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Fire Made Flesh Review

A Game of Thrones Review Fire made Flesh

Our staff has put together a first blush analysis of the newly released Fire Made Flesh chapter pack. We’ve used a one through five scale; five being the best. The cards are listed in numeric order. Our reviewers are listed in alphabetical order. Let us know in the comments how you feel about the cards in this pack!

Total Pack Score: 55.6% (278 out of 500)

Top Cards:
The Mander (20)
Fire Made Flesh (18)
Septon Utt (18)

Bottom Cards:
Calling the Banners (6)
Ice (8)
Heartsbane (11)
Blackfyre (11)

Now onto the reviews!

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emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
I see the Baratheons are taking a page out of the Martell playbook with this one. Given that most optimal decks usually run a lot of bi and tri-icon characters this guy deserves some serious consideration, much like the Spy from Starfall. I don’t think he’ll have as much punch as the spy but he’ll still complicate a lot of challenge math. Again, remember that he’s two way sword and lobs out your bi-icons too. I’m guessing we’ll see a Stark equivalent later this cycle for military?

OKTarg - 3 out of 5
And honestly fairly close to a 4. Knight trait is great, prized almost doesn’t matter in Bara (and with the buffs to the Prized keyword is close to a positive trait), and helps you win an increasingly valuable challenge. I’m a fan.

scantrell24 - 3 out of 5
Knight of the North will find a home in Noble Cause (because characters still claim renown even if they don’t count their strength) and Knights of the Realm decks, but having only a single challenge icon, and the weakest one at that, is a major drawback for a prized character.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 3 out of 5
Shagga confused, Shagga still kill.

Sygmaghost94 - 2 out of 5
He gets points for his good trait, but that’s really the only good thing about him. His effect could end up not working out as well as you may think. There are a decent number of characters with only a power icon, Newly Made Lord and Coldhands are two that will definitely be seen in every tournament. On top of his underwhelming ability, he has the dreaded prized keyword. You could end up pushing through the win with this guy, but those games will be few and far between.

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emptyrepublic - 2 out of 5
Not very impressed by these prized weapons. Not sure why this has Prized as the +1 STR isn’t that overwhelming and the response is a one time “vigilant” effect that can also activate on the defense. I don’t think this will see much use.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
Standing is good, attachments are not. I’d almost rather have Banner Bearer I think.

scantrell24 - 3 out of 5
Heartsbane could slot into almost Bara deck with reasonable success, but I think its best fits are Maesters and dedicated rush decks featuring characters like double-renown Robert Baratheon. The strength boost helps against Burn (at least until they marshall Viserys) but is actually a drawback against Northland Keep.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 2 out of 5
Only axe is fit for chopping!

Sygmaghost94 - 2 out of 5
This could be seen as a one of in many rush decks. The problem is that this card requires you to win the challenge in order to stand the character. Baratheon has many tools at the their disposal to stand their characters. A prized attachment that is not setup friendly will most likely not make the cut.


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emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
My issue with this guy is that he’s like that big gun in a video game that you get only one shot of but does massive damage; you’re just constantly second guessing yourself if you should fire it or not because you don’t know if it might be more useful later. This guy is just like that. I can think of several characters where I know I’d fire him off immediately. You’ll certainly deter your opponent, but if they are better at the waiting game you might end up giving 2 power for free. This one is a hard call. If the targeted character couldn’t be saved it would be almost a sure thing I’d say.

OKTarg - 4 out of 5
In the hands of a good player who won’t waste the trigger, he is amazing. The icons alone are great, and it’s not his fault the Greyjoy 3-slot is crowded stuff. I expect him to backfire often if you misplay, but I really like that he can also force your opponent to make mistakes. (See Raul’s comments in the relevant Beyond the Wall cast as I think he describes a great way to use him)

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5
Orkmont Reaver earns tentatively above-average marks even though he can’t touch The Red Viper or Meera Reed. The Raider trait and intrigue icon paired together are a welcome addition to the Greyjoy arsenal.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 3 out of 5
Shagga respects the reaver, a beard to match mine!

Sygmaghost94 - 2 out of 5
Greyjoy is always in dire need of another good intrigue icon. Greyjoy does not, however, need another three cost character. This card is far below average, but not so terrible as to deserve a one. Essentially, you are paying three gold (a steep price for a house with a high gold curve) and giving your opponent two power just so you can kill one of their characters. And that’s not even assuming they cancel the response. Late game, he’ll be nearly impossible to use. Early game, when you are trying to establish dominance, you won’t want to just get rid of a three cost character. And he doesn’t even have the Ironborn trait. What a shame.

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emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
If you can maintain decent draw this might be worth it. I don’t play Greyjoy that much so it’s a bit hard for me to say. What’s clear is that there’s a lot of Greyjoy Warships now that can morph into characters as needed so character light Greyjoy decks might even make more sense with this… maybe.

