Card draw simulator |
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None. Self-made deck here. |
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Finalist at Helsinki Store Championship | 13 | 8 | 6 | 1.0 |
Diomedes 3294
players try to make direwolf decks work since the start of 2nd edition. Roaming Wolfpack and Bran Stark (OR) are two pieces that could finally make them viable. This deck got me to win a 16-player tournament (http://thejoustingpavilion.com/tournaments/4356) and reach TOP 8 in the current Champions of Westeros online league.
I omit a lot of wolf tech like Wolves of the North or Like Warm Rain to focus on the Kings of Winter agenda: cheap cost curve and claim. I'm not sure you can still call this a direwolf deck after I cut the 2 Direwolf Puppies, though. :P
Some card by card remarks:
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Summer is the MVP. He is all the card draw you need. He helps repopulate the board very quickly after all kind of resets. His ability can target 20 character cards, most importantly Bran and Arya! He is the only reason 2x A Time For Wolves, 3x Flea Bottom and 1x Iron Bank's Due are in this deck and Barring the Gates isn't (anymore).
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The wolfpacks, the only high-cost characters in this deck, are really helpful against other heavy decks. They're obviously amazing with New Bran on the board. Sadly, there is no way to save them from true Valar. 2x Wolf Dreams make sure you find them when you need them.
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Lots of cheap characters that help with challenges: 3x Arya, 3x Manderly Knights, Shaggydog, Osha, Tumblestone Knight.
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Maester Luwin and Septa Mordane provide some protection against plots for two of your characters.
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In addition to that, enough 4-costers to resist First Snow: Dacey Mormont, Catelyn Stark (Core), Donella Hornwood, Jory Cassel. Arya's dupe and Flea Bottom are also useful.
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Dacey Mormont is a late addition (replacing Hodor) which has convinced me completely: She often has STR7+ with all your weenies, she can be revived by Summer, and her renown helps your weak(ish) power gain.
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Enough icons for a deck to make all 3 challenges during your claim 2 plots: Catelyn Stark (Core), Donella Hornwood, Maester Luwin, Sansa Stark (WotN), Septa Mordane, Northern Refugee, Osha, and last but not least Bran Stark.
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Frozen Solid is a must against all the Flea Bottoms and Astapors out there. I was playing 3 before House of Thorns, then I added Nothing Burns Like The Cold (and Last Hearth to protect my Winterfell from my own plot).
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Northern Keep is obviously a good card here despite all the summer plots that get played, but I kept 1 Roseroad for better setups.
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Winterfell is absolutely key in lots of matchups! events and jumpers, saves and Aemon, STR bumps, Margaery and bodyguards could easily disrupt your game plan.
- 3x Passing the Black Gate are the econ cards 10-12. They enable you to play 3 or more characters despite the low income from your plots. They're often a better non-limited Kingsroad giving you a 3 or more gold discount.
Plot strategy:
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6 Winter plots activate your agenda almost constantly as well as the Northern Keeps and Manderly Knights.
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The opening plot literally always is Winds of Winter to start the pressure from the get-go. Late Summer Feast can be a real problem: the agenda doesn't apply, the drawback is non-existent with your low reserve, and the opponent gets 6 more gold than you which could make winning challenges really tough. I prefer my opponent playing Trading with the Pentoshi. :)
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The other 2 claim 2 plots keep the pressure up: Early Frost when you have a superior board, The Long Winter when you need that extra gold to get a Roaming Wolfpack out.
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A Time For Summer is basically a 6 gold, draw 2 cards plot with the winter trait on top, so you definitely want to play 2 of those. With Marched to the Wall, Flea Bottom and Iron Bank, you get Summer off the board. Flea Bottom even gets Summer back into your draw deck which is exactly where you want him.
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Nothing Burns Like The Cold was a Winter Festival before House of Thorns which in turn had replaced Barring the Gates. Barring has a strong effect in the current meta, but you don't want to disable your own Flea Bottom. The 2 festival power are nice to have but it's just higher impact to hit a Hightower or Wall with Nothing burns. And it's a high-initiative winter plot, so an easy inclusion after all.
- Marched to the Wall isn't in the plot deck to clear the opponent's board but to get Summer in your discard pile. When you anticipate a Valar from your opponent and have Summer in play, you play Marched to save him. When you anticipate a Valar and don't have Summer in play, you play A Time for Wolves and immediately regain a decent board.
