Wildfire is still a very good reset and in the core set.

There is also a hand reset (rule by decree) and a location reset (fleeing to the wall) so i do not think it is lacking on resets (it has one less then it did when winter was around).

The game is slower in the lcg format, but i'm not sure if that is a bad thing.

"And that it is a useful way to teach noobs playing the game, letting them understand game mechanics and titles mechanics in melee format in a [fun] way."

couldn't agree more.

 You also have to remember the perception of how much superior a Core Set House is, will rely a lot on who is playing the House. If you have Lannister and you try to go on a mass killing spree like you were a Stark, don't be surprised to find yourself on the loosing end.

I've been noticing that the more the decks are played the way the Houses tended to be portrayed in the books, the better they do.

Stark is great if you sit in the icey North, kill anything that ventures to close, and sweep in and ravage the oppnent who has defined themselves as your enemy.

Baratheon does well with setting up a great strong power structure and just dominating your way through the game. Make alliances where they suit you and avoid making more enemies than you can defend against.

Lannister works great when you get everyone else to do the fighting for you. Bribe them, cajol the, intimidate them, but don't do the work yourself until it is time to slide a blade between their ribs or fling someone out of a tower.

Targaryen on the other hand has to consolidate, remain unobtrusive, defend as best able, run from engagements until you have built up an unstoppable force and then wreck havoc on someone with a coalition of players and just sweep through the land conquering one House after the next until the throne is yours.

Thisis the way the Core Set should be in my opinion. Not a bunch of even decks with the same strengths and abilities, but decks each designed to be able to accomplish certain things well, allowing each player to be ablet  find th ethemes and play styles of the House which best suits them.

I think Targ tends to be the strongest, because it rewards cautious but decisive play, something a lot of people with experience in this kind of game naturally gravitate towards.

"I am the Prince of Dorne. Men seek my favor."

 Why can't I find the edit button? I can't fix my tpos and spelling errors! Good lord now people will think I'm a figament of Stag Lord's imagination.

"I am the Prince of Dorne. Men seek my favor."

Having nobody to actually play with, I can't say which house I believe to be the strongest in the LCG format.  I've always been a Greyjoy at heart, but they're obviously not top dog currently.  My guess is that Targaryen should be best as they simply have what appears to be the best cards available currently. To Be A Dragon certainly has to be one of the strongest cards out there, I think, especially in concurrence with the Ambush characters.

After other games and another analysis, I've to say that the Lannister deck is bad-built...Funny interactions, as I said, but nothing there is so consistant...

Targaryens won again...both times.

Hope Martin gets some inspiration here... :-) (No spoilers please if I got it: i'm still reading the 8th italian book....One book left to read the whole opera) :-)

But I've a little question about the whole LCG environment...Which house, in your opionion, is going to be the "best friend" of Greyjoy? And Which one of Martell?

It's Just for curiosity...I know the new agendas will take some time before coming out (maybe a couple of centuries), but I've to prepare for winter...or summer, as you wish :-)

 Depends... we don't know what the Agenda's themselves are going to be like and that may have a direct impact on it... as well as the cards that come out with them.

That said I enjoy pairing Martell and Stark together. Challenge control doesn't get much more unforgiving. Targ and Martell also look like they would be a good compliment if you are making a seasonal deck.

Greyjoy and Targ also look interesting assuming you aren't making a seasonal deck. If you are I'd suggest giving a look to Greyjoy and Stark.

That said, if they come up with some Bara power control or serious rush It is the house that should probably be thought of the most as the one to defeat or pair with the Agenda if that opponents need less power to win is substantial.

"I am the Prince of Dorne. Men seek my favor."

dormouse said:

Well said...If the reduction is something like "your oppo needs 10 powers", new-treaty Agendas could be quite unplayable, and sadly it could become the end for Martell and Grey joy more than their "new life", in that sense.

Even if LCG bothers someone (me too, initially), now I've to say that deckbuilding and LCG games in general are not so bad.

My meta began playing just because of the LCG environment and they're not going to spend lots of money on old cards.

Last night all of us got "all" the LCG cards and we started to enjoy some deckbuilding and format analysis.

