The Grand Melee - Deckbuilding for Melee

Hello! And welcome back to this third bout of the Grand Melee! Today, after looking at table talk last week, I will have a more detailed look at deckbuilding for Melee. I hope by now I have convinced you that Melee plays differently than Joust and thus you will need to build your deck accordingly. This article will be broken down by card type and my thoughts about what to think about consider when considering them for a Melee deck.

But first, let’s be a bit general. I’m sure you are all aware of the 30/15/15 rule of deckbuilding. (If you are not, you should file a complaint to Benstark). This rule still holds true in Melee, however there are differences within those categories, as I will explain later. The main difference for me between Joust and Melee is that in Melee you can afford to have key cards much more than in Joust. The reasons for this are: The deal plots which allow you to search for a specific card (Building Season (Core)), the game lasts less rounds leaving less time for opponents to handle your threats, and finally the Titles help smoothen the resource curve of your deck helping you pay for your cards and effects. This doesn’t make it any easier o chose what to include in your melee deck, but it is worth considering when thinking about your overall strategy. Thinking about running many uniques? Why not run
Widow's Watch (GotC)? Want to run a Dragon deck? In Melee you will always have
Daenerys Targaryen (QoD) at hand...

Another point to consider when looking at cards for Melee is vocabulary. “Opponent” is very different than “player”, look at
Melisandre (Core) and Daario Naharis (Core), the distinction between opponent and player is fundamental for them. But more importantly “any” is better than “participating”. Which is better?
Longship "Foamdrinker" (TWot5K) or Khal Drogo (WotN)? In a Melee the Khal can kill any character at the table, not only those of the player you just attacked. Finally, I am sure you are all aware of the new trend of Melee specific cards in the current cycle (Varys). These cards will obviously have to be considered when building for melee. Let’s now look at card categories a bit more in detail.

Plots :
In many ways, this where the biggest changes will happen. As I mentioned in my first two articles, dealing plots are necessary in Melee. You will need to have at least two, to have something to broker with other players so as to not be left behind. Their choice depends mainly on the key cards you have, if any or your lack of draw (Counting Favors (Core)). The rest of the plot selection depends on what deck you are building, but two things are worth bearing in mind. Initiative is much more important in Melee, for Title selection or to go first in the closing turn etc... Power grab plots are also very important as power grab rules this format. The European Championship Melee final was won with
Winter Festival (WotN), think about it. One particular plot to mention is Valar Morghulis (Core). While it can rescue a game and bring you the win, it can also make you the worst enemy of three players. I would consider the risk and rewards of such a choice closely before selecting it for a Melee deck.

Characters:
Of course character selection will depend mainly on what you want your deck to two but there are a few things worth considering. You probably won’t need as much claim soak as in Joust as hopefully military challenges should be more spread across players. You should alter your icon spread as to make it as even as possible. It would be a shame to lose a free power token just because you cannot do an intrigue challenge when the opportunity presents itself (and playing Stark or Greyjoy is no excuse!). There will be many challenges to defend against and opportunities to attack in a Melee games and you have to make the most of them. For those reasons characters that can win challenges on their own (Wex Pyke (KotS), Bronn's Hireling (LotR)) or participate in multiple challenges (Ser Balon Swann (TWH), Asha Greyjoy (WLL)) are even more valuable in melee.

Location:
Not much change here except that you can afford slightly less resources as the Titles provide some.

Attachments:
This is a tricky category. Like in Joust you don’t want too many as they will hinder your setup. However they tend to be more useful in a Melee game. More potential targets for Bastard (LotR) means more dealing possibilities. Dealing plots means that combos including attachments are relatively easy to setup (Spending the Winter Stores (QoD)). I would consider something around 4 attachments to be a good number.

Events:
This will propablly not earn me many friends but you should run at least 4 power grab events like
Make an Example (PotS) or Superior Claim (KotStorm). Why? First because your opponents will do and you have to keep up. Melee is all about setting up a delyed rush strategy that can grab 6-8 power (at least) in one challenge phase. Specifically what power grab events you run will depend on the deck (Wedding Feast (MotM) in a dothraki deck for instance), but believe me, you will need some. Notice anything about those events? None of them have an influence cost, hence Paper Shield (QoD) is you friend. I know that's already 6 events slots filled, but remember that a Melee can end very quickly, so playing many events is less useful.

Well, that’s it for today. Next week I will start a series of deckbuilding articles covering each House in the Melee format. First up is Stark. See you then!