First Tilt - Greyjoy Aggro on a Budget

Here’s my best shot at a Greyjoy aggro deck built from just one Core Set, the Kings of the Sea deluxe expansion, and six chapter packs. If you’re just getting your feet wet in the Game of Thrones LCG, look no further and come aboard as we set sail for the Iron Islands.

Potential Agendas

There are several different ways to build an aggressive Greyjoy deck, including No Agenda, House of Dreams with Longship Grief, and Black Sails. However today I’ve chosen to build around The Old Way, an agenda that punishes any player who unsuccessfully opposes a challenge -- thus creating an incentive to let challenges through without any opposition. To take full advantage of this agenda I’ve chosen to work with the following chapter packs: A Harsh Mistress, The Kingsguard, The Pirates of Lys, The Horn That Wakes, Forgotten Fellowship, and A Hidden Agenda.

Characters

Unfortunately, House Greyjoy’s most efficient characters are spread out among several packs. For example, Distinguished Boatswain comes in Tales from the Red Keep, Kingsmoot Hopeful comes in Forging the Chain, and Dampair’s Drowned comes in Fire and Ice. Therefore, in order to achieve the proper balance of icons and gold costs among our characters, I’ve had to exercise some creativity. Our deck today uses the new Kingsguard and Silent Sisters even though Krakens don’t often lurk in the shadows.

Locations

Greyjoy often falls short in the card advantage department relative to the other great Houses of Westeros. To cover up this shortcoming, we’ll turn to Bay of Ice combined with Captured Cog and plot cards boasting high initiative values. There’s also Longship Iron Victory and Longship Maiden’s Bane to make challenge math difficult for our opponent. If he fails to take them into account, The Old Way activates and punishes his characters.

Attachments

With Support of Harlaw, tri-con characters like Asha Greyjoy can easily participate in 3 or 4 challenges per phase. Euron’s Favor creates some extra uncertainty for our opponent. Veteran Marauders grants stealth to push through challenges, and then it morphs into an attachment-blanking utility card.

Events

With strength buffs and unopposed challenges in abundance, meeting the condition for Seductive Promise shouldn’t be difficult. The other events help to keep our challenge-winning machine churning by canceling opposing triggers (Seasick), kneeling locations (Storming the Shore), and saving our beatsticks from death (Risen from the Sea).

Finished Decklist

Deck Built with CardGameDB.com GoT Deckbuilder

Total Cards: (60)

House:
House Greyjoy

Agenda: (1)
1x The Old Way (FF)

Plot: (7)
1x Valar Morghulis (Core)
1x Rise of the Kraken (KotS)
1x Victarion's Scheme (TPoL)
1x Negotiations at the Great Sept (TPoL)
1x Rule by Decree (Core)
1x On My Oath (TK)
1x Siege of Riverrun (KotS)

Character: (27)
1x Maester Wendamyr (KotS)
2x Stowaway (KotS)
3x Silent Sisters (KotS)
3x Hammerhorn Raiders (THtW)
1x Lady of the Leaves (FF)
2x Sea Raiders (KotS)
1x Coldhands (THtW)
1x Gormond Goodbrother (THtW)
1x Gran Goodbrother (AHA)
1x Wex Pyke (KotS)
1x Ser Boros Blount (TK)
2x Ser Preston Greenfield (TK)
1x Ygritte (THtW)
1x Dagmer Cleftjaw (KotS)
1x Andrik the Unsmiling (TPoL)
1x Ser Arys Oakheart (TK)
2x Ser Jaime Lannister (TK)
2x Asha Greyjoy (FF)

Attachment: (4)
1x Euron's Favor (AHA)
1x Veteran Marauder (KotS)
2x Support of Harlaw (KotS)

Event: (7)
2x Risen from the Sea (KotS)
1x Seductive Promise (Core)
2x Seasick (KotS)
2x Storming the Shore (FF)

Location: (22)
3x Gatehouse (KotS)
3x Sunset Sea (Core)
3x The Iron Mines (KotS)
2x Longship Iron Victory (KotS)
1x Street of Sisters (Core)
2x Captured Cog (AHM)
2x Bay of Ice (KotS)
2x Kingdom of Shadows (KotS)
1x Street of Steel (Core)
1x Longship Red Jester (AHM)
2x Longship Maiden's Bane (AHA)


Some cards that just missed out include Shadowcat, Greydon Goodbrother, Gendry, Ser Mandon Moore, Balon Greyjoy, Scouting Vessel, Milk of the Poppy, and Assault of the Kraken. Also, if you happen to already own Twist of Fate, Damphair’s Drowned, The Reader, River Blockade, or Naval Escort, they would all make excellent additions.

Wrap-Up

If you haven’t seen these already, I’ve created a thread in the forum devoted to answering common new-player questions about the Thrones LCG, and I’ve put up a spreadsheet that includes all of the spoiled cards from the upcoming Conquest and Defiance cycle.

Finally, I’d like to plug the upcoming Store Championship tournament on March 15^th at Raven’s Nest Games in Marietta, Georgia. Let me know if you’re at all interested in attending! Thanks for reading, and please feel free to request any decks, themes or strategies that you’d like to see covered in future First Tilt columns.