Ghosts of Harrenhal: AGoT Pack Review

He drew the stick up through the circle of the lake, from bottom to top. "Gods be good, we'll find a wind and sail across the Gods Eye to Harrentown." He thrust the point down at the top of the circle. "We can buy new mounts there, or else take shelter at Harrenhal. That's Lady Whent's seat, and she's always been a friend o' the Watch."

Hot Pie's eyes got wide. "There's ghosts in Harrenhal . . ."

Yoren spat. "There's for your ghosts." He tossed the stick down in the mud. "Mount up."

Our staff has put together a first blush analysis of the newly released “Ghost of Harrenhal” chapter pack. Check out the unofficial pack FAQ here.

Cards are listed in numeric order and scored on a scale ranging from one through five, with five being the best possible score. We have 5 reviewers this time around, so the maximum score per card is 25 points. Let us know in the comments how you feel about the cards in this pack!

Now onto the reviews, starting with....

Roose Bolton (20 Total Points)



OKTarg - 4 out of 5
He’s quite good, with VonWibble going over some really good attrition options. Paying six for removal, though, will get costly so you won’t be able to ‘plug and play’ him as much as you might perhaps want to. That said, with the smaller boards from Valar, he can be a one-sided wipe if things land well for you.

Quill & Tankard Curmudgeons - 4 out of 5
Sometimes he’ll win you games. Other times he’ll be the most painful character to have Treachery’d this side of Varys (and a distinctly unthematic victim of it, to boot). He’ll always be at least solid though, if you can afford him - but unless you’re playing a “reduce to zero” Lanni Wolf deck, he’s not going to be displacing Fast Eddy in the Wolf banner, and he’s up against stiff competition in-faction. Maybe if we get more Bolton tech or with Tyrell STR buffs?

scantrell24 - 4 out of 5
Threatening to the opponent but requires a bit of work. Maybe worth combining Stark with Targ (lower opposing character’s strength with burn) or with Tyrell (pump Roose up) for maximum efficiency.

VonWibble - 4 out of 5
Adds a lot of things to Stark to help them. The fact he acts before claim means you can kill a couple of claim soak chuds so they have to kill a big guy for military claim, making him very effective with claim 2 plots or Winter is Coming. The fact he sacrifices himself can be made into an advantage too, though I’m not sure it’s enough to justify Needle. A decent strength intrigue icon is a nice addition for Stark. Also a good Lanni card - he can be cheated into play with Lannister’s Harrenhal - and in Lanni Wolf you could always use him in intrigue before Trial by Combat to really put the hurt on. The key disadvantage is that if your opponent has a bigger guy out he won’t get to trigger unless you commit heavily into challenges. He also favours going first since when he triggers the opponent is going to lose potential attackers/defenders.

Joe From Cincinnati - 4 out of 5
If Roose were loyal, I’d probably give him a 2 or 3. 6 cost for a sacrifice effect that requires winning a challenge is very expensive. But because he is non loyal (which is super Nedly) I’m upping it to a 4. Why? Well, because of Lannister, of course. Not only can he be popped in with the Lannister version of Harrenhal for free, but he can be amplified by Widow’s Wail for 6 strength’s worth of murder. In a traditional Stark deck, he has a LOT of competition at the 6 cost slot, with Robb, Blackfish and Fast Eddy. He’ll see play in heavy murder Stark decks though (2 Marched to the Wall, 2 Claim plots, 3 Ice, 3 Winter is coming, Wolves of the North + Greywind, Roose and Harrenhal), although Valar kind of make those deck types less valuable... Regardless, Roose is one of the main reasons that Dissension will be a useful card sooner rather than later.

Harrenhal (20 Total Points)



OKTarg - 4 out of 5
Probably this is the wrong score, but it’s EXPENSIVE. It doesn’t have the challenge phase swing that, say, Ice does, and it’s competing with a few other expensive Stark locations. I think most decks will have to pick between this and Winterfell, and that’s a tough choice. That said, in the burgeoning Valar meta, this is a great answer to re-flooding, and it does help lock in your advantage when you’re ahead. You can force them to keep their good character in hand, or play it to soak the Harrenhal trigger--either one is a win for you. It reminds me of Longship Iron Victory in 1.0, which discarded itself to kill a character at any time. But, in practice, perhaps it will be more like the character version that nobody played that only worked in marshalling--the real ‘win’ of LIV2 was the tempo play. I guess we’ll see. (Also I can’t give a 5 to the second best Harrenhal lol)

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 3 out of 5
This 3 is somewhat misleading, because we’re confident it will have a firm, annoying place in some (possibly Tier 1) decks. But it won’t get thrown into your common or garden variety Stark decks, as it’s too expensive without having a STR value or icons to just be a one-shot effect.

scantrell24 - 5 out of 5
I can’t wait to try Martell Wolf again. Ghaston, Vengeance, Ward, and Harrenhal will be quite the board control package.

