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King's Peace Chapter Pack Review


The castle was a modest holding a half day's ride south of the Trident. The royal party had made themselves the uninvited guests of its lord, Ser Raymun Darry, while the hunt for Arya and the butcher's boy was conducted on both sides of the river. They were not welcome visitors. Ser Raymun lived under the king's peace, but his family had fought beneath Rhaegar's dragon banners at the Trident, and his three older brothers had died there, a truth neither Robert nor Ser Raymun had forgotten. With king's men, Darry men, Lannister men, and Stark men all crammed into a castle far too small for them, tensions burned hot and heavy.

Our staff has put together a first blush analysis of the newly released “The King’s Peace” chapter pack. 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 overall score is 25 points.

You may notice a few familiar faces missing in action. We’ve decided to rotate reviewers to accommodate everyone who wants to participate, while also slimming the article to a more reasonable length.

Also, credit to Four the Watch on Boardgamegeek for the card images. Now onto the reviews, starting with....

Ser Rodrick Cassel (18 Total Points)(72%)

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Barnie25 - 3 out of 5
Rodrick’s exactly what Stark needs: a Loyal character (cost reduced by Fealty) that draws more cards. However, he’s vulnerable to Dracarys at this cost/strength ratio, and only triggers under relatively narrow circumstances (military challenge with unique Stark characters). Overall, count me in.

emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
A strong card for either Joust or Melee given that he can give himself insight at a minimum (Summer and Luwin give it to other characters). Otherwise, his stats versus cost are reasonable. Ser Rodrick and Arya should tag team well.

OKTarg - 4 out of 5
Draw in a draw-poor house seems good, especially in a house with good, low-cost MIL challenge pushers like duped Arya. I feel like he may be a half-gold too expensive for his STR but the draw will often change a game.

Q&TR Curmudgeons (WWDrakey, Ire and JCWamma) - 3 out of 5
Let’s take an objective look - without other Stark uniques in the challenge, he’s a Doran with 1 more STR (and without the STR buff), but with a much more limited Insight. So, his actual value *has* to come from the over-committed military attacks. That makes him decent, albeit single-minded… and military denial tech (In the Name of your King!, Nymeria, Brothel Madame…) makes him disproportionately sad. As does any Control limited to 4 STR, for good measure. Still, with Valar confirmed down the road, there will be a time for him to shine - it’s just not yet.

Redviper187 - 4 out of 5
Rodrick brings draw to a faction that desperately needs it. Even if you only attack with him and a unique Direwolf you can draw two cards which can be huge. Since the draw is via insight you won’t get to do it until the end of your challenge which means no top decking PttS, but other than that he’s fabulous and would be a 5 if he weren’t so Dracarys-able. He’s also less good as a comeback card than he is as a push your advantage card because he requires multiple characters going in one challenge to get the same amount of draw as, say the Red Keep.

Wolf Dreams (16 Total Points)(64%)

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Barnie25 - 3 out of 5
Tutor effects are always good. Wolf Dreams makes Summer a much better recursion card and finding Grey Wind can be great in some match-ups, like against Lannister to eat Pycelle and Brothel Madame. Solid card but not interesting yet.

emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
Perfectly good tutor effect for Stark decks that are leaning on Wolf support. Kneeling the faction card is annoying as it works against Fealty and locks out other things for an effect that isn’t super strong.

OKTarg - 3 out of 5
Perhaps I’m under-rating this, since at times it will be super good (such as searching for Grey Wind when you have Robb out) but 1 for 1 search needs a high quality payoff for a non-setup, Faction-Kneel-eating card. It’s good and I’m glad it exists but it’s not making me play Stark or anything.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 4 out of 5
A Combo-enabler if there ever was one. Wait, wasn’t Stark all about those little intricate synergies? Grey Wind all day long - works for us.

Redviper187 - 3 out of 5
Really solid Stark card, it can let you go find a chud, a bomb, or even an attachment depending on what you need. Unfortunately it’s best home at the moment is Stark fealty so you might have some competition for that house card kneel. I could see some kind of Stark Rose wolf-attack build that would like this a lot.

Ser Hobber Redwyne (18 Total Points)(72%)

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Barnie25 - 4 out of 5
Ser Hobber makes Lady-centered strategies a lot more consistent. He’s a solid role player with good traits, so expect him to be seen in many Rose banner decks.

emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
I would expect one copy in most Rose Banner packages. He’s a decent Knight on his own, so after he’s found Margery for you he’s good for the new Knight-related toys as well.

OKTarg - 4 out of 5
Hobber is only as good as the Lady you’re finding, so he’s probably the best Targaryen card in the pack! In Tyrell, he’s good for finding Margaery or Olenna, and would be likely 3 stars on that basis. Though, he does work well with Sansa’s Rose. I could also see this with Stark to pluck Arya or Sansa.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 3 out of 5
5 cost for a search effect that can only search for what, a couple of cards in a deck? If you need a specific Lady (Daenerys?) it has a pretty obvious use, but Slobber's too expensive to be a mere deck-thinner, and not strong enough otherwise.

