Quote Originally Posted by dascarletm View Post
the guy in question, the DM/fighter. Hates the ToB with a unwavering passion. Bans it in all his games, and refuses to touch it.

As a player he loathes optimization. I see his point which is, "No matter what power level you are at the DM will make the challenge appropriate. The problem with high OP is that there is a chance the DM might accidentally make the encounter too powerful and squish you. If you do 1,000 damage out of 10,000 is it not the same as 100 out of a 1,000?"
Of course, the DM is limited in options when they have to keep the gloves on, which can often limit the adventures and campaigns you can have. Still, I find it Ironic that optimizers are to D&D players what D&D players are to the rest of the world

In the end though, as long as he doesn't get too difficult for you to have fun, its fine for him to put a limit on the optimization. Plus, you did play a T1, maybe a 3 would've been better.