OKTarg - 3 out of 5
It’s probably actually a 1 or a 2 but somebody will break it, I have no doubt, so I’ll go up to 3 to look smarter when that happens.

scantrell24 – 2 out of 5
Iron Islands Marines pales in comparison to Iron Fleet Scout for two reasons. First, it lacks naval enhancements, and second, Greyjoy is usually short on cards. With that said, I have no doubt that we’ll see this featured in some disgusting character-light build sooner or later.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 2 out of 5
Shagga hates boats.

Sygmaghost94 - 2 out of 5
I feel like I’m handing out a lot of these 2 out of 5 scores. This warship is decent, but not one you would want to include in a lot of decks. It may see play in an Old Way deck, but even then it doesn’t add too much. The deadly on this card would be amazing if you could naval it in, but unlike the Iron Fleet Scout, this card lacks those enhancements. No, instead you must discard a card from your hand (a hefty price for a house that struggles with card advantage) to push through a military or a power challenge. The cost is too great for a card that doesn’t add very much to the mix.


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emptyrepublic - 1 out of 5
Kings of the Sea LIV is a cornerstone of so many Greyjoy decks I have a hard time seeing exchanging that location for a 3 cost one time use location that also has prized 2. The cannot be saved doesn’t make up the big opportunity cost and utility cost deficit this card has versus the first version.

OKTarg - 4 out of 5
The cost is high (and the opportunity cost equally so) but GJ really needs ways to deal with characters directly that aren’t named Valar Morghulis.

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5
Longship Iron Victory gets downgraded from a 5 only because it shares a title with a card that is also one of Greyjoy’s best. That kill effect is crazy good though, and it smacks TRV and Meera around, unlike the Reaver. In Black Sails I would run 1x this version and 2x the other version.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 4 out of 5
BOATS!

Sygmaghost94 - 1 out of 5
Finally, a card that isn’t getting a 2 out of 5! But wait, it’s scoring lower than that. Man, this chapter pack is not starting out well. This card is downright awful. Why? Opportunity cost, plain and simple. Let’s look at what you’re doing when you run this card. You are paying three gold for a card (which I’ve already said is hard for Greyjoy), you are giving your opponent two power (which I’ve heard giving your opponent power is a bad thing), and you are giving up the chance to run one of Greyjoy’s best cards (ironically, a card that would help mitigate one of Greyjoy’s problems). Yes, you can kill The Red Viper and other good characters with this, but is it worth it for what you’re giving up? No, it isn’t. People have found ways to deal with the Viper long before this boat came out. Don’t let a silly reason like that be the reason why you sleeve this version over the other.

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emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
Podrick! I really like the concept of this card, but I’m less confident on how effective he’ll be. Unless you hurt someone good with a Rule by Decree a lof of extra draw might happen before the passive kicks in (presumably during challenges). It’s hard to say. The prized 1 is reasonable, but I think I need to see how this guy works in action before I can really come down on his usefulness.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
Broken with Threat from the East, but outside of that, merely interesting. He doesn’t do enough to really merit a WOW like, say, Janos Slynt does at the same cost and icon slot.

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5
Podrick Payne has two icons and stealth, which is already enough to earn consideration in many Lannister builds, so the rest of his textbox is just icing. Podrick runs counter to Lanni kneel though because you’ll want to be first player. Win a 2-claim intrigue challenge, and then your opponent won’t be able to use all of his challenge-based draw like LIV, Kingsroad, Jhogo, etc.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 3 out of 5
Halfmans little man. Fetch me axes!

Sygmaghost94 - 3 out of 5
The usefulness of this card is hard to determine at this point. While he does feature the stealth keyword, he also has prized 1. His traits, though not bad, are not very good either. The fact that he can give Tyrion a military icon is extremely Nedly, but not very useful. No, what makes this card interesting is his ability. Being able to shut down your opponent from drawing cards is huge. Stopping card advantage while maintaining your own incredible draw engine is a powerful tool. But the tricky part is how to do this. You can use the plot Threat from the East, but that is only useful for one turn and now you are using your restricted slot on some janky combo. The easiest way to pull this off would be with intrigue challenges, which isn’t opportune either because most houses with decent draw mechanics will be drawing before the challenges phase. The last glaring problem with this is the state of the current meta. It is hard to go to a tournament and not see an abundance of River plots. The Rivers, specifically Crossing the Mummer’s Ford, add cards not through draw, but through reveal. That little difference in wording is huge when it comes to Podrick. His effect can be powerful if used properly, but as he stands right now, he is only mediocre. Sorry Pod!

