Let me set up a vague scenario for you: You're ahead in the game. You have a stronger board state, you're have more cards in hand, your life total is higher. You're opponent is in the tank, thinking hard. A fairly new player comes along, looks at the board and blurts out, "Who's winning?" What do you do?
This kind of situation happens to me all the time. I often play casual games at a coffee shop late into the night with friends. Occasionally a friend will come through, often someone who doesn't play, and see us playing. We make small talk and they often end up asking "So who's winning?" Obviously they're just being friendly and just trying to take interest in your game, but sometimes it can be frustrating. It's hard avoid the question because if I'm winning I don't want to rub it in my opponents face and be over confident, or blatantly admit I'm losing, etc. If it's casual enough that I can openly admit what I think, it's frustrating to try and explain that it's not often a winning or losing type of game, but rather a "I won or lost", because things like topdeck exist, or just game changing plays. This often leads to more questions and explanations and can be majorly distracting.
Have any similar stories? How do you deal with questions/situations like these? Share and discuss.
Nonanswer that avoids being patronizing. I prefer stuff like, "Man it's hard to say, his/her deck has some real haymakers in it." If I lost a previous match, I make sure to mention that. "Still waiting for the beating that I got last match, I've been playing hella cautiously."
I only ever go by life total if someone asks who is winning.
I'll usually go with this as well. I just say "I have more life left" or he does. It's not really a statement of winning or losing just a fact about the metric used to determine the winner.
The better question to ask is who is winning if you have less life but that's going to change over the next couple of turns because you have a much better position on board? I'll usually add the qualifier at the end on my life total statement if it's worth pointing out. "I have more life but he has a lot more creatures" or vice versa.
I'll answer as succinctly as possible. "I am" if I am. "He is" if he is. I wouldn't be playing casually with someone who'll find such as simple answer insulting; chances are they'll be prickly about other things.
I find it more problematic if they ask "why?". If a new player is asking, that means he's incapable of grasping the board state and succinct answers aren't going to satisfy.
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"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
As a control player, the life totals rarely tell the whole story. So I'll commonly say "He's close to killing me, but I have the superior board position", or "I'm very far behind and will likely die", etc.
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Formerly Angrypossum over at the now-defunct WotC forums.
I actually had this happen to me on Sunday. We were playing out Top 4 and some random kid walks in and starts peppering us with questions "What are you doing" "How do you play that" and then he asked "whos winning" and then "whos winning now". The other questions were fine but I almost lost it when he kept asking "who's winning now". No one's winning until the game is over. I have had several games where I thought I was locked in and I ended up losing and vice versa. I ended up snapping "No one" every time he asked until he left.
It's about as bad as when a 5 year old won't stop asking who the good guy is and who the bad guy is. The world isn't black and white. I don't want to sit here and explain nuance to someone who can't grasp it.
I actually had this happen to me on Sunday. We were playing out Top 4 and some random kid walks in and starts peppering us with questions "What are you doing" "How do you play that" and then he asked "whos winning" and then "whos winning now". The other questions were fine but I almost lost it when he kept asking "who's winning now". No one's winning until the game is over. I have had several games where I thought I was locked in and I ended up losing and vice versa. I ended up snapping "No one" every time he asked until he left.
It's about as bad as when a 5 year old won't stop asking who the good guy is and who the bad guy is. The world isn't black and white. I don't want to sit here and explain nuance to someone who can't grasp it.
Well, there's a difference between a friend asking about a casual game and a random guy at a shop asking about an ongoing sanctioned match.
Last Standard season, I played a notoriously defensive UW control deck, and another of the better players at the shop ran the brutal Maze's End turbo-fog deck. Our games were long and weird, and it was nearly impossible to tell who would win until they actually ended. Any time we met in the final rounds, inevitably we'd be one of the last people to finish and other players would gather around to watch. If they ever started asking questions about how our decks worked, I'd simply say "Hey, this is an ongoing serious match, and one that could easily go to time if we don't focus. Please don't bother us". That was usually enough to handle it.
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Formerly Angrypossum over at the now-defunct WotC forums.
I always reply with "no one." No one is really winning and board state is a greater determining factor than life totals but that's hard to explain to someone who doesn't understand the game.
I'll answer as succinctly as possible. "I am" if I am. "He is" if he is. I wouldn't be playing casually with someone who'll find such as simple answer insulting; chances are they'll be prickly about other things.
I find it more problematic if they ask "why?". If a new player is asking, that means he's incapable of grasping the board state and succinct answers aren't going to satisfy.
The only reason I avoid saying "I'm winning" is because it makes you look foolish if you're not aware of your opponent's hand. If they're top decking just to stay in the game or something, yeah, I understand that. But (and I know this is a way oversimplified example) imagine you have a sweeper in hand and your opponent has 20 creatures on board and tells his friend that he is winning. How smug are you when you wipe his board at that point? This is more true as the deck in question gets more complicated or is more on the combo end of things.
The only reason I avoid saying "I'm winning" is because it makes you look foolish if you're not aware of your opponent's hand.
Then say "I don't know". The OP already stated superior board position -- I take that to mean knowing your opponent's deck enough to actually _know_ you're in a superior board position.
And if you're wrong, you're wrong; nothing more than that. Again, I'm not playing with someone who thinks I'm foolish.
How smug are you when you wipe his board at that point?
Not at all. Being smug with friends is the quickest way not to have any.
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"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
My playgroup usually goes by life total, even though I say it's irrelevant as long as it's not 0. Even though some of them have been playing for 10 years, they're still adverse to using life as a resource.
