Beheading Ned - R + L = J?

Beheading Ned: R + L = J??????

I have received some very positive feedback about the series of articles that have gone up in the past few weeks, in which we have discussed the various iterations of unique characters in the LCG and which of them is the most "Nedly." So, of course, we are going to do something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT this week! Why is that, you ask? Well, there are a few reasons.

First and most importantly, I couldn't come up with anyone that really jumped out at me to write about this week. But secondly, it is with great regret and some very mixed feelings that I am announcing my impending retirement from Beheading Ned. As you may or may not have noticed, I also write for the Fire and Blood column on here, and due to increasing obligations outside of Thrones, I'm having to cut back my Small Council writing load. I've chosen to keep going on Fire and Blood, which means that Beheading Ned is open for offers! I'd contact me or Darksbane if you're interested in taking this on! I'll be doing this article and then one more for our next publication period two weeks hence. So if you are wanting to jump in, you'll have a bit of time to get the ball rolling.....but remember, it's the early Other who gets the carcass, or something like that.

So, since all good things must come to an end, I thought it seemed fitting to talk about the end of the Game of Thrones. You know, how will all the plot threads come together? How will the intricacies of the plot untangle themselves? Will Martin finish the series at all, and, if he does, will it be thrown together too quickly like the end of Battlestar Galactica or just not answer all of our questions like Season 5 of Lost? Like any good Ned, I have some theories and some wishes about what I want to happen, and I have built a deck to play out that scenario on the table: R + L = J

Now, I'm very into the various theories surrounding the source literature. You know, things like "Did Euron hire a Faceless Man to kill Balon? Did he pay them with a Dragon Egg?" or "Is Tyrion actually the illegitimate son of Mad King Aerys and the wife of Tywin Lannister?" Howbout "What happened to Benjen Stark?" or "Were the Maesters responsible for killing all the dragons?" or "What in the world is Jaqen H'Ghar doing in the Citadel at the end of book four.....if indeed that is him?" All very exciting stuff.

But there's one theory whose momentum can't be stopped. There's one theory that so smacks of the truth that it MUST be true. In fact, if it's not true, I think my wife will just simply stop reading the series. That theory, of course, is R+L=J. This simple equation, as important to our lives as E=MC2, stands for "Rhaegar + Lyanna = Jon Snow."

It's no secret that Jon Snow is a pivotal character in the narrative, a fan favorite and clear protagonist from early on. It's also very strange that such an honorable man as Eddard Stark would step out on his wife and father a son by someone else. It's strange (but less so) that he would never, ever speak of Jon's mother, assumedly not even to Jon himself. Jon is described as very Stark in his looks, but is there more here than meets the eye? To see for sure, we have to roll back the Westerosi clock a few years. Bear with me, but hopefully this will be worth the journey.

Catelyn Tully was betrothed to Eddard's older brother Brandon. Robert Baratheon, who grew up as a ward of Jon Arryn with Eddard Stark, was betrothed to Brandon and Eddard's sister, Lyanna Stark. Rhaegar Targaryen, crown prince of the realm and beloved by all, was married to Elia of Dorne. All simple, right? Well.....not really.

At a tournament, Rhaegar decided that it would be cool to name Lyanna Stark the Queen of Love and Beauty, an honorary title given out at these things. Which would be no big deal, except for the fact that Rhaegar then kidnapped and kept Lyanna for himself! This type of maneuver was a very Targaryen thing to do, and it's something that Ser Barristan Selmy muses on later in Book 5 when he mentally compares Daenerys's dalliance with Daario Naharis with the Rhaegar/Lyanna romance. Note also that these habits are why some think that King Aerys got it on with Tywin's wife and produced Tyrion....but let's not digress too far.

Rhaegar taking Lyanna was a problem, of course, since the daughter of a proud noble house who was going to unite the Stormlands and the North by marriage just should not be kidnapped. So Brandon Stark went to intercede with King Aerys for his sister's release. King Aerys, as was his wont, just simply burned Brandon to death with Wildfire, one of the acts that ended up making a young Jaime Lannister turn on his king. As a result, Eddard became betrothed to Catelyn, and when Robert called his banners to go to war against the Targaryens for taking Lyanna, even the honorable Starks had a cause for which they could fight.

Events from here are cloudy, but the end game sees Lyanna dying in a pool of blood asking Ned to promise her something.....but what? We're not yet sure, but one strong theory is that Ned promises to keep the true identity of Lyanna's son hidden....and that son is Jon Snow. A second arm of the theory offers that not only was Rhaeger kidnapping Lyanna but that they were also married and that Jon Snow is actually a legitimate son and thus heir to the throne ahead of Dany and alongside Young Griff--Jon Targaryen as it were. Eddard keeps the secret, knowing that Robert might just take out his vengeance on the child, both to eliminate a rival for the throne but also to further cement his rage against Rhaegar. That's why Ned never mentions Jon's mother--to let on that it is his sister's child endangers Jon Snow's very life.

The hope, then, is that Jon Targaryen marries Daenerys and her dragons, melding the strength of the Wall with the fire of dragons to save the realm from the onslaught of the Others, taking the Iron Throne, and restoring Peace, Justice, and the American Way to the realm of Westeros. Simple, right?

Well, it's all theory, but it sure is fun to speculate. Let's look a bit more at the deck and see how I've chosen to describe this R+L=J theory and thronemaking.

One way is just with bunches of uniques: Rhaeger, Lyanna, and Jon Snow each x3 in the deck. I've also used 3-cost Dany and the hope is to fill up with renown on a sort of Targ noble-y rush-y type deck. To that end, I've included Longclaw and Aegon's Blade, both able to give characters renown that don't have it. I also have a few Rich Lands and a Keep, able to give regular chumps like Jon the Noble crest that by birth they deserve, as well as protection from Power of Blood. If you can get Longclaw on Jon Snow and Aegon's Blade on Rhaegar, you'll be in business for sure.

I've also chosen to give the deck a Summer theme, both for draw and for thematic reasons. Winter is coming to Westeros, but the sense is that the conflict won't resolve until spring dawns. Since, in our scenario, the new summer of Jon and Dany is coming, the Kings of Summer agenda just makes sense. It's also nice that we can get some draw from it, and thematically fitting that Samwell Tarly is Jon Snow's best bud and is an easy x2 in any Summer deck.

With Jon and Sam on board, it makes sense that some of Jon's Night's Watch buddies should be on board as well. Maester Aemon and Ghost both provide saves and Targaryen bloodlines, with Ghost just adding to the powergrab ability of Jon Snow. Quorin Halfhand adds even more Renown and kill, and the Builder of the Watch is a way to recycle some dupes or tough intrigue pulls--put them out of the discard and into the deck and use a Herald of the East to put them back in draw range. Satin joins the fray as well, and is a great way to draw that Heralded card right away.

Lady Stoneheart gets a place as well, since you know she will have a say in where the Throne goes as she seeks vengeance for her son (and that cheap renown is so tempting!) Unburnt provides yet another save option, and Field of Fire and Incinerate add that challenge control and targeted kill to remove your rivals to the throne. I've also gone location-light to utilze Fleeing to the Wall, as thematically that's where the evil is gathering, but also since the meta is going a bit more location heavy. All we've got is Meraxes (since you HAVE to have draw) and income.

So there you go--Rheager and Lyanna's son Jon is the Prince that was Promised, coming to claim his throne in a storm of renown. I'd love to hear your thoughts on either the deck or the theorycrafting behind it, and if you'd like to try your own hand at writing a Beheading Ned or becoming the regular author, don't hesitate to drop Darksbane a PM. Until next time then, don't wake the Dragon!