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

Let us know in the comments how you feel about the cards in this pack!

Alysane Mormont (4.4 Average)

OKTarg – 4 out of 5

Two challenges, one with stealth, is quite good. Especially with the ability to search her out with Bear Island Scout and trigger draw for days with Maege, this is a fun card. Compares very reasonably, if not favorably, to Core Arya and it’s hard to see a downside here.

scantrell24 – 4.5 out of 5

Alysane is an efficient attacker much like Greatjon Umber. Stark Sea of Blood and other aggressive decks with military challenge triggers will love her. Alysane is also another cheap non-loyal Lady for Tyrell Wolf decks and/or Heir to the Iron Throne fodder.

Von Wibble – 4 out of 5

The obvious comparison is Core Arya. You lose a dupe (not even that if set up) but gain no attachments except weapon, and no kneeling for military challenges, at a small cost of not being allowed neutral characters. Obviously not for non-Qohor banner decks, but any deck not desperate for a neutral should be running at least 1 copy for the sheer efficiency.

Hybrid92 – 5 out of 5

I don’t see why Stark decks would ever not run her. With neutral characters being less prevalent these days than in the first couple of cycles, she’s going to be active pretty much all the time. She’s cheap, she can do two challenges, her stealth helps push through the military (perhaps to trigger Sea of Blood), the House Mormont trait keys off a bunch of existing (and upcoming) House Mormont synergies, and the Lady trait is great for existing Lady synergies or for Heir to the Iron Throne. She’s No Attachments except Weapon as well! Wow. Really bloody good.

hagarrr – 4 out of 5

This is a good little card. Alysane will likely participate in two challenges per round, one of which will get stealth, which is nice! She’s inexpensive with two useful traits, and will likely be more valuable in Sea of Blood decks or even HrD Winterfell Castle; decks where that military stealth has additional benefit. Alysane does dictate your challenge order somewhat if you want that maximum efficiency, but on the whole I imagine she will be a solid 1x in most Stark decks.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 5 out of 5

Cheap efficient beatstick that can attack multiple times with stealth, has a decent trait, and has some added attachment protection? Yup, it good. The condition is super-easy for a mono-Stark deck to meet, so unless you’re bannering or playing a neutral theme she’s an easy include, complementing Core Arya nicely.

Old Gate (3.5 Average)

OKTarg – 3 out of 5

The team here has some good thoughts on Gates in general. If your faction needs gold more than cards, this set likely won’t help you that much. If your faction needs cards more than gold, then you might be in luck! Stark really needs the econ boost more than the card advantage, but it’s not like their 2-cost limited sets the world on fire. It’s nice that it would be free with Fealty….I think I like tinkering with econ bases more than most and thus look forward to the Age of Gates.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

Stark is surprisingly draw-rich right now, mainly thanks to Wyman and Umber Loyalists. If you go with a different restricted card, maybe Old Gate fills the sizeable hole vacated by Wyman. In general, I find the Gates were maybe tempered too much, with both the Limited keyword and the draw delayed until the challenges phase. They’re almost like 8 different versions of City Gate, and how much play has that card seen?

Von Wibble – 4 out of 5

I have to admit to not being sold on the gates myself. For economy they are weaker than Roseroads, but the trade-off is that topdecking one later in the game is no bad thing at all as you can probably afford the gold and they more than replace themselves. This one is very easy to trigger in general, and the Stark 2 cost limited location is not strong, so this gets a better rating.

Hybrid92 – 3 out of 5

I like the idea of the the Gates overall (econ that turns into cards when you need them) but they probably could’ve been non-limited. As it stands, people are usually packing 9-10 limited cards in decks and those cards are usually a combination of Roseroads, 0-cost limiteds, 2-cost limiteds (in the factions that have good ones), Great Halls, and Gates of the Moon. I don’t think any of these very good limited cards are getting subbed out for these new 1-for-1 limited locations that have a draw ability. Yes, the draw ability is definitely handy — and the Stark one is easier to trigger than most — but I’ll be rating all the gates lower because they just seem clunky and inefficient compared to existing limited economy.





hagarrr – 4 out of 5

First off, I think the concept of the Gates are pretty good; they’re not as good as a Roseroad early game, but one or two of these in the late game is great. I’d certainly pay 1 gold for 2 cards given a reasonably simple condition, and Stark’s condition is as reasonable as they come. The fact that it’s Stark ‘character’ is easy to achieve, and requires no co-operation on the part of your opponent. The limited keyword holds these back slightly I feel, but non-kneeling economy in a faction that likes The Withering Cold is fine by me.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 4 out of 5

We’ll take this opportunity to address all the gates as one. Firstly, theme. We have 7 gates, each of the gates of King’s Landing, one for each non-NW faction. Why, given they’re all located in King’s Landing, and there’s only one of each, are these loyal and non-unique?

Generally with these locations, the notion of being able to have inefficient economy or averagely efficient draw depending on your preference and ability to meet the trigger is an interesting one – and interesting economy deserves praise for the designers. With a plot later on in this pack potentially making economy easier to manage, we envision space for these limited cards.

The question on a faction-by-faction basis is therefore firstly, how easy is the trigger to meet; and secondly, how good a deal is the draw/economy for that faction. For Stark, the econ/draw are pretty low priority, as Stark are overflowing with riches currently. However, this is very easy to build to, just like Alysane, and Stark might have joy simply from the fact that it’s an economy card that isn’t neutral.



