Whether it's a close match or a total curbstomp, I reserve the right to think you're being silly if you correct someone for casually saying "good game."
And I reserve the right to hold the phrase "good game" to a higher standard than most people do. Ultimately, it comes down to each person's interpretation of the phrase, and I interpret it as "That was an enjoyable, engaging, quality game of Magic: The Gathering for all parties involved."
I understand that to most people, "good game" is simply social convention, but that's not what it is to me.
While it is true that you may personally use words in whatever way most pleases you, the purpose of language is for people to convey specific thoughts and ideas using generally agreed upon sounds from our mouth holes.
If you choose to personally redefine words and phrases, you should be prepared for others to think you are ignorant or just quite mad. And if you actually hold others to your imaginary definitions and become upset when they dont use them as well, that actually is rather insane.
Its like if I invited you into my home and then started screaming at you for calling one of my dining room squigillybops a "chair".
Certainly you can seek to change harmless social conventions if you so desire. However, if you act as though people who follow it are doing something wrong in the process, then you are simply being absurd and should expect nothing but mockery.
It's comforting to know I'm not the only person to have to deal with the uncomfortable confusion of someone misidentifying my squigillybops.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
The answer is purple because ice cream has no bones.
If loss was caused by too many or not enough lands, and somebody says "good game", I say "no, it was not". I will still shake hands if a hand was offered. But I'm never the first to offer my hand for shaking, for any reason at any point in my entire life. That's just me tho.
I always shake. Granted, if the opponent gets stomped due to mana issues or whatnot, I'll likely offer good luck going forward instead, but I always part ways with a friendly gesture, which is exactly what this is.
I agree with PV's comments and really can't see why this comes up. In fact, I guess I don't get the whole "tilt" thing. I've seen opponents tilt during a game or get really whiny afterward, but I just don't get it. If you're playing a low-stakes fun card game and getting really worked up and upset, you need to take a deep breath, remind yourself of how unimportant the problem is, refocus on executing good gameplay, and show some courtesy to your opponent. If not, and if you can only enjoy the game when you're winning, you might need to look hard at why you play at all.
I have to question if you have any kind of competitive drive at all. If you're competitive, losing at anything, even a game of chess is going to make you upset. If it doesn't, then you don't have any real drive to win and you shouldn't be playing at a large scale tournament of any kind. You're just wasting everyone's time.
As for myself, I don't particularly care if someone offers a handshake, but I probably won't take it unless I know them personally. A complete stranger, who could be absolutely anyone in the world? Call me cautious, but I'd rather just never see you again and move on. If a friend or someone I know offers a handshake, I'll reluctantly take it just because I know who they are. But if you're a complete stranger, I have no desire to ever shake your hand or anything of the sort.
Perhaps someday you'll grow-up and learn what real competition is all about. No "real competitor" in any sport, game, etc would refuse a handshake, not only does it sound psychotic it's just rude and immature. I'm a regular GP (sometimes Pro Tour) competitor and I can tell you that this mentality is almost always from bad players. The players that get salty are the ones who make tons of mistakes and refuse to fess up to them. I was watching a local FNM game and the player made some huge misplays (missed 2 Monastery Mentor triggers) and didn't burn a crucial creature when opponent was tapped out and ended up losing to that creature. After the match he told his friends he lost from "variance" and "mana-screw". His opponent said "Thanks for the games" and he just replies "Yeah, whatever".
Its cute that you say "grow up" and yet your whole post basically says "You're not allowed to disagree with me because I'm perfect, and if you do disagree with me, then you're a horrible person and I hate you." And that's pretty childish.
I don't like to handshake because I don't like having complete strangers touch me. I've never liked anyone touching me for any reason. My family was the same way, and that's where I probably picked the habit up from. And there's nothing wrong or childish with that.
As far as competition goes, why do you think professional sports figures that are completely emotionless drones that don't care if they lose are criticized so frequently? Its because its clear they don't have any kind of competitive drive. If you don't have that drive, why are you even there?
