Even prisoners have ears, and she had heard all the talk at Deepwood Motte, when King Stannis and his captains were debating this march. Ser Justin had opposed it from the start, along with many of the knights and lords who had come with Stannis from the south. But the wolves insisted; Roose Bolton could not be suffered to hold Winterfell, and Ned’s girl must be rescued from the clutches of his bastard.

Our staff has put together a first blush analysis of the newly released “March on Winterfell” chapter pack. Answers to frequently asked rules questions can be found on the individual card pages on thronesdb.com. Cards are listed in numeric order and scored on a scale ranging from one through five, with five being the best possible score.

For the next few pack reviews, several guest reviewers will contribute their thoughts for five cards each. Let us know in the comments how you feel about the cards in this pack!

Now onto the reviews, starting with….

Wyman Manderly (4.6 Average)

Sam Woolley (AKA Fenris) – 4 out of 5

Seems decent – card draw is always good, and particularly for Stark. He synergises well with Fat Cat obviously, but also the Boltons, and core Robb. The fact it doesn’t specify a Stark character getting killed or sacrificed certainly opens up some possibilities as well – off the top of my head I’m thinking maybe a banner Lion & red Harrenhal deck, or banner Sun & Fleabottom for perpetually reusing your spies/messengers etc. The stand effect is just gravy on a Frey flavoured pie…

scantrell24 – 4.5 out of 5

Wyman checks a lot of boxes for Stark. He works well enough in “good stuff” Crossing, Wars or Rains decks, but truly shines in a dedicated sacrifice archetype with Fat Cat, Core Robb, Summer, etc. He’s also Loyal so Bear Island & Fealty might deserve another look.

Von Wibble – 4.5 out of 5

Unlike other Stark 6 costers who draw you cards, Wyman has a decent strength of 5, and a nice icon pair for Stark too. He works well with all the current sacrifice tech, both because he can enable it to trigger by sacrificing a character, and can stand himself and draw a card on top. I think he will see play in a lot of decks.

N.H. Khalasar – 5 out of 5

Stark needs draw and this guy gives it to them. Wyman’s sacrifice tech isn’t limited to Stark characters, which adds versatility. Beefy intrigue icon for Stark is key. Synergy with Robb and big Cat are also real.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 5 out of 5

Firstly our apologies, this month is only JC and Ire, as both Istaril and Drakey were too busy with pesky real life stuff to contribute. Now, on with the review!

In short, Wyman is excellent. He’s both a sacrifice engine and a draw engine in one card. Between Flea Bottom and military claim, you should easily be able to get one card a round from him, plus the action advantage of the stand. He can also sacrifice your uniques (including himself) to protect them from a Valar, and the combination in Banner Watch with Veteran Builder and Flea Bottom is just hilarious. More of Stark’s synergy cards should be like this.

Honor-Bound (1.9 Average)

Fenris – 2 out of 5

It’s pretty mediocre and I’m usually a sucker for cheap STR pump. Stark don’t typically struggle for military strength, and have quite a lot of strength pump already. I’d argue Last Hearth is objectively better as you can threaten it without committing it, and can use it on any challenge. I could perhaps see decks focusing on blue and green icons wanting to run a few of these just to beef up their military strength, but I don’t expect to see it a lot.

scantrell24 – 2 out of 5

If you put two mediocre options together on a single card, is it now good? I don’t think so. The strength pump only during military doesn’t do enough (unless you’re all-in on Roose, Put to the Sword, etc.). This feels like it was designed last year as an answer to Rains decks that have already been replaced in the meta.

Von Wibble – 1.5 out of 5

I like that this has applications used on opponent’s characters (Cersei) to protect you from intrigue, and used on your own characters as a strength pump should you be facing a horde of “no attachments” Night’s Watch characters. Unless intrigue completely kills your deck I can’t see why you’d include it though.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 2 out of 5

A versatile choice between Attainted and a +2 STR boost – and note that the character can still be brought into an intrigue challenge through Wardens of the North. JC is higher on this than Ire, who wishes it was loyal.