The Knight of Flowers (3.0 Average)

OKTarg – 3 out of 5

So far, not enough support for him to really shine. His cost/STR/keywords aren’t as efficient as the other versions, so you need really to be standing him most challenges phases to make him worth it. So, maybe 1x in a Shadow deck, 0x most of the time?

scantrell24 – 3.5 out of 5

One facet of FFG design that drives me crazy – Kingsguard Jaime grants renown, but Kingsguard KoF has printed renown. Why?! Give him a different keyword! Maybe we’ll get a Kingsguard shadows Jaime, but then Lions box Jaime would become even more puzzling. The entire Kingsguard trait pool this far feels like a wasted opportunity. Anyways, this KoF is passable on his own – shadows, renown, easy-ish trigger to stand himself and participate two or even three times.

Von Wibble – 3.5 out of 5

Seems good on paper, a strength 5 bicon with renown. Even if you don’t have a lot of Kingsguard, he can at least stand himself if you can get a card out from shadows. Given the cost this usually entails, he isn’t quite as good as Randyll, but the flexibility to maybe stand others possibly makes him stronger in the long term – as long as we get neutral Kingsguard to help. Is this a sign we are getting Preston Greenfield back?

Hybrid92 – 3 out of 5

In a vacuum, he’s worse than the other two versions of the Knight of Flowers, but I can see him being fantastic in a dedicated Shadows or Kingsguard deck. Right now those decks aren’t really there yet, and I can only rate by what is apparent. I can’t rate by potential, so he’ll get a 3 for now. But I expect him to get better as more Shadows cards (and more Shadows Kingsguard cards) are released.

hagarrr – 3 out of 5

Flowers looks pretty boring to me. The cost to STR ratio is fine I suppose, and the ability is useful for extra challenge efficiency. Shame then that I can’t think of any Kingsguard characters that benefit otherwise from standing, and so he probably just stands again for the extra renown. If you’re running a deck with plenty of shadows cards, a free stand is good. But aside from Bobby Strong, I don’t see a tonne of synergy between Kingsguards and Shadows yet, but maybe the rest of the cycle will make this better.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 2 out of 5

In a fantastical futureland where we have loads of Kingsguard characters worth standing and a Kingsguard deck is a thing, his value soars enormously. Right now he’s essentially a much worse version of Randyll Tarly though, and competing with two other good cards with the same name. Might sneak 1x in a dedicated Shadows deck, but otherwise, a pass for now. That said, we do see an outline for a Shadows Kingsguard deck emerging, with the likes of Ser Jaime Lannister (LotR) and Ser Balon Swann adding to it. The outline is still seriously patchy currently, but if we can get the likes of first edition’s Preston Greenfield and Jaime Lannister…

Gate of the Gods (2.1 Average)

OKTarg – 2 out of 5

I commented above that Gates can be nice depending on if your house in general is hurting for econ or for draw. Since Tyrell is hurting for neither, and since this Gate is such an odd triggering condition, I think it might be the worst one.

scantrell24 – 2 out of 5

What OKTarg said. Tyrell seems unlikely to want Gate of the Gods, especially with a trigger condition that doesn’t help when you’re behind on board position and need it most.

Von Wibble – 2.5 out of 5

See my comments on the Old Gate. This one is fairly easy to trigger but not quite as simple as the Old Gate and can be affected by your opponent’s deck, whether it be in a mirror match or facing wildlings, at which point “easy to tigger” becomes “almost impossible to trigger”.

Hybrid92 – 2 out of 5

One of the more bizarre Gate locations. Depending on the match-up there’s possibility that you may never be able to trigger this. Other factions can easily compete for having the highest strength character on the board — whether it’s triggered strength pumps, efficient beef, passive strength boosts across the board, characters that can reach astronomical strength on their own, or just plain old high strength bombs, Tyrell doesn’t necessarily have the monopoly on high strength characters. Hence why I think this might be a harder Gate to trigger than most others. Having said that though, Tyrell has enough other limited economy and draw to warrant never running this card to begin with.

hagarrr – 2 out of 5

This must be one of the worst of all the Gates. A trigger dependent on the current board state, whilst perfectly achievable, often requires more investment to do so, and can narrow the timing of your draw. Do Tyrell even bother with this given the plethora of other draw and economy options available to them?

Q&T Curmudgeons – 2 out of 5

See Old Gate for the broad strokes. Tyrell will often (but not always) be able to trigger this, but while their economy is as strong as it is and they have the likes of Pleasure Barge, why would they want to?

Aged Craftsman (4.3 Average)

OKTarg – 4 out of 5

Great in builders! Yay! (nobody likes builders.) Okay in general defense decks too, I guess. I’m just not a Watch expert so I am guessing, really.

scantrell24 – 5 out of 5

Well, I guess I have to play Builders now so I can figure out how to beat the darn thing, but I won’t enjoy a minute of it. At least he’s too feeble to wield Practice Blade.

Von Wibble – 4 out of 5

Not a complicated card at all, put him in decks with locations! I hear that most Night’s Watch decks that like Builders also like locations. The fact he triggers off entering play and not just marshalling allows for some Flea Bottom shenanigans too. Seems good.

