I used to play AGoT many moons ago, but Call of Cthulhu stole me away. Core set has brought me back...

I recently ordered a core set and one each of the first 6 chapter packs. Am I going to be able to build semi-compettitive decks? Has anyone out there built pure "core" decks from this pool of cards?

- Stu

It depends on what you mean by "competitive."

You can build pretty good decks that are satisfying and fun to play from just the cards in the Core Set and Chapter Packs. I've built a couple and did not find the deckbuilding process too rigid or the cardpool too small.

However, I built those decks with the intention to play them against other decks built out of the same cardpool. I would be very nervous about playing them "competitively" against decks that worked from a cardpool that included cards from before the chapter packs. Primarily this is because I feel there are a couple of "holes" in the Core Set card pool (draw, saves, cancels, spot control, etc.) that necessarily turn into holes in "Core Set" decks. That's not a big deal when you're playing against other Core Set decks because there isn't much in the cardpool to exploit the "holes" in the deck. In the larger card pool, there are.

That's just my opinion and experience, of course. However, I'd say that when playing against other people who only have the fixed cardpool available to them, competition can be pretty robust. When you mix "Core Set" decks and "old Standard" decks, the competition might feel a little one-sided.

Oh, and there were certainly some events and such in the Core Set that I wanted more than one of, so one Core Set and one each of the 6 (now 8) available chapter packs might not give you the deck you really want. Multiples might be in order.

uberursine said:

So, welcome back...

(OT: I used to play CoC as well, but Agot is going to take the most of my time...It's simply "better" then CoC right now, IMHO...Let's wait for CoC Core Set for final judging...)

I have to agree with Ktom's suggestions...

i'd add my personal experience about it...

I think you can reach a good level with Baratheon and Targaryen...These houses give you the best "start" with the Core Set cards and adding some neutrals and OOH cards you can build up funny decks (I'm workin' on a Bara deck that seems very funny).

This is just my opinion, not a general rule or imperative...Maybe with the upcoming Agendas for Martell and Greyjoy, you should be able to build up funny things with no regrets about the "old standard"...Summer and Winter mechanic is going to be very interesting, even if I'm not sure if it'll be an everlasting strategy.

BTW, if you can, pick up another Core set: there are lots of "Core cards" in 1x and you'll need a couple of them to improve your deckbuilding choices.

Cheers.

I'm also a returning player, the last sets I seriously bought anything from were A Throne of Blades and Ice & Fire.

The biggest problem I'm having with Core only decks is the abysmal plot and event selection. I personally don't think they'll hold a candle to any serious deck that is playing with cards from the Iron Throne or Winter blocks.

As a returning player, however, I have no idea what, if anything, I should keep an eye out for in terms of cards from older blocks.

Sinis said:

they are fine for what they are designed for, multiplayer.

The events i think are actually pretty good, the only qualm i have is that there is only 1x of them in the core set decks, but at least there is a variety of solid ones.

Sinis said:

Well it depends on what you want to do. If you only want to stay in LCG format thewn you only need to pick up the LCash of arms Chapter packs (6 of them). If you want to play legacy you will need to pick up a lot of cards, or build a deck on http://www.tzumainn.com/agot/decks/ and tafrget the singles somehow.

As an FYI the stroylines are LCG format (i think they are the most approachable for new/returning players)

Lars said:

Mmm, I found they were pretty bad. The "To be an X" actions from Sacred Bonds are all but unusable because there are almost no plots in the core set and chapter packs with those keywords, the "X for your King!" cards are nearly unsable for the same reason. It leaves only handful of actions that are actually usable (I think my current deck runs 3x Distraction, 3x Winter is Coming, 3x Stark Epic Battle, 1x Battle at Ruby Ford).

My wife and I sidestepped the problem of those actions by buying two Core sets. Nearly all of them are reprints without alteration, so we're using a few of our older cards to complete the playsets.

Lars said:

Yeah, that's what we're looking forward to. We stopped playing CCGs because of the collectible nature of it; it was expensive and wasteful. We're probably just going to play in LCG events until all the collectible sets rotate out.

Edit: Arg, my wife didn't log out of my computer :| This is actually Sinis posting.

Shara said:

It's not well outlined in the current notes about the Organized Play Program, but essentially all events are LCG events. The official format for Major/Regional Championship events is LCG-constructed (so only the Core Set and Chapter Packs). There are two choices for "Hedge" tournaments; LCG-constructed or Legacy Highlander (any set, CCG or LCG, but only one copy by title in a deck). So all the collectible sets pretty much have rotated out.

ktom said:

Yes, she and I are just discovering this now. We can't say that we're displeased, though we wonder what sort of effect his will have on our local meta (will our players be really upset and quit?).

