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The Right Tool for the Job
Posted by
darknoj
,
24 May 2012
·
1,286 views
Darknoj Game of Thrones LCG blog deck write up Dirty Girl
There are many deck types in A Game of Thrones (AGoT) the living card game – agro, tempo, control and toolbox to name but a few. Over time, I plan on blogging about the different deck types, including deck lists that I believe are Tier 2 or better.
In my previous posts, I walked through some of the aspects of an agro deck (see The Naked Deck episodes I through III).
The deck I will be showcasing in this post is the “Dirty Girl” who is best described as a toolbox deck. A toolbox deck runs a variety of cards and combinations (“tools”) that can respond to or create a number of different situations, and most importantly, provides a mechanic to draw these combinations from the deck.
A toolbox deck can never really respond to every situation, but should focus on having a tool for the more prominent deck strategies, threats and situations in the current meta. This means that when building a toolbox you have to prognosticate the strongest decks in the meta, and build a viable tool for the job.
“Dirty Girl” was built many months ago and so sadly she does not have tools for some of the most popular decks today, however she is still competitive against many decks.
Let’s take a look at some of the tools in her Dirty box:
Frozen Solid: Ghasten Grey (GG) is a staple of most Martell builds but can easily be countered by Frozen Solid. In addition with maester chains (Pale Steel Link and Bronze Link) it is easy for the “Dirty Girl” to bring Frozen Solid back into play if the Martell player was able to remove it. Frozen Solid can also deal with nasty chains that the tin link could not deal with or other key lands like The Scourge or Bear Island.
Direwolf Attachments: Stark direwolfs provide excellent tools against many forms of rush and agro decks. With Shaggy Dog, Killer of the Wounded and some form of trait manipulation such as Copper Link or Old Nan you can effectively reduce all attacking characters strengths to zero. Nymeria provides a repeatable save for key characters or can provide double duty and help trigger Shaggy Dog if you’re not worried about military challenges or direct kill. Finally Grey Wind provides excellent spot character control for weenies by itself and allows for targeted repeatable kill once combined with a maester wearing Lead Link.
Meera Reed: An excellent tool against maester decks. She provides well rounded spot control through the blanking of key lands or characters for a round. With the introduction of winter she quickly becomes even more formidable – blanking two cards at a time (maester and apprentice collar anyone?).
Saves: “Dirty Girl” sports more saves then most people recongnize at first; not only does she have repeatable claim fodder in Ser Kyle Condon and Maester Aemon, but she also has Nymeria as mentioned earlier for protection of key characters. Finally the Maester of Last Hearth can save creature characters when its winter and this means with some trait manipulation and some forethought you can create many save options.
Winning Challenges: “Dirty Girl” has lots of ways of ambushing opponents with challenge wins. Both Catelyn Stark and To Be a Wolf can allow for surprise defenders to participate in a challenge. Using To Be a Wolf to search out Cat after standing a character can be a great surprise versus many opponents. In addition, with a bit of trait manipulation almost any characters can benefit from Maester of Last Hearth’s +1 strength to creatures or Robb Stark’s bonus once you have named a trait. You can also use Pale Steel Link to drop unexpected one or zero cost characters into play during the challenges phase.
With our toolbox full, how do we find the right tool when we need it?
Plots: At The Gates brings out key masters: to help draw with Maester Luwin, help protect characters with Vyman, provide claim soak with Aemon or provide a small boost and a potential additional save with Maester of Last Hearth.
A Time for Ravens lets us find characters to increase our board presence, draw from Sam or the ability to make it winter.
Spending the Winter Stores plays double duty to help us get Frozen Solids or any of the direwolf attachments.
Events: Wolf Dreams draws out direwolfs while To Be a Wolf lets us find pretty much anything or something that will let us search for what we need.
It is important to remember that at anytime, any of these searches can return Riders of the Red Fork to help us beef up our board and that Rickon Stark can duplicate any search effect giving us card advantage through searching. Rickon pairs well with other draw mechanics in the deck such as Samwell Tarly, Guard at Riverrun, The Blackfish and Valyrian Steel Link, to let us keep up with most other decks in the number of cards seen.
A toolbox deck like “Dirty Girl” is generally speaking more complicated to play when compared to other deck types – so how do you win with a “Dirty Girl”?
Firstly, you need to know your opponent’s deck and what threats will be presented. You must read your opponent’s opening plays and then start drawing out the correct tools. The key to winning is not to simply counter threats as they are put into play, but to anticipate the threats to come in future rounds, and to have your tools in hand before they are put into play.
Secondly, always have a fallback. However, if you get caught without a response to a given threat, the best defence is sometimes a good offense, so try tossing a general-purpose threat of your own at your opponent and buy yourself a little time. Remember that although the deck is filled with finesse, sometimes brute force IS the best course of action! For example, the plot Shadows and Spiders, is extremely good at helping you get the time you need to find your tools, and it can be particularly useful against builds you believe are running Fear of Winter as an opener.
If you find yourself in a stalemate situation remember that you can go for a timed win even with chains still on your agenda.
