My Stahleck List 1.0

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• 1.0

Gratz on the win again. Was very happy to see one of the top players around get the big win they deserve.

Is it the Stahleck winning list ? Well, soberly speaking, i find it extremely interesting. I like how, instead of playing Hand's Judgment x2, you choose instead to put the Time of Wolves + Summer variation, which is a different thing, because it also opens up the Arya *3. I also like how this choice is a different Martell metagame by tutoring GW, rather than playing Frozen Solid to counter their location (an option that has his drawbacks). One important point is that you play Catelyn Core and not Catelyn WotN, which first of all give argument on the debate between the two, and secondly goes toward the very interesting topic of Arya's Gift : This is mandatory with Catelyn WotN, but not when playing the CS one. It is a metagame consideration, which is currently the case because of Craven, and this is very fortunate to see it here. I also like how it proves that Gates x2 is a coherent choice, despite the statistical troubles of the card. Ward x1 and Blackfish x2 are also revealing how deep the comprehension of the decklist is, because they are plausible alternative to x2 for the first and x3 for the second. On the other sides, i don't understand the absence of Donella and Littlefinger x1 while Stark tends to be constrained economically and lack intrigue, and i would like further explanations on Wildling Scout : is the stealth really an important matter in practice ? Winter is coming surprised me a bit, since the deck is not aimed at agression, but the claim rise in power is obviously an excellent alternative option, while the event does not stick in hand, which is crucial in Stark. I also like that you play Trading with the Pentoshi, because the existence of Winter somehow force Stark to play it. But I do not understand Warden of the North, which is a "win more" card, and Marched to the Wall in this not agressive oriented deck, which only runs Ward x1. Even if i disagree (at the moment) with some choices, overall, your deck reveals a deep comprehension of Stark. Congrats.

Noj stand for ? waht would you cahnge with the incomming of Valar ? would you play king in the north ?

Thanks, Benji! I will try and outline the core ideas behind card choices you mentioned. Since Stark doesn't have access to good MIL/INT characters, the inclusion of high cost intrigue characters in Stark leads to a strong icon polarization at the top end of your curve, which increases the deck's variance substantially. You will have awkward openings that can't produce the necessary military strength to push through Ice or apply pressure when needed. That's why I changed my goal for the intrigue game to having exactly enough INT presence that your opponent can't both successfully attack and defend against you in INT, which should keep the hand sizes balanced while simultaneously allowing you to spend more gold on cards that actively further your game plan. Speaking of economy, I believe it is important to strike a good balance between card draw and gold curve. Drawing exactly enough cards that you can afford them all is the key, and in Stark's case that means drawing very little compared to other houses. In my opinion the answer to limited economy is to play a deck that doesn't require more than limited economy. Alright, on to specific cards: Wildling Scout is a cheap INT icon that corroborates your game plan, and helps pushing through Ice. Winter is Coming can create aggression even in a more power focused deck; in a tournament setting it's great to get free wins every now and then. Wardens of the North is the best plot ever against Craven, Martell attachments, and can pull Catelyn into an Ice challenge. Marched to the Wall in conjunction with Winter is Coming punishes anyone who has mediocre start and can help you pull of neat little tricks like discarding Summer, so you can play your second copy. I hope that helped. =)

and my questions :/ ?

Don't worry, they shall not remain unanswered! Noj is Darknoj (you may know him from the Beyond the Wall podcast). Jory Cassel, Marched and Time for Wolves all help against Valar, so the list isn't gonna be terrible, even in its current form. That being said, I recommend trying out decks with Valar and reassessing the meta before coming up with an improved/new Stark list. Lastly, I'm not aware of a card called "King in the North". Is that a recently spoiled card? Because I haven't been following those religiously. If you're referring to the core set card "For the North!", then my answer would have to be "no". Unless of course you expect nothing but Stark and Lannister at your tournament, in which case it might be worth giving a shot.

I fully agree with your remark : Stark is a house that runs out of hand at the end of T2, and whatever the choices in intrigue you do, they are cataplasm on a wooden leg. The best you have to do is to run enough intrigue icon to not allow Lannister and Targ LotC to outrush you because you leave them unoposed. Having more intrigue STR could be useful versus Targaryen to do not let them fill their hand easily with Dany or SL, and face their event afterwards. And yes, Stark is basically playing the strong cards you draw or tutor, it does not change from V1 in a sense ! On particular concern, I must say that i never faced the problem of having enough STR to pass Ice, and find somehow unlikely to be in this situation with the Scout being available, but since he has excellent cost and intrigue icon, he remains "overall efficient". I understand now your concern for Winter is Coming, i find it is well judged because you consider how Stahleck is a long and difficult (+alcoolized ?) tournament, how Stark is a house that makes you play more than other houses, and how obtaining free win in two, maybe three tounds is excellent in the "invisible game" of managing your mental exhaustion. Concerning your additional points on Warden and Marched, i find they are minor positive arguments compared to the big picture, but this is exquisite to have them clearly explained, revealing how you carefully consider your deck. Maybe i underestimate the overall efficiency of Marched, or maybe i should seen it as being part of the "mental exhaustion management" with the kills ? Nevertheless, I miss Summons to stabilize the Baratheon match-up by tutoring the lacking part of the combo, or simply recover from a Wildfire (but i suppose you assume it will not be a big deal in the metagame). i would like to ask you : If tournament setting was not a concern, and assume you can perfectly play without mental exhaustion, would you play the offensive module of the deck, or fully concentrate on the building of a Stark wall at table ? Once again, thanks a lot and congrats !

thanks for your quick answer. I meant "the wolf king"

@Benji As long as big character decks are the driving force of the meta, I'd always play the Winter is Coming + Marched module. Lannister for example needs to keep key characters like Tywin and Tyrion on the board in order to afford their events and other challenge shenanigans. If you can pressure those core characters, the game can become really awkward for them. Also, claim raise on power challenges is much more powerful in timed games, which adds a second dimension to Winter is Coming and makes it less of an all-in aggro kind of effect. However, I agree that Summons would probably be better than Marched in a Baratheon-heavy field, but overall I didn't find it particularly appealing (given that the competition for plot slots is tight). I like approaches that give me the tools to adapt my play style depending on the opposition. Having access to both aggressive and constructive elements comes almost naturally in Stark and gives you that flexibility that you need to succeed against a variety of decks, which you're inevitably gonna encounter at a big tournament. At least with regard to the current structure of the card pool.