The Queen of Thorns (4.3 Average)

Fenris – 3 out of 5

I didn’t play 1st ed, Shadows is new to me. It’s likely that this will get better over time as more (and more expensive) Shadows cards come available, but at this point in the game I don’t see her getting tons of value. She does have stealth though, and as the first Tyrell character with unconditional stealth that is pretty tasty. 4 STR for 5g isn’t too bad either. I know Rains is less popular at the moment but she seems a good fit for that.

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5

If the next card, Oldtown Undercity, is any indication, then shadows will be a Tyrell theme, so this Queen of Thorns will likely be a 3x centerpiece by the end of this cycle.

The threat of activation is nice too. Opponent’s will feel compelled to block even if you don’t want to bring anything out of shadows.

Von Wibble – 5 out of 5

I am showing faith in FFG will be pushing shadows in this cycle as every shadows card makes the Queen more powerful. Right now she isn’t a good card, but at the end of the cycle there is so much potential. Unlike her core counterpart I like that she has stealth to push the challenge through more easily. It will only take a few powerful (yet normally expensive) shadows cards to make her strong enough to build a good deck around.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 5 out of 5

This rating is looking ahead to the rest of the cycle when there will presumably be more juicy shadows cards. Currently the best on offer is Robert Strong in a Tyrell Lion deck, but we expect more on the way. Even now, the Stealth alone makes her a worthwhile 1-of in many Tyrell decks. We like that she’s doing a similar thing to the Core version, but in an updated way (and one that might be good enough to actually see play!).

Oldtown Undercity (4.7 Average)

scantrell24 – 5 out of 5

I look forward to HRD Oldtown Undercity vs HRD Shadow City matchups (once Wars to Come is restricted, fingers crossed). This card filtering is bonkers good, especially with Oldtown, Hightower Spy and Scheming Septon to take advantage of the “top of deck” placement.

Von Wibble – 5 out of 5

If you can reliably get just one shadows trigger each round (Scheming Septon says you can!) then this becomes a 3 cost location that not only draws you a card, but allows deck manipulation for Oldtown and Spies, and filters less desirable cards for you. Seems good to me.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 4 out of 5

And thus Tyrell’s card-filtering effects reach their magnum opus. The card advantage choice here is phenomenal – basically a better Dorne. There are two things holding it back from a 5 though. Firstly, we’re not convinced it beats out Hightower in the GoodStuff Tyrell lists unless Tyrell gets several great shadows cards to the point where a synergy card makes that list; and secondly, the deck it does go in, one running a whole heap of Shadows cards, is one we don’t yet know is good. It’s a centrepiece card for that deck, although being 3g instead of 4 makes it a lot more vulnerable.

Cunning Steward (2.3 Average)

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

Steward decks now have no problem covering all 3 icons to defend the Core set Wall. This isn’t sexy, but it’s practical. Kinda funny that they release it in the same pack as the new Wall though.

Von Wibble – 3 out of 5

Is is the card steward decks want, or the card they need? Having a surprise tricon can be very useful for old Wall decks, even if it is expensive. Solid card, but only for the Steward defense deck I think.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 1 out of 5

We wish shadows cards were more interesting than this one. We also wish they were better – the only thing it has over Shadow Tower Mason is a nominal element of surprise, which is quite frankly telegraphed anyway.

The Wall (3.5 Average)

Fenris – 3 out 5

I am really conflicted about this. I want to love it, I love NW steal-your-dudes decks, and in some games this is going to be insanely good. But it is also really expensive, and you need a way of reliably getting characters into your opponent’s discard pile. Sure they exist: Queenscrown, Varys, Septon Cellador, False Spring yada yada, but they all take a few turns to get set up and running, plus then the 6g hit to get this into play… But, if you can hold off long enough to have a well-seeded enemy discard pile, and this in play, it’s pretty much GG at that point. 4/5 is what my heart wants to give it, 3/5 is the highest my head will actually let me go though.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

The problem I’ve always had with “steal stuff” decks is that you’re relying on the random assortment of bodies you borrow to somehow work together. Wouldn’t it be better to just create your own cohesive deck rather than take characters that you can’t predict ahead of time, and thus can’t exploit to their full potential?