Redviper187 - 3 out of 5
He’s a little expensive for what he does, unless you played a very high gold plot or have a lot of economy on the board, it’s gonna be a struggle to play whatever Lady you found after dropping 5 for Hobber, which means there is a whole turn of potential intrigue claim and card effect discards to get her out of you hand. As a body he is fine but nothing to write home about, and the Knight trait is positive but he’s in the same cost-slot as Knight of Flowers.

Mare in Heat (25 Total Points)(100%)

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Barnie25 - 5 out of 5
This card is amazing! It combines so elegantly with Jousting Contest. Against any faction but Stark, Martell and Tyrell, this card helps you almost always to win a challenge unopposed if you attack alone with a small character (Arbor Knight). Winning challenges was never so easy! Cheap, Efficient and Versatile makes a winning formula.

emptyrepublic - 5 out of 5
So many possibilities! Normally there’s value in “chump-blocking” with a single defender, but not any more, and with Knight of Flowers your opponent is only allowed to declare a single defender, chud or not. Remove big bodies like Eddard and Mormont. Areo Hotah’s similar ability is good even though it only triggers once (or maybe twice) a game; this one works every round.

OKTarg - 5 out of 5
Yeah, a perfect 5 is way too high…..until you start auto-winning with Knight of Flowers, sending in Arbor Knights they have to over-defend against, triggering Sansa’s Rose with a smile, taking advantage of the Lords of the Crossing penalty, etc., etc…...

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 5 out of 5
Oh god, JC, no, stop that! Come down from there! You can ride the nice horsey later, we need to write the review now, remember? That’s not even the head, that’s the tail! Ehh… Seems this is indeed a 5. Maybe a 5+, judging by the rosy colour it put on JCs cheeks. The kind of flexibility and play options that 2nd Edition desperately needs, while being usable as a comeback-enabling mechanic that still needs work and thought to get it done.

Redviper187 - 5 out of 5
The best card Tyrell has gotten thus far.This card is just stupid good, forcing someone to over commit hard for a challenge is just madness. Throw this together with Raiding Longship and watch your opponent collapse in tears.

Ser Alliser Thorne (15 Total Points)(60%)

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Barnie25 - 3 out of 5
His effect is solid, but if you can’t ambush him then he becomes quite expensive and unimpressive. He shores up a weakness NW didn’t have.. but will improve as the pool expands.

emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
I’m “overrating” him for melee because if you are using the Wall you need to be able to oppose every challenge coming your way and giving low STR chumps who normally don’t have a military icon cannot be underrated.The effect will also get better with time as Night’s Watch gets more characters.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
I don’t play much Night’s Watch, but it seems like he’s very expensive for what he adds. It doesn’t seem like MIL defense is a weakness, and he shores that up for a very steep fee. I’ll look elsewhere for now.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 3 out of 5
Having your Ravens actually pull their weight in Challenges is not nothing. And against an opponent foolish enough to walk into it, 4 gold for a surprise 4 STR bicon is solid too. Good luck finding such an opponent though.

Redviper187 - 3 out of 5
He’s a solid body for Night’s Watch, effectively a 4 for 4 bicon isn’t bad, giving characters icons is also good. The fact that the icon he gives is military is thoroughly less than ideal (although very Nedly) as it is the most common icon among the Night’s Watch.

Practice Blade (18 Total Points)(72%)

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Barnie25 - 3 out of 5
Practice Blade is really generic, which for an attachment can be a good thing. You can have multiples out at the same time, but the extra military icon isn’t that needed in NW.

emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
I like it. It’s efficient for setup, not unique and confers decent benefits. The military icon isn’t super necessary as Night’s Watch isn’t lacking in military and Alliser oddly enough overlaps with this effect as well. Regardless, I think it’s worth it now for Jon, Sam, Unsworn Apprentice and Yoren. Value of the card will improve as the Night’s Watch bench deepens.

OKTarg - 4 out of 5
Four makes it seem like I think this will change up NW, which it won’t--I’m grading on efficiency here. For one gold, you’ll improve your setups and spread some icons around. For two gold, you get a small challenge buff. It’s cost-effective, but does it really fill a NW need?

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 4 out of 5
NW was missing an in-Faction method for surprise meddling with Challenge math, and in close games 1 STR is all that it takes to either defend something successfully or enable/stop a win by 5. With the early Ranger (and thus Military icon) dominated cardpool it’s not immediately that exciting, but if we start getting Builder / Steward centric decks, this should find a natural home there.

Redviper187 - 3 out of 5
This card is ok, again, the icon it’s giving is not the one Night’s Watch wants to give and the strength pump is very slight. It’s solid for set-up but I don’t see many Watch decks finding the room for it.

Moon Boy (23 Total Points)(92%)

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Barnie25 - 5 out of 5
I’m a Bara player and seeing this card makes my heart warm and fuzzy. Why? Because Bara didn’t have enough draw, that’s why. A solid body that can draw you cards barring you win the challenge Bara is the best at winning? Yes thanks you. This card will be a fixture of many Bara decks to come for a long time I think.

emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
He’s similar to Sam in Night’s Watch right? A body that you thrown in with another character (who does the winning) in order to get the insight. At the price point it’s a good deal and the downside is very easy to work around.