I agree with PV's comments and really can't see why this comes up. In fact, I guess I don't get the whole "tilt" thing. I've seen opponents tilt during a game or get really whiny afterward, but I just don't get it. If you're playing a low-stakes fun card game and getting really worked up and upset, you need to take a deep breath, remind yourself of how unimportant the problem is, refocus on executing good gameplay, and show some courtesy to your opponent. If not, and if you can only enjoy the game when you're winning, you might need to look hard at why you play at all.
I have to question if you have any kind of competitive drive at all. If you're competitive, losing at anything, even a game of chess is going to make you upset. If it doesn't, then you don't have any real drive to win and you shouldn't be playing at a large scale tournament of any kind. You're just wasting everyone's time.
That's not how that works. If one is competitive, mature, enjoys the game, and has some basic empathy for his fellow man, then one should not get exceedingly upset by the fact that a casual game didn't go their way. To act in such a manner requires a lack of one of those elements, likely maturity.
STATISTICS.
All of these "Let's eliminate bad cards" crusades are simply ignorant. And when they start to devolve into "WotC is conspiring to give us crappy cards," they just become embarrassing. MATH is conspiring to give you crappy cards.
As far as competition goes, why do you think professional sports figures that are completely emotionless drones that don't care if they lose are criticized so frequently? Its because its clear they don't have any kind of competitive drive. If you don't have that drive, why are you even there?
I'm gonna be honest here and say I have no idea what you're talking about. What professional sports figures are you even discussing?
I'm going to my first GP in March. I've been practicing for it a pretty good deal, but because of my schedule it's hard to get as much time in as I'd like. Do I hope I do well at the tournament? Of course. Am I going to be upset if I lose my first few rounds and immediately blow my chances of making day two? There's no doubt about that. But there's no point in letting a bad game get to you. Are you seriously suggesting to me that people who can have a level head and still be happy with themselves after a loss shouldn't be playing at competitive events?
I agree with PV's comments and really can't see why this comes up. In fact, I guess I don't get the whole "tilt" thing. I've seen opponents tilt during a game or get really whiny afterward, but I just don't get it. If you're playing a low-stakes fun card game and getting really worked up and upset, you need to take a deep breath, remind yourself of how unimportant the problem is, refocus on executing good gameplay, and show some courtesy to your opponent. If not, and if you can only enjoy the game when you're winning, you might need to look hard at why you play at all.
I have to question if you have any kind of competitive drive at all. If you're competitive, losing at anything, even a game of chess is going to make you upset. If it doesn't, then you don't have any real drive to win and you shouldn't be playing at a large scale tournament of any kind. You're just wasting everyone's time.
That's not how that works. If one is competitive, mature, enjoys the game, and has some basic empathy for his fellow man, then one should not get exceedingly upset by the fact that a casual game didn't go their way. To act in such a manner requires a lack of one of those elements, likely maturity.
I'm curious as to what your definition of maturity is. Because the way you're using it, it seems to be "Someone who is exactly like I am." to mean mature.
Maybe there's just some kind of weird cultural difference here. Where I live (Southeast USA), that's pretty much the general attitude of basically every person I've ever met. Pretty par for the course. That's exactly how I expect people to react, and I never really see any deviation from that.
"Good game" is a culturally accepted shorthand for "Thank you for playing this game with me." Just as "Good morning" is shorthand for "It is morning. Hello, I acknowledge your presence." Failing to respond in kind to a "good game" -- or worse, giving the petty, vindictive "no, it wasn't" will likely get you the same response as responding to a "good morning" with "No, it isn't. It's raining!" We're not banging on people for responding like that because what they're saying isn't necessarily true; we're banging on them because they're reacting to something that isn't there. They're reacting as if they've somehow been insulted, when no insult was intended. I think the only thing that would cause me to not give a return "good game" and/or shake hands is if my opponent cheated; and even then, I still might, if only to prove that even though he may not be a good sport, I am.
And as a side note, be prepared to have people weirded out when you refuse to shake their hand, too, even if it's "for hygiene reasons." As others have said, you can reinterpret or ignore as many social conventions as you like -- but when you do, you can't really complain about it when people get offended. You're the one acting unusually, not them.
