Hello everyone, WQB,„The Knight Of The Hollow Hill“, here.
We have a great meta! We saw an incredible number of different decks in Stahleck. King Of Swiss became a “ballsy” choke deck and the Chinese Nationals (perhaps the strongest Nationals in the world) were won by a very creative deck that I don’t think you’ve really seen before.
Of course, we don’t use this comfortable situation to sit back and relax. Instead, we discussed extensively how we would like to use Restricted List in the future. Our vote was clear: The list should be as short as possible! Let´s give it a try.
Cards or interactions that are clearly overpowered, such as Victarion Greyjoy (R) or the interaction between Great Ranging and Satin, will of course remain on the Restricted List or in Pods. We took a close look at all other cards and pods. Accordingly, there are more changes than one might expect.
Additionally, we discussed which cards should get an Errata to keep them playable and prevent them from being added to the Restricted List or in Pods. Overall, you can see the courage to take risks. After all, it’s the perfect time to try things out and make “mistakes” since neither the Online World Championship nor Stahleck are around the corner. Let´s have a closer look…
Joust
Baratheon:
We discussed Traitor To The Crown, Red Priest and Azor Ahai Reborn. Red Priest was added to the Restricted List because it was almost in every Baratheon deck. The aim at the time was to change some staple cards then. It was close, but… Red Priest has been removed from the Restricted List. It is basically removed, since we want a shorter Restricted List and it is not absolutely
necessary to have that card on the list. We are aware that, in addition to Seen In Flames, Baratheon has another control tool and access to the opponent’s hand cards.
Lannister:
Lannister is in a good spot, it is the most represented faction at Team Regionals. This time there are no changes for Lannister.
Because most other factions will be strengthened by this Restricted List, we must keep an eye on whether Lannister needs to be strengthened in the next Restricted List.
Tyrell:
Randyll Tarly (JS) is of course very strong. Without the necessary support, the “Reach” decks are not overpowered… For that reason Randyll Tarly (JS) has been removed from the Restricted List. A new Pod has been created adding Randyll Tarly (JS) and Oldtown. Of course there is still the interaction between Randyll Tarly (JS) and Mace Tyrell (SAT), but that doesn’t seem overpowered since you have to play two expensive characters for it.
Targaryen:
Due to the restriction of Shadow Of The East, the card is no longer played at all. We are trying to change that: Shadow Of The East has been removed from the Restricted List, but… Shadow Of The East has been added to Pod 8 (Daenerys Targaryen (TFM),
Incinerate). Shadow of the East is now “soft banned”. So in line of trying to release cards from the Restricted List, Shadow Of The East is one of them. The Pod with Daenerys Targaryen (TFM) is to stop negative interaction where you can’t “Milk” Daenerys Targaryen (TFM) and protect your own characters from burn with attachments. There are new opportunities for House Targaryen, but they don’t seem to be overly strong. Silver Steed is problematic… For that reason it gets an Errata and the word “Then” is added. We’d like to streamline its wording to align with other similar effects and to break some unintended interactions about that lovely horse.
The Night´s Watch
There is no “Builder” deck that performs above the curve. For that reason Brandon´s Gift has been removed from the Restricted List. That’s why “Builder” decks are likely to get access to Castle Black (BtB) or Exchange Of Information. If that proves to be too strong, we can always react.
Stark
Stark was less strong than expected in Stahleck and apparently House Stark needs a push. For that reason Pod 17 (Greywind (FtR), Summer (Core)) has been removed. Additionally, “Lord Of The Crossing” decks are strong, but not overly strong. We have therefore made an adjustment here too. Septa Mordane has been removed from Pod 10 (Alysane Mormont, Septa Mordane She-Bear, Lord Of The Crossing).
Martell
A new, too powerful card has appeared on the scene. It was not for nothing that this was seen in many Top 32 decks in Stahleck, where Martell performed strongly. For that reason War Scorpion has been added to the Restricted List. For another strong card on the Restricted List, we’re making an attempt to take it off the Restricted List but move it into a Pod instead.
Host Of The Boneway has been removed from the Restricted List. A new pod has been created adding Host Of The Boneway, Secret Schemes and In Doran´s Name to avoid too powerful synergies with plots in the used pile.
Greyjoy:
Since Pyke (BtB) is back on the restricted list, the “boats” are still strong, but not too strong. For that reason Pod 11 (Maiden´s Bane, Raiding Longship) has been removed. For Pod 1 we made a small, sensible adjustment. Scouting Vessel has been removed from Pod 1. A new Pod has been created adding Scouting Vessel and Asha Greyjoy (Km).
Neutral:
There aren’t enough good control decks out there right now… For that reason Pod 18 (Valar Morghulis, The Stranger) has been removed. It’s not for nothing that The-Many-Faced God is the most played agenda at Team Regionals. The fact that you can also target opposing characters with the agenda leads to unhealthy interactions. For this reason, The Many-Faced-God gets an Errata. You can only choose your own characters as targets. Because of this errata, Pod 3 is no longer required. Pod 3 (The-Many-Faced God, Dissension, Bribery (R)) has been removed.
MELEE
For MELEE there is only “one” change: Because of the Errata of The-Many-Faced God there are some Pods that are no longer
needed… The Pods 2 and 5 have been removed. To get all “problems” from that card under control, a new pod has been created adding Silver Steed and Trading With Qohor. Hopefully there won’t be a turn where you can get 15 power anymore.
As always, we welcome your feedback and hope you’ll join our Discord group for conversation and engagement with our favorite game. We hope that the many changes will not cause Westeros to bleed… The implementations on ThronesDB and TiT will take some time because there is much to do. There will be a surprise for that…
But anyway: Take the sword, melt it down and add it to the others. You paid the iron price for it.