OKTarg - 5 out of 5
This card rules. Bara has a bit of a ‘win more’ theme going on, and Moon Boy helps you most when you’re already ahead (not ideal), but cheap Insight….yes please.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 4 out of 5
In many ways a weenie that thinks a bit too much of himself (doesn’t want to participate when losing, only P icon)... and with a drawback that may seem like nothing, but in practice will likely prove otherwise. Good, and will make a lot of decks… but definitely not Jorah or Wendamyr -level good.

Redviper187 - 5 out of 5
A solid card for Baratheon. With the Red Keep’s strength bonus and targeted kneel working together, it shouldn’t be difficult to get this guy to payoff.

King’s Peace (13 Total Points)(52%)

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Barnie25 - 3 out of 5
Here’s an interesting plot. I like it most in the late game where the power swing can make a difference, but zero initiative and average-to-low gold make this a plot with bad stats, so I don’t foresee it leaving the binder often.

emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
It’s subpar in joust but strong in Melee. Best in mid to late game when you are wanting to solidify your position and control the tempo against you. Given that faction card kneeling seems to be the primary mechanism to control powerful effects it will become an actual cost that players need to weigh.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
Bara is a gold-hungry house, and the four gold here is just not enough. You usually don’t worry too much about the challenges once you’re up and running, so I prefer to play plots that get me there economically. It’s certainly not horrible on its face; I just don’t think it slots into current decks.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 2 out of 5
Not a bad card, and can even do good work in Melee, but those stats are godawful.

Redviper187 - 2 out of 5
Yet another card that tells me Bara is supposed to be the Anti-Greyjoy house. Fending off the Seastone chair and/or nullifying a power challenge could be very impactful, against anyone else though, it seems pretty meh. Might be a solid deterrent in Melee, probably gets better with more Faction card kneel effects.

Ser Gregor Clegane (14 Total Points)(56%)

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Barnie25 - 4 out of 5
I am being both controversial and optimistic here but the stats on this guy are off the charts. That Put to the Sword is looking quite tasty right now and Lannister is probably the only faction that can reasonably play a second 7 coster. This card suits my tempo playstyle, it either allows you to commit less characters to the challenge or really push the military challenge if you need. My perception of Gregor’s value may be skewed because I run icon-granting attachments in my decks. Tyrell Lion aggro has found its 7 coster in Gregor. He gives them a large beatstick with renown that can help them push challenges.

emptyrepublic - 2 out of 5
I may eat my words later, but for now I think he’s a splashy card that will rarely, if ever, get used. In melee his reaction is more useful because the “then” effect doesn’t specify the scope so you can kill another player’s character if the defending player doesn’t have a valid target (or nothing interesting). Even then it’s largely based on luck and your willingness to play an expensive character that can be easily controlled by Nymeria.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
5/5 if we’re scoring on “fun factor”, and you can 100% bet that I’ll build a janky Tickler/Gregor/Hear Me Roar/Never Bet Against My Family/Bear and Maiden Fair deck. His best use is pushing Put to the Sword, and in a house with Tywin and the Hound, that isn’t difficult anyways. Gregor’s fantastic with Icon-granting attachments, or with Martell for Viper shenanigans, but since both of those are inefficient anyway, I’ll look elsewhere for tournaments.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 3 out of 5
Gregor is both better and worse than many players want to think. Worse, in that he’s more about that weird stat-line than the ability. Better? In that with the way STR matters in 2.0, the aforementioned statline (10 STR monocon, renown) is actually pretty decent, and one of the best enablers for Put to the Sword (and Torch) in the environment. If we ever get deck-stacking the effect could actually be pretty potent.

Redviper187 - 3 out of 5
Gregor only earns a 3 to satisfy my inner Shagga. He’s a super fun card that’s flashy as hell, but he probably doesn’t belong in most competitive Lannister decks. Maybe Banner of the Wolf. Maybe.

I Never Bet Against My Family (7 Total Points)(28%)

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Barnie25 1 out of 5
I don’t understand why they print this garbage. It has some niche interactions that might be good later once we have synergistic characters and frankly more characters in general, and then it’s probably still subpar.

emptyrepublic - 1 out of 5
Ugh, maybe there’s a time you want to use this? There aren’t many Lannister events yet, but this doesn’t surpass any of them. Barring some bizarre future combo this card only gets worse with time as the event pool fills up with better effects.

OKTarg - 1 out of 5
Free characters are great, but not being sure which character, if any, you’ll get? Much less so. Now, if we get a lot of “enters play” effects like Greenblood Trader, we’ll reconsider.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 3 out of 5
Play your first copy and miss finding any uniques. Draw 2 more copies, have a little cry inside, and pray that you have a card such as Summons that shuffles your deck. That said, in good ole’ Aggro, a surprise body is beefy, especially if it’s a Hound, Gregor or a Tywin. It’s also a card that we may look back on as a powerful combo piece in the future...

Redviper187 - 1 out of 5
Finally a bad Lannister card! I’ve been waiting for one of these since the Core set. Maybe if we see some characters with good put into play effects, or maybe in the janky Gregor, Tickler, Bear and the Maiden Fair deck.