Hybrid92 – 5 out of 5

Incredible in Builders. Pretty damn good in non-Builders Wall defence too. It can also trigger off coming into play from both Flea Bottom and Flea Bottom alley too. Fetching an on-demand Haunted Forest, Underground Vault, Castle Black, and Abandoned Stronghold is amazing and worthwhile justification for him being 3-for-1.

hagarrr – 4 out of 5

Ahhh look at our favourite Aged Craftsman, toiling away in the snow, crafting useful things for his brothers in the Watch. It’s a shame he’s unable to wield a Miner’s Pick, but to make up for that, he can single-handedly build Castle Black or an Underground Vault. What an industrious builder he is.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 4 out of 5

Search and economy (well, less his cost) is excellent, even when the search is restricted to the top 10. You can justify him without too much trouble – it would take 7 locations to get the chances of finding one in the top 10 to above 75%, and after 3 of the next card, 3 Underground Vaults and a Castle Black, you’re already there. You’ll have to go more location-heavy (be that Builders running defensive locations or Recruitment running Hardhome, Bay of Seals, Queenscrown and whatnot) to get enough locations to make him truly consistent – 12 locations gets the chances to above 90% – so depending on your standards he won’t be for every deck, especially when the body is only a STR 1 monocon. And we’d be loathe not to mention it’s “enters play” not “marshal”, so shenanigans with Coldhands, Journey to Oldtown and (more realistically) Flea Bottom abound!







Flea Bottom Alley (4.3 Average)

OKTarg- 3 out of 5

This seems weird. At the cost of your limited card, it puts a 3-drop into play for free and draws a replacement. In a vacuum, that’s fine, but Watch decks are either more dedicated to the long game or looking for Kingsroads to drop Qhorins and Jons, neither of which this helps with. Might be better in a stealy-stuff NW deck, but again I’m guessing!

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5

Unlike the other Gates, this draw actually happens in the marshaling phase, which is huge. Flea Bottom Alley looks good in a variety of decks: Builders, with Aged Craftsman, Eastwatch Carpenter, and Halder; or Rangers decks with Grenn and Naive Scout; or steal your dudes decks with Yoren and Veteran Builder.

Von Wibble – 4.5 out of 5

Instead of Gates Night’s Watch get a new Kingsroad of sorts. 3 cost characters are common in most Nights Watch builds, so the slight economy loss to Kingsroad generally doesn’t happen, and the ease of which you can draw a card can’t be underestimated.

Hybrid92 – 5 out of 5

So this straight up replaces Kingsroad in NW decks then, effectively trading the +1 initiative for a cantrip. It can also be searched for by characters who search for locations (for example, the aforementioned Aged Craftsman!) which makes it particularly good in Builders decks (especially as the majority of the Builders cards are 3 cost or lower). Affording Qhorin and Jon shouldn’t be a problem for a faction that has Underground Vault and often plays double Trade Routes as its restricted.

hagarrr – 4 out of 5

A cantrip Kingsroad seems pretty good for NW with their many playable 3 cost characters. Not much else to say about this really.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 5 out of 5

Pure efficiency, despite spending your limited slot for the round. It replaces itself and offers an economy advantage, so essentially a no-brainer even if you only have a 2g character to throw out there (and sometimes even only a 1g character). Additionally it provides a degree of ‘possibility’, which can mess up opponent’s plans, and it has value simply from being an NW location, allowing synergies such as with the Craftsman above who can put it into play getting around the limited keyword. NW win this round of economy cards, we suppose.









R’hllor Infiltrator (3.8 Average)

OKTarg – 3 out of 5

This might be a tad harsh, given that this is the best chud Baratheon have gotten in some time. But, really, is that more because this guy is good or because Bara haven’t gotten anything in forever? Core Mel isn’t that viable these days, so the R’Hllor trait goes down in value. Maybe this guy pushes her back up? (I can’t see it, sadly.) The power is decent, but at the cost of the action and the card, it comes steeply. Wouldn’t you rather play Vanguard Lancer? So, he’s good, but I’m controlling myself. I’d be happy to be wrong about this!

scantrell24 – 3.5 out of 5

The Bara tax is real: In any other faction, this character wouldn’t have to kneel for its ability. I’m still not over how terrible Storm’s End Maester is compared to Three-Fingered Hobb… This ability might be more fun to dream about than it is actually practical. Also, it doesn’t work well with Ritual of R’hllor, the one card besides Melisandre that’s been waiting for a cheap R’hllor character. Pessimism aside, it’s a solid chud.

Von Wibble – 5 out of 5

I wouldn’t normally give a chud this score, but the Infiltrator does so many things well! As a 2 cost he’s good for setup. As the first 2 cost Rh’llor character he makes core Mel more consistent – adding more and more 3 costers to the deck is bad for the cost curve. A cheap military icon makes for great Forced March fodder, and being a bicon, even at 1 strength, is useful. And the ability just makes it that little bit easier to win too (I am especially looking forward to using these in Targ Stag then dropping Blood of the Dragon so they can’t be given back!). So many good things in 1 little chud.

Hybrid92 – 4 out of 5

It says a lot that we have waited almost three and a half years into the game to get our first 2-cost R’hllor character for Baratheon. I’ve written at length about the Bara tax and how the R’hllor trait has caused the overcosting of characters, so I won’t go into that here, but God is it good to see a R’hllor bicon that is a two drop. Kneel decks, which don’t really exist anymore, will love this character, but he will see play in regular Baratheon decks to smooth out the cost curve. Also another military icon for Forced March. The triggered effect is corner case at best, probably only going to really get used when victory is within reach. Loses a mark for me because the R’hllor trait loses value with kneel being so weak, and also it could’ve been 2 strength without much fuss, really.

hagarrr – 4 out of 5

This is just what Baratheon needed- a 2 cost bicon chud that can trigger Melisandre, with a nice little ability on top. The Infiltrator is good early game as claim soak, good late game as power gain, and good to use before a reset with that ability. Bonus points if you trigger vs Stark to neuter their Old Gates! The recent proliferation of Sea of Blood decks in addition to the changes to the Restricted List has made kneel decks better, and this will provide more support for that.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 3 out of 5

Aww, why isn’t the action forced, that would be so much more funny. The ability is quite nice, allowing for passive power acceleration (although we’d like it more if the character didn’t have to kneel), but realistically it’s a low-impact effect, and it’s only a 1 STR character. The talking point here is it being the first 2 gold character with the R’hllor trait – however, kneel’s problem isn’t just the cost of R’hllor characters to trigger Melisandre with, and we’re not sure how effective this will be. We’re not thrilled about it as just having 2 icons in the cost slot, as it’s not like Bara were running Wildling Bandits anyhow.







