Things I Do For Win - Phase: Cancel Triggers

The Things I Do For Win Phase: Cancel Triggers
Touting a control deck means you have answers for many if not all contingencies. Using canceling effects is an efficient use of card slots to nullify more than one card. A card that reads “Cancel triggered effect” is worth its weight in gold because it denies events completely, character, location, and attachment one time triggers. A card that can cancels triggered effects every turn is a world beater.

Another way to look at the importance of cancels is by looking at what makes decks work. I can only think of three decks that can succeed solely on characters and locations without response triggers. Stark Siege, Greyjoy Choke, and Martell Power Rush for the most part can win games with passive text, good keywords, and high claim. Every other deck has to trigger effects that kneel, burn, or kill to win.

Just for reminders sake a trigger is anything after a colon in text. It will be preceded by a phase or the word Response in bold. Passives are effects that happen without a colon in the text. Newly Made Lord (TftH) and the new Ser Jorah Mormont (WLL) are examples of these that you can’t do anything about. Keywords are not triggers either.

Running card slots in your deck for a situation that could theoretically happen isn't good deck construction. However, this year we are seeing more decks than ever leaning on non-influence/gold costing event cards to power to a win:

Baratheon Power Rush

• Wars Are Won with Quills (PotS)
• Citadel Custom (CbtC)
• Make an Example (PotS)

Greyjoy Choke

• Support of the Kingdom (Core)

Lannister Kneel

• You've Killed the Wrong Dwarf! (Core)
• Dissension (QoD)
• A House Divided (WLL)
• Condemned by the Council (AToT)

Martell Summer

• A Game of Cyvasse (ACoS)
• He Calls It Thinking (PotS)
• Condemned by the Council (AToT)

Stark Murder

• No Quarter (TBC)
• Die by the Sword (LoW)
• The Price of War (KotS)

Targaryan Burn

• Forever Burning (Core)

Meaning a simple Paper Shield can mean the difference of losing every challenge during a turn and creating a situation your opponent must react. Dictating the way the game is played creates more favorable situations for you to take advantage. If I can cancel one triggered effect a turn I am in control of how the game is developing by reducing my opponent’s choices.

Cancels also ensure your triggered effects happen by cancelling cancels. Hardly seems worth it if unless you’ve put all of your eggs into one basket. Combo decks should consider protecting their investment. All of this being said; cancelling doesn’t win you the game; it reduces the choices your opponent possesses.

When to Run Cancel
Not every deck should take up the card slots to play cancel. Aggro decks should maintain a tight build concentrating on lots of efficient characters with a few booster/kill effects and should therefore avoid lots of cancel. Control and combo decks should latch onto the idea of three to six slots for cancel. If the deck has a plan for lock down, then you should protect that plan.

Baratheon 1 out of 5 Gold Hands

The Painted Table (TBC) is an interesting piece of cardboard. It provides a cancel once for everything; characters, events, or whatever. Since keywords aren’t triggers you can slap The King’s Ground on it to stand it after every offensive challenge won. An interesting idea but I’m not sold on it 100 percent.

Lord of Light, Protect Us (RoR) requires an Asshai in play so automatically makes this a marginal card. Kneeling a character also isn’t that great when you consider some of the stuff you are trying to cancel kneel dudes. I like this in an Asshai deck. The second part is interesting but having three Asshai in play much less three characters in play isn’t likely. Note: Lord of Light is a neutral event.

Greyjoy 4 out of 5 Gold Hands
The mighty Krakens have several different aspects of cancel from locking down location triggers to save effects. The overall breadth is somewhat astounding considering only two of the seven cards are even reasonable to put into a deck without a lot of support. The problem is you have to build enough supporting cards to make most of the cancel worth playing.


Alannys Greyjoy (ODG) is the second best cancel in the game. Being a character she can be stood for repeat performances. Her drawback is slight considering the amount of location control that Greyjoy inherently brings to every game. The marshalling phase is becoming more integral to wins making Maester Murenmure (CbtC) a beating.

The next two cards require some more work by destroying influence resources and playing Ironborn characters. With Knights of the Hollow Hill become more popular as an agenda Seasick (KotS) is losing it’s luster but in a resource lock down deck it is as good as anything. What makes Finger Dance (WLL) appealing is that it feeds into Alannys and Asha. Kneeling a character can be painful so make sure the thing you are cancelling is more valuable than a standing dude. Note, Finger Dance is a neutral event.

I feel like I have to address To Be a Kraken (SB). It is one of the most powerful cancelling effects in that game that cause you to make bad deck building choices. First of all you need to have a knelt character. Second, good plots with the military trait are far and few in between. Fury of the Kraken (AE) is restricted. I have a hard time not choosing Pyromancer's Cache (TWot5K) or even Narrow Escape (KotStorm). If you have military plots already in the deck then I say use this card, don’t change plots just for it.

Lannister 2 out of 5 Gold Hands

The Iron Throne (LotR) is a nice control card. It takes away character triggers and then kneels them, very hot. The only thing I’d bring up is a cautionary tale of putting too many two cost locations into the deck. Other than that, Lannister drew the short straw in this department.

Martell 5 out of 5 Gold Hands
If Martell only touted He Calls It Thinking (PotS), they would still garner a rating of five. Hands down this is the best cancel in the game. It hits triggers from any type of card as long as it is a response without an influence cost. Looking at today’s meta influence is a rare encounter in decks.

