Arya got to her feet, moving warily. The heads were all around her. She touched one, curious, wondering if it was real. Her fingertips brushed a massive jaw. It felt real enough. The bone was smooth beneath her hand, cold and hard to the touch. She ran her fingers down a tooth, black and sharp, a dagger made of darkness. It made her shiver.

Our staff has put together a first blush analysis of the newly released “Daggers in the Dark” 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!

Ser Jason Mallister (3.8 Average)





scantrell24 – 4 out of 5

Ser Jason has no less than three positive traits, solid stats, likely renown, and a situationally good ability, so he looks solid on paper, but he’s competing with Jory, Dacey, and Core Catelyn in a crowded 4 gold slot for Stark. Also, I’m wary of 4 gold renown characters with so many Wards floating around.

Von Wibble – 4 out of 5

So, he’s 2 characters in 1, depending on whether your opponent runs shadows or not. If not, he’s a solid french vanilla character with 3 good traits to boot. If they run shadows, even better, combined with Catelyn or Winterfell you can pretty much force them to play out their shadows as the first action of the challenges phase, or lose the card.

hagarrr – 3.5 out of 5

Jase seems alright. He has a good cost to strength ratio with some useful abilities and traits on top of that. House Tully, Knight, and Lord fits into many deck archetypes easily, and he either has renown, or the ability to discard a card in shadows from play (read as ‘make your opponent play their shadows card or overcommit to defend against him’). I expect he will be a 1x in Tully Rush, a 1x in a Knights deck, or a 1x in a shadows heavy meta. Solid.

Hybrid92 – 3.5 out of 5

He’s got a good ability with conditional renown, and his ability helps you meet the condition for renown. And even though it is conditional, it’s yet *another* Stark renown character. Shadows discard can become potent too as we get more and more shadows cards. If your meta is not particularly shadows heavy and you’re not triggering the ability, well, at least you get renown. At worst he’s a 4-for-4 bicon with three relevant traits.

Q&TR – 4 – The only way for him to be lousy is if you’re being forced to defend with him while your opponent has shadows cards. Or your opponent is playing Ward.









The Bastard’s Letter (2.5 Average)

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

It’s a great counter to Forced March, but Stark already has stand aplenty, and most Stark decks are more concerned with doing their own thing (renown) than with blowing up the opponent’s board. Is the Bastard’s Letter reason enough to run Stark Dragon with Hizdahr? Maybe.

Von Wibble – 3 out of 5

Standing your board and potentially killing multiple opposing characters is a big deal, but for a net 5 gold it had better be. Sometimes standing multiple characters will be incentive enough to play this even if they just attack with a Bastard Daughter. In practise, I think people will be very reluctant to attack a Stark player in military when they have an unknown card in shadows. A scary card even if you don’t include it in your deck!

hagarrr – 2.5 out of 5

Flashy and explosive, but probably not that good against savvy players. It’s a more expensive and easier to telegraph Watchers on the Wall, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you control a shadows card, have 3 gold, and more military strength than your opponent, I expect them to play around the possibility of this. You might say that the fact this card exists is actually better than playing it in decks, thus forcing the opponent to play around threats that aren’t there. Stark do not have many sources of surprise gold, but cards like The Iron Bank Will Have Its Due can help force that Shagga play you’re looking for!

Hybrid92 – 2 out of 5

Expensive and spooky looking, but probably won’t see too much play despite the hysteria. Sure, in the rare instance that your opponent has a card in shadows AND 3 gold or Hizdahr AND enough military icons and strength to win the military challenge on defence, then yeah, I might consider not making the military challenge. Outside of that rare situation, it’s just a 5 gold conditional stand effect.

Q&TR – 2 out of 5

Ramsay needs to take a seminar in typesetting and reformat that letter. The event is somewhat telegraphed, meaning it’s probably more about the stand than it is about the kill – but the former is pretty easily mitigated by your opponent. Definitely fun in melee.









Shrewd Diplomat (2.3 Average)

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

That Highgarden + Offer of a Peach + Grand Melee deck just got another piece. The redundancy of yet another “remove from the challenge” effect might make those decks more consistent, but they’re still probably too slow and expensive.