VonWibble - 5 out of 5
Point and click removal. Bit annoying in Fealty but elsewhere when this card is out you will make the opponent play differently. With Valar around this could be worth saving to slow their rebuilding efforts. It isn’t even loyal, making Banner of the Wolf even better than it already was. 4 cost is a lot but it’s worth it.

Joe From Cincinnati - 3 out of 5
Same as Roose. Very expensive, especially since it’s a one time use. The factions that can best afford it are Lannister and Tyrell. But they both already have 4 cost locations, including Lannister’s Harrenhal which is just...so much better than this (and you obviously can’t have both out at the same time). It’ll be very strong in some decks that are focused entirely around murdering your opponent’s board, but I’m not convinced that it will see all that much widespread use for Stark decks. They have enough stuff to spend their relatively small amount of money on, including Winterfell, which is much better than this in the long run. Banner of the Kraken and Iron Mines/Risen from the Sea severely weakens it as well. 1 Iron Mines means you basically wasted 4 gold on this location. Also kind of a dead card against Night’s Watch because of Maester Aemon too so...shrug.

Brienne of Tarth (22 Total Points)



OKTarg - 4 out of 5
Nothing bad, everything good. She’s quite nice, and probably replaces one of the Horror/Slobber twins in your deck. She lacks the “wow” of a true 5, but Tyrell players are very happy to see this, I think.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 5 out of 5
Is she always going to not kneel to defend? Of course not (although non-loyal with several playable King attachments means it’ll happen more often than you think). But look at that ‘worst’ case scenario - a 5-for-5 bicon with Renown. The Lady trait is nice too, we hear Tyrell gets a nice card this pack for Lady synergy.

scantrell24 - 4 out of 5
Tyrell is getting there, slowly but surely, and this is another step in the right direction. Her Lady trait might be the best bit of text on Brienne. She’s a 1x in almost every deck, maybe even 2x in some with enough Bodyguards, Horas, Hobber, etc.

VonWibble - 4 out of 5
So, reading House Tyrell’s Christmas list, it seems they got a lot of it in this card. Renown, check. Good str to cost, check. Lady, check. Potential for multiple challenges, check. 1 of in Tyrell and Rose Banner decks? I think so.

Joe From Cincinnati - 5 out of 5
Ah yes. Another 5 for 5 bicon with renown for Tyrell. They’re the only faction in the game with characters of that stat line. If it’s Summer they even have a 4 for 5 with Renown. Just a little fun fact.
Being a Lady and not kneeling to defend when you have a king or Cateyn on the board are just added perks! Obviously, works great with Renly, but can be used with any kings (or king attachments) or in a Stark Rose deck to help their sacrifice deck based around WoTN Catelyn (Fat Cat). Just a pure “good stuff” type of card.

Offer of a Peach (19 Total Points)



OKTarg - 4 out of 5
Challenge control is great. Surprise combat tricks are greater. I think Tyrell is really getting there in terms of flexible cards and I’m excited to see what I can do with them!

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 4 out of 5
The Curmudgeons were unsure between 3 and 4 for this one, with JC’s standard-issue rose-tinted glasses pushing it up to a 4. Highgarden is a fine card, and getting its effect as a one-shot surprise event for a quarter of the price is fantastic, make no mistake. The only problem is the play restriction - the times you won’t be able to play this are likely to be the times you’ll need it the most.

scantrell24 - 4 out of 5
The Lady/Renly play restriction tempers what is otherwise an amazing card. Like Highgarden, it’s flexible. Unlike Highgarden, it’s an event, so unrepeatable but with the element of surprise. Sometimes with similar cards we debate which is better. In this case, I’d run both. Shadowblack Lane in Tyrell now has four great targets -- Growing Strong, Lady Sansa’s Rose, Gift of Arbor Red, and Offer of a Peach.

VonWibble - 3 out of 5
Highgarden on a stick? Well, it’s a lot cheaper (1 gold compared to 4), it isn’t telegraphed as much, it’s free if it’s your first event and Paxter is out, and most importantly it’s not loyal. It’s a very versatile card, excellent in defense against the likes of Balon and the Mountain, and allows you to get challenges through in offense if they overcommit to stop you. Rose Banner decks aside, this looks a strong one in Crossing too. Much as I like it, I’m only rating it 3 as it has a lot of competition with other events.

Joe From Cincinnati - 4 out of 5
It may be a 1 time use only of Highgarden, but stopping your opponent from winning that one challenge they desperately need to win (such as a power challenge on their Clash of Kings turn or the big military attack with Roose Bolton) is super impactful. And not being shown on the board, as Highgarden is, means it is harder for your opponent to play with it in mind. You know, unless they’re just playing scared all game.

