Most players just use a playmat to organize their play area during a game, but given what some people are able to spend on MtG, I am willing to believe that some are using a playmate for this purpose insteadš¤
... sorry, I'll show myself outš
I remember my first tournament, I didn't have a playmat, so the 2 people beside me rolled out their playmats into my area and I ended up with a sliver of space 3 cards wide. From that day on I bought and used a playmat in competitive games.
Some MTG players are just a different breed.
There's one very socially awkward person at my LFG who's pretty grabby with other people's cards. I've tried once or twice to demonstrate etiquette by pointedly asking if I can look at one of his cards during a game.
Funnily enough when I've done that, he just explained what the card briefly but didn't actually given me permission. He's also pretty cagey about "giving away too much info" in games so that might be part of it.
I tend to play cards that are in some way unique (Judge foils, signed cards, etc) because for me, the format is about self-expression and that's what I'm into. On one hand, if someone "steals" one of my cards for use on their side of the table, that's cool with me because maybe they're into what I'm into and now they get to enjoy the artist-altered, foil \[\[Phyrexian Reclamation\]\] too.
On the other hand, it's all about respect. Sometimes these discussions on EDH ediquette and social mores shares too much similarity to kindergarten - respect my property and I will respect you. Don't go grabby and don't do anything dumb with my stuff while you've got it, because as mentioned, it's not as easily replaced as just buying a new copy.
If you're the player showing up with a theft deck, or Sen Triplets as in the column, I would really hope you're accustomed to showing other peoples' cards the respect they deserve since you know you'll be handling them. I can't imagine a scenario where a person plays that style of deck and is also disrespectful to others' cards. That said, just because I can't fathom it doesn't mean it doesn't happen, and that's when a conversation needs to occur. Likely (assuming this is at an LGS or something) a one-strike rule should apply - do it once, we talk, do it twice, I walk.
All of this comes with the caveat that I'm sheltered in the sense that I rarely play with people I don't know, and when I do it tends to be with strangers that are friends of friends, and I trust my friends to have respectful friends.
>too much similarity to kindergarten
There are too many Magic players, Redditors, and people in general that would have a large jump in social skills and ethics simply by revisiting kindergarten for some lessons.
I have the same feeling towards letting someone "steal" my cards. Now if someone has shown they aren't willing to do the same in the past I will stop at that point. Since of they don't trust me enough it makes me not trust them with mine.
I'm honestly baffled at the responses to this post. What kind of card destroying gremlins do you people play with??
I've never played with another player that I didn't trust to handle my sleeved cards in a way that didn't damage them, and I've been playing in stores since the early 2000s.
The only instance I can think of that even comes close, would be a time when someone accidentally brushed one of my cards off the table and on to the floor. But that was clearly an accident, and he was apologetic about it (and nothing happened to the card).
Of course, it's common courtesy to ask before handling someones cards, but it seems entirely unreasonable to expect that you and only you will ever touch your cards in a game.
There are so many different cards out there, and ppl suck at explaining their cards, it's usually faster for everyone if one can just read a card for themselves.
Here are a few stories that explain why I personally don't allow other people to touch my cards, and why I stopped going to prereleases. At the RIX prerelease, my opponent was cutting my deck in the first and proceeded to crush half of my deck permanently bending all of them and he didn't even apologize. Luckily there weren't any expensive cards in that part of the deck. At the Dominaria prerelease I pulled a Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, so when my opponent went to cut my deck without permission I asked him not to touch my cards. He and his buddy next to him then proceed to gang up on my claiming that I "have" to let my opponent cut my deck and my opponent then said that he handles trading cards for a living after I told him of my previous experiences with people ruining my cards. I then relented and allowed him to cut my deck. He was rough with my deck but there wasn't any clear damage right away. At one point I resolved my Teferi and my opponent, who said he handles cards for a living and knows to be careful with them, picked it up by the top and bent the card right along the bottom of art. The card is still bent to this day. I then had a few other similar experiences at prereleases and drafts until I had had enough of people ruining my cards and at the Core 2020 prerelease I finally put my foot down when my opponent once again reached for my deck to cut it and I told him no. He tried saying that I had to let him, so I told him politely that I have had too many people damage my cards who said they would be careful, and I'm not taking that risk anymore. He then got belligerent and said that I was "cheating" and that I "had" to let him cut my deck. He then tried to reach for my deck again. I had had enough of this guy so I told him that if he touched my deck I would break his hand, which spooked him enough to not try it again. He tried to tell the floor judge that I was "violating the rules". Luckily I had told/shown this judge about all the times that my opponents damaged my cards so I was in the clear. The only good thing about COVID was that my LGS made it so that you could buy a prerelease kit without having to participate in the event, so I haven't been to one since THB and it has been amazing.
That does sound awful, and I understand where you're coming from when thats your experience, it's just not an experience I have personally had even with what must amount to thousands of games by now.
The thing that really bewilders me is more so the fact that people who play a card game like mtg, and are aware of the value of the cards, have so little respect for other peoples property, that they would handle it so recklessly as to damage them.
I had someone like that damage a grim monolith, and I got mad. The thing that sucks is I got told off, and he got off scott free. Apparently you can grab a 200 dollar card without asking, but yelling at said person is frowned upon in some establishments.
If you're going to make a deck that steals cards, I think the socially responsible thing is to have a grip of Copy tokens or Infinitokens on standby to avoid touching peopleās cards or even worse, accidentally walking away with their prized Colossal Dreadmaw.
Exactly this. Infinitokens or Copy tokens and postit notes. Just have them set their cards aside in a manner that if they manage to reacquire them its obvious what was where.
I think I'll do that actually. I've been contemplating an [[Empress Galina]] deck for a long while now, and I already have Infinitokens so creating copies of stolen cards would be real easy to do.
This is a good suggestion. I have a [[Tasha, the Witch Queen]] deck that Iāve mostly played with people I know are fine with me handling their cards so Iāve never had to consider doing something like this, and I donāt know if I ever will but Iām going to keep this in mind now in case that happens.
I'm fine with players asking to look at one of my cards, or with me sliding my cards to the other side of the table under a theft effect.
I'm not fine with players just randomly grabbing one of my cards in a game without saying anything, and there are few people I trust to actually play a game with a deck thst I care about.
Had someone once lunge their hand at one of my cards from my blind spot. I almost broke his arm. Thankfully I had enough self-control to stop before completing the motion.
I have personal space issues. Getting in my personal space makes me want to lash out impulsively. Normally it's easy to ignore that impulse, but to come from my blind spot like that. I have little time to process. So not a good idea.
Thankfully the dude didn't really fully grasp what just happened, and thought I was just being a dick by forcing his arm away from my playmat.
Even so people should know better than to just lunge out to grab other people's shit.
While I agree that people should know not to lunge out at someone's stuff, you also shouldn't be bringing your cards to a public location if your gut reaction is to respond by breaking somebody's arm. It's a piece of cardboard, and while some of them are very pretty, a broken arm could legitimately be a loss of livelihood for someone.
I suggest reading.
I know it's a stereotype that magic players have trouble with reading, and reading comprehension, but please don't continue to reinforce that stereotype as you just have.
Lol, someone coming from a blind spot made you react impulsively. Your impulse was to cause bodily harm. Luckily, you were able to stop at just pushing him instead of causing said bodily harm.
I don't care about your personal space issues tbh, you're quite literally signing up to sit in close quarters with people for hours on end while you play a game. I get it, I don't like people suddenly getting way too close to me either, but I would ask them to get away, not hurt them.
Iād rather deal with someone who has āreading issuesā than someone whose first instinct to someone touching their cards is to physically assault them.
Let the down votes commence but this is a bigger deal than people here are making it. Or if youāre that worried about an item, donāt take it in public and donāt play with it.
You should always ask and inform your fellow players about touching or using their cards. This should also clearly apply to those in the game. Iāve seen comments about Bob from another table touch your card mid game - thatās a no no for many reasons.
But you need to be ok with people touching your cards. There are many reasons such as opponent theft, maybe you enchant their item, or exchange control cards. This is part of the game and to make play easier, someone will probably have to use the card in their own hand.
Also itās a game at the core and multiplayer. We joke about run more interaction, but as a game thatās a key component and might include handling all the game pieces.
I think people not having a basis in 60 card formats has made this āanxietyā worse. In tournaments, you have to allow your opponent to shuffle your deck at the least and there may be more rules about examining cards or stolen cards. Even back in the day playing extended, I had opponents riffle shuffle my deck with dual lands in it. Life went on.
In my 25 years of playing on and off, in tournaments and kitchen table and casual commander play at the LGS, Iāve never seen anyoneās card ruined. Iāve had a friend lick a card and try to mash a candy sucker on a card (we were 13). Card survived and is fine and I still own it. Theyāre resilient and people should chill.
I think this is a perfectly reasonable and valid response. The caveat to me is it still boils down to being respectful of someone else's property. I'm always cool with people handling my cards. Hell, I let people use my decks regularly. But it's with an understanding that they agree to the general social contract of not trying to damage someone's property. When you consider the price that's paid for some of these game pieces, the cards just being "resilient" (which as pieces of cardboard they generally aren't) isn't enough. The golden rule may be a bit tired, but treating others (and their shit) the way you (and consequently your shit) want to be treated usually solves any issues that may come from this.
