Beheading Ned - The Man who Started it All

Hello, and welcome back to Beheading Ned; the series dedicated to decks, cards, and everything else that appeals to the Nedly side of the LCG. I am proud to be the new writer of this amazing article! Following in the footsteps of other great authors like mnBroncos and OKTarg, I plan on staying on the Nedly path with this series while adding my own touch to it as well.

So let’s get right into it. As many of you already know, Beheading Ned follows a generally Nedly play and deck building style. For those who don’t know, a Nedly style is one that revolves around staying as close to George R. R. Martin’s novels as possible. A quick example that helps me remember how a Nedly player would build a deck is the following: when running house Baratheon, I would not put Robert Baratheon (Core) in the same deck as Stannis Baratheon (VM) because Robert was dead by the time Stannis began styling himself king.

Now let’s be honest. Most of us tend to avoid using a Nedly style of deck building because most of these decks, while very thematic, are not competitive. Normally, I build my decks to do one thing and that is win at all costs. No one likes to lose and it’s even worse when your deck can’t even hold its own. With that being said, I am going to use these articles to provide the community with decks and cards that are not only Nedly, but also competitive.

Before I dive into the deck, I would like to say a few things about myself. I live in Columbus, Ohio and I have been playing thrones for almost 3 years now. My friend showed me the game and I fell in love with it immediately. From there I started watching the show and I finally got around to reading all of the books. My meta is rather small, having an average of 4-6 people on any given day, and from that we all share cards. We started out each having our own house and mine was the infamous House Greyjoy. Although I’ve expanded from just one house, I will always be a kraken at heart! This was our first year going to tournaments and I did rather well in the two I participated in. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend Gen Con due to health complications, but I will definitely be attending Worlds! I have played a lot of card games, but I love this game and its community the most.

For this first deck, I wanted to use the man behind the article; none other than Ned Stark himself! With Ned in mind and the starting point of this deck, I went straight into the Nedly theme and took the Stark’s stoic motto, “winter is coming.” With that, the deck quickly started to form into a Stark winter build. From there I decided to fully embody Ned Stark’s personality into the deck. This build is all about maintaining a strong defense and coming back at your opponent with an even stronger offense. Eddard Stark is a cautious man, but he is deadly when he needs to be.

WARNING: Small spoilers ahead!

The Characters:

First off we have everyone’s favorite honorable lord, the namesake of this article, Ned Stark! But which to choose? We have three different options here but for the theme of this deck, I went with Eddard Stark (LoW). The reason here is due to his ability. To be able to reduce claim to 0 on either a military or power challenge can be devastating and it fits with the Nedliness of how Eddard was a very cautious person and never charged into a battle without thinking.

Along with Ned, we have to include his lady wife, Catelyn Stark. For this I chose to go with Catelyn Stark (LoW), again for the defensive part of the deck. We also can’t forget the Stark children, of which I included all except for Rickon because he is too young for the brutal nature of the game of thrones (also he really sucks in any build that isn't specifically dedicated to his ability). I also went with Robb Stark (Core) because his offensive claim raise ability is great and he was not a king until after Ned died.

For the restricted slot, I chose Meera Reed (TftH) due to her awesome ability and how it compliments the winter theme we have going. Ghost (TWH) is in here to help get Meera back in the shadows. I also decided to put in Theon Greyjoy (ACoS). This ward version screams Nedly and his ability can be used to kill an opposing Stark or Greyjoy character, or it can be used to kill your own Arya Stark (CoS) to once again put Meera back into the shadows.

The Locations:

There’s nothing too special here. Mostly I went with reducers but I threw in Storm Dancer (AToT) for some added draw and Frozen Outpost (LoW) for a greater defensive boost.


The Attachments:

Pretty typical Stark attachments. Frozen Solid (LoW) to hit those troublesome locations and because it’s winter and stuff gets frozen (duh). I threw in The Long Winter (ACoS) because this card is amazing when trying to win on the defense or offense, and we all know this winter is going to be a long one!

The Events:

The Stark words are a warning of what’s to come, and in this deck it’s a raised claim for any one challenge! Endless Endurance (LoW) to show the Stark’s unwavering determination and also help with both attacking and defending. Finally we have Nightmares (LoW) because nothing will haunt your dreams more than knowing a long and cold “Winter is Coming.”

The Deck:

Winter is Coming!

Total Cards: (60)

House:
House Stark

Agenda: (0)

Plot: (7)
1x Respect of the Old Gods (LoW)
1x A Time for Ravens (ACoS)
1x Loyalty Money Can Buy (QoD)
1x The Minstrel's Muse (RotO)
1x The Winds of Winter (TWoW)
1x Breaking and Entering (LotR)
1x Valar Morghulis (Core)

Character: (32)
1x Eddard Stark (LoW)
1x Catelyn Stark (LoW)
1x Robb Stark (Core)
1x Jon Snow (Core)
1x Sansa Stark (TftRK)
1x Arya Stark (CoS)
1x Bran Stark (VD)
1x Theon Greyjoy (ACoS)
1x Ghost (TWH)
1x Hodor (Core)
1x Maester Luwin (FtC)
3x Meera Reed (TftH)
1x Ser Rodrik Cassel (Core)
1x Shaggydog (Core)
1x Old Nan (BoRF)
1x Ser Kyle Condon (APS)
1x The Blackfish (LoW)
1x Samwell Tarly (TRS)
3x Ranger of Winter (TWoW)
3x Hungry Mob (CoS)
3x Carrion Bird (TWoW)
3x Riverrun Messenger (LoW)

Attachment: (5)
2x Frozen Solid (LoW)
2x White Raven (TWoW)
1x The Long Winter (ACoS)

Event: (7)
3x Winter is Coming (Core)
2x Endless Endurance (LoW)
2x Nightmares (LoW)

Location: (16)
1x Lord Eddard's Chambers (Core)
3x Narrow Sea (LoW)
1x Storm Dancer (AToT)
3x Great Keep (LoW)
1x Street of Silk (LotR)
1x Street of Steel (Core)
1x Street of Sisters (Core)
1x River Row (QoD)
1x Flea Bottom (TGM)
3x Frozen Outpost (LoW)


That’s the deck. The plots are well rounded on being defensive with Loyalty Money Can Buy (QoD) and offensive with The Winds of Winter (TWoW). The point of the deck is basically to withstand your opponent’s attacks and then come back at them with heavy 2 claim challenges. There is currently no agenda for this deck, but I would put in the new seasons agenda (A Song of Ice) when it comes out.

I hope you liked this article of Beheading Ned! Please stay tuned for more riveting decks like Joffrey Baratheon and the new shadow Kingsguard. I would love to hear your thoughts on the deck with any suggestions you might have. Do you like Meera as the restricted or should I choose a more aggressive card like No Quarter (TBC) or Fear of Winter (BtW)? Feel free to comment or ask any questions! Thanks for reading. I hoped you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it! Until next time, remember, Winter is Coming.