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emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
This is alright; but Golden Tooth Mines costs the same, is more reliable and is non-unique (so you can get more draw). If GTM didn’t exist this would be great, but it does so I don’t think this guy will see much love.

OKTarg - 5 out of 5
Maybe it’s boring, but draw still = win. In some ways it’s better than GTM, in others it’s worse, but now it’s more flexible. How is it better, you ask? Well, you get a card the turn you play it, for one. Immune to Dry Season, for another. Are we really worried about drawcapping before challenge phase? Sounds like an embarrassment of riches to me.

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5
The Mander is a strong enough card, but unimaginative design in every way. Did Lanni need a slightly different take GTM? I would rather see something fresh and exciting… maybe Infamy support?

Shagga Son of Dolf - 5 out of 5
Draw equals axe and axe equals win.

Sygmaghost94 - 3 out of 5
This card would be absolutely amazing if not for two things. The first: you are using it in a house that has more draw than they know what to do with. The second: it can only be triggered during the Challenges phase. Lannister’s widely popular location Golden Tooth Mines and the ever present boy king Tommen Baratheon (you know which one) will get you your draw before or during the marshalling phase. If this card had a different house affiliation, it would rank higher than a three.

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emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
Strong effect with no obvious downsides here. It’s still a very useful event even if a character already has the military icon. Allows for on demand military support in intrigue heavy decks. Lannister is doing okay for events these days so I’m not sure how much space there is for this, but I could see a copy or two being squeezed in for many decks.

OKTarg - 3 out of 5
I think Scantrell has the right of it--interesting in some niche capacities but not with enough wide-spread utility to make it a mainstay.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
There Are No Men Like Me only belongs in a few Conquest builds or decks with similar goals, but I can see it causing mayhem once in a while. Prime targets include Arianne (PotS), Melisandre (RotO) and The Conclave.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 2 out of 5
Shagga would not call you a man at all.

Sygmaghost94 - 2 out of 5
And we’re back to another 2 out of 5. This card does not have a cost, which is good, but the overall effectiveness of this card is mediocre at best. Not kneeling to attack or defend during military challenges is cool and giving any character a military is pretty nifty as well. The problem here is the event isn’t extremely beneficial in the long run. Giving a few key characters this added buff can be critical, but not more so than using any of Lannister’s other events at critical times. This card answers a question that Lannister never asked; what is another event that I can toy with in my head before I ultimately replace it with an actually good event?
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emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
The other Bastard of Godsgrace is decent, but this guy better. The passive isn’t a huge disincentive to stop your opponent from playing events but dropping this guy in the mid game might make them second guess and provide you a bit of tempo control. The mono-icon is tough but that’s the only real downside I see here.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
Monocon, prized, ability depends on your opponent, better other unique version…..meh. He’s not awful, don’t get me wrong, but decidedly uninspiring.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
The Bastard of Godsgrace has that stealth/military combination like Carrion Bird and Syrio Forel, as well as a positive trait for KotR and some free power gain. However, he gets a downgrade because there’s already a solid version of the Bastard of Godsgrace which makes many Martell decks, especially No Agenda / Quentyn.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 4 out of 5
Shagga only prizes his goats.

Sygmaghost94 - 3 out of 5
Alright, so he’s not bad. Stealth is awesome, he’s got some good traits, and his effect is a good way to net you some easy power. Pretty good so far. So what’s the downside, Mr. Sygmaghost? Well Timmy, I’m glad you asked. You see, he happens to share a name with a fairly decent card that is seen in many Martell decks nowadays. He also costs one more gold than his other version. While he’s not a bad card, these few blemishes keep him from being more than a 3 out of 5.

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emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
Obvious House Dayne synergy is obvious. The 0 cost is nice for setup and the effect is decent… if you are running House Dayne/Starfall/Summer. Possible synergy with Greyscale?

OKTarg - 3 out of 5
Fun, but not tournament good, sadly. Howabout OOH in Targ with Strong Belwas!

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
I love the design here. The Stepstones are excellent on setup, which cannot be emphasized enough, and repeatable card advantage that bypasses the draw cap kicks ass. Sadly though, I think House Dayne decks are still a few pieces away from achieving the level of redundancy required to compete.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 3 out of 5
Shagga also Stepface!

Sygmaghost94 - 2 out of 5
I want to like this card because it is a zero cost location that gives card advantage. However, this card is bad because of what you need to do in order to get that card advantage. To start, you must lose a challenge. Okay, this isn’t anything new for Martell, that’s not a big deal. Then you need to discard a gold token from a character you control. Wait, what? How do I get gold tokens on my characters? I can’t think of… oh wait, House Dayne stuff. Crap. So you’re saying that in order to use this prized one location, I need to run a deck that isn’t very good? Bingo. Admire the pretty artwork and move on.