Newly Made Lord (25 Total Points)(100%)

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Barnie25 - 5 out of 5
How I loved creatures that destroyed lands when they entered play in MTG. This character will get the same love as all those before. Now I just need to find a way to cycle this body into something more useful after he has done its job, like protecting the Red Keep. Yeah, I will love this card.

emptyrepublic - 5 out of 5
I’m keen to see how much Banner of the Kraken surges now. In first edition, some players happily paid the out of house penalty (2 gold) for Newly Made Lord and his effect. At least his Reaction can be cancelled by Treachery; the previous incarnation was an uncancellable passive effect. Good now. Good forever.

OKTarg - 5 out of 5
Greyjoy is literally the worst. I do not like them at all. Free and easy location control is the worst. Marrying the two? Ugh.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 5 out of 5
Hilariously, despite the rating, we can’t be sure if this is the best GJ card of the pack or not. The Kraken just became a serious contender in the Banner race, as this does much more for the Banner (offering other Factions location Control) than for GJ as a main faction (as GJ already had it with We Do Not Sow). With economy being limited the Lord lacks the easy utility he had in first edition, but his hard-countering of Baratheon makes up for that somewhat.

Redviper187 - 5 out of 5
Oh Newly Made Lord, you beautiful bastard. There’s nothing like some good ol’ point and click location removal. Good luck opposing challenges with your Red Keep in the discard pile, Bara!

Fishing Net (20 Total Points)(80%)

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Barnie25 - 5 out of 5
This is the perfect tempo card, either you go second, drop this after they are done marshalling and have a much better board state to attack or you go first make their biggest pain go away, stealth the rest and be happy. Its non-loyal which makes it perfect for a banner package out of Greyjoy. The investment is low and unlike other similar tech, this card isn’t constricted to having to go first or working only once.

emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
What a gut punch to Night’s Watch which is perhaps the only faction that is the most bothered by this. There are a few specific characters in other factions that this would be nice on but I don’t see this attachment seeing a huge amount of play unless/until Night’s Watch becomes Lannister level popular.

OKTarg - 3 out of 5
This seems sneaky. It doesn’t seem like a bomb, but it’s almost like a perma-stealth on one of your guys. I know I’d love to drop this on Tywin, for example. And non-terminal? It could actually end up being better than my rating here.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 5 out of 5
Forget that silly over-complicated Raiding Longship. When it comes to screwing over problem defenders all game long, look no further. It’s even a weapon, so it can be extra annoying to defensive characters like Left, Right or the Night’s Watch cards. That attachment control thing may just have become critical. Ire thinks that the way this new version works in practice, is that the defending character is too excited to go and test their new fishing tackle out - after all, that’s also what the art hints at!

Redviper187 - 4 out of 5
Together with Raiding Longship it’s gonna be a real pain to oppose challenges against Greyjoy. Slap Fishing Net on anybody with an attachment or stealth and slip past the rest. Deck space will be tight but I imagine plenty of GJ decks will find room.

The Crone of Vaes Dothrak (12 Total Points)(48%)

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Barnie25 - 3 out of 5
There are some nice interactions out there with this card but it’s still niche. The body is mediocre but at least its non-loyal. Overall this card has decent upside and despite its mediocre body it probably slots into some decks like a Lannister Targ intrigue deck.

emptyrepublic - 2 out of 5
I think I’m being nice with a 2 and that’s only because your chances of actually using the ability are significantly higher in melee but even then not sure if she’s worth the deck space.

OKTarg- 2 out of 5
How is she good? Well, Dothraki will be a good trait, but the Dothraki Sea isn’t doing me any favors right now. A low cost INT icon for setup isn’t awful, but not good enough on its own. I think it’s a sleeper for hand-control decks, but that’s not a Targ thing. Yeah, let’s just go with Bad for right now.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 3 out of 5
On face value, you start thinking her ability is too random to ever really pull weight, and turn to just looking at her decent stats. However, that’s assuming a regular deck, with a regular approach… and overlooks that she’s clearly a covert combo-piece. For example, combining her in a Bara Banner of the Dragon with Seen in Flames changes the way you look at the ability quite a bit. And after all’s said and done, those stats ain’t bad for Targ.

Redviper187 - 2 out of 5
She earns a sneaky 2 largely because of her stats. 2 gold for 2 strength on Targ’s weakest icon isn’t bad. Her effect, on the other hand, is bad. Unless you’re playing Lanni you will very rarely use this effect, and even when you do it’s not that great. Unless they draw another copy of that card, you knelt Dothraki Crone for zero effect.

