A Casual Among Tryhards

[Morganator 2.0]

I never understood the mentality of excluding new people. Whenever I see a new person show up at my local game store, I'm the first to greet them. That might also be because I'm a very social person surrounded by introverts; someone has to make the first move.

Another thing I've noticed is that some LGS are more hostile than others. Trash attracts trash, and the only way to find treasure is to sift through the trash. There are friendly LGS and trash ones with trash people.

I have always been disappointed in how the Magic community treats certain people (discussion for another time). Cliques are always a problem, so avoid the hostile ones. Flip them two fingers and move on. There are plenty of friendly people (like the people in this thread) who you can hang out with instead. You could even start your own friendly group. You can ask the store owners if they know any casual players who are also looking for friends to play Magic with.

Someone has to make the first move.

[TheWakaEmu117]

So I haven’t had an experience like this at my LGS luckily but I know I probably will have a similar experience in the future. I think that a reasonable way to handle this if you go to a new LGS and introduce yourself as some one who is a casual player but knows the game well and is just looking to for a group of people to play with you might get a better response. For me that is the scary part. I don’t play a whole lot at my LGS just because the one I like to go to is a bit farther than the closer one, the closer one I don’t know anybody there but I buy cards there occasionally because it is the same store owner as the other. But I know that the further one I am always welcome and the staff recognize me. If even being polite doesn’t work and they are just assholes the screw them and screw the store they should do a better job of being welcoming. Just because an LGS has a super tight player clique doesn’t mean that the staff can be welcoming and help bring in new people and get them playing too. What I did was I taught my dad and my best friend how to play and we play commander and causally together all the time. I have like 3 or 4 other friends who also play and they play with us occasionally. If not you may have to travel a bit further to find a better LGS with a friendlier community

[WWolfe]

To add another point to my previous post...

There were several different LGS's the last place I lived. The one where I spent most of my time had a pretty good mix of people that were experienced and new, cutthroat and casual, etc.. Most of the more experienced, and more cutthroat, regulars were inviting to the newer players for the most part and a good portion of us carried decks that were different power levels so that they wouldn't just run over the newer or more casual players. We tried to not dismiss the new players when we wanted to play a game with our best decks, but we did explain to them the carnage they were about to be a part of if they stayed and played. More times than not they would stay in the game and take it as a learning experience while being "awed" by some of the things they were seeing.

[Mnemosyne]

I've been having issues lately in enjoying myself at my LGS. Most of the other players I see there are the more hardcore tournament players who have their own little clique set up where everybody knows eachother and their decks, so games between them go by at a rapid pace. I tried joining them for a 6-way EDH (for my very first try at playing EDH, period), and it was pretty obvious that I wasn't part of their inner circle. I had to keep asking them to slow down and explain the cards that I didn't know and what they did, and they got pretty annoyed at me just because I didn't have every card in their deck memorized.

I don't play tournaments, I don't have the money or time to keep up with the Standard rotation, but I still feel like I deserve to be at that shop as much as the high-rollers and regulars. I want to enjoy the game, and for that I need other people, but I don't feel welcome at all no matter what shop I go to because the regulars always sniff me out as someone who doesn't belong. What can I do?

I feel the same way as you. I know the majority of the Deckstats community supports you in this.
You are correct. You deserve to be at that shop as much as any other.
No one should be made to feel excluded because:

• They are inexperienced.
• They are new to MTG.
• They aren't an LGS regular.
• Or they simply don't have the funds to support competitive trends.

The retailer of the store is as responsible for ensuring this, as much as, the LGS' community. Far too often do I see poor management and customer service from retailers. It isn't surprising that people end up leaving their LGS because they do not, nor are they willing to support new customers.

I have had similar experiences at a number of LGS' near me. I first played in a store, and the community was tolerant enough to new players. There were a few people that were hardcore competitive players. One person, in particular, an MTG Pro wannabe, always used to beat down us n00bs with his $300 tier 1 Dark Jeskai net deck. Back then, I didn't know what the trends were, or how to build something competitive to even attempt to challenge them. They were a douche, plain and simple. They weren't gracious in victory, nor were they helpful. They seemed indignant that they were playing someone inexperienced, someone they considered beneath them.
In time I adapted, and so did the others.

However, unless you have that one person, that is willing to make you feel comfortable or accommodated, in your LGS, then it is going to be near impossible for you to want to continue.

Trust me, wanting to stay because it is close and the community SHOULD make you feel accepted, doesn't always happen.
You shouldn't have to keep going to a place that would make you want to die inside just to play magic.
I would suggest finding another place, because, despite the fact you are always going to find that super anal person that values winning and intolerance over all else, there are going to be inexperienced players, like you, that need you to form a clique, one of acceptance and most importantly, having fun playing MTG!

It's not a cop out. If you know nothing and seriously want to learn then suck it up buddy because there's only one way.

When did I say you shouldn't go. I literally said you should because playing the game is the only way to learn. If people sre mean, you just have to consider how badly you want to learn and put up with

Sorin, you misunderstand. He doesn't want to stop playing at his LGS because he can't keep up, or doesn't want to get better. He justs wants to play in a friendly atmosphere, one where people that aren't impatient, and are willing to explain why they made certain plays, or the rulings of the cards, without being made to feel ostracised or stupid.

While I do not condone the way you expressed your view. There is some truth, but in this instance, I feel your point is not phrased in the correct way. These players, despite their nature, are good at playing the game, true enough, and to get better you need to have the mentality of rolling with the punches. But there is a distinction between being a superior player and making others feel uncomfortable because they aren't a part of another's social circle.

Anyway, that's hopefully the end of this discussion. I wish you luck Salohcin in your future experiences.