Von Wibble – 2 out of 5

If you squint, he’s a non loyal Areo Hotah! However, his strength is lower, Tyrell would prefer a cheap military icon, and he stands the character targeted. Overall that seems expensive for what you get, but I can still see some potential, either in a banner deck with Arianne Martell, or just as another easy Mace trigger, though the restricted list hurts that a bit.

hagarrr – 2 out of 5

Shrewd Diplomat is essentially a crap Areo Hotah. Standing and removing the target character is worse, the body is worse, and Tyrell have power icons in spades. So why would you play it? If anyone can afford it, Tyrell can, and the ability to pay for it over two rounds via shadows isn’t insignificant. Coupled with Tyrell’s myriad options for challenge control, this could be another cog in that horrible machine, and at the very least, the Diplomat can be brought out of shadows via QoT to stand QoT so she can attack again.

Hybrid92 – 1.5 out of 5

“Crap Areo Hotah” is just about the best description for this card. I’ll give it an extra 0.5 because it has the versatility of being either amushed or brought out of shadows.

Q&TR – 3 out of 5

A discount Areo Hotah (Core), both expensive and annoying. We’re distracted by the ‘combo’ with Shadows Queen of Thorns that lets you stand her after you’ve used her to win the challenge.







Arbor Marketplace (4.6 Average)

scantrell24 – 5 out of 5

I had a 26 strength Randyll Tarly in a game last night. Just thought ya’ll should know we’ve reached that point.

Von Wibble – 4.5 out of 5

This works perfectly within your deck, a small strength pump is sufficient to get Randyll or Courtiers working, and we have seen the non limited economy is strong even with a less exiting effect. The only problem is that the character has to be participating, making the burn matchup risky unless you are first player.

hagarrr – 4.5 out of 5

This non-limited economy is strong. Stand effects are saturating the metagame at the moment, with Targaryen, Stark, and Big Vic with his enormous Stick all at the forefront of the competitive game with their multitude of stand effects. What better for Tyrell then, than a non-unique non-limited economy location which will stand Randyll during any challenge, or indeed stand anyone as long as you control a Highgarden Courtier?

Hybrid92 – 4 out of 5

It’s no Northern Armory or Meereenese Market but it’s right up there. Non-limited economy that can help you push through challenges or stand certain characters is nothing to be sneezed at.

Q&TR – 5 out of 5

One of us wanted to rate this lower to make a point of how gaining a new econ piece will impact Tyrell less than it has other decks, even though the card is great. The others called him out for not remembering Highgarden Courtier exists, and how important Pinch of Powder’s win by 5 is.







Nightfort Builder (3.3 Average)

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5

A 2 for 2 power icon with a positive trait and a repeatable 30-40% chance of a draw will see play. Nightfort Builder is the nail in the coffin for Young Builder, who rarely made it out of the binder to begin with.

Von Wibble – 3 out of 5

Card draw is nice, and unlike a certain Baratheon maester this one works in addition to granting you his strength. Of course, it’s not a guaranteed hit (unless you take Rose shenanigans) so he loses points there.

hagarrr – 2.5 out of 5

Aahhh look at the Nightfort Builder, contentedly but intensely hammering an oversized nail into a random bit of wall with his oversized mallet. Glorious. I’m not sure his ability is super good though. I don’t recall NW having any deck manipulation, and so this is down to random chance. NW Builders probably don’t mind the effect with a potential free draw, but he isn’t very exciting. On the plus side, you don’t do anything specific for the draw, you just get it as a by-product of playing your normal game. Whatever.

Hybrid92 – 3 out of 5

Bizarre and unnecessarily intense artwork. The card itself is fine and an easy include for Builder decks.

Q&TR – 4 out of 5

Obviously a rating for Builders, as other decks will likely just run Hobb. But in builders – yup, a clear 4.







Daggers in the Dark (2.5 Average)

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

Daggers is weirdly similar to another card in this same pack, the Bastard’s Letter. It also bears resemblance to Watcher on the Walls. Maybe it’s worth running both to really punish the opponent for daring to attack at all? Night’s Watch has few other reasons to save gold for the Challenges phase, so this will be somewhat telegraphed.

Von Wibble – 2.5 out of 5

It’s nice to see Night’s Watch get a decent trick! Even if your opponent chooses to sacrifice 2 characters, that assumes they have 2 cheap characters they are happy to lose. I can’t see defensive Wall decks using it as chances are the challenges they win will be against chuds, so little value is gained there. But any other deck has a use for this for sure. Expensive, but possibly worth it.

hagarrr – 3 out of 5

I’m not entirely sure how to evaluate this card. It is most impactful when the boards are small, allowing you to either target kill the attacking character providing you can win, or force your opponent to sacrifice their board. If you are playing the Stealy Wall, your opponent may be reluctant to take the sacrifice option, preferring to let the attacking character die. Yet the higher calibre of character you want to kill, the more resources you must commit to defending, winning, then paying for this event. I don’t like this much, but a better player than me will appreciate this more for sure.

