Decks By Democracy: Issue 1

A Flaying is Coming: A Bolton Deckbuilding Retrospective

A little while back, I got a bug and decided that I wanted to build a new deck, but I had a very hard time deciding what deck I wanted to build. I chose for my solution to go to the cardgamedb.com message boards and post up a topic asking for people to vote on which deck I should next build (the thread can be found here: http://www.cardgamedb.com/forums/index.php?/topic/4521-next-deck-to-build/ )
Thus was born Decks By Democracy, my monthly posting about a deck type decided by voting and how/what I did to make it. Though I’ve already gotten my next build voted upon, I’m going back this issue to the first one I did, a Bolton HoD: Dreadfort deck. So here’s A Flaying is Coming, and some insight into why.

House:
House Stark

Agenda:
House of Dreams

Plots:
After the Mummer’s Ford (KotS) x1
Assault on King’s Landing (KotStorm) x1
Fury of the Wolf (AE) x1
Manning the City Walls (CD) x1
Storm of Swords (LoW) x1
The Minstrell’s Muse (RotO) x1
Valar Morghulis (Core) x1

Characters (33):Bolton Refugee (RW) x3
Brienne of Tarth (PotS) x1
Catelyn Stark (LoW) x1
Damon Dance-For-Me (VD) x1
Jory Cassel (CB) x1
King Robb’s Host (W5K) x1
Maester Luwin (FtC) x1
Maester Vyman (TWoW) x1
Meera Reed (TftH) x1
Northern Cavalry Flank (SA) x3
Old Nan (BRF) x1
Reek (MotM) x1
Roose Bolton (DB) x1
Sansa Stark (TftRK) x1
Ser Jorah Mormont (PotS) x1
Ser Kyle Condon (APS) x1
Steelshanks Reserves (ASoS) x3
The Bastard of Bolton (IG) x1
The Bastard’s Boys (ARotD) x3
The Bastard’s Elite (RoR) x3
The Flayed Men (DB) x3

Locations (19):Abandoned Fort (RoR) x2
Bay of Ice (KotS) x3
Great Keep (LoW) x3
Harrenhal (ODG) x1
Lord Eddard’s Chambers (LoW) x1
Narrow Sea (KotStorm) x3
Northern Fiefdoms (LoW) x3
Street of Sisters (Core) x1
Street of Steel (LoW) x1
The Dreadfort (DB) x1 (played with Agenda)

Attachments (0):
n/a

Events (9):
Die by the Sword (LoW) x3
The Price of War (KotS) x3
To Be A Wolf (SB) x3

Synopsis:
At its root, this is a basic aggro deck. You want to control the board, wiping characters as often as possible. With a very low cost curve and high strength characters, it is generally easy to force an early Valar, which (more often than not) you can come back from a lot faster than the enemy. You want to go first every turn, and between events and claim, manage their characters pretty effectively. The land destruction combined with easy-to-win elevated claim challenges means even Greyjoy will have a hard time keeping up.

Character Base:
A lot of obvious choices. You want a lot of Boltons so the all-important Bastard’s Boys can come out as cheaply as possible, and you want most of them above 3 strength, so you can draw frequently off of the primary draw-engine: The Dreadfort. Now, I see a lot of players using Bolton Loyalists in their Bolton decks, and as you’ve noticed, I do not use them at all instead opting for Steelshanks Reserves. So long as you you can go first they’ll be strong War-Crested characters, and when they come back to your control, you get to draw for them! This maximizes the effectiveness of Dreadfort without having to lose a challenge. I could have included the Loyalists as well, but as intrigue is the weakest icon type in this deck, I didn’t feel they were worth it, and opted for more efficient non-Bolton support instead.

Locations:
Mostly just production cards, but with a couple extras thrown in. Bay of Ice may seem like overkill on draw, but as going first is key, initiative is crucial. Most of the plots already have high initiative, so at 0 cost, Bay of Ice is a pretty ideal fit, and will usually keep you on the top end of initiative. The extra draw for those times you don’t get Boltons is icing. The Abandoned Forts serve a double purpose. On the one hand, you don’t want your opponent having Boltons because you want The Bastard’s Boys ability going strong. In addition, if you’re doing your job right and keeping all your Boltons yourself, Old Nan can make an attacking opponent character a Bolton and then bounce them right back to hand. Just a little bit of challenge control.
Harrenhal is just a the cherry on top. It’s hard to underestimate the usefulness of this card in a deck that will be killing characters often, but even so, it isn’t strictly necessary. I have occasionally switched it out for a Crown of Winter to boost Meera and protect a character.

Attachments:None. Who needs ‘em? Except for Crown of Winter on occasion.

Events:While overall event light, they are all crucial. The Price of War and Die by the Sword are obvious, and To Be A Wolf is both one of the best tutors in the game, and allows you to reuse The Bastard’s Boys to max out claim even if it’s cancelled.

Plots:
High initiative is the name of the day. Aside from that, multiple military challenges means you can easily get up to 6 military claim over a phase with To Be A Wolf and Bastard’s Boys. The plot everyone seems to question is Assault on King’s Landing. Well, for one, it’s a military challenge, so if your game goes to turn 8, you still have one in your used pile for To Be A Wolf. Secondly, if used properly, it cuts through Greyjoy’s resilience by butter. And it has 5 initiative, which is fine by me!

Well, that’s all for this month folks. Feel free to comment on the deck or ask any questions! I’ll be back in a couple weeks at most with my next deck: A Stark Maester Burn.