Crimson and Gold - Lannister Restricted Options, Part 1

The House of Crimson and Gold is back! My name is Steven and I’ve volunteered to represent House Lannister with some (hopefully) enjoyable and thought-provoking articles. To kick things off, we’ll consider the latest restricted list and what options it presents for aspiring Lannister deck-builders.

In future weeks, planned topics include (1) plot deck assembly, (2) deciding between non-essential cards at the margin of making your tournament decklist, and finally we’ll move beyond theory and into some actual gameplay with (3) recaps from my own battles on OCTGN, with analysis of what worked and what did not.

But first I’ll quickly introduce myself. I’m from the Atlanta, GA area, where we have a small metagame that meets irregularly but always has a great time playtesting a wide range of decks and styles. I bought my first Core Set in January of 2012 and became hooked on Thrones from day one despite having not played any card games since the heydays of Duel Masters and Yugioh. Since then I’ve bounced around from house to house, trying everything seriously except Targaryen and Baratheon, while spending the most time recently with the Lannisters of Casterly Rock and Greyjoys of the Iron Islands.

And without further ado, let’s meet exhibit A, Castellan of the Rock.

Castellan of the Rock (BoRF)
Many players have recently called for the Castellan to leave the restricted list, citing his Ally trait and Limited response and drawing comparisons to his opposite number, Long Lances (THoBaW). Personally, I think he’s there for good reasons. Firstly, the Ally trait is no longer as much of a detriment with Dissension seeing less play following the restriction of all Refugees. Furthermore, the ability to kneel an opponent’s best character every turn borders on overpowered, and at 3 strength the Castellan is no chump in his own rights. He even triggers when he enters plays himself, and the only target-restriction is that the character must be attachment-free. Even 7-strength armies like The Viper's Bannermen (PotS) are fair game.

The biggest downside is that Targaryen, currently one of the undisputed top houses in the game, can stand their knelt guys back up easily via the aforementioned Long Lances (THoBaW). Other anti-kneel cards include Distinct Mastery (Core), Young Griff (VD), Marya Seaworth (KotStorm), Ser Jaime Lannister (LotR), The Red Viper (APS), Follower of the Many-Faced God (CD), all six of the “To Be A” events, and the keyword Vengeful. But you’re probably not dissuaded by these counters if you’re already a Lannister loyalist.

The Limited Response rules out a few other options, namely Alchemist's Guild Hall (TBoBB), but the opportunity cost isn’t high. It just means you probably skip the Castellan in a House of Dreams Tunnels of the Red Keep (CoS) build.

Lannister has some other quality options at the 3-cost-spot, namely fellow non-unique characters like Enemy Informer (Core) and Yezzan's Grotesquerie (CD). Ser Arys Oakheart (PotS) and Varys (SaS) usually make my Lannister decks, with a few others like Arrogant Contender (LotR), Chella, Daughter of Cheyk (Core), Shagga Son of Dolf (DB), and Ser Balon Swann (TWH) occasionally making the cut. If you have a specific build, Cersei Lannister and Joffrey Baratheon might also be there. However, the 3 spot isn’t nearly as crowded as other houses like Greyjoy so the Castellan will only have to beat out a few alternatives.

All considered, it’s hard to go wrong with the Castellan, but you might pass him up if Ally-hate spikes, if you prefer the next card even more, or if you’re running a specific build like Power Behind the Throne noble rush that’s all speed and no control.

Next up:
Pyromancer's Cache (TWot5K)
All hail House Lannister, home to card advantage, brutal intrigue challenges and ridiculous draw effects, including but not limited to Golden Tooth Mines (Core), Doubting Septa (LotR), Insidious Ways (Core), and Widow's Wail (LotR).

Even among its peers, Pyromancer’s Cache stands out. Abuse it early and often and your odds will be favorable; shuffle poorly and before long you’ll be sitting with just one or two cards in hand. When I’m deciding to mulligan or keep, I’ll first look at economy, but then I look for key cards vital to success, and this baby is at the top of that short list.

Now drawing one extra card every turn is great and all, but to get the most out of your restricted card you’ll want to be running some Kings and Queens. Currently the best options are Tommen Baratheon (SA) and Cersei Lannister (LotR), with Cersei Lannister (AToT) also in the mix for HoD Tunnels builds. After that the options grow sparse, with two mediocre Joffreys, two neutral Mance Rayders, and everything else being out-of-house.

However, a certain recently-spoiled Queen from the upcoming chapter pack A Turn of the Tide will change everything. I would like to introduce Margaery Tyrell, a 3-cost, 3-strength Queen and Lady who will find a home in most Lannister decks due to her powerful abilities and reasonable stats (not to mention stunning artwork). But I’d like to focus on what that Queen trait can do, because having even a single extra Queen in the deck makes Pyromancer’s Cache much more likely to trigger with double the benefit. As a side note, she also makes King Joffrey's Guard (TWot5K) more reliably kick-ass and The Songs of Bael the Bard (AKitN) more devious. With Songs you can give yourself a King or Queen to fuel the Cache, give your opponent an Ally to fuel Dissension, or now give him a Queen to fuel Margaery.

Some players are scared of the dead-draw risk posed by unique characters, but I like to buck theory and run 2x Tommen and 3x Cersei anyways. I’ve found that more often than not the 2nd card from Pyromancer’s Cache more than makes up for occasionally drawing an already-dead unique character.

In an environment where the Tin Link (CbtC) is restricted itself and attachments are viable once again, I can’t say enough about Pyromancer’s Cache. It’s not an auto-include because of the abundance of alternative draw techniques, but it’s cheaper than Golden Tooth Mines and can be used immediately rather than waiting for the next plot phase. On the downside, Cache cannot be played during setup, can be canceled (because it’s a trigger rather than a passive), and falls off when blanked because it is then illegally attached to a location -- but these are negligible penalties considering it can draw two cards every single turn.

Next week we’ll look at Fury of the Lion, Pentoshi Manor, Mountain Refugee and some neutral restricted choices that might have a role in Lannister builds. Take care until then, Westeros.