Craster (17 Total Points)



OKTarg - 3 out of 5
When you want to have him in play, he’s like a 10/5. But in the more common case of a 5 cost monocon, then he’s...bad. Not terrible, since he’s over the First Snow threshold, and he can also work well in a blowout challenge phase (though why you wouldn’t just target kill this guy first I don’t know….probably Aemon’s save) but not great by any means. I think he seems better than he is, but I could be wrong.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 3 out of 5
It’s a bit too narrow and clunky to have the impact people think it will have. The comparisons to first edition Narrow Escape forget that NE was firstly, free; and secondly, hidden information until the trigger. Just run dupes and saves like a normal person, they tend not to be 5 gold monocons.

scantrell24 - 3 out of 5
Meh. It’s a classic strong effect on a weak/overpriced body. Do you run 3 Craster to guarantee seeing him? Do you run 1 Craster and then rarely have him when needed?

VonWibble - 4 out of 5
Narrow Escape from 1st edition just became a character! The icon spread is poor but not unexpected in Night’s Watch. He can make you feel a bit safer playing out a few more guys to defend the wall (or just have a solid board for hitting things!). Whilst Valar and Wildfire may feel obvious uses for him, he also has a place if the opponent got some high claim military going (say, with Roose Bolton, who of course can’t kill Craster without help if he defends the Wall). I can’t see why you wouldn’t put at least 1 in, he is an answer to lack of high str intrigue and vulnerability to resets in 1 go.

Joe From Cincinnati - 4 out of 5
This card probably won the award for “biggest overreaction caused in 2016” on the Facebook group. Yes. he is strong. Yes, he makes Valar worse. Yes, he’s non loyal. But only a handful of decks rely completely on Valar anyway. And those decks could easily run Dissension if this guy truly becomes a problem for them. When I first saw it, my initial reaction was “FFG really does want me to never lose, huh?” But after testing against Valar extensively, I realized I don’t really care all that much about Valar. My characters are low cost enough (and I have a save with Aemon) that I probably come out of that turn looking pretty good anyway. This guy will truly shine against those big kill decks and Lannister Rains of Castamere decks that leverage Wildfire Assault and Trial by Combat to reduce your board state to as low as 1 character. But that strategy is ridiculous anyway, so I am not too bummed about a counter being printed. Run Dissension if you don’t like him. Or just don’t worry about him. He’s milkable and, unless Aemon is watching over him extensively, relatively easy to kill. And without his abilities, he is just an inefficient monocon so...yea. Don’t quit the game just yet. Glazer...

Dragonglass Dagger (12 Total Points)




OKTarg - 2 out of 5
I can’t really see a world where I want this more than I want Milk/Practice Blade/Craven and even Longclaw.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 1 out of 5
We know Halder is a thing, but there’s only so much room for his triggers, and we don’t think this displaces Practice Blade, so how is this ever realistically making the cut in any of your decks? As Ire put it in our discussion on this card, “Into the pile of useless positive attachments you go”.

scantrell24 - 3 out of 5
With strength buffs from Dragonglass Dagger, Halder, Castle Black and the Wall you could easily have an 11 strength Ranging Party participating in multiple challenges. But is the result worth the effort and the deck space?

VonWibble - 3 out of 5
Immunity to Balon is a big one here, if not kneeling to defend (or standing up immediately due to Castle Black) then immunity to intimidate is also a thing. Protection from characters like Mirri can’t be underestimated either. Whether it’s good enough to replace Practise Blades is the question, and I think a lot of that may depend on the meta.

Joe From Cincinnati - 3 out of 5

Compared to Practice Blade:
Worse in that it does not give a military icon, doesn’t have ambush, doesn’t increase their base strength (relevant against cards that do something based on strength, such as the Asshai Priestess) and therefore doesn’t count towards dominance.
Better in that it gives more strength to your character while participating in challenges, potentially putting all your characters out of Dracarys range (especially if the Wall is out), prevents intimidate if you stood the character with Castle Black (or he didn’t kneel as a defender), isn’t affected by Core Balon’s and Fishwhiskers’ shenanigans, can’t be kicked out of a challenge by Hotah, doesn’t lose strength against Daenerys, King Stannis or the Unsullied, can’t be killed by Jaqen, Roose, Timett or Mirri (if he defended), can’t be targeted by Trystane or Maester Caleotte (if he attacked or defended), , can’t be killed by Quentyn Martell if Quentyn was taken as claim/Put to the Sword etc (if he attacked), can’t be removed from the challenge by King Robb, can’t have renown stolen by Ser Edmure Tully, can’t be targeted by the Mountain’s reaction (if he defended), doesn’t lose his keywords against Sweet Donnel Hill, can’t be killed by Qhorin (if he defended/attacked) and can’t be killed by Podrick’s interrupt after saving Tyrion (if he attacked).
Tough call. Both have definite strengths and weaknesses. Did I miss any interactions? I’ve gotta test to see how often one is better than the other.

Ser Davos Seaworth (14 Total Points)



OKTarg - 3 out of 5
I think most decks will still want the Core version, especially with Valar, but this one is pretty nice too! I like stealth with a flexible reaction, especially in a more aggressive/Robert-centric version, but I think the more defensive Bara builds are stronger at the moment.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 2 out of 5
It’s not that he’s outright bad, because repeatable draw with (almost) no condition is really powerful. But he’s so pricey, and there’s another Davos who’s just plain good in the current meta. If you want to play him, would you like to buy our Quill & Tankard Inn? It’ll be a snip at a mere 120-133% of its worth...

scantrell24 - 2 out of 5
Draw and gold are both valuable, as is the flexibility to choose between them, so he’s decent even if obviously overcosted by one gold. Most decks, however, prefer Core Davos to maintain board presence in a kill-heavy environment. This one’s a Lord for what that’s worth.

