The Paws Behind the Throne (Top 4 @ IoWorlds 2018) 1.0

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• 1.0

Before going into the tourney, I hadn't really played any serious Thrones in 3-4 months. So I thought, I'll go into it to get a few fun games in with a deck that does silly things and includes the best artwork in the game, Tommen Baratheon. I was given a gift by my mother in law which cemented the cat deck. Big Paw Paw

Lost my first game to Robert Mixer with GJ-Wars and in 5th round to the future IoWorlds champ Jesse Carpenter with his Stark-Fealty masterpiece. Lost to Jesse again in the Top 4 cut. Very happy with only losing to the two tourney finalists, and what a great day overall. Big thanks to the Vancils, the Reeds, and all others who helped plan and attended this great Iowa party.

Ser Pounce is a fantastic addition to the game. As a 1g attachment that can be a surprise, allow for multiple challenges with a single character, and perhaps the 2nd best card art in the game, I went all in.

Casterly Rock was a natural pick here, as well as Cersei Lannister (LoCR) and Myrcella Baratheon (SoD). Anything that furthered the theme of non-kneeling was worth a look. I followed that with memories of a meta-mate's janky Conclave deck with Maesters Pylos and Wendamyr, and added some stealth tech with Arya Stark (Core), Jojen Reed, Penny. Tyrion Lannister (Core) makes the challenges phase go your way on the Supporting the Faith turns, letting you discard The Hound (TtB) for Gold Mine and play around with him in sometimes 2 challenges via The Goldroad and intrigue economy. Treachery is crucial to cancelling Vince or other game changing abilities. Stopping Starfall from stealing icons or from Varys (DitD) from killing Cersei helped me win games.

The rest of the deck just generally supports the use of Ser Pounce and Casterly Rock. Either good Pounce targets or econ and meta calls. Brothel Madame on Supporting the Faith turns was tech against Sea of Blood, as was Rickon Stark and Bran Stark (Core), and in addition both of those are viable Pounce friends. Jeyne Poole can grab either a dupe of Cersei, Myrcella, or Arya that was pitched for early Gold Mine draws or intrigue claims or...... Using Valar Dohaeris to cut your opponent's board down while you have dupes to go grab them for marshaling again.

Old Bill Bone is both fuel for Penny, surprise military claim to encourage overextension, and another way to prevent Sea of Blood from searching for Put to the Sword or Put to the Torch. A Pinch of Powder works great with Casterly Rock and non-kneeling characters, not to mention that sneaky 2nd Widow's Wail.

Plots are easy to see how to use -- Peace and Prosperity is often a 7-8 gold plot. As Diomedes mentioned in the inspiration deck build, waiting to set up Casterly Rock with Peace and Prosperity is almost always better than adding it to setup (unless you get the dupe). Political Disaster is a gamechanger against a post-Valar M/D Trade Routes. The King in the North is an excellent fit in this deck, where non-kneeling passive text allows you to put the pressure on while there's at least a decent chance of having a king on board yourself with either best-art Tommen Baratheon or The Boy King. Even better if you can time it to hit a Valar. You Win Or You Die is an obvious closer, and I've had games go as fast as 2 turns before with Big Cersei, Boy King, Joffrey Baratheon (Core), Sansa Stark (Core), and good plot play.

Happy to answer questions! Thank you again to all my opponents for a fantastic day.