Fiery Mane 3.0, 2nd place @ Singapore Regionals (30 players) 6.0

• Versiones
• 6.0
• 3.0
• 2.0
• 1.0

First of all, I would like to thank Gamersaurus Rex for hosting such a fantastic event with a great turnout of 30 players. I would also like to thank my friends from the Singapore AGOT community for the well valued advice given in building this deck. Also, to the people I've played with this Regionals, it's been a real pleasure playing with you all! Special mention to girlfriend and gamer extraordinaire Charlotte Lun for playing this game with me.

For this Singapore Regionals, I bought my Lanni-Dragon deck which I've been working on for quite a while. It had a good track record of clinching 1st place in a recently monthly tournament and so naturally it became my No.1 candidate to bring for this Regionals.

The deck went 6-1-1 throughout the day. I've attached a brief tournament report below detailing whatever stood out in the games.

Round 1: Johnson (Lannister Kraken): Johnson setup a single Tywin and a location reducer, which instantly got marched to the wall. I stalled for quite a bit this game as my draw was sub-par throughout this game. Johnson didn't make it easy for me even though he's a new player and a well timed Wildfire Assault slowed me down significantly. Eventually I was able to close on the 7th plot. (Win, 1-0-0)

Round 2: Aloysius (Martell Crossing): Aloysius' speciality is in playing mind games with his opponents, which I still fall for to this day (unfortunately). I had an unbelievably lucky set-up of a duped Tywin, Lannisport Merchant and Roseroad (He almost wanted to call the TO at this point :p). Aloysius opened with Heads on Spikes, but missed. He dropped down Ghaston Grey on the first turn, which I countered with Treachery. Relentless as he is, he dropped another Ghaston Grey the next turn, which I had no answer for after he pulled another Treachery from an claim. I think it was turn 3 or 4 which I flipped The First Snow of Winter, and he was left with Nymeria and The Red Viper. I thought long and hard if I should do a challenge as I was afraid that he had Vengeance for Elia (an idea he planted in my head when he was thinking out loud, was it a ruse?), but went in for a challenge anyway, staring Ghaston Grey dead in the eye. Alas, it was a ruse, no Vengeance for Elia today and he conceded the game this turn after I Put to the Sword his Viper and claimed his Nymeria. (Win, 2-0-0)

Round 3: Tze Ling (Lannister Wolf): What are the odds of having the same set-up as your opponent? We both set-up Ser Gregor Clegane and Lannisport Merchant. I got my Ser Gregor Clegane milked on turn 1, but managed pull off a defence by ambushing Widow's Wail. I removed milk on turn 2 by flipping Confiscation and managed to pull kill her Ser Gregor using Tears of Lys, in the same turn, she managed to pull Tywin from my hand through an claim. In the next turn, her Tywin came out. I think it was this turn or the next where she made a critical miscalculation of blocking a challenge for 6 STR when I swung in with Ser Gregor with Widow's Wail for 12 STR (she forgot about the Widow's Wail), which allowed me to Put to the Sword her Tywin Lannister. With Tywin out of the way, I was able to close the game in the next turn. (Win, 3-0-0)

Round 4: Chun Yong (Greyjoy Crossing): Word of how fast Chun Yong's deck is has spread at this point and boy was I nervous going against him. He is a seasoned Greyjoy player so I was expecting a really tough fight. Suspecting that he was going to drop down Balon or Euron on turn 1, I played a Treachery on his Kingsroad. In an unbelievable stroke of luck, I managed to pull his Balon on an claim. I managed to keep his board small through Mirri, and claims and The First Snow of Winter, allowing me to close the game at plot 4. (Win, 4-0-0)

Round 5: Jason (Lannister Sun): We were the only undefeated players at this point and we decided to have dinner, so we took an ID knowing that our place at Top 8 is secured. Interesting fact: Jason is a monster player and was crowned Regional Champion in the Geneva Regionals, he was also the same guy that defeated me in semi-finals of the last Singapore Regionals. Also, I found out today that he is a monster eater, devouring half a chicken in front of my very eyes, that monster. (Draw, 4-1-0)