So, I'll usually say something like "I'm dead on the board in 2 turns unless I kill that."
If I'm in a bad way, I'll admit it. "I'm gettin' my ass handed to me!" My ego is a lot less fragile than most people's. The average Magic player seems especially prone to a wounded ego, which is why my favorite games are close ones where we both shake our heads and laugh at blowouts. (rabbit trail ends here)
If I clearly have him on his heels, I'll try the modest approach, like iliss: "You never know what could happen."
Kidding aside, I usually just say something like "no one's really winning right now." Or "It's hard to say. He's [my opponent] in the lead right now, but the game's not over yet."
This kind of situation happens to me all the time. I often play casual games at a coffee shop late into the night with friends. Occasionally a friend will come through, often someone who doesn't play, and see us playing. We make small talk and they often end up asking "So who's winning?" Obviously they're just being friendly and just trying to take interest in your game, but sometimes it can be frustrating. It's hard avoid the question because if I'm winning I don't want to rub it in my opponents face and be over confident, or blatantly admit I'm losing, etc. If it's casual enough that I can openly admit what I think, it's frustrating to try and explain that it's not often a winning or losing type of game, but rather a "I won or lost", because things like topdeck exist, or just game changing plays. This often leads to more questions and explanations and can be majorly distracting.
Have any similar stories? How do you deal with questions/situations like these? Share and discuss.
GW Death and Taxes WG
I always try to err on the side of too modest.
GWU Bant Manifest - The Future Is Here. Or it will be at the end of turn. GWU
GW ~ Angels ~ WG
Modern:
RBW ~ Shadowmancer ~ WBR
Legacy:
BUG ~ Shadow Delver ~ GUB
I'll usually go with this as well. I just say "I have more life left" or he does. It's not really a statement of winning or losing just a fact about the metric used to determine the winner.
The better question to ask is who is winning if you have less life but that's going to change over the next couple of turns because you have a much better position on board? I'll usually add the qualifier at the end on my life total statement if it's worth pointing out. "I have more life but he has a lot more creatures" or vice versa.
I find it more problematic if they ask "why?". If a new player is asking, that means he's incapable of grasping the board state and succinct answers aren't going to satisfy.
"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
It's about as bad as when a 5 year old won't stop asking who the good guy is and who the bad guy is. The world isn't black and white. I don't want to sit here and explain nuance to someone who can't grasp it.
Well, there's a difference between a friend asking about a casual game and a random guy at a shop asking about an ongoing sanctioned match.
Last Standard season, I played a notoriously defensive UW control deck, and another of the better players at the shop ran the brutal Maze's End turbo-fog deck. Our games were long and weird, and it was nearly impossible to tell who would win until they actually ended. Any time we met in the final rounds, inevitably we'd be one of the last people to finish and other players would gather around to watch. If they ever started asking questions about how our decks worked, I'd simply say "Hey, this is an ongoing serious match, and one that could easily go to time if we don't focus. Please don't bother us". That was usually enough to handle it.
The only reason I avoid saying "I'm winning" is because it makes you look foolish if you're not aware of your opponent's hand. If they're top decking just to stay in the game or something, yeah, I understand that. But (and I know this is a way oversimplified example) imagine you have a sweeper in hand and your opponent has 20 creatures on board and tells his friend that he is winning. How smug are you when you wipe his board at that point? This is more true as the deck in question gets more complicated or is more on the combo end of things.
Then say "I don't know". The OP already stated superior board position -- I take that to mean knowing your opponent's deck enough to actually _know_ you're in a superior board position.
And if you're wrong, you're wrong; nothing more than that. Again, I'm not playing with someone who thinks I'm foolish.
Not at all. Being smug with friends is the quickest way not to have any.
"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
"No-one, so we were reduced to playing Magic instead."
UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU's prison: blue is the new orange is the new black.
Mizzix Of The Izmagnus : wheels on fire... rolling down the road...
BSidisi, Undead VizierB: Bis zum Erbrechen
GTitiania, Protector Of ArgothG: Protecting Argoth, by blowing it up!
GYisan, The Wanderer BardG: Gradus Ad Elfball.
Duel EDH: Yisan & Titania.
In Progress: Grand Arbiter Augustin IV duel; Grenzo, Dungeon Warden Doomsday.
casual: "From boardstate, i´m ahead, but you never know what each have in hand"
So, I'll usually say something like "I'm dead on the board in 2 turns unless I kill that."
At FNM/Prerelease/kitchen table: "Based on public information I'd give myself an X% chance of victory."
Interested in Custom Card Creation.
My Cube:Cardinal Custom Cube
A custom version of a third modern masters: MM2019
(filter->rarity to see in set rarity).
"I'm up a game"
"He/she got game 1"
"This is game 3"
I think I'd pick one of those and let them use public information to discern what they can about the current game.
[180 classic cube]
If I'm in a bad way, I'll admit it. "I'm gettin' my ass handed to me!" My ego is a lot less fragile than most people's. The average Magic player seems especially prone to a wounded ego, which is why my favorite games are close ones where we both shake our heads and laugh at blowouts. (rabbit trail ends here)
If I clearly have him on his heels, I'll try the modest approach, like iliss: "You never know what could happen."
So I just say it like it is.
I am.
Kidding aside, I usually just say something like "no one's really winning right now." Or "It's hard to say. He's [my opponent] in the lead right now, but the game's not over yet."
"I've got him right where I want him-"
"Bolt?"
"Yeah okay I'm dead."
BWR THE ARISTAHCRATZ!