First Tilt - Expanding House Baratheon

Welcome back to another edition of First Tilt! This week we're finishing up our House Expansion series where we're building decks for a smallish card pool that includes 2X Cores, 1X House Expansion, and no more than 6 Chapter Packs. This week we're taking a trip to Storm's End to see how the we can expand House Baratheon.

While looking over the themes for House Baratheon, I found myself in a bit of a quandary. Baratheon is primarily known for the Rush theme - grabbing as much power as you can as quickly as possible through the use of multiple Renown characters. In the current meta, that seems much harder than it used to be. I will be honest, I don't play House Baratheon that often. Only two people in our meta play this House and one of them is in a crazy Alliance deck, so that's not quite the same thing. I've had to do some serious play testing with some various themes to try and figure out what I thought would be the best fit for a limited card pool and fun to play.

Of all the decks I played, I found the Asshai Holy theme to be the most fun, in general, to play. Beyond being fun to play, if the right cards came up, you can win easily in Turn 2. There are bad matchups of course and you can hit a bad draw and end up without the right cards in hand to move forward. I tried to even out the pieces as much as I can so that you can survive if you hit a bad draw against an Aggro deck that's focused on killing your characters.

So, let's cut to the chase and examine the cards we're going to be putting into the deck. I've broken them down below by Chapter Pack.

Return of the Others

• Melisandre (RotO) - while there are a number of versions of this character, I've played against this one enough to know that she's just bonkers good. Being able to claim extra power for unopposed INT and POW challenges and an extra power for Dominance should not be underestimated. We'll be doing some other shenanigans to try and guarantee some unopposed challenges as well. On top of that ability, she has Renown herself. So, in theory, when coupled with The Power of Faith (KotStorm) she can get you 10 Power in a single turn (one each MIL/INT/POW for Renown, two each for unopposed INT/POW, one for Power claim, and another two for Dominance) with only three of those on her card. I think this goes a long way to reducing the fragility of this type of Rush. You're not relying on the Power to rest on a few Renown characters.
• Val (RotO) - honestly, if we're getting this pack, it's stupid to not include Val and also grab The Laughing Storm (GotC). It's free card draw and TLS provides protection from Intrigue challenges. One thing to note, activating Val counts toward your draw cap, so you can, at most, activate her three times per Round (assuming you've not drawn any cards through other card effects). Plan carefully when you want to trigger Val. Remember that she has a specific restriction, if you can play the card, you must play the card. One suggestion might be to trigger her during the Draw phase itself as this is statistically the place where you would least likely be forced to play a card. This is really the only draw engine in this deck. Baratheon doesn't have much for in-house draw, so this is a common ploy to overcome it; however, this draw is fragile. We include 3X of both Val and The Laughing Storm, but it requires getting them both into play at the same time - some games that'll be easy, others, it will never happen. After all, it's only 6 total cards out of a 60 card deck - there's no guarantee you'll see them in a short game.

Of Snakes and Sand

• Shadow Enchantress (OSaS) - while this is the only card we're pulling from this pack, she is a key card in this deck. The ability to give a MIL icon to your Asshai characters outside of Power of Faith turns is a crucial element that will save you a lot of characters and win you more challenges. With this card, and a single card in shadows anywhere on the board (yes, even your opponent's Shadows cards), every Asshai in play gets a MIL icon and +1 STR. She's non-unique, so she doubles up if you have more than 1 out, AND, look at her text - she's +1 for each card in Shadows. If you have two of her in play and only 1 card in Shadows, your Asshai now get +2 STR, any additional cards in shadows will add an additional +1 per copy of Shadow Enchantress in play. Killer effect. Note - the risk is if your opponent happens to be playing any Asshai characters, theirs get buffed as well (since this card is missing the ever important words "you control.")