King’s Gate (3.4 Average)

OKTarg- 4 out of 5

This isn’t the best Gate, but it might be the best for the house. So reliant on 3-cost locations for draw and with bad 2-cost limited and nonlimiteds, Bara really needs this to work. So, I’ll try it!

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

It’s not for every Bara deck, but ones focused on winning power challenges will like King’s Gate for redundancy in case Red Keep doesn’t show up, meets FroSo, etc.

Von Wibble – 3 out of 5

Generally this Gate feels a bit trickier to like, as it isn’t going to help you at all if you are 9-3 down and trying to stop your opponent from closing. However, Baratheon have started to get a bit of tech to help them quickly grab power, and having to wait a round or 2 isn’t going to hurt them too badly on draw.

Hybrid92 – 3 out of 5

Not as bad as some of the other Gates but not as good either. Baratheon probably is in no position to complain considering the god-awful 2-cost economy cards we’ve received in the past. As a faction in need of both gold and cards, this one might be seeing some play in Baratheon. Might.

hagarrr – 3.5 out of 5

We’ve mentioned how the Gates are better in the later game, and this card epitomises that. If you can’t get at least 5 power on your faction card with Baratheon, not being able to use this is the least of your worries. If your opponent manages to shut off your Red Keep or Blackwater Bay, you can still keep your draw ticking along until you find your answers.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 4 out of 5

Usually Bara’s good at getting *some* power even when it loses, so often it’ll be switched on by the time you want the cards regardless of how the game’s going. Throw in the subpar cards they received in cycle 3 and 5’s economy card suites, and this looks quite excellent by comparison, albeit not world-changing. If you are losing badly enough that you can’t make 5 power though, it’s going to be a real sad topdeck.

Ser Mandon Moore (3.9 Average)

OKTarg – 4 out of 5

Choice cards usually aren’t great, but this hits pretty hard no matter the choice. And, given that it makes you have the cards to “save” your chud, I think it’s quite good. Since the body in play is actually decent unlike cards like Catspaw, you’re not needing a blowout on the effect. In fact, Catspaw into Mandon seems pretty fun! Or vice versa, depending on the board. Or Hands of Gold into Mandon….all of these combos are good, if a bit expensive. I’m getting closer and closer to trying Lannister out again, so that’s something!

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5

Solid in every aspect: strength, icons, traits, cost, artwork too. I’m excited that he’s non-loyal and can be brought out for free by Queen of Thorns or Starfall Spy.

Von Wibble – 3.5 out of 5

Solid as a 4 for 4 bicon with 2 good traits and an optional ability for 1 cost. Generally speaking any card that gives your opponent a choice is weak, as they will always choose the weaker of the 2 options. However, the way this is worded does at least prevent them from discarding fewer than 2 cards to “save” their character. As with Catspaw and The Things I Do For Love, this can be used to remove a chud to set up military claim or Marched onto targets your opponent actually cares about losing. Or it can help choke your opponents hand, which could get especially nasty with shadows Cersei. But it will usually end up being the lesser of 2 evils for your opponent.

Hybrid92 – 4 out of 5

I like him. Good traits (especially Kingsguard which needs more support), the relevant Lannister icons, decent cost-STR ratio, and a fun ability. I like that he synergises with both existing Lannister themes: Shadows and Hand Control. If 7-cost Cersei happens to be out, it means a free power if the opponent chooses to discard instead of kill. If the opponent hasn’t got enough cards in hand, then he or she will have to choose and kill someone. I always say that the more decision points your opponent has to make, the more likely they will make a mistake — so it’s good that Ser Mandon is forcing your opponent to make some tough decisions!

hagarrr – 4 out of 5

Ser Mandon looks like he’ll bring some fun back to Lannister builds. I really like the decision path this card opens up. Do you want an extra body on the board and discard some cards from the opponent’s hand? Mandon’s yer man. Do you want to use him as another layer of kill after you’ve stripped the opponent’s hand? Mandon’s yer man. He can put the opponent under a lot of pressure if used at the right time (oh god I forgot Clever Feint exists), and I hope he provides more incentives for Lannister players to sleeve up their favourite cards again.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 4 out of 5

The ability and the art both feel like they suit the character, which is nice. We’re torn between disliking letting our opponent’s pick their poison and having an “eh, either one’s good” attitude – plus it’s worded so that sometimes you can force the choice. Removing claimsoak might lose potency with the onset of shadows, as the opponent can bring some new poor sap out of shadows afterwards, but we’ll see, and either way the numbers are solid.







Lion Gate (2.8 Average)

OKTarg – 4 out of 5

Lanni really, really needs gold and draw both. They have decent gold production, but their effects seem overcosted to make up for it. This valency in a shadow deck really is perfect. I’m a fan and I’ll be trying it in my next deck!