VonWibble - 3 out of 5
Non-loyal characters are common enough that you will be almost certainly getting this ability off each turn. If you consider drawing a card to be worth 2 money (I think 1.5 is probably about right) then a couple of uses is getting you decent efficiency. However, core Davos is already efficient in himself, so I think the choice of Davos is going to largely be impacted on by how much other draw you have, and your gold curve.

Joe From Cincinnati - 3 out of 5
Draw is good. Challenge gold can be good... Stealth is always nice. Honestly, this is probably the type of text that core Tyrion should have had, but what’s done is done…
Pretty cool that they made him a lord now. Will help him since he no longer jumps back to hand when killed, so bodyguards will do him well. But I just can’t get over that cost to strength ratio. Why are they releasing so many 6 for 4s?

Rituals of R’hllor (10 Total Points)




OKTarg - 2 out of 5
Never underestimate “jumping” to a finish, but at the same time, this seems expensive (and therefore telegraphed) in a way that a similar jump (like Superior Claim) could provide for….but nobody plays that in Bara! This might be more of a melee card, and that’s fine, but it’s likeliest destiny is as a binder card

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 2 out of 5
If you’re playing this in Joust, you’re building absolute jank. If you’re playing this in Melee… boy do you need pieces to align for you (lots of gold, standing R’hllor, inobservant opponents), and you’re going to have to jump through hoops for a better outcome than, say, just running Superior Claim. But just because it’s janky that doesn’t mean we (except for Drakey who’s a meanie) can’t appreciate it and give it a pity point accordingly.

scantrell24 - 2 out of 5
So Shagga! I’d be tempted if the power didn’t accumulate on the characters, most of whom are quite vulnerable, which is a shame. I might try a few deck combinations -- Martell for Boneway? Straight Bara with Stannis and full dom package?

VonWibble - 2 out of 5
It’s a finisher, and probably one where 2 power is a reasonable enough gain but 3-4 is not impossible. Feels like it could fit well in Night’s Watch Stag, where you could gain 8 power on a Winter Festival turn where the Wall is defended and 3 of your R’hllor guys won dom for you. That said, I don’t think it justifies more than 1 cheeky copy in a joust deck.

Joe From Cincinnati - 2 out of 5
100% closing card here. And probably only in pure R’hllor decks. It still gets cancelled for 0 gold via Hand’s Judgment, even if you spent 5 gold to try and get 5 power to end the game. Seems like pure jank to me, but could be fun to unexpectedly end a game when your opponent thought they had a turn or 2 left to close it out. But still...1 gold for 1 power is not a great rate of return on your gold. I think it’ll see play in some very specific decks but other than that...seems unnecessary.

Joffrey Baratheon (18 Total Points)




OKTarg - 4 out of 5
This SEEMS really good. Target kill just for playing a guy is great. But his body is quite bad….I don’t know. Maybe you can trick him out of play with Daring Rescue or Little Bird (or the small council one)/Tower of the Hand but that is getting VERY expensive.
Wouldn’t it be hilarious to play him only to get him Harrenhalled before you can kill someone?

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 3 out of 5
A card that divided the Curmudgeons, with Ire and Istaril hiding under their mother’s skirts with 4 ratings while Drakey and JC walked away from explosions with steely glints in their eye as they gave him a 2 rating. Perhaps the way to think of him is like a Crown of Gold that comes with a 3-cost knelt 3 STR monocon - a powerful one-off effect that hits most characters without taking out the tip-top dudes. Obviously there are some juicier targets there (Eddard, Drogo), Joffrey can be used repeatedly, and he isn’t limit 1 per deck; on the flipside it’s saveable, kneels your faction card, comes with that rubbish body at greater expense, and Lanni don’t really have many loyal characters worth using this on. We see the potential… for potency, binder-storage and occasional meta-calling.

scantrell24 - 4 out of 5
Repeatable kills are powerful but Joffrey comes with a few awkward strings attached. Lannister decks commonly have more faction kneel effects than most factions, including Rains of Castamere, Shadowblack Lane, Moon Brothers, and Never Bet Against My Family. There’s mediocre artwork too. Joffrey sitting on the Iron Throne has already been done, and with a better result, on Fealty.

VonWibble - 4 out of 5
So, you get a kill just for playing him, and that kill could be anything non-king costing 6 or less. That to me is like having a Crown of Gold that can take 3 copies and works at any strength (ironically Joffrey can’t kill a str 5+ guy wearing a Crown of Gold!). However, it is a little weaker as saves are allowed. Still, I’d say the flexibility of targets
and potential for multiple uses evens that out. If you think of him as a 4 cost event on top of a 3 cost guy he’s decent enough. It’s not like Lannister can’t afford him. If I did have him in a deck I might run less kill events though.

