A Time of Ravens Cycle Highlights

http://www.cardgamedb.com/index.php/GoTCards.html/_/a-time-of-ravens/']A Time of Ravens">A'>http://www.cardgamedb.com/index.php/GoTCards.html/_/a-time-of-ravens/']A Time of Ravens is the second chapter pack cycle for the A Game of Thrones Living Card Game. It introduces the Summer and Winter season mechanics and expands on each house by giving them cards which helps or hurts depending on which season it is.


A Song of Summer
Highlights:

• Kings of Summer (ASoS) and Black Raven (ASoS) are the building blocks for summer decks. Summer as a mechanic generally rewards a player, and these two cards give quite a reward of +1 card draw and +1 gold. Targaryen and Martell tend to have the most cards which benefit from summer.
• Dragon Sight (ASoS) is one of the most game changing cards produced. Forcing your opponent to defend before you declare attackers can be a huge tactical advantage.
• Carrion Bird (ASoS) comes x3 in this pack and the next pack, The Winds of Winter. Other than actually playing one of the Season Ravens yourself it is one of a very few cards which allow a player to disrupt another players season.

Buy this pack if:
You intend to make a Summer deck.
You want some decent character control for Greyjoy in Fishing Net (ASoS).


The Winds of Winter
Highlights

• Kings of Winter (TWoW) and White Raven (TWoW) are your building blocks for winter decks. Winter decks tend to punish players with less gold or discarded cards. Stark and Greyjoy tend to have the most cards which benefit from Winter.
• If you like making it hard for an opponent to successfully defend your challenges Underhanded Assassin (TWoW) makes anyone playing with large characters or strength pumps have a very hard time.
• Frozen Sea (TWoW) takes one challenge away from an opponent a turn. This can really slow down some decks.

Buy this pack if:
You are making a Winter deck (especally Stark and Greyjoy).


A Change of Seasons
Highlights:

• Wintertime Marauders (ACoS) is one of the key cards in any Greyjoy Winter deck. Their ability to discard non-unique cards from play can really hamper an opponents ability to keep key cards on the table.
• Winter and Summer decks will almost always run the plot A Time for Ravens (ACoS). It is the key way to ensure that they can get their desired season running as soon as possible.
• Vigilance is one of the more powerful house specific abilities and the Event card Vigilant Stag (ACoS) can let a Baratheon player give it to a character when the opponent is most vulnerable.

Buy this pack if:
You are building a Winter or Summer deck.
You are building a Dragon Targaryen deck using burn cards.


The Raven's Song
Highlights:

• Many times the main draw engine in season decks, Samwell Tarly (TRS) makes it much easier to hit draw cap for decks with many Raven cards.
• Kraznys mo Nakloz (TRS) gives Targ Summer decks some great attachment control. The only thing better than discarding their attachments is using their attachments against them.
• Plot manipulation is featured heavily in this pack for each house. They aren't the most powerful cards but there are very few ways to manipulate a plot deck.

Buy this pack if:
You need plot manipulation.
You are playing with Military Battle, Power Struggle, or Intrigue Gambit plot cards and would like an event which can mass kneel characters with a specific icon (eg. At the Point of a Blade (TRS)).


Refugees of War
Highlights:

• Gilly (RoW) is a nice 0 cost card for any summer deck. If you don't have much winter in your environment then you should pretty consistently be able to have her at 3 STR with a Power and Intrigue icon drawing you cards.
• The Refugee cards (eg. Highgarden Refugee (RoW)) are all 0 cost characters with 2 STR and 2 icons and each house gets one. Almost any deck can make use of these characters to speed up their play and help during setup.

Buy this pack if:
You are making a weenie deck.
You need a couple more cards which can help with plot manipulation.


Scattered Armies
Highlights:

• There are a number of Reinforcements events in this pack. One type keys off losing a specific challenge (eg. Beguiled Bodyguard (SA)) and the other keys off which season it is and losing any challenge (eg. Summer Reserves (SA)). In the right deck these can be a cheap way to surprise an opponent with extra characters. Various other cards in this pack key off the Reinforcement event being played and gain a benefit from it.
• Men With No King (SA) is a good way to meta against neutral cards if playing a good number of Reinforcement cards.

Buy this pack if:
You need more Army characters for a Stark Deck.
You like surprising your opponent with characters.


Cycle Thoughts:

The Winter and Summer mechanics are fairly powerful in the right deck and most of this chapter pack cycle added cards which really takes advantage of the season. Unfortunately if you are not playing a summer or winter deck the first four packs are skippable and the last pack would be debatable.

Refugees of War is likely the pack that any player should pick up. The Refugee cards fit nicely into a number of decks and have great Traits that for many houses are expanded upon in later chapter pack cycles. If you do plan to play either a summer or winter deck the first three packs are must haves. The Rookery cards in The Raven's Song make it the weakest buy of the cycle. If you aren't looking for plot manipulation then it offers just a few situational cards although if playing seasons you'll want to get it anyway just for the draw from Samwell.

Overall I think the Winter and Summer season mechanics are a very thematic and fun deck type for Game of Thrones. It does a great job of adding cards to each house which are more powerful or versatile than normal while still giving them a drawback.