In all situations, but most importantly in stalemate situations, try to force your opponent to make as many decisions as fast as possible (call time if you have to). “Dirty Girl” has a lot of tools that can require a lot of math and therefore presents many opportunities for your opponent (and you!) to make mistakes. Since you are a better player then your opponent
and are more familiar with the deck, they should make a mistake before you do. Every choice they make has the potential to be wrong and therefore help you win. Make them make a lot of choices and present them with the opportunity to fail.
(This article had been spiced with 100% pure Loshad – Because it just isn’t the same without Loshad!)
---
Dirty Girl Exposed
You can see the Dirty Girl (with all the links working) at: http://www.cardgamed...adian-regional/
House (1)
House Stark (Core) x1
Agenda (1)
The Maester's Path (GotC) x1
Character (34)
Bolton Refugee (RoW) x3
Maester Luwin (FtC) x1
Meera Reed (TftH) x2
Old Nan (BoRF) x1
Catelyn Stark (LoW) x1
Maester of Last Hearth (HtS) x3
Oldtown Raven (TIoR) x2
Carrion Bird (TWoW) x2
Direwolf Pup (Core) x3
Rickon Stark (MotA) x2
Riders of the Red Fork (FtC) x2
Samwell Tarly (TRS) x1
Maester Vyman (TWoW) x1
Lady (Core) x1
Guard at Riverrun (LoW) x1
Maester Aemon (Core) x1
Robb Stark (LoW) x1
The Blackfish (LoW) x1
Sansa Stark (TftRK) x1
Ser Jorah Mormont (PotS) x1
Ser Kyle Condon (APS) x1
Killer of the Wounded (QoD) x2
Location (8)
Great Keep (Core) x3
Kingdom of Shadows (KotS) x2
Narrow Sea (KotStorm) x2
Lord Eddard's Chambers (Core) x1
Event (5)
To Be a Wolf (SB) x2
Wolf Dreams (LoW) x3
Attachment (13)
Grey Wind (LoW) x1
Nymeria (Core) x1
Shaggydog (LoW) x1
Apprentice Collar (GotC) x1
Copper Link (GotC) x1
Lead Link (CbtC) x1
Bronze Link (FtC) x1
Tin Link (CbtC) x1
Pale Steel Link (FtC) x1
Valyrian Steel Link (HtS) x1
Frozen Solid (LoW) x2
White Raven (TWoW) x1
Plot (7)
At the Gates (GotC) x1
Fury of the Wolf (AE) x1
Outwit (TIoR) x1
A Time for Ravens (ACoS) x1
The Minstrel's Muse (RotO) x1
Spending the Winter Stores (QoD) x1
Shadows and Spiders (LotR) x1
In my previous posts, I walked through some of the aspects of an agro deck (see The Naked Deck episodes I through III).
The deck I will be showcasing in this post is the “Dirty Girl” who is best described as a toolbox deck. A toolbox deck runs a variety of cards and combinations (“tools”) that can respond to or create a number of different situations, and most importantly, provides a mechanic to draw these combinations from the deck.
A toolbox deck can never really respond to every situation, but should focus on having a tool for the more prominent deck strategies, threats and situations in the current meta. This means that when building a toolbox you have to prognosticate the strongest decks in the meta, and build a viable tool for the job.
“Dirty Girl” was built many months ago and so sadly she does not have tools for some of the most popular decks today, however she is still competitive against many decks.
Let’s take a look at some of the tools in her Dirty box:
Frozen Solid: Ghasten Grey (GG) is a staple of most Martell builds but can easily be countered by Frozen Solid. In addition with maester chains (Pale Steel Link and Bronze Link) it is easy for the “Dirty Girl” to bring Frozen Solid back into play if the Martell player was able to remove it. Frozen Solid can also deal with nasty chains that the tin link could not deal with or other key lands like The Scourge or Bear Island.
Direwolf Attachments: Stark direwolfs provide excellent tools against many forms of rush and agro decks. With Shaggy Dog, Killer of the Wounded and some form of trait manipulation such as Copper Link or Old Nan you can effectively reduce all attacking characters strengths to zero. Nymeria provides a repeatable save for key characters or can provide double duty and help trigger Shaggy Dog if you’re not worried about military challenges or direct kill. Finally Grey Wind provides excellent spot character control for weenies by itself and allows for targeted repeatable kill once combined with a maester wearing Lead Link.
Meera Reed: An excellent tool against maester decks. She provides well rounded spot control through the blanking of key lands or characters for a round. With the introduction of winter she quickly becomes even more formidable – blanking two cards at a time (maester and apprentice collar anyone?).
Saves: “Dirty Girl” sports more saves then most people recongnize at first; not only does she have repeatable claim fodder in Ser Kyle Condon and Maester Aemon, but she also has Nymeria as mentioned earlier for protection of key characters. Finally the Maester of Last Hearth can save creature characters when its winter and this means with some trait manipulation and some forethought you can create many save options.
