Guy at a card shop told me my favorite deck was a 'waste of good cardboard'

I was at this small convention in Portland last spring, just showing off my new Monarch deck I'd been hyped about for weeks. This random dude walks up, picks it up, and goes 'you know these are just mass produced junk, right?' in this super smug voice. I just laughed and said 'okay, but they still handle better than that scratched up Bicycle deck in your back pocket.' He got all quiet and walked off. Has anyone else had a stranger trash talk their deck choice like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jana1mo ago

Read this article online a while back about how some collectors get SUPER protective over "limited edition" decks and look down on anything they can find at Target. The article called it "gatekeeping with a price tag" which felt right. Monarchs are solid, they handle well right out of the box, and honestly the artwork is clean. Bet that guy's whole personality is just shitting on things other people like so he feels better about his own collection.

wren_rodriguez1mo ago

Yeah I've had that happen a few times. Best thing you can do is just shrug and keep playing. Some people get weirdly gatekeepy about cards like they're the only ones who can appreciate them. If the deck works for you and you like it, that's all that matters.