LanniStag power grab - 1st Max XP Glasgow store champs 1.0

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Heya folks, this is what I played yesterday at the MaxXP store champs in Glasgow. 14 people turned up, which is a bit lower than I'd like but understandable so late in the season. Quick breakdown of my games:

R1 Greyjoy Winter - Stephen 1-0 I've got a decidedly better setup, against his Captain's daughter, Lordsport Shipwright and reducer. I nightmares the Daughter to drop Jaime on t1, and discard down to 2 cards from Frostfang Peaks + Wraiths. It's not all bad though, as Jaime pushes a lot in my favour and he is forced into an early valar from which I recover much better. It was his first game with his deck,but as it was over quickly we play another one. It's much harder going but I win that too.

R2 Martell Stag - David 2-0 David is playing a heavy discard deck, with His Viper Eyes and Seen in Flames to strip opponents of useful cards. I'm massively ahead in power at first, but he's able to hit my Counting Coppers with his Varys' Riddle and then play his own after the Long Plan, so he's got significantly more cards in hand than me. Fortunately, I'm very much ahead on power, and on his 2nd Valar (turn 8 I think) I flip my Winter Festival while at 14 power. It's fun winning without any guys on the table. My economy was very shaky in this game, which meant that I couldn't easily play my topdecked big guys, which meant they were invariably stripped off with David's events.

R3 Tyrell Stag - Alan 2-1 Great, more Melisandre!Something of a pattern for the day. Alan's playing the Deergarden deck. i had a look on it online on Friday night, so I know what to expect. I know I've got some answers for it in the short run, and perhaps I can manage to grab power soon enough before it all gets out of hand. Things are going rather well, the battle between our Iron Thrones and Painted Tables rages on. It crucially comes down to him intriguing my Treachery out of hand on his Varys turn (damn his stealthy sexy baby face!) and then fishing out a crucial Seen in Flames with Much and More 2.0 to kneel my Jaime who would kill his Mel. My economy was very poor again.

R4 Tyrell Summer - Malachy 3-1 He doesn't have the arbor at first, if I remember correctly, but he still has a lot of guys and the Queen of Thorns. She only triggered once, though, as my defensive Tywin and later Melisandre kept her in control, while I steadily grabbed power on my renown guys and with the Throne/Table. He also runs out of cards in hand which makes things easier.

top4 Tyrell Stag - Alan I make it to the top as 4th and am paired up with Alan again, who has obviously gone undefeated. Repeat of R3 or revenge? I've got a weird setup of throne/duped table/fiefdom/bastard in hiding. Drawing back up to 7, I've only got a Dragonstone faithful in my hand, so my first plot is Coppers. I drop some small bodies and t2 Jaime duped. Meanwhile, I win dom and table every turn, as Alan hasn't drawn into his throne yet. He picks a Treachery out of my hand in intrigue, and then another, so he feels reasonably confident into dropping and using his Varys. I did draw all three on my first turn though, and that sets him up a ton. Later on, I pluck a second Varys out of his hand with Seen in Flames. Jaime somehow survives through the whole game while I steadily creep to 15. Phew, talk about by the skin of my teeth.

Final Lanni Stag - Even Oh, great, it's the mirror, and Even on top of that! Since I won our last face off in Newcastle, we figure that it's his turn for this one. He starts with Tywin and Mel to my Cersei and Tyrion. My economy is worse, and he eventually has his own big Cersei with Casterly Rock and Lannisport. I 'tactically' run out of cards, which means his Cersei doesn't get too much power, while I win dominance for 4-5 turns in a row, including the Feast of Crows turn. That, together with Winter Festival and Cersei working with Seen in Flames and even when she doesn't participate in a challenge mean that I'm quite ahead on power. On the final turn he can only get to 13 power, while Tyrion's stealth guarantees me the win.

Card Comments: The Iron Throne is bonkers good in this environment. With the resurface of control decks (the Deergarden deck is such good fun), I'm a big fan of passive power gain, especially if you can outpace the Night's Watch. In at least half of my games, having the throne was massive, and it would even be good if it protected against the painted table. The deck is quite expensive, with plenty of big dudes. The siblings not kneeling to attack obviously makes it even easier for you to win dominance, though, and being able to use them at least twice per turn makes up for their cost. Even handed justice was very mediocre, wouldn't miss it if it was removed. Never drew Lannisport the whole day, and also I'd be tempted to put in another Ocean Road, as there's a lot of Baratheon cards here and not that many different Lannister characters. Tyrion is okay to see, stealthy and helps, again, with dominance. Plus he draws plenty of fire, but he's definitely not essential for this deck (no ambush except for a single Hound, reasonably cheap events).

Overall, I think the deck is pretty well situated in the current environment and can also net you some easy wins which is always appreciated in a tournament. It's also refreshing to do something different out of Lanni, rather than the standard murder/death/carnage routine. You often ignore the military challenge altogether unless you've got Jaime or the board is very very small.

And that's all I can think of, at the moment. Feel free to ask questions etc if that is how you roll!