Sure, he's 7-cost and a mono-con. But...that ability. Pillage can be painful anyway but this adds real danger if you end up ditching a high-cost character. And you still have to fulfill normal Military claim. And even if you can block him, 10 STR means you have probably had to drop at least a couple guys to stave him off...

This card is a trap. It is so fragile especially as a monocon:

That ability is answerable in many ways, off the top of my head:

Milk of the Poppy, Nymeria sand, Fortified Position, Treachery, He has little early board defence against Tears (as you have used all your gold for him and not intrigue icons), The New Maester of Starfall that is coming in the next pack that can remove pillage and can be got with 'Here to serve' plot as well as Caleotte will take away his one icon. Areo Hotah can remove him once in the challenge if bounced in, he can be stealthed. The 2 baratheon cards that stop mil or pow challenges nullify him, Filthy accusations or any kneel mechanic can subdue him. Ghaston will discard to return him to your hand, , fishing net+throwing axe combo, Varys, Unbowed...

Positive is that he may hit on a Calm over Westeros turn and good on a sneak attack turn if the above don't arise, and even then if you do win a challenge you may not hit.

Oh.. and Mare in Heat removes him from the challenge.

That ability is answerable in many ways, off the top of my head:   Milk of the Poppy, Nymeria sand, Fortified Position, Treachery, He has little early board defence against Tears (as you have used all your gold for him and not intrigue icons), The New Maester of Starfall that is coming in the next pack that can remove pillage and can be got with 'Here to serve' plot as well as Caleotte will take away his one icon. Areo Hotah can remove him once in the challenge if bounced in, he can be stealthed. The 2 baratheon cards that stop mil or pow challenges nullify him, Filthy accusations or any kneel mechanic can subdue him. Ghaston will discard to return him to your hand, , fishing net+throwing axe combo, Varys, Unbowed...

Still, he remains a 7-coster with a single icon and a situational effect. This card is mediocre.

Still, he remains a 7-coster with a single icon and a situational effect. This card is mediocre.

He remains a non loyal 7-coster with a single icon, 10 Strenght, 2 positive traits, renown, pillage and a situational effect (that can become great in melee). He can be worked around, sure, but it will see play. He is far from mediocre, there are worse 7 costers out there already.

Wow--I kicked off a debate without meaning to

So, to be clear, as much as I think he's a great character I never meant to imply that he was either the best 7-cost character or that his ability couldn't be worked around--it absolutely can be worked around. But that's the game. 

First thing first: 7 gold is a lot, no doubt, but it's less in Lannister than in any other House. They can afford it. 

And I wouldn't underestimate the board presence of a 10 STR character with that ability, even as a mono-con (and with 10 STR, I might consider some icon addition). He's a threat on the board that demands a response sooner rather than later. You probably don't want to Milk him as that still leaves him as a big stick (and he's powerful enough that you're worried about Put to the Sword/Torch). Lannister's good at defending against Tears but if one gets through I would rather it hit this guy than Tywin or Tyrion or Jamie. 

And for all those other effects mentioned? Those are tools in my opponents toolbox--they're going to hit someone. If they want to use their resources turn-after-turn handling him then I am more than willing to let them while I play my own dirty Lannister tricks elsewhere. 

And that's all assuming I'm playing him in a Lannister-prime deck. He would fit in just as well in a Tyrell deck so he could utilize effects like Mare in Heat or Lady Sansa's Rose. Or A Stark deck where he would gain protection from a lot of the effects that can block him. 

Like I said--not the best 7-cost character. But I think he's better than he may appear on the surface. 

My Quote Button doesn't seem to work atm, but in relation to xchan.

You will be more susceptible to Tears if you play him especially early game as by marshalling him, you are not marshalling intrigue icons needed to defend against Tears. Lannister's SHOULD have enough intrigue icons to defend however by playing this that is 7 gold you are not spending on intrigue icons.

Sure you can add little birds and noble lineage if you just so happen to have them in hand when he is in play, but then he is a 9 coster, and then he is 3 cards in your deck to make just him effective. Then you are cutting two cards to make way for these attachments.

Sure this card will make a lot of decks as it has a shiny ability and strength, but it lacks versatility, so actually marshalling it and seeing it in play a lot I don't think will happen as you will play other cards in your hand that aren't it.

^ This plus the fact that Lanni, who normally do not care about opposing Tears, by introducing Gregor to their decks, make Tears relevant against them. And whoever thinks that Lanni never lose INT challenges, he'd better reconsider fast or he's in for some nasty surprises down the road.

My Quote Button doesn't seem to work atm, but in relation to xchan.

 

You will be more susceptible to Tears if you play him especially early game as by marshalling him, you are not marshalling intrigue icons needed to defend against Tears. Lannister's SHOULD have enough intrigue icons to defend however by playing this that is 7 gold you are not spending on intrigue icons.

 

Sure you can add little birds and noble lineage if you just so happen to have them in hand when he is in play, but then he is a 9 coster, and then he is 3 cards in your deck to make just him effective. Then you are cutting two cards to make way for these attachments.

