Stahleck 2014 Joust winner Bara NoA

[Vince]

This is the deck that won Stahleck Joust tournament in 2014. Built and played by the Great Donovan, inspired by the Bara NoA played by Ecureuil and Laplante in Sweden and at Worlds.

Main strengths are the abuse of Mel's Favor with Harrenhal and the recursion from Dale, Cressen, Mel's Schemes and the Asshai initiate if need be. It uses Val and Laugfhing Storm to draw, Stannis, Bobby and Melisandre to rush to victory.

Here is the decklist:

Plots
Valar Morgulis
Fury of the Stag
The King's Law
Forgotten Plans
Retaliation!
Summoned by the Conclave
Betrayal at the Wall
Melisandre's Scheme

Characters (36)
King Robert's Host 1
Marya Seaworth 1
Val 3
Margaery Tyrell (catfight one) 1
Asshai Initiate 2
Brienne of Tarth (Shut up one) 1
Carrion Bird 2
Zollo 1
Highgarden Refugee 3
Stannis Baratheon (Super Sayan) 1
Coldhands 1
Robert Baratheon (No Shadows) 2
Willas Tyrell 1
Brightwater Man-at-Arms 3
Royal Entourage 2
Ygritte 1
Wildling Bard 1
Maester Cressen (Shadow) 1
Knight of Flowers (No Shadow) 1
The Laughing Storm 3
Salladhor Saan (Ally one) 1
Dale Seaworth 3

Events (3)
Fiery Kiss 1
Royal Decree 2

Locations (18)
Flea Bottom 1
Brightwater Keep 1
Bitterbridge 1
Street of Steel 1
Street of Silk 1
Narrow Sea 3
The Kingsroad 2
Harrenhal 3
Street of Sisters 1
Seat of Power 3
River Row 1

Attachments (3)
Melisandre's Favor 3

Any ideas as to what may be a "bad" match-up to this deck ^^ ?

[markdrive]

bad match up: stark na and lanni dwdw or lanni hyperkneel

[JCWamma]

Playing Targaryen Black Sails I beat this deck in the swiss (albeit not piloted by Don), and had the honour of losing to it in the top 8. It is very strong, but not unbeatable. Targaryen has to watch out for Fury of the Stag but otherwise has a somewhat favourable match-up - between Dragon Thief and Viserys it is perhaps second only to Stark in being able to handle the Melisandre's Favour, and Val dies easily to burn, be it Flame-Kissed, Incinerate, or Threat from the North. Targaryen's biggest weakness to the deck comes from its ability to rush and most of Targ's more recent strong cards being Prized. You need to play incredibly conservatively, focus on stopping their power gain and card advantage, and wait for the deck to swing itself out.

One incredibly important aspect also is the timing of The Aftermath (if you run it). If you can plot it against their Melisandre's Scheme you will stand a much greater chance of winning the game.

I think Stark can also have a strong match-up against the deck, depending on the make-up of the Stark deck. Meera is a good counter to Melisandre's Favour, blanking it for the most important phase of the round. Frozen Solid is a GREAT counter to Melisandre's Favour, as not only does it stop them taking control of the targetted character (and as an uncancellable passive to boot), but it also means the Favour doesn't fall off so they cannot recur it unless they kill the character it's attached to. Additionally in my opinion an underplayed card for Stark is Grey Wind, who does a tremendous job eating Val for lunch. Finally, Stark also has the perfect counter to Brightwater Man-at-Arms in the form of Northland Keep.

Other houses have strong options too, but those are the two I'm most well-acquainted with so I thought I'd share .

[Vince]

For what's worth, it seems to me that City plots are also a good weapon against this deck. You can kill Val T2, you can discard their Harrenhal or Seat of Power, you can kneel Laughing storm if need be. They are not to be neglected. The only issue being that they may be weak if the reste of the meta starts playing Greenseer's Raven...

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