WWDrakey, PopePwnage, theamazingmrg and 12 others like this

Travis Pinter (14Shirt) is that guy you’ve seen at tournaments without realizing it. He's been playing AGOT since 2012, is a wolf at heart, and always tries to keep his sense of humor even in the midst of a humiliating defeat.A few months ago, Stark loyalists didn’t have much cause for celebration in Second Edition. A perusal of tournament results and winning lists reveals that Stark struggled early on, and saw more success as a Banner faction than as a Main faction. Recently however, there was a shift as Stark builds, especially Fealty, gained much-needed toys in the form of the Winterfell Kennel Master, Ser Roderick Cassel, and Lady. Thankfully, this is only the beginning of the uptick for Stark, as their upcoming deluxe expansion, Wolves of the North, packs some real high-end weapons.When Wolves of the North releases, Stark will boast multiple expensive, heavy-hitting characters. Why is this noteworthy? Well , you won’t be able play them all, at least not effectively, no matter how many economy plots you’re packing. You know what they say about "too much of a good thing"!First edition veterans know all about tough choices at the high-end of the cost curve, but new second edition players have yet to experience this complex aspect of deckbuilding. So far, the usual decision at the high-end is between a 7-coster or a second 5 or 6-coster instead. For example, A Stark Lion deck might skip Eddard to run Jaime and Tyrion. Soon, there will be an addition layer, between Eddard A, Eddard B, or no Eddard at all, and these choices will become central to any deck-building strategy, perhaps even one of the first things you must decide.First, let's clear up the rules regarding multiple versions of unique characters. As a deckbuilding restriction, you can run 3 copies of any given card. If the card is a unique, you are allowed a maximum of 3 copies of that unique card by name (i.e. Eddard Stark), regardless of which Eddard Stark (there will soon be two different ones) you’re using. You may use both versions of Eddard, in any combination, up to 3 total cards. Note that in this case, once you marshal Eddard A, if you draw Eddard B, you cannot switch them. Eddard B could only be played as a blank duplicate.So let’s get back to Stark and its high-end arsenal. Once the box hits, the options at six cost and up will be (at least): Robb Stark (Core), Ser Roderick Cassel (TKP), The Blackfish (WotN), Eddard Stark (WotN), Eddard Stark (Core), Catelyn Stark (WotN), and King Robb’s Host (WotN). Let’s take a look at them.The staple of any current Stark Fealty build worth its salt, “Standing Robb" is an efficient renown character that synergizes with Grey Wind and Sansa. It will be a difficult task to find builds that won’t include him, but not impossible.Hot Rod is a steady source of draw in a faction that desperately needs it, and as such, has become a staple recently as well. Naysayers will lament that you may have to overcommit to reap the full benefits here, but I personally call sending in more than one Stark on a military challenge a party, not over-committing. This guy is great for burst draw (i.e. 3 cards) and not nearly as difficult to trigger since Winterfell Kennel Master and Lady exist and can pull in even non-military characters. He will henceforth, I suspect, draw direct comparisons with the upcoming Blackfish due to obvious similarities. The first difficult cut decision may likely exist between these two studs.The Blackfish is Erick Butzlaff’s evil genius, which was originally released in first edition, and he's loaded with potential synergies. The previous iteration rarely survived long enough to accumulate power and activate his ability, but now characters have greater staying power (thanks to duplicates and the absence of a board wipe plot). Furthermore, nifty tricks such as Lady Sansa’s Rose (and several others in the upcoming Stark box) can accelerate the activation clock.As both are loyal Knights with card draw abilities, it's only natural to compare the Blackfish to Ser Hot Rod. Blackfish triggers with less effort, but the result is less explosive. Both are great cards, so you can't go wrong with either, but the Renown and non-kneeling potential on Blackfish makes him particularly attractive.This new version of the venerable Stark patriarch costs one less gold dragon, so in the same price range, but with very different effects. Both cards will be evergreen (Core and deluxe boxes don't rotate like chapter packs do), so the designers gave us two viable options going forward, depending on your deck type. “Fast Eddie” is somewhat like the first edition “double-renown” Robert Baratheon in that you’re getting 2 power when claiming renown. Ed’s ability to put the power on another character, however, synergizes nicely with The Blackfish and new Catelyn, for starters. Fast Eddie will appear in rush builds for quite some time, and he's non-loyal again, so anything is possible.The core set Eddard Stark can be a real beast on defense, although I have to admit his cost keeps him out of my latest Stark builds in favor of a second sixer (i.e. Roderick with Robb). When more good six-gold characters become available, will this Eddard see even less play? Probably so unless Stark gains access to more "voltron" tools that suite this Eddard, such as stealth-granting, icon-granting, or strength-pumping.Of all the new heavy hitters, I believe the seven-gold Catelyn will see the least play. This isn’t due to any flaw in the card’s design. I think in the right build it could get some scary strength quickly. The reason this Cat will suffer from sticker shock is because her other evergreen counterpart, core set Catelyn, is only 4 gold and arguably one of the best cards in the entire pool. I’m curious to see how many other, if any, unique characters will receive such a big cost spread between versions. Because it makes it very difficult to find room for this Catelyn when the other exists for 3-gold less. I could see a seven-cost Cersei unveiled in the eventual Lannister boxset, but I believe there’s room there to make that card a big enough wow-factor to warrant playing it over the current one. Core set Cate, however, has left little room between her and the ceiling.It’s only fitting that the house of the former “Army Robb” of first edition should get the first 8-cost monster army, and it’s a doozy at 8 strength. With minimal options for reducing this bad boy's cost, the Host may necessitate plot deck choices that incorporate an extra economy plot, or even a plot you wouldn’t even normally run like Marching Orders. But the trade-off may be worth it. Moving a power (or two) from faction cards to characters allows for power acceleration, but also shenanigans like powering up the Blackfish or Catelyn.This card is still a ways off, as it comes in the first pack of the next cycle, but it's relevant here. King Robb certainly looks strong on paper. Being able to remove a character during mid-challenge is a very prominent middle finger to your opponent’s planning. Couple this with Winterfell Kennel Master and you can envision scenarios where just about the whole field is fair game to jump in or out of a challenge. That look on Robb’s face while he sits the throne? That’s him trying to do the combat math.All things considered, it’s a helluva time to be a Stark player, and for that matter, a Thrones player. The more big options that hit the card pool, the more complex deckbuilding becomes and the more varied our decks become from each other. Personally, I can’t wait.I appreciate any and all feedback on this topic in the comments section.