Forgive me for the topic title. This is a deck that that was inspired by Salladhor Saan's unique passive:

At the end of the standing phase, the player who controls the most standing characters claims 2 power for his or her House.

I figured I would try to have more characters than my opponent and have some draw to be able to regroup after the inevitable reset. Add a few win by 4 stuff and this is what I came up with:

----- Plots (7) avg income: 3.8 -----
Stay of Execution x1 Kings of the Sea F52
An Empty Throne x1 Kings of the Sea F53
A Time for Ravens x1 A Change of Seasons F59
Unconventional Warfare x1 A Change of Seasons F60
Rains of Autumn x1 Core Set B184
Counting Favors x1 Core Set T203
Fury of the Stag x1 Ancient Enemies F27

----- Characters (39) avg cost: 1.6 -----
Highgarden Refugee x3 Refugees of War F86
Vale Refugee x3 Refugees of War F97
* Gilly x1 Refugees of War F98
* Renly Baratheon x1 The Raven's Song F64
* Samwell Tarly x1 The Raven's Song F66
Carrion Bird x3 A Song of Summer F16
* Stannis Baratheon x1 Core Set B72
* Maester Cressen x1 Core Set B77
* Edric Storm x3 Core Set B79
Knight of the Rainwood x3 Core Set B81
Old Red Priest x3 Core Set B84
Bastard of Robert x3 Core Set B87
House Tyrell Guard x3 Core Set B88
* Maester Aemon x1 Core Set T151
Zealous Collector x3 Calling the Banners F115
* Salladhor Saan x3 Epic Battles F62
The Fox's Teeth x3 The War of Five Kings F15

----- Locations (11) avg cost: 0.6 -----
* King Robert's Chambers x1 Core Set B94
Aegon's Garden x1 Core Set B95
Narrow Sea x3 Core Set B99
Street of Steel x1 Core Set S139
Shadowblack Lane x1 Core Set L144
Street of Sisters x1 Core Set B149
* Claw Isle x3 Epic Battles F73

----- Attachments (4) avg cost: 2 -----
* Lightbringer x1 Core Set B68
Martial Law x3 The Battle of Ruby Ford F97

----- Events (6) -----
Seductive Promise x3 Core Set T175
The Battle at the Wall x3 Epic Battles F67

Any thoughts or tips?

Nice concept, man.

I try to say something that may sound stupid to you, but It's something that for some reasons I see...

I'd try to improve the "EPIC" stuff in order to give the deck a tricky appeal...The thing is: try to have a good "defence" to stall challenges phase and then use the Epic to speed up Sallador...The perfect thing would be some events recursion, but at this time, I don't see anything good for Bara in that sense.

I've never thought about it, but Sallador's passive can be a nice and solid catch for the Epic mechanic.

Of course, these are theorical meta-discussions...I'd just give it a try, maybe removing some stuff I don't see well in the deck (like 3x Zealous collector...1 or 2 could be fine to me).

Just an Idea, man ;-)

DB_Cooper said:

I'm not sure I understand. Epic phase is before the standing phase and Saan's ability is at the end of the standing phase. "Most" of the time the number of standing characters at the end of the standing phase is the number of characters on the board ( Lanisport Brothel being the main exception).

I changed the deck slightly. I was a bit worried about targeted kill on Saan or Valar before I got a dupe or Lightbringer out. Also I realized my win by 4 capabilities were modest so I removed a Martial Law and Seductive Promise and added 2 Retreats.

Any experienced players care to comment on the gold curve? Do I have too much draw? What plots would add to the deck?

Egg said:

Yeah, sorry, bad mistake...You're right, looking for better suggestions than mines ;-)

Sorry, but it was late and I wrote without thinkin'...I thought about my mistake yesterday, while playing with a friend of mine...It happens...

I try to sugget you something anyway...Counting Favors is a dangerous weapon...I know it's "intriguing", but it's a little bit too risky, especially if you think about some "control decks".