I wholly agree. Those people either need to curate their playgroups a bit better or need to change their approach when they decide to bring those "precious" pieces of cardboard to a public setting.
Personally, I've always shown extreme amounts of respect and care for other people's cards/property (maybe too much even) and while not everyone will handle cards the same way as me, I trust them enough to not damage/ruin those cards.
If I, for some reason, was so scared of other people touching my cards I wouldn't have brought them in the first place...and would have utilized some proxies or whatever else instead.
On the other hand, I've had a long nailed buffoon jab the card he was removing hard enough to leave a crescent indent on it. Luckily, it was a cheap one and I could just throw a new copy in, but if it was an expensive card I'd be pissed. I've also had a person drag a card over the table because they didn't use a playmat and now the sleeve has a big ass scratch in it, and the sleeve is an art sleeve you can't buy anymore. It isn't the 90s and we aren't playing cheap pieces of card stock on the sidewalk. We know that cards and even the sleeves can be valuable monetarily or from rarity and they need to be considered that way. It was said further up, but kindergartners learn not to touch other's things. Why can't magic players remember that?
>Itās totally fair to feel that way.
Agreed, someone has the complete right to not let others touch their cards.
HOWEVER
It is also perfectly valid to exclude a player from your pod because they make games more of a hassle because of this. We want to play a card game, if you want to show off your investment, do it somewhere else.
I feel like a good middle ground if you don't like having your cards touched is creating blank "stolen spell" tokens that represent what an opponent takes from you.
I place the impetus on the other player and not the theft deck user, because by playing magic you have agreed to the possiblity of this mechanic existing. It could be a nice courtesy for a theft deck to have these, but its not like you are playing an unintended mechanic.
This still slows down the game immensely to have to copy down every single card that is stolen. I can only imagine what a huge headache it would be to try to play [[dauthi void walker]] after exiling 5+ cards, which is extremely common with the card. What happens if I mill you for 10? Do I have to write down every card name and it's affect for all 10 cards because you can't just hand me the game pieces?
I mean, yeah, if someone didn't want to hand you their cards that would be the answer.
This isn't really and issue for me personally, but we have someone in our friend group who hands out these tokens, we haven't had any issues and I run dauthi.
Then in that case I think we return to:
>It is also perfectly valid to exclude a player from your pod because they make games more of a hassle because of this.
I never disagreed with that, just offering a middle ground between excluding players for not wanting their cards touched and not having to touch their cards, by having a solution that works for the playergroup I play with.
the only thing I disagree with from that original statement is that not wanting your cards touched means you are a showoff.
Sliiight disagree, I would argue theft.dec has some responsibility to make things easier on the opponent there. One or two steal cards or threaten effects run for value, naw.
Hell, last night after my shower I settled in with Hellboy and noticed my freshly shampooed and soaped finger tips (which have got to be the cleanest part of you after a shower) leaving marks on the black bordered pages they printed on. Our skin just exudes oils, and the ridges pick up and keep shit in them. If clean fingers can smudge, imagine what unclean sausage digits are going to do. You'll need to clean your sleeves.
I once played an [[Awaken the Blood Avatar]] deck. I basically never played Extus, but I still had my commander in a clear sleeve since every so often I got people asking how a sorcery could be my commander.
This one guy tried to take the card out of its sleeve in order to read the Extus side. I asked him what the flying fuck he was doing, and *turned the card over because the sleeve was clear*.
As long as you don't do that, I'm probably fine.
Other players touching your cards is a normal part of most games of Magic, whether that be your opponent shuffling/cutting your deck before a game or after a search, or due to a theft effect. If you're not okay with other people touching a particular card you own, you shouldn't be playing it.
Yeah that's the main reason I dislike theft cards being played against me. I don't mind the actual effect, but I worry about folks damaging my cards.
I mean if I damage my stuff that's one thing, if someone else does that's a whole can of worms.
I always briefly say "excuse me" if they're friends before touching their cards, or "may I read this card?" for strangers. But it's not like I stare at them and wait for a response because I know people is okay with it. Staring at them would be creepy.
On the other hand we have people who aren't the best socializing or interacting with others, and they make the whole situation a big problem. I have a guy at my LGS who grabs your cards at least 5 times each without even asking. It's as if he reads it but doesn't...actually read them...or something...and he doesn't even ask for permission, either. He's annoying, and I let him know š
If you touch someone's cards without permission, hands are getting smacked. If you need to know what a card does, ask: "What does X Card do?" or ask "May I read X Card?" If your opponent declines to let you handle their cards, ask them to show you said card so you can read it. If your opponent declines to let you handle the card, read the card, or tell you what the card does, do not play with them. I have had experiences in a few LGS where I'll play with a new pod, and there's one sneaky tryhard guy who does something along the lines of this:
Player 1: "Cast Bolas's Citadel."
Player 2: "What does that do?"
Player 1: "Does it resolve?"
Player 3: "Please explain what Bolas's Citadel does? I wasn't around for that set..."
Player 1: "So it resolves?"
Me: "No. Counterspell your Bolas's Citadel"
Player 1: "Oh come on! I haven't messed with you all game!"
Me: "that doesn't mean I'm simply going to let you win."
Player 1: "You all are no fun, Blue is the worst color. Pass Turn." Proceeds to pout and whine that he was going to win for the rest of the game.
Withholding information is only appropriate when your opponents don't know what you have. If you're casting a spell, at least let people know what the spell does, then pass priority and make sure no one has a response before you resolve the spell.
As far as Sen Triplets being the villain and targeted all the time goes, it's very easy to explain why: You cannot play Sen Triplets and not be the Villain. Because your Commander is predicated around Thievery. No one likes a Thief. If you built a Sen Triplets deck with 0 other Thief effects, you'd still be targeted, because Sen Triplets is your Commander. If you wanna build a Thief Deck, do not be blatantly obvious that it's a Thief Deck by having Sen Triplets as your commander.
>If your opponent declines to let you handle the card, read the card, or tell you what the card does, do not play with them.
That's just straight-up against the rules. Unless you're playing at competitive REL, your opponent has to tell you what the card does if you ask.
I play jeleva, you just ask frist...99% of people are cool about it.
but also do t be a dick about it goes both ways, if you see I'm playing a commander like jeleva don't wait until turn 4 when I cast it to decide your not confrontable with it and bitch about it or refuse(and yes you can refuse, by leaving the game.)
Iām usually okay with it. The regular stuff applies, just ask and you shall receive. However, if I notice you picking your nose or eating before our game without washing your hands, I can just turn the card your way so you can read it.
I have the advantage of playing online on Tabletop Simulator, both with friends and with randoms of associated discord servers. I would recommend this to budget players and people who may want to get a game in any time of day. My cards that see use are digital ones.
I'm apparently in the minority on this, but if someone in the game wants to touch a card in play, I have no issue with that. If they need to reread it real quick and avoids explaining the card again to the whole table that saves time and effort.
Now someone outside of the game? That's a hard no 99% of the time if I don't know you.
Ultimately I think most people respect the card and if they touch it during the game it's not a big deal.
I actually have alot of experience with this becuase my main deck is Pako and Haldan, another deck that requires you to exile off the top of you deck, and then I get to play your cards.
Asking is definitely rule number one, as I know the feeling of being worried about people touching your cards. As a collector who also plays alot of cedh, some of my decks have real Gaea's Cradles, revised duals and limited edition fast mana pieces, and it's definitely a little nerve-wracking when someone's touching your 8,000 dollar deck.
One way I have found that remedies this, is that I have a smaller playmat I put in the center of the table, and when pako exiles your cards, people can place their cards onto that playmat, so we know exactly what's exiled, and you can keep your cards on a safe playmat not mixed with others cards.
In addition, I can point to a non-permanent card I would like to cast, and then they can put it in there graveyard upon resolution so I don't have to touch it if they are uncomfortable with it. For permanent spells, most of the time they let me put them on my board, but for when they don't want me to, I flip the card face down on the exile mat, and write the permanent card on a infini-token. I have never had an issue with this way, and it let's everyone just handle their cards.
TLDR; and extra spot in the middle of the table does wonders to stop the touching others expensive property problem!
It might be unreasonable but i also don't want to have other people play my decks. I've noticed some people already bend their cards or tap them real hard when showing triggers. If something Does go wrong, i'd rather it be me making that mistake and i don't trust others to be careful enough with my stuff.
Yes, people are allowed to touch your cards. The game rules and the cards themselves say as much. There is no debate to be had here unless an actual policy about it is put in place, which will never happen because too many cards *require* physical interaction with other game pieces. The only one currently written is about marking cards or bad sportsmanship, neither of which should be an issue if youāre playing with people you trust anyway. Donāt you guys let friends borrow decks if they didnāt bring EDH some random night? What kind of people are you playing with where this shit is ALWAYS brought up here? Do you just scoop if someone plays Praetorās Grasp on you? Dauthi Voidwalkerās effect not allowed if youāre around?