Hybrid92 – 3 out of 5

I think this card is a great boost for defence decks if they can afford it. An added punishment for for the attacker losing a challenge will cause opponents to think twice about attacking the Wall. It will also have a home in NW attrition but maybe only as a 1x due to its cost.

Q&TR – 1 out of 5

If only Jon Snow had had 2 friends to sacrifice themselves. Look, winning on defense means you’re rarely killing something really big, and if you are, they have a buy-out. Far too expensive for what it does.







Red Ronnet (3.8 Average)

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5

I am absolutely looking forward to a Bara Dragon deck with Red Ronnet, Banished from the Light, Hizadahr, and Hired Assassin.

Von Wibble – 4 out of 5

Claim raise is powerful, and unlike, say, core Cersei, this one works on any challenge you throw Ronnet into. Now, in practise this probably reads as “raise the claim unless your opponent plays out his card(s) from shadows”. And that can happen. But they won’t always want to do that as it may be a sub-optimal time to do so. Or maybe they can’t afford that Robert Strong this turn. Or, maybe they just got Banished from the Light and have no choice in the matter. The problem for Ronnet is that Baratheon are actually quite competitive at the 4 cost slot. But I have a feeling that with Assault from the Shadows coming out, this is the right time to run 1 of him, and will be for a while. No attachments except weapon is a nice little cherry for the cake too!

hagarrr – 4 out of 5

Claim raising abilities are powerful, and now Baratheon have the ability to pressurise the opponent in both military and power challenges providing the criteria is met. Usually, having a card this dependent on the opponents’ deck is bad, yet we seem to be on the brink of some playable Shadows decks out of Lannister, Tyrell, and Martell. Furthermore, the other Baratheon card in this pack generates a combination that really hurt a board; winning power to play Banished on your opponent, and then following in with Red Ronnet in military. The no attachment except Weapon clause will be frustrating for those running Milks to counter threats too.

Hybrid92 – 4 out of 5

Completely disagree with Von Wibble that Baratheon’s 4 cost is competitive. It isn’t. Davos and Cortnay are the two auto-includes, often at just a 1x. Beyond that you’re forced to dip your toes into mediocre characters like Stannis’ Cavalry. I’d much prefer to play Red Ronnet – claim raise is huge, especially on a No Attachments character, and it could force your opponent to make sub-optimal plays with their shadows cards. The Banished from the Light combo with this guy is neat.

Q&TR – 3 out of 5

Surprisingly divisive, between the camp arguing shadows is common enough that he’ll actually be pretty reliable, and the camp comparing him to Jason Mallister and highlighting all the different ways he’s worse. So… compromise rating which means nothing. But since the compiler is part of the pessimistic camp, he wants to make sure you know that people can pull cards out of shadows before the challenge resolves.









Banished from the Light (3.9 Average)

scantrell24 – 5 out of 5

In any other faction this would be a 4, or maybe even just a 3, but Bara is so desperate for something new that I think it becomes an important card for them. Only dupe saves will protect the character — not Bodyguards or Iron Mines, etc.

Von Wibble – 4 out of 5

This card scares me, possibly more than Pinch of Powder. Whilst it doesn’t trigger off intrigue challenges, it works on attack or defense, and does not require a win by 5. The trade off is pretty similar, its not quite as good as returning to hand because they might have the gold to play the card out, and it can’t be pulled for intrigue. But you do get to raise claim with Red Ronnet or discard it with Jason Mallister!

Also, unlike Pinch or other removal effects, this can be used positively on your own characters to enable an enters play trigger – as long as you have the gold!

hagarrr – 3.5 out of 5

What’s this? Another playable Baratheon card? Things are looking up! This R’hllor event requires only that you win a power challenge, an achievable task for any faction, but especially Baratheon with their many power control tools. Now the event is quite expensive, but will create a significant tempo hit to your opponent, as well as triggering Melisandre and enabling Red Ronnet. You can even banner Dragon for those Hired Assassins and kill that character if you’re feeling flush. I like that Baratheon are getting cards to impact the board more through their power challenges, and this card should help to increase their competitive viability.