I'd put in something else, maybe a good 2 claim plot as Siege At Riverrun: you basically exchange an Intrigue challenge with a good Inititiative and high claim...Not that bad in almost any deck.
I'd give a try to RULED BY DECREE. It's an awesome plot against Lannisters and when you are quick in general.

Bye.

;-)

So I have tweaked it a bit more. I got rid of The Battle at the Wall Epic event as I figured my ability to win challenges is not really the point of the deck as well as the double sided benefit of giving my opponents draw and the fact that I could have drawn through Sam and Renly already thus my opponent could get more benefit than me. To replace those I went for Bay of Ice as I already built some initiative into the deck to go first for things like The Fox's Teeth and a small bit of steal. Took out 2X Edric Storm for less reliance on win by 4 and less Limited Response and less multiples of uniques. Added Davos as he fits into the model of having more characters on the board. Dropped the Robert's Chambers for another Aegon's Garden as I have no need for influence. I'm a bit leery on having 3x House Tyrell Guards as they are pretty weak. Thought of taking some out for Royal Guards, should I? With plots I decided Rule by decree could be a good turn 2 plot since I will have more cards out of hand most likely and Song of Summer is good Bay of Ice insurance.

DB_Cooper: I am sorry if you took the "any experienced players" part of my request as personal. I value all of your input, I was just confused at your reasoning with that particular example. I have very little idea of how experienced you are but I can say with confidence that you are more experienced than me and therefore your advice is much appreciated.

----- Plots (7) avg income: 4.1 / avg initiative: 4.4 -----

Stay of Execution x1 Kings of the Sea F52
An Empty Throne x1 Kings of the Sea F53
A Time for Ravens x1 A Change of Seasons F59
Unconventional Warfare x1 A Change of Seasons F60
A Song of Summer x1 A Song of Summer F20
Rule by Decree x1 Core Set T206
Fury of the Stag x1 Ancient Enemies F27
----- Characters (38) avg cost: 1.7 -----
Highgarden Refugee x3 Refugees of War F86
Vale Refugee x3 Refugees of War F97
Gilly x1 Refugees of War F98
Renly Baratheon x1 The Raven's Song F64
Samwell Tarly x1 The Raven's Song F66
Carrion Bird x3 A Song of Summer F16
Stannis Baratheon x1 Core Set B72
Ser Davos Seaworth x1 Core Set B75
Maester Cressen x1 Core Set B77
Edric Storm x1 Core Set B79
Knight of the Rainwood x3 Core Set B81
Old Red Priest x3 Core Set B84
Bastard of Robert x3 Core Set B87
House Tyrell Guard x3 Core Set B88
Maester Aemon x1 Core Set T151
Zealous Collector x3 Calling the Banners F115
Salladhor Saan x3 Epic Battles F62
The Fox's Teeth x3 The War of Five Kings F15
----- Locations (15) avg cost: 0.4 -----
Bay of Ice x3 Kings of the Sea F30
Aegon's Garden x3 Core Set B95
Narrow Sea x3 Core Set B99
Street of Steel x1 Core Set S139
Shadowblack Lane x1 Core Set L144
Street of Sisters x1 Core Set B149
Claw Isle x3 Epic Battles F73
----- Attachments (3) avg cost: 2 -----
Lightbringer x1 Core Set B68
Martial Law x2 The Battle of Ruby Ford F97
----- Events (4) -----
Retreat x2 Core Set B171
Seductive Promise x2 Core Set T175

Egg said:

No problem, man! ;-)

Sometimes it's IMPOSSIBLE to explain correctly what we mean by forum (and sometimes "stupid" people like me post wrong things because it's too late and it's time to sleep ;-))....

Anyway...

I can see more resilience, here...

About your troubles...

I used to play House Tyrell Guard...Now they're out ;-)

- I really prefer 3x Royal Guards. They've the same cost, but with Vigilant...yes, they're not virtually "free", but they're fine to me.