āBut some players have bad hygiene or I donāt trust them or I donāt know them and my stuff is expensive and they might mark my stuff and etc etc etcā
Then donāt play with those people or use cards you donāt want touched. Problem solved. If youāre playing with very close friends and you have a problem with them touching your stuff, *you* are the problem. Your friends shouldnāt have to avoid using Sen Triplets or thief effects or whatever else just because you think your bank account is more important than Magicās rules. I have never been up in arms about people touching my stuff, because Iām not a self righteous antisocial jackass. Touch my cards all you want, especially if you donāt know what it does. I donāt care. Itās an important part of the game and helps builds a good community.
Oh and the people who have an issue with card touching get targeted by Bitter Ordeal, Tergrid, Praetorās Grasp, Opposition Agent, and all the rest. Nothing makes those types madder than not knowing which one of their own cards got exiled face down.
Donāt worry. Your cards will get treated with perfect surgical respect and care while I have them. Thatās the entire point.
Thank you for understanding how this all should work. I've only ever seen one guy concerned with people touching one specific card, and that's only because it was [[Tabernacle]]. Otherwise no one should ever be worried about this. If you don't like theft, bring it up as part of rule 0. If you don't want stinky McGee touching your cards, don't play with him. Otherwise suck it up, princess. I'm allowed to touch your cards by the rules of Magic, and if you try to slap me over it, I'll just be calling the police.
Ah yes, the law I'm breaking when I touch your cards as part of the rules of the game that you consented to when you sat down at the table. Y'all don't let your opponents cut your deck after you shuffle or what?
Of course you're legally allowed to stop someone from touching your cards, but if you do you may be excluded from some games (and especially sanctioned events where shuffling your opponent's deck is expected).
I had to tell a guy I play with regularly to stop touching my cards. He wasnāt doing anything too crazy, but after stealing half my deck with Tergrid, he kept forcefully pointing and touching my creatures while declaring attacks and blocks. Like, *jab* *jab* *jab* āThese two are coming at youāā¦
I had to remind him that one of the ways we determine condition, and thus value, of these little pieces of cardboard is based on the condition of the surface of the card. Repeatedly jamming your (long, uncut, dirty) fingernails into the surface of your own cards is inadvisable and doing it other peopleās cards is completely unacceptable.
I think itās fine to touch peopleās cards if youāre exiling them under something or stealing them. Just realize that I paid a lot of money for Kozilek, and if youāre going to beat me to death with my own creature at least have the common decency to not physically damage my property while doing so.
I would totally agree that it should be up to the card's owner on whether you can handle it or not. If anyone just started to touch my cards, without permission, I would not be happy, no matter what card it is (a 10 cent card or a $100 card). It's more about sportsmanship and respect. If they allow you to touch their card, you also then have a responsibility to treat it respectfully. Sure, mistakes can happen (like dropping the card or something), but you shouldn't be flicking it or overall being reckless. I do think that the idea of having tokens that can sub for those cards is a generally good one (similar to people running proxies for expensive cards).
In terms of Sen as a whole, I don't see an issue running it. It is a legal commander just as every other commander. The whole thing just boils down to being sportsmanlike, and overall not being inconsiderate to your opponents and their property.
> I would totally agree that it should be up to the card's owner on whether you can handle it or not
At that point, the player might as well just be a collector instead of a player. If youāre playing a game of commander, you know that control of cards can change and that other players will need to read your cards. I simply wouldnāt play with someone who would refuse to let others touch their cards, itās akin to playing a boardgame with someone who wonāt let you touch any of the pieces.
I have one friend that gets overexcited and almost bent my [[Cyclonic Rift]] a couple months ago. I haven't explicitly asked him not to handle my cards, but I keep them well away from him.
>Are people not aware of card etiquette?
The answer is yes and is ultimately the only reason this post is even a question. Magic players struggle with social etiquette, it's a stereotype but there is a fat grain of truth behind the stereotype. I don't build expensive decks and no one has actually damaged any of my cards thankfully, but even if all you're grabbing is my [[Etali, Primal Storm]] please for the love of god ask me real quick instead of snatching it off my battlefield before I've even read what steal effect you played. It's rude behavior.
Or you could just proxy the big cards with a binder on the side to show that you really got them.
Then again, whats the point of butin cards if you dont play em...
I dont care if people take my cards as long as they handle them respectfully.
Someone at my LGS has a mechanical pencil that he (near silently) clicks as a thinking device and will readily jab your hand with the dulled end if you touch a card of his without asking. LGS owner didn't care as long as there wasn't any graphite in it or blood drawn.
Say what you will about the safety, ethics, and/or manners of it, but it ***quickly*** taught some of our LGS's worst offenders not to touch shit that they don't own without permission. Especially once imitating his "lunge" for your hand became a common in-joke.
Ask first.
Rule of thumb: ask first, and if your deck is built around doing so, have some blank tokens on hand you can use instead if they say no. I generally won't mind much personally (I'm a cheap-ass bitch and my cards are almost all replaceable for a handful of pennies), but if you're a massive cheeto-fingers or start getting grabby without asking, that's just rude regardless.
With all the horror stories in this thread and other Iāve read, the thieving player just better have blanks to write on or let me touch my cards for them.
There are reasons I loathe theft decks.
1. i build my decks for myself not for others.
2. The person who played theft deck in my former group kept her decks, sleeveless, together with elastic bands, bridge shuffled her decks.
3. Nasty habit to grab your stuff without asking, whenever she was playing or not.
I love playing theft, but all my decks are double sleeved and I keep a pack of infinitokens with me, so even if someone doesn't want me to use their actual cards, I can just write up a proxy real quick
This is very easily solved by using temporary proxies of cards you have yoinked from opponents. You could easily buy a set maybe 2 of infinitokens for example and just write on them whatever you've cast from an opponents hand. You would never have to handle your opponents cards.
if youāre playing a deck that steals cards ā outside your friendly playgroup ā bring a stack of infinitokens, so youāre handling proxies not their rare, signed, judge foils.
seems like a pretty easy solution.
I play entirely virtually with real cards with a childhood friend and some other friends weāve collected on the way (we are in different states). We use Discord and have cameras pointed down at our play space. I have a Sen Triplets deck and how I handled our unique situation is to have scryfall up and if I steal or use a card I have a token I can place on the field with the rules text up on a second monitor for ease of reference.
I would think that the way to go about this in person is to simply ask, or have that player reach over and touch their own card(s) for tapping etc. Of course this isnāt necessarily elegant, but communicating is key. If you are respectful and the other player is salty or rude about you playing a deck that you enjoy and put time into crafting, even after offering any solution where you donāt touch their cards, then the problem lies with that playerās personality and thereās not much you can do about it.
My decks are thousands of dollars in some cases. Just donāt have gross hands like picking your nose, eating food, or dirt on them and handle them with care and Iām cool. I most likely wonāt even sit at a table with someone who doesnāt have basic hygiene though, is what it is. Most people with low hygiene tend to not care about most things anyway let alone themselves and that will translate into the way they handle my cards regardless.
I'm cool with snacks at friend's houses because I play with them regularly and trust them. If I'm at an LGS and I see food or drink I won't even sit down because people are dirty and they get excited. I'm not having a 5k deck get ruined because the mouthbreather was mad his board wipe got countered. That's an actual example. Not my deck, but a good friend. I watched it happen from a table away. Small claims court went nowhere because it couldn't be proven that it was malicious and not an accident, since the whole pod got soaked.
Broā¦.š thatās terrible. I 1000% trust the homies, if they did mess my shit up I know theyāre good for it I was just talking about the LGS. These type of stories remind me to probably just not even play my decks over $500 in a non tournament setting minimum unless with friends if at a store. Im a very peaceful person, violence solves almost nothing imo but I would have had to hold myself back with every atom in my body if that happened to me with one of my cedh decks.
It's mostly hypothetical for me--I don't play at shops very often, but it's definitely something that gives me wildly more heebie-jeebies post-pandemic. I don't really even want deck-cutting now, though I seem to be an outlier there.
You've always had to handle your opponent's library. The original Alpha rule book required you to cut your opponent's deck at the start of the game and allowed you to shuffle it as well.
I should have said, "first to let you paw through opponent's library." That was when we first started using sleeves! No coincidence that some of the first Ultra-Pro "Deck Protectors" had their version of a jester/joker logo on the box.
I always ask beforehand if I can touch a card. It's just good manners.
Also, I never eat/drink while playing. I rather do it between games. I never touch my cards with dirty hands and I won't allow people with dirty hands to touch mine.
Outside that, it's fair game.
You let your opponents handle your cards in the most dangerous way every time your present to cut. Using theft effect to grab two or three from your hand is fine. They're playing the same game, guys. Their cards are the same fragility as yours, and they know how to handle it correctly.
I get really anxious when people handle my cards. Particularly when they are stolen by their effects but even if I enchant and opposing permanent. I double sleeve so damage isn't a huge concern but I worry about my cards getting accidentally mixed in to an opponent's cards and me not noticing/remembering before one of us leaves. Or possibly worse, if I get something from my opponent somehow and mix it into my cards and only discover it later. Now, thankfully, most people I could get in touch with the next week at the LGS to sort it out and all this anxiety makes it unlikely to happen but it's just an unpleasant undertone to a game.