What puts this over the top is it then attaches to a Martell character for plus two strength. The synergy is particularly strong with Game of Cyvasse, a The Red Viper (PotS), and protects you from Search and Detain (HtS). You can bounce it back to your hand with Initiate of the Citadel (QoD) too if you are feeling greedy.

If you want to show dominance over events just play The Shadow of the South (CoS). Keeping your opponent from playing events is just as good as cancelling them turn after turn if it is summer. Everything else Martell has just isn’t worth mentioning outside of Dayne/Sand Snakes. Starfall Advisor (TWH) even protects Besiegers of Dorne (TWot5K) as they cancel the first trigger during challenges. Bronze Shield (BtW) is only good when you want to gack your own Viper for No Use For Grief (DB)No Use For Grief (DB).

Stark 3 out of 5 Gold Hands

Eddard Stark (TTotH) honestly wouldn’t be that great if he didn’t double as card draw. However, I have seen some decent noble decks where he is a rock star. It’s pretty rare an effect targets multiple folks at the same time. I don’t leave home without Maester Vyman (TWoW). To keep events off your back as well Fear Cuts Deeper than Swords (LoW) is a neat trick. Note Fear Cuts Deeper is a neutral event.

The problem with Stark cancels is they don’t stop everything I want them to that have one target like Ghaston Grey (FtC), Varys (SaS), and Game of Cyvasse. I’d love Jeyne Poole (SaS) if she could stop Venomous Blade (TBoBB) and Borderland Keep (TWH) is just so-so.

Targaryan 1 out of 5 Gold Hands
The only card here is Bloodrider (MotA) who only hits character triggers once in response and only if you ambush him into play with influence. To continue the downward trending is his Ally trait and single icon. I’ll be honest I so wanted to give Targ a two just based on this guy. In an influence summer deck this guys is nuts good. Repeatable cancel is a premium.

Lord of Light, Protect Us (RoR) requires an Asshai in play so automatically makes this a marginal card. Kneeling a character also isn’t that great when you consider some of the stuff you are trying to cancel kneel dudes. I like this in an Asshai deck. The second part is interesting but having three Asshai in play much less three characters in play isn’t likely. Note: Lord of Light is a neutral event.

Neutral Event Cancel

Paper Shield (QoD) is the classic cancel card. It only targets other event without a gold or influence cost. Judging from the aforementioned list it is still a target rich environment. In today’s world I am hard pressed to not find two slots in every deck where I don’t have cancels covered.

The Hand's Judgement (TTotH) is the big brother to Paper Shield. For a little more resource you get a little more stopping power. You are still limited to events but now you can negate everyone including Favorable Ground (QoD), The Hatchlings' Feast (ASitD), and Red Vengeance (PotS) get exploded. The single gold doesn’t sound like much but consider four is the average gold on your plots. Is this card worth 25 percent of your income on a card you might use? In today’s landscape I say yes to two card slots over Paper Shield if you can spare the gold.

Neutral Plot Cancel
Timing my plots to cancel the most powerful cards in the game gives me incredible satisfaction. I would skip the after tournament party if I could nullify Valar Morghulis (Core) and Fear of Winter (BtW) all day. Negating an opponent’s plot with Fear of Winter (BtW) or Forgotten Plans (KotStorm) reduces their decision tree immensely. Plots change the way the whole game is played every turn. If your plots are not doing that, then you need new plots.

If you don’t know when to play Outwit or Forgotten Plans ask yourself how badly the likely suspect of plots would mess you up. If the answer is yes to a huge game shift, then play the cancelling plots with the knowledge that no matter what, you are setting up for later turns.

The Usual Suspects to Cancel

Outwit

• Valar Morghulis
• City Plots
• Threat from the East (QoD)
• Fleeing to the Wall (Core)
• Search Plots
• Wildfire Assault (Core)
• River Plots

Forgotten Plans

• Fear of Winter
• Blockade (Core)
• Loyalty Money Can Buy (QoD)
• Threat from the North (PotS)
• To the Spears! (PotS)
• To the Spears! (PotS)
• Schemes of the Scholar (HtS)
• Frey Hospitality (LotR)
• The Power of Blood (Core)

The Art of Seduction (LotR) is a reprinted new comer with devastating lockdown potential. I first started tooling around with this in a Bara Maester rush deck. The idea was to play Art of Seduction the turn before I thought they would Valar, get a free plot, and then drop Outwit. By that time my opponent would have to play Valar if I hadn’t won the game already.

The idea then grew into a Stark aggro favorite. All you need is Luwin really. Assuming you take the lead with characters you try and Outwit the Valar. If you miss, no worries, Art of Seduction the next time to pin them with low gold and zero claim. Running only seduction is still a great counter to Valar. One of my meta mates (great pick up Jacob!) recently made the discovery that Art of Seduction is a reveal effect, ergo, can be copied by Maester Marwyn.

Jerod Leupold started playing AGOT during the release of Flight of Dragons and declared his allegiance to Greyjoy cancel at an early age. He cut his teeth playing in the MN, MO, and WI regionals trying to build dominant characterless or recursion decks. He has placed first in one lowly attended regional, second in four others, and top eighted in two out the four GenCons he has attended. For one year he was the number one ranked limited player. He currently resides in Iowa City and is proud to be a part of the Knights of the Corn meta.

During the years of 2005-2011 he was the owner and tournament organizer for Critical Hit Games that ran magic events on a weekly basis including being asked to host the state of Iowa championships twice. He has been a tournament player for several ccgs including 7^th Sea, L5R, Spoils, and is the current King of the Hill champion of the 2011 GenCon Invasion tournament.