First Tilt - Opening Plots and Plot Combos

Welcome back to First Tilt! One of the nice and unique things about the Game of Thrones LCG is the role of plot cards. As with any card game, AGoT certainly has a large element of luck that comes into play, but the plot cards provide a mechanism for players to manage their luck and to ensure that they always have options for supporting their strategies or responding to opponents even if they get unlucky in their drawn cards. Because you are able to select your plot card each turn, you never feel like pure chance has taken the game out of your control: you (almost) always have a say in whether you want more income, a chance to win initiative, a boost in claim, or a cool plot effect. This provides for a smoother, more enjoyable play experience when your deck decides to act up and not cough up the cards you so desperately desire. Because you can select your plots, you should almost never have an opening where you are “mana screwed” and find yourself without resources to support your deck strategies. With plots, you have some say in how strong a start you have.

With that in mind, this week we close off our series on Plot cards with a discussion on opening plot strategies. Your opening plot is one wide open with possibilities, since you have access to all seven of your plots and your actions this early on will be compounded as the game goes on and their effects continue to be felt. Whether you are lucky or unlucky with your first few cards, your opening plot should be one that helps you get going. We’ll also do some brainstorming on possible plot combos to unleash on your opponent once you’ve played your first plot and are further on in the game.

Opening Plot
If you are playing a deck that is heavily reliant on a specific card or set of cards, the first plot card of the game will often be a set up card to help you get your deck strategy moving. Here are some examples:

A Time for Ravens (ACoS) – Draw the Raven you need to get your Summer or Winter strategies going.
At the Gates (GotC) – Gets you the Maester that you prefer to lead your Maesters deck (or helps you dupe one you drew to keep him protected from the get go).
City of Lies (CoS) – Jump into a great setup with a shadows deck.
Respect of the Old Gods (LoW) – Gets a Stark murder deck going fast (the cost reduction) and furious (the two claim).
Counting Favors (Core) – In Melee, gives you a card boost and helps you make a friend real fast.
Summoning Season (Core) – Bring in your heavy hitter from the get go. Or secure a second copy to dupe him if you already drew your main character.
Building Season (Core) – If your deck is dependent on a specific location, this will ensure you get it out.

Of course, not all decks need specific cards to get going, in which case your first card might be a high gold value card to fund a big deployment, or something broadly useful like Retaliation! (ASoSilence) to help you get off to a good start with gold and claim. Unless you are running a deck full of very low cost characters, you should try to have one or two high gold plots in case you don’t draw any income generators during your setup.

What if you draw a poor hand, and need extra time more than you need a specific setup? In that case, your opening plot card might be something like, Loyalty Money Can Buy (QoD) which should get you the time you need and prevent your opponent from steamrolling over you. You could also go with cards such as Shadows and Spiders (LotR) or Lineage and Legacy (KotStorm) but these cards might best be saved for later in the game, as they can be quite potent later on when you have the characters to truly take advantage of their opportunities for one-sided offense. Still, while it’s a shame to use plot cards that help you control the challenges phase so early on, it’s also a shame to lose on turn 2, so if you have to play them early, do so. Holding the Trident (Core) is another card that you can play early on if you feel outpaced, and it might be enough to swing the situation around for the turn and could even give you some opportunity for offense.

One card that you won’t usually have to agonize over whether you should have saved it, or whether you played it at the right time, is The First Snow of Winter (ODG). If your opponent flops a ton of characters on setup, and you don’t, this is a great way to bring some parity to the early game, and is a great first plot since it takes away the benefits of the free setup gold (moreso if you setup with a 3str character that stays in play, thereby not causing you to lose the benefits of playing at setup).

If you can get a good read on your opponent’s strategy from his House card/agenda/setup, you can try and open with something that takes advantage of this knowledge. Some examples:

-First Snow falls under this category, as seeing a big drop of low cost characters is all you need to know it’s time for it to snow.
-A nice, broadly useful response card is The Art of Seduction (LotR), which makes your opponent keep their setup plot for another turn, giving you the advantage of being able to know that they won’t be able to surprise you next round even as you still remain able to switch up your plot. At the Gates doesn’t seem that appealing when your opponent has to keep it for another round and they lose the search function since it only triggers “when revealed.”
-Search and Detain (HtS) can help you take away an important character for the turn, delaying the implementation of their strategy. It can also just target their most expensive character, slowing them down and making them pay twice.
-Retaliation! (ASoSilence) is a good one if you think they’re going to play Search and Detain on you!

Of course, they might be reading you as well, so be prepared!

Plot Combos
As you grow more comfortable with plot cards and the flow of the game, you may want to dabble with plot combinations that, when played in sequence, can have pronounced effects on the game state. Having plot combos in your deck also helps with deciding what to play, as it gives you some guidance in planning out the play order of your plot cards, since there will usually be a specific sequence of play that maximizes their impact. Here are some examples of the ways plots can build off each other for a bigger impact:

The First Snow of Winter (ODG)/Rule by Decree (Core)
Send all those characters back to their hand, then force them to discard some of them. If you get a couple of characters knocked out, this can be even more devastating than a two claim military challenge!

The Art of Seduction (LotR)/Forgotten Plans (KotStorm)
Not really a combo to gain advantage, so much as a combo in case things go wrong with Art of Seduction. If you happen to pin something that is an ongoing effect which greatly helps your opponent, Forgotten Plans will be there to get you out of that bind. And if you do use Art of Seduction successfully, Forgotten Plans can then play off that to nullify another plot card later on. If things go perfectly, you can end up with two nullifications against your opponent’s plots: one from making them keep a (hopefully) inert plot due to Art, and another nullification from being blanked by Forgotten. With plots being so crucial to deck strategies, effectively cancelling two plots of your opponent can really turn the game! And if things go great with Art of Seduction, then hopefully you also threw in an Outwit (TIoR) to block the almost assured Valar that will be coming your way.

Rains of Autumn (Core)/Fear of Winter (BtW)
This is a way to lock your opponent in when you are ready to go for the kill. Once you’ve secured board advantage, limit them to only plot resources one turn, keep pushing your advantage, then follow up with Fear to limit what they can put in play. With this card combination, you minimize the possibility of multiple surprises, and close by giving yourself two claim which gives you the ability to make the most of the advantage you have hopefully secured. You can also reverse the order to limit their plays to one card, and then follow up with a limit on their resources to prevent them from bouncing back.

City of Lies (CoS)/City of Spiders (TftRK)/City of Soldiers (TBoBB)
While the City Plots obviously combo off each other, this is a great sequence if you are running a Shadows heavy deck. Start with two free Shadows cards. Then repeat for two more free cards and two claim. Then finish up with a card that lets you kill a character and go on offense with all those Shadow cards, again at two claim!

What are your favorite plot combinations?