STANDARD JOUST AND MELEE RESTRICTED LIST UPDATE V1.8

Greetings all,

The Global Operations Team’s Card Committee works to bring new cards to the community and to keep the game’s meta evolving for standard and competitive play. Today we will be sharing the game’s next Joust Restricted List update! These changes will come into effect Monday July 10th, 2023.

We have been listening to your feedback regarding the last change to the Restricted List. It has become evident that those vipers in the grass some have forgotten were, indeed, lying in wait. While on the whole we have been happy with the new use of pods for balance, there were clearly some hits and misses that we’ll be addressing today. The last thing to mention before we share the new Restricted List is that we are patiently observing and listening to see how these new changes affect the meta at large. We plan to watch how this list affects the meta as it will help us refine any problem areas in time to bring the perfect meta for Stahleck and Worlds.

JOUST

BARATHEON

At this time, we see no need to adjust the Baratheon portion of the Restricted List.

GREYJOY
Last time, we adjusted Greyjoy’s part of the list to address overwhelming efficiency. That correction seems to have been a touch too far, and we’re hoping to add more tools for deck diversity and choices back to the Iron Fleet. Though it is an overwhelmingly efficient card that allows GJ much flexibility, this fan favorite also acts to allow player agency in games where there may otherwise be few opportunities to interact. Drowned God Fanatic (R) has been removed from the Restricted List. 

Additionally, we’d like to ensure that Greyjoy players are able to make quality choices from the Restricted List and Pods. In the interest of deck diversity and agency, Pyke (BtB) has been removed from the Restricted List.

While Drowned God Fanatic and Pyke (BtB) leave the Restricted List, these salty Krakens will not sail by wholly unscathed. Drowned God Fanatic (R) will be added to Pod 1 to assist in ensuring card synergy is prioritized over card efficiency. Likewise, We Do Not Sow has been removed from Pod 11. Raiding Longship has been added to Pod 11.

LANNISTER

Many moons have come and gone since the Lion reigned supreme. There have been many creative decks coming out of Lannister lately, though none can match the efficiency of the Shadows synergy with Tyrell Kingsguard characters. Ser Boros Blount seemed to be the crux of this deck, but our team debated fiercely on the actual pressure points and vulnerabilities. Due to the nature of the deck being playable out of either House Lannister or House Tyrell, but resiliency being the hardest issue to tackle, Clever Feint has been added to the Restricted List. The repeatability offered to Shadows cards by a simple faction kneel is simply too low a cost for such a strong ability to dodge board resets, attachment based solutions, or challenge based interaction. 

MARTELL
After much discussion over how to address the attrition based Martell decks that have recently struck the competitive scene, the Card Committee has concurred with what many players already knew. When paired with other card advantage tools, Secret Schemes is too efficient in maintaining tempo advantage against an opponent. Secret Schemes has been added back to the Restricted List. 

Secret Schemes is just one part of the tools available in Martell to maintain card advantage, and in the interest of allowing more interplay and player agency, Pod 9 has seen some adjustment as well. He Calls it Thinking and In Doran’s Name have been added to Pod 9.

NIGHT’S WATCH

In the interest of maintaining consistency across all factions, problematic card combinations have shifted to Pods instead of simply restricting multiple components. A new Pod has been created adding Satin and Great Ranging.

With the creation of this pod, Satin has been removed from the Restricted List.

There have been some significant advancements in location control over the last few releases, and perhaps no faction has been hit harder by the Assault keyword than The Night’s Watch. In the interest of adding tools back to those who have taken the black, the Pod containing Craven and The Haunted Forest has been removed.

STARK

Similarly to The Night’s Watch changes, House Stark has a very efficient body in Robb Stark (Core) and sacrifice-based synergy. In the interest of allowing Stark more deckbuilding choices, Skagos (R) has been removed from the Restricted List. A new Pod has been created including Robb Stark (Core) and Skagos (R). We hope that this change allows more deck diversity and creative uses for sacrificial themes.

TARGARYEN

House Targaryen maintains a tenuous position in our meta at large. While many clamor for more burn tools to be reviewed, after many discussions the team arrived at the decision to maintain the current Restricted List for House Targaryen. However, the team did agree that there should be more agency in deckbuilding, and so the Pod containing Queensguard and Trading with Qohor has been removed.

TYRELL

For a faction known for its intrigue, deceit, wealth, and luxury, House Tyrell certainly has seen some clever and creative ways to use these themes to their advantage. Locations have been notably easier to control with the addition of the Assault keyword, but that has not eliminated the need for more direct action. The efficiency and sometimes negative play experience that Goldengrove provides has demanded some intervention. That said, Goldengrove has been added to the Restricted List. Though it has been added to the Restricted List, we still expect the card to be a popular choice and want to ensure that Tyrell still has access to fan favorite tricks. Goldengrove has been removed from Pod 9.

NEUTRAL

A Mummer’s Farce is one of the most creative agendas this game has seen. It also provides a significant amount of card and tempo advantage. One of the easiest ways to interact with the agenda in a way to provide tempo advantage was to pair the agenda with a Bestow-based synergy. In the past the Card Committee created a pod specifically designed to address issues related to the consistency and tempo advantage of the Mummer’s Farce deck for too little investment. However, in creating two pods to address the deck it has become apparent that the limitations were too extreme and the deck no longer had competitive viability. Today the team has decided to remove one of the pods initially created to reign in the power of this deck in order to hopefully allow the deck space to exist on the competitive scene again. The Pod containing Shagwell and Unbridled Generosity has been removed. 

The last update to the Joust Restricted List has been a topic of great concern and debate among the Card Committee for many months. Due to an influx in good economy and opening plots over the last releases, the Card Committee has decided to release a well-loved and well-hated plot back to the cardpool at large. This change seeks to allow City plots to be viable once more, as well as promoting deck diversity by removing the need for so many plots centralized on economy. The ability to include 5-6 plots focused on directly impacting the board instead of strictly large income plots should always be sought after as a means for exciting gameplay. At the Gates has been removed from the Banned List. A new Pod has been created containing At the Gates, Aloof and Apart, and Gulltown. As always, we are keeping close tabs on the success and popularity of highly efficient cards, and will address any issues that arise from this release.

MELEE

The Melee Restricted List will largely remain unchanged in this release, as we are hoping to see the results of some of the newer releases in competitive Melee play. We are keeping close eyes on fast power gain and hope to address any issues as they arise, but for now, the only update the Card Committee has for the Melee Restricted List is this: Sea Song has been removed from the Restricted List. 

The Card Committee will carefully observe the results of these decisions closely. We strive to make decisions that shape the environment towards compelling, fun, and diverse games that utilize the cardpool for a variety of competitive options. As always we welcome your feedback and hope you’ll join our Discord group for conversation and engagement with The Only Game that Matters.

We wish you all good fortune in the wars to come.

Sincerely yours,

The Global Operations Team’s Card Committee