House Martell( The Rangers, The Free Folk, The Last Giants, The Stewards, Blood of the First Men )

Characters:
3X Ranger of the Watch (Defenders of the North)
1X Craster (Defenders of the North)
1X Stonesnake (Defenders of the North)
3X Traitorous Crow (Defenders of the North)
1X Orell the Eagle (Defenders of the North)
3X The Wildling Horde (Defenders of the North)
3X Defenders of the North (Defenders of the North)
1X Coldhands (Defenders of the North)
1X Mance Rayder (Defenders of the North)
2X Val (Defenders of the North)
1X Arianne Martell (Princes of the Sun)
1X Ser Arys Oakheart (Princes of the Sun)
3X House Messenger (Princes of the Sun)
3X Orphan of the Greenblood (Princes of the Sun)
3X Dornish Paramour (King's Landing)
3X Skinchanger (Defenders of the North)
1X Varys (King's Landing)
1X Gilly (A Time of Ravens)
1X Ellaria Sand (Princes of the Sun)
3X Refugee of the Citadel (A Time of Ravens)

Locations:
3X Kingdom of Shadows (Kings of the Sea)
1X Lord Doran's Chambers (Princes of the Sun)
1X The Land Beyond the Wall (A Clash of Arms)
3X Water Garden (Princes of the Sun)
1X Street of Sisters (Core Set)

Attachments:
3X Climbing Spikes (Defenders of the North)
3X Venomous Blade (King's Landing)

Events:
2X Seductive Promise (Core Set)
3X A Game of Cyvasse (A Time of Ravens)
2X The Hand's Judgement (King's Landing)
2X Condemned by the Council (King's Landing)

Plots:
1X Fear of Winter (Defenders of the North)
2X The Power of Arms (Core Set)
1X Marched to the Wall (Lords of Winter)
1X The Winds of Winter (A Time of Ravens)
1X Fury of the Sun (A Clash of Arms)
1X Mutual Cause (Core Set)

Article I wrote in spanish forum about "Why I played this deck?!?"

I never concidered 6 agendas before late july. As I explained to all of you we cannot organize tournament like you have "every week". We don't have game translated and we are a very strong group, but far away from each other so it is not easy to match up more than once per month.

I played a lot.... a lot... a lot... online... cause it was the only way for me to play every day... So I play with shangay people, american one, italian, european and so on...

In this way you know other metas and of course you can improve.

One week before Gencon with Erick we tested a bit since he was nearly to go to Gencon and so wanted to test a bit (not showing decks to live opponent I think ;-))... I played a no location stark direwolf rush based on Feral pack... well... this deck won some games and lost some others... steal deadly with army and goin with multiple military challenges (both plot and epic battles) was annoying for x-agenda deck...

From that deck I was admirated by him playing the traitorus... 3 icons - 4 strength-stealth and most of all restand with kingdom of shadows... Amazing... and I think other Stahleck Agendas Deck were not ready to face a mirror match... I thought about lots of mirror... but that's not the only reason I played traitorus... I expected also lots of summer cause only greyjoy plays winter and it is an easy draw cause greyjoy are not so much played... so lots of gilly, sam... and at the end think about a traitorus crow that come out of shadow... I kill my ranger of the watch... I kill mine 1 cost char to have a triicon stealth that make 2 challenge per turn... it is amazing anyway... that's why I was so concerned about the fact nobody played traitorus... (even if, if i would never had seen that from erick, I would never understood the power and had that idea)...

Than I focused on Martell for several reasons... Events... Events... Venomus

I played a lot, I changed deck continuatevely to find a way to have possibility against all kind of staff I were weaken.

My weak points:

1- non unique char > too proud to bow > Men with no kings
2- annoying 2 str char >pit viper, underneath assassin, renly courier,
3- locations: both hill targaryen, bear island, toll gate, black cells
4- stannis.... i have no lord... stannis is a nightmare!!!
5- red viper and Taste for blood > i have to win to 27 (25). I have to handle speedy decks.
6- martell summer recycling with open market bleeds and using 3 influence char of brotherhood cycle for easy bleeds without having lots of locations
7- lots of valar... lots of reset... I have to win to 27 (the day before tourney I changed to 25 for kabala)... if a red viper with taste is in play I have lost...
8-stark feral pack as mine
9-Aero Hotah

I expected lots of 6 agenda cause it is a broken deck without doubt. BROKEN. My thinking is... lots of military... this is the thing that I expect... so Stark, maybe greyjoy, Lannister cause goolden tooth and toll gate... only few martell (and in this case I was wrong).