This is always going to be a touchy subject because everyone has different experiences.
That being said, I never initiate saying good game to someone. I just shake their hand if offered and always say good luck next round, which I genuinely mean. When people say good game to me and offer their hand, I offer mine too. There have been a few rare times when I thought maybe that my opponent was rubbing it in, but then I had to check my EGO at the door and realize that they were just saying that it was good to play you, regardless of how the games actually went.
Sometimes this is tough and I will admit that 2 times in the past month, I left the match pretty salty. One was at a win-a-mox when I went 0-3 after starting 3-0, losing the last few matches to Elves in Legacy. When I drew so many lands in game 3 after needing a single basic land drawn in the previous game to win, I just signed the slip, grabbed my stuff, and left. I didn't say anything else, but my saltiness showed because of the lack of after the game interaction. I was pretty upset. The other came recently when my opponent top decked 5 times in 3 games, 2 of which I overcame, to win in game 3 and get top 16 at the most recent Los Angeles Modern IQ. It was pretty frustrating because mana screw had lost me the other 2 matches that I lost. I was pretty salty, but just signed and left quickly. I would rather avoid the situation than start getting into a conversation about them drawing their 2 outer in so-and-so situation.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Its cute that you say "grow up" and yet your whole post basically says "You're not allowed to disagree with me because I'm perfect, and if you do disagree with me, then you're a horrible person and I hate you." And that's pretty childish.
I don't like to handshake because I don't like having complete strangers touch me. I've never liked anyone touching me for any reason. My family was the same way, and that's where I probably picked the habit up from. And there's nothing wrong or childish with that.
As far as competition goes, why do you think professional sports figures that are completely emotionless drones that don't care if they lose are criticized so frequently? Its because its clear they don't have any kind of competitive drive. If you don't have that drive, why are you even there?
I like how you bring up how you "don't like to get touched" like it somehow makes your original point of "If you don't kick a trashcan to death after every loss, you aren't really being competitive".
And I also don't know who you are talking about with "emotionless drones". No one is ever like "Peyton Manning shook hands with the opposing quarterback after a blow out game? Does he even CARE about football?"
Re:Foam-Dome, I'm not trying to police what is considered a "good game" to you. I'm saying that it doesn't come off as more than a hissy fit when you say "It wasn't a good game!". Say "Thanks for the game!" instead. Well except if people said that, people would just say "You're not really thankful!". Etc. etc.
From reading this thread, Akki_Akki wonder if it would be easier to pull teeth from a chicken than expecting most of your opponent to be polite.
It not hard Akki_Akki thinks.
Tip 1) Be polite, avoid saying things or doing things that may provoke hostility or rudeness.
Tip 2) Offer your opponent a handshake, whether you won or lost.
Tip 3) Carry on to your next match with a fresh mind and play normally, don't let your loss or victory weigh down your thinking if you are playing in a tourney.
Tip 4) If your opponent is rude, do not fight fire with fire. If you value yourself as a person, do not stoop down to their level as then you make the situation worse if you respond to rudeness with more rudeness. Just respond with kindness, good sportsmanship, respect, and politeness.
Tip 5) If your opponent refuses to shake your hand, don't let it weigh to heavily on your mind like you did something wrong. As long as you been making the effort to be a good sport you would be seen as good sport. Plain and simple.
Tip 6) Saying "Good Game" or "Thank you for the fun match" or "Thanks for the entertaining game", is perfectly fine. Don't let what your opponent's negative thoughts weigh you down if they say "You got lucky" or "I was mana screwed" or "I didn't draw what I needed". Some people are good sports who just let the rain roll off them harmlessly, some are poor sports who get salty and try to find scapegoat for the reason for their losing as it may not have been their opponent's fault at all and that is just how the dice came down. Often a person saying "Good Game" is just that; a person saying "Good Game". No hidden malicious intent or smugness.