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emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
A passive effect that gets around a lot of choking effects (even KotHH). Nice if you are bit behind from taking a beating; otherwise it’s just sitting there doing nothing. At 1 gold a single copy might be worth it depending on how you build your deck.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
Just when, exactly, would you rather have this than a Winter Kingsroad? Maybe in a KotHH deck, for one, but generally speaking the anti-synergy with Stark means it’s not good. I’d play it if it was in Targ or Martell, maybe. But maybe not.

scantrell24 – 2 out of 5
One-cost locations are good on setup, but that’s all The Drunkard’s Tower has going for it. Maybe it helps a shadows deck or a deck that likes to marshall second? I’m tempted to rate this higher because you could easily build a deck around meeting its condition… except The Old Way and Bloodthirst are still too prevalent in the meta.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 3 out of 5
Har! A tower named after Shagga!

Sygmaghost94 - 2 out of 5
It doesn’t cost much and it can add gold if you have fewer characters, but that seems like a hard condition to meet for a Stark deck. You could indeed build a deck centered around this and the other Towers, but that seems a little clunky for a decent effect. Also, we have to consider that the current meta is teeming with Bloodthirst decks, so you may never get to use these locations.

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emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
Along with The Gatehouse Tower from the previous pack and The Drunkard’s Tower, FFG clearly has some design in mind for some Stark mechanic that runs at a character deficit. A decent tutoring effect but with a so-so condition. Again, at the 1 gold price point a single copy might be justifiable, but otherwise I don’t see this making the cut that often.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
The best of these towers (high praise!) since card advantage effects can be worth risking dead cards at times. Still, I’d look for something more reliable outside of a dedicated deck for it.

scantrell24 – 2 out of 5
Repeatable card advantage is good, but The Children’s Tower’s search is tempered by its conditional trigger and its timing (the dominance phase is much too late). This is like a poor, poor, poor man’s Harrenhal.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 4 out of 5
Shagga’s tower sired many children!

Sygmaghost94 - 2 out of 5
Again, a decent effect that you would need to build a deck around. Card advantage is never a bad thing, but getting that card in the dominance phase is pretty annoying.

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emptyrepublic - 2 out of 5
At first I thought this was going to be real nasty, but now having a while to think about it I doubt this will see play. Since it’s a one time use you need to be running multiple prized cards to maximize the benefit. It might be good at provoking unopposed challenges, but I think core set Ice provides a similar effect without the downside.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
This actually looks like fun, since so few characters can be immune to attachments. Still, I think I’d rather have a Icy Catapult. If it had Setup, we’d be in business.

scantrell24 - 2 out of 5
The kill from Ice is similar to that of the new LIV, but with some major differences, all of which are strikes against Ice. First, it’s an attachment, not a location, so it can’t be setup, it only attaches to unique Starks, and thehost character could be removed before you even use this effect. Second, there’s no “cannot be saved” clause here. Third, Ice can only target a character that participates in the same challenge as the attached character, so it’s easily avoided.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 1 out of 5
Shagga not understand, who prize sword?

Sygmaghost94 - 1 out of 5
Prized two on a non-setup card that you have to discard in order to use? No thank you. You can at least kill one participating character, but to get the most bang for your buck, you’ll want to have a good number of prized cards out. That, right there, is the problem with this card. The prized keyword is really bad.

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emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
I’m being generous with a 3. It might not deserve it, but there is setup and it’s reusable unlike Ice. Also, the effect is probably more powerful than it seems given that most characters won’t have attachments. Despite that I doubt many people will play with this.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
Cool effect. I can see a one-of in Rusted Maesters, maybe, but the 2 cost almost completely offsets the Setup keyword. Are you going to set it up on your refugee??? Still, though, if you can make it work, the effect is powerful. Synergy with Compelled by the Queen? (LOL)

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
Blackfyre is expensive for a card that’s both prized and inherently fragile (breaking news: attachments suck). It’s nice to see that setup keyword though. Now if only FFG would give attachments immunities to protect them…. As for the mechanic, it could be powerful on the right character, like maybe Exiled Knight or Ser Arthur Dayne, but most of the time it’s mediocre.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 1 out of 5
What swordfest is this?!?

Sygmaghost94 - 2 out of 5
Okay, so at least this is better than Ice. This attachment is setup friendly, however is does have prized one. It also needs to not be winter. The conditions aren’t too hard to meet, but at best you are successfully defending one challenge. I think Targ has much better attachments to use over this one.

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emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
Targaryen alone has 13 unique tricon characters that can take maximum of advantage of the effect. There’s an additional 4 neutral tricons (that’s including Beric and Mance who probably shouldn’t count). This is a good closer and if you are confident that you can close I think the prized 2 is a non-issue, but still a risk of course.