Von Wibble – 4 out of 5

Finally, a loyal Wall! As someone who only likes Nights Watch cards that steal things I approve in general. Starting with the negatives, this is a centrepiece card for the steal stuff deck and therefore is hugely matchup dependant. It also suffers from being a huge tempo hit, especially if your opponent can control it with cards such as Seized by the Guard. However, it fills a niche that the steal deck doesn’t in that there is no cost limit to what can be stolen. Use Yoren and all your usual steal tech to take the small stuff, then activate the Wall to leave your opponent no choice in giving you a big guy. I can see Broken Vows becoming a more popular choice with this as well, as your characters now all have the Night’s Watch affiliation. I’m giving it the bonus point that Fenris wouldn’t – bring on the Wall!

Q&T Curmudgeons – 4 out of 5

We love this and want to give it a 5, but 6 gold is very expensive when your opponent has a measure of control over how good it actually is. That said, this is the best and scariest of all the “play with your toys” recruiter cards. With the likes of Queenscrown early, you can potentially nab some prize targets; even without quality though, we don’t underestimate a location that at the bare minimum gets you a character for free every single round.

Ser Justin Massey (4.0 Average)

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5

Massey is similar to Penrose in a lot of ways: similar cost, same strength, same icons, same trait, and even a similar standy ability. Of course, redundancy isn’t a bad thing. I’d take them both in a lot of Bara decks and Banner Stag decks.

Justin Sengstock (Sokhar) – 4 out of 5

Obviously he’d have been at least a 3 out of 5 based on name alone, but he’s a genuinely good card. Even though I don’t play Bara, it’s nice to finally see them getting more worthwhile characters, as that was the huge glaring weakness of their card pool. Also the fact that he incentivizes an active strategy out of Baratheon rather than just passive power gain or not losing power challenges is a huge plus in my book.

Von Wibble – 4 out of 5

If you have a King in play (spoiler, Baratheon like these!) then he is Courtney Penrose with renown – in fact, better, since he has the option to stand the King in question rather than himself, and Robert and Stannis are both bigger in challenges. With Massey not being loyal there are plenty of other options too, with Renly, King Robb, and of course anyone with a King attachment. Baratheon are starting to get a clear deck theme emerging here which doesn’t involve dominance or kneel. I approve. The only thing preventing this from getting a 5 is the existence of Breaking Ties. He still makes play in a lot of decks.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 4 out of 5

Once Bara gets a bit more natural renown he’ll be a 5, but right now targets are a touch thin on the ground. Best case is obviously Robert Baratheon, but there are others two, between King at the Wall and banner Stag. Nice to see Bara continuing their run of efficient mid-range characters they were sorely missing before – it’s almost like the designers recognised there was a problem there and worked on fixing it.

March on Winterfell (4.3 Average)

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5

FFG forgot a “Limit 1 per phase” here. You can either cancel a chump military or intrigue challenge that you don’t care about, or if you’re going to lose a power challenge that you do care about, just end it and try again. This event helps protect the Red Keep’s draw and makes it more viable as an HRD option.

I’ll be terrified of Bara if the prized keyword from 1st edition ever makes a comeback (it was theoretically a handicap for OP cards, but practically a way to add power to your opponent’s faction card so you could have power to steal turn 1 and 2).

Von Wibble – 4 out of 5

This is a really powerful effect. A lot of deck builds don’t care about winning military or intrigue challenges on attack as much as they do power, so you can throw a chump at one of these challenges, and if your opponent over commits on defence just cancel it. It can also make it appear as if you have made a mistake when you throw a power challenge that your opponent can win, as you then just get to cancel it, not count as losing a power challenge to protect Red Keep draw, then win your real challenge because your opponent used too many defenders. There are a lot of options with this event, and with it not being loyal every faction can make use of it.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 5 out of 5

We’re probably overrating this by making it a 5, but screw it, it’s fun. A tremendous Melee card, and a really solid Joust card too although the expense does hold it back there – probably this is only a 4 if you don’t care about Melee.

