Fire and Blood - Usurpers of the Throne

Welcome back to your favorite CardGameDB series, Fire and Blood. This week, Doulos2k and I are going to take a quick look around the post-FAQ metagame and see what those other, inferior houses might be running and how to best tweak our decks in order to ensure our victory at the end of this early regional season. We'll look at three houses in this installment and move on for the others in the future.The Tulsa regional is coming quickly, having been scheduled for April 13 (you are all invited, BTW; both Doulos and I will likely be there) and thus both mice, men, and dragons must finish their initial preparations and begin testing, testing, testing. For those of you new (or even new-ish) to the competitive scene, I recommend the Forging the Chain article series by TinyGrimes. Heading into the major competitions last year, TIny made some exquisite posts about what to expect and how to prepare for success. When you're done, head back here to look around the current meta as I currently see it.

BIG PICTURE THOUGHTS

With the FAQ updates a few weeks behind us, we are already seeing some points of change in the meta. First and foremost, the dominant archetypes have been hit hard, especially Stark Winter/Murder and Martell Control. That's opening up some space for a renewed emphasis on aggro/rush decks, which would typically run out of steam against heavy control. I'm seeing things like Martell Knights, Power Behind the Throne Rush, and even old-school Bara Noble rush making a small comeback. That means that decks will be a tiny bit faster than you're used to.

Further, the FAQ affected our major builds within House Targaryen. I'm still running Hollow Hill ambush and believe it to be one of the best decks in the format, if not THE best. We probably have a strong House of Dreams and even a few decent Aggro builds, but this article will really look at it from the viewpoint of Hollow Hill and try to help you answer the question of which restricted card you should choose as well as if you should go burn-heavy or recursion-heavy (though admittedly your restricted card will be the deciding factor here). Without further ado, let's look at those enemies:


HOUSE BARATHEON

The original Usurpers, Robert Baratheon and his cronies might just see a small uptick this regional. As I said, the restricting of problem cards for rush like Game of Cyvasse, No Quarter, and even Pentoshi Manor will allow Bara to revisit that theme. I also think that Asshai hand control will be strong, as will a shadow/control/delayed rush build. Let's look at what we can do against each of those types.

Noble Rush

Noble rush relies on playing a bunch of dudes, dropping Power of Blood, and winning before you Valar or just saving with dupes or attachments like Bodyguard or Lightbringer. They'll look to win before Plot 3, while we Hollow Hillers are willing in 6-10 plots. How can we unseat these guys?

1. Attachment control. Nipping their Save attachments can be key, helping you push through kill events or even military claim in a pinch. Remember that Dragon Theif can't discard a unique attachment, so pack something else as well, like a Meereenese Brothel.
2. Reset, reset, reset. Power of Blood saves from being killed, but Marched to the Wall, First Snow of Winter, and Threat from the North all reset differently. Judicious use of your plots to lock down their key characters before they reach the win condition will be important.
3. Plot Blanking: Forgotten Plans is a great choice here, removing either Power of Blood or Melisandre's Schemes. That will allow you to push through some challenge-phase burn you might not otherwise be able to do.

Baratheon Holy

Basically the same as above. Forgotten Plans is key here as well, but I'd also add:

1. Judicious use of Any Phase actions. If you see the Altar of Fire, you know he can pluck the card he wants out of your hand. Thus, use it before claim! Ambush in key guys or focus burn on the Holy Crests if you can.

Versus all Bara archetypes, Burn is better than heavy recursion since you'll want to spot-remove problem characters when you need them. Also, with Bara having the weakest draw in the game, you'll be ahead of them either way.

VERDICT: Go burn, but don't underestimate Bara's speed. Beware always the Power of Blood.


HOUSE LANNISTER

Lannister will have three more or less viable builds to choose from. The first is their own heavy control build, either with hyperkneel or Hollow Hill aspects (don't laugh; Lannister KoTHH is VERY solid). There's also Tunnels of the Red Keep Shadow Control and Power Behind the Throne Rush builds, as well as some hybrids of all three. Let's look at each of these in turn:

Lannister Control

Lannister relies heavily on Marshalling phase kneel, with some Any Phase or Challenge kneel tossed in. Cards like Pentoshi Manor are frustrating, but now since they're restricted, that's less of a challenge. Lanni still has the best access to economy and card draw in the game, so that's a challenge as well. What can we Targs do against Casterly Rock?

1. Use our multiplicity of Standing effects. Long Lances > Castellan of the Rock. Long Lances will stack and can be used every phase, whereas the Castellan is a Limited Response. Basically, we can repeatedly un-kneel faster than they can kneel us out. Add in Meereenese Fighting Pit and Kneel really is a theme that shouldn't worry us.
2. Ambush avoids Marshalling phase shenanigans. One of the toughest Lannister cards is A House Divided. Since Ambush is a 'put into play' effect, we avoid the Response on this ridiculous card.
3. Use character abilities carefully. The Iron Throne shuts off a lot of our good stuff, like Magister Illyrio, Long Lances, and Dragon Thief, to name just three. Try to sucker your opponent into wasting his cancel on something that doesn't matter so that you can push through the ability you really want.

Tunnels of the Red Keep

Since this House of Dreams build boosts strength, it's probably the best answer to Burn in the environment and can be very frustrating to play against. What can Targaryen do to thwart these devious Lions?

