Salt in our Veins 3-0 SC Winner 1.0

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• 1.0

I made some slight adjustments from the excellent decklist Mikael Niceforo submitted to take this to my local Store Championship. I changed out Winter Festival for Counting Coppers. The extra draw is always welcome and with having to play more measured in this post Valar world, 3 more cards can net you an extra save or duplicate. Also maxed out Asha and added an extra Damphair. Asha is just as integral to Greyjoy as either Balon or Euron I feel, and is the character I most want to setup if I can. Core Damphair, I didn't feel good running 3 copies of him, neither at 1 copy so I settled for 2.

Game 1 - Tyrell Summer

Right off the bat I get matched up with the one deck I wasn't hoping to face. My Lannister Rains deck got spanked twice by this very deck a couple days before the SC, which prompted me to sleeve this up. I felt this deck would give me a fighting chance against Tyrell, but not to the point where I wanted to face it. I get a bonkers setup of a duped Euron, Fishmonger, and a Sea Tower. I draw back into 2 WDNS along with a Risen and Iron Mines. A Lordsport Shipwright kept locking down a Kingsroad, which after the game was done, turned out to prevent my opponent from playing Jaqen H'Ghar on turn 2 against me. Euron managed to pillage and take The Arbor, The Mander, and Highgarden in this game. My opponent did get all the way to 14 power still and almost won with Standy Randy with Crown of Golden Roses attached, as I drew absolutely no stealth the entire game. He Valared on round 6 though and Randy went away along with his 6 power. He scooped after that happened thinking I was running Valar as well hoping to double down on Valar so my board would be wiped too even after saves.

MVP - Lordsport Shipwright

Game 2 - Targ Summer

I setup Asha, Iron Mines, and a Raiding Longship knowing full well that my opponent never runs Marched to the Wall. To my horror, he sets up Viserion, Drogon, and King Viserys. I manage to draw back up into a Risen and marshal Balon along with Seastone Chair. Luckily, my opponent never did have Dracarys, even though I was ready for it. Seastone Chair managed to kill both Littlefinger and Rakharo this game. My opponent on two straight rounds was relying on an Aggo stand to fuel some pressure against me. For two rounds Aggo had Nightmares played on him which ultimately was the tempo hit necessary to close out the game. That stupid King Viserys did manage to accrue 4 power throughout the game, it may prompt me to try and include King of Salt and Rock to counter other Kings in the future.

MVP - Nightmares

Game 3 (Finals) - NW Fealty

I get a middling setup of Pyke, Sea Tower, Salty Navigator, and a Priest of the Drowned God. My opponent habitually plays out his hand way too fast in league nights. I can usually overcome those glut of cards and cleanup after that. This game was way different. By round 3 my opponent had Castle Black, Shadow Tower, The Wall, and 2 Haunted Forests out. Needless to say, Haunted Forest is the bane of Greyjoy and required me to really think through challenges. I eventually though have every single heavy hitter out possible. For two turns I'm able to do a military challenge with Balon, Euron, and Victarion, which if the 3 renown triggers aren't enough, the massive Intimidate kneel allows me to make the unopposed challenge I need to kneel The Wall. The game was over in short order after that.

MVP - Victarion Greyjoy

Overall, Greyjoy's resiliency to Valar makes it a great counter to anyone trying to leverage it against you. Really will be interesting to see where Greyjoy goes in the next cycle and see where this deck progresses from here. Thanks for reading!