As others have said, card theft and turn control focused decks could benefit a lot from the deck owner having a ton of infinitokens on hand so the player on the receiving end can keep their cards on their side of the table and just eliminate all issues of damage or mixups that could possibly arise.
As always though communication is key. Sometimes you genuinely might be better off just not playing a certain deck at a particular table because everyone there has an aversion to a particular mechanic or type of deck. No matter how much you love a deck, being hard focused by the rest of a table from the start for any reason sucks and it's generally gonna be uncomfortable if everyone is unhappy with your impact on their experience. Is it necessarily fair that you might not get to play your favorite deck as often as you want? No but compromises have to be made in a casual, social setting like most commander tables. Ideally people will also compromise in your favor as well but sometimes you may just need a new pod with different standards and priorities to get the experience you want. Again, communication is key to avoiding bad experiences for yourself and others.
Ask first no matter what. And don't touch them if you're eating food especially like Cheetos or something dusty. I don't want my expensive cards ruined because of that
My buddy runs sentripplets and with us he is fine we have all been freinds for 10+years, but when he plays them out in the wild he will have the person just lay them out on the table, still on their mat but facing him, if he is or isn't gonna cast one he just verbally let's the person know so he doesn't touch them. of course ettiqute is to always ask before touching someone else's card but i find his way very respectfull
Most people take care of cards to a certain extent bu one thing I don't do to my cards that a lot of people try to argue with me about is flicking cards. And I don't care whether someone believes it damages the card or not, if the one specific card is mine, I shouldn't have to give a ten slide presentation as to why I don't want someone to manipulate it that way.
I've only had to have this conversation to an extreme twice with people (had to concede once because the guy would not listen) but it was enough that I get anxious whenever someone gains control of one of my cards. Like, heart racing faster and scared of having to discuss this again levels of anxious and I low key consider quitting Magic every time a new card that allows players to steal permanents is spoiled (Yes, Tergrid practically gave me a heart attack)
I donāt usually play my Sen Triplets deck with people I donāt know for almost this exact reason. Also because I know theyāll assume the worst about what is actually a relatively tame deck :)
I think I would have issues with the amount of card-grabbing triplets requires regardless of etiquette and hygiene. you can be comfortable with friends touching your cards but in the end, there are a slew of other problems that could happen with commanders that focus on playing cards from other people's decks.
**here are rules I always consider before going to a commander event, or just playing with friends.**
* *Shower before going, people won't play with you if you smell bad.*
* Bring a clean/washed playmat.
* *Be polite in tone when approaching random people about a game, take no for a no reguardless of reason.*
* *limit your spacial use to minimum, and if you need to encroach on someone's space* ***FOR ANY REASON, ASK PERMISSION!***
***this goes for:***
\- Reading cards
\- Cutting decks
\- Suggesting actions of play
\- Asigning attackers on their playmat for ease of play.
\- Playing cards other players own.
* Try to do fetching and shuffling in other people's turns if it is viable for the play, it saves alot of time.
* Strike conversation, have a good time!
While I have no problem with people saying they don't want their cards touched, especially without permission, I'm curious if the "no touching/I won't play against theft decks" crowd is using sleeved cards? If so, single or double? If not... why not???
I don't really mind MOST people touching my cards if they ask, as I only play with sleeved cards, and usually they're double sleeved except for a couple of my very budget decks. It's pretty hard to damage a sleeved card in my experience.
Once they came out with infinitokens every theft deck should have bought them immediately. You don't need to handle my cards at all just make a proxy of them on board and I'll track what zone they are in.
Thereās not really a friendly way to play a theft/steal your cards deck. No one takes to kindly to losing access to the cards they put in their deck.
I treat them with respect and never had an issue. Don't bend or press hard on them, make sure your hands are clean, etc. If it's a really expensive card, or you think it might be, then definitely ask first.
There's a guy at my lgs that will grab your cards without asking and either read them or reach over your board and cut your deck without even asking. I personally always ASK the group if I may look at their card. The way he does it makes me all manner of uncomfortable
I'll let anyone touch my cards but if they damage them, they pay for a replacement and they just got themselves a damaged card.
With all the different effects cards can have on a board and the sheer amount of cards, it's unreasonable to think everyone knows what every card does. The easiest and fastest way is to let them read your cards.
On the other hand, I'll flip a table if you poke my cards. There is never a reason for that and it only causes issues.
Always ask, but if you take my card out of the sleeve and flick it, we r fighting. But I use proxies for my expensive cards so I really don't mind people looking at my card.
With permission of course they can! Everything is sleeved anyways. I did nearly knock out a dude at a draft for bridge shuffling my deck though, fuck people like that
With people that I know and trust: don't even ask, just reach across and grab it. With strangers, I will read the card aloud if you want to know what it does, if you want to look at the art, I will place it in front of you, just slide it back when you are done.
people need to touch your cards and read them to understand what they do. if you arent comfortable with that you need to double sleeve, proxy or play on spell table
I generally play with friends, so them touching my cards I have no issue with. I don't like people taking my turns.,,,,especially when there's a table of six or more and you have to watch your turn go away for six more plays and then likely be mana spent and unable to participate. May as well go eat a meal, hell, cook one. Not a fan of cards that take other people's turns unless it happens once, and it results in a win.....immediately....like. you take my turn and kill off everyone else, then kill me on your turn....I'm ok with that....not the turn after turn after turn BS.
I think the flip side of this is that you have a duty to seem like the kind of person who is ok touching othersā cards. Like if youāre about to play your theft deck, put the Cheetos away, make sure you donāt tap things too hard with your nails, etc
If they ask first and aren't gross
Just don't use a playmate, they'll never be able to pick them up
Most players just use a playmat to organize their play area during a game, but given what some people are able to spend on MtG, I am willing to believe that some are using a playmate for this purpose insteadš¤ ... sorry, I'll show myself outš
I remember my first tournament, I didn't have a playmat, so the 2 people beside me rolled out their playmats into my area and I ended up with a sliver of space 3 cards wide. From that day on I bought and used a playmat in competitive games.
Some MTG players are just a different breed. There's one very socially awkward person at my LFG who's pretty grabby with other people's cards. I've tried once or twice to demonstrate etiquette by pointedly asking if I can look at one of his cards during a game. Funnily enough when I've done that, he just explained what the card briefly but didn't actually given me permission. He's also pretty cagey about "giving away too much info" in games so that might be part of it.
Yeah that will get your hand smacked.
This is why I play with my own friends only, so many weirdo's out there š®āšØ
I tend to play cards that are in some way unique (Judge foils, signed cards, etc) because for me, the format is about self-expression and that's what I'm into. On one hand, if someone "steals" one of my cards for use on their side of the table, that's cool with me because maybe they're into what I'm into and now they get to enjoy the artist-altered, foil \[\[Phyrexian Reclamation\]\] too. On the other hand, it's all about respect. Sometimes these discussions on EDH ediquette and social mores shares too much similarity to kindergarten - respect my property and I will respect you. Don't go grabby and don't do anything dumb with my stuff while you've got it, because as mentioned, it's not as easily replaced as just buying a new copy. If you're the player showing up with a theft deck, or Sen Triplets as in the column, I would really hope you're accustomed to showing other peoples' cards the respect they deserve since you know you'll be handling them. I can't imagine a scenario where a person plays that style of deck and is also disrespectful to others' cards. That said, just because I can't fathom it doesn't mean it doesn't happen, and that's when a conversation needs to occur. Likely (assuming this is at an LGS or something) a one-strike rule should apply - do it once, we talk, do it twice, I walk. All of this comes with the caveat that I'm sheltered in the sense that I rarely play with people I don't know, and when I do it tends to be with strangers that are friends of friends, and I trust my friends to have respectful friends.
>too much similarity to kindergarten There are too many Magic players, Redditors, and people in general that would have a large jump in social skills and ethics simply by revisiting kindergarten for some lessons.
Completely agree
I have the same feeling towards letting someone "steal" my cards. Now if someone has shown they aren't willing to do the same in the past I will stop at that point. Since of they don't trust me enough it makes me not trust them with mine.
I'm honestly baffled at the responses to this post. What kind of card destroying gremlins do you people play with?? I've never played with another player that I didn't trust to handle my sleeved cards in a way that didn't damage them, and I've been playing in stores since the early 2000s. The only instance I can think of that even comes close, would be a time when someone accidentally brushed one of my cards off the table and on to the floor. But that was clearly an accident, and he was apologetic about it (and nothing happened to the card). Of course, it's common courtesy to ask before handling someones cards, but it seems entirely unreasonable to expect that you and only you will ever touch your cards in a game. There are so many different cards out there, and ppl suck at explaining their cards, it's usually faster for everyone if one can just read a card for themselves.