1. Take advantage of speed. If there's a deck slower than Targ jumpers, it's this one. Try to get the leg up on them before they can get their control locked in. Easier said than done, for sure, but perhaps marshalling more aggressively than you're used to is in order.
2. Consider location control. This is tough out of Targaryen, but Favorable Ground wrecks Tunnels builds. Spot control like a splashed Newly Made Lord can work, and Viserion is the best we have otherwise. This remains a Targaryen house weakness.
3. Plot deck answers. The King's Law is a good choice if you expect Tunnels builds, though not a good one if you don't. Predicting ahead of time what you'll face is essential.
4. Stealth! Winning challenges is tough against all those strong weenies. Stealthing past them might be the only way you can push through to victory. Young Griff, Viserion, and Khal Drogo are your friends here.

Power Behind the Throne

This build is not normally a problem. Burning down Cersei is something we do with ease, and we can typically use our effects to ensure that we punish the agenda from time to time. Company of the Cat and Daenerys Targaryen are good includes here, as is the Dragon Thief. But there are times that this build can cause you problems:

1. Respect Fear of Winter as an opener. This plot simply punishes you for your slow setup and will then strip 4 cards out of your hand; more if they use events or Myrcella. It can be Game Over if you let this go. It's not common these days, but this is as close to a silver bullet against KoTHH as you'll see. Forgotten Plans is the answer, and probably the only answer to this.
2. Don't underestimate the speed. Plot 2 is an absolutely possible time for Lannister to close it out. Use your resets wisely and your burn for characters that need it.
3. Beware the No Attachments guys. Standing Jaime Lannister and Ser Arys Oakheart are renown guys with No Attachments except Weapon. You'll need some event-based burn in these cases.
4. Pack recursion. Lannister will win intrigue challenges. So scoop those cards back up into your hand! Street Waif/Long Lances is great here.

Lannister is a mixed bag, with heavy control and most Power Behind the Throne being weak against us but Tunnels and Fear of Winter variants being extremely strong. I'd say the Long Lances version is a bit better to help break control, but make sure you pack enough punch to burn Cersei in a pinch. If you wanted to get really crazy, Dissension is a great card against Lannister almost always.


HOUSE STARK

Stark is in a bit of a weird spot. They're MUCH tougher to predict than in the past, with both No Quarter and Meera Reed on the restricted list. Here's what I think we can expect out of the North:

House of Dreams

The build du jour was Bear Island, but I don't think that will continue to be the case. Harrenhal and even Widow's Watch are likely stronger builds. Here's some tips to keep in mind against these builds:

1. Punish the character-based draw engines. Guys like Maester Luwin and Rickon Stark add card advantage, so burn them down first off. Don't let them get up in cards since their characters are just so efficient. We may still see Samwell Tarly and his ravens; he's a hot target for being burned down.
2. Expose their small setup. If they set up economy and one character (which happens a lot since the best 0-cost stuff now is reducers), drop Marched to the Wall on the first plot. Otherwise, use your burn to control their claim choices.
3. Respect the military challenge. Sometimes, you can ambush in a guy just to have him die for claim. You should try to keep them handy to make their choices of challenge harder--I'm talking about Dragon Knight and Sellsword Deserter. Viserys Targaryen is a decent choice, too.
4. Beware the Immune to Events characters. I recently lost to a very solid Stark deck which contained Riders of the Red Fork, Galbart Glover, and Damon Dance-for-me. What could my Feasts do against them? Not much, I'm afraid. Thus, you'll want some alternate means of dealing with them....Flame Kissed is a good one.

No Agenda

This slots into a couple of choices, with one featuring the Kindly Man and the other Maege Mormont. The principles are similar:

1. Control that key character agenda! If you can discard the Kindly Man (such as from Threat from the North or Dissension) that's WAY better than letting him get attached. The card advantage and quality that he brings is not to be underestimated. Similarly, with Maege you'll want to burn her before she can trigger and put her in the dead pile. Confession can work wonders if they do get Maege to go off.....pluck her from hand before they can do it again.
2. Stealth! A lot of no agenda builds are defensive in nature, with Frozen Outpost being common. Stealth helps you continue to win those challenges despite those nasty locations. Also, don't forget that Frozen Outpost's STR bump is until the end of the challenge only....

Stark Siege

This has a chance to be one of the fastest decks in the format, IMO. With the resurgence of Epic Battles and the lack of the drawback of Power Behind the Throne, Siege is strong right now. It also lacks the emphasis on Renown that Baratheon has, so the tips for beating it are somewhat different.

1. Prioritize the Power challenge early. Siege is fast, and you'll have to slow it down. You can't burn characters like you can against Bara, so you'll need to keep them from hitting 15 while your plot resets do the work.
2. Consider alternate character control. Parting Blow can work wonders against non-kneeling armies like the Northern Cavalry Flank. Your burn sometimes just can't get it done....what's plan B?
3. Hit the hand; hope for a reset. If you can get card advantage over the Siege build and reset it a couple of times, you'll be in good shape. Things like First Snow + Rule by Decree + Marched to the Wall + Valar + Threat From the North are all good choices.
4. Paper Shield? I've never actually tried this, but with the Epic Battles on the rise, I've thought about it. It can cancel some other key stuff versus Martell and Greyjoy (cancel the cancel!) especially, so it may be worth a look.

Black Sails

These builds are really too new for me to get much of a finger on them, and what I have seen has come out of Greyjoy. For now I'd say burn down the tiny, overcosted Naval guys and you'll be OK.

VERDICT: Tough to predict the matchups, but I'd go burn-heavy here. You'll need an answer to the speed of Siege and to the specific characters of No Agenda stuff.

So what about you? Do you agree with this initial take on the meta and my proposed answers? Have I overlooked a problem build out of these houses? Stay tuned for a future issue in which Greyjoy, Martell and maybe even Neutral and Alliance/Treaty stuff is examined. Until then, thanks for reading!