We tried to figure out 4 different deckbuildings (1 per house) and it's not that bad, as we usually said.

I know that the card pool is restricted, but not as it seems. It's like you have to build up something at the beginning of a Standard Cicle, basically.

The choice is not that simple if you wanna stay into the 60 cards limit.

But the biggest surprise is...

We built a Lannister Heavy control deck and it works pretty well...When I used to build up something with the Tzumainn's deckbuilder I didn't realize the inner strength of this house in this format...But believe me...

To build it up, we used: 1 Core Set, 1x each CP and a coupl of adds from other core set to get some 3x (Lannisport Weaponsmith, i.e.), just to figure out a basic building with the average card pool (of a player that doesn't want to spend money).

I don't know how the game worked at the beginning, but after some deck analysis on Tzumainn's Site and on some articles, I feel like a "back to the root" step, at least for Lannisters.

Strong and fast Card advantage, lots of control by events, Intrigue "domain" and good military environment.

We tried out a Stark built too...It works fine, but lost both the games played against Lannisters. The friend of mine who built the Stark deck made some strange choice that I don't like, but the deck is consistant and can Start up very quickly...

Both the games ended with a 15/12 thanks to "Epic phases" of the Lannisters.

I know..You can say that we're noobs and maybe our buildings or our skills doesn't count as a "general rule" or "indicator"....But let me say that LCG is funnier than I thought and that in the near future, with the upcoming Summer/Winter mechanic and with the Martell/Greyjoy Agendas, we're going to have a very good time.

P.S. Remember. A lannister pays his debts.

EDIT: the Plot pool sucks.

DB_Cooper said:

QFT, and the biggest problem seasoned players will have in terms of enjoying the LCG-only environment, likely for a long time.

And DB: I'm glad someone else finally realized it. The Lannister Core Deck probably is at a disadvantage in an out-of-box Melee game. Personally, I believe that's because their type of control works best against a single opponent. In the LCG constructed Joust environment, Lannister is going to pimp-slap you 7 ways from Sunday with their steady draw, consistent control (never underestimate kneel-based character control) and intrigue proficiency.

ktom said:

Happy that we agree!

I've always talked about "potential" of Lannisters. And the funny thing is that it can do a heavy set up.

After that, Castellan of the rock + Enemy informer is just sick (should read: powerful) and Core Set Lannisters events are wounderful in the LCG format (think about Lannister pays his debts or, one of the best IMHO, Insidious way, that doesn't seem so powerful, but in the early game, is very efficient).

And in the end, I'd point out something that's more important than it seems: Intrigue. While Stark/Baratheon/Targ are well balanced in Icons (M and P), Lannisters have a surprisingly balancing between M and I...And Intrigue has not any consistant opponent in the format, without Martells.

Sorry if I replied with this enthusiasm, but if it wasn't clear: I'm Lannister inside. :-)

Hail to the Lion!

DB_Cooper said:

Pay close attention to the event "I'm You Writ Small." Granting Deadly in the middle of a challenge AFTER the defender has been declared is huge, especially in an intrigue or power challenge. And, remember that the character that gets the +2 attachment does not necessarily have to be the one that gets the Deadly. That one an Insidious Ways are very "Lannister" events.

ktom said:

One of the game we played (Lions vs Wolves) ended up with that damned/fantastic I'm you writ small...The feeling is that you cannot trus any choice of a Lannister player in this sense.

He always has a trick.

Always.

And it is good.

And lovely

i'm going to have to agree here -- now that i have something near a playset of LCG cards, i've gone ahead and done some deckbuilding, and the most notable thing to come out of that is a joust lannister control deck. its ability to draw and consistently dominate intrigue challenges while still fielding plenty of board and location control (strength in military battles, various tricky events some of which have been mentioned, lots of stuff that kneels, some location control and anti-gold generation plots, etc.) will put it on par with targ concerning versatility.

finitesquarewell said:

Excactly...

Against Targ, Lannister deck performed very well, Starting with Fury of The lion...Followed by Blockade.

If it starts good, a plot like this is the natural flow of the events...and the additional turn (basically that's it) gained in this way can mean "game over".

yup, exactly what i've been doing concerning plot sequence