@sdxbbs Wolf King looks fun. I'm sure you could get Fat Ed to do some work with that. Maybe as a replacement for Ward if your meta isn't big on targets for those? But watch out for those military icon stealing Martells!

@jeermaster may I check if pentoshi work for you?? Have never like the idea of giving my opportant 3 more gold. With only 1 Econ plot, does situation happen where by you does not have enough gold when you need it??

Your 1-off Greywind won you the game, but that is one of the reasons why a time for wolves is a great plot. Congratulations from me again, the list looks flawlessly.

Congrats! Will you write a tourney report? Or list the factions you played against?

Congratulations and thank you for sharing the decklist! Was Calm Over Westeros your usual opening?

Played this last night and craven destroyed me, but I had no idea I could use wardens to bring in one of those characters. It's cat allowed to join a mil challenge that way?

@Chaick I'd say Pentoshi is the plot I played the least over the course of the tournament. However, whenever I revealed it, it was of paramount importance. It helps mitigate setup variance, it allows you to play a big character and Winterfell in the same turn, and it's necessary against choke. @nikotinlaus gg and thanks, mate! Your list is quite the beauty as well. The final was an amazing game. @Tygore I'm busy at the moment, so I probably won't have time to write a full-fledged report, but I'll be on the Beyond the Wall podcast next week and I can give you a quick rundown of my matches in a second. @Manuel Thank you! And yes, Calm is the standard opener. Don't be afraid to stray from the beaten path though! @artyzipp Yup! The icons don't have to match the challenge if you pull your characters in with Wardens.

Round 1: NW Wolf (by Pontus). Round 2: Targ Crossing (by Dave Bamford, check out his podcast Banter behind the Throne). Round 3: not sure (by... not sure) Round 4: not sure, maybe Lanni? (by Chris from NL). Round 5: Lanni KoW (by Werner). Round 6: Lanni Wolf (by Robert, I believe). Round 7: Lanni Crossing power rush (by Fabian, awesome deck!). Top 32: NW KoW (by Metodi). Top 16: Stark Fealty (by Luca). Top 8: Lanni Rains (clansmen, not sure by whom). Top 4: Lanni Fealty (by Leszek). Top 2: Bara Sun (fun deck, by Jannis). I think I played one round against Targ KoS, but I'm not sure if it was round 3 or 4. Sorry if I got any of the names wrong, it was a long day.

@jeermaster

You're correct with my name at top4 ;)

Gratz again, You deserved that win, although IMO we play a very poor semi-final with lots of noob mistakes ;) You made less and not THAT huge like me.

I was totally mindfucked and couldn't do the simplest things. This 2 am was one step to far to play a game. You also didn't look good. The more gratz to You for winning final :)

@jeermaster: Ok, that's a good manner to interpret the game, in his globality. That's why you deserve the win.

Yeah, that game and the quarter final were the most brutal matches in terms of fatigue for me as well. I hope we can have a rematch under more competitive conditions at some point. Nonetheless, GG!

Super congrats for the win! Told ya before the final match that you would win that ;) It wasn't a jinx as you told me, hahahah. Couldn't be more happy for your winning. Again, grats and hioe to see you soon,

Thanks, man! I was probably too tired to realize that I had been jinxed, so you got away with it. =) See you soon, maybe at the new European Championship in June?

Ill try my best to attend ;) Hugzz

Grats again champ, thanks for not making to many rule mistakes, Judging this late wasn't that funny :P. We were almost playing the same deck, still don't know what happend to me this year (I mean 2 cards set up twice in 7 rounds is kind of too much :P). For all that matters, beside Wildling Scouts, Blackfish and winter is comming, we had the same deck, that's kind of crazy, but conforting in a way ^^.

Once again, well done Florian, hope we'll catch up soon, and we'll be able to play/discuss asap :).

@Laplante

Did we play in swiss or it was other Judge Stark ?? ;)

@TrueSokles : Depends, I was the Small one with a beard, not the big ladd with hat and a yellow shirt ^^.

@Laplante

That seems correct. But my opp play 2 Robb Kings and 1 Core instead 3 Cores so the decklist doesn't look so close to Florian's. Do You remember 3 Treacherys and Quenn's Assasin?? ;)

Yes I do, My list had more surprising choices than Florian's one yet they were really close IMHO, mine was a bit more agressiv and Lanni focused. I Will post it in the French forum but don't think on thronesdb the result is pretty mediocre in the hand (even if it is still postiv amounts of wins). Let's stop blabling on Florian's list, better letting him enjoy his victoiry :).

Heh, I don't mind your discussion. This is a thread for everyone.

Grats on your win Florian...but in my Experience lanni winter is such a bad matchup for stark fealty...and we tested it a lot...and all starks were slaughtered in Worlds..where there was a very heavy lanni/Winter meta

Well, you can't hope to beat everything. Winning a tournament in a fair environment always involves luck with pairings etc. Stahleck saw way more constructive Lanni lists, like the one that won worlds, so that made my life a whole lot easier.