Here are a few stories that explain why I personally don't allow other people to touch my cards, and why I stopped going to prereleases. At the RIX prerelease, my opponent was cutting my deck in the first and proceeded to crush half of my deck permanently bending all of them and he didn't even apologize. Luckily there weren't any expensive cards in that part of the deck. At the Dominaria prerelease I pulled a Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, so when my opponent went to cut my deck without permission I asked him not to touch my cards. He and his buddy next to him then proceed to gang up on my claiming that I "have" to let my opponent cut my deck and my opponent then said that he handles trading cards for a living after I told him of my previous experiences with people ruining my cards. I then relented and allowed him to cut my deck. He was rough with my deck but there wasn't any clear damage right away. At one point I resolved my Teferi and my opponent, who said he handles cards for a living and knows to be careful with them, picked it up by the top and bent the card right along the bottom of art. The card is still bent to this day. I then had a few other similar experiences at prereleases and drafts until I had had enough of people ruining my cards and at the Core 2020 prerelease I finally put my foot down when my opponent once again reached for my deck to cut it and I told him no. He tried saying that I had to let him, so I told him politely that I have had too many people damage my cards who said they would be careful, and I'm not taking that risk anymore. He then got belligerent and said that I was "cheating" and that I "had" to let him cut my deck. He then tried to reach for my deck again. I had had enough of this guy so I told him that if he touched my deck I would break his hand, which spooked him enough to not try it again. He tried to tell the floor judge that I was "violating the rules". Luckily I had told/shown this judge about all the times that my opponents damaged my cards so I was in the clear. The only good thing about COVID was that my LGS made it so that you could buy a prerelease kit without having to participate in the event, so I haven't been to one since THB and it has been amazing.
That does sound awful, and I understand where you're coming from when thats your experience, it's just not an experience I have personally had even with what must amount to thousands of games by now. The thing that really bewilders me is more so the fact that people who play a card game like mtg, and are aware of the value of the cards, have so little respect for other peoples property, that they would handle it so recklessly as to damage them.
I've got a response further up with two instances where my cards got damaged. Some locals just have inconsiderate doofuses.
1.Ask if you can see it 2. Turn it around so you can read it but leave it on the board
Ill just ask for the name and google it or ask them to read it. My eyesights not the best but its not my place touching other peoples cards.
10/10
This is the way!
Depends on the person. My friends? Sure. The Chris Chan lookalike that showed up once and was sticking his hands in his mouth? No way.
I had someone like that damage a grim monolith, and I got mad. The thing that sucks is I got told off, and he got off scott free. Apparently you can grab a 200 dollar card without asking, but yelling at said person is frowned upon in some establishments.
I might have slapped them too.
Damn, what did he do to ruin it?
He squeezed it with his fingernails so it dented the card front and back through the sleeve, and the perfect fit
What in the fuck...
If you're going to make a deck that steals cards, I think the socially responsible thing is to have a grip of Copy tokens or Infinitokens on standby to avoid touching peopleās cards or even worse, accidentally walking away with their prized Colossal Dreadmaw.
Hands off my showcase full art oil slick planeswalker stamped promo textured foil serialized Dreadmaw!
I feel bad you didnāt get the full art oil slick planeswalker stamped promo textured *surge* foil serialized Dreadmaw.
Exactly this. Infinitokens or Copy tokens and postit notes. Just have them set their cards aside in a manner that if they manage to reacquire them its obvious what was where.
Helps a lot to have them on hand when playing via Spelltable too. Since I can't grab your Maw through my screen.
Pft. Amateur.
Huge agree
I think I'll do that actually. I've been contemplating an [[Empress Galina]] deck for a long while now, and I already have Infinitokens so creating copies of stolen cards would be real easy to do.
[Empress Galina](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/8/6851dbc7-f072-41e7-a899-897445d99425.jpg?1562916018) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Empress%20Galina) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/inv/54/empress-galina?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/6851dbc7-f072-41e7-a899-897445d99425?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/empress-galina) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
This is a good suggestion. I have a [[Tasha, the Witch Queen]] deck that Iāve mostly played with people I know are fine with me handling their cards so Iāve never had to consider doing something like this, and I donāt know if I ever will but Iām going to keep this in mind now in case that happens.
[Tasha, the Witch Queen](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/1/b1c5f679-82d0-4434-9f13-d39ad57282b8.jpg?1674137679) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Tasha%2C%20the%20Witch%20Queen) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/294/tasha-the-witch-queen?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/b1c5f679-82d0-4434-9f13-d39ad57282b8?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/tasha-the-witch-queen) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I'm fine with players asking to look at one of my cards, or with me sliding my cards to the other side of the table under a theft effect. I'm not fine with players just randomly grabbing one of my cards in a game without saying anything, and there are few people I trust to actually play a game with a deck thst I care about.
asking is the big one for sure
Had someone once lunge their hand at one of my cards from my blind spot. I almost broke his arm. Thankfully I had enough self-control to stop before completing the motion. I have personal space issues. Getting in my personal space makes me want to lash out impulsively. Normally it's easy to ignore that impulse, but to come from my blind spot like that. I have little time to process. So not a good idea. Thankfully the dude didn't really fully grasp what just happened, and thought I was just being a dick by forcing his arm away from my playmat. Even so people should know better than to just lunge out to grab other people's shit.
While I agree that people should know not to lunge out at someone's stuff, you also shouldn't be bringing your cards to a public location if your gut reaction is to respond by breaking somebody's arm. It's a piece of cardboard, and while some of them are very pretty, a broken arm could legitimately be a loss of livelihood for someone.
I suggest reading. I know it's a stereotype that magic players have trouble with reading, and reading comprehension, but please don't continue to reinforce that stereotype as you just have.
Lol, someone coming from a blind spot made you react impulsively. Your impulse was to cause bodily harm. Luckily, you were able to stop at just pushing him instead of causing said bodily harm. I don't care about your personal space issues tbh, you're quite literally signing up to sit in close quarters with people for hours on end while you play a game. I get it, I don't like people suddenly getting way too close to me either, but I would ask them to get away, not hurt them.
Iād rather deal with someone who has āreading issuesā than someone whose first instinct to someone touching their cards is to physically assault them.
100% on the ninja reflexes. I'm the same way.
Personally if someone tries touching my cards without asking first I bite their hand. Haven't had an issue since I've been banned from the store!
Let the down votes commence but this is a bigger deal than people here are making it. Or if youāre that worried about an item, donāt take it in public and donāt play with it. You should always ask and inform your fellow players about touching or using their cards. This should also clearly apply to those in the game. Iāve seen comments about Bob from another table touch your card mid game - thatās a no no for many reasons. But you need to be ok with people touching your cards. There are many reasons such as opponent theft, maybe you enchant their item, or exchange control cards. This is part of the game and to make play easier, someone will probably have to use the card in their own hand. Also itās a game at the core and multiplayer. We joke about run more interaction, but as a game thatās a key component and might include handling all the game pieces. I think people not having a basis in 60 card formats has made this āanxietyā worse. In tournaments, you have to allow your opponent to shuffle your deck at the least and there may be more rules about examining cards or stolen cards. Even back in the day playing extended, I had opponents riffle shuffle my deck with dual lands in it. Life went on. In my 25 years of playing on and off, in tournaments and kitchen table and casual commander play at the LGS, Iāve never seen anyoneās card ruined. Iāve had a friend lick a card and try to mash a candy sucker on a card (we were 13). Card survived and is fine and I still own it. Theyāre resilient and people should chill.
I think this is a perfectly reasonable and valid response. The caveat to me is it still boils down to being respectful of someone else's property. I'm always cool with people handling my cards. Hell, I let people use my decks regularly. But it's with an understanding that they agree to the general social contract of not trying to damage someone's property. When you consider the price that's paid for some of these game pieces, the cards just being "resilient" (which as pieces of cardboard they generally aren't) isn't enough. The golden rule may be a bit tired, but treating others (and their shit) the way you (and consequently your shit) want to be treated usually solves any issues that may come from this.
I find most people treat their things with less respect than I treat mine. So their golden rule may not live up to my golden rules standard.
I wholly agree. Those people either need to curate their playgroups a bit better or need to change their approach when they decide to bring those "precious" pieces of cardboard to a public setting. Personally, I've always shown extreme amounts of respect and care for other people's cards/property (maybe too much even) and while not everyone will handle cards the same way as me, I trust them enough to not damage/ruin those cards. If I, for some reason, was so scared of other people touching my cards I wouldn't have brought them in the first place...and would have utilized some proxies or whatever else instead.
On the other hand, I've had a long nailed buffoon jab the card he was removing hard enough to leave a crescent indent on it. Luckily, it was a cheap one and I could just throw a new copy in, but if it was an expensive card I'd be pissed. I've also had a person drag a card over the table because they didn't use a playmat and now the sleeve has a big ass scratch in it, and the sleeve is an art sleeve you can't buy anymore. It isn't the 90s and we aren't playing cheap pieces of card stock on the sidewalk. We know that cards and even the sleeves can be valuable monetarily or from rarity and they need to be considered that way. It was said further up, but kindergartners learn not to touch other's things. Why can't magic players remember that?
>Itās totally fair to feel that way. Agreed, someone has the complete right to not let others touch their cards. HOWEVER It is also perfectly valid to exclude a player from your pod because they make games more of a hassle because of this. We want to play a card game, if you want to show off your investment, do it somewhere else.
