I forgot to address these suggestions:
My solution to this problem is to choose an obscure and low power commander or a strategy (or both), then hyper-optimize for the strategy.
- When building new decks, stay aware of how powerful you want your deck to be. For example, instead of building that Korvold, Fae-Cursed King deck that will likely stomp your opponents at the blink of an eye, consider Juri, Master of the Revue or Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest. You can build a very strong sacrifice deck with these at the helm, but these commanders definitely cap what the deck can do (they can do very fun, crazy things, but aren't as absolutely oppressive Korvold is). Unfortunately, this doesn't really help your current decks.
I definitely agree, and actually this is something I do. I have a Mazirek deck and a Doran Treefolk Tribal deck, for example, and as much as I try to optimize them, their power level is severely capped by that of the commander.
However some times I end up liking some stronger commanders, like Meren, and in that case if you like to optimize it really can't be helped: the deck will become powerful.
So, I LOVED the response that suggested "don't play to win," and not necessarily because it encourages you to play badly or differently than your style. What I think the core message is in this advice (which is largely missing from the MTG community) is to learn the personalities of your play group and to be deliberate in why you're playing the game. People like to play the game for different reasons, and as cliche as it is, I think the most valuable communication tool in Magic has been figuring out if the people you play with are Timmy's, Johnny's, or Spikes. This will help you figure out how to approach "play" in general. Because, I know people who are all about deck building for strategy or uniqueness, but would have no qualms with being advised in how to power up their decks. And then I know true Johnny's who would be insulted that you were putting your hands on the only part of the experience they enjoy. If you're feeling conflicted about play experience, the best cure is always communication.
I agree that communication is fundamental, and I think we have quite different profiles in my playgroup. I'm not some kind of Spike that wants to win at all costs, but when I take out my strong deck to play with my friends, I'll try my hardest to win. Then I also have some flavorful janky decks that I take out sometimes -- still trying my hardest to win, but not really expecting it
I was just wondering, have you gotten feedback from your group that it's not fun to play against your favorite deck? A lot of the suggestions seem to be about not playing or building to win, and that makes sense. All things being equal, any player is going to lose 75% of the games they sit down at (assuming four players), so while we are all trying to do well in some way, we know that it's just not reasonable to base fun on always winning.
It sounds like you make plenty of deckbuilding choices that understand that, but this one deck is a real winner. Is that so bad? It's good to read the table and want everyone to have fun, but could there be space in there for "fun" to include you playing the deck you put work into? Getting stomped game after game isn't fun, but I don't mind if someone wipes the floor with me from time to time. Maybe your group won't mind not playing to win for a minute while you do cool stuff. I mean, you're entitled to your 25%, right? It sounds like they would be short games anyway
Also, playing it more regularly (letting it be an expectable part of your meta) might inspire them to build against it and raise their overall level. My group has gone through a few "arms races" like this, and we're usually better off after (except the last one, when our lowest-power player showed up with Grand Arbiter Augustin IV, that one sucked).
Some people in my playgroup don't mind playing against my stronger decks, while others feel that the power gap is a bit too much and have let me know. This is why I am a bit conflicted about taking them out.
You're right about the "arms race", and it kinda happened. A fiend in my playgroup has built a budget Chulane deck (still
very strong even on a budget!) that he takes out when I play my Xenagos for example, and it can definitely match the power level. However some other people in the playgroup just don't have so many cards/decks, or don't want to spend the money required for this kind of "arms race", or maybe they just prefer to play battlecruiser games.