-Cut to Top 8-

Top 8 Quarterfinals: Ling Hong (Baratheon Fealty): MVP of this match is Magister Illyrio, which came into play on set-up and has saved me many times from Baratheon's kneeling shenanigans. I marshalled Mirri on turn 1 after she marshalled Robert Baratheon, and I managed to kill Robert on turn 1 with Mirri and took dominance, forcing her to sacrifice Bastard in Hiding to keep Gendry in play. From there, I was carefully extending my board (I was anticipating Wildfire Assault, but thankfully it never came) while whittling her board down. With that, I was able to secure a win at around plot 4. (Win, 5-1-0)

Top 4 Semifinals: Derek Yang (Lannister Wolf): Battle of the Dereks, apart from having the same name, we played the same house too, and boy I had some close shaves this round. He opened with a Heads on Spikes but missed, while I opened with Counting Coppers as I ended up with a bad opening hand. I managed to draw Tywin and Mirri. With his 4 gold, he warded my Cercei Lannister which I set-up with, and proceeded to hit me hard (with my own character no less) with 2 claims. Luckily, he discarded Kingsroad and Burned Men instead. Plot 2, he opened Heads on Spikes again! While I opened a Confiscation to bring Cercei back. By now I am sweating bullets, but I survived once again when he hit Magister Illyrio (could be worse). I had just enough econ for Tywin to come out, then deployed a lockdown with Mirri out next. I had excellent econ and draw this game and managed to extend my board really fast. It was with such luck in the early game that I managed to pull off a win eventually. (Win, 6-1-0)

Finals: Chuen Kit (Stark Fealty): Our resident Stark player, if anyone could pilot Starks to maximum effect, it would be him. Interestingly I played with him a few days ago, losing to a close 14-15 game, so fate has it that we face off again this Regionals for the top spot. Thanks Chewy for keeping a log of this game so I can explain in great detail.

He set-up with Robb, Rickon and Kingsroad while I set-up with Magister Illyrio, Burned Men and Kingsroad on my side. We both flipped Noble Cause on turn 1, so a roll of a dice decided that I go first. Sure, I dropped a dupe on Magister Illyrio, and I had enough econ to marshall Tyrion and Ser Jamie using another Kingsroad. When CK marshalled... it was instantly bad news for me. He bought in Catelyn (core), which rendered the Tears of Lys in my hand useless. He put milk on my Tyrion (goodbye econ). He also bought in Arya and attached Ice on Robb (the most lethal combo indeed, goodbye Jamie, tough luck). Plot 2, I managed to March his Arya away at the expense of my Burned Men, but he took the advantage of playing Calling the Banners and I see Eddard (WoTN) and Sansa (WoTN) on his side. Trouble for me as I tried to cling on by marshalling The Hound and Targaryen Loyalist. Targaryen Loyalist did his duty, dying to a claim. I lost a Tears of Lys through The Hound's forced reaction when I went in for and managed to discard his Winter is Coming! on an claim (which he would have played if he had econ). Plot 3, CK flips the Long Winter and I flip Calling the Banners for the lack of better options, I managed to milk his Catelyn, but it's too late by now. I managed to drop Tears of Lys on Robb Stark, while tanking 2 claim challenges on my side. Plot 4, Trading with the Pentoshi for me, and Confiscation for him to remove Catelyn's milk. No luck, I drew Milk of the Poppy (which I dropped on Eddard) and Viserion, while he brings in Syrio Forel and milks my Magister Illyrio in retaliation. I couldn't steal back power this round. It was over by Plot 5, I had no more econ plots so I played Confiscation, and The Hound just got marched away. I saw milk on Magister Illyrio again, the only character left on my side, and I drew into Tywin and Illyn Payne too late, so I conceded. (Loss, 6-1-1)

Final Thoughts

Congrats CK for the win! You're a worthy adversary indeed. It's an honour to play at the Finals as I've never been placed that high in an official FFG tournament before, so it was a great experience for me. I'm definitely looking forward to the Singapore Open and Nationals that are up and coming.

I feel my deck held it's own and did well this tournament, though I'm still looking at how to further tweak it. As usual, any comments and suggests are welcome.