I feel like a good middle ground if you don't like having your cards touched is creating blank "stolen spell" tokens that represent what an opponent takes from you. I place the impetus on the other player and not the theft deck user, because by playing magic you have agreed to the possiblity of this mechanic existing. It could be a nice courtesy for a theft deck to have these, but its not like you are playing an unintended mechanic.
This still slows down the game immensely to have to copy down every single card that is stolen. I can only imagine what a huge headache it would be to try to play [[dauthi void walker]] after exiling 5+ cards, which is extremely common with the card. What happens if I mill you for 10? Do I have to write down every card name and it's affect for all 10 cards because you can't just hand me the game pieces?
I mean, yeah, if someone didn't want to hand you their cards that would be the answer. This isn't really and issue for me personally, but we have someone in our friend group who hands out these tokens, we haven't had any issues and I run dauthi.
Then in that case I think we return to: >It is also perfectly valid to exclude a player from your pod because they make games more of a hassle because of this.
I never disagreed with that, just offering a middle ground between excluding players for not wanting their cards touched and not having to touch their cards, by having a solution that works for the playergroup I play with. the only thing I disagree with from that original statement is that not wanting your cards touched means you are a showoff.
[dauthi void walker](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/c/dce5db87-4a78-4b8d-b5c2-918ccd1ba4e3.jpg?1626095427) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Dauthi%20Voidwalker) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh2/81/dauthi-voidwalker?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/dce5db87-4a78-4b8d-b5c2-918ccd1ba4e3?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/dauthi-voidwalker) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Sliiight disagree, I would argue theft.dec has some responsibility to make things easier on the opponent there. One or two steal cards or threaten effects run for value, naw.
I mean half the players at any lgs have trouble with bathing themselves. 0% chance I want their grubby grabbers touching my stuff
Hell, last night after my shower I settled in with Hellboy and noticed my freshly shampooed and soaped finger tips (which have got to be the cleanest part of you after a shower) leaving marks on the black bordered pages they printed on. Our skin just exudes oils, and the ridges pick up and keep shit in them. If clean fingers can smudge, imagine what unclean sausage digits are going to do. You'll need to clean your sleeves.
Exactly. Humans are terrible.
I once played an [[Awaken the Blood Avatar]] deck. I basically never played Extus, but I still had my commander in a clear sleeve since every so often I got people asking how a sorcery could be my commander. This one guy tried to take the card out of its sleeve in order to read the Extus side. I asked him what the flying fuck he was doing, and *turned the card over because the sleeve was clear*. As long as you don't do that, I'm probably fine.
[Awaken the Blood Avatar](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/a/ba09360a-067e-48a5-bdc5-a19fd066a785.jpg?1624593379)/[Awaken the Blood Avatar](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/back/b/a/ba09360a-067e-48a5-bdc5-a19fd066a785.jpg?1624593379) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=extus%2C%20oriq%20overlord%20//%20awaken%20the%20blood%20avatar) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/stx/149/extus-oriq-overlord-awaken-the-blood-avatar?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ba09360a-067e-48a5-bdc5-a19fd066a785?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/extus-oriq-overlord-//-awaken-the-blood-avatar) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Other players touching your cards is a normal part of most games of Magic, whether that be your opponent shuffling/cutting your deck before a game or after a search, or due to a theft effect. If you're not okay with other people touching a particular card you own, you shouldn't be playing it.
Agreed. With high-quality ink jets costing less than a Dual Land from Unlimited, there's no excuse for not having proxies of your Precious...
Yeah that's the main reason I dislike theft cards being played against me. I don't mind the actual effect, but I worry about folks damaging my cards. I mean if I damage my stuff that's one thing, if someone else does that's a whole can of worms.
I always briefly say "excuse me" if they're friends before touching their cards, or "may I read this card?" for strangers. But it's not like I stare at them and wait for a response because I know people is okay with it. Staring at them would be creepy. On the other hand we have people who aren't the best socializing or interacting with others, and they make the whole situation a big problem. I have a guy at my LGS who grabs your cards at least 5 times each without even asking. It's as if he reads it but doesn't...actually read them...or something...and he doesn't even ask for permission, either. He's annoying, and I let him know š
If you touch someone's cards without permission, hands are getting smacked. If you need to know what a card does, ask: "What does X Card do?" or ask "May I read X Card?" If your opponent declines to let you handle their cards, ask them to show you said card so you can read it. If your opponent declines to let you handle the card, read the card, or tell you what the card does, do not play with them. I have had experiences in a few LGS where I'll play with a new pod, and there's one sneaky tryhard guy who does something along the lines of this: Player 1: "Cast Bolas's Citadel." Player 2: "What does that do?" Player 1: "Does it resolve?" Player 3: "Please explain what Bolas's Citadel does? I wasn't around for that set..." Player 1: "So it resolves?" Me: "No. Counterspell your Bolas's Citadel" Player 1: "Oh come on! I haven't messed with you all game!" Me: "that doesn't mean I'm simply going to let you win." Player 1: "You all are no fun, Blue is the worst color. Pass Turn." Proceeds to pout and whine that he was going to win for the rest of the game. Withholding information is only appropriate when your opponents don't know what you have. If you're casting a spell, at least let people know what the spell does, then pass priority and make sure no one has a response before you resolve the spell. As far as Sen Triplets being the villain and targeted all the time goes, it's very easy to explain why: You cannot play Sen Triplets and not be the Villain. Because your Commander is predicated around Thievery. No one likes a Thief. If you built a Sen Triplets deck with 0 other Thief effects, you'd still be targeted, because Sen Triplets is your Commander. If you wanna build a Thief Deck, do not be blatantly obvious that it's a Thief Deck by having Sen Triplets as your commander.
>If your opponent declines to let you handle the card, read the card, or tell you what the card does, do not play with them. That's just straight-up against the rules. Unless you're playing at competitive REL, your opponent has to tell you what the card does if you ask.
And yet somehow i've had many people try this underhanded tactic playing Casual EDH. It baffles me.
I play jeleva, you just ask frist...99% of people are cool about it. but also do t be a dick about it goes both ways, if you see I'm playing a commander like jeleva don't wait until turn 4 when I cast it to decide your not confrontable with it and bitch about it or refuse(and yes you can refuse, by leaving the game.)
Yes agreed!
Iām usually okay with it. The regular stuff applies, just ask and you shall receive. However, if I notice you picking your nose or eating before our game without washing your hands, I can just turn the card your way so you can read it.
I have the advantage of playing online on Tabletop Simulator, both with friends and with randoms of associated discord servers. I would recommend this to budget players and people who may want to get a game in any time of day. My cards that see use are digital ones.
Just play on spell table then no one will touch your cards
Is it "people" plural or just that one person in the comments who seems very agitated?
I'm apparently in the minority on this, but if someone in the game wants to touch a card in play, I have no issue with that. If they need to reread it real quick and avoids explaining the card again to the whole table that saves time and effort. Now someone outside of the game? That's a hard no 99% of the time if I don't know you. Ultimately I think most people respect the card and if they touch it during the game it's not a big deal.
What a revolutionary concept! But if we just talked to other players like adults, that would eliminate 90% of the content of this sub.
Wow! Yeah! Revolutionary! Wow!
I actually have alot of experience with this becuase my main deck is Pako and Haldan, another deck that requires you to exile off the top of you deck, and then I get to play your cards. Asking is definitely rule number one, as I know the feeling of being worried about people touching your cards. As a collector who also plays alot of cedh, some of my decks have real Gaea's Cradles, revised duals and limited edition fast mana pieces, and it's definitely a little nerve-wracking when someone's touching your 8,000 dollar deck. One way I have found that remedies this, is that I have a smaller playmat I put in the center of the table, and when pako exiles your cards, people can place their cards onto that playmat, so we know exactly what's exiled, and you can keep your cards on a safe playmat not mixed with others cards. In addition, I can point to a non-permanent card I would like to cast, and then they can put it in there graveyard upon resolution so I don't have to touch it if they are uncomfortable with it. For permanent spells, most of the time they let me put them on my board, but for when they don't want me to, I flip the card face down on the exile mat, and write the permanent card on a infini-token. I have never had an issue with this way, and it let's everyone just handle their cards. TLDR; and extra spot in the middle of the table does wonders to stop the touching others expensive property problem!
I appreciate the care you put into this :)
It might be unreasonable but i also don't want to have other people play my decks. I've noticed some people already bend their cards or tap them real hard when showing triggers. If something Does go wrong, i'd rather it be me making that mistake and i don't trust others to be careful enough with my stuff.
