Beheading Ned - Wolves of the North

Welcome back to Beheading Ned, the series which focuses on story-based play of A Game of Thrones: LCG. As always, spoilers may abound here, so you have no one to blame but yourself! And if you're worried about spoilers, put down your iPad Mini, Android phone, or Kindle Fire and go read the books already! Sheesh! (Alternatively, just download them right onto your device--you can remain screen-bound that way!)

As you may have gathered from my past articles, I'm not really a pure Ned in terms of playstyle, and I don't really know anyone else who is, either. I'm more of a Ned crossed with a Shagga, and perhaps the thing that hits my preferences right on the head is thematic decks based around trait synergy. One such trait that is sorely in need of some more love to be competitive is Direwolf. These creatures are emblematic of House Stark--fierce, loyal, strong, and deadly. Befitting this theme, most of the Direwolf cards in the game will be geared towards military success, but lack Intrigue icons altogether and be weak in Power challenges to boot. Since focus in one challenge to the neglect of the other two is a sure way to lose your games, I decided to try to look at some ways to mitigate the weakness of the wolves in intrigue and power challenges and push out a deck that could succeed to an extent in a joust environment. I'm not looking for regional-worthy secret tech, and don't really expect that I have done so here. But I don't want a bit steaming pile of poo, either, so I tried to adhere to the following principles:

1. Include only efficient Direwolf cards, not every single one ever printed.

This is a bit tough since most wolfy cards aren't efficient enough to make tournament decks, so it's more of a relative efficiency. What that meant in practice is that Shaggydog (Core) and Direwolf Pup (Core) make the cut, being low cost and great for setup, while Grey Wind (Core) (the character version) had to get chopped due to his exorbitant cost and single icon. I did sneak in one of the attachment version to snack on those pesky Orphans of the Greenblood and their ilk.

2. Use other unique characters to buff the Direwolves.

Many of the unique Direwolves have synergy with the Stark children. For example, Summer (LoW) gives Bran Stark immunity, and Sansa Stark (TftRK) lets you play Lady (Core) for cheap. That meant that the Stark family had to fit in the deck as well.

One of the most thematic cards out of the last pack was Bran Stark (VD). His ability grows and grows with more and more wolves in play, and his icon spread is just what we need to round out the deck. You should almost never build a tournament deck around a 2 STR, 2 cost character--they're just too vulnerable to removal. In this case, however, Bran is so central to the theme that I included him three times.

3. Be OK with fudging the thematics if by doing so you reinforce your central theme

What is that gobbedly-**** all about? Well, in a deck about wolves, you're going to want as much of that trait in play as possible. Stark is great for this, being able to utilize Old Nan (BoRF). There are other, more efficient options in the game, though--such as Copper Link. While Maesters have naught to do with Wolves thematically, a The Maester's Path (GotC) deck does give us some good options for supporting the central theme. I've already mentioned the Copper Link, but there's also Black Iron Link to throw some Intrigue icons around as well as Valyrian Steel to help our draw. Maester of Last Hearth is also great for pumping those creatures, so we might as well grab an agenda that gives us card advantage since the major support characters fit the wolf theme so well.

With those principles in mind, here is the link to the deck that I built:

Direwolf Trait

Clearly, the deck revolves heavily around wolves and Stark kids. I put Jon Snow (Core) and Ghost (Core) in there in their neutral versions since they are just much more useful for Power grab that way, and Jon Snow works pretty well with Maester Aemon (Core) as well. (By the way, does anyone else think we are due for a new Jon Snow? And Ygritte????)

Crown of Winter is x1, being a 2 gold attachment, but it gives Winter without the cost reduction, which the deck probably couldn't handle. Also, Winter just buffs the Maester of Last Hearth (HtS) (giving it saves) and Robb Stark, so it's more of a fun card than a key one. I'd feel free to swap that out for something.....maybe even another chain.

I've used Dissension for removal rather than No Quarter! since I love using Old Nan and Copper Link for marshalling phase shenanigans. Giving someone the Refugee trait is just plain fun--get a 2 for 1 from your removal not conditional on winning a challenge! I also used the The Red Wedding (PotS) despite its obvious anti-Nedliness in Stark since it's so good in a trait manipulation deck, particularly one with Lords and Ladies in it already. Guardian Wolf (TIoR) also is great with so many Lords, Ladies, and Trait manipulation running around. Surprise deadly is nice, and the Direwolf trait a bonus here.

I'm also trying out the House of Black and White Arya Stark (tHoBaW), both for extra removal alongside the deadly keyword on her Intrigue icon. Since that particular icon is weak in the deck, I felt this Arya beat out the Shadows one since you'll likely have other claim soak, be it a Pup or Maester Aemon.

Draw is a weakness, since you are relying on just a few cards. Luckily, one of them is right on your agenda and the other one can be searched for with At the Gates (Luwin). I highly considered Schemes of the Scholar as a plot to go with all the Learned crest guys, but that didn't go with the theme well enough. This deck wants to win Military challenges and go aggressive, so Rule by Decree made it in instead for some hand control. Setup is also a factor, since most of the cards are 3 cost with just a few being cheaper. I tried to make up for this in the location base, featuring TONS of 0 cost reducers. Gilbert Farwynd will ruin your day, so make sure your Dissension ruins his.

So, what do you think? Does this deck evoke the theme of the Starks running alongside their wolves to extract vengeance on their enemies? Or is it just a pile of inefficient cards that should never see the light of day? I'd love to hear in the comments below! As always, thanks for reading!