The Silver Steed (12 Total Points)(48%)

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Barnie25 - 3 out of 5
In a more power-gain orientated Targ deck, Silver Steed can make waves. Targ already works well with 2 claim plots thanks to Khal Drogo, and this card only solidifies that. Imagine making 5 challenges at 2 claim!

emptyrepublic - 2 out of 5
Potential for future combo decks? I’m not sure really. I don’t see it being a major force in either Joust or Melee. It’s not loyal so maybe it makes its way into a janky Bara/Banner Targ deck? Right now I’m just not seeing an ideal use.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
I think it will be OK. But I really want it to be better than OK. I wish it stood the attached character when it sacrificed itself, but perhaps that’s wishful thinking. I stand by my judgment that the Redwyne twin is the best Targ card in the pack.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 3 out of 5
Silver Steed is like a more conditional Longclaw, for 1 less gold and with an extra Challenge baked in. Pretty good… for Melee that is. In Joust however, meshes somewhat clunkily with the apparent Dothraki strategy, nor does Dany really need it.

Redviper187 - 2 out of 5
For now, the only reasonable targets are Daenerys (who can already gain renown) and Rakharo (who is currently sub-par). It improves if we get cheap Dothraki with power icons, or maybe a future version of Daenerys will have synergy with the Silver Steed.

Attainted (20 Total Points)(80%)

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Barnie25 - 4 out of 5
Icon control, non-terminal and cheap. You can use it to further choke your opponent or shore up your intrigue hole in a banner deck. Cheap, efficient and versatile. What's not to like?

emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
Negative non-terminal attachments are something I like very much (despite being ho-hum on Fishing Net). The obvious combo, like with Nymeria, is to remove an intrigue icon from Tywin, Dany, or anyone with Little Bird so they become vulnerable to Tears of Lys. Otherwise, it’s good just to breakdown intrigue based decks or make it easier to push through Martell’s intrigue-based wins with Doran’s Game.

OKTarg - 4 out of 5
Non-terminal ways to poke holes in Lannister’s defenses seem like a good thing. Running 2 of these with Nymeria and 3x Tears seems like a good thing. Let’s do this!

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 4 out of 5
Oh dear, Drakey’s whiskers seem to be shaking furiously. That... usually means that games will start dragging to time, as he finds exciting new ways of stopping opponents from actually playing the game! …while he of course can’t figure out a method that would actually make Martell win it’s games (instead of just “not losing”). In fact, as this enables pushing of Doran’s Game… we may even be wrong about that! Also, we’ll restate the comment on attachment control becoming a thing. It earns one point less than Fishing Net due to the lack of that Weapon trait, which means NW becomes more of a problem for Martell.

Redviper187 - 4 out of 5
This card seems really fun. Non-terminal means it will be a real pain in the ass and make attachment hate more important. Combined with Nymeria, Caleotte, and Confinement, it looks like a Martell icon removal module makes for a solid Banner choice.

The Boneway (9 Total Points)(36%)

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Barnie25 - 1 out of 5
The Boneway seems so useless. It forces you to play on the losing end of the board to bank on power gain from a card that can be cancelled and NML’ed. No thank you. It’s not terrible but it’s just too janky to be even considered for a competitive deck.

emptyrepublic - 2 out of 5
It’s decent in Melee to deter attacks. However, the timing is horrible given Newly Made Lord arrives concurrently. This location may not survive to maturity, although Gaston and Sunspear are tempting targets for location control as well, so Greyjoy can’t smash them all.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
The ‘lose lose lose, burst to a win’ deck seems super fun. I also think it’s not there yet (but I only have to squint a little to see the frame coming together), and the Boneway doesn’t quite help me get there. That deck needs Valar to reset the board mid-game.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 1 out of 5
And we got so far without giving the lowest score! Sigh. If possible, this card may be worse than Brandon’s Gift, since it’s harder to realize that it’s utter jank… and will thus likely pollute Martell decks for a while, before people catch on.

Redviper187 - 3 out of 5
I like this card because it is kind of a “fire and forget” power gain. You put this on the table and you don’t have to do anything to use it (other than actually remembering to trigger it - maybe easier said than done). You can just let it sit there and rack up power while you continue to do your thing, and then barring cancel you get some power. Six tokens seems like one too many for my taste but what do I know, if there is any vengeance token manipulation I’ll be psyched.


Hedge Knight (19 Total Points)(76%)

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Barnie25 - 4 out of 5
Solid stats, upside and can take attachments? Like I said before cheap, efficient and versatile, count me in. This makes going mono faction much more appealing for the houses that were missing the low drops to properly make it work.

emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
He’s a reasonable low-cost chud for many decks that need help filling out the bottom of their cost-curve. There are eleven other Knight characters in the game, and most of them are pretty good, so Hedge Knight will be active often. He’s good value.

OKTarg 3 out of 5
He’s fine, and good with the new plot and in a Tyrell Knight deck, I suppose. This is what neutrals should be IMO--solid filler but rarely your BEST choice.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 4 out of 5
Solid stats bro.

Redviper187 - 4 out of 5
Efficient stats are exactly what you want in a low cost card, and he’s neutral so any deck can use him (but in-faction cost-reducers don’t work of course). Mono-faction decks with other Knights will be stoked.

Knighted (16 Total Points)(64%)

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Barnie25 - 4 out 5
Strength buffs are really important in this game because of burn. Going from 5 to 6 strength is a big step, and an increase from 4 to 5 takes character from “vulnerable” to “somewhat secure”. The trait manipulation makes for interesting situations too.

emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
It’s useful when you need to give someone the Knight trait for that Knight theme deck you know you are going to make real soon. Otherwise it shouldn’t be overriding deck space for other things that you should be putting in.

