Defending (Slightly) Differently to Joe - 3rd Place Summer G

Card draw simulator
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Derived from
We defend the Wall alone 72 48 77 4.0
Inspiration for
Defending (Slightly) Differently to Joe - 3-1 Trident 1 0 0 2.0

TheHarpDaddy 29

Hey guys - first time posting here!

Just wanted to share a deck I've been working on for a few weeks now that is (heavily) based on Joe's "We defend the wall alone" deck.

I'm an extremely new player, with about one month experience, and I have an unfortunately limited card pool due to sharing the core sets with some of my friends.

So, due to this:

  • I can only run 2x Milk of the Poppy (I haven't actually found this to be a huge issue, as Craven is just such an incredible card)
  • I have no access to The Iron Throne
  • I have no access to Unsworn Apprentice

This led to the following inclusions that differ from Joe's deck:

  • I included 1 copy of Longclaw. I've actually found this to be quite useful in some games, and useless in others. It goes really nicely on a Ranging Party when you have Castle Black out, and is another potential target for Halder. It does mostly get discarded by Old Forest Hunter, though.
  • I included an extra copy of the hands judgement. This is just a nice thing to have, never found it to be too many and I was always happy to see one. Also helps heaps in the Targaryen matchup.
  • I included Yoren literally for more intrigue. He's the last card I want in this deck, but unfortunately I don't have very many options.

So the games I had for the GNK:

1st round - Martell/Fealty (Win)

2nd round - Tyrell/Lord of the Crossing (Win)

3rd round - Tyrell/Banner of the Watch (Loss)

It was the first loss I've had with the deck with it's current set up, and I can't be disappointed because it was also to the current Australian National Champion! He had a really interesting deck that threw me off guard a little bit - I also drew 44 cards and didn't pull a single Wall :( My opponent, however, did see the wall and I just didn't really have an answer to it unfortunately. I believe the game ended up at 15 power to my 7 power.

The changes I will definitely be making in the next few weeks:

-2 Yoren for +2 Sweet Donnell Hill

-1 Longclaw for +2 Nightmares

This will bring my total card count to 61. I'm also wanting to drop Calling the Banners, but at the moment it's probably the only high gold plot I have access to with no downside (Marching Orders prevents me from doing so many things).

What do you guys think? I've actually been loving this deck! So much fun to use and really feels like it has an answer for everything.

Special thanks to Joe from Cincinnati for his time and efforts via cardgamedb, and to Daye Kaniel who features on Joe's youtube channel.

Comments and criticisms are more than welcome! But please keep in mind I do have a slightly limited card pool :P

Go the Nights Watch!

8 comments

ironlix 1

Congrats and well done!

I'd suggest +1House Maester and -1 Yoren although Yoren is loyal, gives you a 2g bicon instead.

TheHarpDaddy 29

@ironlix - House Maester is a very good card but unfortunately I've also handed them over to my friend who plays Greyjoy :P

I'm waiting for Sweet Donnell Hill to replace Yoren, and even though Donnell is not a Bicon he's still a Watch character with an effective ability.

Donnell Hill with a Practice Blade will be quite a good little combo I think!

GIMMETHEL00T 97

You are definitely on the right track with this. Id suggest playing building orders over for the watch especially since you are a newer player. I have this deck built as well right now (Net decked from Joe like you did) and I just found that not seeing the Wall early gives you so much less chance to win. Id rather have the wall out a turn or two earlier then to have a turn where I have 6 initiative and they auto lose their first challenge. Plus you arent playing sword in the darkness anyways. Besides Wildfire, this deck has 0 initiative control too. Also, I would do your best to just get a third milk and 2x Iron Throne for this deck. You can get a core set of neutrals for $5 on ebay and the core itself is only $30 now anyways. 3x craven, 3x milk, and at least 1 iron throne is mandatory for this deck to be competitive.

ironlix 1

I tend to agree with @GIMMETHEL00T putting in the Building Orders.

Also wondering how many times did you @THarps play 2x Counting Coppers against your opponent?

TheHarpDaddy 29

@ironlix I've played 2x Counting Coppers in every game, but not usually 1 after the other. The combo of 2 - 3 Messenger Raven and Counting Coppers allows you to scream through the deck and usually see what you need when you need it, which is why I don't play Building Orders actually like @GIMMETHEL00T said.

I completely agree that getting the Wall out reasonably early is always a good thing, but in my last game of the GNK against the National Champion I do have to say that Building Orders wouldn't have helped - I went through 44 cards and still didn't see the Wall and by then it was too late anyway. Often, however, when you don't see the Wall you do see Thoren Smallwood which nets you passive power gain (or prevents your opponent from doing anything due to them worrying about you netting power) and you do have Winter Festival to trigger as well.

Also in regards to Initiative Control, I haven't found it to be all that important to be honest. I still have a 7 (Wildfire), 2x 6 (Calling the Banners, For the Watch!), 3x 3 (Counting Coppers, Here to Serve) and a 2 (Winter Festival) which honestly isn't too bad! I tend to win initiative on the round I want to win it, and when I lose it I can still muster and just pass on challenges anyway to keep the wall standing.

I would love to have some Iron Thrones in there @GIMMETHEL00T!!! I'm planning on buying some in the near future :) Not really sure what I would take out at the moment though... When Lions of Casterly Rock comes out in Australia Yoren is getting cut for Sweet Donnell Hill, but I'm thinking about trying to prepare for the Valar meta and cut down some of the characters (such as Arry, Samwell Tarley and even Dolorous Edd) to 1x copies, which would free up some extra space for extra Milk and the Iron Throne.

Joe From Cincinnati 1672

During Worlds, the UK National Champ, Ryan Wood, ran 2 Counting Coppers and Building Orders.

It is something to consider. Card draw is never a bad thing.

action_johnny 750

Thanks for the Kudos man, always nice. If I were to offer one tiny suggestion, it'd be to ditch Long Claw, as I think that card has no real good targets for it atm. Get the 3rd Milk in there instead. Other than that, looks solid. I think Yoren as a 1 of is a good shout, after seeing Ryan pull a total clutch play at worlds thanks to him (he stole a Dragon from a Targ player, money all day).

In regards to replacing Calling, try Fest for Crows if you want a high gold plot with a game winning effect. Or if you want even more consistency, you can run Building Orders to guarantee the Wall. I also think finding space for at least an Iron Throne would be a good shout, especially in the Bara match up.

Well done with your result and keep on Watching ;) Daye

TheHarpDaddy 29

@action_johnny Cheers mate! Completely agree regarding the Long Claw - I've actually got some spare neutral cards getting shipped to me as we speak, so will finally be able to use a 3rd milk of the poppy and get the Iron Throne in there too.

Looking forward to seeing more Youtube Videos from yourself and @Joe From Cincinnati!