Tip 7) Do not let your negative emotions get in the way of a game or cloud your judgment. Even if you lose never direct your negative emotions to your opponent at any point before, during, or after a match. Just leave such negative baggage at the door. After all, your opponents are simply here for the same reason you are here: To enjoy a few rounds of MTG and not feel stressed out by real life or getting caught in a silly web of drama.
Akki_Akki does not expect to become next Pope or Dali Lama, but Akki_Akki would expect to be treated as how he treated others, with Kindness, Politeness, Respect, Good Sportsmanship.
some of the opinions here blow my mind. ive been playing for years and only ever seen the kind of unsportsmanlike behavior that many of you are supporting from one person. That one person was your typical uber-nerd that one would expect to have no social skills anyways. Most magic players i meet are fairly normal and its always a handshake and a "good luck" or "good game," even after a blowout. Its not my fault that your deck drew poorly or had a bad matchup nor is it your fault if mine does the same.
hell i had a guy last week explain how and why he beat me after the match and i thanked him because now im a better player and i can tune my deck better.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Quote from DEADMANSEVEN »
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it put an evasive creature in its deck over a narrow hate card.
Quote from DARCYKUN »
If a card isn't worth your opponent removing, it's not worth putting in your deck.
While it is true that you may personally use words in whatever way most pleases you, the purpose of language is for people to convey specific thoughts and ideas using generally agreed upon sounds from our mouth holes.
If you choose to personally redefine words and phrases, you should be prepared for others to think you are ignorant or just quite mad. And if you actually hold others to your imaginary definitions and become upset when they dont use them as well, that actually is rather insane.
Its like if I invited you into my home and then started screaming at you for calling one of my dining room squigillybops a "chair".
Certainly you can seek to change harmless social conventions if you so desire. However, if you act as though people who follow it are doing something wrong in the process, then you are simply being absurd and should expect nothing but mockery.
Except the phrase has a predefined literal meaning, as dictated by the definitions of the words therein.
In this context, "good" is an adjective used to refer to something that is of high quality, quantity, or degree.
A "game" is a competitive activity involving skill, chance, or endurance (or in Magic's case, all three) on the part of two or more people who agree to a predefined set of rules.
Therefore, a "good game" would generally describe one such instance of these activities where all involved parties (and the majority of non-subjective onlookers) could reasonably conclude that the quality of the game is satisfactory.
I have no problem with following a social convention, but doing so when it would directly contradict the aforementioned definition seems rather ignorant.
But don't worry, all this backlash makes me realize that I'm not the most reasonable of people. I'll try to work on that.
Re:Foam-Dome, I'm not trying to police what is considered a "good game" to you. I'm saying that it doesn't come off as more than a hissy fit when you say "It wasn't a good game!". Say "Thanks for the game!" instead. Well except if people said that, people would just say "You're not really thankful!". Etc. etc.
It all comes down to how it's said. If I get spanked and my opponent says "good game," I'll just kinda laugh it off and jovially say "It didn't seem all that great to me, but I appreciate the sentiment. Good luck in your next rounds, dude!"
The problem with defining this format by what is "fun" is that everyone seems to define fun as what they don't lose to. If you keep losing to easily answered cards, that means you should improve your deck. If you don't want to improve your deck, then you should come to peace with the idea that you are going to lose because you chose to not interact with better strategies.
Offer the hand and a good luck before the game. Offer the hand and a good luck for the rest of the rounds after the match. We are people. When we sit down at the table, we become competitors. The "good luck" and handshake signals that we wish for a fair trial of skill, and a desire to see the best player win. During the game, we are opponents, and you do your best to beat your opponent. After the game, we are people again. We shake hands, thanking each other for the time and effort, and signaling an end of hostilities. The game is over. It may have been forgettable, unlucky or miserable, but now it is over. Move on.
Don't analyze "good game" as if it appears as rules text on a magic card. It is just a simple social convention used after a competition.
Any sort of sports/games I have experienced first hand, you always wish your opponent "good luck", or "play well", before you start a match. Then you shake hands and tell each other "good game" afterwards.