Hybrid92 – 4 out of 5

Huge card. With kneel dead and buried in this meta, it’s great to see Baratheon getting other control options. The ability to bounce a character out of play into the opponent’s shadows area can be a huge tempo hit, especially if that character is a centrepiece, or has attachments or power on it. A great way to get rid of dupes before VM/Varys too. Well worth its cost, and relatively easy to trigger for Baratheon.

Q&TR – 3 out of 5

The Bara cards are causing a continued ‘regulars schism here. Normally we can all agree to be pessimistic about a high gold-cost tempo play dependent on challenge wins, but the lack of win-by-5 and the fact that locking a 7 coster out in “no reducer land” may often be as good as permanent removal are points in its favour. If the meta’s giving you high value targets, half of us feel you should give this card a spin.







Cersei Lannister (4.1 Average)

scantrell24 – 3.5 out of 5

She’s still a couple cards away from realizing her full potential, but Shadows Cersei could become a workhorse by the end of the next cycle. The lack of any text outside of her discard ability concerns me. I’d like this Cersei a lot more with stealth or insight.







Von Wibble – 4 out of 5

Whether Cersei sees play or not depends on how often you can get shadows triggers. Even with Assault coming in this pack, that’s only 1 reliable trigger per round, so I’d say either of the other Cersei’s gives you more bang for your buck in that scenario. If you can consistently get 2 or more triggers per round then this could be the centrepiece of a new deck though. Cards like Clever Feint could make that a thing. By the end of the next cycle this could be a 5!

hagarrr – 5 out of 5

I am genuinely terrified of this Cersei Lannister. I absolutely hate having cards removed from my hand, and unlike Core Cersei or LotR Cersei, you don’t even need to win challenges to do it. The requirement of bringing cards from shadows indicates that she is certainly a build-around centrepiece, and it’s not inconceivable that with the Assault from the Shadows agenda, Lannister players can discard at least two cards from your hand before even any intrigue claims. The repetitive nature of this threat is excellent, and despite my hatred for losing cards, I’m looking forward to seeing this deck come to fruition.

Hybrid92 – 4 out of 5

A centrepiece Cersei for a deck that isn’t quite there yet but I imagine soon will be. 2-3 random discards from Cersei even before intrigue claim or other discard effects will leave you with few options in hand before you know it. If those decks also have effective kill effects or resets then your situation in relation to playing cards out becomes a bit of “damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”

Q&TR – 4 out of 5

She won’t replace the other two Cerseis in general, but challenge-free card advantage makes this a better support for pure control, and as such, this card warrants a look – although it fits into a deck that doesn’t exist yet. A deck, we might add, that runs Underhanded Methods and Clever Feint. A tough sell against decks that don’t care as much about card advantage (*cough* Mereen *cough*)







Underhanded Methods (2.0 Average)

scantrell24 – 2 out of 5

A non-terminal attachment with Shadow 0 is interesting for triggering other cards, but this card’s own effect is so minimal that it almost might at well be blank.

Von Wibble – 2 out of 5

I’d say the payoff occurs when you have 3 or more cards in shadows as 2 strength is worth 1 gold as a rule. As a sneaky strength pump it’s not terrible even if it just wins you 1 challenge. As with Cersei I think it’s a decent card in a deck that is gradually coming together. Unlike Cersei, I’m not sure if it beats all competition – why not just use banner of the Rose for example? This has potential but is one for the long term.

hagarrr – 2 out of 5

On the surface, this attachment seems fairly underwhelming. We’ve not yet seen decks that have more than one or two cards in shadows, which makes this appear to be quite bad. The new agenda improves the odds though, and Clever Feint will power this up in the mid to late game. The fact that this is a (0) cost shadow trigger will be great for Shadows Cersei and Bowels of Casterly Rock in the Lanni Assault deck. Outside of a dedicated shadows deck, it’s garbage of course.

Hybrid92 – 1 out of 5

Boring. You have to have a lot of cards in shadows for it to offer more strength than a Widow’s Wail.

Q&TR – 3 out of 5

A 3 that isn’t a compromise rating. Exactly the kind of card the shadows deck needs to round itself out, and being non-terminal and shadows 0 are major selling points. While you might wonder what Lanni needs STR for, the answer has Lucas Reed’s face on it (regardless of whether you or your opponent is running it).