Joe From Cincinnati - 3 out of 5
Hey look. More targeted kill. And out of Lannister, no less. Seems fair. And all you have to do is buy stuff? Man, sure takes the shine off of a character like Roose when you can get potentially the same effect over and over again without having to win a challenge and without having to sacrifice anything other than a faction card kneel and kneeling the character for a turn. Lannister has a lot of loyal characters that you’re already running. Cersei, Tywin, Joffrey himself (yep, he can trigger off himself to kill a 6 cost character right off the bat), Pycelle, Lannister Guard, the two spies and tricon Tyrion...Will only get more powerful as more loyal characters come out. The trade off, obviously, is spending 7 gold for a 3 cost monocon, but if any faction can afford it, it’s Lannister. Valar has devalued targeted kill a bit, but he’ll still probably see some play in those heavy murder decks.

Chataya’s Brothel (7 Total Points)




OKTarg - 2 out of 5
Non-limited economy is great. And Economy is Everything. But, this isn’t fantastic unless your board is super wide...and Lannister has better options.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 2 out of 5
A location, one that requires you to kneel characters and one with a non-zero play cost (despite existing to provide economy) - that’s already three things working against the card. The question then lies in how often do you want to exchange board presence for gold in the current meta? Not often… unless you’re Istaril who feels we rated this at least 1 too low. We would like to imagine that he said something like: “But, on the plus side, after your *third* knelt character you’re in the green!” (with the pun being intentional), so we could laugh at his naivety. Sadly, he did no such thing.

scantrell24 - 1 out of 5
Hot garbage that will also prompt inevitable face-palm-inducing rules questions about paying costs with opponent’s characters, much like Tithe, etc.

VonWibble - 1 out of 5
On a First Snow turn, where you have a couple of int icons costing 3 or less, sure. All too often you won’t be in a position where you can sensibly use this, and if you are you are probably winning anyway.

Joe From Cincinnati - 1 out of 5
More gold. The rich get richer. Luckily, in this game anyway, at a certain point wealth can become unnecessary if you don’t have the cards to spend it on. Lannister already got a couple gold producing locations in their deluxe box (that don’t require kneeling characters in a small board meta) and those don’t see play either. Who would spend 2 gold on this?

Helya (14 Total Points)




OKTarg - 2 out of 5
This is a cool card, but if THIS is your attachment control, then I don’t know if it’s going to work out for you I like that each House is getting its own flavor of removal cards, but this is waaaaay less efficient than Viserys, for example.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 3 out of 5
There are several Greyjoy builds that won’t care about her downside and therefore will be happy to consider her as an anti-Martell card, if such a need ever accidentally arises (with Martell’s ability to make the cut currently being in the dumps). As a Greyjoy loyalist Ire is naturally thrilled to see Greyjoy get another monocon - we thought that was Night’s Watch’s theme?

scantrell24 - 4 out of 5
Most Greyjoy decks don’t include any non-Terminal attachments, so there’s no risk of backfiring. In addition the Martell shenanigans, Helya counters common attachments like Motley, Beggar King, Practice Blade, and Widow’s Wail.

VonWibble - 3 out of 5
Great passive vs Martell, and nice for setting up an offensive Valar if your opponent likes his weapons. Cheap power icon is actually pretty nice in Greyjoy even with a blank textbox, I’d consider a copy just for that!

Joe From Cincinnati - 2 out of 5
Hey Martell, I hope you enjoy...silver bullets! Because this is the only matchup in which Helya actually does anything worthwhile. Congrats on silver bulleting, arguably, the worst faction in the game (statistically speaking, anyway). Yes, it does stop Practice blades, Ice and the other few positive attachments that are still being used from returning to hand but that takes a lot of hoops to jump through in order for them to get removed while Helya hasn’t yet been taken for claim or killed in a Valar or Wildfire. For Helya’s sake, I hope Martell gets better in a hurry. Otherwise, I don’t think she’ll see the world outside a binder for any good reason.

Bless Him With Salt (8 Total Points)




OKTarg - 1 out of 5
Are you playing For the North in your Stark decks? Then why would you play this in your Greyjoy decks? Wouldn’t you rather include Iron Fleet Scouts instead?

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 1 out of 5
Some of the less studious apprentices in the citadel told us that the image is missing a “Brazzers” logo, though we of course don’t know what that means… We bring this up because it’s the most interesting thing about this waste of space - the card itself is a poor man*’s “For the North!”. You remember that, right? The core set card that sees no play?
*A poor man with a gold to spend, obviously.

scantrell24 - 2 out of 5
It’s not very flexible, and it’s a non-setup card, and only Balon really gives a damn about having high strength. I’d maybe run a single copy as a “show me” card to keep the opponent worried that there’s another one coming.