I can't believe this thread is even still going. The simple fact is, this isn't even a gaming problem. This is what happens when multiple generations grow up being told they are unique and beautiful snowflakes. So few people nowadays give a crap about anything or anyone that might have a different opinion than themselves, because they are automatically wrong. Some people are becoming so pathetically self absorbed that in their constant search to find something to be offended by or to disagree with, they can't (or won't) comprehend that they themselves are the problem. If people are getting so heated over a fantasy card game, it may be time to reevaluate some things. And if you are incapable of understanding that society will continue to function whether you agree with it or not, it might be best to just crawl back under that rock you came from.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
The answer is purple because ice cream has no bones.
People in this thread remind me why so many people hate MTG players. It's because so many of the vocal ones are anti-social misanthropes. Only in MTG will you find people who actively believe that refusing an opponent offering a good game handshake is somehow noble and the right course of action. Even 6-year-olds playing club soccer learn that you always go to the other team and offer a "good game" at the end of every match, no matter the score. Makes you wonder how so many 20- and 30-something managed to somehow miss the lesson.
You people give magic a bad name, and actively work against making the game more popular and inclusive, because no normal person wants to play with people like you. Good job.
That's a ridiculous statement. I actually DO believe that there are times where saying "good game" is not appropriate. For the sake of this example, assume your opponent kept a reasonable two-land hand on the draw. He never gets to a 3rd land and you destroy him. Would you say "good game" to him simply because the rules of society say you should? No, of course not. He might shake your hand if you offer, but inside he's fuming at your condescension. You say that finding malice in the phrase "good game" is "psychopathic behavior". I say that ignoring the feelings of your opponent for the sake of "conventional sportsmanship" is just as bad.
Yes, yes I would say GG in that situation. And I would be perfectly happy if my opponent said it. Because I am not a psychopath.
Really...MTG is the only "professional" game I know of where saying "good game" and shaking hands after a match is even up for debate. You don't think there luck in pro sports where the ball/puck bouncing one way instead of another determined the win? Or when the ref took the game out of the player's hands when he made a call that gave one team the win instead of the other? You know what the losers do, they say "good game" to the winners and shook their hands and maybe exchange jerseys coz that's what good sportsmanship demands and poor sportsmanship get heavily penalized no matter what pro sport you're playing.
You can vent in private to your friends after you left the playing field but while you're still at the table you're conducting yourself in a professional manner because you not only represent yourself, you're representing your team and your game.
You can bet that nobody will refuse a reasonable handshake, if its presented with some respect.
If the "good game" becomes a joke, the handshake adds insult to injury, not cool and everyone has any right to refuse that.
If you clearly see the opponent is upset, its a good idea to simply go quiet.
Go all out on that person and you are in for a gamble. Either they cheer up, good for you, or they react angry, which is not good ; being quite makes sure the situation cant go over board.
And yes, be thankful if you never had a "rager" in your playgroup, the kind of person that gets seriously angry about losing to flood/screw , just dont even try to talk to that person, it will just make it worse (best way out, a judge that tells that person to calm down, or simply leave).
------------------
If someone cant see a reason why refusing a handshake is totally viable thing in magic might just not have enough experience playing in magic tournaments, or you just act unrealistic.
------------------
After a game it can easily take a bunch of minutes to calm down, others scream and blame the game during the match (and thats annoying and bad) , while others will eat it up inside, and can heat up quite a lot, without showing it ; so you cool off after a game, and THEN you can still go for a handshake to your opponent ; but not right away, or even worse, before the opponent even scooped (as thats super annoying).
Lots of situations in which refusing a handshake is totally fine.
And lots of situations where you will allways accept a handshake.
Just think a second before blaming people, no matter which.
I can understand both sides of the argument, but I do find it ironic that most of the insulting and name calling is coming from those who are supporting the "good sportsmanship", "respect", and "maturity" of accepting GG and/or handshake no matter what.
I can understand both sides of the argument, but I do find it ironic that most of the insulting and name calling is coming from those who are supporting the "good sportsmanship", "respect", and "maturity" of accepting GG and/or handshake no matter what.