Moqorro (2.6 Average)

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5

I could see Moqorro pairing with Besieged, Rose box Margaery and Lion box Victarion. He needs a deck built around him. You can’t afford to save 5 gold and hope that your opponent defends with a bomb – you need to manufacture it.

Von Wibble – 2 out of 5

Huge effect for sure, but at a very high price, and not helped by Vince’s presence in the meta. At least in Greyjoy you can cancel Vince with your own Vince…Now, a best case scenario sees this removing, say, your opponents Renly Baratheon with 4 power on him, but in practise challenges are often defended by chuds, and the good characters usually attack – the threat of this card plus 5 gold will make that the case even if it doesn’t see play. It may do wonders for you in 1 game, but I think Moqorro will achieve little most of the time.

hagarrr – 3 out of 5

I’m not sure why, but I irrationally think Moqorro is amazing. It’s almost definitely because he bears a striking resemblance to good ol’ fatherly Santy Claus. Anyhow, Moqorro looks quite potent, but he’s almost certainly too expensive for a regular Greyjoy goodstuff deck. If I ever have in excess of 5 gold saved as Greyjoy, it’s when I’ve run out of cards! He could be used in a deck with TIBWHID to recur your Newly Made Lords to hand for example to then fund Moqorro, and the useful thing is that only duplicates can save from his effect. Unfortunately the added restriction of only targeting a defending character narrows the scope further, but I’m sure there will still be some brave janky souls who will attempt to do something horrible with Moqorro and Ser Gregor Clegane.

Hybrid92 – 2 out of 5

The effect is powerful but the cost is very high. I guess you could view it as an event and a body in one, but the body sucks so, whatever.

Q&TR – 3 out of 5

What’s the opposite of a discount Areo Hotah (Core)? You pay a premium, the swing is bigger, and he comes with Greyjoy’s trademarked power monocon. He makes a pretty cool one-of, but the combo potential in an already decent Tyrell/Kraken with Olenna can put them between a Pinch of Powder and a Moqorro.







Rhymes with Meek (3.9 Average)

scantrell24 – 5 out of 5

Flexible cost, can be setup, easy triggering condition, big payoff — what’s not to like? I don’t expect Meek in every Greyjoy deck, but many could benefit from 2-3 copies.

Von Wibble – 4 out of 5

For the 1 extra gold, I think the shadows option usually wins out here, and drawing 3 cards for doing what a lot of Greyjoy decks do anyway seems really good. However, getting unopposed challenges with shadows cards around to negate stealth is difficult unless the deck is going for rush, in which case they need all the gold they can get, so I’m going for a generous 4.

hagarrr – 3.5 out of 5

A 3.5 rating out of 5 might suggest to you that I don’t think this card is amazing. On the contrary, I like it a lot. Greyjoy are struggling for card draw, with all of their top builds still heavily reliant on Counting Coppers or Exchange of Information, and so a draw event sounds great. The best way to ensure you will draw 3 cards though is to build toward engineering unopposed, an archetype which isn’t that strong currently, especially with shadows decks ready to emerge. However with Greyjoy Pinch decks running amok, it will probably pull its weight there.

Hybrid92 – 4 out of 5

Card draw is one of the weak spots of Greyjoy outside of pillage Asha, so I think Greyjoy players will welcome this card. It’s also good that you can choose whether to play it from hand or shadows. I’m not sure what Reek has to do with unopposed challenges though.

Q&TR – 3 out of 5

You haven’t been playing Insidious Schemes, have you? On the other hand, the shadows synergies, the ability to set-it-up, and the easier trigger mean that if you can slot it in, you probably won’t regret it.







Brazen Beast (1.6 Average)

scantrell24 – 1.5 out of 5

Too expensive for too little payoff.

Von Wibble – 1.5 out of 5

As a vanilla 4 for 4 bicon I’d say it’s a bit behind the curve, so needs a decent effect. I’m not convinced this is it. On paper, its a card you can discard for Qotho, Plaza of Pride, etc, but the cost of 6 to get it into play from your discard pile is huge. Yes, Hiazdahr can reduce this, but then you are discarding more cards, and wouldn’t you rather just reduce a good card instead?

hagarrr – 2 out of 5

Bland. Targaryen already have a lot of mil/int bicons in Aggo, Qotho, Rhaegal, Jorah, Quaithe etc. I don’t think they will especially relish the opportunity to put another one in their decks that has no useful ability. If you’re struggling for characters and these are in the discard pile, then you can pay a total of 6 gold to get these on the board. It’s not amazing but it helps if you’re in a dire position. I don’t think these will see a lot of play.