OKtarg - 3 out of 5
As the others have said, the minor STR boost is nice, and the interaction with the Knight plot may be even better. I'll be happy to fiddle around with it for sure!

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 3 out of 5
Queen of Thorns loves being both a Lady and a Knight, and then giving herself a rose to congratulate herself on her own marvelousness. As a side benefit, it bumps someone out of reach of Control effects like Confinement. Shame we can’t make Knights out of Wolves or Dragons though.

Redviper187 - 3 out of 5
Solid support card for knight themed decks. It’s best home is probably Tyrell as they have the most Knight synergy. If you’re running mono-faction Tyrell you might struggle to find enough of your Knights and this could help ease variance. Bonus points if you play Knight on Randyll while he’s already kneeling from Melisandre of Filthy Accusations to stand him back up.


A Tourney for the KIng (22 Total Points)(88%)

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Barnie25 - 5 out of 5
Even if it wasn’t for the renown this plot would still be good. Being immune to events on your closing turn is so key, making sure all that renown is safe from burn / bounce or kill is really useful. When First Snow comes out it will be interesting how many small knights you can keep on the board but for now this plot and the renown it gives them is really strong. Renown is by far the most important keyword in the game.

emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
I don’t think we are quite there yet for full on Knight decks, but in decks heavier on Knights it could work as a closer. Given that there is very little in the way of immunity at the moment this is a critical plot for decks built around key Knight characters susceptible to control/kill (think Knight of Flowers and Tears of Lys/Confiscation). The renown makes even the lowly Hedge Knight a force that could help quickly close a game.

OKTarg - 4 out of 5
Renown is VERY strong, and in decks that field multiple Knights this makes an amazing “closer”. The gold is low, but I love that high initiative. From a design standpoint, I like plots like this that are great in a few decks and not good in others, since it adds diversity to the game.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 5 out of 5
A clear “finisher” plot, somewhat akin to Rise of the Kraken. Time this right with a board full of cheap Knights and the sky’s the limit. Against an opponent without a Wildfire? Play at your leisure. Against opponents with Wildfire? That timing gets a lot harder. Still, having a turn (or two) without needing to fear Dracarys! burning your Knight’s ain’t nothing, and the high initiative helps push a Melee win.

Redviper187 - 4 out of 5
Solid card when paired with Hedge Knight. It’s not for every deck, but helps Knight decks finish faster.

The Lord of the Crossing (17 Total Points)(68%)

Posted Image

Barnie25 - 4 out of 5
You need an even icon spread for this Agenda to work, so it doesn’t slot everywhere. In a tempo-orientated build, this agenda gives a way to introduce more power into the game so you can close faster. Just throw one or two challenges to make sure you win the one you need, grab renown, grab power and be happy. I am interested to see how this works in a more controlling build, it’s not my playstyle but if you build your deck correctly, it might work.

emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
If you can consistently play third or fourth during a Melee game, then this could be fun. I have some concerns when playing against Targ (you don’t want to help them burn you). The major annoyance though is there is no benefit until you initiate a third challenge. Factions that can double up on a specific challenge type could possibly do interesting things. The deciding factor will be whether the opportunity cost of Banner agendas and Fealty is too high.

OKTarg - 3 out of 5
Not every deck will want this, and Crossing decks will probably be pretty sad to see Targ on the other side of the table, but I think it is interesting and will be fun to fiddle around with. First suspect: A Martell deck that wants to chump the first few challenges and then crush you with the third one. Second Suspect: A Tyrell knight deck with Mares in Heat for the first challenge and Mander Triggers and Power Claim on the third one.

Q&TR Curmudgeons - 3 out of 5
A difficult Agenda to rate, as it’s the first of it’s kind in many ways. On the one hand, the final STR buff can help push big Challenges through and even play around Targaryen (a matchup where careful play with the Agenda is critical)… on the other, the Agenda becomes nothing but a ball and chain against Baratheon or Martell Control. Not a slot-in Agenda for current No Agenda decks, nor something that will do big things for the meta… but it will bring out some interesting new decks on the sly. If the “doing it wrong” offensive NW deck without The Wall (but possibly with Jon Snow) needed an Agenda, this might be it.

Redviper187 - 4 out of 5
Agendas are really hard to rate but I’m giving this one a four because it opens up the door for a whole new kind of deck and really expands our options. This agenda seems to work best for rush style decks and really helps them close out games, at the moment Tyrell, Martell, and Lannister should be able to really capitalize on this bad boy and make some pretty quick (or in Martell’s case, delayed and then quick) power rush decks. I don’t think the Targ matchup will be too much of an issue as long as you don’t do anything dumb, e.g. throwing Knight of Flowers into your first challenge of the phase. And that last +2 strength actually helps against Targ

Total Pack Score:
67.8% (339 out of 500 possible points)

Top Cards:
Newly Made Lord (100%)
Mare in Heat (100%)
Moon Boy (92%)

Bottom Cards:
I Never Bet Against My Family (28%)
The Boneway (36%)
Silver Steed (48%)
Crone of Vaes Dothrak (48%)

Let us know in the comments how you feel about the cards in this pack, and we’ll see you again next month to review No Middle Ground!
  • bigfomlof, emptyrepublic, ComeHonor and 1 other like this


35 Comments

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ScionMattly
Feb 25 2016 04:49 PM

Might be a little hard on Hobber. As a nonloyal he can grab Melisandre, or Sansa,  he can always grab Margaery, and he's a knight for Mare in Heat and Lady Sansa's rose. 5 for 4 bicon is not an awful statline, either.