When people are being insane, it's perfectly acceptable to tell someone they are being insane. Further, stuff like this actively hurts magic, and we should have a strong reaction to it because it is so rude and absurd.
I was on the receiving end of a swift back-to-back beatdown (one due to mana issues) at a FKK draft. I was visibly tilting, admittedly, but then he offers his hand and says "good games". Now, we both know they were awful games. Awful meaning non-competitive. I stared at his hand for a few seconds and, reluctantly, shook it. I really didn't want to.
I hate it when people say "good games" when the games weren't good, and I also hate it when the winner offers their hand in any situation. Because that's essentially just "congratulating" the loser on their game loss.
I have no issue whatsoever with the loser offering their hand in congratulations. But I don't like it when the winner does it, as it comes across as them just rubbing it in.
How would you react when an opponent just destroys you and then says "good game" and offers his hand. Do you shake it without hesitation? Refuse to shake? Are you wrong for not shaking in this scenario? Are they wrong for offering?
I shake it without hesitation. Sometimes bad games happen (and it's not your opponent's fault that you got mana-screwed), it's just something a person needs to learn and accept. I was raised to accept and show sportsmanship in whatever competitive game I'm playing. Your opponent still presented you with a challenge, played fairly, and was friendly enough to offer the handshake. Not shaking hands just makes a person a sore loser and a jerk.
If someone really feels bad about saying "good game", then "thanks for the game" and/or "good luck in the rest of the tournament" are good substitutes.
Note: All this assumes my opponent isn't being a sarcastic jerk about it (and that they didn't cheat). If they are/did (and this happens very rarely, in my experience anyway), then I'll just get up and leave.
It's comforting to know I'm not the only person to have to deal with the uncomfortable confusion of someone misidentifying my squigillybops.
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
Its cute that you say "grow up" and yet your whole post basically says "You're not allowed to disagree with me because I'm perfect, and if you do disagree with me, then you're a horrible person and I hate you." And that's pretty childish.
I don't like to handshake because I don't like having complete strangers touch me. I've never liked anyone touching me for any reason. My family was the same way, and that's where I probably picked the habit up from. And there's nothing wrong or childish with that.
As far as competition goes, why do you think professional sports figures that are completely emotionless drones that don't care if they lose are criticized so frequently? Its because its clear they don't have any kind of competitive drive. If you don't have that drive, why are you even there?
That's not how that works. If one is competitive, mature, enjoys the game, and has some basic empathy for his fellow man, then one should not get exceedingly upset by the fact that a casual game didn't go their way. To act in such a manner requires a lack of one of those elements, likely maturity.
I'm gonna be honest here and say I have no idea what you're talking about. What professional sports figures are you even discussing?
I'm going to my first GP in March. I've been practicing for it a pretty good deal, but because of my schedule it's hard to get as much time in as I'd like. Do I hope I do well at the tournament? Of course. Am I going to be upset if I lose my first few rounds and immediately blow my chances of making day two? There's no doubt about that. But there's no point in letting a bad game get to you. Are you seriously suggesting to me that people who can have a level head and still be happy with themselves after a loss shouldn't be playing at competitive events?
I'm curious as to what your definition of maturity is. Because the way you're using it, it seems to be "Someone who is exactly like I am." to mean mature.
Maybe there's just some kind of weird cultural difference here. Where I live (Southeast USA), that's pretty much the general attitude of basically every person I've ever met. Pretty par for the course. That's exactly how I expect people to react, and I never really see any deviation from that.
And as a side note, be prepared to have people weirded out when you refuse to shake their hand, too, even if it's "for hygiene reasons." As others have said, you can reinterpret or ignore as many social conventions as you like -- but when you do, you can't really complain about it when people get offended. You're the one acting unusually, not them.
Modern: GW Hatebears/midrange, WGU Knightfall/evolution midrange stuff
Standard: nope
Legacy: W Death & Taxes
EDH (not Commander!): W Avacyn, Angel of Hope, GR Ruric Thar, the Unbowed, WGB Anafenza, the Foremost, WU Hanna, Ship's Navigator
That being said, I never initiate saying good game to someone. I just shake their hand if offered and always say good luck next round, which I genuinely mean. When people say good game to me and offer their hand, I offer mine too. There have been a few rare times when I thought maybe that my opponent was rubbing it in, but then I had to check my EGO at the door and realize that they were just saying that it was good to play you, regardless of how the games actually went.