Hybrid92 – 1 out of 5

A vanilla body with a borderline useful ability of coming into play after being discarded for one of Targ’s many discard effects. Shame it has to go the long way through shadows, and with a 2 gold fee over their hardcost price. Pass.

Q&TR – 2 out of 5

It’s a way to turn gold into cards, and that’s something Targ could really make use of with its easy discard triggers. But it’s a way to do that pretty inefficiently. Anything you can do to fix that efficiency reflects more on how good Hizdahr is than this card, except that Guard themed Martell/Dragon deck. That one is gonna be sick!







Gifts for the Widow (3.6 Average)

scantrell24 – 2 out of 5

There are no restrictions regarding the target attachment (besides cost) or the target character (besides one you control), so it could be part of a broken combo eventually. Until then, I’m not a huge fan. Just run Qohor if you really want to tutor for attachments.

Von Wibble – 3.5 out of 5

It would be wrong if Targ got 2 bad cards in 1 chapter pack, this isn’t the first cycle after all! As well as providing a nice way to find your Queensguard for Drogo, Balon, Victarion, Renly, and all the other Dany supporters who have let themselves be known over the last month or so, this works very nicely in Qohor to just get you started with the attachment you need. Cost X makes Hand’s Judgement a risk for sure, but for many decks its one worth taking.

hagarrr – 4 out of 5

Searching your deck for those important positive attachments seems great. I’m all for any card that promotes the use of attachments, and I can see these being used especially in Qohor or Voltron decks. We have already seen the public dismay over the possibility of tutoring for Queensguard, but having that cancelled for 0 with Hand’s Judgment will be strong. No doubt we will see this very soon on Thronesdb when Nicolo Merusi runs it 3x in his latest tournament winning Alliance banner Qohor banner Dragon deck!

Hybrid92 – 3.5 out of 5

As mentioned, this is a Qohor and Voltron card – nothing more.

Q&TR – 5 out of 5

Not only is it good, but we like it as an enabler. It’s a whole deck-tutor that break even on gold and cards, and you’d rather draw this than the attachment itself. This kind of effect is too intrinsically powerful, the card non-loyal, and FFG’s playtesting too shabby for us to imagine this won’t be part of some ridiculous deck in the near future. Caveat: This still doesn’t make the “Dany only” attachments good, just slightly less awful.







Starfall Spy (4.5 Average)

scantrell24 – 5 out of 5

It’s getting hard to keep track of all the different Spies, Assassins, Diplomats, Informers, Emissaries, etc. Martell will be an extremely popular main faction or Banner for shadows decks because of Starfall Spy enabling shenanigans.

Von Wibble – 5 out of 5

If any card is going to make shadows work, this is the one. Whilst winning a challenge seems an unusual requirement for Martell, their icon stripping options should make this possible in general, and this lets you cheat high cost characters into play if used with the agenda, and when used with a banner it can let you trigger effects like Moqorro (OK maybe not) or Robert Strong, saving a fair bit of money.

hagarrr – 4.5 out of 5

The Starfall Spy is a great card for Martell decks that have a heavy shadows presence, bringing both tempo and economic advantage provided the reaction can be triggered (whatever happened to ‘when you lose a challenge..’?). With the Assault agenda, the Spy can bring in any card, and doesn’t even need to be participating alone. Yet if shadows QoT is the benchmark for being a repeatable shadows economy engine, the Starfall Spy loses half a mark for returning herself to shadows, meaning you have to pay for her again.

Hybrid92 – 5 out of 5

Super good, especially with so many expensive shadows cards around. For once I’m very happy to hardcost a 3-for-2. This is a stellar chud.

Q&TR – 3 out of 5

Discount Queen of Thorns? Man, she’s come up a lot this pack, I guess those shadows themes are finally hitting critical mass… at the end of a cycle. As this one is non-loyal, so we’d be shocked if she didn’t find an application somewhere.







Blood of the Viper (1.0 Average)

scantrell24 – 1 out of 5

There’s no compelling reason to run this. It’s a missed design opportunity.