Rituals of R'hllor

• Fanatic (RoR) - this beauty of an attachment will give ANY eligible character the Asshai trait AND a Holy Crest. MONEY during Power of Faith turns or when Shadow Enchantress is doing her thing.
• Altar of Fire (RoR) - this is a no-brainer include. It's important to recognize the power of this card. If you have all three copies of the card in play and you win a SINGLE Intrigue challenge, you can kneel each copy to look at your opponent's hand and discard cards from it - this means with all three copies in play, you'll be discarding three cards from their hand of your choice. It's ridiculously powerful because not only can you eliminate the greatest threat in their hand, you get to see what else is in there and plan for it. If there is any doubt from your meta about the legality of this or someone brings up the "one response per trigger" rule. I looked it up - here's an explanation on the FFG Rules forum and ktom specifically references this card: http://www.livingcar...=605050&efpag=0
• Intolerant Priest (RoR) - again, a no-brainer include. He's fairly inexpensive and should have a MIL icon and a Holy Crest most turns (we're also using Bearer of the Light (KotStorm) from Kings of the Storm for setup and cost reduction, and they have the Asshai trait as well - so they fuel this card and are buffed by Shadow Enchantress).
• Lord of Light, Protect Us (RoR) - canceling a character ability will be invaluable in some games. One particular character can be very troublesome, and that's Meera Reed (TftH). She can blank Melisandre every single turn and slow you down. I would resist the urge to return her to hand unless your opponent still has gold to bring her back out later.

Some folks might wonder why I didn't include the Melisandre (RoR) from this pack because of her kill ability. Simply - she relies on there being a character on your opponent's board that has power on it making her utility too conditional. The Melisandre I've picked has a better fit in this deck to get you to the win condition more quickly.

Gates of the Citadel

• The Laughing Storm (GotC) - as mentioned above, if you have Val, we may as well grab this guy. Just too good to pass up.

Tales from the Red Keep

• The Black Cells (TftRK) - this is the card to help you lock down a problem character and, along with Smuggler's Cove (KotStorm), will all but guarantee you unopposed challenges. While the Shadows rules only allow a single card to come out of Shadows at the beginning of each phase, combining this card with Sister of Truth will get you a quick, and repeatable, way to lock down up to three characters. Since you really want to keep cards in Shadows to fuel Shadow Enchantress, we'll be looking to Sister of Truth (KotStorm) to help us here because once she comes out of shadows, her response allows you to put a card back into shadows... including herself. So, you can take Sister of Truth, bring her out of Shadows, trigger The Black Cells and then put Sister of Truth back into shadows. But wait, there's more... The Black Cells is a non-unique location, so bringing a single card out of shadows can trigger every copy of The Black Cells you have in play just like Altar of Fire (see that entry for the link to the explanation on the FFG forums). So, if you're fortunate enough to get all three of these into play, a single card can almost guarantee you some unopposed action to fuel Melisandre.
• Syrio Forel (TftRK) - just a great all around card and you'll find you'll be using him in a lot of your decks. He's almost Valar proof since he goes back into Shadows after winning a challenge he participated in.
• The Queen of Thorns (TftRK) - we're going to put 1X of her in here. There's just no reason not to. If you can get her into play and pull the Sister of Truth shenanigans, you may win in a single turn with Mel in play during Power of Faith. For a more detailed explanation of how crazy good she can be, check out Kennon's Queen of Shadows article: http://www.cardgamed...adows-article-2

Mountains of the Moon

• Black Amethysts (MotM) - this is one of the rare attachments that can be used on Setup. We have enough Asshai in here, that if you luck out and get it on setup, you should be able to use it. Beyond that... well, it gives Deadly to an Asshai. Get this thing on Melisandre as quickly as you can. Deadly almost always leads to unopposed Intrigue and Power challenges. Who wants to lose a character on those challenges? Answer: Nobody.