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

Shadow decks probably prefer Goldroad, Roseroad, and Gates of the Moon, but Lion Gate might beat out Gold Mine for the final econ location spots.

Von Wibble – 3.5 out of 5

So this Gate is pretty much an auto-include for a shadows build and probably not an option elsewhere? Lannister does look well set up to make shadows work for them, for that reason I’m going a bit more generous than I would have done.

Hybrid92 – 2.5 out of 5

As mentioned above, this is an auto-include in dedicated Shadows decks and probably won’t see play anywhere else. Lannister could use card draw that isn’t also a filter effect though, and Lannister also doesn’t have very many good builds around at the moment so their hopes might be pegged on the success of the Shadows build.

hagarrr – 2.5 out of 5

Lion Gate forces you to play shadows cards if you want the draw, pegging it into a niche that Baratheon and Stark players do not need to worry about. I’m not really a fan of that, although I’m sure this will see play in Lanni Shadows decks regardless, as they don’t appear to have many other viable themes at the moment. At least you can cheat the limited restriction with Assault from the Shadows agenda!

Q&T Curmudgeons – 1 out of 5

Bad. Sucks for Lanni, they needed draw sources in practically every theme except the shadows one, which already has Bowels and really requires stronger economy than this. At least they got both The Goldroad and Gold Mine, so they can’t be too sad at how they came out of these things.





Baelor Blacktyde (4.0 Average)







OKTarg 4 out of 5

This guy looks pretty good! He’s a better body than Tris Botley, and can be used in conjunction for some extra denial. I think it’ll be pretty annoying, for sure, especially if you’re running Sea of Blood! He basically has to be your first Kill target, which might be easier said than done in the house of saves. A great package for GJ!

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5

Baelor is best in Pillage, where you can fill the opponent’s discard pile quickly, but there he competes with Silence’s Crew, Tris, Andrik and Gwynesse for the 4 gold slot. The lack of keywords is disappointing too, and the Captain trait doesn’t mean much. Overall, it’s an ability that is either extremely powerful or does literally nothing, depending on the opponent’s deck and hand (Dark Wings coming soon?).

Von Wibble – 4 out of 5

Tom Cruise is back? Apparently not, as they changed the art from the 1st edition version. In some matchups, such as against Targaryen, this is a very potent effect on a reasonable body. When this is combined with Tris, or used in a pillage deck, your opponent could get into a position where they can’t use much of anything in their hand. I am not looking forward to facing him, which probably means I will overrate him!

Hybrid92 – 4 out of 5

Not much to say about him that hasn’t already been said. Very handy ability, good cost-strength ratio, good trait (Captain, that is … I don’t think The Seven will be relevant at all in Greyjoy). Overall a fantastic 1x for Greyjoy decks now and into the future.

hagarrr – 4 out of 5

Baelor is looking pretty forlorn sat on his little boat, no doubt sad he doesn’t look like a young Tom Cruise anymore (cry). Or maybe it’s because he’s very good, but situational, and he’s faced up against a deck with no events in it. In this case, he’s still a decent body with two interesting traits. The Seven trait is the most interesting to me, with plenty of denial tech in Faith Militant builds which synergise somewhat with Baelor. Alternatively, just play him 3x when Targ Burn is popular and hope he doesn’t get Crowned.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 4 out of 5

The decks that really care about events tend to run ways to recover them from the discard pile, but he’s still very acceptable and has the potential to be very annoying – making some of the opponent’s draws useless can make for a powerful gain. Should be a nice addition for Greyjoy as a complement to Tris, even if we’re left lamenting various missing features from his first edition version (the stealth, the art, the crest…).









Iron Gate (3.3 Average)

OKTarg – 3 out of 5

Greyjoy could use some economy relative to other houses, but I think this won’t be pushing out other options just yet. I suppose the late game cards on your Rise of the Kraken-type turns is okay (I realize people just play You Win or You Die, but let me have my nostalgia please!)

scantrell24 – 3.5 out of 5

What Hybrid92 says. Greyjoy needs the draw more than most factions, so Iron Gate should see some play from that perspective, but on the other hand most Greyjoy decks are too fast-paced and expensive for this style of location. So, who knows?

Von Wibble – 3.5 out of 5

Fairly easy to trigger, especially in a warship deck. Its OK.

Hybrid92 – 3 out of 5

Hilariously easy to trigger for Greyjoy, almost a joke compared to some of the other Gates. Greyjoy probably need the money more than they need the cards, but interestingly, it’s the fact that they need the money that means they probably won’t play this card. Think about it: Greyjoy are an extremely greedy faction and therefore desperately need their current arrangement of Great Halls, Sea Towers, Gates of the Moon, and Roseroads to play out their glut of 6- and 7-cost bombs. I don’t think they will have room (or the tempo) for this.

hagarrr – 4 out of 5

I believe this is a good card for Greyjoy. More than most factions they like to play high initiative plots to control the game, and we see this at the top of the game currently with Greyjoy Sea of Blood decks. Warship decks like this too, and what Greyjoy player wouldn’t want some extra cards on their Rise of the Kraken turn? They can also retrieve it with We Take Westeros! to essentially make it 591 and draw two more cards if there are no better options. Good.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 3 out of 5

Similar to Tyrell, the condition is in the “normally easy enough to meet, but will be frustrating when you can’t” category. And is much worse in Melee, for what that’s worth. Unlike Tyrell, Greyjoy still have some value to be gained from draw that isn’t tied to winning challenges. The tempo-hit to playing this doesn’t gel with the standard GJ aggro, though.