 

Sure this card will make a lot of decks as it has a shiny ability and strength, but it lacks versatility, so actually marshalling it and seeing it in play a lot I don't think will happen as you will play other cards in your hand that aren't it.

Who said anything about marshalling him early or giving him extra icons? Why do you want him to be more versatile? He is great as a finisher and to secure your MIL challanges and trigger stuff like PttS. Why would I want him to defend INT or POW? He is who he is. Instead of trying to make him someone else (if I want a versatile 7 coster I would play Tywin unless I banner) I see him as who he is, your killing machine. He can potentially kill 2-3 characters on the turn he is marshalled, so that should be enough to settle the balance in your favor. I don't pretend to make him defend INT or POW or marshal him early on. There are better Lannister characters for that.

I just want to save him for the turn when I need to kill someone that's causing me troubles and tears can't reach him. He can even be played with Hear Me Roar! as a 2 gold 3 card event to target kill someone (or 2) when I need it. If he dies after he kills the one I want, I couldn't care less.

Who said anything about marshalling him early or giving him extra icons? Why do you want him to be more versatile? He is great as a finisher and to secure your MIL challanges and trigger stuff like PttS. Why would I want him to defend INT or POW? He is who he is. Instead of trying to make him someone else (if I want a versatile 7 coster I would play Tywin unless I banner) I see him as who he is, your killing machine. He can potentially kill 2-3 characters on the turn he is marshalled, so that should be enough to settle the balance in your favor. I don't pretend to make him defend INT or POW or marshal him early on. There are better Lannister characters for that.

I just want to save him for the turn when I need to kill someone that's causing me troubles and tears can't reach him. He can even be played with Hear Me Roar! as a 2 gold 3 card event to target kill someone (or 2) when I need it. If he dies after he kills the one I want, I couldn't care less.

I think the extra icon talk was directed at me.

With his 10 strength I said I might consider some icon addition for him. But I run a lot of icon addition in my decks anyway so I wouldn't put it in a deck just for this card. Still, if it's in my hand and I have him on the board--especially if my opponent has been forced to poppy him--I can certainly think of worse uses for it (depending on the board, obviously). 

And for the record, I don't think Lannister is invincible on Intrigue--but they are better at it than anyone else. But if a Tears does get through, I would probably rather it hit The Mountain than Tyrion or Jamie or another clutch character (like Robb or Randall if you're Bannering). 

I've played him in a few games on OCTGN. He didn't win me games on his own, but nor did he cost me games (by having him knelt, gimped by Nymeria or Tearsed). 

When he is good is when you Intrigue heavy in the early turns, and in midgame (when your opponent has a stronger Intrigue defense or has less cards in hands to claim) you put him out to clear the board. Use your Intrigue for protection and use him to put the fear of god in your opponent. They'll focus their attention on him but if you do it right, you'll have dealt with his board before what they do to him will have any effect. 

I played him on a Wildfire assault with a PttS in my hand. He chose to kill Nymeria Sand (TRV, Tyrion and Jaime on the board) and was topdecking ( a result of early intrigue swings) but now he was out of options and of chuds to sacrifice. He even had to use Treachery to stop his ability to pillage (and kill) Jaime. On the next turn, I cleared his board on a Sneak Attack, then could swing to win for 2 unopposed challenges the next turn (gaining 2 Renown in the process). 

He is high variance for sure. But when you can swing him for a turn or two, he can be devastating and swing the game your way. You just have to know when to play him. which should be mid to late game, by then your opponent should have less options to deal with him.

I do get how underwhelming it can be to play him...and have him tearsed on the turn or the next before not doing anything because he was being knelt or Iconed. That's why he's not a 3x.

But hey, if your opponent has focused all their attention and their good cards on him, then your other cards are safer to win you the day (Tyrion, Tywin, Jaime, etc.) and you can use that focus to your advantage; let them focus their ressources on him rather than on your other cards. 

It's costly, but if there is a faction that can afford it it is Lanister...

So this happened to my opponent last night in a Lanni mirror match who promptly raged quit: I NBAMF in Gregor after he's knelt his board going first (dumb move against Lanni but anway) - unopposed miltary, PttS on his Tywin, claims a merchant, then I pillage off Littlefinger into the dead pile and use Gregor's ability to kill his Tyrion in play!!  So i paid 2 gold to kill 18 gold worth of characters... Gregor is amazing!!

As terrifying as he can be, I stopped running him when I saw how easily he can be controlled. Nym or Imprisoned and suddenly he's a 10 STR gimp. Having said this, he can be fun if you give him Seal of the Hand and a Little Bird. Too clunky to be reliable, though.

I'm also playing the guy and this sounds like a one in century move...mostly I just pillage locations...or characters not matching the gold of the board.

But the simple possibility of his ability is pure fun and can change the odds completely (it never did for me so far ). But he's doing what he does in the books: spreading fear and terror, but not making the big moves, so I think FFG did a great job in his design

It's costly, but if there is a faction that can afford it it is Lanister...

