Hi everyone. In preparation for the TV series hitting, my long-time fanboyness of ASoIaF took over and I've got myself a copy of the Core Set and Princes of the Sun, and I'm introducing them to my local gaming group (who are a neat mix of Warhammer, 40k, Malifaux, Blood Bowl, Magic, Heroclix, random board game players, etc).

At the moment, I'm likely to be the only person bringing decks to the table, demoing games, etc, so I'm after balanced decks that are roughly equal in terms of power. I've followed the advice of Grift on BGG - boardgamegeek.com/thread/520495/kots-and-pots-pre-con-decks-competative-vs-core-se - regarding how to use the PotS expansion to bring Martell in as a balanced house, as well as his advice on how to distribute some spares, re-arrange plot decks, etc.

What I've noticed so far in learning games and quick solitaire jousts (as much as that's possible in an intrigue/plotting game) is that Stark's Military strategy works well in the medium term, Lannister's Gold + Dominate long term works well if you can get someone like Tywin or a lot of resource locations out early, while Baratheon's power rush is a very viable short-term strategy. However, I've had no luck yet in figuring out quite how Targaryen or Martell are actually meant to compete with their fellow 'starter' decks.

What I don't want to have to end up doing is being nice to newbies (a relative term, as I've owned this game for precisely a week) and giving everyone else the Stark/Lanni/Bara decks, while I pick up the Targ or Mart decks and sit there bemused that I'm not getting anywhere. I appreciate that they're slightly more complex ways to play the game compared to the first three, and at the moment they may simply not match my play style, but right now Targ and Mart look like a bum deal.

So, basically, what I'm after is some advice on how to progress all the decks at roughly the same rate, specifically in regard to what sets and what Chapter Packs I can pick up, that can spread their benefits across the four (and more) decks, as well as ones specifically designed to boost Targ and Mart to make their play-styles more obvious (or more effective).

Darksbane's ideas for decks based on 2x Core Sets - www.cardgamedb.com/forums/index.php - looks like it makes sense to me, while the House Tully deck made from Lords of Winter (outlined in the first linked thread) also looks like a neat idea with a second semi-Stark deck which can give a few useful cards to other Houses.

My research has therefore led me to the fact that a second Core Set and Lords of Winter would be a decent idea to get things going. Getting the reprint of Kings of the Sea (when it comes out) would probably further complicate things with a 6th (or 7th) House's play style. Kings of the Storm isn't on the horizon at the moment, either, as Bara is one of the starter decks that is playing fairly well already.

Are there certain Chapter Packs that give nice (and ideally simple ) boosts across the spectrum of the Houses that I should be picking up? Are there a couple pro-Targ or Pro-Martell Chapter Packs that can give a quick boost? There's so many of them that it's hard to know where to start, as this game is definitely daunting for a newcomer at this point. I'm not looking to turn any of the decks into monster competitive ones at the moment, as I'm the only actual 'player' of the game in my local meta as it stands.

Or, if you'd like to reply to this overly-long and fairly cathartic post of questions with ' OMFG n00b learn 2 use Dothraki!!!1!! ', then that'd be appreciated too

I know more qualified people will soon give more informative replies, but I think to some degree you have to accept that certain types of decks will perform better or worse against certain other types of decks and in different play modes (joust, melee). You cannot balance a deck against every other deck. Also, especially when your card pool is limited and the decks are not as efficient as higher tier decks, the outcome of a match will to varying degrees be influenced by the luck of the draw.

Martell is a very strong house in joust games (as are Lannister -- the control focus of both Houses makes them strong against a single opponent). Targaryen seems to be a bit of a special case at the moment and simply require a bit more effort both in deck building and in play to be on par with the other Houses. Currently other Houses just have an easier time building efficient functional decks. But the Targaryen expansion box is on the horizon, so perhaps that will make things easier.

That being said, I think it's great that you're putting in time and effort to create a balanced, positive play experience for your friends and yourself. That attitude will go a long way already to ensure fun games, regardless of the decks.

Starblayde said:

Are you playing Joust or Melee?

To help Targ (great cards for other houses too) I'd go ahead and buy the Brotherhood Without Banners cycle, all 6 packs. The Dothraki theme is big in this cycle. It isn't top tier but they are focused and straightforward, which is something I think that lacks in the Targ core starter. The other advantage of the BWB cycle is that it adds some fairly nice trait based themes to all the houses, a fun agenda , and an intereesting neutral faction which can be played out of any house. Martell also gets some pretty good cards from BWB cycle.

Beyond that I'd grab the Ancient Enemies and Refugees of War packs.

Darksbane said:

I'm attempting to play jousts in order to teach individual players the game mechanics, though I've been doing a couple of 4-player melees with titles, and then a 3-player without, usually with one or two newbies each time.

For instance I played one guy twice, giving him Stark both times. First time he dominated my Lannister, but then I showed him how good a luckily-drawn power rush can be by getting Robert and Ser Loras out early for Baratheon in a second game, winning in three rounds. Then for a third game of the night I took control of Targaryen, playing a guy who's got a couple of games under his belt with Stark, and a complete beginner with Baratheon (as that's what deck was on the table at the time). That time I showed the newbie how it's possible to team up and beat down, after the Stark player was picking on him. Counted as my first Targ win, too!

I'm seeing just how much is dependent on your draw, as this time I had a decent set of resources and got the right attachments (i.e. Aegon's Blade onto a Tricon) and mix of awesome/disposable characters (Drogo and Aemon). Getting Ned Stark into a Stalwart death cycle was lovely to pull off, too.

My research on CGDB and BGB has continually pointed to Brotherhood Without Banners and Clash of Arms as the best ones to start with, and within that Ancient Enemies' Fury plots are continually mentioned. Thankfully my local store seems to have all the BWB packs in stock! Thanks for your help!