AGoT - Deck Building 101

Here are three simple rules to keep in mind when you are constructing a deck for tournament play.

1. Know which decks are doing well…

You aren’t looking for a deck you will play at your local game night, you are looking to win a major event. So do your homework. There is no sense investing time and effort into a deck that is going to send you home from a tournament early. Find out which types of deck have been winning in recent tournaments, find out which houses they represent, and find out which decks are being slaughtered. You can use this information in two different ways: to anticipate likely contenders at upcoming tournaments, and to isolate the “competitive” area of the current meta.

For example, if Lanni decks are fighting with Stark fealty decks for wins over the last six-months of tournaments, you may not want to build a Baratheon-Control deck.

2. Know what you enjoy playing

Everyone has different tastes and chances are that if you don’t like a particular type of deck, you aren’t going to have fun playing it. If control decks are dominating the current meta but you are not a control player, don’t play a control deck even if you have to play your Tier 2 choice. Your comfort level with a deck will be noticeable, especially over the course of a long tournament. Trying to pick up and play a deck that is completely out of your comfort zone can be tough. After five or six rounds of play an incompatible deck will grind you down to the point where you will start making mistakes.

For example, I am a “Shaggy”1 player; I am in my “happy place” when using some sort of combo deck is in my hand. Unfortunately combo decks in general are not Tier 1 decks in the current meta. However, some hybrid-combo decks can be Tier 1.5 and knowing that I would not enjoy a full day of playing agro or pure control decks, I would most likely be building a hybrid-combo deck for the upcoming tournament season.


3. Play your deck a lot

Nothing will tell you more about your deck than playing it. You can do all the research you want, you can meditate over its tricks and tactics for hours, but until you play it, it is all just pure speculation. When play testing your deck remember:

• you want to play at least a few games against all the major deck types and houses (don’t forget to keep track of your wins and losses)
• if you have a setup, pay attention to and see what your average cards down are; keep in mind most “pro players” wont fill more then a 1/5th of their deck with cards they won’t or cant play on set up generally
• evaluate your cost curve and make sure you can afford your characters while maintain claim fodder
• watch the order of your responses and combos, and determine the best sequences in play
• make sure you have a way to draw more cards

If after several games you loose more games than you win, then you may want to dump your deck and start building another. If on the other hand you win more than you loose, it is time to tweak your deck. Remember, while you might have a good deck, it may contain a few unnecessary cards, or bet a bit slow on set up or just not feel smooth when played. It is amazing what five or six cards can do to your win ratio and is often the difference between a Tier 2 deck and a Tier 1.5 (or 1) deck. So make small changes, play against…keep those changes if your win rate goes up and drop them if it does not…then play some more…