- To be a stag is a GREAT standing effect and you can get back something in your discard...I think it's not that bad in a deck like this...Try it! ;-)

- 3x Claw isle it's maybe too much...I like it a lot, but I play 1x and I'm fine...You can put 2x, if you want to have it soon.

- I get the point of Maester Aemon, but I think you can TRY to pull it out for something better...Maybe a DUPE of some Key char or something different...

- I'd like to see you try Kingswood's trail...It's an INSIDIOUS shadow card and can make you kneel something, if needed...I think it can fit the deck.

- Maybe a Den of the wolf to "double gain" from Sallador is not that bad ;-) It's more like a SURPRISE effect and a tech...But I think it's "funny" ;-)

- Core Set Melisandre is devastating for Mirror Matches, for renown, for Dominance...and for the small Old Red Priest, which become 2 STR, TRICON at 1COST...I play 2xMelisandre and they Work perfectly. Think about her with banner of the storm.

- Banner of the storm (2x are OK) can fit the deck perfectly.

Hope it helps. ;-)

So due to not being able to get Bay of Ice x3 this is my deck that I used at Seattle Regionals on the weekend. To make up for some draw I added another King Renly and Sam, and then I added a 3rd Seductive Promise. The deck pretty much worked how I wanted it to and I went 3-1 in round robin beating Lanni, Stark, and Bara and losing to Cha0s's Lanni when Salladhor Saan was working for him. I then lost to ring's Lanni in the semis when he Seductive Promised me 2x and used both resets by turn 4 and I had very little cards to play after that. I'm gonna change a few things and see if I can get it to run a bit smoother. Since draw was an issue I'm not sure I want the Royal Guards (being stalwart and all). I'm thinking I probably could have drawn a bit more with Bays of Ice so ideally I would go back to that. Win by 4 was sometimes a problem so I am willing to lose the Martial Laws and some Seductive Promises.

----- Plots (7) avg income: 4.1 / avg initiative: 4.4 -----

Stay of Execution x1 Kings of the Sea F52
An Empty Throne x1 Kings of the Sea F53
A Time for Ravens x1 A Change of Seasons F59
Unconventional Warfare x1 A Change of Seasons F60
A Song of Summer x1 A Song of Summer F20
Rule by Decree x1 Core Set T206
Fury of the Stag x1 Ancient Enemies F27
----- Characters (40) avg cost: 1.7 -----
Highgarden Refugee x3 Refugees of War F86
Vale Refugee x3 Refugees of War F97
Gilly x1 Refugees of War F98
Renly Baratheon x2 The Raven's Song F64
Samwell Tarly x2 The Raven's Song F66
Carrion Bird x3 A Song of Summer F16
Stannis Baratheon x1 Core Set B72
Ser Davos Seaworth x1 Core Set B75
Maester Cressen x1 Core Set B77
Edric Storm x1 Core Set B79
Knight of the Rainwood x3 Core Set B81
Old Red Priest x3 Core Set B84
Bastard of Robert x3 Core Set B87
House Tyrell Guard x3 Core Set B88
Maester Aemon x1 Core Set T151
Zealous Collector x3 Calling the Banners F115
Salladhor Saan x3 Epic Battles F62
The Fox's Teeth x3 The War of Five Kings F15
----- Locations (12) avg cost: 0.5 -----
Aegon's Garden x3 Core Set B95
Narrow Sea x3 Core Set B99
Street of Steel x1 Core Set S139
Shadowblack Lane x1 Core Set L144
Street of Sisters x1 Core Set B149
Claw Isle x3 Epic Battles F73
----- Attachments (3) avg cost: 2 -----
Lightbringer x1 Core Set B68
Martial Law x2 The Battle of Ruby Ford F97
----- Events (5) -----
Retreat x2 Core Set B171
Seductive Promise x3 Core Set T175