VonWibble - 3 out of 5
Solid cantrip, nice on Balon. Not loyal, and there are potentially enough targets available in a Kraken banner, given the prevalence of Risen recently. Turning a loss to a win on a power challenge is a lot more impactful late game than the alternatives. I find it hard to give more than 3 simply because of competition, but would always give this a look.

Joe From Cincinnati - 1 out of 5
This card does nothing for me. It has a challenge restriction, and a targeting restriction and you only get the card draw if you win. And it costs a gold? Jeez...Lots of conditions and then very little reward, relatively speaking. I dunno why’d you play this card. Also, the name of the card paired with that art make for some very disturbing implications...

Xaro Xoan Daxos (9 Total Points)



OKTarg - 1 out of 5
A funny thing happened on the way to Targaryen being the “attachment” house: they don’t have any good attachments! This pack sees one more unique, positive attachment, but man, they really need a few more. Are you playing Xaro for Seal, Mother of Dragons, and….nothing else in your deck? Probably not. He and the Merchant Prince are great in decks that don’t yet exist.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 2 out of 5
Not enough unique attachments to make him work right now. For the future, if we were to get a unique attachment that returned itself to hand, it might be worth consideration. We’re aware comparing anything to the most OP card in the game isn’t going to make for a fair comparison, but nonetheless, look at Tyrion Lannister, then at Xaro, then choose your form of reaction - sighs of dismay, facepalms, double-Picard facepalms and shaking heads are all fair game.

scantrell24 - 2 out of 5
All you need is Xaro Xoan Daxos, Magister Illyrio, Pyat Pree, Isle of Ravens and Crown of Gold and then you’re in business! In all honesty, he’s a niche card that’s decent in certain decks that don’t truly exist yet.

VonWibble - 2 out of 5
If you were planning to marshall just 1 unique attachment, you effectively pay 3 gold for a 4 str bicon, not bad. The problem is that it is unlikely you can have enough unique attachments worth marshalling in your deck, so you are unlikely to get this to go off. At this point he becomes a weak card. The best home I can think of for him is Stark banner of the Dragon, where Ice, Lady, and Nymeria are all possibilities, 2 of which can be searched for with Wolf Dreams. It is unfortunate the attachment has to be marshalled as that means ambushes (Widow’s Wail) and put into plays won’t trigger it.

Joe From Cincinnati - 2 out of 5
I don’t want to underplay the value of economy but...come on. A 5 for 4 bicon that you’ll trigger, what, maybe twice a game? If you’re lucky? I gave him a 2 mostly because of the next card in this pack making him not completely unplayable...but still pretty unplayable...I’d much rather just run another Magister Illyrio. He may improve in the future if they get more unique attachments. Right now, with a few beggar kings, 1 crown of gold and a few of the next card in this pack means you are not going to see all that many opportunities to trigger him. Especially since you’re probably not running 3 (or even 2) of this character.

Mother of Dragons (12 Total Points)



OKTarg - 3 out of 5
I do like getting extra actions out of Dany, but I don’t like things that ONLY go on her. She shoehorns you into running dragons, is quite predictable, and, even though she’s strong, isn’t THAT strong that you want this all the time. One-of seems the right number, and you’ll be okay with drawing it, but it’s not blowing you away.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 2 out of 5
There are some tricks you can pull, but in most cases this is an inflexible Seal of the Hand. You know, like the Wolf King from last month - which could go on ANY Stark character. Why is this restricted to just Daenerys again? To add to some weird “awkwardly clunky” Targ theme in continuation of Crown of Gold?

scantrell24 - 2 out of 5
Where do we draw the line between Shagga and just plain bad? It’s blank unless you have both a Dragon and Dany, which bars Mother of Dragons from any tournament deck seeking consistency.

VonWibble - 2 out of 5
It goes on 1 character. Whilst it does give you a non kneeling extra challenge, probably military, Seal of the Hand provides far more options for just 1 more gold.

Joe From Cincinnati - 3 out of 5
I like it. Obviously, it is only worth it in a deck based entirely around getting Dany and her dragons out and using them to mess with people. Attack with a dragon, see how they defend...bring Dany in. Shenanigans ensue. So, you could attack with Dany. Win get renown(via Drogon) and insight, stand her (via Rhaegal). Attack again, win, get renown and insight then you can use this on defense, even though she’s knelt. I think this has a place in burn decks. The fact that you can only put it on Dany means it could be a dead card if you just don’t see Dany for a while (or if she’s dead), but hey. Then you can run Vaes Dothrak to start removing attachments with it! May be janky, but it will definitely be fun.

Myrcella Baratheon (18 Total Points)



OKTarg - 4 out of 5
She’s efficient renown (most of the time) in a house that really likes to close just a tick faster. I think she’s really good, comparable to the Knights of the Sun for conditional renown at her strength point but with that Intrigue icon, which Martell really likes.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 3 out of 5
Istaril wonders if we’re at the tipping point where Doran is worth including, while Drakey laughs into his cups of sweet cider at Istaril still imagining there will ever *be* such a tipping point - intoning “When the sun rises in the west and…”. The others fell asleep in their cups already from boredom.

scantrell24 - 3 out of 5
Well-costed and generally efficient. Martell has enough Ladies and Knights now for a plausible combination with Tyrell for Lady Sansa’s Rose.