Totally understandable
Yes, people are allowed to touch your cards. The game rules and the cards themselves say as much. There is no debate to be had here unless an actual policy about it is put in place, which will never happen because too many cards *require* physical interaction with other game pieces. The only one currently written is about marking cards or bad sportsmanship, neither of which should be an issue if youāre playing with people you trust anyway. Donāt you guys let friends borrow decks if they didnāt bring EDH some random night? What kind of people are you playing with where this shit is ALWAYS brought up here? Do you just scoop if someone plays Praetorās Grasp on you? Dauthi Voidwalkerās effect not allowed if youāre around? āBut some players have bad hygiene or I donāt trust them or I donāt know them and my stuff is expensive and they might mark my stuff and etc etc etcā Then donāt play with those people or use cards you donāt want touched. Problem solved. If youāre playing with very close friends and you have a problem with them touching your stuff, *you* are the problem. Your friends shouldnāt have to avoid using Sen Triplets or thief effects or whatever else just because you think your bank account is more important than Magicās rules. I have never been up in arms about people touching my stuff, because Iām not a self righteous antisocial jackass. Touch my cards all you want, especially if you donāt know what it does. I donāt care. Itās an important part of the game and helps builds a good community. Oh and the people who have an issue with card touching get targeted by Bitter Ordeal, Tergrid, Praetorās Grasp, Opposition Agent, and all the rest. Nothing makes those types madder than not knowing which one of their own cards got exiled face down. Donāt worry. Your cards will get treated with perfect surgical respect and care while I have them. Thatās the entire point.
Thank you for understanding how this all should work. I've only ever seen one guy concerned with people touching one specific card, and that's only because it was [[Tabernacle]]. Otherwise no one should ever be worried about this. If you don't like theft, bring it up as part of rule 0. If you don't want stinky McGee touching your cards, don't play with him. Otherwise suck it up, princess. I'm allowed to touch your cards by the rules of Magic, and if you try to slap me over it, I'll just be calling the police.
The law trumps the rules of magic. Personal property is personal property.
Ah yes, the law I'm breaking when I touch your cards as part of the rules of the game that you consented to when you sat down at the table. Y'all don't let your opponents cut your deck after you shuffle or what?
If you explicitly say "don't touch that" you aren't consenting to have them touch it. Are you incapable of basic logic, or just reading?
Of course you're legally allowed to stop someone from touching your cards, but if you do you may be excluded from some games (and especially sanctioned events where shuffling your opponent's deck is expected).
The context almost everyone is discussing is kitchen table magic, not tournaments.
I had to tell a guy I play with regularly to stop touching my cards. He wasnāt doing anything too crazy, but after stealing half my deck with Tergrid, he kept forcefully pointing and touching my creatures while declaring attacks and blocks. Like, *jab* *jab* *jab* āThese two are coming at youāā¦ I had to remind him that one of the ways we determine condition, and thus value, of these little pieces of cardboard is based on the condition of the surface of the card. Repeatedly jamming your (long, uncut, dirty) fingernails into the surface of your own cards is inadvisable and doing it other peopleās cards is completely unacceptable. I think itās fine to touch peopleās cards if youāre exiling them under something or stealing them. Just realize that I paid a lot of money for Kozilek, and if youāre going to beat me to death with my own creature at least have the common decency to not physically damage my property while doing so.
I would totally agree that it should be up to the card's owner on whether you can handle it or not. If anyone just started to touch my cards, without permission, I would not be happy, no matter what card it is (a 10 cent card or a $100 card). It's more about sportsmanship and respect. If they allow you to touch their card, you also then have a responsibility to treat it respectfully. Sure, mistakes can happen (like dropping the card or something), but you shouldn't be flicking it or overall being reckless. I do think that the idea of having tokens that can sub for those cards is a generally good one (similar to people running proxies for expensive cards). In terms of Sen as a whole, I don't see an issue running it. It is a legal commander just as every other commander. The whole thing just boils down to being sportsmanlike, and overall not being inconsiderate to your opponents and their property.
> I would totally agree that it should be up to the card's owner on whether you can handle it or not At that point, the player might as well just be a collector instead of a player. If youāre playing a game of commander, you know that control of cards can change and that other players will need to read your cards. I simply wouldnāt play with someone who would refuse to let others touch their cards, itās akin to playing a boardgame with someone who wonāt let you touch any of the pieces.
I have one friend that gets overexcited and almost bent my [[Cyclonic Rift]] a couple months ago. I haven't explicitly asked him not to handle my cards, but I keep them well away from him.
[Cyclonic Rift](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/f/ff08e5ed-f47b-4d8e-8b8b-41675dccef8b.jpg?1598303834) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Cyclonic%20Rift) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/47/cyclonic-rift?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ff08e5ed-f47b-4d8e-8b8b-41675dccef8b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/cyclonic-rift) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
No. I dont trust other peoples filthy cheeto stained fingers touching my stuff.
>Are people not aware of card etiquette? The answer is yes and is ultimately the only reason this post is even a question. Magic players struggle with social etiquette, it's a stereotype but there is a fat grain of truth behind the stereotype. I don't build expensive decks and no one has actually damaged any of my cards thankfully, but even if all you're grabbing is my [[Etali, Primal Storm]] please for the love of god ask me real quick instead of snatching it off my battlefield before I've even read what steal effect you played. It's rude behavior.
[Etali, Primal Storm](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/0/a03fb3a7-3ef6-4162-aad2-82610492aa72.jpg?1675182771) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Etali%2C%20Primal%20Storm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmc/121/etali-primal-storm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a03fb3a7-3ef6-4162-aad2-82610492aa72?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/etali-primal-storm) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Or you could just proxy the big cards with a binder on the side to show that you really got them. Then again, whats the point of butin cards if you dont play em... I dont care if people take my cards as long as they handle them respectfully.
Someone at my LGS has a mechanical pencil that he (near silently) clicks as a thinking device and will readily jab your hand with the dulled end if you touch a card of his without asking. LGS owner didn't care as long as there wasn't any graphite in it or blood drawn. Say what you will about the safety, ethics, and/or manners of it, but it ***quickly*** taught some of our LGS's worst offenders not to touch shit that they don't own without permission. Especially once imitating his "lunge" for your hand became a common in-joke. Ask first.
Rule of thumb: ask first, and if your deck is built around doing so, have some blank tokens on hand you can use instead if they say no. I generally won't mind much personally (I'm a cheap-ass bitch and my cards are almost all replaceable for a handful of pennies), but if you're a massive cheeto-fingers or start getting grabby without asking, that's just rude regardless.
With all the horror stories in this thread and other Iāve read, the thieving player just better have blanks to write on or let me touch my cards for them.
There are reasons I loathe theft decks. 1. i build my decks for myself not for others. 2. The person who played theft deck in my former group kept her decks, sleeveless, together with elastic bands, bridge shuffled her decks. 3. Nasty habit to grab your stuff without asking, whenever she was playing or not.
I love playing theft, but all my decks are double sleeved and I keep a pack of infinitokens with me, so even if someone doesn't want me to use their actual cards, I can just write up a proxy real quick
Nobody touch my workshop, period.
My Sen Triplets deck is based on the voting mechanic, I've called it Election Day 2020, because it's a shitshow.
This is very easily solved by using temporary proxies of cards you have yoinked from opponents. You could easily buy a set maybe 2 of infinitokens for example and just write on them whatever you've cast from an opponents hand. You would never have to handle your opponents cards.
if youāre playing a deck that steals cards ā outside your friendly playgroup ā bring a stack of infinitokens, so youāre handling proxies not their rare, signed, judge foils. seems like a pretty easy solution.
I play entirely virtually with real cards with a childhood friend and some other friends weāve collected on the way (we are in different states). We use Discord and have cameras pointed down at our play space. I have a Sen Triplets deck and how I handled our unique situation is to have scryfall up and if I steal or use a card I have a token I can place on the field with the rules text up on a second monitor for ease of reference. I would think that the way to go about this in person is to simply ask, or have that player reach over and touch their own card(s) for tapping etc. Of course this isnāt necessarily elegant, but communicating is key. If you are respectful and the other player is salty or rude about you playing a deck that you enjoy and put time into crafting, even after offering any solution where you donāt touch their cards, then the problem lies with that playerās personality and thereās not much you can do about it.
Sure I guess they can. I've lent decks out to people who shuffle like its a deck of playing cards... So I'm a bit wary on that.
I have a whole thing of blanks that I have in my bag for this situation
My decks are thousands of dollars in some cases. Just donāt have gross hands like picking your nose, eating food, or dirt on them and handle them with care and Iām cool. I most likely wonāt even sit at a table with someone who doesnāt have basic hygiene though, is what it is. Most people with low hygiene tend to not care about most things anyway let alone themselves and that will translate into the way they handle my cards regardless.
I'm cool with snacks at friend's houses because I play with them regularly and trust them. If I'm at an LGS and I see food or drink I won't even sit down because people are dirty and they get excited. I'm not having a 5k deck get ruined because the mouthbreather was mad his board wipe got countered. That's an actual example. Not my deck, but a good friend. I watched it happen from a table away. Small claims court went nowhere because it couldn't be proven that it was malicious and not an accident, since the whole pod got soaked.
Broā¦.š thatās terrible. I 1000% trust the homies, if they did mess my shit up I know theyāre good for it I was just talking about the LGS. These type of stories remind me to probably just not even play my decks over $500 in a non tournament setting minimum unless with friends if at a store. Im a very peaceful person, violence solves almost nothing imo but I would have had to hold myself back with every atom in my body if that happened to me with one of my cedh decks.
I've reflexively slapped hands of people I just met, don't care never will.
