Rise of the Kraken - Melee

Greyjoy's main strengths in A Game of Thrones LCG are Choke and Aggro. Yes, there are subtleties and nuances, and a few alternate builds, but most successful Greyjoy decks will at the very least incorporate these concepts as a subtheme. Unfortunately, both of these decktypes suck in Melee. Aggro isn't as powerful since beating one opponent into the dust just lets your other two opponents score free power off them, and do it quicker than you; Choke won't work against three people at once, it will only annoy them, and you'll be the table's whipping boy. Before you get back on your Longship and sail back to the Iron Islands muttering "greenlanders' game" though, let's stop and think about it - in the books, we're a bit rubbish when someone's paying attention to us, as Theon learned to his cost. Almost every attack on us succeeds, all our rebellions fail the moment someone actually bothers to stop us. BUT. When their backs are turned, we're great at sneaking up behind them, kicking them in the calf muscle then running off cackling. And Greyjoy can be a powerful force in Melee, by emphasising its strengths when there are multiple opponents.

To this aim, I'm going to take a page from OKTarg's book and look at some cards to consider when looking at the difference between Joust and Melee - which improve with more players and which suffer? This list is by no means definitive, but can hopefully get your mind thinking along the right lines when designing your perfect melee-conquering deck.

Fury of the Kraken (AE) - This is much better, simply put, for two reasons. Firstly, with three opponents you're thrice as likely to be facing off against a Targaryen or Stark player as usual, so that wonderful effect is more likely to make a difference; secondly, and perhaps more importantly, this card is not restricted for Melee. Unless you're running an incredibly tight plot deck, I see no reason not to find room for this. It is however worth pointing out that the Military Battle trait is less-relevant, as To Be A Kraken (SB) isn't as great in Melee due to it being a case of you expending a card to cancel one person's effect, and your other two opponents benefitting from it. This is true of all cancel in Melee, in fact. The stand portion of To Be A Kraken IS good, but this in turn is offset by the fact that you can't use it on turn one - a bigger deal in Melee, as games tend to be shorter than in Joust.

King Balon's Host (TWot5K) - By the Drowned God, this is a fantastic card in Melee. Kneel isn't a hot decktype in Melee since, like aggro and choke, it's difficult to control three people at once and if you control one person better than the other two, your opponents will beat on them for more power. As a result, the Host is more likely to be standing. This is good news, because Renown is rampant in Melee games. Removing people's ability to claim power fast is a fantastic ability, and if you can get this Army out and keep it out, you will find the game goes at a much more leisurely pace. There are only two drawbacks here - first, on a table with lots of rush decks, he can be a major target, and inviting military claim on yourself is a bad idea; second, the Host is as expensive as ever. This latter point is mitigated somewhat by the existance of the Master of Coin title though. Better make sure we win initiative then, right?

Ahead of the Tide (WotN) - This card is okay in Joust, but typically won't make the cut in most decks, because often initiative is only important to you if you're already trying to win it, to go first for your choke, or your raiders or whatever else. In Melee, you're half as likely to win initiative (1 in 2 to 1 in 4), and initiative matters one hell of a lot more. It lets you determine player order, which can be vital on a To the Spears! (PotS)/The Power of Faith (KotStorm) turn, or with an opponent running Daenerys Targaryen (QoD) - all of which are more likely in Melee than in Joust - and it also means you can get a leg up in choosing titles. This can be a sort of a 'luxury' card in many ways, giving up a card from hand just to determine turn order, but if you can make room for it I recommend it, you'll never be sad to see it.

Baelor Blacktyde (TIoR) - What's better than shutting off one person's events? Shutting off three people's, right? Right? No. If you put Baelor on the table, expect the fury of three opponents to rain down on you. Nobody likes being told they can't do something, and everyone likes beating on someone who thought they'd try to be a bit too clever. Leave Baelor at home.

The Iron Mines (KotS) - Consider this entry "saves in general". Whether they improve or not depends on your opponents, really. If you play one, do the opponents think "we'd better burn through those saves as fast as possible!" or do they think "well, no point wasting our military claim there then". This requires a bit of reading of your meta. In my experience it depends on your character base. Perversely, if you have a large number of non-unique characters you're not THAT fussed about saving, you'll find a couple of deterrent saves work a lot better for you than if you have big uniques on the table. Nobody wants to throw all their military might at you just to drop a Distinguished Boatswain (TftRK), but watch and learn as the entire table conspires together to figure out how to make your Euron Crow's-Eye (TGM) meet the Storm God, when they might not even have bothered without those saves there.

Theon Greyjoy (WLL) - Theon is playing the role of mill effects here. Generally they can be a very powerful tool in melee. Nobody really cares too much about losing the odd card from their deck here and there, but effects like Theon's, like Corpse Lake (TBC) and like Fishmonger's Square (TftRK) can be triggered a lot more easily when you have thrice the targets. In my experience you shouldn't try to build too much around mill effects - if you do it dilutes your character base, and while Greyjoy has the resillience to deal with one opponent trying to punch them, having all three opponents treat you as the table's whipping boy can hurt badly. But supplementing your deck with some mill effects to try to claim some easy power and draw can be very profitable. The aforementioned Euron Crow's-Eye is also very potent in Melee for draw, but beware - your opponents may well beat on you to remove him from the table!

Scouting Vessel (KotS) - Finally we get to my favourite Melee archetype for Greyjoy, that of unopposed. Three times as many opponents means there 9 possible routes for your challenges (3x each of the icons) rather than 3. Odds are you'll be able to get an unopposed challenge in one place or another! For this reason, Rise of the Kraken (KotS) can be a powerful, powerful closer plot in Melee. One of the finest combos you'll get to play in this scenario will be Asha Greyjoy (WLL) and Assault of the Kraken (KotS). Beating on someone repeatedly for unopposed intrigue, claiming 2 for unopposed and 1 for renown, can accelerate your power count alarmingly quickly. Why intrigue over military? Because that way the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard can't jump in to defend on your opponents' behalf. One word of warning when it comes to unopposed though - play particularly close attention to the titles, and make sure you're not challenging an opponent who is supported by someone you don't want to mess with. Also of note is Scouting Vessel itself, which can be a great "deal" card in Melee as it can be used in challenges you're not in.

So what are your experiences of playing as Greyjoy in Melee? Any questions or comments about the article? Feel free to post them below!