Khalasar of Dothraki Sea (1st place Brawl at the Crossroads

Card draw simulator
Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% more
Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
None yet.

Andre 320

I decided to choose for this already traditional event ("Brawl of the Crossroads Inn" has now 4-years of tradition) to play Targaryen faction. I deliberately omitted dominant trio (Lannister, Martell, Stark) and instead choose a house that is not in top shape (as a primary faction) at the time being. Due to the aggro-focused environment I need pressure and speed and therefore decided to play Lord of the Crossing agenda. And last but not the least I simply like Targaryens and play-style of theirs.

1st round vs. Philine E. (Lannister - The Lord of the Crossing)

The match itself was heavily influenced by unluck for Philine during mulligan. I was able to flop 3 cards (income, reducer chud and bigger character) however she had lone Cersei + income and Small Council Chamber. Unavoidable Marched to the Wall followed and flow of the game was defined. Philine tried to return and populate the field however she lacked the time. She was able to pull out only Gregor out of the "Big guns" and I screened him to prevent potential "Put to the sword" trigger. He was unable to hit anything relevant during the whole game via his ability. Match quickly paced to its end on third or fourth plot.

2nd round vs. Stepan K. (Greyjoy - Banner of the Stag)

The game against my own teammate at tournament abroad is never preferable however it happened to us so frequently in the past that it is more like a tradition. He had 5-card setup (Seastone Chair and Newly made lord included because he correctly assessed that there are no eligible targets for his ability in my deck) however I had an excellent setup with regard to the match-up (Roseroad, Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion with both duplicates!). He let me correctly go first, I marshalled Dany and secured her with my own Milk of the Poppy to have her protected against Seastone (she still had renown, stealth and able to stand herself due to the dragons). He marshalled Melisandre during first round and thus neutralized Dany. However I was able to kiss Melisandre's forehead with Crown of gold next round and Dany and other chars initiated the pressure. Stepan tried to oppose everything possible to purchase time however he lacked correct Greyjoy characters for interactions with locations. Although he played Littlefinger Balon was missing and I discarded Theon twice for intrigue claim. At the end he returned Melisandre via Close Call however it did not change the course of the match and the game ended at fourth plot.

3rd round vs. Florian M. (Stark - Fealty)

Setup was solid for both of us and part of his was Bran Stark that troubled me enough from the beginning. He pulled out Jon, Grey Wind and soon fetched Winterfell - at least Robb was absent for a time to fulfill the synergy. He played Winter is coming in the first round and I fortunately had duplicate on dragon to prevent to be exposed to potential Marched to the Wall. Next round I marshalled Khal Drogo and Aggo to increase pressure. Florian concentrated his effort via military challenge and frequently kept two golds intact thus forcing me to defend in order to prevent potential Put to the sword. After he marshalled Robb during third round I promptly milked him via laid by Milk of the poppy. He then forgot to use Winterfell during massive military challenge and allowed me to burn Grey Wind via Dracarys (he lost the challenge and his board position was reduced considerably). Then I received Drogo's Arakh and the game ended at fifth plot.

4th round vs. Jannis R. (Lannister - Banner of the Dragon)

Jannis decided to take a mulligan instead of keeping setup full of little chuds due to the Targaryen matchup (He announced it to me) and pissed off Fortune considerably. He received Kingsroad, Jaime and Widow's Wail. I marched him promptly especially if discarded Viserys removed W's Wail as well. He managed to re-claim his board position slowly via early Tywin however he was anxious of second Marched. There was none of course. I grabbed power quickly and he was able to marshall Gregor (he was unable to hit anything important via his ability however it was going to change later during the day). If I recall it correctly he decided to start at fifth round and marshalled Mirri. I milked her promptly and without her kill effect the game ended at the very same round. The game itself would be hard to predict otherwise.

5th round vs. Liborhood (Greyjoy - Fealty)

I was glad to face my team mate at 5th round and the reason was twofold - it means that Libor performed very well (he was undefeated) and thus our match is only about position for cut. We both had solid setups and he played Fishwhiskers early. Asha and Theon joined the fray soon and "only" Balon was absent. I countered with Drogo and Dany. Decisive point of the game was during the third round when Libor played Winter plot, Seastone chair and the round was about presence or absence of Dracarys in my hand - I had it and the game was decided. Libor was unable to continue pressure without Fishwhiskers and absent Balon and the match ended during fourth or fifth plot. We both looked forward to elimination rounds.

It means an advance into the cut as 1st seeded and my team mate Libor was 2nd seeded.

TOP 8 vs. Gabriel R. (Martell - The Lord of the Crossing)

I played against well known opponent and winner of Pilsen Regional. I knew what to expect and the game was only about speed. Furthermore Martell matchup is difficult for my deck. We both had fair setups and race for power began. After I marshalled Khal Drogo he was promptly targeted by Nightmares in two consecutive rounds. Then I was lucky to draw Crown of gold during the third round and kill Nymeria by means of it. At the end of the round I had 14 powers (and 4 chars on board) and my opponent 11 powers ( and 6 chars). The match became the "mind" game at that point because the plot selection was crucial (Whoever starts is going to win the match). We both considered two options one or two minutes and it was very nice moment. I considered in-between Wildfire (it would be an advantage for me due to his wider board position) and Marched (Initiative). I decided to play Marched because I anticipated he is going to play Wildfire as well and he would start due to the lower power total. He played Calling the Banners and the game ended. Great and super intensive game.