Penny (3.1 Average)

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

She’s acceptable. A 1x in Lanni Shadows decks as a semi-efficient chud.

Sokhar – 2.5 out of 5

I agree that she’ll see play in any Lanni Shadows deck, but I don’t see her upside as a purely 3 of 5 card. When she’s activated, she’s a better Maester Wendamyr, which is good. When she’s not, she’s crap. And with Shadows being the new hotness of the cycle, having more cards in shadows is no guarantee, so I had to knock her down somet.

Von Wibble – 3 out of 5

I agree with scantrell24, not exciting but solid enough. Any 2 coster in Lannister with a power icon is worth a look.

Ervin Lam (AKA HouseSotong) – 3 out of 5

Increased useability in a shadows themed deck. Fool trait might be useful in a Fools deck. I’d use her in a banner Lion shadows deck. Worth exploring.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 4 out of 5

See our Cunning Steward comment with regards to shadows. That said, at least this one’s actually a good card not binder fodder. Shadows decks will be prevalent while they’re the new hotness, but as any first edition player who remembers the likes of Dragonpit and Distinguished Boatswain can tell you, cards that rely on your opponent not being shadow-heavy get better and better the more distance to the concept there is.

Bowels of Casterly Rock (4.2 Average)

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5

I value the draw filter of Oldtown Undercity a touch more than the flexibility here to choose between draw or gold, but Bowels of Casterly Rock still looks like an obvious HRD choice and/or a 3x centerpiece in the near future. Oddly, it’s not itself a shadows card like the Martell and Tyrell shadows-based draw engines.

Von Wibble – 4.5 out of 5

A very flexible card The power level hugely depends on how good shadows is as a theme for Lannister, but given we have already seen 2 decent cards for them in Penny and Robert Strong, I am optimistic. A shame it can’t trigger off itself. It loses half a point from the Tyrell equivalent because Tyrell have the Scheming Septon to repeatedly use their location, whilst Lannister have no such equivalent. At least, not yet.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 4 out of 5

Like Queen of Thorns and Oldtown Undercity, this is with an eye to the rest of the cycle. Compared to the Undercity, this is worse draw but with the flexibility of gold; it can’t be brought out of shadows itself, but is in the faction that both needs the draw more and is currently winning the race of “cards you actually want to bring out of shadows”. If this gets the opportunity to shine with more shadows cards it will be a must-deal location.

Hagen’s Daughter (3.8 Average)

scantrell24 – 3.5 out of 5

Hooray for another Ironborn who can wield Throwing Axe, Corsair’s Dirk, and King of Salt and Rock! More importantly, she can defend, die for claim, then come out to attack. Or in reverse order: attack, die for claim, then come out to oppose another challenge. Pretty nifty. I’d gladly pay 2 gold each time for infinite claim soak. She’s a 1x in many Greyjoy decks, and a solid Banner option as well.

Sokhar – 4 out of 5

A little boring, but hyper-efficient. She’ll be at least a x1 in every Greyjoy deck as she’s essentially a cheaper (but lacking Stealth) Ser Davos. Outside of a character ability cancel, she’ll never go away, and unlike Davos she returns to the safer (for now, at least) Shadows area rather than to hand.

Von Wibble – 4 out of 5

She’s an Ironborn and recurring claim soak, which is decent enough for 2 gold a shot. The fact you can recur her in challenges means that 2 gold spent is also effectively standing her too. I’m struggling to think of reasons not to include 1 of in any Greyjoy deck, she even has more than 1 icon!

HouseSotong – 4 out of 5

As an avid fan of Greyjoy, anything that saves, is Ironborn (to wield Ironborn only attachments and other possible Ironborn interactions) and well-costed, is almost welcomed! Reusable shadow just makes her better! Good 1 of in Greyjoy! Love her!

N.H. Khalasar – 3 out of 5

Nice bluff for Nighttime Marauders. Ironborn trait is good, so she can have King of Salt and Rock. FSOW hurts her. Solid 1x in a standard GJ deck.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 4 out of 5

Like Core Davos only a worse body but half the price to replay. Going into shadows is better than going to hand until we get hate for the shadows keyword. Better for Flea Bottom but worse for First Snow. Not much more to say really, she’s good but not exciting.

