Metaphysics

Hello, boys and girls, and welcome to Metaphysics, a new series dedicated to the “metagame” in the Game of Thrones LCG. "Meta” and “metagame" are very broad terms that can mean a variety of things, so let’s get a mission statement out there: It’s my goal to expand the community (and discussions) by offering commentary on specific card choices, posting and/or critiquing decklists, or just providing some goings on from our burgeoning local meta here in Rochester, NY- land of the Garbage Plate and inconsistent weather.

For the first installment of Metaphysics, I’ll be talking a little bit about our local meta, its formation, and our ongoing Game of Thrones LCG League.

Based at the East Coast gaming wonderland Millennium Games, our Game of Thrones LCG playgroup has now grown to include about 30 local players. 22 of those players are involved in a GoT League that I am currently running in preparation for our <shameless plug> Regional Championship Tournament on June 9^th. More than half of our players are relatively recent additions, having picked up the game within the last six months and adding a huge influx of Jaimes, Shaggas, and Neds to our local meta.

Initially, the League was set up with a half Joust/half Melee format in mind. Unfortunately, in the interest of time, it had to be cut to just Joust games given the large number of players that signed on. Also, due to the number of newer players, I wanted to do something fairly basic for starters, with more to come in the future if all went well (My Game of Thrones LCG Fantasy Draft might be ambitious, but a boy can dream…).

For the League, each player chose one House to play for the duration, although their deck(s) may change from week to week. Each player is required to play every other player once in a Joust game to determine final records. When the dust settles, the top player from each house, plus the next two best overall records (forming a Top 8) will play for fabulous prizes, bragging rights, and a dinner date with Scarlett Johansson (subject to availability). The goal of the League is to A: encourage new players to experiment with different builds to get a feel for the game and B: have experienced players try some fun and interesting builds in a semi-competitive environment.

Here is a breakdown of the House numbers:

Targaryen: 5
Lannister: 4
Martell: 4
Stark: 3
Baratheon: 3
Greyjoy: 3

The Houses are fairly well balanced, numbers-wise, with a slight tilt in favor of Targaryen. One of the reasons that the Targaryen numbers are a little bigger is that they represent a fairly easy jumping off point for new players, complete with a minimal investment. Many of the cards that are required to build a reasonably competitive Targaryen dragon-themed deck come in the Queen of Dragons box set and, with the addition of only one or two other Chapter Packs, building a serviceable deck is very possible. While these builds may not be as potent as traditional Maester or Burn decks, they are a decent beginning strategy that’s easy to put together and ideal for learning the game’s mechanics (especially Ambush and Stealth). People have also found out the hard way that staring down Daenerys Targaryen (QoD) with a few dragons in play is no joke.

Like the Queen of Dragons box set, the Lannister Lions of the Rock set contains much of what is needed for a newer player to make a decent Power Behind the Throne build. While a few key cards, including the Restricted Pyromancer's Cache (WotFK) and Castellan of the Rock (BoRF), are in older packs, there are many new and powerful options available in the box set. Cersei Lannister (LotR) alone is bonkers enough to win games if left unchecked for a turn or two.

Lannister is a very interesting animal right now, both in our League and in general metagame terms. There seems to be a couple of solid ways to build them, but they lack a good top tier template from which to work. Many newer players, particularly those from card gaming backgrounds, have gravitated towards tournament-tested builds from the current Regional season as a means to begin their own decks. With this in mind, the other five houses seem to have one or two solid, tournament winning builds gift-wrapped to go if needed:

Stark: Knights/ Siege
Martell: KotHH/ Summer
Greyjoy: Choke
Targaryen: Maesters/ Burn
Baratheon: Rush
Lannister…….???

Since it’s the new kid in town, everyone keeps talking about The Power Behind the Throne (LotR) Agenda and, with Lannister being my favorite House personally, I have tried bunches of different builds without a true winner that I am thrilled with. That said, like the Targaryen dragons, PBtT Lannister offers a simple and effective way to build a starting deck that teaches some important aspects of the game, particularly the strength and timing of kneeling effects and the power of card advantage/ hand destruction. Basic kneel strategies and shadow themes are always solid too, but so far the Regional season is not exactly bursting with Lions. The basic math so far seems to look like this:

Krakens > Lions

Some of the other Houses (particularly Greyjoy, speaking of krakens) require far more Chapter Pack cards to be effective, which has curbed their numbers a little bit. Even Martell, who doesn’t have a presence in the Core set, has enough quality cards in the Princes of the Sun box to build a good shell. The Greyjoy box lacks many of the good resource denial cards (Burned and Pillaged (FtC) and The Sparr (APS)) and small, quality characters (Distinguished Boatswain (TftRK) and Ancient Mariner (SaS)) that make them so fierce, not to mention the cards from the absentee Winds of Winter pack (Fantasy Flight, I’m looking at you). The Greyjoy contingent in the League is made of two more experienced players and one brave soul who is starting them from scratch.

One of the nice things about a league like this is that it gives players an excuse to try different builds and have fun with their Houses. Lannister Clansmen (a personal favorite of mine), Greyjoy mill, Targaryen Dragons, Baratheon Asshai, and Stark Maesters have all made appearances, and while these decks may never Top 4 a Regional event near you, they are a nice change of pace. Also, with some players sporting a limited card pool, there are always some cards that come out of left field to surprise the more experienced players. I almost lost a recent game straight up to an unforeseen Rhaenys's Hill (TBoBB), and one Martell player, in what can only be called an unexpected move, is sporting Walder Frey (ACoS) (yes, the Walder Frey) in one of his builds. Here’s some more basic math for you:

Walder Frey (ACoS) + The Brimstone (TBC) = Unexpected Win

With each player needing to play 21 games total, there is plenty of room to try builds that bridge the gap between competitive and fun. Newer players get to find their bearings without getting run over by Greyjoy Choke or Martell KotHH the whole time, and more experienced players get to try something that’s a little more fun to build and play. Not that the top decks don’t make appearances - Martell KotHH, Stark Knights, and Baratheon Rush (among others) are predictably doing well across the board…..so far.

If you think your meta can support it, or you’re trying to rustle up some interest in this fantastic game that we play, give a League format a try. It’s easy, it’s fun, and the rules can easily be suited to the tastes of your local scene.

With Regional season in full swing, there will plenty to talk about in the coming weeks. There will be card choices to debate, decklists to mull over, and results to consider, as well as final results and lists from the League and our own Regional in June. It should be a jam-packed couple of months....

So stay tuned!