TOP 4 vs. David D. (Stark - Fealty)

I quickly realized what kind of Stark I'm competing against. After he played Marching orders (soon the second one followed) and early deploy of King Robb's Host with duplicate I realized that some kind of modification of runner-up deck played by Ryan at Blackwater Bay (45 chars, no attachments and events) is standing against me. I carefully considered my options - speed was still an advantage due to the sheer number of characters in this decktype. His deck could be vulnerable against correctly timed Wildfire and fortunately I had one in my plot deck. On the other hand I needed wider board position as well to utilize Crossing fully and he has consistently better chance to draw 2 chars during draw phase than myself. Therefore I decided not to rely upon Wildfire much. Setup was strong for both side and he had even duplicates from the very beginning to be able to mitigate the military challenge further. I was bit short on economy (Roseroad and later Estate and one Kingsroad) however he helped me with early Pentoshi. I Milked Blackfish very soon to prevent synergy with Host and gained time. He deployed Winterfell and I let Dany stand most of the time to counter its STR boost. The game then began to be pure maths - it was about correctly counted challenges in right order to have maximized gain (Crossing included) and to force him to kneel as much as possible chars in order to win on defense (crucial help in my effort were Aggo and Jhogo together). War of Attrition continued and I was troubled by constant presence of Bran (he was effectively blocking my Superior Claim I considered crucial in this game). At the beginning of fifth round it was 9-8 for me in power total. I decided to play Long Winter plot with Arakh for Drogo sitting in my hand. He decide to be second player and I tried gamble (Dracarys and Superior Claim in my hand). He had just one card in hand and I began with intrigue challenge (I was afraid of Judgement singlehandedly able to ruin the whole plan). He successfully defended. Then I initiated bigger military challenge (Jorah, Drogo, Jhogo) and he defended to trigger Eddard. I tried to lure him into using Bran against Dracarys during that challenge. He did due to the fact he would otherwise lost the challenge with Eddard knelt (he thus enabled Superior Claim). Then Crossing power challenge came - he considered to have that challenge opposed but he had only Arya (without duplicate) and Host standing and decided not to defend. It was enough for me to won the game (1 power Crossing, 2 Superior Claim, 1 for unopposed and 2 for claim).

Final vs. Jannis R. (Lannister - Banner of the Dragon)

Final and second encounter with Jannis. Setup was good for me (Viserion duplicated, Viserys - 5 cards in total) however Fortune tricked Jannis again and he had to play lone Cersei+Seal of the Hand and economy location. Of course I Marched him and Viserys discarded Seal as well. He had to play Trading with Pentoshi as his first plot and marshalled another economy and Tywin + Hound. I pulled out Drogo instead of Dany to increase pressure against his reduced board position. Thanks to Tywin he was able to stabilize his board position against all the odds and marshalled Gregor and Syrion soon. I tried to accumulate power quickly during his rebuild. During the third round I needed to hit his elite board (Tywin, Gregor, Syrio, Hound) via military challenge and initiated all-in Crossing military. He defended with Syrio, Hound and Gregor in his effort to keep the board untouched and trigger Gregor. Fortunately I had Dracarys twice and burn to death Syrio and scorched decently Hound in order to win this challenge. Hound died for claim (very important for me). I was able to reach 13 powers after my challenges next round and he kept Gregor standing for attack and killed Burned man for claim instead of Viserion (very important). Gregor won MIL challenge and killed Dany via Put to the sword (I was unable to kept him from winning by five). Then Fortune smiled on Jannis - Gregor hit copy of Khal Drogo via his ability thus killing him instantly (2 powers lost in the process). Massive swing and I had to find way out. I kept Syrio in my hand together with ecom location. I expected he is going to wipe out my board of 3-cost or less characters + Aggo via First Snow. He had Tywin, Gregor a Viserion on board. I decided to take the risk (he killed his Burned men last round and Hound was dead as well) and chose Long Winter plot (2-claim). Jannis indeed played First Snow and let me be the first player. I marshalled Syrio and he had only Rattleshirt's Raiders as 4+ cost. I initiated military and stealthed Tywin and Gregor. Raiders opposed and Gregor died with them (vengeance for Drogo made by Aggo). Lone Tywin then won intrigue claim and poisoned Syrio via Tears. Nex round I played Song of Summer and marshalled Jhogo and Jorah (returned in previous round). Jannis marshalled duplicated Tyrion and Viserion. I did not risk Treachery and send Jorah only on one challenge that mattered - Crossing power and his stealth against Tywin won me game and the tournament itself. Great final with interesting turnovers.

That is all - sorry for maybe too long report. I'd like to thanks to each of my opponents, our hosts and most importantly Helmut for organizing such an remarkable event. Next year see you again!

  • Deck performed well with some minor adjustments (Called to Arms legal) at two other local tournaments being 2nd place at King's Robert Spree (35 players) and 3rd place at Battle of Astapor (22 players).
6 comments

Eukalyptus 7

Thanks for the interesting read!

What did you change with CtA?

YEEZUS 53

cool deck and thanks for the report! what changes would you make with the new pack? also have you considered the silver steed with all the blood riders?

Gabegabe 234

love it. simple and effective! reminds me of this Deck I made a while ago that I loved playing: thronesdb.com keep up good work!

Dydra 1494

Nice decklist :) gz

Andre 320

Thanks, guys. I made the changes below with CtA legal:

  • -2 Handmaiden
  • +2 Doreah
  • -1 Calm over Westeros
  • +1 Summer Harvest

@YEEZUS: Yes, Silver steed was tested however it did not made the cut at the end mostly due to its attachment restrictions (all in all perfect wielder being Jhogo only - if I had more suitable characters for it then it could be different), conditional renown limited for one challenge type and the fact I strongly insisted to have exactly 60 cards.

Cristian14 1

@Andre any new updates about the deck ?? seems pretty solid to me