I wanted to post my decklist I used yesterday for the Dutch nationals. I went undefeated until I lost in the final to a great Targ Summer player and deck.

It's the first original decklist I've posted for 2.0 primarily because for me the meta is mostly 'solved', for want of a better word. By that I mean there is very little invention, creativity and no expectation of the unexpected. Aside from the evergreen mathematical equation of playing around tears and/or PttS, there is very little in the established meta that is hidden information; it all sits before you for all eyes to see. For me that has been the biggest disappointment to me so far. In the game of thrones, you do maths effectively or you die. So what do we do about that? We go back to the drawing board. Why? Because if you can't change the tools you're being given, use them to change the game.

So that was what set me down a path of trying to be inventive. I wanted my deck to be unexpected, to have some tricks up its sleeve catching the opponent off guard, but (and I stress this a lot) it had to be competitive. Fun decks are fun, but it's not going to go anywhere towards the goal of trying to re-establish the meta if it cannot hold its own. And hold it's own it can.

So where to start... Thankfully James Waumsley and Ryan Wood (Cornish Paramours changing the meta since 2k14) gave me the motivation to push through with their Sun Garden and Gates of Winterfell decks respectively. But that meant I had to do something different. After a long thought process that is how I ended up with this.

It is as _majestic _as it is ruthless.

I will give a breakdown of card choices below (I will be the first to admit this may not be the most effective list and needs some tweaks), but loosely speaking here are the highlights.

The linchpins of the deck are Varys, Yoren, the attachment set, White Tree, Taking the Black and 2 x Marched to the Wall (props to Ben Fox for giving me the idea on the later). Why are these important? Because this is the unexpected.

The deck effectively plays like this. You try and be aggressive early and diminish their board state with military claim, taking the black, Ward and then marched what's left. If that doesn't work, you switch to trying to hit their hand whilst keeping yours full with Ravens and or Arry, then hit them with a Varys. After which you lock them out with the attachments and White Tree.

So the cards.

Arry - I was not a fan originally. Primarily because she is expensive to keep cycling if you're not playing her in a Lion banner. However in this deck she is amazing. You can bounce her to enable you to play Arya who is fantastic post board clear. And therefore naturally Arry can dodge your Varys. She's great for giving you extra hand fill after taxation which is key because your hand is often stacked.

Benjen - good in this deck for two reasons. The first being obviously the fast power grab when he dies, and the second being that he enables better stabilisation after being hit by a FSoW or a board clear with stealth lockout.

Dolorous Edd- Alongside castle black and Arry, Edd saved me so much intrigue claim. He is also good if I need a last minute body on the board to allow me to March something less pivotal next plot phase.

Donella Hornwood - Gold in this deck. Free birds for everyone! In my top 8 match an extra gold from Old Forest Hunter into a Take the Black for 2 gold gave me the game as it allowed me to March my opponents Robert Baratheon. The little tricks like this in the deck are what make it such a fun thing to play.

Eddard - As odd as it sounds I didn't want to put very many 'good' characters in the deck. Because I don't want to care about them dying. Most games I would push through to a victory with reducers and mono-cons just because the efficiency played out. But I decided to put Eddard in anyway. If nothing else, he took a Milk or Craven e every game which left my other characters open.

Ghost - simply put allows you to be a lot more aggressive. He's a difficult card to play well, you have to choose targets effectively.

Messenger Raven - In any NW deck for the rest of time these will be a three of. They are just so amazing.

Old Forest Hunter - These were a late addition to the deck. I had an issue that I was pitching cards to reserve a lot and also struggling sometimes to play Take the Black. Added two of these and those problems went away.

Varys - As stated earlier if you can't be aggressive you need a way to control the board. Especially considering you run next to no renown, so against a rush deck, you need ways to come back. In the final I didn't see him until plot 7. If he and or Ward had come earlier I would have been in a for a good shot of winning.

Will - A sceptical choice, however he is great for both early pressure and closing.

Yoren - This guy is money. March their characters or Varys, steal something, March Yoren next turn, play another copy and steal something else. Lovely jubbly. So efficient to get two bodies for one to help you push through their decreased board state and not have to worry about your own.

Attachments - Craven and Milk of the Poppy are fairly self explanatory, but in this deck they have the added benefit of giving you full lock-down post clear. Ward is just an amazing card and was the first thing that popped into my mind alongside Taking the Black that became the inspiration for this deck. Firstly I can't believe how many people forgot it exists and look aghast when I steal their stuff. Secondly it's great in this deck more-so than most others. Why? Because it baits their confiscation which you need to do early to enable you to lock them out, but even better if you think they will confiscate you just follow up with Marched. Often a big swing in card advantage (they also have to march), gold advantage and plot destruction.

Locations - it's fairly self explanatory. I'm not sure about the Castle Black or Wall, but the rest is solid. In most games I saw White Tree turn 1 and when it can pay back its cost quickly it is invaluable.

Events - I originally ran three Take the Black but changed to one nightmares for extra versatility. As I have mentioned already, no-one expects Take the Black. Almost every time I played it my opponent was like "what's that?" Boom.

Plots - Building orders is obvious and there are many targets. You have to be very calculated in terms of what you pick. For example if playing Lanni Dragon both milk and craven are needed. However often a Ward can ensure you a good march target next turn if you can push through military in the plots. So choose wisely.

Double Marched no-one sees coming and is priceless.

Calling the Banners and Summer Harvest - These are in the deck primarily to ensure you can play Varys and establish some board presence. Ward is expensive as is Take the Black, so you need to ensure you can match your opponent pace and not fall behind too much.

Wildfire Assualt - More kabooms!

Winter Festival - Helps you close and is good income.

So that's it. I encourage people to play the deck as I absolutely loved playing it. My opponent in the top 8 said it was the least fun he had ever had playing card games. I take that as an enormous compliment.

Let's start the Revise the meta Revolution.

haveatmeLanniDragon