Viserion (2.4 Average)

OKTarg – 2 out of 5

I realize people say that discarding cards in Targaryen isn’t really a cost, and perhaps that used to be mostly true, but not anymore with the current Restricted List! Combine that with his being on an awkward spot on your curve and not really better than Rhaegal at the midrange slot and I think that you’re likely looking elsewhere. I think he’s better than 5-Rhaegal in Sea of Blood decks, but not as good as Barristan, Jhogo, etc. in those so finding a home will be awkward. Drogon, he is not!

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

Viserion’s poor cost-to-strength ratio means he likely only sees play in Hizdahr decks where his Ambush 5 keyword becomes relevant. The Intimidate ability is a reaction to winning, so you already know if you won and by how much, which is better than something like Dreadfort Maester.

Von Wibble – 2.5 out of 5

He’s no Drogon, but a likely impactful kneel at the cost of a single card is still decent. However, thanks to the competition with core Viserion in a burn deck, and with Barristan, Aggo, Jhogo, Cohollo and Aegon in most other decks, he isn’t an auto-include by any stretch.

Hybrid92 – 2 out of 5

Easily the weakest of the three new dragons. He’s a little bit too vanilla compared to the other characters at his cost range, and discarding a card for intimidate is a bit sad even if discarding cards from hand is somewhat of a pseudo-cost for Targaryen. His 2-cost version has been such a key card for Targaryen over the years, it’s hard to see how this clunky expensive version is going to replace it.

hagarrr – 3 out of 5

Awww we had a long wait for cycle 6 for this Viserion and it turns out he’s a bit crap. Or maybe he’s just balanced compared to previous Targaryen cards; I’m not sure! He doesn’t lend himself to Burn decks at all, but perhaps will find his niche in discard decks that want to control the opponent’s board via Daario etc. Targaryen do after all have plenty of explosive tempo gaining effects like Qotho and Aegon, and intimidating the opposition is a good way to hammer home this advantage.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 2 out of 5

Way to make Dragons boring. There’s a whiff of the rarely-seen Cohollo about it. While Viserion is better (always able to challenge with the Intimidate being optional is more valuable than lacking the icons but always having the Intimidate), it’s also competing with a staple chud version too. At least the art’s striking.

Dragon Gate (2.1 Average)

OKTarg – 2 out of 5

Targ likely could use the draw these days, but it’s not the easiest trigger on the Gates. I’m not sure it’s enough to push attachment use, but we’ll see. It is pretty nice in Qohor type builds, for sure, but it seems narrow.

scantrell24 – 2.5 out of 5

Dragon Gate looks for any attachments, not just Targ ones, and not just positive ones, so Milk of the Poppy works in addition to Targ staples like Crown of Gold and Queensguard. Also maybe Beggar King makes a comeback with Trade Routes now restricted? The Targ deluxe box is yet to come, and I would bet on more attachment love in it, so while Dragon Gate is one of the weaker gates now it could become better with future releases.

Von Wibble – 1.5 out of 5

Targ decks often just run Crown of Gold for attachments, and some are dropping this in fear of Balon “Lithgow” Greyjoy. Gifts for the Widow helps here but it will take some kind of new build to leverage this. Just in case that build becomes reality I’m not quite at a 1.

Hybrid92 – 1.5 out of 5

One of the weaker Gates, the only Targaryen decks that run lots of attachments are Qohor decks or Voltron Dany decks (sometimes they’re both the same thing).

hagarrr – 3 out of 5

This clearly isn’t the best of the Gates, but I like the push toward the attachment theme for Targaryen. Gifts for the Widow has made attachments more popular in-faction, and there are plenty of great Voltron targets available too. I hope there will be a few more attachments in this cycle to support this approach, but until then, Trading with Qohor seems the best fit.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 2 out of 5

Targ likes to draw cards, because they’re like a second economy for the faction. Unfortunately, only very specific Targ decks like to play multiple attachments, so expect to see this rarely if ever. At least, like Lanni with their pre-existing economy locations, Targ can console itself with Slaver’s Bay Port and Meereenese Market.







Southron Escort (2.1 Average)

OKTarg – 1 out of 5

This seems….not great. Paying a card to save two gold to get a vanilla dude out isn’t what I’m looking for in Martell. I guess it’s a Guard, which is fun in that strange Guard deck, but still….

scantrell24 – 2 out of 5

I’m not excited by a 4 strength bicon character that’s blank once it’s in play. The Action ability is missing something, like “Then, draw a card”.

Von Wibble – 3 out of 5

In Martell Assault this is an easy way to fuel Flea Bottom together with getting a decent body on the board. In other decks it is less likely to make the cut as the only shadows card you can really leverage with Flea Bottom is the Starfall Spy, and even then only if you can win the challenge to return him to shadows. Another card that works well in decks designed for it and is a bit meh otherwise.

Hybrid92 – 1.5 out of 5

A fine body for Shadows decks that can get them into play as a surprise, but you’re not saving any money as the total cost of putting into shadows and discarding another card from shadows still totals to 4. So unless you really need the surprise factor and have dud cards in shadows, you might as well just hardcost it. No keywords, the Ally trait, and not much else going for it makes for a pretty boring card all round.

hagarrr – 2 out of 5

This is not a card for every Martell deck. Discarding a card from shadows drives you toward the Shadow City and Flea Bottom tactic specifically, and with the Escort being rather vanilla, I’m not sure it’ll make the cut. Still, if you don’t need the draw from the Shadow City and want a free body on the board… why not?