OKTarg - 5 out of 5
Is it a 5 in the way that TRV is? Well, no, but you know I have a weakness for flashy Targ cards. Not kneeling to attack is GREAT, by the way, let alone the renown. This thing is bonkers good in melee, of course, and I think works just fine in Joust. If there is just one more piece, a Targ aggro/rush deck could really be there. (See Wedge’s English nats deck for some ideas)

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
Now that’s some firepower. As noted by others, Targ has plenty of tri-cons to pair with Fire Made Flesh, so maybe there’s a Targ rush deck brewing. Right now though, I don’t think many decks use this event.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 3 out of 5
Burned Men have nothing on Stone Crows!

Sygmaghost94 - 3 out of 5
This is certainly a closer, but a costly one at that. Targ has the most tricons out of any house which means that this card has a score of targets to choose from. Prized two and having to kneel an influence is a steep cost, but if you can close the game with this card, then prized will not be an issue. This is a very interesting card that could spawn a large number of Targ rush decks.

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emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
I maybe rating a touch high, but I think this character really fills a hole not just for the Bannerman theme but for Neutral Faction as well. You get a cheap Bannerman to more easily scale abilities from the characters of the last cycle. Also note the text “next card”; finally some cost penalty negation for locations and attachments. Might make it easier to splash out of house stuff in “normal” decks.

OKTarg - 1 out of 5
I don’t want to burst anybody’s bubble, but have you seen how “positive” the Bannerman trait is? Hint: not all that much. I think you’re better off running just extra econ all around, or even a Flea Bottom to cheapen up your dudes.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
House Bannerman has only one icon, and the worst one at that, plus the Ally trait. The trade-off for those downsides should be more than an occasional cost reduction, although the Bannerman trait is intriguing and enough to redeem this chud somewhat.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 3 out of 5
Shagga in every deck!

Sygmaghost94 - 3 out of 5
Are you tired of breaking the Iron Bank every time you want to play an out of house card? Hi, Sygmaghost here to introduce the revolutionary new House Bannerman! Use it on those out of house locations like The Iron Throne, Frozen Outpost, or The Iron Mines. Want to use Asha Greyjoy (WLL) or The Red Viper in your noble deck but simply can’t afford them? No problem, thanks to House Bannerman! Can’t bring yourself to pay four gold for The Long Winter in your Targ winter burn deck? You don’t have to anymore! Stop throwing away your gold on overpriced cards. Other decks want you to pay two extra gold for your out of house cards, but House Bannerman will make that penalty disappear. Use it now, and we’ll also include a nifty Bannerman trait to synergize with your bannerman characters! Side effects may include getting discarded due to his ally trait. Get the House Bannerman today!


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emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
I wanted to give this a 4, and for Neutral Faction decks it clearly is. But for any other decks the response isn’t available and thus the utility of the character is lost, especially with the prized on him. Stealth is a bright spot at least.

OKTarg - 4 out of 5
Awesome piece in neutral Merc decks. We’re close to having something there.

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5
I’d run Septon Utt in plenty of Greyjoy, Stark, and Targ decks for the stealth/intrigue pairing,but in Neutral Factions decks he really shines. Together with TLV and Jaime you could easily draw-cap every turn. That holy crest does work too - recur him with Many Powers Long Asleep, or use Power of Faith to have a tricon, non-kneeling character with stealth for only two gold.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 4 out of 5
Shagga has only two gods, right axe and left axe.

Sygmaghost94 - 3 out of 5
Wow, these Neutral Mercenary decks are really starting to shape up. Septon Utt has two very good icons and the stealth keyword. He sports a Holy crest and his ability allows him to replace himself when played and net another card when he leaves play. The only problems with him are that you can only use his ability if you are running the Neutral Faction and he has prized one. His Mercenary trait could be viewed as a downside, but because it synergizes well with Shagwell, I won’t hold it against him.

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emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
I think prized 1 is a decent trade off for a 1/2/2. Mercenary trait isn’t that terrible and you have a degree of control in order to time the response to prop up your own marshalling, or deny later shadow actions from you opponent. Another solid character to round out neutral faction.

OKTarg - 3 out of 5
Efficient, setup friendly, and hoses shadow decks. Nice.

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5
Zollo’s a beatstick that can deny Shadows actions like Meera, Arianne, Guild Hall, and Jaime. For that reason I like him, especially in Black Sails.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 3 out of 5
Even Stone Crows don’t lay with stone women.

Sygmaghost94 - 3 out of 5
A one for two bicon is pretty cost efficient. His effect can be used to mess with shadows decks or help you get a better marshalling phase for one turn. He does have prized one, however. His Mercenary trait can be overlooked for the same reason as Septon Utt, and the fact that he only costs one gold. Now the real question is, do you run him in a Dothraki deck?