VonWibble - 4 out of 5
I like her. Martell don’t have much renown, even if it isn’t guaranteed, being a Lady helps Doran get even closer to a critical mass of characters he can buff, and a non kneeler with renown is a great way to put opponents off even making power challenges against you.

Joe From Cincinnati - 4 out of 5
A very efficient little ball of stats. Not kneeling to defend in the only challenge that matters (#theonlychallengethatmatters) is a nice little bonus too. Just watch out for those Wards.

Prince’s Pass (22 Total Points)



OKTarg - 5 out of 5
I LOVE this card. It slots into your Icon removal deck very, very nicely, perhaps even more so than Ghaston. And since that’s about the only thing that Martell has going, then I think you’ll be just fine with this!

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 4 out of 5
You’re probably not cutting a Ghaston Grey for it, but the similar effect and fact that it kinda-sorta-if-you-squint allows you to have a second Ghaston out at once means this likely sees play as a 1-2x in the more control-y, tempo-oriented Martell decks. It does have an air of being a more costly Winterfell Crypt about it, which was somewhat overrated at the point of its release - but then Martell is much more of a home to anti-snowball location-based removal effects than Stark, so we’ll see...

scantrell24 - 5 out of 5
Amazing in many ways, including against non-kneelers and double attackers (Cersei, Jaime, Asha, etc). Now Martell just needs a surprise icon removal card that can target the boss characters.

VonWibble - 4 out of 5
Ghaston Greyish. With Nymeria or Caleotte on the board your opponent is going to be very scared to make challenges with any bicon same as GG. Whilst the Pass does allow saves, it discards the character, which is generally stronger than returning to hand, tricks such as Heads on Spikes aside. Occasionally you may even find it useful without needing to sacrifice it - if facing a non kneeler such as core Jaime for example. It does take a bit more setting up than Ghaston however, and I think I’d take Ghaston first.

Joe From Cincinnati - 4 out of 5
The comparisons to Winterfell Crypt are apt. But if Winterfell Crypt were a Martell card, I bet it would have seen more play. I like it’s interaction with Nymeria. Basically, if your opponent attacks with a Bicon while Nymeria is out (and hasn’t used her ability yet) you equate that character attacking to them being discarded. You remove one icon with Nymeria, the other with Prince’s Pass and poof. Gone. Granted, it can be saved against, which is annoying, but the ‘cannot be saved’ text on Ghaston, really, is what makes it one of the best cards in the entire game. You can’t expect that power level from every card your faction gets. Unless you’re playing the Night’s Watch, apparently.

Silent Sisters (13 Total Points)



OKTarg - 3 out of 5
Strength matters, but this card is just pretty bland. Good late game, and sometimes you just need soak. Just what you want out of a neutral.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 2 out of 5
Some decks need STR-efficient chuds to round out their late game, and these go there. Some decks don’t, and these won’t go there. First Snow hoses all 3g chars, so these often go there (back to hand).

scantrell24 - 2 out of 5
The first edition Silent Sisters saw play because it was a shadows card, not because the moderate strength body was attractive.

VonWibble - 3 out of 5
Realistically they are likely to be at 3+ strength from turn 3 onwards, as you surely don’t run them in a deck without cards like Wildfire and Valar. The The Seven trait could help, if we see 3 more non uniques with this then High Septon actually becomes good! Very strong card late game in general, but very bad to setup. As well as reset heavy decks, they could be worth a look in Crossing for factions lacking their icons.

Joe From Cincinnati - 3 out of 5
Decent card in a Valar meta. If Valar isn’t present though...meh. I don’t really like them that much. 3 cost is still the worst cost slot in the game, even if First Snow of Winter is seeing a decrease in play. And, without a rather large dead pile (which I think we can all agree is not generally a goal for you in this game), they will probably never really become worth the time and effort. Awful if seen too early. Better if seen late. Maybe a 1x in decks that run Valar.

Frostfangs (12 Total Points)



OKTarg - 2 out of 5
There are some pretty cool reserve blowout decks, but they are not actually good. And, what’s more, they can’t afford this at the point of the game you’d need it (remember this won’t work on setup).

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 2 out of 5
Reducing is, as a general rule, better than raising, and the thought of forever stopping your opponent from amassing a decent hand against you is very tempting; that said, this card is a Treachery away from being absolutely horrible, cannot be setup (well, can be but why would you), and outside of some ultra-specific combo decks you’ll need to get rid of 2 cards due to this reserve drop before it starts truly paying for itself. Drakey and JC would’ve liked to go to 3 but were held in check by Ire and Istaril, somewhat bizarrely given which two are Greyjoy fans...

scantrell24 - 2 out of 5
Tempting but too wonky, given the cost and risky / non-setup templating of that ability.