“Steel Rain” (2.6 Average)

scantrell24 – 2.5 out of 5

We’ve got a weird one! Surprise Raiding Longship, Sea Bitch, and Seastone Chair could all be fun. Or grab an Iron Mines pre-reset. You could even get economy if you’re strapped for cash. I’m not convinced this event is actually good, but it has potential in the future.

Von Wibble – 3 out of 5

Early game, economy is good. Late game, you can have too much of this, and trading a couple of economy locations for some Raiding Longships, or a cheeky Seastone Chair, could be fun. Greyjoy aren’t known for their surprises in general, but this could change very quickly. I’m going to be generous with the rating for pure jank potential.

HouseSotong – 3 out of 5

I think the impact of this event remains to be seen. A surprise Iron Mines for save, Raiding Longship for unopposed or Seastone Chair for targeted kill is always useful, especially in the future, hope this event gets better then!

Q&T Curmudgeons – 2 out of 5

Well, this is like the opposite of the last card – probably not good, but very exciting. A really odd card, overall. It costing 4g to play the location-shuffle is a steep price, but there are some fun tricks to play – turning into econ if you see boats early and need limiteds, or getting to reverse that process later on; using this in the standing phase to get all your Iron Mines before flipping Valar; that sort of thing. It also can operate as a sort of deck-thinning? We await inventive deckbuilding minds to do fun stuff with it.

Hizdahr zo Loraq (4.0 Average)

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

The King trait saves him from binder fodder status. Martell Dragon might take Hizdahr to stop being hard-answered by King in the North, and his ability is a good fit in Martell anyways.

Sokhar – 3 out of 5

Interesting card. Disappointed he didn’t get the Lord trait as well, because Targ is still really short on Lords/Ladies to take advantage of the abilities of the different handmaiden characters. Being able to pitch a card to gain economy is good, though not the “effectively you have +3 gold” that Von Wibble states below, because you’re still sacrificing card advantage for it. Regardless though, an optional Bounty of High Garden-type effect built in is quite nice. I probably would have rated him a 4, but investing 6 gold in a non-loyal character with Breaking Ties being a significant deckbuilding consideration is a major issue.

Von Wibble – 5 out of 5

So, with Hizdahr on the board you effectively have +3 gold, but unlike Tycho below you also get a King with decent stats. We have already seen plenty of decent cards with shadows costs of 3 or more (Aegon being an obvious in house option), and for Martell he provides a King with an ability they can definitely use. Any Flea Bottom deck isn’t going to be particularly bothered about the discard cost, and he is a natural fit with Meereen below.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 5 out of 5

Economy boosts like these are always good, pretty much regardless of what card game you’re playing. Old Forest Hunter sure did take some PEDs, huh? Hizdahr costs a fair amount, but it’s easy to forgive him that given that he turns any card in your hand into a non-limited Kingsroad. Throw in the ambush dragons we’ve seen plus two Targ cards either out or spoiled that have a shadows cost of 3 or more, plus that King trait, plus being non-loyal for further banner silliness… Yeah, he good.

Meereen (4.3 Average)

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5

Meereen has a phenomenal ability, but I have reservations about the 3 gold tempo hit, and how it fits into current Targ builds. Is this a 1x “nice if you see it” card to supplement plot draw? Or a 3x “must see” card that you’re counting on? Or even worth using with HRD? It might end up in every Targ deck, or it might get tossed out quickly as too unreliable. I’m on the fence.

Sokhar – 5 out of 5

Is this Targaryen Christmas in July? I think so! Targ can discard cards to put characters into play, stand characters, burn characters, or gain economy. The only limit to these effects are how many cards you can draw and afford to toss to power them. Meereen gives you cards you may be able to marshal or play immediately, and then incentivizes you to toss the rest by not allowing them to stick around. The introduction of shadows this cycle also gives you another pool of cards to use without having to worry about a key event being stored under Meereen for a phase while you fish for answers. The potential power of the card is undeniable, and I also love the creativity of the card’s mechanics, functioning in a way we’ve not seen in 2.0 before. Very cool.

