Crimson and Gold - Forging the Lion's Tooth

Hello all! Welcome to the maiden voyage of my column, Crimson and Gold. This series will be targeted mostly toward my Lannister brethren, but if you have any feedback or questions please post them!

I’d like to start off with some background about my history in the game. I have been playing A Game of Thrones since the CCG days. Sea of Storms was just hitting the shelves when I picked up the game, putting my introduction to A Game of Thrones CCG near the end of 2002. I actually went to our friendly local game store, Great Escape Games (GEG), looking for a Stark deck, as I had just started reading the books and wanted to give the game a try. Thankfully, they were out of Stark decks (Ha! That would have been the day!), and my next choice was Lannister. The rest, as they say, is history.

My friends and I played the game every day with our horrible decks and mismatched sleeves. Once GEG began running tournaments, the Sactown Mafia, our meta that still exists today, was formed. We all went on hiatus for a few years, but now several of us are back in the game. While our numbers have dwindled from 20 to only around 6 or 7 regular players, we still have a good time.

As for my experience, I’ve won local tournaments, and placed in the top 8 in more Regionals than I can count, but I’ve never won a large tourney (I suppose that makes me the Charles Barkley of Game of Thrones.) Almost a year ago, I got back into the game, and our meta has been revived. I look forward to chatting with you here on CardGameDB, or perhaps sitting across from you at a Regional this season!

This first article is for you would-be Lion cubs. If you are considering playing Lannister, I'm going to help you make it work. Stop playing Stark Knights! This game is expensive to get started, so I want to make it as easy as possible for you to jump in.

First, you must accept a hard truth when starting out: you're gonna need 3 core sets. Yes, it is unfortunate. Sorry. There are too many key cards that come in this box for you to limit yourself to 1 copy of any of them. As much as you love your FLGS, I would just catch Amazon when the boxes are 40% off, it happens from time to time. When the time comes to get your chapter packs, that's when I would hit up your store. The core sets aren't worth 30 bucks, or whatever the retail price is.

Play around with the core set for a bit, and once you understand the mechanics get the Lions of the Rock expansion and the Time of Trials chapter pack. With these at your disposal, you can start to make a serviceable, competitive deck.

Also, keep in mind, we're just forging the Lion's Tooth here. Little girls will beat you up and throw it in the river multiple times. However, dry your tears young Joffrey, there will be plenty of time for mayhem in the coming months as you increase your card pool.

This is an experiment in making a decent deck with as few available cards as possible. I would say that it is nearly impossible to make a strong deck without using many of the key cards from the two sets I mentioned above. Location control is also very important, and Condemned by the Council from Time of Trials is the best bang for your buck.

The good part about this deck is that it is flexible, and can deal with many threats you will see in the competitive environment. We have gold to deal with winter, Bastard to deal with maesters, Fleeing to the Wall to deal with control, and some other aspects that I will delve into as we continue.

Anyway, here's the deck. I believe that your middle-of-the-road competitive deck will contain these aspects (I thought it would be cool to try and color code which aspects the cards in the deck correspond to so you can understand my thought process a little better. If you find it annoying, let me know and I will stop doing it )

Card draw and income- To keep from getting locked down.
Location control- To deal with problem locations and hurt your opponents’ resources
Attachment control- To deal with problem attachments
Comeback potential- Not instantly losing the game once board control is lost
Cleanup- Once board control is gained, be able to take advantage of it


Total Cards (60)

House (1)
House Lannister (Core) x1

Agenda (0)

Plot (7)
â–ºBlockade (Core) x1
â–ºBreaking and Entering (LotR) x1
â–ºFleeing to the Wall (Core) x1
â–ºGame of Thrones (LotR) x1
â–ºRule by Decree (Core) x1
â–ºValar Morghulis (Core) x1
â–ºAll the Gold in Casterly Rock (LotR) x1

Character (30)
â–ºLannisport Weaponsmith (Core) x3
â–ºBronn's Hireling (LotR) x2
â–ºDoubting Septa (LotR) x3
â–ºLannisport Steward (Core) x2
â–ºBrothel Guard (LotR) x3
â–ºSer Kevan Lannister (LotR) x1
â–ºMyrcella Lannister (LotR) x1
â–ºEnemy Informer (Core) x3
â–ºSer Amory's Poachers (LotR) x3
â–ºBronn (Core) x1
â–ºChella, Daughter of Cheyk (Core) x1
â–ºCersei Lannister (LotR) x1
â–ºGold Cloaks (AToT) x3
â–ºSer Ilyn Payne (Core) x1
â–ºSer Jaime Lannister (LotR) x1
â–ºTywin Lannister (LotR) x1

Location (15)
â–ºGolden Tooth Mines (Core) x3
â–ºThe Goldroad (LotR) x3
â–ºQueen Cersei's Chambers (Core) x1
â–ºStreet of Silk (LotR) x1
â–ºShadowblack Lane (Core) x1
â–ºStreet of Steel (Core) x1
â–ºSunset Sea (LotR) x3
â–ºLannisport Brothel (Core) x1
â–ºThe Iron Throne (LotR) x1

Attachment (4)
â–ºBastard (LotR) x3
â–ºWidow's Wail (LotR) x1

Event (11)
â–ºCondemned by the Council (AToT) x3
â–ºDistraction (Core) x2
â–ºInsidious Ways (Core) x3
â–ºYou've Killed the Wrong Dwarf! (Core) x3


Notes:

I notice in my deck building that I tend to put in a 1 or 0 cost setup card for each 8-9 cards of that cost in the deck. I feel that any less is a risk, and any more will dilute the deck too much.