VonWibble - 1 out of 5
Hard to judge. Could be NPE in a dedicated reserve attack deck, but those are usually winter based, and a 2 gold tempo hit hurts in such decks. I can’t see decks finding room, and given my dislike of choke I hope I am right on this one.

Joe From Cincinnati - 5 out of 5
I actually love this card. I know that I’m probably overrating it by a point, but I have to make up for all these guys and their 1s and 2s. It’s non unique so you could be giving your opponent -3 reserve if you play all 3 of them. Paired with the Kings of Winter agenda and high claim plots, you could really frustrate the hell out of your opponents with this card.
Night’s Watch Winter is going to love this card, especially since they have Ocean Roads AND Sworn Brothers to reduce its cost. Then, when you discard characters to reserve, I’ll go dig them out. Or I’ll just spend 2 gold to take them into play right after you discard them with that new event that was previewed in the NW Deluxe box, Now My Watch Begins. Or, after I win a challenge with the new Old Bear Mormont. Lower reserve means Night Gathers triggers more easily and lets me dig even further into your discard pile. This card is awesome when in the right deck.

Quiet As A Shadow (12 Total Points)



OKTarg - 2 out of 5
It’s fine, and it’s cool, and it’s fun, but I don’t think it’s impactful enough to warrant tournament play.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 4 out of 5
“Draw equals win” was a mantra of first edition, and powerful 0-cost effects are the way to bring that back. The lack of any truly competitive decks that can currently run this with true consistency holds it back from being a 5, though in the future this may be a staple… and Shae and Osha do love this one.

scantrell24 - 2 out of 5
Free and surprising, but non-setup, non-repeatable, and limited in who it can target makes Quiet as a Shadow a luxury that most decks can’t afford to include.

VonWibble - 2 out of 5
A 0 cost event that wins you a challenge you otherwise wouldn’t have done or allows you to oppose a challenge you couldn;’t have? Seems decent enough, but usually I’m going to want something different. One place I’d really consider it is a deck with multiple characters that can stand or don’t kneel to participate in challenges - though we don’t have too many of those costing 3 or less. Usually it will not make it into a deck, at least until Dark Wings Dark Words returns.

Joe From Cincinnati - 2 out of 5
I really don’t like the targeting restrictions on this card. Although Valar’s existence has pushed cost curves down quite a bit in several decks in the last few weeks, a lot of low cost characters are non unique, so not targetable with this event. Looking at the lists of unique characters 3 cost or less for each faction leaves a lot to be desired for most factions and probably represents maybe 5 to 6 cards in any given deck not based in Targaryen or Stark. You could build around it to have more targets but then...why would you do that? Even my current Night’s Watch deck (with 22 3 cost or lower characters) only has 8 possible targets for this event, and that includes the 3 Aemons that are likely kneeling for claim/kill effects and the 2 Edds that are likely popping out of my hand each round and therefore not typical targets. The other big issue with this card is finding space in your deck for it. I have so many decks that I can’t fit in all the stuff I want to...and this doesn’t even top that list, let alone making it into the deck itself.

Ghosts of Harrenhal (14 Total Points)



OKTarg - 4 out of 5
I hate this card. I do not like things that play around the penalty of the dead pile (meaning, yes, I don’t like Close Call from a design point of view either). To me, the dead pile means dead. You should have to suffer for including uniques that end up there, not merely flop a plot out to get them back out there. I’m sure the drawbacks end up meaning it’s not meta-breaking, but I don’t like it nonetheless.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 3 out of 5
After the Valar hysteria calms down this will likely mostly see play in only Lanni Harrenhal decks. But it’ll sure be good there!

scantrell24 - 3 out of 5
Too situational for widespread use. Sometime it’ll be amazing, but often you’ll be forced into choosing a different plot because Ghosts of Harrenhal isn’t advantageous in the moment, either because of the low gold or what’s on top of each dead pile. I’d have rather seen 1 gold and 2 claim to spice things up.

VonWibble - 2 out of 5
As a card to reveal when your opponent flips Valar, it’s OK as long as their best character is worse than yours. But is that going to happen so often? To me, this feels a better counter to your opponent getting a Tears through on your Tywin turn 1 when you didn’t kill anything of theirs, and I’d probably use it under those circumstances. 2 gold and 5 reserve isn’t great either. Nice idea, but those stats are too weak for me.

Joe From Cincinnati - 2 out of 5
I know this is good against Roose, new Harrenhal, Joffrey, Valar and works extremely well with old Harrenhal. But the stats are so bad and you’re potentially giving your opponent something back too...Seems too easy to disrupt and a bit too janky, if you ask me.

Total Pack Score:
58.6% (293 out of 500 possible points)

Top Cards:
Prince's Pass
Brienne of Tarth
Roose Bolton
Harrenhal

Bottom Cards:
Chataya's
Bless Him With Salt
Xaro Xoan Daxos

If you're hungry more content, check out the list of podcasts, articles, game video and more in the Community FAQ. Let us know in the comments how you feel about the cards in this box, and we’ll see you again in a few weeks to review “Tyrion's Chain”.