I don't quite understand the problem with combos. If someone combos, okay, game over. Play a new game. You aren't stopping anyone from playing magic. Just pack the decks up and switch to new ones, or play the same or whatever, just go on to the next game. If you think it is gay, that isn't really a good reason why. You can have your gripe with them, and you can refuse to play if you know someone is playing them, but don't bitch and complain that someone won with the combo.
Personally, as long as I am allowed to play the game, I don't care. I don't like Iona, and cards like her, stax effects I can deal with because that affects everyone equally, for the most part, and I can build my mono green deck around
winter orb, (even if I am not running stax pieces) but I can't build around Iona. I even put up with land destruction because it isn't every game.
I don't see how it is detrimental for the format to go through this process of more and more combos, if you don't like combos, find friends who don't like combos, and play with them. I do not like Iona. Everyone else in my playgroup is cool with the card, since no one else runs mono colored decks (and it is meant to target me every. Damn. Time.) So I put up with the card. So if you can't or don't want to find people to play comboless with, then suck it up. I feel an issue like this, though, needs to be solved on a playgroup by playgroup basis. If you are going to an LGS or
GP Magic Fest, you have to deal with it because it is a part of the game. Although I think this is what he doesn't like. That it is such a potent part of the game. There are ways to stop combo decks. The most important thing is you have to know what the combo pieces are, so you don't choose to pass turn with a
dreadbore in hand, not killing your opponent's
deadeye navigator and he could possible have
palinchron in his hand. Or know how to stop it. Like responding to the soulbond trigger. Ultimately you are going to have to include combo hate, which is just something about the format, if you are going to a magic fest or similar event.
Well that's my two cents. Haha who am I kidding? My thoughts aren't worth that much.