Von Wibble – 1 out of 5

The effect is fine, standing a character in order to have it participate in multiple challenges. If you can make a sand snake into a tricon (maybe using Nymeria’s icon stealing ability), and if your opponent doesn’t have stealth then you can oppose all challenges. However, the biggest problem is that the Sand Snake characters just aren’t that impactful in challenges, with a strength 4 bicon, possibly with stealth granted by Elia being about the best they can do. So is this really worth it? Until this can be attached to Ellaria Sand I’ll pass.

hagarrr – 1 out of 5

This is rotten. It would be a lot better if there were any Sand Snake characters worth standing, but most of them are weak, low cost, and low impact. If they release a 7g Sand Snake with a powerful effect upon losing, this gets better. Until then, BIN.

Hybrid92 – 1 out of 5

Vengeful is back! Except this time it’s a 1-cost Sand Snake only attachment. Next.

Q&TR – 1 out of 5

Our dear sandsnake sisters in the artwork have probably laid gaze upon this very card, and we mirror their reaction of shock, anger and disgust (from right to left).







“On a Misty Morn” (2.8 Average)

scantrell24 – 2 out of 5

I can’t imagine running Misty Morn without a multiple specific non-uniques that I want to recur. Maybe in a deck with Saltcliffe Sailor and Cersei’s Informer, for example.

Von Wibble – 2.5 out of 5

If your deck runs plenty of non uniques, then this might as well read “draw 2 cards”. That’s not a bad effect for 1 gold, but the trade-off is that those 2 cards are probably less impactful than your unique guys. Nonetheless, as a song it could see play, and as a way for Martell in particular to get a board back up and running after a reset it’s also solid.

hagarrr – 3 out of 5

I like this event, mainly for its ability to recur Vince to my hand. Lovely! This seems generally useful in a Drowned God deck in case Tarle/Aeron fail to show up, and is pseudo-draw if your deck has plenty of non-unique characters. Even recurring just a couple of reducers can help keep your board safe, as well as cards like Vanguard Lancers, Bastard Daughters, Begging Brothers, Newly Made Lords, House Florent Knights…..

Hybrid92 – 2.5 out of 5

It’s handy when you’ve got the right characters in your dead pile, like Vince, Newly Made Lords, House Florent Knights, Bolton Flayers, and so on, but I don’t think it’ll see too much play because competitive decks don’t have the space for it.

Q&TR – 4 out of 5

Card advantage is perfectly reasonable. Throw in utility with getting Vince back to hand and we think it’s amazing.

Assault from the Shadows (4.5 Average)

scantrell24 – 3.5 out of 5

I look forward to testing the wide range of applications this agenda opens up, but I’m concerned by the gold penalty, and the inability to use non-Hizdahr reducers on the cards you put into shadows.







Von Wibble – 4.5 out of 5

I think this has a lot of potential as an agenda, and it finally makes all those pieces we have seen through the packs become good. It looks like Tyrell, Lannister, and Martell have the best options, with all of these factions having “economy” from shadows as well as ways to put cards into and out of shadows more easily. Martell also can use this as another way to pull off cheap enters play effects, as cards such as Areo Hotah only cost 3 to play out through this agenda. The downside is very real, but in practise as long as you use the agenda every turn you net 1 gold, and can use it on any card, making it better than fealty. Because cards aren’t marshalled from shadows you can also use this to play out 2 limiteds in a round, or if you want to, dupe the Arbor! Also if you put Hand’s Judgement into shadows it becomes free to play against any event, hence my concerns that it will be a force against those expensive shadows events in this pack. Overall, I can see this agenda making for some fun decks.

hagarrr – 4.5 out of 5

I have no idea why FFG just didn’t release this in the first Chapter Pack of the cycle. The ability to out any card into shadows and give it the shadows keyword would have kick-started the entire mechanic. As far as the agenda is concerned, it allows for more shadows cards, which is mostly relevant for Martell (The Shadow City), Tyrell (Oldtown Undercity), and Lannister (Bowels of Casterly Rock). The increased number of cards emerging from shadows makes those ‘engine’ locations playable finally, and breathes new life into the game with the expected resurgence of the aforementioned factions. Aside from Hand’s Judgment cancelling events for 0, and bypassing the limited restrictions, this agenda makes some ambush cheaper too; Areo Hotah and Southron Messengers love this!

Hybrid92 – 5 out of 5

A very interesting and well designed agenda, well done to the champ. The potential applications of this card are numerous: put a character in shadows to protect from resets and intrigue claim for later use, put a character with an enters play effect into shadows for a surprise trigger, bring out more limited economy to bypass the limited keyword, bring out attachments from shadows for surprise triggers or strength pumps, and so much more. Brilliant.