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emptyrepublic - 1 out of 5
Give your opponent one power so you can get another card that might give your opponent more power. The net card advantage is zero and the only purpose for this card, as far as I can see, to get a clutch prized card that your opponent will be aware of. It’ll have a very narrow use I suppose but I’m not seeing this being used has there are other tutoring effects with less of a downside.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
You’re not using this in most decks, clearly, but combo-enablers are OK by me. Just not more than 2 out of 5 OK.

scantrell24 – 1 out of 5
We’ve already walked this road with Green Dream. Dominance-phase only kills any potential this card might have had.
Shagga Son of Dolf - 1 out of 5
Shagga not prize pieces of cloth, only use them to wipe… axes clean.

Sygmaghost94 - 1 out of 5
A prized event that only lets you grab another prized card and only during the dominance phase? Why don’t we just throw free power at our opponent?! Use it to search for another copy and then use that copy to search for another copy and then cry when you realize the game is over and you’re using terrible cards.

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emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
I think this is pretty good, but I’m only rating it average because you have to build around it. It’s not worth it if your deck only has a few dual house affiliation characters. There are plenty of safe 2 claim plots. In my view, this is meant for neutral faction that is specing for a broad array of house affiliations. Doesn’t make a huge amount of sense outside that.

OKTarg - 1 out of 5
Remember when Naval Superiority was going to break the game? Me, too. When was the last time you saw that plot used? Why not just run a 2-claim card….it’s safer. This is more fun, and perhaps I’m being overly harsh, but, man, I can’t see this being reliable enough.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
I’m trying a janky Lanni Conquest to Bara that uses 3x Enslaved, Ser Arys, and Brienne to gain additional House affiliations, so 3 claim isn’t hard to imagine at all. However, I believe (and hope for the good of the game) that it’s not too consistent.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 3 out of 5
The common cause of manhoods and goats.

Sygmaghost94 - 3 out of 5
This card can be very dangerous if used in certain decks. However, the low gold/initiative and the prized one keep this from being anything above a 3 out of 5.


29 Comments

If you are unable to show the images of each card, you guys might want to try at least showing the title of the card followed by each link.  Right now it takes a lot of time to see which card you are reviewing if we need to click on links to at least see the card title.

 

I'd also add the total points for each card somewhere as well.

 

Thanks for the reviews guys.

    • zoltan likes this

If you are unable to show the images of each card, you guys might want to try at least showing the title of the card followed by each link.  Right now it takes a lot of time to see which card you are reviewing if we need to click on links to at least see the card title.

 

I'd also add the total points for each card somewhere as well.

 

Thanks for the reviews guys.

We're working on fixing the images. For some reason they disappeared when I posted this for the guys. 

Oh man.  That sucks.  Thanks for the article!

I really, really disagree with the 1/5 given to the new LIV. The card is AMAZING.

    • Bomb, cooperflood, Angarde and 2 others like this

I really, really disagree with the 1/5 given to the new LIV. The card is AMAZING.

 

It's a lazy review to completely dismiss a card as utter crap just because the other is very good.

 

I've said it more than one time before and I'll say it again.  A 1 out of 5 is more like Ser Dontos Hollard and Without his Beard.  If the new LIV is on the same level of goodness that those cards are, then I have a third ********.

    • Flint and Angarde like this

It's a lazy review to completely dismiss a card as utter crap just because the other is very good.

 

I've said it more than one time before and I'll say it again.  A 1 out of 5 is more like Ser Dontos Hollard and Without his Beard.  If the new LIV is on the same level of goodness that those cards are, then I have a third ********.

I also don't think that the rating on Call of the Banners is justified. We will definitly see decks build around prized cards (like Daenerys and the warden title). While it isn't a good card, it doesn't deserve a 1 out of 5.

    • Bomb likes this

Well, I made a game of guessing which cards were reviewed, only by the reviews. Worked fine for me. I am too nerdy...

 

With most cards I am with you guys, and I like how Orkmont Reaver and Prized LIV split opinions. I woud range them on the higher end of the scale, not only because of the effect, but of the mindgame you can play with your opponent. And mentally demoralizing your opponent is prizeless.

 

Overall, not a pack which throw me from the chair. ;)

I also don't think that the rating on Call of the Banners is justified. We will definitly see decks build around prized cards (like Daenerys and the warden title). While it isn't a good card, it doesn't deserve a 1 out of 5.


I agree. For me, the only 1 out of 5 card in this pack is Stepstones, which ironically got decent scores!

I've been playing against Heartsbane on a Bara Black Sails deck. Not at all a rush deck.

 

And the card is just great! The fact that you can naval in a defender, stand him, and still trigger Black Sails on your challenge phase is a nightmare to deal with. I cannot agree with ti being on the bottom cards... the scoring just baffled me.

