Quill & Tankard Regulars - Volume 2, Issue 15

Quill & Tankard Regulars - Volume 2, Issue 14

Why’d she go and tell ‘em about me? ‘Tis not like I harmed anyone!
Oh give over, you know just as well as me that kegs don’t grow on trees.
Well, they should! ‘Tis unfair keg sparsity I say! And it was right there, sitting so very enticingly… entrapment, I say!
Oh shut up. The Archmaester will have his keg, so keep on pushing.

The Raven’s Message
The Raven’s Message exclusively reveals and discusses an up-and-coming, either mechanically or rules-wise interesting, card. The cards are from future products, and have been obtained directly via raven from the Archmaesters at the (FFG) Citadel.

We have a card to preview for the upcoming Red Wedding chapter pack, and no time to write a subtle introductory paragraph. Or at least are too lazy to do so, so here goes with the picture of the card and then some random musings about it:



The Oldtown Informer is a strong, confident woman who is sadly about to have her wrist snapped by monstrous zombie. Shame, I think we saw her in the Quill & Tankard once. But let's leave that to one side and focus on the mechanical aspects.

Firstly, leaving aside the Bestow effect for a moment, she immediately strikes us as at least somewhat playable simply for being a 2-for-2 Ambush effect. With The First Snow of Winter nowhere near the monolith it was 6-12 months ago this may strike people as less relevant, and for interaction on a small board a military icon is better than an intrigue; nonetheless, there's a whiff of the Burned Men about her, if we may phrase it that way (she’d never admit it herself tho). Giving Tyrell more options in this way can only be potent.

The Informer is a loyal card, and thus can be reduced by Fealty - if you marshal her, but not if you ambush her. This is presumably because of the 'draw' effect, overlooking that she doesn't actually gain card advantage. As a clear combo-enabling card it's somewhat disappointing to see her limited in this way, but it doesn't ruin the card by any means.

So, what’s the scenario that would actually make her impactful in the game, and not yet another footnote or slot-filler? Obviously, she’s yet another cog in the machinery of some future broken Tyrell C-c-c-combo deck, which with all the enablers already in place, will be way too consistent for comfort. That is, if the required combo emerges before too many of those enablers are rotated out. The clock is ticking... Well, either that, or a tool for seeding your discard for some fun shenanigans. Little hope in that direction though, with the Loyal going on here. Until then, she’ll just play her part in letting you find the best kill spells in the game (or some such).

The Bestow is an interesting effect. Unless you're digging through for very specific pieces, and/or happen to have loads of gold lying around when you play/ambush the Informer, we anticipate only one gold going on her for a somewhat-inexpensive deck filtration effect, and then relying on volume of triggers to get the value. Note that it reacts when a card enters play, not just a character - although events are, as per the RRG, not considered to enter play, so we're limited by the small pool of attachments and locations doing this. To that end, let's look at the characters.

Tyrell have very few Ambush characters in-faction; they do have The Queen of Thorns who can put characters into play mid-challenges phase and the new Margaery Tyrell, but otherwise you're relying on playing the Informer in a Banner and/or Neutral-heavy deck. The obvious options would appear to be Lannister, with their plethora of ambush, and Martell, with Arianne. Of course, there will presumably be more Ambush incoming...


Antti Korventausta (WWDrakey) is a self-proclaimed Finnish AGoT philosopher and doomsayer hermit, who used to practice Quantum Mechanics, but found that it paled to AGoT in both interest and complexity. Having played and judged for more years than he would like to admit, he has found himself on the winning side of rules arguments more than he would expect. In any game he plays, he has a tendency of playing anything he considers to be off the beaten path, whether it makes sense to others or not.

Helmut Hohberger (Ratatoskr) started playing AGoT in September 2010 and has never looked back (although his wife has, longingly). As a German, he loves rules - and I mean *loves* 'em. He is the quintessential rules board morlock. While the others played and frolicked about outside, he sat by candlelight in a remote corner of the library and tried to get a grasp on the intricacies of the 1st edition rules. He even thought he did not do too bad at it, but then the Call of the Three-Eyed Crow drove him into the darkest depths of madness and despair. But he’s all better now, honest, and looking forward to new challenges.

Iiro Jalonen (Ire) Started AGoT in 2009, got pulled under the waves by Krakens years ago, and has never looked back. While not an Oldtown local, he has often been spotted in the Quill & Tankard Inn making sure that the rules of sportsmanship are maintained with the traditional finger dance games. A self-inflicted Shagga and active member of the global AGoT community, he has always strived to know the rules of the game, in order to make them do ridiculous things.

James Waumsley (JCWamma) is a first edition veteran who has judged at multiple large tournaments including the European championship of Stahleck. A renowned loudmouth and pedant, he will shout about the rules loud enough that he can be heard by those north of the wall.

Alex Hynes (Istaril) co-hosts Beyond the Wall, writes articles for FFG, created and curates the Annals - and even tried to fill in ktom’s shoes in the big ktom drought of 2013. When the Regulars asked him to be an honorary member, he, of course, refused and said he didn’t have the time. Or should have, anyway. Still, how much work can being an “Honorary” member be?