Sometimes this is tough and I will admit that 2 times in the past month, I left the match pretty salty. One was at a win-a-mox when I went 0-3 after starting 3-0, losing the last few matches to Elves in Legacy. When I drew so many lands in game 3 after needing a single basic land drawn in the previous game to win, I just signed the slip, grabbed my stuff, and left. I didn't say anything else, but my saltiness showed because of the lack of after the game interaction. I was pretty upset. The other came recently when my opponent top decked 5 times in 3 games, 2 of which I overcame, to win in game 3 and get top 16 at the most recent Los Angeles Modern IQ. It was pretty frustrating because mana screw had lost me the other 2 matches that I lost. I was pretty salty, but just signed and left quickly. I would rather avoid the situation than start getting into a conversation about them drawing their 2 outer in so-and-so situation.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)I like how you bring up how you "don't like to get touched" like it somehow makes your original point of "If you don't kick a trashcan to death after every loss, you aren't really being competitive".
And I also don't know who you are talking about with "emotionless drones". No one is ever like "Peyton Manning shook hands with the opposing quarterback after a blow out game? Does he even CARE about football?"
Re:Foam-Dome, I'm not trying to police what is considered a "good game" to you. I'm saying that it doesn't come off as more than a hissy fit when you say "It wasn't a good game!". Say "Thanks for the game!" instead. Well except if people said that, people would just say "You're not really thankful!". Etc. etc.
It not hard Akki_Akki thinks.
Tip 1) Be polite, avoid saying things or doing things that may provoke hostility or rudeness.
Tip 2) Offer your opponent a handshake, whether you won or lost.
Tip 3) Carry on to your next match with a fresh mind and play normally, don't let your loss or victory weigh down your thinking if you are playing in a tourney.
Tip 4) If your opponent is rude, do not fight fire with fire. If you value yourself as a person, do not stoop down to their level as then you make the situation worse if you respond to rudeness with more rudeness. Just respond with kindness, good sportsmanship, respect, and politeness.
Tip 5) If your opponent refuses to shake your hand, don't let it weigh to heavily on your mind like you did something wrong. As long as you been making the effort to be a good sport you would be seen as good sport. Plain and simple.
Tip 6) Saying "Good Game" or "Thank you for the fun match" or "Thanks for the entertaining game", is perfectly fine. Don't let what your opponent's negative thoughts weigh you down if they say "You got lucky" or "I was mana screwed" or "I didn't draw what I needed". Some people are good sports who just let the rain roll off them harmlessly, some are poor sports who get salty and try to find scapegoat for the reason for their losing as it may not have been their opponent's fault at all and that is just how the dice came down. Often a person saying "Good Game" is just that; a person saying "Good Game". No hidden malicious intent or smugness.
Tip 7) Do not let your negative emotions get in the way of a game or cloud your judgment. Even if you lose never direct your negative emotions to your opponent at any point before, during, or after a match. Just leave such negative baggage at the door. After all, your opponents are simply here for the same reason you are here: To enjoy a few rounds of MTG and not feel stressed out by real life or getting caught in a silly web of drama.
Akki_Akki does not expect to become next Pope or Dali Lama, but Akki_Akki would expect to be treated as how he treated others, with Kindness, Politeness, Respect, Good Sportsmanship.
hell i had a guy last week explain how and why he beat me after the match and i thanked him because now im a better player and i can tune my deck better.
Except the phrase has a predefined literal meaning, as dictated by the definitions of the words therein.
In this context, "good" is an adjective used to refer to something that is of high quality, quantity, or degree.
A "game" is a competitive activity involving skill, chance, or endurance (or in Magic's case, all three) on the part of two or more people who agree to a predefined set of rules.