Q&T Curmudgeons – 3 out of 5

We like tricksiness, even if this is a little clunky. The moment the Martell player has 2 cards in shadows, they can always threaten a 4 STR bicon body for free at any time. Throw in the prospect of combining it with Flea Bottom to discard Starfall Spy and then bring it straight back to hide it in shadows again, and there’ll be value here. Only for Assault, mind, and quite niche even there. The Guard trait will give pause, but we don’t think it adds anything that deck actually needs, so meh.







River Gate (2.4 Average)

OKTarg – 2 out of 5

Martell has better draw and better econ. They might want this for draw consistency if you’re running a non-Dorne as your restricted, but I’m skeptical.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

Any additional challenge calculus my opponent has to do is fine with me. For example, maybe he lets a chump unopposed intrigue through instead of defending and winning, or maybe he doesn’t initiate that military challenge when he knows it means I’m triggering Bastard Daughter AND Viper Eyes AND River Gate, etc. As with the other Gates, it’s worth a look at least.

Von Wibble – 2.5 out of 5

Some would argue that losing 2 challenges is easy, but I don’t like that your opponent has some control over when this triggers, especially given you can run Secret Schemes for good draw, and given that Dornish Fiefdoms are so good. If Dorne weren’t restricted I’d be rating this much lower, as is it can be decent for a Martell go first build.

Hybrid92 – 2 out of 5

Seems relatively easy enough to trigger, but Martell have some of the best card draw and economy in the game. With draw usually coming from Dorne and Secret Schemes, I don’t see them finding space for this Gate amid their other fantastic economy locations: Water Gardens, Dornish Fiefdoms, Summer Sea Ports, and Blood Orange Groves.

hagarrr – 2 out of 5

With Martell at the moment seemingly all about attrition and shadows, it feels odd to have a ‘lose to win’ style card. I hate that the opponent has the choice of whether you get the draw or not, and I think that makes it worse than others like Old Gate etc. I suppose if you’re losing it’s much easier to draw cards with this, so perhaps it’s good and I’m just bad?

Q&T Curmudgeons – 3 out of 5

Not bad. The trigger is opponent-reliant, but puts them in a rock and hard place (and many times you might be glad to have this out simply to put the opponent in that position even if you don’t intend to draw the cards). With a gap in easy card advantage now that Dorne is restricted, this might have a place as a poor man’s replacement?







Littlefinger (2.6 Average)

OKTarg – 3 out of 5

I think it’s okay–Lanni likes it with Never Bet and doesn’t hate filter, but it’s pretty expensive. The Stealth is nice, but I’m not sure how often you can actually pay for this (as opposed to cheating it out with Queen of Thorns or the like)

scantrell24 – 3.5 out of 5

I badly want this Littlefinger to be good because we waited so long for a second version. However, the cost is a touch high, the strength is a touch low (not enough to win by 5 for Rains, Pinch, etc.), and the draw is potentially clunky. I like that you can decide how many cards to send back at least.

Von Wibble – 3 out of 5

If this had been printed even a year ago (assuming shadows was a thing then of course) I’d have said the core version was too good for him to get a look in, and even now I’m not sure. Decks that trigger effects from shadows can fairly easily trigger him once every round, which is giving you good quality deck filter, particularly in decks that can rearrange the top card or care about the bottom card of the deck, namely Tyrell and Lannister. Any deck looking for key cards can do well by filtering 3 though. Pretty much the definition of a 3 out of 5 card, solid in the right deck, and that deck probably cheats him out for low cost!

Hybrid92 – 2 out of 5

A decent filter ability, but not doing much else means he’s probably too expensive to see play (or stick around on the board for long to get a solid use out of his filtering). Couple the fact that it’s limited to characters only, and characters only you control at that, makes for a pretty sad Littlefinger compared to the efficient core version. Stealth is the only thing stopping him from getting a 1 here from me.

hagarrr – 3 out of 5

Littlefinger is okay, probably a bit too pricey for my tastes. We all know that deck filter is good, and the placing of cards at the bottom of the deck has applications in Lannister (INBAMF) and Greyjoy (Lordsport Fisherman of course!). I like the stealth but I think he’s overcosted by 1. You’ll prefer to bring him out with Starfall Spies and Queens of Thorns for sure.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 1 out of 5

*Way* too pricey for just filtering. It’s not even good filtering either, because unlike, say, Oldtown Informer (which costs a third of the price, or a quarter if you bring this through shadows!), you have to give up the cards before you even see what replaces them. So if your hand is better than the top of your deck, you could be actually be doing…whatever the opposite of filter is. You could be retlifing your hand. Just play the core version and move on.









White Sword Tower (1.3 Average)

OKTarg – 1 out of 5

It’s just….not good. “Seed” cards for this which anticipate a fleshing out of their theme as often as not keep on waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting. Kingsguard might be the same.

scantrell24 – 1 out of 5

Too expensive for too little benefit, unless Kingsguard decks end up wanting the strength buff badly (future win by 5 triggers?). I guess it’s a decent card to have in the card pool just incase some obnoxious double-event-based combo starts circulating. Otherwise even in Kingsguard decks, it’s probably Rookery at best.

Von Wibble – 1.5 out of 5

At the moment this is a situationally OK card for matchups like Targaryen or Tyrell combo, but it could be much more, and the rating goes up for sure if more support is printed for Kingsguard. This and Loras suggest that this will happen.