    • Bomb, doulos2k, Zilvake and 2 others like this
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OutOfFactionWarlord
Feb 25 2016 05:34 PM

I think a knight deck after this pack might actually be possible, and you can't stop me from trying it! There are a lot of interesting options in here for all sorts of experiments, and that's what I like to see.  The pool so far has felt a little stagnant so I hoping this really opens things up. 

 

Lord of the Crossing is a card I've been waiting for, for a long time.  Not because I think it's that powerful, but because it's a non-fealty agenda we can play with.  I think we need some more agendas to really spice up the options, and for power rush decks with decent icon spreads, I think it's actually a pretty decent agenda.  It won't win every game, but I think when it does it's going to be pretty fun.

    • Zilvake likes this
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LoneElfRanger
Feb 25 2016 05:37 PM

Might be a little hard on Hobber. As a nonloyal he can grab Melisandre, or Sansa,  he can always grab Margaery, and he's a knight for Mare in Heat and Lady Sansa's rose. 5 for 4 bicon is not an awful statline, either.

Yup. You can even grab a duplicate of a vulnerable Lady you already control, too.

I'm torn on Wolf Dreams out of Stark Fealty. Obviously, the tutor effect on demand is amazing and in that build you are packing the wolves to justify it, but that competition with the faction kneel . . .

    • MightyToenail likes this

This pack seems to make 'Treachery' even more of an auto include.

 

Treachery V Ser Alliser Thorne = Banter!

Treachery V Ser Alliser Thorne = Banter!  OCTGN rage-quit

 

Fixed. ;)

    • FedericoFasullo, SeaLintact and hagarrr like this

Also, getting to play with Hot Rod(erick) in Stark Fealty for the last week or so, I think some are underestimating him slightly. Where he's shone for me is when my draw has died (due to losing/not-finding Gates, failing to get Bran's or Robb's insight going, etc.). Overcommiting to military is not a huge deal for Stark since it can threaten Put to the Sword whether you have it or not. But what it does do is allow you a 3ish card draw fairly easily. Getting that burst draw when you're basically top-decking is a nice safety valve. I use him like a Counting Coppers w/o having to use the plot spot for it.

 

Granted, I've had limited experience and have been known to overrate Stark, but that's my two cents.

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HouseCatofWar
Feb 25 2016 07:38 PM

I think Tyrell is one Lady away from being really good doing Knights and Ladies power rush with Lord of the Crossing. Only having two ladies, and with one being the weak Queen of Thorns, they'll sometimes struggle to trigger Sansa's Rose.

Q + TR Curmudgeons - you can make direwolves and dragons into knights, in the same way as you can make them hold swords in their teeth. Simply run Fortified Position!

Works nicely with Ice!
    • HouseCatofWar likes this
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HouseCatofWar
Feb 25 2016 08:59 PM

Q + TR Curmudgeons - you can make direwolves and dragons into knights, in the same way as you can make them hold swords in their teeth. Simply run Fortified Position!

Works nicely with Ice!

I want to see a Knighted raven with Noble Lineage. Sir Byrd of Hightree would be a better Small Council member that a lot of the actual ones.

    • RedSquadronK, VonWibble, TwoShedsJackson and 2 others like this

I love how Barnie25 said that The Boneway "isn't terrible" but still gave it 1 out of 5. What rating does a terrible card get when you can't give zeros? :)

A question i read on the german board:
does Randyll Tarly stand if he initiates the third challenge with "The Lord of the crossind" as Agenda?

    • Braxton likes this

A question i read on the german board:
does Randyll Tarly stand if he initiates the third challenge with "The Lord of the crossind" as Agenda?

If he has already stood twice that phase, I would say no since his text reads, "limit twice per phase".

(My last post seems to have been eaten, so apologies if a double post appears.) Q&TR said of Rodrik, "he’s a Doran with 1 more STR", but both Rodrik and Doran have a printed STR of 4.

 

"If possible, this card may be worse than Brandon’s Gift, since it’s harder to realize that it’s utter jank… and will thus likely pollute Martell decks for a while, before people catch on." Could we get a more in depth explanation here?

Redviper might be happy he's got a bad Lannister, but I'm still waiting for a bad Greyjoy. Hell, even an average Greyjoy.

I think Gregor was underestimated, as people were distracted by his ability. I mean, nobody even commented on his knighthood in a knight-focused pack. 10 str, renown, knight, lord.

I also think it hilariously Nedly that mare in heat is so effective against him. And useless for he himself to use. After all, the Mountain always rides stallions.
    • theamazingmrg likes this
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Ironswimsuit
Feb 25 2016 10:35 PM

Lords of the Crossing + Boneway = Shenanigans.