Anyway I was wrong about Martell but I'm pretty sure I was not wrong on the fact that I had something different... cause I knew my weakness points...

So after tourneys, online etc I have reached this thinking:

A- I definitevly need lots of char. I don't need locations. So 3 gold income location. 3 kinddom of shadows. One Land beyond the wall. street of sister, doran chamber. STOP -> 39 characters

B- I was waiting lots of red viper decks so How to kill him?? Marched to the wall. The same for bara nobles (Stannis at first). I need to get those char "cannot be killed cause plot" isolated so I can use Marched with them only alone in the play area.

So: Game of cyvasse 3x, seductive 2x, 2 claim plot make also this dirty work. I cannot allow red viper 2 turns in game. 3x venomus. I isolate top char and when they are alone marched. Game of Cyvasse is also great against rush deck to have them loose they power jumping in hand.

C- 2x anti event Hand's judgement against a seductive, a forever burning, and most of all BLEEDS

D- I have to draw. I tried at first to put more gold income in plot to play martell army but didn't worked. So to draw I had 2x Val (incredible char in this type of deck), 3x dornish paramour, 3x house messenger.

E- Ally hate is for free cause we have arys and varys.

D- Venomus to kill val, sam tarly, maester of the sun and all other annoying staff.

E- I have to control a little bit location so 2x condmened and 3x climbing. First enemy toll gate and hill targaryen that look at the hand. Second enemy shadow locations.

F- Orphan of the greenblood... what a great character!!! What a great character...

Martell gave me responses to all my weakness...

This deck is not invincible... metamagos should have won if it wasn't for a great luck in draw... and if it wasn't so kind to give me courage on continuing fighting... but I draw something that could change the game... not an army... but an answer of army problem. .. so let's say 99% luck but 1% of good deck building

... going to such a huge tourney you have to predict future... I was lucky to have predicted it well... I waited Lots of heavily military based Agenda Deck and I built a heavily x-Agenda control deck deadly in all 3 icon challenges... traitorus and recycle them with game of cyvasse in mirror match were so a great move... and seductive promise another key factor... at last: 5 2-claim agenda... a bless...

Here my analysis about my deck.

Thanks for sharing, Gualdo. And for taking the time to translate the article you wrote for the Spanish forums. It's obvious you did a lot of thinking and testing before the tournament. Glad it worked out for you. I was surprised to see no "red vengeance", "he calls it thinking", or "burning on the sands" for your event selection, but each of your events were chosen for a specific purpose in your build, so good job on that.

Now, be sure to think carefully about what card you will design. I know from your other posts on these forums that you are a Stark/Greyjoy player at heart. Of those two, I think Grejjoy could use something special/unique the most. Regardless, look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Congratulations once again, and thanks.

I wanted to criticize this, but I can't really find anything to criticize. I especially like the use of Stonesnake (I think his ability is so Nedly and awesome).

I can see how it would lose against the Targ hate deck, but at the same time, Targ hate can lose so easily vs other decks that I think you definitely made the right meta call. And also got pretty lucky in your one game.

Stonesnake was designed to be the best response against wildling stealthed armies but somehow it was never in play :-) So never stealthed nobody with him in this tourney.

Wow...I thought I was listening to myself above. The exact same reasons for playing Martell/4 treaty for me. It was touch and go between Martell's Blades/AWESOME events and Lanni's locations (GTM, kneeling ones) and so-so events (Writ Small, Debts). Good to see Martell win!

I just couldn't pull the trigger on all 6 agendas. Too Nedly for my own good - I hate traitors so refused to play them even though Dobbler killed me with them in playtesting. I couldn't play both sets of armies together... These are not excuses, everyone plays differently (I can't play Castellean as well, although I might have to rethink that).

I love your plot selection. Plots (along with agendas) are your most important decision, and you knocked that out of the park. I have always loved Marched as well, and would have loved to have it in my deck.

Hand's Judgement was my last cut, and probably the one card I wish I would have played. Like you said, perfect against the Forever Burnings that Erick was killing me with in my two losses.

Great job again, and thanks for posting both the deck and your thoughts on it (some people wouldn't have). A huge accomplishment, and you are rightly pround about it.

rings said:

Actually Traitorous Crows are not traitors Why didn't you refused to play Arys and Varys?

Rogue30 said:

I have made that mistake more than once today!

And because Ally has always SUPPOSED to be in this game a negative trait and the cards are costed/powered appropriately. And because they are uniques which changes the entire dynamic of the card, and the risk of playing multiple copies of them.