Metaphysics - In Defense of Combos

In Defense of Combos and Other Horrible Win Conditions

Nothing is more easily demonized than the dreaded "COMBO". It’s whispered in hushed tones in dark alleys, said to children to scare them at night, complained about endlessly across the gaming spectrum. Players either love it or hate it. The ugly truth is that whether you want to sleeve them up or burn them for warmth, decks based on combos and/ or alternate win conditions should have a place in all card games, and Game of Thrones is no exception. Before you cock back your arms to throw tomatoes, lettuce, or whatever other rotting vegetables you happen to have on hand, hear me out.

First, let’s look at the broad strokes: a healthy and diverse environment. One of the things that Game of Thrones has going for it is a sort of built-in diversity system, thanks to the six different houses. Each house has their own niche strategies that set them a little apart from each other in terms of gameplay. The key words here are “a little apart.” While it is true that the houses each have unique themes, they all boil down to the same thing: Attack with characters and get to 15 power. 99% of all Game of Thrones decks follow this rule, and deckbuilding reflects it. It’s not an accident that the majority of decks look like this:

7 Plots, 0-1 Agenda

30-35 Characters
10-15 Locations
10-15 Events
0-5 Attachments

And while each deck may have different supplemental strategies (ie. Burn, Choke, Kill, Kneel), they all tend to look relatively similar in the end. Saying that every deck plays the same would, of course, be foolish and untrue. Decks like Stark Siege, Greyjoy Winter, and Baratheon Rush play very aggressive, Aggro-style matches, while many others, like Martell KoTHH, Targaryen Burn, and many Lannister builds, play very reactive, Control-style games. What I will say is that in the end, all of these decks and styles boil down to the same win condition – attack with characters.

Having situations where you can score wins through Attachments, Locations, or Events is not the end of the world; on the contrary, opening up a few additional options generally promotes a healthier metagame. Here's two quick what-if examples:

Greyjoy Mill – Discarding your opponent’s deck in A Game of Thrones is tricky for two reasons. It doesn’t win you the game. In fact, by itself, it actually does nothing. It doesn't change your board position at all. On top of that, you still have to kill them afterwards, as decking does not win the game by itself. Decking is also a slow process, during which you are getting your face pounded in by your opponent. What if Greyjoy got a few more efficient mill cards to get them over the hump? What if decking your opponent won you the game when they had to draw and couldn’t?

Lannister – Lannister have so many great locations, many of which work very well together. The synergies between The Lion’s Gate, Pentoshi Manor, Highgarden and other Lannister cards like You’ve Killed the Wrong Dwarf! are fantastic. Unfortunately, what Lannister doesn’t have is a way to make playing all of those locations valuable. All the Gold in Casterly Rock is a good start, but alone it doesn’t justify playing tons of locations at the expense of characters. Giving Lannister a card or two that keys off of the number of locations they control could make for a new archtype. Giving them some way to steal power with locations could make that archtype great.

Likewise, Daven Lannister (GotC) andTywin Lannister (LotR) are two of my favorite cards in the game and both present possible alternate win conditions. Sadly, they just don’t have the support to make it happen. Making some Dominance-oriented effects is another way to spread deckbuilding potential. Tywin Lannister and Den of the Wolf (ACoS) is one of the more interesting combos out there, and from a “coolness” standpoint, I love it. Unfortunately, it simply isn’t viable without more help. Regardless of whether or not this particular combo gets anywhere in the future, Tywin is a character that I really like from a design standpoint, as he gives you another way to play the game.

Deck construction is one of my favorite parts of Game of Thrones. It’s like fitting together a puzzle, filling in your 60 card slots with the correct numbers of the correct cards and having the end result play out exactly as intended. I would love to build a deck around Locations or Event recursion or Dominance-inspired win conditions- in other words, something different. Variety is, after all, the spice of life.

Whether it’s increasing the power of mill or making Daven and Tywin lannister viable win conditions, the bottom line is that it’s opening the game up to a variety of deckbuilding options, metagame decisions, and strategic value. The game tends to be very offensive in nature - characters can attack the turn they come into play; attackers win ties in combat; and turning characters sideways is the chief way to win. I like the idea of having other win conditions present in a game like this. Remember the Martell/ Stark Alliance deck that used Tully characters, Martell control effects, and Riverrun to win the game? That deck represented a great (if a little annoying) alternate way to win that was very unlike the flow of what an average game looked like. It’s easy to hate on that style of play because it was frustrating to play against and different than what people were normally used to, but in reality it wasn’t exactly a powerhouse, just different. If nothing else, I feel that it’s important for decks like this to exist to challenge convention and keep players on their toes.

If Spider-Man has taught us anything, it’s that With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility. The biggest issue with combos and alternate win conditions is not what is, but what could potentially be, an abusable combo. It’s a fine line to walk. For example, a card like Robert Baratheon (TTotH) (pre-errata) was just one of those cards that was asking for trouble. Alone, as a bi-con that can stand himself, he is obviously strong. Paired with a host of other cards, he suddenly becomes everyone’s worst nightmare, requiring errata for several other cards and, finally, himself (Killer of the Wounded is similar in concept). Cards like this represent the reason people tend to demonize these ideas. But if they are done right, combo-based strategies and alternate win conditions can add a great deal to the game. Even loose combos like Maester Pylos/Massey's Hook/King Robert's Hammer/Chains, while not outwardly winning you the game, can add a great deal to deckbuilding and provide other ways to gain value and synergy out of cards. Not that I want to use anything Maester-related as being healthy for the game, but you get the general idea.

For anyone that wants to play the Flavor Card and say that combos and alternate win conditions are not “in the spirit of the game”: I will certainly agree that, in the end, the Game of Thrones universe is about characters, and the card game should not be an exception. I like the fact that it’s character-driven, that the characters from the books are represented flavorfully and are the driving force of the game. That said, I don’t find it unreasonable for Lannister to have win conditions based on Locations and Dominance (two things that they excel at thematically, as they Own the Kingdom) or for Greyjoy to win through decking (ie. pillaging and raiding resources). Even the Tully deck mentioned earlier fits perfectly from a thematic standpoint (see A Storm of Swords). I find these concepts to be exciting from both deckbuilding and flavor standpoints. I will be so bold as to say I would like to see more of them.

Combos don’t have to be nebulous, abusable things – The Game of Thrones universe is filled to the brim with concepts and ideas that can translate very well into the LCG, giving a wide variety of deckbuilding and playstyle options beyond just packing your deck with the best characters at each cost slot and turning them sideways. These concepts are kind of like Pitbulls - largely misunderstood, but every now again you hear an awful story about them. If we can learn to combo responsibly, they can, in fact, enrich our lives.