This will not be a blow by blow of the individual match-ups I had. I simply want to share my general experience.
Today was my first AGOT tournament, and I did not know what to expect. My only experience with competitive gaming had been with Magic the Gathering, and it had not been a pleasant one. I knew my metamates were cool, but for the first time I was going to meet members of the greater community.
I not only had nothing to worry about, I had one of the best gaming experiences of my life. I fielded a relatively competitive Lannister HoD Tunnels of the Red Keep Deck (which I just posted). Every game I played was a nail biter, with either of us one mistake or one amazing play away from board control and eventual victory. The atmosphere was both light and fraught with an extremely positive competitive energy. Small mistakes were made by all, but the play I saw was clever and expert.
I ended up making it to the top 8 but being knocked out by a brutal Greyjoy Kings of Winter deck, that saved against my kills and cancelled my kneel. I went 3-2 in my first tournament, and ended up in 5th place.
A shout out to my metamates Dave, Matt, and Jim: So great to play against you in a real tournament! Your graciousness, both in victory and defeat, was an inspiration, I look forward to playing with you more and more, and refining both my decks and my skill!
A shout out to Morgan, Dennis, Kyle, Jerry, and everyone else I met today: What fantastic people you are, individually and collectively! I am so excited to see more of you at future tournaments!
And a BIG shout out to Dan, our metamaster: You organized all of this, took a financial loss, and went out of your way to provide unannounced extra prizes out of your own stash of AGOT swag to make this event as epic as possible! You rock, and deserve the champion trophy you won!
I am so thrilled to be part of such a fun focused, drama-light community. I can't wait to meet more of you at national tourneys in the coming year!