First Tilt - Which House is for You: Martell, Princes of the Sun

Welcome to “The First Tilt”, a blog dedicated to helping new players get their bearings in A Game of Thrones LCG. We’ll be covering a wide variety of topics, from what to buy, basic strategies and tactics, and getting acquainted with basic themes. The next six articles for The First Tilt are going to be dedicated to discussing the various Houses of Westeroes and helping you decide which house is for you. This is the last article of this series and we’ll be wrapping up by discussing House Martell, The Princes of the Sun.

House Martell is largely an unknown for new players, especially players unfamiliar with the Westeros setting. Mentioned mostly in passing, Martell doesn’t really receive any attention in the books until A Clash of Kings, when they begin to work their way onto the scene. For new players, House Martell is a real mystery. Like the Greyjoys, House Martell has no presence in the Core Set with the exception of a sole House card. And if a player ventures onto a forum to read about Martell, then they hear horror stories of Martell dominating Metas and tournaments, running rampant over all of their opponents. So, let’s pull back the curtain and take a good look at House Martell.

Founded in Dorne, House Martell does not have the illustrious histories that most of the other Houses possess. Leading a confederation of Houses in the South, House Martell comes into its own when Mors Martell married the Rhoynish queen Nymeria. House Martell was able to resist the Targaryen conquests of Westeros for nearly 200 years. Finally when the rest of Westeroes was conquered, House Martell bent the knee and created an alliance to House Targaryen through marriage. Fiercely independent and the undisputed power of the South, House Martell is still led by a “prince” and their words are “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken.”

Of all of the Houses in the game, House Martell is probably the least friendly for new players. As previously stated, there is no starter deck in the Core Set for a new player to work with; and the House Martell play style is very involved, favoring more foresight and planning than any of the other Houses in the game. They can be a real problem for someone new to the game, and most likely impossible to use to someone new to card gaming entirely. When we first started playing and purchased the Martell expansion, my wife initially claimed them, believing they would play in a manner similar to Lannister. She quickly changed her mind. But don’t let this deter you. You just need to get your bearings before jumping into Martell.

I like how well Martell favors good planning. Out of all of the Houses, Martell is a strategists' dream. Most Houses will have a strategy that a player tries to get functioning while holding his opponent at bay. House Martell assumes you will be playing against a stronger opponent and accounts for that in its strategy. Martell has many control cards, most functioning if you lose a challenge. In fact, House Martell’s keyword “Vengeful” counts on you losing challenges. Vengeful allows a character to stand after you lose a challenge. Red Vengeance (PotS) is a dangerous Event card that can turn your losing situation into your opponent’s losing situation by forcing your opponent to fill the claim of their own challenge. Taste for Blood (PotS) is an attachment that gives a character a power each time you lose a challenge as the defender. To win with Martell, you must first learn to lose.


But I’m a theme player and Martell has some really fun themes. Currently slithering its way through our local meta and inspiring fear in everyone is the Sand Snake theme. Playing around the Sand Snake trait, this theme focuses on flooding the opponent with a variety of challenges that all synergize off of each other. Bastard Daughter (OSaS) allows you to put a unique Sand Snake into play from your hand or discard pile after you lose a challenge. Dorea Sand (TftH) allows all of your Sand Snakes the ability to attack without kneeling after you lose a challenge as the defender. Nymeria Sand (OSaS) gives all of your Sand Snakes a military icon and Deadly. No Use For Grief (DB) is the real zinger in this theme. It allows for you kneel 1 influence after one of your Sand Snakes is killed to search your deck for another Sand Snake, reveal it and add it to your hand. However, if the Red Viper was just killed, you can kneel 3 influence to search for any number of Sand Snakes and put them into play. The Sand Snake theme also has a fair mix of all three icons, allowing you to initiate a variety of challenges each turn.


Personally, my favorite theme for Martell is the House Dayne theme. Revolving around the minor noble house from Starfall, House Dayne functions in a manner similar to the House Tully theme for Stark. Just as the House Tully theme revolves around Riverrun (LoW), the House Dayne theme revolves around Starfall (ASitD). Starfall gives each House Dayne character +1 Strength for each gold token on it. Great, but how does one get gold tokens? Simple! Starfall also has the response that after you win a challenge in which a House Dayne character participated, that character gains a gold token. House Dayne Reserves (PotS) is fun against opponents who like Intrigue challenges. If it would be discarded from your hand, instead House Dayne Reserves goes into play. The enigmatic Ser Arthur Dayne (TWoW) is a beast. If you control fewer characters than the player attacking you, then he cannot be bypassed by Stealth and does not kneel to defend. Attach Dawn (TRS) to give him a whopping +5 Strength.


House Martell is the current power to beat. If you are an experienced cardgamer, Martell will be both challenging and rewarding for you. If you are an inexperienced card gamer, then Martell might not be the best horse to ride until you become a little more familiar with the game. House Martell is a lot like a bull whip, dangerous in the right hands but can also come around to bite you in the butt if you’re not careful.

That’s going to wrap up our look at the Houses. Next week we’ll be tackling what is your play style? Are you a Ned, Shagga, or Jaime?

Thanks for playing along,
Ben