Von Wibble – 5 out of 5

The new Targaryen House With the Red Door deck? The ability has a couple of clear applications for sure. You can use it in challenges to protect your hand from intrigue claim, as well as hoping to draw events or ambushers – even if you don’t hit, you can just discard them for Hizdahr and Plaza of Pride. Alternatively, if your hand already has all of that, use Meereen in marshalling to get some characters on the board. Even if you get nothing, discarding a few extra cards for Flea Bottom or Unexpected Return has clear advantages.

HouseSotong – 4 out of 5

The card draw could be crucial at important turns. The 3 cost though might compete with economy too early in the game when there might be better stuff to play. Against a location control meta, this card might see lesser play as the current Targ Burn suite is already well-developed. The extra card draw is still good.

N.h. Khalasar – 3 out of 5

The fact that it is just an Action is huge. The lows and highs of this card will be super swingy. This is best in decks that go all in on recursion (Freedmen, Second Sons, Missendei, Dragon is No Slave). Isle of Ravens can mitigate the downside, if you weren’t already playing it in this meta. You may see 1x in standard Targ decks. some might go 2x, but probably not. It’s weird with HRD, because the effect is so swingy. We doubt the this will be the bomb so others think it will be.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 5 out of 5

A nuts location with cool applications. You can trigger it in any phase, but the most common ones will be the marshalling or challenges phases. In the marshalling phase, there’s an element of push/pull where the more cards you marshal from your Meereen trigger the better (as it’s direct card advantage), but you’re risking topdecking stuff you can’t afford or can’t/don’t want to play (say, burn events); likewise in the challenges phase, you could topdeck some great ambush cards or events, or you could get limiteds and nothing of value. However, the ceiling here is phenomenally high. You also have the ability to shield your existing hand from discard effects. A really interesting card, and very strong, rounding off a great pack for Targaryen.

Maiden of Poisons (3.3 Average)

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

Maiden of Poisons and Southron Messenger together with some hand destruction could be good. Maybe HRD Starfall with Heads on Spikes and Viper Eyes?

Martell could easily have 10+ 1 strength characters in a deck now, which is a recipe for disaster against Blood of the Dragon.

Von Wibble – 3 out of 5

She is just the right price for Flea Bottom, and can really put your opponent off making challenges if you have any icon removal visible. Unlike a lot of Martell “lose to activate” cards, she works on attack as well. However, she is facing a lot of competition, both at her cost slot, and at her strength slot – how many strength 1 characters do you really want with Targ so prevalent in the meta?

HouseSotong – 3 out of 5

Right target for Flea Bottom, useful Bastard & Sand Snake traits, and good effect, only turn off is the 1 STR that makes having too many of it a caution in Targ prevalent metas.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 4 out of 5

A character that definitively justifies the shadow icon, lovely. Now if only it wasn’t so silly with Flea Bottom. It’s like the solution to the Shadow City Bastard recursion problem is to give them something else stupid to recur instead. Without it it’s fine though, somewhere between Prince’s Pass and Ghaston Grey on legs.

Serve, Obey, Protect (2.4 Average)

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

It’s a useful ability in all kinds of scenario — dodge a reset, repeat a come-into-play ability, etc. — but the triggering conditions and timing are a big downside. TIBWHID probably edges out SOP in most cases.

Von Wibble – 2.5 out of 5

Returning Areo to hand to play out Arianne seems fun! Generally Martell have plenty of cards to take advantage of both sides of this effect, making it very strong. However, as your opponent has to make 2 challenges against you, there will be a lot of decks that this is a dead card against, many of which are already tough matchups for Martell as they rely on passive power rather than winning challenges. Looks very good in melee though, I’d rate it 4 in that format and 2 in joust.

