Sun & Ice: Top 4 2018 MaxXP Store Champs (Overall 3rd Place) 1.0

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Reached top 4 with this deck today in store champs at MaxXP, Glasgow, Scotland. 20 players. I came overall third.

Round 1: Night's Watch Crossing. Win. Round 2: Martell Wolf. Win. Round 3: Stark Rains. Win. Round 4: Martell Alliance (Stag Kraken). Loss. Round 5: Tyrell Summer. Win. Top 4: Martell Wolf (round 2 rematch). Loss.

As you might expect from Martell Wolf, the general plan is to control the board and keep it small. Venomous Blade, Ward, Harrenhal (GoH), Ghaston Grey, Ramsay Snow, The House of Black and White, double Marched to the Wall and Valar Dohaeris all contribute to locking things down for your opponent.

Frozen Solid, Bran Stark (Core) and Varys are your counters against Targ, Greyjoy and Night's Watch. Bastard Daughter, His Viper Eyes and prioritising intrigue challenges maintain hand pressure.

Naval Superiority is the opening plot if you can set up economy, preferably a Dornish Fiefdom. If not, flip Varys's Riddle. If the plot hits (and it got several today), then fine; if not you're likely to win initiative which plays into your hands. Late Summer Feast and Trading with the Pentoshi are common openers with meta-dominant decks right now, so it's a justifiable choice. I didn't regret it in any of my 6 matches.

Economy is everything with this deck. See it early and there is every chance of success; don't draw it and life is difficult. This is exactly what happened in the top 4 mirror.

Match Commentary

Round 1: Night's Watch Crossing (DK) 1/0 DK saw very little economy and so was hard pressed to create an ideal Crossing board. An early Varys reset destroyed any chance of recovery. When Jon Snow (Core) hit the board he survived a turn before being Marched to the Wall. His Viper Eyes saw off any threat from Qhorin Halfhand. No hit for Naval Superiority as DK flipped Time of Plenty as his opener.

Round 2: Martell Wolf (Even S) 2/0 This match was basically decided by economy. I drew lots of econ early: two each of The Roseroad and Dornish Fiefdom, I think. Even struggled for econ, particularly because he flipped Heads on Spikes into my Naval Superiority. He did pull Varys, but even with him dead early I managed to eke out the win.

Round 3: Stark Rains (Tony Makos) 3/0 Flipping Late Summer Feast into my Naval Superiority was a difficult start for Tony. I had Ghaston Grey and a Frozen Solid on his Last Hearth by the end of turn 1, adding further complications to his game plan. After getting his own Frozen Solid on my Ghaston Grey he began to revive, but "The Last of the Giants" into Varys sealed the game. His Bran Stark (Core) attempted to cancel, but was himself cancelled by a handy Begging Brother.

Round 4: Martell Alliance - Stag/Kraken (Kostas) 3/1 This was a nail-biting game ending in spectacular defeat. My Naval Superiority hit a Counting Coppers this time, but I think Kostas was simply wanting to get his draw going and didn't seem too perturbed. He was unsettled by an early Frozen Solid on his Flea Bottom, however. After incredible amounts of draw thanks to Secret Schemes and The Annals of Castle Black, Kostas had The Iron Throne and Chamber of the Painted Table in play. The end saw us both on 14 power. He has Melisandre (Core) and a Newly-Made Lord in play opposing my Elia Sand. Going first, I needed a single unopposed challenge to win - and with a Dornish Spy in hand with 4 gold remaining victory seemed near. So the spy was promptly ambushed. However, he used Sea Bitch on my The Water Gardens and then played Even Handed Justice on the spy and lord. Game over.

Round 5: Tyrell Summer (Mark) 4/1 This time my Naval Superiority met a Summer Harvest. Mark still got off to a good start thanks to a duped Randyll Tarly on set up. My set up was not ideal: a The Roseroad, Flea Bottom and Elia Sand. But I did have "The Last of the Giants" and Varys in hand. The combo was played, sweeping away Mark's board and leaving Randyll a sitting duck for Marched to the Wall turn 2. I then managed to Ward Ser Robar Royce, leading to Mark's summer plots helping me along the road to victory.

Semi-Final: Martell Wolf (Even)
The situation in round 2 was reversed in this game. A solitary Roseroad was all I had for the first 3 rounds, I think. I flipped Varys's Riddle into his Close Call. With Naval Superiority mind games are real, so I played it into his Heads on Spikes turn 2. However, Even had card advantage by this point and after a well-timed Valar Morghulis with two Bastard Daughter on the table, my hand was severely compromised. Together with stunted economy and few playable cards, Even went on to win our semi final.