'That Guy': a tale of WTF?

Tonight, for the very first time ever, I walked away from a game. I'm not happy that I did so, but to do otherwise may have resulted in actions I know I would regret later.

Let's start with the day: I had woken up after a bad night's rest, but had decided to go to a World of Warcraft TCG tourney at Pano's store, after the insistence of Remi. I had been being having a not-so-good week, and thought that this could help me get my head back in the right. Having completed the bare minimum of tasks I needed to do for the day, I headed out to the store, with a grey cloud over my head. I knew that I wasn't in the best of moods, and tried to cheer myself up by doing some 'trash talking' with Remi via text on my way in. I haven't won a tourney, only coming in second twice, and haven't played the game in months. I was looking forward to just hanging out and having fun, win or lose. Games are a social activity and I knew I should try to be social, in hopes of bring myself out of the doldrums. If I had but known what was going to happen, I would have barred myself inside my home, watched some Venture Brothers (always a good way for me to have a good time) and had a beer or two...

When I arrived, there was no one else there for the tourney, so I paid my way in, bought a booster and some soda, and settled in to tweak a deck I was working on. I thought I might trade with some people, as we used to have a very good, fun group at the store. I found out that the group had left the store while I had been out of the loop and a new group had moved in to fill the void. When the first people who were joining the tourney showed up, I knew that my night had just been shot to shit. There were three of them, two men and a woman. All of them overweight, abrasive and uncouth. I try not to judge people by their appearances, but in this case, in was their behavior that tipped me off. The woman settled into a comfy chair in the back of the store and began playing some very loud and annoying game on her iPad. The men had taken up a spot on a table and began talking about how powerful this card was and how great their decks were. I had my stuff sitting out and they made no attempt to engage me. I know I didn't exactly look like the friendliest person at this point, but whenever I show up from things like this, I think there's nothing wrong with walking up to people that aren't clearly busy in a game or a conversation and try to say 'hi' or something. As I continued to watch, I heard them going on and on about the 'best' cards and decks. I couldn't bring myself to even try to talk to them. Other people came in and began to talk with these three people, but I had made my choice to distance myself from everyone.

With a truckload of reservations, I decided to stick it out and got ready to pair up. My partner, whom I shall call 'Jay' (I've changed his name because I don't want to deal with anything that may result in my naming names). He was over six and a half feet tall and probably weighed over four hundred pounds, all of it fat. Now, I will be the first to admit that I'm overweight, but not morbidly so. I was working on losing weight last summer, until I suffered an accident that has left me with almost daily pain, after almost a year later.
As we sit down, Jay discovers that I am playing a Murloc deck. I freely admit that Murloc decks can be very broken and are abused by 'asshole players.' However, I am not an asshole, and I was playing my second-string Murloc Hunter Hero deck, which isn't all that great. I had just fooled around with the deck the night before and I had tried to make the deck more about Murloc synergy, rather than Murloc spam. I have another deck for that, which I had chosen not to play, to avoid being 'That Guy.'

As soon as Jay finds out that I am playing Murlocs, he gets up, puts his deck back, and gets another; because the deck that he had 'wasn't designed with Murlocs in mind.' I felt my heart and hopes sink at that moment. I had come looking for a fun time, to talk and meet new people. Now, the game had become Serious Business. I gave up. I didn't want to play anymore, and I didn't want to start a fight by calling this guy on being 'That Guy.' To continue the discomfort, instead of cutting my deck, Jay would shuffle it. I suppose I'm a very trusting person, as I do a cursory half-deck cut of the other player's deck. It's just a game. If you're really willing to cheat at a card game based around imaginary monsters and magical bullshit, you shouldn't be allowed to play. I went through the motions, playing the two games, but my heart wasn't in the game anymore. I wanted to just get up and leave, but I didn't want to look like I was the one being the  asshole. Perhaps, if I had had more sleep or was in a better frame of mind, I would have called him on the bullshit. Instead, I got beaten two times in maybe 20 minutes. During the game, Jay would talk to his girlfriend, (who was also playing) during my turns, forcing me to wait until he was paying attention as I feared he would do something that would make the situation worse. During the course of these little talks, I found out that Jay had been a 'Level 3 Judge' for Cryptozotic until they 'pulled their bullshit.' Mind you, Jay didn't speak a word to me unless it was in reference to the game, and even then, it was as short as possible. I don't think I have ever had so little fun during a game than I did in that one. I could feel myself losing fun from happy memories, it was that un-enjoyable.

As the last damage was dealt and he got up, Jay said that 'Murlocs are overpowered and broken. I don't think people should play them' or something to that effect. I told him that I rarely play in tourneys, haven't done so in many months and play for fun. At that point, we parted ways. I went to talk with Pano, and mentioned that Jay had switched decks when he found out what I was playing. Pano told me that decks weren't registered. I didn't want to push the issue, even though I was upset, but I needed a smoke. Before I continue, please let me say that I do not blame Pano at all for his reaction. He had a valid point, and as a the store owner, he must remain impartial. Personally, I view changing decks after finding out what someone else is playing, after sitting down with another deck, is borderline cheating, and would have forced the games to be played again, with the original deck selected. I would like to think that is an objective way of settling the situation, but I freely admit that my objectivity in this case is extremely compromised. Honestly, I wanted Jay to be booted from the tourney and perhaps excluded from the store, but I'm not exactly this... "Gentleman's" biggest fan.

After speaking with Pano, I went out for a smoke. Then another. As I was smoking the second cigarette, the shakes started. I only get the shakes when I am having a massive surge of adrenaline, or directly afterwards. I debated with myself, did I want to publicly call Jay out on his asshole-ness, or did I want to take it to the next level, with yelling and maybe even physical violence. I realized I was taking this too seriously. I needed to get my head clear. I went back inside, to see if the round ended. I told Remi want happened, and still couldn't calm down. So, I quietly picked up my stuff, after telling Remi I was bailing, said goodbye to Pano and left the store. I knew that I wasn't going to calm down right away. I felt that I was wronged, perhaps incorrectly, but I didn't want to make a scene. It's a card game, for god's sake! I clearly wasn't thinking right, getting bent out of shape because one guy wanted to be a jerk. I wasn't having fun, so it was clearly time for me to leave.

Did I do the right thing in leaving? I know that I did. Did I handle the situation in the best way I could have? No, I didn't. I wasn't in the best mood, and should have bowed out when there was an odd number of players, before the tourney started. I could have converted my entrance fee to credit or just said 'fuck it' and left. I could have also said something went Jay switched decks. I should have. But, as there is no use crying over spilled bovine lactose, I'm going to get on with my life. I'm not going to sell my WoW cards (although I would be lying if I didn't think about that as I was leaving, or for that matter, just giving them to Pano. Okay, I also thought about throwing them in a trash can, but as I have said, I wasn't at my best). However, I doubt I'll be returning to play in a tourney before the end of the year. I have better ways to spend my money and use my time. Oh, and also, I heard that Jay and his 'crew' might have been booted from another store, but I can't confirm that. However, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if that was the case.

I've learned my lesson. Next time I'm having a bad day, I'm walking away. If someone pulls something that seems out of line to me, I'm going to call them on it. And, I will never ever play a game of any kind with Jay or the other people he hangs with. It's just not worth it.