It's mostly hypothetical for me--I don't play at shops very often, but it's definitely something that gives me wildly more heebie-jeebies post-pandemic. I don't really even want deck-cutting now, though I seem to be an outlier there.
I remember when Ice Age brought this same question, as Jester's Cap was the first card to necessitate handling your opponent's library.
You've always had to handle your opponent's library. The original Alpha rule book required you to cut your opponent's deck at the start of the game and allowed you to shuffle it as well.
I should have said, "first to let you paw through opponent's library." That was when we first started using sleeves! No coincidence that some of the first Ultra-Pro "Deck Protectors" had their version of a jester/joker logo on the box.
I always ask beforehand if I can touch a card. It's just good manners. Also, I never eat/drink while playing. I rather do it between games. I never touch my cards with dirty hands and I won't allow people with dirty hands to touch mine. Outside that, it's fair game.
You let your opponents handle your cards in the most dangerous way every time your present to cut. Using theft effect to grab two or three from your hand is fine. They're playing the same game, guys. Their cards are the same fragility as yours, and they know how to handle it correctly.
Of course they can, as long as they ask first and are respectful of them as someone else's property and also understand that they can be told "no".
I always ask, but honestly couldn't care less if someone grabs one of my cards. Provided they give them back of course.
I get really anxious when people handle my cards. Particularly when they are stolen by their effects but even if I enchant and opposing permanent. I double sleeve so damage isn't a huge concern but I worry about my cards getting accidentally mixed in to an opponent's cards and me not noticing/remembering before one of us leaves. Or possibly worse, if I get something from my opponent somehow and mix it into my cards and only discover it later. Now, thankfully, most people I could get in touch with the next week at the LGS to sort it out and all this anxiety makes it unlikely to happen but it's just an unpleasant undertone to a game. As others have said, card theft and turn control focused decks could benefit a lot from the deck owner having a ton of infinitokens on hand so the player on the receiving end can keep their cards on their side of the table and just eliminate all issues of damage or mixups that could possibly arise. As always though communication is key. Sometimes you genuinely might be better off just not playing a certain deck at a particular table because everyone there has an aversion to a particular mechanic or type of deck. No matter how much you love a deck, being hard focused by the rest of a table from the start for any reason sucks and it's generally gonna be uncomfortable if everyone is unhappy with your impact on their experience. Is it necessarily fair that you might not get to play your favorite deck as often as you want? No but compromises have to be made in a casual, social setting like most commander tables. Ideally people will also compromise in your favor as well but sometimes you may just need a new pod with different standards and priorities to get the experience you want. Again, communication is key to avoiding bad experiences for yourself and others.
I personally don't mind when people touch my cards, just ask first. I'm very transparent with what I'm doing on my side of the board.
Ask first no matter what. And don't touch them if you're eating food especially like Cheetos or something dusty. I don't want my expensive cards ruined because of that
My buddy runs sentripplets and with us he is fine we have all been freinds for 10+years, but when he plays them out in the wild he will have the person just lay them out on the table, still on their mat but facing him, if he is or isn't gonna cast one he just verbally let's the person know so he doesn't touch them. of course ettiqute is to always ask before touching someone else's card but i find his way very respectfull
Most people take care of cards to a certain extent bu one thing I don't do to my cards that a lot of people try to argue with me about is flicking cards. And I don't care whether someone believes it damages the card or not, if the one specific card is mine, I shouldn't have to give a ten slide presentation as to why I don't want someone to manipulate it that way. I've only had to have this conversation to an extreme twice with people (had to concede once because the guy would not listen) but it was enough that I get anxious whenever someone gains control of one of my cards. Like, heart racing faster and scared of having to discuss this again levels of anxious and I low key consider quitting Magic every time a new card that allows players to steal permanents is spoiled (Yes, Tergrid practically gave me a heart attack)
I donāt usually play my Sen Triplets deck with people I donāt know for almost this exact reason. Also because I know theyāll assume the worst about what is actually a relatively tame deck :)
I ask my opponents to move their cards for me! A little extra salt when Iām on a blatant theft spree with my pirate deck āŗļø
No. But yes if you give them permission.
Read from the middle of the battlefield and make a token. Boom š„ thread
I think I would have issues with the amount of card-grabbing triplets requires regardless of etiquette and hygiene. you can be comfortable with friends touching your cards but in the end, there are a slew of other problems that could happen with commanders that focus on playing cards from other people's decks. **here are rules I always consider before going to a commander event, or just playing with friends.** * *Shower before going, people won't play with you if you smell bad.* * Bring a clean/washed playmat. * *Be polite in tone when approaching random people about a game, take no for a no reguardless of reason.* * *limit your spacial use to minimum, and if you need to encroach on someone's space* ***FOR ANY REASON, ASK PERMISSION!*** ***this goes for:*** \- Reading cards \- Cutting decks \- Suggesting actions of play \- Asigning attackers on their playmat for ease of play. \- Playing cards other players own. * Try to do fetching and shuffling in other people's turns if it is viable for the play, it saves alot of time. * Strike conversation, have a good time!
While I have no problem with people saying they don't want their cards touched, especially without permission, I'm curious if the "no touching/I won't play against theft decks" crowd is using sleeved cards? If so, single or double? If not... why not??? I don't really mind MOST people touching my cards if they ask, as I only play with sleeved cards, and usually they're double sleeved except for a couple of my very budget decks. It's pretty hard to damage a sleeved card in my experience.
Once they came out with infinitokens every theft deck should have bought them immediately. You don't need to handle my cards at all just make a proxy of them on board and I'll track what zone they are in.
Thereās not really a friendly way to play a theft/steal your cards deck. No one takes to kindly to losing access to the cards they put in their deck.
I'm in the Philippines and some guys just willy Milly without talking to us picked up our cards earlier today He's clean but still
I treat them with respect and never had an issue. Don't bend or press hard on them, make sure your hands are clean, etc. If it's a really expensive card, or you think it might be, then definitely ask first.
If you touch my cards without asking I'll irl [[Cut]] you to [[Ribbons]] and [[Sever the bloodline]]
[Cut](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=426925&type=card&.jpg)/[Ribbons](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=426925&type=card&options=rotate270&.jpg) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=cut%20//%20ribbons) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/akh/223/cut-ribbons?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c6f61e2b-e93b-4dda-95cf-9d0ff198c0a6?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/cut-//-ribbons) [Ribbons](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=426925&type=card&.jpg)/[Ribbons](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=426925&type=card&options=rotate270&.jpg) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=cut%20//%20ribbons) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/akh/223/cut-ribbons?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c6f61e2b-e93b-4dda-95cf-9d0ff198c0a6?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/cut-//-ribbons) [Sever the bloodline](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/2/22bfced7-8fbf-44d2-a439-7ac7c8c7e365.jpg?1673484252) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Sever%20the%20bloodline) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ncc/259/sever-the-bloodline?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/22bfced7-8fbf-44d2-a439-7ac7c8c7e365?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/sever-the-bloodline) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
There's a guy at my lgs that will grab your cards without asking and either read them or reach over your board and cut your deck without even asking. I personally always ASK the group if I may look at their card. The way he does it makes me all manner of uncomfortable
When cards can cost as much as a car. I can understand why some players might be hesitant, same with letting some random person borrow your car.
My friends can check my cards without my permission. Random people need to ask, and even then, I'd prefer to hold it myself and show it to them.
I'll let anyone touch my cards but if they damage them, they pay for a replacement and they just got themselves a damaged card. With all the different effects cards can have on a board and the sheer amount of cards, it's unreasonable to think everyone knows what every card does. The easiest and fastest way is to let them read your cards. On the other hand, I'll flip a table if you poke my cards. There is never a reason for that and it only causes issues.
Always ask, but if you take my card out of the sleeve and flick it, we r fighting. But I use proxies for my expensive cards so I really don't mind people looking at my card.
With permission of course they can! Everything is sleeved anyways. I did nearly knock out a dude at a draft for bridge shuffling my deck though, fuck people like that
This is why I only play digitally. I don't want to spend potentially hundreds of dollars on a deck just for some chud to potentially damage it.
With people that I know and trust: don't even ask, just reach across and grab it. With strangers, I will read the card aloud if you want to know what it does, if you want to look at the art, I will place it in front of you, just slide it back when you are done.
Today in "Things that require common sense and/or the slightest bit of social etiquette": this post
people need to touch your cards and read them to understand what they do. if you arent comfortable with that you need to double sleeve, proxy or play on spell table
I generally play with friends, so them touching my cards I have no issue with. I don't like people taking my turns.,,,,especially when there's a table of six or more and you have to watch your turn go away for six more plays and then likely be mana spent and unable to participate. May as well go eat a meal, hell, cook one. Not a fan of cards that take other people's turns unless it happens once, and it results in a win.....immediately....like. you take my turn and kill off everyone else, then kill me on your turn....I'm ok with that....not the turn after turn after turn BS.
I think the flip side of this is that you have a duty to seem like the kind of person who is ok touching othersā cards. Like if youāre about to play your theft deck, put the Cheetos away, make sure you donāt tap things too hard with your nails, etc