Hybrid92 – 1 out of 5

Utter trash until Kingsguard decks become a thing, if they ever will be. And even if they do become a thing, I’m not sure this will be such an integral piece. The strength buff is cute, but the event clause is pretty much irrelevant for decks that aren’t Sea of Blood or combo because most decks don’t play more than 1 event per phase anyway. Just so lacklustre.

hagarrr – 1 out of 5

A minor strength buff to all Kingsguard you control is nice, except we still don’t have a reason to put Kingsguards in a deck together so what’s the point? I can’t see anybody playing Tentacle Tower for the event protection either. Binder fodder.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 2 out of 5

A deck with loads of event cancel might enjoy it, and it has some practicality in Melee, but in regular Joust decks you’re unlikely to be consistently facing decks that rely heavily on playing multiple events a round. 2 gold is steep for a card that might do nothing. And if you’re not running Kingsguard it’s even double-sided, so it could actively hurt you. If KG decks become a thing they might consider this as a 1x for the STR buff, with the event part being a small bonus, but this is certainly not an actual reason to build that deck in the first place.





City of Secrets (2.3 Average)

OKTarg – 3 out of 5

I actually like this quite a bit. It helps you filter and draw early, so decks looking for a key component and setting up the discard for Flea Bottom will find this useful. I’ll have to play it to see how allowing my opponent to also filter affects it, but that doesn’t stop people from playing Time of Plenty (admittedly a 6-gold plot, but still).

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

Any deck with At the Gates should give City of Secrets a long, hard look especially if Exchange doesn’t make sense with your card type ratios. I like it for combo or voltron decks that want to find the pieces ASAP with little regard for whatever the opponent is doing.

Von Wibble – 2 out of 5

With At the Gates being so strong, this card might as well read “both players draw 2 cards” in most matchups. If that is the case, play Exchange of Information or Time of Plenty instead. However, if other openers prove more popular in the meta then this becomes much stronger for it. It can also be an option to run this in decks without another City plot, as a way to fill the discard pile ready for Flea Bottom, or for Nights Watch to fill the opponents discard pile to use their 6 cost Wall.

Hybrid92 – 1.5 out of 5

This will be bad as long as At the Gates (and other City plots when they come out) are in the meta. Given At the Gates being as strong as it is, that might be for some time yet. Until then, I don’t know why I would want this worse version of Time of Plenty where my opponent gets 1 extra card and I get 2 less gold. Good initiative and reserve stops it from getting a rating of 1.

hagarrr – 2 out of 5

I’m not really a fan. As I imagine many will be opening At the Gates from now on, this is likely to be a lower gold, higher draw Time of Plenty. If your opponent counters this with a higher gold or higher impact plot, then I think they’re winning the plot game here. Pass.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 2 out of 5

Yeah, not our cup of tea. Drawing 2 cards is nice, but the problem is you only really want to do that if you’re playing City plots. If you’re playing City plots, presumably they’re good enough that your opponent may well be playing them too, and then this is dual-sided and just bad.







At the Gates (4.8 Average)

OKTarg – 4 out of 5

Very, very strong. I can’t quite give it a five since we’ve seen cards like Winter Reserves not have a ton of use and Building Orders for Roseroad isn’t exactly great tech. Sure, this is better than both of those, but is it enough better to move off of your current opener? Maybe. But not certainly, in my opinion.

scantrell24 – 5 out of 5

With At the Gates about to become the de-facto opening plot for many decks, we will see fewer Summer Harvests or Tradings on turn 1, and thus fewer explosive starts. More games should be on even footing after the first marshaling phase and I’m okay with that.

Von Wibble – 5 out of 5

Guaranteed economy, short of facing Rickon Stark! The ability to have Gates of the Moon out for +2 to every plot, or just a Roseroad if you prefer your opponent to be poorer, makes this a tough one not to include and use as your opener. Expect to see this and Varys’s Riddle as openers in most decks for a little while.

Hybrid92 – 5 out of 5

As a Baratheon player, I’m thanking R’hllor that we get an amazing economy plot that smoothes out some of our economy woes and lets us hit the ground running. As an AGOT LCG player, I’m concerned that this plot will reach obscene levels of ubiquity, more so than Time of Plenty ever did. At least with Time of Plenty you’re giving your opponent a card so it’s a bit of a trade-off. I feel like nobody will ever not open with this plot unless you’re desperate to win initiative for some reason.

hagarrr – 5 out of 5

The standout card of the pack, and that’s because it’s too good not to play. Guaranteed economy turn 1 with little to no counter, and it doesn’t even count as your limited card for the round. A bugbear of mine is ‘search your deck’ effects, as I feel the consistency gained is far too strong for a game that relies on a level of variance. This will probably go the same way as Trade Routes; ubiquitous, then restricted.

Q&T Curmudgeons – 5 out of 5

Words that came up in our thoughts on this card included “dull” ,”easy”, “yes”, “ubiquitous” and “sigh”. Maybe there’ll be some interplay between decks that want more gold round one and decks that want to set themselves up for the long-term with this, but we’re pretty certain this wins out. Best opener in the game and it’s not close.









Total Pack Average: 3.14

Top Cards:

At the Gates 4.8

Alysane Mormont 4.4

Flea Bottom Alley 4.3

Aged Craftsman 4.3

Bottom Cards:

White Sword Tower 1.3

Gods Gate 2.1

Dragon Gate 2.1

Southron Escort 2.1

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 box, and we’ll see you again soon to discuss the “City of Secrets” chapter pack!