Lords of the Crossing + 1STR Chud + STR pump action = Shenanigans or Unopposed Shenanigans.

 

Alliser couldn't have had Ambush instead of the reaction...... :\  If it mattered that the triggered ability had to be on something in play, Treachery couldn't target it, but I don't think 2.0 makes the distinction of a character still being considered a card and not a character before entering play. Still a better 6 than Jon Snow  Ravens, Sam, Unsworns, and Veterans putting in military work.

    • MagnusLothar likes this

Just an interesting design note, but with more plots (like the Loyal Bara plot above) having "Actions" and "Reactions", Core Set Catelyn just keeps getting better. 

    • 14Shirt likes this

/Rant mode:

 

Agree with AndrewHows's opinion concerning the GJ cards. It's the only house so far whose 6 CP cards are absolutely bonkers. On the other hand, the joke with the Targ cards got too far. We were given a (too) strong albeit badly designed one to use once in our decks and 5 ranging from passable to utter crap. The spoiled 2 in the last CP are underwhelming too. Mirri is too expensive and a save event that cannot normally be used in the plot phase fails to impress me. That leaves us with the fourth and the fifth CP to wait for something powerful. Arguments in the context of "Targ is too strong - they do not need other cards" are plain ridiculous. The Lanni / Bara / GJ are strong too, but they keep getting strong cards. I personally grew tired of keep using the same CS cards in my Targ / Lion deck, looking up only to the Lanni or the neutral faction to satisfy my desire for new shiny toys. It's a game which supposedly evolves goddamnit and currently Targ is by far the most stagnant amongst the eight. Keep using the same and the same and the same cards all the time is getting tiresome no matter how potent they are.

    • Shadowist likes this

I don't know why people are saying Thorne works well with Unsworns. If you want your Unsworn to have a mil icon, you can give him one already - and given that he has to kneel to make use of any icon, there's only very niche caches where the ability for him to have two icons gives any utility at all.

 

Am I missing something?

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Ironswimsuit
Feb 26 2016 12:50 AM

 

Am I missing something?

 

Would you rather have a mono con or a bi con?

Just an interesting design note, but with more plots (like the Loyal Bara plot above) having "Actions" and "Reactions", Core Set Catelyn just keeps getting better. 

 

Catelyn thwarted my Warden of the West plot yesterday. Just stealth her right? She was double-duped and had Syrio's Training and then Syrio himself to provide stealth for good measure. She was a right pain in my ass.

    • kizerman86 likes this
I believe Crone is massively underrated here. Lannister banner Dragon will become a thing before long...
    • kizerman86 and mavric2205 like this
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PatrickHaynes
Feb 26 2016 02:00 AM

Would you rather have a mono con or a bi con?

Well, in a vacuum this isn't really applicable...you can only use Unsworn Apprentice in one challenge per round barring stand effect. Because of his effect you can give him whichever icon you want, whenever you want. This means that for all intents and purposes he is not a monocon, or a bicon, but a tricon. Giving him the military with Alistair doesn't really do anything for you as you could give him the military icon if you want him in a military challenge. 

 

Now, with all that being said, that is in a vacuum, in the game there are certain cases where it might be useful to give him extra icons (stand effects like castle black, icon removal, treachery, etc.) but in general I wouldn't say Thorne works "well" with him, I'd say he works with him but ultimately works slightly less well than he does with any character that does not have a military icon nor a way to natively get one, but works better with the unsworn apprentice than he (still Thorne) works with a character than already has a military icon.

I believe Crone is massively underrated here. Lannister banner Dragon will become a thing before long...

But what do you really gain from her effect? Your kneeling a two cost character to occasionally put a character in the dead pile. If you discarded a non-unique character or someone who your opponent only runs one copy of, you knelt a unique character to do virtually nothing. Sure there will be times when you'll get lucky and hit a Dany or a Tywin but do those times mitigate the times where you fully whiff? Now if there is enough dothraki support to make a dedicated deck in the future I can certainly see her being useful because she has an icon that is rarely found among dothraki and she only costs two. But in a Lannister dragon deck, you'd probably be better off running handmaidens, Jorah, the tickler, or hell even the lannisport moneylender.

    • OKTarg likes this
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scantrell24
Feb 26 2016 02:50 AM

"If possible, this card may be worse than Brandon’s Gift, since it’s harder to realize that it’s utter jank… and will thus likely pollute Martell decks for a while, before people catch on." Could we get a more in depth explanation here?

 

They're saying it's a bad card that looks like it might be a good card. Also, thanks to confirmation bias you tend to remember the 5 times Boneway won you the game, and not the 20 times it was useless.

    • JCWamma likes this
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emptyrepublic
Feb 26 2016 03:28 AM

They're saying it's a bad card that looks like it might be a good card. Also, thanks to confirmation bias you tend to remember the 5 times Boneway won you the game, and not the 20 times it was useless.

 

On top of that it's not like The Long Plan from first edition which is at least hidden so you aren't telegraphing the eventual power swing.