Rise of the Kraken - Greyjoy Maesters Part 2

Hi, and welcome back to Rise of the Kraken, where this time round we continue our short series on House Greyjoy's use of the agenda The Maester's Path (GotC)! Last time we looked at why the decktype is so strong; this edition will be focused on the different builds those serving thralls offer the house, what their strengths are and what to watch out for from the green lander houses.

Before I proceed with the main article, I just want to quickly address one thing - since the last edition that focused on those peddling the green land laws, there has been a major European event - the Throne of Stahleck at Castle Stahleck in Germany. Of the 130 entrants, 8 used a Greyjoy Maester build. Of those 8, 7 made the cut to the top 32, which is a simply phenomenal return. Better than that, 4 made the top 16, 2 made the semi finals, and the winning deck? Greyjoy Maesters.

I had the fortune of being one of the 7 who piloted the deck to the top 32 (although sadly no further). If you are interested, my (overly) detailed tournament report is here and my decklist is here. If you have any questions/comments on the report or deck I'd be delighted to hear them, either in the comments section at the bottom of this article or the comments sections in either link. But in any case, the important takeaway is this: in the right hands this is an incredibly powerful deck right now, so if you want a new decktype to build but don't know which Longship to hop on, consider this one - the only time in the Game of Thrones world where introducing chains to a ship makes the ship better!

Build One: Winter
You may recall that last time out, Gangle wrote an excellent article on Winter Choke builds out of Greyjoy. A Maesters Choke deck utilises a lot of the same core cards as a general choke deck - you'll still have your White Raven (TWoW), Carrion Bird (TWoW), Samwell Tarly (TRS), Wintertime Marauders (ACoS), Burned and Pillaged (FtC), The Sparr (APS), Cragorn (ASoSilence), Ice Fisherman (TWoW) and so on - but it puts more of an emphasis on the Maesters aspect, perhaps unsurprisingly. One of the key cards a choke deck can utilise is Maester Murenmure (CbtC). The ability to cancel a reducer every marshalling phase is a tremendous asset to setting in the early-game choke, and since he can be fetched with our old friend At the Gates (GotC), Murenmure is near-guaranteed to be annoying your opponent from turn one onwards. But you could play Murenmure in any choke deck, right? In fact, Gangle recommends him for exactly the same reason. So what advantage does running it as a Maester deck and having to pass up that sweet, sweet Kings of Winter (TWoW) actually have?

Well, firstly there's the stuff that applies to any deck, which can basically be summed up by "The Maester's Path is just better". It gives better card efficiency (possibly more important for a choke deck than a typical deck, because it's important you draw the right cards early and often), better gold curve, and of course, those handy dandy chains. Some of those chains are a wonderful addition to a Choke deck. One of the worries in choke is being so concerned with messing up your opponent that you end up choking yourself, setting aside a gold for Winter, a gold for Cragorn, maybe even running Blockade (Core), and so on. Well let's be thankful our servant studied for his Gold Link (TIoR), then. A big problem in just about any non-House of Dreams (ARotD) Greyjoy deck is draw. No such problem with the Valyrian Steel Link (HtS). One issue all seasons decks have to deal with (in particular choke builds due to Burned and Pillaged) is their key attachments ending up discarded, possibly due to Tin Link (CbtC) which we might as well add in too. Well with Bronze Link (FtC) we can retrieve them, and with Pale Steel Link (FtC) put them straight back into play! This is great for ambushing winter into the mix mid-challenge if you have a White Raven in your discard pile, ideally after the opponent already hasn't commited properly to defending a Wintertime Marauders challenge because they assumed it wouldn't hurt them (the lesson here of course being always fear something with "Marauders" in their name).


There is also a subtheme of this deck, that isn't a choke deck per se but utilizes the Winter mechanics nonetheless, basically on the grounds that if your house card is Greyjoy it's rarely a bad idea to run Winter. If you want the great draw that Samwell provides and, perhaps more importantly if you want the awesome targeted removal on offer from Wintertime Marauders, you must run the agenda. But rather than leaving it at that or having to go into full-on choke, why not just make everything synergise with the Maesters just that little bit more? There is one card that should also go in the choke build but is particularly key here, and that is The Inn of the Kneeling Man (FtC). Perhaps rather fittingly given their lack of limelight, Greyjoy's Maesters are pathetically weak when it comes to strength; in the Targaryen-heavy meta we currently live in that's a serious issue with burn and The First Snow of Winter (ODG) hanging around, but here it's a good thing. Cancelled a key move with Maester Murenmure? Why not stand him so you can cancel again. Saved someone with Maester Wendamyr (KotS)? Stand him and do it again, in the same save/cancel window if you want. If you want to go the full monty, give Murenmure Steel Link (TIoR), cancel something, stand him with the Inn, cancel something else standing the Inn in the process, then in the challenges phase you get two uses out of Wendy as well. With multiple Steel Links it can get fun. If you want to amuse yourself with crazy Shagga builds, look at Demon's Dance (ACoS), and the fun you can have with the Inn, the Bronze Link, Pale Steel Link, Steel Link, Tin Link and Copper Link (GotC) cards. This isn't specific to Greyjoy, but hard to do outside of Seasons Maester decks and Greyjoy has the stability to set it up better than any other house. That said, the deck type is normally ultimately a Jaime build - it's all about using the most gold-efficient, card-efficient cards in conjunction with each other, with a focus on synergising the various effects so that the entire deck runs smoothly and changes from a deck of great cards to a great deck of cards.