We're shooting for the 2-2-1-0 setup. This gives you some starting strength, but makes you less of a target for Search and Detain in the opening turn. This deck has a good amount of kneel to temporarily deal with threats, but the key is knowing when to go on the offensive. Learn to look for situations in which your opponent is having trouble rebuilding, or is wasting rounds fishing for a combo.


Here are some notes regarding specific card choices that may not be obvious.

Rule by Decree: You do not want Martell or Lannister getting a handful of cards against you- it gives them far too many options. This plot can also be used with You've Killed the Wrong Dwarf as a pre-plot action to hit your opponent's hand early.

Valar Morghulis: The reset of choice, nice when your opponent overcommits, has few gold/reducers, or few cards in their hand. Many people have won games based on this card alone.

Fleeing to the Wall: To reset the field vs. control of any kind. It can also be a good tool to ditch your own locations that have been tainted with Burned and Pillage.

Game of Thrones: This card is our closer. With this and any characters that have renown and at least 2 icons (one intrigue) this is a great way to get an easy 4+ power.

Blockade: This card requires finesse, but chances are, with our gold we'll be able to shrug this off most of the time. This could be nice post-Valar if they're having trouble rebuilding.

Lannisport Weaponsmith: Added for extra gold out of the gate, to build our board a little faster or defend against Ice Fishermen. The military version was chosen for chump blocking military challenges and being used as claim if necessary.

Myrcella: For extra power on the Game of Thrones turn, or a second 2 claim challenge on the Breaking and Entering turn.

Enemy Informer: Our surgical removal tool. With this guy, you won’t be punished for going second, and you have a nice chump block for military after he goes off.

Amory's Poachers: You want these guys on the Game of Thrones turn to help close.

Bronn: Solid deadly military/power, immune to Varys, also powers Gold Cloaks, and is useful as a save every now and then.

Chella: Useful for free locations especially: pull Burned and Pillaged off yours, and Caches off theirs. Also get in the habit of returning their street of silk, they will love you for it.

Ilyn Payne: Not quite as good as he used to be, but he can have surprising utility. All those 1 and 2 STR guys with annoying effects? Introduce them to the King's Justice.

Widow's Wail: Not a bad little card. I like it in the first turn, when you can use infamy to avoid giving them your unopposed power off their power challenge. As you get better draw cards, you will phase it out, but it's good in the meantime.

Bastard: Ruins maesters oh so beautifully! Even if you don't get a chance to discard a stack of attachments, it is nice in the late game to make their power icons disappear.


So there you go. Hopefully this will give you some insight as you begin to make your first Lannister deck on your own. When you're tired of this theme, here are some suggestions for your next purchase.

War of the Five Kings: For Pyromancer's Cache. This is the best card draw in the game, and coupled with Tommen is an easy way to hit your draw cap every turn. It would be smart to run this anytime you can fit it, and you don't need to run another restricted card as it is re-usable and pretty cheap.

Scattered Armies: For Tommen. Honestly, Tommen is probably the only auto-include for Lannister. There is no drawback to a 1 cost character with challenge potential that can net you a card every turn.

Refugees of War: For Mountain Refugee. Mountain Refugee is your perfect chump block card, and a staple for Clansman decks. People debate back and forth on whether he is an auto-include or not; I don't think he is necessarily, but he is useful in a ton of decks.

Battle of Ruby Ford: For Castellan of the Rock. If you decide to go the ultra-kneel route, this guy is your man. I HATE facing this card, as it is always useful. Keep in mind that he is a restricted card, and you would not be able to run Pyromancer's Cache were you to play him.

The entire King's Landing Cycle: Lannister has a very strong set of cards this cycle, and they are annoyingly interspersed through each pack. Pyromancer's Apprentice is a nice alternative for Condemned by the Council in some builds.

A Song of Silence: For Retaliation! and The Mad Huntsman. Retaliation! is an excellent 2 claim plot for Lannister. Since it pretty much guarantees you going second, you can guarantee a turn where some of your reactive control such as Enemy Informer and Arys Oakheart will be useful. The Mad Huntsman is also the MAN for Power Behind the Throne.

Of course there are more, but that will get you started.

Anyone have a poor man's Lannister build of your own? Remember, only cards from the Core Set, Lions of the Rock, and maybe 1 chapter pack are valid. This deck is for newer players with a limited card pool.