Therefore, a "good game" would generally describe one such instance of these activities where all involved parties (and the majority of non-subjective onlookers) could reasonably conclude that the quality of the game is satisfactory.
I have no problem with following a social convention, but doing so when it would directly contradict the aforementioned definition seems rather ignorant.
But don't worry, all this backlash makes me realize that I'm not the most reasonable of people. I'll try to work on that.
It all comes down to how it's said. If I get spanked and my opponent says "good game," I'll just kinda laugh it off and jovially say "It didn't seem all that great to me, but I appreciate the sentiment. Good luck in your next rounds, dude!"
Offer the hand and a good luck before the game. Offer the hand and a good luck for the rest of the rounds after the match. We are people. When we sit down at the table, we become competitors. The "good luck" and handshake signals that we wish for a fair trial of skill, and a desire to see the best player win. During the game, we are opponents, and you do your best to beat your opponent. After the game, we are people again. We shake hands, thanking each other for the time and effort, and signaling an end of hostilities. The game is over. It may have been forgettable, unlucky or miserable, but now it is over. Move on.
Cubetutor Peasant'ish-Funbox
Project: Khans of Tarkir Cube (cubetutor)
Any sort of sports/games I have experienced first hand, you always wish your opponent "good luck", or "play well", before you start a match. Then you shake hands and tell each other "good game" afterwards.
You people give magic a bad name, and actively work against making the game more popular and inclusive, because no normal person wants to play with people like you. Good job.
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588
Yes, yes I would say GG in that situation. And I would be perfectly happy if my opponent said it. Because I am not a psychopath.
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588
Ok. That's a perfectly reasonable assessment and not at all ridiculous.
You can vent in private to your friends after you left the playing field but while you're still at the table you're conducting yourself in a professional manner because you not only represent yourself, you're representing your team and your game.
If the "good game" becomes a joke, the handshake adds insult to injury, not cool and everyone has any right to refuse that.
If you clearly see the opponent is upset, its a good idea to simply go quiet.
Go all out on that person and you are in for a gamble. Either they cheer up, good for you, or they react angry, which is not good ; being quite makes sure the situation cant go over board.
And yes, be thankful if you never had a "rager" in your playgroup, the kind of person that gets seriously angry about losing to flood/screw , just dont even try to talk to that person, it will just make it worse (best way out, a judge that tells that person to calm down, or simply leave).
------------------
If someone cant see a reason why refusing a handshake is totally viable thing in magic might just not have enough experience playing in magic tournaments, or you just act unrealistic.
------------------
After a game it can easily take a bunch of minutes to calm down, others scream and blame the game during the match (and thats annoying and bad) , while others will eat it up inside, and can heat up quite a lot, without showing it ; so you cool off after a game, and THEN you can still go for a handshake to your opponent ; but not right away, or even worse, before the opponent even scooped (as thats super annoying).
Lots of situations in which refusing a handshake is totally fine.
And lots of situations where you will allways accept a handshake.
Just think a second before blaming people, no matter which.
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
BWTokens
GCollected Stompany
BWGUSeance Insanity
URUR Bloo
When people are being insane, it's perfectly acceptable to tell someone they are being insane. Further, stuff like this actively hurts magic, and we should have a strong reaction to it because it is so rude and absurd.
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588
I have no issue whatsoever with the loser offering their hand in congratulations. But I don't like it when the winner does it, as it comes across as them just rubbing it in.
I shake it without hesitation. Sometimes bad games happen (and it's not your opponent's fault that you got mana-screwed), it's just something a person needs to learn and accept. I was raised to accept and show sportsmanship in whatever competitive game I'm playing. Your opponent still presented you with a challenge, played fairly, and was friendly enough to offer the handshake. Not shaking hands just makes a person a sore loser and a jerk.
If someone really feels bad about saying "good game", then "thanks for the game" and/or "good luck in the rest of the tournament" are good substitutes.
Note: All this assumes my opponent isn't being a sarcastic jerk about it (and that they didn't cheat). If they are/did (and this happens very rarely, in my experience anyway), then I'll just get up and leave.