[Italian National 2010] 4th Place - Stark Winter

By Gualdo, in 1. AGoT General Discussion

House Stark( Kings of Winter ) - 63 cards

33x Characters :
2X Hungry Mob (King's Landing)
3X Bolton Refugee (A Time of Ravens)
2X Northern Cavalry Flank (A Time of Ravens)
1X Jory Cassel (A Clash of Arms)
3X Carrion Bird (A Time of Ravens)
1X Syrio Forel (King's Landing)
1X Arya Stark (King's Landing)
2X Shadowcat (Kings of the Sea)
3X Ranger of Winter (A Time of Ravens)
1X Hodor (Core Set)
1X Maester Vyman (A Time of Ravens)
1X Old Nan (A Clash of Arms)
1X Shaggydog (Core Set)
1X Varys (King's Landing)
1X Brienne of Tarth (Princes of the Sun)
1X The Hound (Princes of the Sun)
1X Eddard Stark (King's Landing)
1X Ser Jorah Mormont (Princes of the Sun)
1X Littlefinger (King's Landing)
1X Craster (Defenders of the North)
1X Robb Stark (Core Set)
1X Samwell Tarly (A Time of Ravens)
1X Catelyn Stark (Core Set)
1X Cat o' the Canals (A Time of Ravens)

12 x Locations:
1X Lord Eddard's Chambers (Core Set)
3X Narrow Sea (Core Set)
3X Northern Fiefdoms (Core Set)
1X Frozen Moat (Defenders of the North)
1X Street of Steel (Core Set)
3X Great Keep (Core Set)

6x Attachments:
2X Icy Catapult (A Clash of Arms)
1X Northern Steel (King's Landing)
2X White Raven (A Time of Ravens)
1X Nymeria (Core Set)

12x Events:
3X Winter is Coming (Core Set)
3X To Be a Wolf (A Clash of Arms)
2X Feigned Retreat (Defenders of the North)
2X Lethal Counterattack (Core Set)
2X Distinct Mastery (Core Set)

Plots:
1X Fury of the Wolf (A Clash of Arms)
1X A Time for Ravens (A Time of Ravens)
1X The Winds of Winter (A Time of Ravens)
1X Valar Morghulis (Core Set)
1X Fear of Winter (Defenders of the North)
1X Rule by Decree (Core Set)
1X Battle of Oxcross (Princes of the Sun)

I will post a complete report of the great tourney we had yesterday. When pics will arrive I will write a complete "story of the ITA Champ" :-)

I tested this deck fo 3 months. I used it in tourney online and in 2 regionals we had.

In the first tourney (LODI)I lost in swiss against a lanni shadow and a Stark Winter more or less equal to mine.

I won the second tourney loosing only one game in swiss against a Targa/Shadow... but taking my revenge into final match!!!

Since I used more or less same deck for a long time I felt all my possible opponents knew my strategy, my weakness, my strong points...

So I tried to think something different... I changed plots... 2 plots and 5-6 cards into the deck...

I'm very very happy about my choices...

I decided to "dont' have controll location"... My weaken point is "draw"... I rely on a 1x Card: Sam Tarly... this is not enough... so I manage a way in which... with a decent setup... I discard mathematically (more or less :-)) tons of cards at the beginning of the game to my opponents...

I had 2 starting strategy that depended on my setup, hand and opponent...

My best card change was put "Battle of Oxcross" instead of Rule by Decree... this move made me win lots of matches...

If I start with in hand a lethal counterattack I always start with "Battle of Oxcross"... I don't know in your meta but I saw nobody using this plot in the last times... so nobody expected this one... In past tourney I started always with Fear of Winter... this move was a surprise and worked very well...

Battle of Oxcross to start has a good income... a very good "military Battle" trait (that prevents me to use Fury at the beginning to rely on to be a wolf) and most of all "low" initiative... 90% of the cases a player started with Fury or City of lies or a city initiative 4... my opponent always started for initiative... my plot invite people to initiate a military... with the Lethal I kill attackers... they didnt' won a military... and then it is my turn to win mil... first round was lots of time with opponent table erased...

If I had >=2 char in setup that my opponent and usually no lethal in hand Fear of Winter to start is "terrific"... also in this case 99% of the times opponent have in game city of lies, or fury... they start fearing my claim 2... I leave ALWAYS them a intrigue so mathematically next round is 8 cards him, 7 me... rule by decree... and I start match with table advantage and cards in hand one...

The deck worked perfectly... I won all 5 swiss rounds... quarter finals against lannister...

In semifinals I matched against Deco... a National Champion 2004 (If I remember right) where he won when he was 17 years old...

He is a terrific player... He is also a great poker player... he is tactical... cold... and have "the mind that looks 2 round after" :-)

I knew the match would be difficult and I feared the good draw in ALL other matches... statistic is the way... :-)

Mulligan- I setup- Cavalry - fiefdoms and one little char that I cannot remember... bad setup in a deck with an average of 5 cards in play at setup...

The refill was even worse... after first draw I had in hand only 2 char... a refugee and a ranger... only events, loc and attach...

The problem is his setup...

Wintertime - 2 mines - and scouting vassel... preocupado.gif

My main point to survive was to try the fury... win the "head or tail" and at least make him discard his mines... I won initiative and played rangers... he played another wintertime and scurvy... and winter raven...

sorpresa.gif

I attacked and he used all mines to save... I had table erased... second round... Valar... he finished the saving so It was a good move...

the bad thing is that I still had 9 cards with only refugee and no char!!!

for winter agenda he drew me to be a wolf (my only hope :-( )

Well.. he drew his third wintertime marauders...

llorando.gif

very difficult to manage!!!

At the end a Balon with 2 savings events made the way :-)

And also another to be a wolf discarded for winter :-)

... the laughty thing is that I drew Brienne and Robb stark when my opponend had initiative... 13 powers and Balon strenght 5 :-)

In the final 3rd-4th place I re-met a Targaryen Summer that I bet into swiss... I arrived at 14-2 than my 7th Valar plot and no cards in hand made the way :-)

For the complete Report we have to wait pics and then I'll write complete results and decklists...

1st place Max (Lannister/Shadow)

2nd place Deco (Greyjoy/Winter)

3rd place Topo (Targa/Summer)

4th place Gualdo (Stark/Winter)

We were 20 partecipants!!!

Wow! 20 Participants is a great turn out. THanks for the Preliminary TR and I can't wait to see the full TR and pics.

Congratulations on your 4th place finish. Sounds like a good deck that you played extremely well. Playing the same deck for a long time really helps at larger events. Glad to see Stark continue to do well in Europe. I'm guessing the new boxset wasn't legal for his event?

We put the "deadline" of legal sets to wildling horde to don't oblige people to "run ordering online" to have them in time...

Hope to send this evening or tomorrow complete reports... I will be 3 days out of work so hope to have wifi in the hotel ;-)

Well done, Gualdo! Thanks for your report and congratulations on your fourth place finish. Look forward to the rest of the report. Twenty participants is great.

gualdo: let's throw the full results on the wiki, and link to the decklists there; then you can link to that page in the eventual report you want to put up on the forums :-) i'll email you

it will be done!!! :-)