16-player tournament Final vs Wolf: Reset decks like Martell Wolf are a pretty good matchup because of Time for Summer and lots of Flea Bottom characters. This game was basically decided on turn 1 when House Manderly Knight was able to win claim 2 against Nymeria Sand thanks to a winter plot and Winterfell. I countered the following Valar Morghulis with A Time For Wolves and made lots of unopposed challenges from that point.
After this tournament, I cut 2 Direwolf Pups, 2 Frozen Solid, and Crow Killers for Osha, Tumblestone Knight, the 3rd Winter Is Coming, the 3rd Flea Bottom and Last Hearth.
Cut Online League: TOP 32 vs Rains He had a good setup with Littlefinger, chuds and econ. He opened A Noble Cause (hooray, no Late Summer Feast!), but could only play The Reader. Without any icon and save, my Winter Is Coming saw the Reader die immediately. I defended his only challenge to prevent We Do Not Sow. The opponent played a lot of low gold plots like Counting Coppers, Heads on Spikes, Valar Morghulis, and The First Snow of Winter (which hit me hard), so Kings of Winter was pretty strong and he couldn't get his bombs out. Easy win after all.
TOP 16 vs Fealty: This match was really tough, but I made the right call in many situations. I had a no econ setup while he had duped Nymeria Sand (ouch!), a Dornish Spy and Blood Orange Grove. 1: He kept 4 gold on his Long Plan turn after marshalling and stole my only icon. Expecting Vengeance for Elia I didn't attack because I still had Winterfell in hand to prevent any such triggers in the next rounds. 2: I marched, he counted coppers. His Venomous Blade got rid of Arya's dupe instead of killing Dacey Mormont announcing a Valar Morghulis next round. His Nightmares on Winterfell let me refrain from doing again. 3: He valared as expected, and I saved Dacey with Jory Cassel, but before that I was able to discard his Blade and Water Gardens (these 2 cards are crazy good together! Dacey was really thankful not to die so soon) sacrificing Last Hearth on my side, which I had included especially for this purpose. :) He had to discard a lot of cards due to reserve 4, so he spent Vengeance for Elia on my challenge. 4: I summered Arya into his Retaliation. He played Bastard Daughter and another Nightmares on Winterfell, so I only attacked and jumped Grey Wind in to win the challenge. Bran came in to stand Grey Wind who ate the Bastard Daughter. 5: Another Retaliation into my Early Frost. Before my first challenge he returned Nymeria to his hand leaving him with 1 Greenblood Trader on the board, 5 cards in hand, and 11(!) gold. I made a challenge to test the water which he let go through unopposed. I was winning 10-0 at this point. I ate the Trader, stood Grey Wind with Bran, and initiated an challenge with Grey Wind and Winterfell. I got very lucky with my picks: Areo Hotah and Southron Messenger! I attacked with Dacey to get 2 more power which he answered with his 2nd Vengeance for Elia. 6: He was able to kill 4 power Dacey with his 2nd Venomous Blade played on Arianne, but 3 unopposed challenges, claim and dominance was enough to win the game.
TOP8 vs Crossing: This game was really tough. Going to plot 6 against Lanni Crossing says it all. :P My deck had a chance if it weren't for him seeing all his saves for Big Cersei (Dupe, Podrick Payne, 3x Bodyguards!). Winterfell would have helped against these bodyguards or more than 1 Winter Is Coming, but alas it wasn't supposed to be. Still a good run. :)
8 comments |
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You left the Tyrells ? Traitor ! ;) Well done. As always i like your decks ! |
I'm actually a player, but there is little room for unusual decks right now. And no worries, I still mainly play , eagerly waiting for the Bitterbridge agenda. ;-) |
I play this deck with friends for a few weeks and really enjoy it, thanks ! :) Would you make any changes now that new Arya, "I am no one", new Nymeria and "Taste for flesh" are available ? |
Thanks! :) I made a lot of changes, but haven't tested them enough yet:
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I haven't thought about the amazing synergy between "Off to Gulltown" and "I am no one" ! Thanks for the quick answer! :) I will try this changes. If you're going to remove New Bran from the deck, maybe you don't need 2 Maester Luwin ? You can use one slot for one of this great new events, or you can add Old Nan ? She is STR 2 also and can help you make sure you use your Northern Keeps at full potential ? |
Yeah, Maester Luwin would definitely be out. I'm not sure about Old Nan. :) This is how my current build looks: thronesdb.com |
Thanks for showing me your new build :) "Oldtown Scholar" works well ? I thought about your deck yesterday when I saw the "March of Winterfell" spoilers. "Wyman Manderly" can be a great addition. He'll make your draw better and you can use him as a new way to secure (and trigger with "Flea Bottom") Summer ! |
<3 deckbuilding genius