Q&TR – 5 out of 5

Between the econ angle (if you have a Shadows card in hand this is basically Fealty with no downside), the limited angle (i.e. it gets round the limited keyword), the surprise factor of introducing cards through shadows you wouldn’t expect, the reducing of ambush costs (someone like Hotah gets Shadow (3) not (5)), the tricks you can do with the likes of Dornish Spy and Queen of Thorns, and the general wheel-greasing for shadows decks, yeah this is a 5.







Varys (3.5 Average)

scantrell24 – 3.5 out of 5

The poor guy has been robbed of his power icon! Four strength with stealth is decent, but with only a single icon you’re mostly playing this Varys for his kill ability, not his challenge prowess. He’s worth a 1x in any deck with shadows QoT or Starfall Spy.

Von Wibble – 3.5 out of 5

Another expensive but impactful character ability for Vince to cancel! Unlike Moqorro, the stealth makes Varys at least useable after he is in play, the character doesn’t have to be defending, and the cost can be reduced. I’d say cost 3-4 is probably the sweet spot, so the question becomes whether or not you expect to have enough cards in shadows. Alternatively, just use the Starfall Spy to cheat him into play! He sees play, but so does core Varys with resets being probably at their weakest in the meta for some time.

hagarrr – 4 out of 5

The renown keyword takes a battering here, as characters with renown are most likely to die to Varys. Shadow (8) is expensive, but this is decreased for every card in shadows, including those of your opponent. Like Core Varys, it’s sad if the ability gets cancelled with Begging Brother/Vince/Treachery etc. I expect decks that have a way of screening for cancels (Martell!) will be able to abuse him best, and once he is in play, he’s still reasonably serviceable as a stealth intrigue character.

Hybrid92 – 3.5 out of 5

With renown saturating the game right now, this is a great hard control option. But with so much cancel around and Varys’ steep cost, one icon, and Ally trait – would it have killed them to make the ability cannot be saved?

Q&TR – 3 out of 5

Look, we’ve had cutesy “First card of the cycle is in the prologue of the book”, but this turns all that on its head for a thematic, shadows-feeling Varys straight from the epilogue. In the right deck, he’s fantastic – although we predicted the cries (see Hybrid92)’s review about it being savable.

Ravages of War (1.2 Average)

scantrell24 – 1 out of 5

Maybe this replaces False Spring in Martell Kraken hand control, but even that’s iffy, and not a tier 1 deck anyways.

Von Wibble – 1 out of 5

This strikes me as a plot that works well if your opponent has cards in shadows and you don’t, and also if your opponent has cards in hand, characters or locations out but you don’t. I don’t plan to be in that position myself. I can see some niche uses for it, the fact you choose which card is discarded could allow Targ some tricks with Missandei, and having Second Sons ready for Flea Bottom can’t be a bad thing either. But in general I’m not seeing why I’d use a plot slot for this over something like Marched or Nothing Burns.

hagarrr – 1 out of 5

“FFG pls. This is another stinker force fed down our expectant mouths, as we hope for a tasty morsel and instead get this rotten spoonful of crap” is what I wrote about the plot in the previous pack. I think I feel the same way about Ravages of War. This is so broad in the assortment of effects, you’d need to distort a deck specifically to make the best of it. What decks run 0 shadows cards, doesn’t mind losing a card from their hand, and doesn’t mind sacrificing a location or character? A faction like Stark could maybe run this with Wards and North Remembers etc, but put simply, there are other better plot options to enact that game plan. This would have just been much better if it did one of those options well, rather than those three effects badly.



Hybrid92 – 1 out of 5

The only time I could ever see myself using this would be as a win-more plot where I already have a dominant board presence with cards in hand… but if I’m already winning why not play Marched or a 2-claim plot? This plot is bad.

Q&TR – 2 out of 5

We’re not even sure why we gave it a two. This review was supposed to be some pun or cutesy joke, but we couldn’t even think of a good one.

Total Pack Average: 3.1

Top Cards:

Arbor Marketplace 4.6

Starfall Spy 4.5

Assault from the Shadows 4.5

Cersei Lannister 4.1

Bottom Cards:

Blood of the Viper 1.0

Ravages of War 1.2

Brazen Beast 1.6

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 “King of the Isles” deluxe box!