An Australian Game of ThronesA New Champion Joins the Hall of Heroes
In the land down under, a new champion has fought his way to the top of the battle for the Iron Throne. Fantasy Flight is proud to induct Colin Liang into the Hall of Heroes as the 2013 Australian National Joust Champion of A Game of Thrones: The Card Game!
Australian National Champion Colin Liang (right), with runner-up.
The Road to Victory
Colin began playing A Game of Thrones: The Card Game nearly two years ago, when a friend needed a distraction. Since then, he has played excellently in several Regional Championships, placing several times before heading to the 2013 Australian National Championship, where he took 7th place in the Melee, and 1st in the Joust.
Colin was able to lead House Martell to victory in Westeros, defeating all rivals. Before he could win, though, Colin needed to build a winning deck. Below, Colin shares his thoughts on the process of building a deck and the experience of participating in tournaments.
A Champion’s Perspective
For me, building a deck in A Game of Thrones: The Card Game basically starts with picking three top tier decks and then testing each of them over a month or so. I’m an iterative deck-builder, so I’ll play and refine, play and refine, play and refine (mostly online or at my local league nights). Sometimes I’ll spend over an hour agonising over a single card choice.
However, it’s rare for me to play a deck simply because it’s the best, or choose not to play one because it has bad match-ups. I like to bring a deck that’s great, that can win in the right circumstances, that’s fun, and that I’m comfortable playing. That’s the sweet spot. Once I find such a deck, even if it is weak against other top builds, I’ll bring it anyway and back myself to win. While I do work a bit on my deck’s obvious weaknesses, I don’t worry too much about it.
Due to the nature of random chance, I may only run into players and decks against which I have a good chance anyway. Luck often plays its part in winning championships. The only variable I can control is the way I play. So I just choose to believe that I’ll be a good enough player to win in those bad match-ups if I get paired up against them.
Then the morning of the tournament, I listen to the Rocky theme music. ‘Cause Rocky is awesome. Yo, Adrian, I did it!
Visit the Hall of Heroes
We look forward to seeing Colin during World Championship Weekend from November 7th – 10th at our headquarters in Roseville, Minnesota, and we hope to see you there as well. To learn more about Colin Liang, and to see his National Champion decklist, be sure to visit his place of honor in the Hall of Heroes. Learn from Colin’s example, then join us in November to take part in the ultimate battle for Westeros!
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Source:
An Australian Game of Thrones
