A Song of Sea and Blood - 2/18 Great Hall & 2/15 SC 1.0

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• 1.0

The Song Deck is back! :D

I had retired my Crossing deck because intimidate and The Withering Cold don't do much in this stand meta. Sea of Blood offers a new angle for the song deck. I played this at our Great Hall tournament, and only lost to our World Champion Lennart. I didn't like this agenda at first because it seemed too straightforward for my taste, but since it makes the song deck viable again, I like it more and more now. :) This song deck naturally is a bit less rushy and the restriction during and challenges is awkward, but you gain 3 new advantages:

• Pressure the opponent with the Put to the Torch/Sword events. They also spend much more ressources to prevent your Blood trigger than your Crossing power.
• Excellent card draw: searching for exactly the right event for every situation is pretty strong.
• Economy! With so many events and The Annals of Castle Black this advantage matters a lot!

The deck needs some more power, so we have +1 Syrio Forel, +1 Rattleshirt, +1 Varamyr Sixskins and most importantly +1 Mag the Mighty compared to the Crossing build. Except for Varamyr these guys (and Jaqen H'ghar!) are amazing "Last Giant" targets, so I play 3 copies of it now. There is no easier way to trigger Sea of Blood than paying 2 gold for a STR 11 icon. :)

King at the Wall I

Round 1 Win vs. Wars

She had duped Winterfell round 1, so no Sea of Blood trigger this game. Her Heir to the Iron Throne missed, so I got a head start and Randyll Tarly did his thing with 2 Arbor Marketplaces. At some point, Jaqen H'ghar could kill her Fat Cat.

Round 2 Loss vs. Starfall

I had a fully bestowed Begging Brother round 1 to prevent Lennart's tricks. He stole a from Loras, but I got "Last Giant" with Mag. Sadly, the event got canceled by He Calls It Thinking! I should have bestowed only 2 on the Begging Brother! One Valar Morghulis later, he was in total control of the game.

Round 3 Win vs. Wars

He got a surprise icon with The Prince's Plan, but I had 2 events to boost Loras's STR by 4 to win by 5. I could trigger the agenda every round and could rebuild my board easily after Valar Morghulis.

Round 4 Win vs. Meereen

This time I did it the other way, I kept 1 gold instead of bestowing it on a Begging Brother because I had a The Hand's Judgment to cancel Dracarys!. Well, this was wrong again. ;) I attacked with STR 17 ("Last Giant" Mag + Ser Mark Mullendore with Oathkeeper) against his board of Hizdahr zo Loraq and Second Sons, Hizdahr ambushed Quaithe and Qotho jumped in, 2 triggers I could have canceled with a Begging Brother. This way I only won by 4, but killed 2 guys at least. Next round I flip Valar Dohaeris and he keeps Qotho instead of Hizdahr, even though he played The King in the North. He can only play Crown of Gold, so I can trigger my agenda. His Valar Morghulis clears my board and my Randyll gets marched the round after that, but he can't build a board.

Round 5 Win vs. Greensight

I had a great start with Paxter Redwyne, Arbor Marketplace and Redwyne Straits with The Bounty of Highgarden in hand. I have Syrio Forel to trigger the agenda each round despite his 2 Silence's Crew. He dupes Corpse Lake with 5 power, so I can't put it to the torch. I can kill a risen Isles Balon with "Last Giant" Jaqen H'ghar and Put to the Sword. Loras survives Valar Morghulis, but without any stand effect and no power on his faction card I need another round to close.

Top 8 Win vs. Fealty

I have another decent start with Loras , Arbor Marketplace and Highgarden Courtier. He has duped Robb and Sansa. I make him go first because Ward would change my entire plan and indeed he takes my Knight of Flowers. I marshal duped Tom of Sevenstreams and Ser Talbert Serry and then "Last Giant" Jaqen H'ghar again, I love that play! :D With Courtier, Marketplace, Tom and "Bear and Maiden" I can attack three times with Jaqen triggering him twice and intimidating his board. I can trigger the agenda next round with Forced March and Varamyr Sixskins even though his 2nd Ward takes Tom. Then we both play Win Or Die. He valars, I play Annals and can close with Rattleshirt.

Top 4 Win vs. Wars

Another "Last Giant" Jaqen H'ghar round 1 :D He's got Isles Balon, Tris Botley, and an Acolyte of the Waves. He's got 3 saves, 2 Iron Mines and 1 Risen from the Sea, but 2 Jaqen-Triggers, Put to the Sword, and Put to the Torch are enough to kill Balon anyway. :D I can trigger the agenda every round, then can kill Big Asha on my Annals turn by searching for my Hand's Judgment because of the Risen in his discard pile. When Tris dies to his Valar, I can finally play my events again and he concedes.

Final Loss vs. Starfall

This was pretty one-sided because I drew absolutely no economy. I can trigger the agenda round 1 with "Last Giant" Mag and go for Put to the Torch because he had a duped Dorne, and I wanted a better Political Disaster next turn. In hindsight, The Bounty of Highgarden would have been the better choice probably. I have no dupe (well, I drew dupes of Jaqen and Mag...) and I start round 2 with a completely empty board. I play Redwyne Straits and Arbor Marketplace, but his 2x Trade Routes prevent me from gaining a decent board position. He closes with Shadowblack Lane Doran's Game.