N.H. Khalasar – 1 out of 5

Cute effect, but ability to use it is super restrictive. Will be a nice option for Dark Wings once it comes out. You aren’t dropping any Martell events for this in current decks. Unicorn play: bounce a scavenger to jump in Arianne + Obara combo.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 3 out of 5

It will likely overperform early before people learn to play around it, then drop off somewhat. The econ/tempo advantage is strong and interesting here, and it’s another way to get cards like Hotah or Greenblood Trader back to hand to replay. It’s fighting for “dickish events that rely on you losing on defence” space with His Viper Eyes though despite the cards doing wildly different things, and we suspect most Martell decks would prefer HVE.

Tycho Nestoris (2.5 Average)

scantrell24 – 2 out of 5

I’d rather not spend 6 gold on a character than dies to a simple Dragon Is No Slave + Dany trigger. If you’re a lucky soul without much Targ in your meta, his stakes improve somewhat. Milk and Valar Dohaeris still hurt though. I’m not sure what faction needs economy badly enough to run Tycho. He’s a one-trick pony that’s only good early game, and even then, only if you dodge the commonly-played answers.

Von Wibble – 3 out of 5

Not as good as Hizdahr as his stats are weaker, he isn’t a King, he can’t trigger on the turn he is played, and he can lose you the game. That said, he’s good on setup and can really boost economy for some factions like Stark and Baratheon. Or Night’s Watch, where you can use the jank play of having the new Wall out and using Broken Vows to give him to your opponent in the last round of a game!

HouseSotong – 2 out of 5

I just see jank in this. Possibly Broken Vows to prevent an opponent from winning but otherwise, there are much better neutral character cards than him. 6 coster for 3 STR mono-con is just too underwhelming unless more card effects like Broken Vows are released to give him to an opponent to prevent a win.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 3 out of 5

Hilarious text. Does this stop your opponent conceding?? If they break the rules, do they have immunity from being awarded a game loss??? Being a high gold, low STR non-loyal character in the current meta is a tough sell, but against the right opponent(s) he will be very efficient, and he’ll always be fun.

City Gates (2.7 Average)

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

Seems fair. I don’t think it replaces Roseroads or Gates of the Moon though except maybe in slow, grindy decks. Worth a look I suppose.

Sokhar – 2 out of 5

This card was close to being pretty good, but it’s too slow for economic gain, and too restrictive as a cantrip effect. Had the draw effect allowed you to discard it from hand OR PLAY to draw a card, I could see it gaining some traction. Being able to turn a surplus of economy late game into card draw would have had some value. As it stands, I can’t think of any econ locations that are currently making it into decks that this would replace.

Von Wibble – 1.5 out of 5

So, pay 1 for a limited 1 gold card, where you only really get a payoff 2 rounds later, or pay 1 gold and a card for a card? Why would I want this card? Maybe in a deck that wants that little bit extra filter to find a combo piece. The key advantage it has over a Roseroad, say, is that if you topdeck it late game then you can replace it with a potential card you actually need, but why not just run decent draw or filter in the first place?

HouseSotong – 2.5 out of 5

I think it is alright, but not fantastic. Don’t think it’ll replace Roseroad, Greathall or Gates of the Moon. Unless there’s a huge benefit to have more King’s Landing locations or gold modifiers in play, I don’t think this will see much play.

N.H. Khalasar – 4 out of 5

Great design with scaling value over the course of the game. Never a dead draw which no other econ can say. King’s Landing trait? We are getting 4 cost King’s Landing location this cycle… The draw effect is nice in factions that need draw, IE: Targ, Greyjoy, Stark.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 3 out of 5

This solves the infernal annoyance that is top-decking a limited late on when you have econ and need board presence. It does it at the cost of efficiency though, so it’ll be interesting to see what players value.

The Bloody Flux (3.3 Average)

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5

This is what Battle of Blackwater Bay wanted to be. The military challenge was arguably the weakest for a good stretch of time recently, but this gives aggro decks some teeth again, especially Dothraki because Stark already has new Arya.

