Just got a core set and some chapter packs (winter/summer and change of seasons and scattered armies) and of course the Princes of the Sun
Can anyone help me make a decent deck out of what I currently have? thanks in advance!
Just got a core set and some chapter packs (winter/summer and change of seasons and scattered armies) and of course the Princes of the Sun
Can anyone help me make a decent deck out of what I currently have? thanks in advance!
Sorry, Martell is hopeless, man. The house is so weak.
I mean, just look at their characters. For example, the Red Viper from Princes of the South is so bad. Five gold for just 3 (three!) strength on a character that was such a powerhouse in the books. To make up for that somewhat, they decided to give him all three icons and renown and Immunity to events and character abilities and "does not kneel to attack an opponent with more characters in play". But how would you win any challenges with a strength 3 character anyway ? Of course, you could use Lost Oasis from A Time of Trials to bypass with stealth and kneel a character every time you attack with the viper, but come on, how realistic is that ?
They even dared to give Martell characters without any icons. Look at Orphan of the Greenblood - what a waste ! Yes, yes, he might be decent in setup as a 0-cost character and he could even shut down an opposing powerhouse for the entire challenge phase, but to do so, you have to sacrifice him ! But then, he´s such a bad card, why not sacrifice him all the time on the other hand.
On the other side of the spectrum, there is the very expensive The Viper´s Bannermen. 7 Gold cost ! Come on. Who plays with crap like that ? You get to "reveal and put into your hand" 2 cards for sure each time they come into or leave play, but come on. Doesn´t matter that these "revealed and put into hand" cards do not count towards the three-extra-cards-a-turn draw limit.
Because house Martell obviously cannot win any challenges, the game designers have given up on them and decided to give them a mechanic based on this fact (Vengeance) and cards to cancel challenges (Burning in the Sands), cards which profit from lost challenges (Darkstar), cards which allow you to claim power for losing challenges (Taste for Blood) or to make the opponent suffer the negative effects of their own challenges (Red Vengeance).
So, I am afraid there is no hope for house Martell.
Oh, and before I forget, there should be a big "~" at the beginning !
But seriously, The Red Viper, The Vipers Bannermen, Darkstar, Arianne Martell, Elaria Sand, Orphans of the Greenblood, Red Vengeance, Taste for Blood are all great cards from the Princes of the South set. Play 2 Vipers and a couple of Bodygards from the core set to protect him (can also protect Arianne). Maester of the Sun and Knights of the Sun from Change of Seasons is not bad, either (but Remember this Maester cannot save the Red Viper due to Immunity to character abilities).
Additional card draw with King´s of Summer agenda and Samwell Tarly + Ravens (Black Ravens and Carrion Birds, which is also an excellent card). Use Time for Ravens to search for a Black Raven and make it Summer.
Try to get your hands on Lost Oasis and Burning in the Sands from other Chapter Packs.
AegonTargaryen said:
Sorry, Martell is hopeless, man. The house is so weak.
Hehe, that made me laugh =)
Seriously though, playing Martell out of the box is actually one of the most satisfying decks Ive played non-competativelly.
Id suggest taking Two of Arys Oakheart (his discard ability has some Serious damage) and two Red Vipers. Aim for two sides of the gold spectrum, really low and really high. That way you could have cheap characters for claim soak and still be able to trigger efects like the Red Viper and Holding the Trident. Also, dont forget that you can use House Dayne Skirmisher to trigger both his effect (Draw cards) and also play Parting Blow or Blood for blood!
In my out of the box martell deck I took two of Red Vengance, Parting Blow, When I Woke, Bllod for Blood, Princes Wrath and He Calls it Thinking. On top of that take all the Paramors and Narrow Seas, out of the core set, for extra character reduction And influence
Also Underhanded Assassin is great for geting through unopossed, especially combined with the likes of Orphans and Princes Wrath.
Anyways, I know this is kind of unorganised but as you can see the Martells have a Lot of poetential, straight out of the box. I could make you a deck list if you want? =)
Sample deck with what you have:
House Martell
Agenda:
1 x Kings of Summer
7 Plots:
1 x A Song of Summer
1 x A Time for Ravens
1 x Summoning Season
1 x The Power of Blood
1 x Mutual Cause
1 x To the Spears!
1 x Valar Morghulis
30 Characters:
2 x The Viper´s Bannermen (7 gold)
2 x Red Viper (5)
1 x Arianne Martell (4)
1 x Darkstar (4)
1 x Areoh Hotah (4)
1 x Ser Arys Oakheart (3)
1 x Sarella Sand (3)
1 x Elaria Sand (3)
1 x Obara Sand (3)
3 x Underhanded Assassin (3)
3 x Knights of the Sun (3)
1 x Maester Aemon (2)
1 x Maester of the Sun (2)
2 x House Messenger (2)
3 x Carrion Bird (1)
2 x House Dayne Knight (1)
2 x Paramour (1)
2 x Orphan of the Greenblood (0)
8 Events:
2 x Blood for Blood
2 x Red Vengeance
2 x He Calls it Thinking
2 x Distraction
9 Attachments:
3 x Black Raven (1)
1 x Bodyguard (0)
1 x Milk of the Poppy (1)
2 x Taste for Blood (1)
2 x Rusted Sword (1)
13 Locations:
1 x Street of Steel (0)
1 x Shadowblack Lane (0)
2 x Palace Fountains (0)
2 x Water Garden (0)
2 x Lord Doran´s Chambers (1)
2 x Dornish Fiefdoms (1)
3 x Summer Sea (0)
Thanks for the input guys! I kinda realize that Martell has really strong events and Red Viper is the hotness hehe but I just wanted to find out how you guys configured your Princes of the Sun box (with a rather limited selection of chapter packs)
If anyone else has a nifty idea or concept with what I got feel free to post em here!
Here's an article I posted a few weeks ago about building a Martell "control" deck...in other words, not a "rush" deck, but something that wins a little more slowly with lots of effects to control the opponent: http://www.cardgamedb.com/index.php/index.html/_/game-of-thrones/game-of-thrones-strategy/how-to-build-martell-control-r31
Hope it helps!
If you can get some of the cards from the brotherhood without banners set, you can also replace red viper with beric dondarrion. Burning on the sands, taste for blood, venomous blade (maybe not since the restriction), red vengeance, and dupes/bodyguards are always a plus. You can also put a house dayne theme in there if you want to.
Twn2dn said:
Here's an article I posted a few weeks ago about building a Martell "control" deck...in other words, not a "rush" deck, but something that wins a little more slowly with lots of effects to control the opponent: http://www.cardgamedb.com/index.php/index.html/_/game-of-thrones/game-of-thrones-strategy/how-to-build-martell-control-r31
Hope it helps!
This was a well-written article and inspired me to write one of my own again. I used to write for Tzu-mainn all the time, when I was younger and a tad more uppity. Thanks for posting it. Also, I like the KotHH idea with Martell. Gonna scavenge that and see if I can make it work out well.
So I have the core set KotS to get the Greyjoys going and if I also now purchase PotS can I safely and in a balanced way build a Martell deck for casual jousting?