Pros:
+ Greyjoy is made for Winter, you're using the best cards in the house and just making them better
+ Your key cards are safeguarded, your most annoying ones enhanced
+ Stupid Shagga builds are available for those interested

Cons:
- Suffers against control
- The issues normal Winter/Choke decks have, really (although they are mitigated to an extent)


Build Two: Unopposed Rush
This is not a common build admittedly, but the potential is definitely there. You get the gold advantage that helps all rush decks, you get the Maester tricks that help all rush decks, but you also get the Greyjoy tricks that help all rush decks. It's difficult for any deck to deal with a cheap copy of The Conclave (CbtC) on turn one or two, but how about when you have a Scouting Vessel (KotS) or two in play? How about when you use the Steel Link to stand a Scouting Vessel after a challenge? How about when the combination of having maesters (and therefore a source of intrigue icons that Greyjoy generally suffers with otherwise) and the Black Iron Link (MotA) allows you to even get through unopposed intrigue challenges with reasonable regularity? With Wendy available with his saves to allow you to go more all-out without worrying about the consequences, Maester Kerwin (VM) acting as a simple way of protecting your key Ironborn characters from targetted removal (and with all of Greyjoy's saves, good luck removing them any other way), and the usual Maester recursion allowing you to use cards like Support of Harlaw (KotS) more easily, this is a decktype with a lot of untapped potential. Maybe in the future I'll give this decktype a full article treatment, if only because the sheer un-Nedliness of sending the Maesters off reaving and raiding amuses me greatly.

Pros:
+ Unexpected in the current meta, which is a very useful trait for Rush decks in particular to have.
+ Thanks to the usual Greyjoy saves and cancels, plus recursion of attachments through the Bronze Link, a bit more stable than most rush.
+ A perfect home for the card this article is named after!

Cons:
- Still not that stable.
- Particularly vulnerable to The First Snow of Winter (ODG) - make sure you time your Forgotten Plans (KotStorm) just right!


Build Three: Extreme Control
This version is the version that won Stahleck, and is the most stable build, not just out of Greyjoy Maesters but possibly out of the entire house. The ethos of this deck type is simply "you will not harm me - I will protect everything important, cancel whatever you try to do or save whatever character you try to remove, and then when you're either worn down or over-extended, I'll strike and win". You keep your side of the board existing in perpetuity, steadily improve your position while weakening your opponent's, then use your power characters to hammer home the victory. Or, depending on the deck you face, you play the power characters early and rush to an early victory, swatting aside any pathetic comeback attempts by them. The key here is to protect your important cards in the early game and wait for your opponent to run out of steam - as a result this deck makes heavy use of the likes of Citadel Law (MotA), Finger Dance (WLL), Risen from the Sea (KotS) and other cancels and saves. You protect your Maesters from kill events with your cancels, or if you've somehow run out then with Wendamyr, or with The Iron Mines (KotS) and The Iron Cliffs (HtS). You use multiple Apprentice Collars and Risen From the Sea to stave off burn on your Maesters. Citadel Law is an incredibly versatile card for you. Ready to use Valar Morghulis (Core) and not wanting to be stuck with 0 claim, or afraid they'll play Outwit (TIoR) (or worse, Assault on King's Landing (KotStorm))? Playing it pre-plot with Citadel Law is the way to go. Has your opponent flipped a nasty card that threatens to near-wipe your board, like Threat from the North (PotS) or The First Snow of Winter? Or they've trapped your Valar or At the Gates with The Art of Seduction (LotR)? In all these situations and more, Citadel Law is a wonderful card to have.

When building this kind of deck the Maesters come in handy in just about every way. They provide you draw to keep up your stream of cancels; with Copper Link you can use Dissension for targeted removal of problem cards, combine it with Tin Link to remove seasons, and even use it to give people the Ironborn trait, either to protect them with Maester Kerwin or kneel them with Finger Dance; and Valyrian Steel Link provides you the draw you need in order to maintain a good source of control effects. The other Chains provide their usual goodness too, but the other big allure of this build is just how perfectly the Maesters slot in. Nothing says control like repeatable cancel and repeatable save, and that's what Murenmure and Wendamyr offer. Kerwin might seem to not be that useful, but he is in two ways - firstly, simply being another warm body and source for chains, and secondly (and a way perhaps a lot easier to overlook), that Learned crest. He's the only Greyjoy character to have one (assuming we don't count Jaqen H'ghar (SB) for obvious reasons) and, not including out-of-house options, the only character in the game with a learned crest and cost less than 3 aside from Ghost of High Heart (WLL). This means two things - firstly, Outwit (TIoR) is viable in the house, and secondly, the text after "...from being killed or discarded" on Wendamyr's textbox actually means something. Having Kerwin and Wendamyr on the table at the same time is like having two Wendamyrs, basically - if the opponent has 2 claim on their military challenge then Wendy can save himself for claim, stand himself (with Kerwin kneeling), and save someone else.

The first two builds are good/great; this extreme control build is a top tier build. Unless you bring a deck specifically capable of dealing with this sort of deck, it will beat you more often than not.

Pros:
+ Incredibly stable
+ Versatile
+ Successful

Cons:
- Control means more events, which means poorer set-ups (especially with Newly Made Lord and The Iron Cliffs), so your opponent can occasionally overwhelm you early on, sometimes.


Well, those are the three main builds for Greyjoy Maesters. If you have any others you'd like to nominate, anything you'd like to add to my words on each build, or you disagree with the Pros and Cons listed, please leave comments below, I'd love to hear them. I'll be back in four weeks' time for the third and final part of series, looking at problem cards for the decktype and how to combat them; in the nearer future, Gangle will be back two weeks from now with a look at the Unopposed build in greater deal (a decktype about raiding and pillaging without our bechained friends? Unthinkable!). See you then!