I'm reading that line again and again. But in 2nd, it just doesn't feel like that. Tyrell has the additional gold location, not Lannister. And that silly Moneylender claim soaks every time I play him before he can give me gold (if he wasn't limited, it would be different, but he is). So it's only Tywin who gives the extra gold compared to the other factions. Thats a big point, but only one. I guess there will be more possibilities in the future, but considering the Arbor I'm not sure how Lannister will develop in 2nd...

I'm reading that line again and again. But in 2nd, it just doesn't feel like that. Tyrell has the additional gold location, not Lannister. And that silly Moneylender claim soaks every time I play him before he can give me gold (if he wasn't limited, it would be different, but he is). So it's only Tywin who gives the extra gold compared to the other factions. Thats a big point, but only one. I guess there will be more possibilities in the future, but considering the Arbor I'm not sure how Lannister will develop in 2nd...

You seem to forget Tyrion. The respectable to large amount of gold he provides in any given turn may not be used to marshal cards of course, but the same time other factions have to save up gold for their challenges phase shenanigans, the Lannister are free to marshal their more expensive toys without having to worry about the upcoming phase. This is huge. The Arbor, a card practically useful only when seen at setup or during the first round of the game, simply cannot compete.

You seem to forget Tyrion. The respectable to large amount of gold he provides in any given turn may not be used to marshal cards of course, but the same time other factions have to save up gold for their challenges phase shenanigans, the Lannister are free to marshal their more expensive toys without having to worry about the upcoming phase. This is huge. The Arbor, a card practically useful only when seen at setup or during the first round of the game, simply cannot compete.

Yah, I considered that, but only thought of marshalling issues. I also read the "Lannister can afford" line for Naval Superiority, which is a marshalling issue.

But of course you are right, the "do not have to save money for later" is a big point. 

But still, compared to 1st, Lannister is not the gold horse it used to be. But maybe the new design of gaining gold in non-marshal phases through Tyrion, Brothel Madam, Paid Off, etc. might be the more balanced option.

Does anyone know if this triggers off of other people's pillages too, if they were in the same challenge (euron and gregor mil together) you then pillage two do you get to choose? or do you resolve each pillage seperately

From the wording it seems to be only with Ser Gregor Clegane's pillage

Specifically, since the card says "After Ser Gregor Clegane discards a character using pillage...," it is only his use of the Pillage keyword that can satisfy the triggering condition for his reaction. 

As you suggest, the Pillage keyword on characters participating in the same challenge will resolve sequentially (in the order determined by the First Player ("Priority of Simultaneous Resolution," RRG, p. 16). That way, you know which card was Pillaged by the Mountain, which my Euron, etc.

Can anyone help me out with Gregors pillage ability? My friend and I were playing and he had Gregor and I had Quentyn Martell. He beat me in a military challenge and pillaged my deck. The pillage was a duplicate Quentyn. Does that allow him to move my duplicate to the dead pile and kill my in play Quentyn?

Can anyone help me out with Gregors pillage ability? My friend and I were playing and he had Gregor and I had Quentyn Martell. He beat me in a military challenge and pillaged my deck. The pillage was a duplicate Quentyn. Does that allow him to move my duplicate to the dead pile and kill my in play Quentyn?

Yes. 

The duplicate goes directly in the dead pile (preventing you from playing another duplicate on Quentyn in the future). Then, he can choose and kill a character with printed cost equal to the discarded Quentyn - meaning he can kill the in-play Quentyn, or another 6-cost character (if he doesn't want to allow you to trigger Quentyn's Interrupt for example).

What happens if Ser Gregor wins a challenge together with Ser Gregor Marauders? They both have Pillage and both have Reaction to the Pillage. According to the Rules Reference Pillage is resolved for each character so they will discard 2 cards from opponent's deck. As I understand it - I can then choose which discarded card to apply to which Pillage? Meaning my chance of hitting either suitable character or event increases quite nicely.

And that should work also when defending. Not to mention giving Little Bird to Gregor...

What happens if Ser Gregor wins a challenge together with Ser Gregor Marauders? They both have Pillage and both have Reaction to the Pillage. According to the Rules Reference Pillage is resolved for each character so they will discard 2 cards from opponent's deck. As I understand it - I can then choose which discarded card to apply to which Pillage? Meaning my chance of hitting either suitable character or event increases quite nicely.

And that should work also when defending. Not to mention giving Little Bird to Gregor...

You can choose which instance goes first, but you still have to attribute one to each character before looking at the card. Functionally, you'll say "I'll do Marauder's pillage" (discard - is it an event?), then "I'll do Gregor's Pillage" (discard, is it a character?). There's no advantage to one or the other of having the other in the challenge.
 

Unless you have Tywin (Lions box). Then there's a big advantage, because you get to dig a little deeper. "I'll do Marauder's Pillage" (see 2 cards, one 3 cost character, one 7 cost) - discard the 3 cost character, "I'll do Gregor's Pillage" (see 2 cards, the previous 7 cost character and a new card) - discard whichever is best suited to triggering Gregor.