Rounding Out Your Deck

The Core Set will give us some of the Baratheon staples in reducers and the following events & characters:

• Distinct Mastery (Core) will allow us to stand a Holy Crested character (or it will allow you to stand The Laughing Storm (GotC)
• Seductive Promise (Core) - Nathan Bradley convinced me to put this card in here and I gotta say, it's a pretty powerful play. On quite a few turns you're going to either see a chump block for a Power challenge or it will be unopposed. Either way, the ability to take control of a non-unique is an amazing effect. I've used it to take control of a Stark player's Northern Cavalry Flank (SA)... and he was very sad.
• Old Red Priest (Core) is an inexpensive tricon with the Asshai trait, plus you have enough locations that have no penalty for kneeling that his downside is minimal
• Maester Cressen (Core) - there are 60 cards in the LCG with the Condition keyword - many of them brutal. His ability will save you from much heartache and danger.
• Maester Aemon (Core) - just about perfect claim soak
• Edric Storm (Core) - only including him 1X, but if you get him out, being able to grab that extra Power challenge can be a game closer
• Army of the Faithful (Core) - gives you an Army character that should, in most turns, come out very cheaply because it's reduced by the number of Asshai you control. Plus, it's always good to have an Army character in your deck just in case you come up against Muster the Realm! (QoD) (especially during a Power of Faith turn).

Kings of the Storm brings us a number of key cards:

• Bearer of the Light (KotStorm) - does dual duty as a reducer for the rest of your Asshai characters, plus it gets buffed by Shadow Enchantress since it also has the Asshai trait.
• Sister of Truth (KotStorm) - mentioned in the above write-up - this card is key to fueling The Black Cells
• Marya Seaworth (KotStorm) - 1X of her as well... just being able to stand a character is a great effect, period. Resist the temptation to use her for claim soak. This is a powerful effect.
• Salladhor Saan (KotStorm) - pure location hate. Combo this bad boy with Marya and you have yourself the ability to nuke two locations. An important caveat about this character. He is a very expensive Ally. With the amount of Ally hate in this game, you only want to play him if you really think you need him because he is the only Ally in the deck that is likely to stay in play (Sister of Truth and Syrio will both go back into Shadows most of the time). Since we have The Laughing Storm and a solid slate of Intrigue characters, keeping him in hand should be low risk. That said, you want to kneel him the minute you marshal him to get the first location nuked before they play anything else (since you would have first response to the action of marshaling him as you're the active player at that point).
• Smuggler's Cove (KotStorm) - this feeds into our desire to get unopposed challenges. Being able to add Stealth during a Power challenge can get you just that extra push for power. Once you have this location out, you'll want to consider making the Power challenge your first challenge since the acquired Stealth will last the entire phase. If you're in a Power of Faith turn or you use Marya to stand the character that's been given Stealth, they can use it on the next challenge you initiate.

Plot Strategy
Plots are the hardest things to choose when using a limited card pool. There are some specific plots that are key to the theme and others that are either defensive plots or just solid choices based upon the pool we're using.

• Lineage and Legacy (KotStorm) - this will be your most common opening plot. It's entire point is to try and slow down an Aggro deck from killing your characters right away while trying to build up your theme. Almost all of your characters have POW icons so you should be pretty set to defend and prevent a Power challenge.
• Forgotten Plans (KotStorm) - this is the other plot you might open with if you're facing a Knights of the Hollow Hill (MotM) deck and you're pretty sure they'll open with The First Snow of Winter (ODG). It's also a great strategic plot against Fear of Winter (BtW) (which is played first turn by some Aggro-based decks).
• The Power of Faith (KotStorm) - this plot is in their 2X and it's the cornerstone of this deck type. You want to play this when you have or can play enough Holy Crested characters to wreak absolute havoc on their board. It's important to try and get as close to the win condition as possible on the first turn of this because a common answer to a Power of Faith turn is for your opponent to drop Valar Morghulis (Core) on the following turn due to the devastation you wrought.
• Many Powers Long Asleep (RoR) - this is an auto-include to rescue a Holy character from your dead pile and put it back into play. Especially useful for Melisandre if she dies before she's duped. The next card you'd want to rescue is Shadow Enchantress.
• At the Gates (GotC) - use this to retrieve Cressen if you don't already have him. This was the most difficult choice, but if someone nukes Melisandre with Milk of the Poppy (Core), you're going to want to get him out to discard that attachment. What do you do if he's already out? Well, then grab Maester Aemon for claim soak or Maester Pylos (KotStorm)
• Valar Morghulis (Core) - because you need a reset