Winning Challenges: “Dirty Girl” has lots of ways of ambushing opponents with challenge wins. Both Catelyn Stark and To Be a Wolf can allow for surprise defenders to participate in a challenge. Using To Be a Wolf to search out Cat after standing a character can be a great surprise versus many opponents. In addition, with a bit of trait manipulation almost any characters can benefit from Maester of Last Hearth’s +1 strength to creatures or Robb Stark’s bonus once you have named a trait. You can also use Pale Steel Link to drop unexpected one or zero cost characters into play during the challenges phase.
With our toolbox full, how do we find the right tool when we need it?
Plots: At The Gates brings out key masters: to help draw with Maester Luwin, help protect characters with Vyman, provide claim soak with Aemon or provide a small boost and a potential additional save with Maester of Last Hearth.
A Time for Ravens lets us find characters to increase our board presence, draw from Sam or the ability to make it winter.
Spending the Winter Stores plays double duty to help us get Frozen Solids or any of the direwolf attachments.
Events: Wolf Dreams draws out direwolfs while To Be a Wolf lets us find pretty much anything or something that will let us search for what we need.
It is important to remember that at anytime, any of these searches can return Riders of the Red Fork to help us beef up our board and that Rickon Stark can duplicate any search effect giving us card advantage through searching. Rickon pairs well with other draw mechanics in the deck such as Samwell Tarly, Guard at Riverrun, The Blackfish and Valyrian Steel Link, to let us keep up with most other decks in the number of cards seen.
A toolbox deck like “Dirty Girl” is generally speaking more complicated to play when compared to other deck types – so how do you win with a “Dirty Girl”?
Firstly, you need to know your opponent’s deck and what threats will be presented. You must read your opponent’s opening plays and then start drawing out the correct tools. The key to winning is not to simply counter threats as they are put into play, but to anticipate the threats to come in future rounds, and to have your tools in hand before they are put into play.
Secondly, always have a fallback. However, if you get caught without a response to a given threat, the best defence is sometimes a good offense, so try tossing a general-purpose threat of your own at your opponent and buy yourself a little time. Remember that although the deck is filled with finesse, sometimes brute force IS the best course of action! For example, the plot Shadows and Spiders, is extremely good at helping you get the time you need to find your tools, and it can be particularly useful against builds you believe are running Fear of Winter as an opener.
If you find yourself in a stalemate situation remember that you can go for a timed win even with chains still on your agenda.
In all situations, but most importantly in stalemate situations, try to force your opponent to make as many decisions as fast as possible (call time if you have to). “Dirty Girl” has a lot of tools that can require a lot of math and therefore presents many opportunities for your opponent (and you!) to make mistakes. Since you are a better player then your opponent
and are more familiar with the deck, they should make a mistake before you do. Every choice they make has the potential to be wrong and therefore help you win. Make them make a lot of choices and present them with the opportunity to fail.(This article had been spiced with 100% pure Loshad – Because it just isn’t the same without Loshad!)
---
Dirty Girl Exposed
You can see the Dirty Girl (with all the links working) at: http://www.cardgamed...adian-regional/
House (1)
House Stark (Core) x1
Agenda (1)
The Maester's Path (GotC) x1
Character (34)
Bolton Refugee (RoW) x3
Maester Luwin (FtC) x1
Meera Reed (TftH) x2
Old Nan (BoRF) x1
Catelyn Stark (LoW) x1
Maester of Last Hearth (HtS) x3
Oldtown Raven (TIoR) x2
Carrion Bird (TWoW) x2
Direwolf Pup (Core) x3
Rickon Stark (MotA) x2
Riders of the Red Fork (FtC) x2
Samwell Tarly (TRS) x1
Maester Vyman (TWoW) x1
Lady (Core) x1
Guard at Riverrun (LoW) x1
Maester Aemon (Core) x1
Robb Stark (LoW) x1
The Blackfish (LoW) x1
Sansa Stark (TftRK) x1
Ser Jorah Mormont (PotS) x1
Ser Kyle Condon (APS) x1
Killer of the Wounded (QoD) x2
Location (8)
Great Keep (Core) x3
Kingdom of Shadows (KotS) x2
Narrow Sea (KotStorm) x2
Lord Eddard's Chambers (Core) x1
Event (5)
To Be a Wolf (SB) x2
Wolf Dreams (LoW) x3
Attachment (13)
Grey Wind (LoW) x1
Nymeria (Core) x1
Shaggydog (LoW) x1
Apprentice Collar (GotC) x1
Copper Link (GotC) x1
Lead Link (CbtC) x1
Bronze Link (FtC) x1
Tin Link (CbtC) x1
Pale Steel Link (FtC) x1
Valyrian Steel Link (HtS) x1
Frozen Solid (LoW) x2
White Raven (TWoW) x1
Plot (7)
At the Gates (GotC) x1
Fury of the Wolf (AE) x1
Outwit (TIoR) x1
A Time for Ravens (ACoS) x1
The Minstrel's Muse (RotO) x1
Spending the Winter Stores (QoD) x1
Shadows and Spiders (LotR) x1
Another is the more genuine maesters deck with Bran, conclaves, plots and events to rotate plots fast and be very aggressive on intrigue.