Hey everyone.

I'm a fairly new Game of Thrones LCG player, and while I have played with the core decks several times I'm definitely looking to expand my cardbase.

Unfortunately no hobby shop in my area has really taken the game on board, so I'm not likely to play in any organised event any time soon. However I do have a great group of friends and we're likely to play on a regular basis. So really... Casual hardcore, if that makes sense?

With that in mind, can I get some opinions on the different chapter packs on offer, and what people would recommend?

Currently I own the Kings of the Sea expansion and not a huge amount else. (Though I am looking into Princes of the Sun and the other House Specific boxes) I also have no problem with buying chapter pack multiples but since this is all coming out of my pocket, and my group isn't really THAT competitive, I equally don't need to worry about buying a playset of a specific single unless it really is THAT awesome to own.

So really its all about outfitting the different houses for a diverse deck building and playing experience.

Any help would be much appreciated!

i would first get the core set for each hosue. they give you the most cards and differnt deck to play with. After that its really up to you . The new brotherhood cycle that out right now is looking really good. I still like the cards that came with the raven cycle.

Princes of the Sun is a must-have if you want to play Martell, and it's a lot easier to build a decent deck than with a single-copy of Kings of the Sea.

Lords of Winter and Kings of the Storm are really good for their selected houses, but if you're the sole card-provided for your group, you might be better off just getting chapter packs - more of an even spread for all the houses, rather than creating some super decks that other can't compete with.

Most of the cycles of chapter packs seem to have a lot of inter-related themes and dynamics, so if you're going to get one, it might be worth having the whole set of 6, rather than just getting odd ones here and there.

Best bet is probably to browse a site like dabbler, and see which cards grab you - or if you and your mates are fans of the books, find characters/themes that appeal, and seek their cards out.

http://agot.dbler.com/

Actually Eldil came up with two 60 card Stark decks from a single Lords of Winter (Stark) Deluxe Expansion.
I am sure a similar deal can be cooked up using a single Kings of the Storm (Baratheon) Deluxe Expansion (a Bara knight deck w/ agenda vs a Bara rush deck).
When you add a Core Set and a few CPs, you can reasonably create 3 Stark, 3 Baratheon, a Targaryen, and a Lannister decks for Joust (one-on-one) or Melee (multiplayer).

Princes of the Sun would be a wise move as it adds the 6th house to your game, increasing efficiency to your Chapter Pack purchases.
Another Kings of the Sea would make Greyjoy more playable as it is only x1 as it comes in the box.

Get Princes of the Sun and Kings of the Sea if you want to add a fifth and sixth "Core Set" deck to your house (Greyjoy will be a little low on the income-discount locations, but you can either use proxies or redistribute the neutral income-discount locations from the Core Set). One copy of each should be sufficient if you're just going to keep playing with the Core Set decks.

If you want to start deckbuilding, the thing I would recommend the most is a second copy of the Core Set. Some of the best cards for each house (aside from Martell and Greyjoy) are in the Core Set, and being able to run multiples of those will allow you to construct consistent and efficient decks. If you wanted a really strong deckbuilding base for each house, you would get the following: 2 x Core Set, 2 x Kings of the Sea, 1 x Princes of the Sun.

From there, you can either buy chapter packs to give additional options to every house (the most recent cycle, Brotherhood Without Banners, will give you the best bang for your buck), or you can get the Stark and Baratheon deluxe expansions, and create several really tuned decks for those houses.

My two cents.

If you don't want to focus on just one house or theme it is hard to recommend specific chapter packs. Starting out though my friends are getting the most bang for their buck with 1x of Core set , 1x Lords of Winter , 1x Kings of the Storm , and the current chapter packs in Brotherhood Without Banners . All these sets except for Core come with 3x of each card so that makes it pretty easy to make some nice decks with them.

Many thanks to all of you!

I was already considering getting another core set for the deck building options, so that confirms what I thought. But yes, I can certainly see the need to get the full chapter pack set... so when it comes to it I'll certainly take my time and invest in a good few of those. But first! Princes of the sun and, possible, Lords of Winter methinks! Excellent.

Cheers again - Chromatism