This is the full deck list. I'll list some other cards you might want to consider after the list:

Plot (7)
The Power of Faith (KotStorm) x2
Forgotten Plans (KotStorm) x1
Many Powers Long Asleep (RoR) x1
Lineage and Legacy (KotStorm) x1
Valar Morghulis (Core) x1
At the Gates (GotC) x1

Character (31)
Melisandre (RotO) x3
Bearer of the Light (KotStorm) x3
Intolerant Priest (RoR) x2
Old Red Priest (Core) x2
Maester Cressen (Core) x1
Val (RotO) x3
The Laughing Storm (GotC) x3
Sister of Truth (KotStorm) x2
Shadow Enchantress (OSaS) x3
Syrio Forel (TftRK) x1
Army of the Faithful (Core) x2
Maester Aemon (Core) x1
Marya Seaworth (KotStorm) x1
Edric Storm (Core) x1
Maester Pylos (KotStorm) x1
The Queen of Thorns (TftRK) x1
Salladhor Saan (KotStorm) x1

Location (16)
Smuggler's Cove (KotStorm) x2
Altar of Fire (RoR) x3
Aegon's Garden (Core) x2
King Robert's Chambers (Core) x1
Narrow Sea (Core) x3
Shadowblack Lane (Core) x1
Street of Sisters (Core) x1
The Black Cells (TftRK) x3

Attachment (6)
Black Amethysts (MotM) x3
Fanatic (RoR) x3

Event (7)
Distinct Mastery (Core) x3
Lord of Light, Protect Us (RoR) x2
Seductive Promise (Core) x2

Cards to Consider
Acolyte of the Flame (TWH) - from The Wildling Horde is a great, inexpensive Holy character that plays perfectly into the deck theme. She's +1 while standing, so she's even better during Power of Faith turns where she becomes a 3 STR tri-con. It doesn't get much better than that. She is an Ally, but if you have 3X of her... they're not going to be able to rid of them all.

Zealot of the Light (BtW) - this can continue milling cards from your opponents hand every Dominance phase (if you win Dominance). If you have multiple copies of him out, it's brutal because you can kneel each copy to mill another card from their hand.

Confession (KotS) - continuing the theme of milling their hand while you continue to keep yours with TLS in play, this, again, lets you look at their hand and discard a card of your choice from it.

Bound by the Light (DB) - allows you to put another Asshai of equal or lower printed cost into play if the one this is attached to is killed. Read that again - INTO PLAY.

Cleansing Light (FtC) - adds even more punch to the Shadows mechanic you're using in the deck. It's a zero cost attachment, and it may be overkill, but it's worth a look.

Ruby of R'hllor (KotStorm) - giving Vigilant to a character is already being handled by Fanatic if attached to a character that already has the Holy Crest, but, again, this is something to consider if you find you could use some add'l Vigilant.

Threat from the East (QoD) - this is a much hated card when played in a deck that utilizes The Laughing Storm (TLS), but I would be remiss if I didn't bring it up. The ruling has been made and discussed and discussed some more and much Sturm and Drang has happened over it... but here's the gist. If you have TLS standing when you play this plot, you choose the action that says "Each player discards 3 random cards from hand and then draws 3 cards." What happens when you do this? Because you have TLS in play (and standing) you do not discard cards, but your opponent does. The kicker is that because EVERY player wasn't able to discard 3 cards, nobody draws. Yep, that means you've just successfully milled three more cards from their hand with no impact on your hand. I know. Sick. I would pull At the Gates and use this instead.

I'm sure there are other cards that some of you think are absolutely vital and I'm just crazy for not including them - tell us about it in the comments! If you do play the deck, let us know how it worked for you!

Major shout out to Nathan Bradley for his assistance in tweaking this deck. His input was invaluable!