So I'm new to the game, having played mostly with the core set. Since I was going to head to Days of Fire and Ice this upcoming weekend, I figured the tournaments would be fun. I don't plan on being particularly competitive with the Greyjoy deck I built with recently acquired cards, but I have a bigger issue. I've never played in an organized tournament for any card game, so I don't know about the things(large and small) that I should do to behave/play appropriately.

Any words of advice / standard practices that I should be aware of? Any help would be appreciated.

Kid Gruesome said:

I'm not sure what would qualify as standard "practices," but my words of advice would be: "Have fun." One of the great parts of the AGOT community compared to some other card games is the camaraderie and conviviality of the group. (Almost) everyone goes out of there way to be helpful, especially if you identify yourself as a new player.* If you have any questions or need to pause to look a card to make sure you understand that's usually not a problem (just be careful not to slow down the game too much).

You'll generally not have too much trouble if you want to find some advice about your deck or to borrow cards if there are some you just don't have yet but would like to include. I'm planning on arriving by 5 on Friday, so try to find me... I'll be the guy with a goofy grin on his face talking too much and too loudly.

Luke (Reed)


*At the very first local tournament I played after demo'ing the game at GenCon years ago, I sat down across from a guy and introduced my self. I then explained to him that it was my first real game, that I had no chance at winning, but I hoped that he would draw it out in the most painful possible way imaginable. That way I would learn to despise him and then that burning hatred would fuel my desire to improve. That helped a lot. >

Kid Gruesome said:

I find that kicking out at random intervals keeps them on their toes - you know, if they're expecting a shot to the groin, then they're unlikely to play that one card you didn't want them to play.

In all seriousness, I second what Luke said. We have the single best and nicest player base of any card game, as far as I can tell, and everyone is willing to help. Even the world's elitest players of our game are some of the nicest people - sure, if you get them in the semi-finals or finals, they may not let you get away with backing up three phases, but at the same time, there's not a one who won't analyze a game with you afterward to help you improve. They'll also help you with deckbuilding, as I know from personal experience.

It's generally the American month of thankfulness, so I'll take this time to thank everyone who has helped me grow and love this game, as well as life. You all pretty much know who you are, so I won't embarrass you by posting here. Special thanks, though, goes to Nate French, who generally does a really awesome job with the game.

yup, ditto from the above two statements. My first tournament I was very nervous. Then I met the folks that I was playing with and realized I needed to relax and have fun. I would highly encourage the after joust get together.

Oh, and for some more practical deck-building and tournament-playing advice, I give the following:

1) Make sure you know your deck inside and out. Play a deck you're comfortable with. Switching last minute makes you vulnerable to mistakes, even if you think the deck you're switching to is better than the one you were planning to play. It's better to not have to figure out how to play your deck at the tournament. Over time, with experience playing all sorts of decks, this can be overcome, but as a relatively new-to-tournaments player, you'll want to have something that you like and that you won't burn out with.

2) Don't be afraid to take chances. In general, playing safe is better, but you really only learn to play better by making mistakes, and by taking chances, you can throw your opponent off guard and make them over-commit, or under-defend, or whatever may be necessary at a given moment.

3) Make sure your deck has a healthy amount of draw effects. Every deck I see from newer players tends to have too few drawing cards in them, and that can be a crushing problem against decks like Martell Summer, where they're drawing through 85% of their deck every game. They may not *win* every game, but being able to draw that much makes them close to unstoppable, because they have the cards they need whenever they need them. Conversely, if your deck doesn't naturally have a good way to fit lots of draw in, then make sure you focus on having ways to cripple your opponent's hands. Things like Rule by Decree, Asshai, and being able to win intrigue challenges consistently with high claim plots are the typical ways to do that.

4) Don't be afraid of any of your opponents. You may have heard the names of a lot of them, but they are still human. They can still make mistakes if you put them under pressure. Fear is the little mind killer - defeat it, and you will make far, far fewer mistakes.

5) Know the key events of your opponent's decks. Good examples include Game of Cyvasse and He Calls it Thinking - if you're up against Martell Summer and you commit all of your intrigue icons to challenges while they have a low-strength intrigue guy left, then they're likely going to return one of your characters to your hand, and it could be a big character who you really care about. If you have a dupe on that character to try to make sure they stick around, He Calls it Thinking may crush you.

6) You will likely burn out. Your deck may be really good, or really fun, and you may go far, or you may not. But one thing is for certain: Come to the after-tournament party, and you will be way less burned out.

Hope that helps.

Valar morghulis is a pretty key card. You should run it in most decks.

Any time you have characters in your hand, and some decent card advantage (and your opponent doesn't) use it.

Also, in this situation, expect it to be done to you.

If they have a lot of saves, or its one of the opening turns of the game, you might want to hold back, but this varies from game to game.

I can't tell you how many games I've won or lost solely because of this card.

+1 to the advice from Luke, Wolfgang and Clu.

I've been a part of many different gaming communities and I've always found some good people among my fellow nerds, but the AGoT community is unique in that nearly everyone is very friendly, or at least open to being friendly.

As far as advice for the tourney, my best is that you should be ready to learn. I have no idea what caliber of player you are, but my experience with my first tourney or two was that I was reading lots of cards and getting schooled in new card combinations and deck types. It can be a bit intimidating, especially when you start playing against guys whose faces are on your cards, but I've always found people to be helpful in explaining exactly how something works if I don't understand it, which is often.

I'll be there starting Saturday morning, be sure to introduce yourself!

- Mike/Shenanigans

Excessive "takebacks" or really slow play are the only breaches of etiquette I can think of off the top of my head. Even then, if you explain that you're new to the game most folks won't mind. Otherwise I agree with the other posters here. Be prepared to lose games but make sure you learn as much as you can. And yes... have fun and good luck! Watch out for that shady Shenanigans guy though... he's bad news.

WolfgangSenff said:

Ah... now I'm just stuck in a cloud of warm fuzzies. That is, after pondering whether I need to wear greaves & a codpiece when facing you, Kyle.

Something about the above construction, just sounds a little off for me... I don't know if "most elite" is correct usage, ~but I'm certain that plenty of them are elitists.