Please don’t deceive newer players about the power level of your decks.

Last night I went to commander night at my LGS like I usually do. I’ve had some rough matches in the past but usually it feels like I can at least play my deck how it’s supposed to play, even if I end up losing. Last night, however, was something else.

I’m a returning player after a long hiatus and I’m slowly rebuilding my collection with precons and some homebrew thematic decks. The most powerful deck I have is an upgraded [[Pantlaza]] precon, but it’s far from optimized. Usually most people I play with bring out an upgraded precon of their own, or something that isn’t fully optimized so the match is as fair as can be.

An older couple invited me to play with them and when I asked about power level they said “Oh don’t worry, we mostly play janky decks that don’t really do a lot. We like helping newer players enjoy the game”. I played three games with them, and every match was just a stomp fest wear I felt like everything I played was getting immediately removed while they played solitaire on their turn with tutors and constant combos. We added a fourth player after the first match and he brought out a doomsday deck with thoracle and lab maniac. I should’ve left after the first match, but I wanted to keep trying to actually play my decks. I felt incredibly deceived but I struggle to walk away from situations like this since I have confrontational anxiety. I just felt gross after that night and it kinda made me have a lower opinion about some people in the community. Not to mention it feels like I wasted my night.

I could use some advice on how to handle these situations in the future.