 

Iron Island Marines just seems perfect for the GJ OW with river plots... time will tell...

    • tehkernel likes this
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LorasTyrell
Jun 07 2014 12:22 PM

You guys are so underestimating the new LIV... have you actually tested against it? It's a monster in Old Way, as if that deck needed another boost. With river plots the +2 and draw is just an overkill, while this new LIV alone kills so many decks (ANY rush and BT).

    • Flint likes this
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Sygmaghost94
Jun 07 2014 01:22 PM
@ LorasTyrell I'm not sure Old Way decks had a problem with rush or BT for that matter. And why would you need this in an Old Way deck? To kill a character? Isn't that what your agenda does? And yes, River plots help offset the lack of draw, but you still want draw.
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LorasTyrell
Jun 07 2014 01:31 PM

@ LorasTyrell I'm not sure Old Way decks had a problem with rush or BT for that matter. And why would you need this in an Old Way deck? To kill a character? Isn't that what your agenda does? And yes, River plots help offset the lack of draw, but you still want draw.

I hate river plots with all my heart and I'd rather not use them (boring!), but the draw they provide is more than enough for GJ and to me the trade-off between the two LIV's favors the latest version. I absolutely know nothing of GJ compared to you, but this LIV is The Bomb, though I agree that in other decktypes that can't afford rivers I'd go for the other one.

 

Also, it's true that Old Way kills, but it's the cannot be saved part that makes this card huge, really huge.

I ran both of the new warships in Atlanta(9th overall).  I found the marines were nice on turns where my economy was tight.  Between Iron Lore, and First Mate I rarely felt like I lost cards activating it. 

As for the opportunity cost of running the new LIV, it slotted perfectly into my deck.  I was char lite, and old LIV turns off all your warships if you don't have a character in play.  I do admit the only games I used it, I lost, but I don't think I lost because I used it.

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Mulletcheese
Jun 08 2014 03:35 PM

I find shagga son of dolf's reviews to be completely useless, a meaningless one line comment that has nothing to do with the card does not constitute a review. When his ratings are outside of the other reviewers (e.g. blackfyre or children's tower) I want to know why... that's what reviews are for.

 

It was funny the first time this was done but now I have to discount his rating and review whenever I read a review article.

 

All in all a very weak pack unless you are looking to build a NF deck. I think the mander will do really well.

I like zollo & mord but I'll have to wait a while to try that. I wish dayne had more ways of getting and using gold tokens. 

    • ringworm likes this

House Bannerman hands down won me a local tournament this weekend. It was money !!

Yes it is fragile, but you play it and it is useful right away use it right away then it is expendable as a chump for blocking/claim etc and if he actually lives another turn the economy he is saving you is fantastic enabling some nice between house interactions that are normally not feasible  

I don't think we should holding the ally trait against house bannerman. If that guy lightning rods the ally hate, I'm usually gonna call that a win.
    • vszeus likes this
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FedericoFasullo
Jun 09 2014 06:54 AM

@ LorasTyrell I'm not sure Old Way decks had a problem with rush or BT for that matter. And why would you need this in an Old Way deck? To kill a character? Isn't that what your agenda does? And yes, River plots help offset the lack of draw, but you still want draw.

 

I have saw that monster in play saturday, I totally have to disagree with you. TOW suffers (not much) rush decks and suffers BT. Dat card is a pole in the anus, it's really a big deal and you can recur it with first mate 

    • LorasTyrell likes this

I think Calling the Banners is getting under-rated here. Yes, its paying a power to gain no card advantage, but its a powerful search effect. Much and More is an event card that searches well for card disadvantage that was maligned at previews but proved to be very useful.

 

Green Dream is an apt comparison, but it was the need to run a Seasons agenda that stopped that one working.

 

As Prized cards are often game changers, being able to search for the right one at the right time is a powerful effect.

 

I'd also strongly disagree with 1/5 for LIV. Sure, there's an opportunity cost, and I'm actually with the people who say original LIV is much better for Greyjoys, but the opportunity cost isn't that you include three copies of this instead of three copies of the other, its in using 1-2 of these and 1-2 of the other instead of 3 of the other. Even if I'd disagree with it being a 5/5 card, its definitely not a 1/5 either.

 

Finally, re: Podrick, I see him (along with There Are No Men Like Me) being very useful in a PbTT deck. His ability along with a 2 claim intrigue challenge will shut down Bloodthirst draw nicely. I'd agree that against earlier draw his use is limited, and saying you need to be first player to shut down stuff like Longship Iron victory (1st version) is basically saying he's no use for that.