We did put together core only decks last night, but it's a far cry from what we're used to. We played mostly in the Westeros-Ice & Fire era, when events were merciless, brutal and very near unconditional (Put to the Sword/Torch). The events right now are taking some getting used to, as are the new keywords.

Sinis said:

A lot of that is coming down to the individual metas, but it is a very legitimate concern. A whole bunch of folks were put off by the "early" rotation, especially of the Five Kings set (the availability of which seems presupposed when you read a lot of the CP cards).

Where specifically are you? Are you in touch with other players in the area?

event suggestions for stark in the lcg environment that you do not use Sinis

To be a wolf (it only needs 1 military battle in your used pile, and guess what, stark has a bad ass military battle plot)

Kings in the north (2 extra power for dominence...ok. People are complaing about a new plot that lets you claim 3 power in dominence as broken, this isn't too far behind)

Lethal counter attack (could wipe someone's board if they are no careful, also notice it doesn't say if they are attacking you)

Gulity! (nuff said)

Retreat (not a save so gets around wildfire assualt as well as valar and any direct kill)

Support of the kingdom (with Eddard, Catelyn, the greatjon, and Hodor it isn't hard for stark to win power on attack or defense)

Seductive Promise (see above, just add more STR to the challenge)

Distinct Mastery (i think stark has the most crests in the LCG environment)

Questioned Claim (get some use out of Jayne westerling and/or run Mance from the Winter CP to double the chances of this being effective)

->event suggestions for stark in the lcg environment that you do not use Sinis

->To be a wolf (it only needs 1 military battle in your used pile, and guess what, stark has a bad ass military battle plot)
Well, actually, they have just one Military Battle plot. I think it is only 'badass' in that it has numbers that are pretty much irreplaceable. The problem is having to use the plot, even at a time you don't want to, in order to use the action. I'm certainly considering this one.

->Kings in the north (2 extra power for dominence...ok. People are complaing about a new plot that lets you claim 3 power in dominence as broken, this isn't too far behind)
I find that if I can play this card, my opponent can't actually do anything anyway. If you have two people to kneel in the Dominance phase, your opponent is probably on the ropes. This just helps you win faster once you've got a very superior board position. I want events that help me achieve that board position. The rest can be done with unopposed challenges or power challenges.

->Lethal counter attack (could wipe someone's board if they are no careful, also notice it doesn't say if they are attacking you)
Yes, this one is certainly getting consideration.

->Gulity! (nuff said)
Suffers from sort of the same issues as Kings in the North. I'm definitely considering one or two because you can opt to play it with influence instead of kneeling a noble crest character (again, by the dominance phase, my characters tend to be tapped out, noble crest characters are usually required in the challenges).

->Retreat (not a save so gets around wildfire assualt as well as valar and any direct kill)
It *is* save, or at least, it used to be. It was errataed a long time ago, I'm not sure why they reprinted it with it's current text.

->Support of the kingdom (with Eddard, Catelyn, the greatjon, and Hodor it isn't hard for stark to win power on attack or defense)
Yeah, I wonder about it. I mean, I'm already burning their stuff down with War Horn, and I've got the Fleeing To the Wall plot to keep their locations down and out...

->Seductive Promise (see above, just add more STR to the challenge)
Winning a power challenge by 4 or more is pretty hard, especially against the Targ and Baratheon decks around.

->Distinct Mastery (i think stark has the most crests in the LCG environment)
Yeah, this isn't bad. I'm not running many crest characters, mostly cheaper non-uniques with good strength to gold cost ratios.

->Questioned Claim (get some use out of Jayne westerling and/or run Mance from the Winter CP to double the chances of this being effective)
I thought of running Jeyne/Mance, but I dunno. I certainly might switch some of my characters out for this.



I was also thinking of running the 'banner' actions (For Family and Honor, Compelled By the North). They seem not awful, though I'd have to run those banner-lads.

ktom said:

We're in Toronto, Canada. We play other games with the other players in the area infrequently, or are in contact with them because they're old friends. Some of them we haven't heard from in a long time. I'm sure they'll play, once we get a hold of them.

Edit: As long as we're having a slightly off-topic dialogue, how can I change my avatar? I tried changing it in my profile, but it gives me an error when I click update profile... is there a known issue and associated workaround?

Here is what I built using only 2 Core sets:

Stark: http://tzumainn.com/agot/decks/deck.php?current_deck_id=15165

Lanni: http://tzumainn.com/agot/decks/deck.php?current_deck_id=15168

Bara: http://tzumainn.com/agot/decks/deck.php?current_deck_id=15166

Targ: http://tzumainn.com/agot/decks/deck.php?current_deck_id=15167