Sokhar – 3 out of 5

So this is a straight-up admission that Battle of the Blackwater isn’t good enough, right? Same gold and claim, higher initiative and reserve, with different traits for funsies. As my other reviewers have pointed out, this is a huge help to aggro decks, enabling them to really punish your opponent’s board. It is also a valuable tool for reset-heavy control style decks like the Martell reset deck. Bloody Flux plus Varys makes for a very tidy board that doesn’t require a follow-up Marched to the Wall. Running this plot in your plot deck consistently will probably change the way you build your deck, as running triplicates of big characters could become a liability. I only rated this a 3 because while it’s great for certain decks, it doesn’t necessarily fit into ALL. However, this is absolutely one of your Rookery plots if that format takes off, because it’s a straight up silver bullet to Greyjoy.

Von Wibble – 4 out of 5

A great answer to offensive Valar M, but unlike MDK Arya you can’t use it to initiate that reset. Any aggro deck with claim raising can do a lot of damage to an opponent’s board, with Targaryen and Stark best poised to do this.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 2 out of 5

Meh. It’s potentially value for murder decks, or ones that want to force through a high-impact Varys, but we suspect those decks might want more impactful plots than this. More value in Melee where you can coordinate with an opponent to force a board-wipe.

Trading with Qohor (2.8 Average)

Fenris – 2 out of 5

This is not the next Wars to Come, it is not the next Rains of Castermere, it is not the next Lord of the Crossing. It’s not even the next Brotherhood without Banners or Faith Militant. What it is, is the next Conclave or Greensight – i.e. a niche agenda that will fit a small number of factions and will see limited success.

The timing is clunky, as you can only trigger it after claim is applied, so you can’t even do any King Beyond the Wall shenanigans with it. I really can’t think of many times I would want to bin off an attachment I have in play to find another the same cost or lower. Perhaps I am overlooking some amazing combos you could pull of with it, but I doubt it.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

I love agendas that make players reconsider underutilized cards, and I look forward to building a wide variety of Trading with Qohor jank. This Banner agenda might work best in Alliance, so you can still Banner another faction to gain access to more attachments. All that said, it doesn’t scream “tier 1 goodstuff” and probably won’t see a ton of play, at least not until someone wins a tournament and publishes his or her decklist.

Von Wibble – 2.5 out of 5

This is for much smarter players than I. I have already seen suggestions posted on Facebook such as using a Venomous Blade, then fetching a Seal of the Hand, then a second Venomous Blade, followed by Locked Away. Even out of neutral you could trade between Syrio’s Training and Little Birds to just ensure your characters have the right icons at the right time. Wise Masters and Isle of Ravens both look like good options to work with this, thought the former are only going to get anywhere if this is used as one of 2 banners in an alliance build.

HouseSotong – 3.5 out of 5

I actually have high hopes for this agenda, especially in conjunction with the Alliance agenda, flexibility in switching toolbox attachments for different scenarios sounds interesting and useful! Searching for a Milk, Bodyguard or King attachment seems useful.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 3 out of 5

We’re pleased for Florian that he got such an interesting and cool card through testing – and he’s come out very well on the banner of the art, nice to see a champ’s face again! The agenda itself is tough to get a proper handle on. The timing window weakens it considerably, with so many attachments caring about challenge wins; however, the potential to snowball with an attachment fetched from one challenge helping you to win the next one being relevant. The +1 gold for your opponents drawback is probably quite a ‘soft’ one in practice, unlikely to be too relevant after round one; however, the bigger drawback is that attachments are the weakest cardtype in the game, and this kinda necessitates you running quite a few of’em if you want to leverage it. The banner trait gives it an interesting alternative angle too, a really inventive design idea.

Total Pack Average: 3.4

Top Cards:

Oldtown Undercity 4.7

Wyman Manderly 4.6

March on Winterfell 4.3

Meereen 4.3

Queen of Thorns 4.3

Bowels of Casterly Rock 4.2

Bottom Cards:

Honor-Bound 1.9

Cunning Steward 2.3

Serve, Obey, Protect 2.4

Tycho Nestoris 2.5

If you’re hungry more content, check out the library of podcasts, articles, game video and more in the Community FAQ. Let us know in the comments how you feel about the cards in this pack, and we’ll see you again soon to discuss the “Streets of King’s Landing” chapter pack!