The TftE combo does use up your restricted, its true. So I'd agree broadly he's not as strong as we first thought, but he's still a 2 cost str 2 bicon with stealth, and thus probably worth having 1 copy in every PbTT deck and in most every Lannister deck that uses high claim Intrigue (which is most of them). So 3-4/5 sounds right.

I find shagga son of dolf's reviews to be completely useless, a meaningless one line comment that has nothing to do with the card does not constitute a review. When his ratings are outside of the other reviewers (e.g. blackfyre or children's tower) I want to know why... that's what reviews are for.

Weirdly, this was the first time I found the shagga reviews to be funny. Usually I'm kind of divided on them. Overall I found this review to be a bit stronger and more to the point than previous ones.

Whatever else you can say about Shagga, his reviews are much better than Hodor's.
    • LorasTyrell likes this

I find shagga son of dolf's reviews to be completely useless, a meaningless one line comment that has nothing to do with the card does not constitute a review. When his ratings are outside of the other reviewers (e.g. blackfyre or children's tower) I want to know why... that's what reviews are for.

 

It was funny the first time this was done but now I have to discount his rating and review whenever I read a review article.

 

I am sorry to hear this. With a lot of the angles being covered by our excellent co-reviewers, I felt that instead of adding our footsteps into well-trodden ground, we would take more of a backseat and rather spice the overall concoction with a bit of goat, instead of heaping more potatoes onto the pile. Will possibly need to reconsider the approach.

 

This may also be related to the general quality of cards we've seen so far from the current Cycle, which to be completely honest, is pretty poor. Mostly this is caused by the very nature of the Prized keyword, which is so crippling to mediocre cards, essentially condemning them to life in the binders.

 

Looking at this particular CP, we seem to have strayed from the other reviewers in the case of 3 cards - the two Stark Towers and Blackfyre. So, I'll shortly explain the rationale behind those points:

 

The Stark Towers: In the Store Championship Season I ran a Stark KotHH deck to the final of our local SC. Now, both of these cards would almost immediately slot into that particular deck, one for the rare chance of actually generating extra gold (as 1x) in a KotHH and the other for it's ridiculously cheap card advantage (possibly 2-3x in the deck). The Children's Tower is exceptionally important, since it should be noted that it offers an *extremely* efficient card advantage effect, possibly outshining Mander in it's pure pound-for-pound efficiency. Even Harrenhal only allows searching of the top three cards, and that already adds quite a lot of stability to your gameplay choices. While the requirement for the effect is not a natural fit for Stark, it has a lot of synergy with Stark bouncers (Maege, Cat, Meera, Ghost) and is notable because it will often function best in the most difficult situations - a "lose less" card instead of a "win more". 

 

Blackfyre: Positive attachments for characters are in the dumpster, and barring some changes in design direction will remain there ad infinitum. Even good 0g ones aren't seeing play, 1g's are almost non-existant and I don't remember seeing a single 2g actually make a competitive deck all Season. Now that's for the 2g attachment only, and then the card is hit by the crippling Prized keyword, and we have a recipe for disaster. And... even if through all that you manage to run the card, it's whole effect can be mitigated with stealth, icon manipulation or kneel... Filler made Fresh, indeed.

"(See Wedge’s English nats deck for some ideas)"  

 

Where do i find this please?

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LorasTyrell
Jun 09 2014 07:38 PM

This may also be related to the general quality of cards we've seen so far from the current Cycle, which to be completely honest, is pretty poor. 

^ This!

 

About your comment on Blackfire, though I agree on your general idea, I have to point out that Oberyn's Guile is (was?) a very good staple for Quentyn decks last year. Not very meaningful in the current meta though, since Quentyn is far less competitive then it was last summer/autumn

^ This!

 

About your comment on Blackfire, though I agree on your general idea, I have to point out that Oberyn's Guile is (was?) a very good staple for Quentyn decks last year. Not very meaningful in the current meta though, since Quentyn is far less competitive then it was last summer/autumn

 

Agreed, 2013 Guile was still one of the rare 2g attachments worth running, especially after the Negotiations restriction and TLV errata hit. Since then, neutral (and also some in-House) card gain has been given a huge injection, and character vulnerability has risen... remaining at a much higher watermark despite the recent hits to KotHH especially.

 

Quentyn decks are still showing up in quite large numbers to Tourneys, but as you aptly pointed out, they aren't doing all that well overall - partly due to there being natural predator decks to them (Old Way?) in the meta... and none of the ones I've seen do well have been running Guile anymore, but rather opting more to abusing Rivers for the easier card gain.

 

Then again, I have been known to be wrong as well.

    • LorasTyrell likes this
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generalwedge
Jun 09 2014 10:35 PM

"(See Wedge’s English nats deck for some ideas)"  [/size]

 
Where do i find this please?[/size]

Right here :) :

http://www.cardgamed...ing-deck-lists/
    • OKTarg likes this