enjoy camaraderie and friendship. I regularly refer to it as my poker night, since that is something my non-Magic friends can relate to. The group interaction makes those games fun.

Some people play because they love the card interactions. George and Jesse are two of the crazy deck-builders in the group. I’ll often build decks with some kind of funky interaction in mind, but these guys take that to another level. They love the creativity in deck-building and battling with a new concoction. Their decks can spin webs with interactions you don’t see even when the cards are all on the table! It is fun watching them try to make these decks come alive during our casual games, and making those decks hum is fun for them.

Whatever your reason for playing Magic in a casual setting, it likely boils down to one word: fun. You have a good time, and Magic makes that happen in some way.

For casual Magic though, the key to having fun is to ensure that each player is having fun. That is somewhat true even in a tournament setting. If tournaments stop being fun, it is only a matter of time until tournament attendance starts to dwindle. Prior to Jace and Stoneforge Mystic being banned, attendance was coming down . . . because it wasn’t fun.

While it is up to tournament organizers and Wizards to ensure tournaments are fun, when it comes to the kitchen table, it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that everyone else is having fun. If you are only concerned about your own fun, prepare to be alone. If everyone is only concerned about his own fun, it won’t take long for people to look for more fun elsewhere. People are very busy, and there are plenty of cool things to be doing.⁵ Spending time doing something that isn’t fun is not something any player is going to do for too long.

I have lost players in my group because they were no longer having fun. Some of those lost were my fault, while others left because of things beyond my control. If someone only has fun if he wins, multiplayer Magic, by definition, will not be fun. I’m not asking you to do everything possible—just everything within reason—to ensure your kitchen table is a fun environment.

Argument, or “How Does This Relate to Banning Combos Again?”

With this in mind, how is an I-win combo fun for everyone? When it works for you and you win, you have the elation of winning the game. You built a deck using a combination of cards that let you win. I can see how winning with an I-win combo feels good to some people.⁶

What about everyone else at the table? Did they all think it was fun? Do you remember that awesome game of multiplayer you played not too long ago?

The board was a convoluted mess, with one permanent controlling another permanent, and a half a dozen creatures controlled by four different players all having an effect on your decisions. You had to consider everything—the board, the players, your hand—to decide your next move. Comments from your friends were flying as each creature hit the board. The call would go out when someone played a game-altering enchantment. Your plan was developing nicely, setting things up for a big finish. Then, one of your opponents changed the entire scenario with a card, forcing you to reconsider your line of play. Finally, the moment came and you made your move. The laughs and conversations around the table turned to groans, and you ducked under the six M&Ms flying toward you from the opposite side of the table. But just as you were about to take the win, an opponent shifted the balance and stole away the victory. Where were those M&Ms . . . 

While not winning was certainly a downer, you had the chance, and you took it. You got to play the game, and you had a good time. You could have that . . . or:

The board was beginning to develop as the players jockeyed to position themselves for the win. There was some laughing, and one player just returned from the kitchen with a thin slice of pizza. Then, one of your opponents played Deceiver Exarch and Splinter Twin. Everyone’s shoulders sagged lower than the pizza slice off your friends fingertips; everyone scooped up the cards and prepared to try again.

The only time when an instant combo is fun is when the game is locked down and everyone hates it. Even then, the combo isn’t fun; it’s just relieving the pain of the locked-down game and opening up the chance for a better, fun experience.

Conclusion, or Why It Isn’t as Bad as It Sounds

Thus, we block the I-win combos. We don’t have a specific set of rules laying out exactly which combos are banned, but it is understood that if two cards in play together result in a win, unless someone is packing instant speed removal, the combo is likely banned.

This isn’t to say that my group never plays with instant combos or infinite loops. Many of the players in my group run what I like to call the steampunk combo. These combos are game-winners, but are generally difficult to pull off. They often involve five different cards working together in a very precise way to produce the winning game state. When these combos are successful, the whole table can usually manage to look at it and see it for the awesomeness that it is. These are also combos that can be stopped by the average deck that is packing some form of disruption (counterspells or permanent removal). A steampunk combo is fun for the whole table; the instant combo is not.

I don’t want you to take from this that instant combos should be banned from all casual tables. If your table has players running the instant combo and everyone is still having a good time, enjoy. Just be sure they are enjoying the combo and not having fun playing Magic in spite of the combo. M&Ms are food, not weapons.

¹ Technically, my group plays in my dining room, but I’m trying to keep in the Kitchen Table Tuesday theme!

² Yes, in fact, it was a pretty sweet setup. We don’t play at the office anymore, and that store closed a few years ago.

³ I’d love to tell you what the combo was, but it was several years ago. I don’t remember either of the cards.

⁴ As a bit of trivia, Rob Alexander named the image “The City of the Dead.”

⁵ I will not be drawn into Skyrim. I will not be drawn into Skyrim. I will not be drawn into Skyrim.

⁶ For me, not so much. I ran a combo deck involving Enduring Renewal. It took three games to get the combo to go off. When it finally worked, it was horrible. I wrecked a perfectly good game, and I didn’t even enjoy the win. It didn’t feel earned. It was as though there should be an asterisk marked in the win column next to my name.