Quill & Tankard Regulars - Issue 9

This week in Quill & Tankard Regulars we continue onwards through the different phases of the game, by looking at the phase where the different noble Houses summon their champions to step forwards. Everybody seated? Ok, good. The Marshalling phase it is, then.

Citadel Custom – Marshalling, Chapter 1

Citadel Custom is a set of articles presenting game mechanics through illustrated gameplay examples. It is aimed at all players from initiates to self-proclaimed Archmaesters. Each article will consist of a short recap of the relevant rules, followed by a detailed example with a more or less complex starting situation.

While many of the turning points of an AGoT game happen during either the Plot or Challenges phase, the Marshalling phase is arguably the solid core of the game. This is when all Houses bring forth additional forces and attempt to plan forward according to the threats they are facing. There are even some decktypes, like Lannister kneel or Greyjoy choke, which attempt to control the flow of the game through their mastery of the Marshalling phase.

Rules Recap

Marshalling Phase: Structure

First player starts as Active Player. During the player actions, only the Active Player is allowed to take actions that cost gold. Character, location and attachment can be played for their gold cost as player actions by the Active Player during the Marshalling phase. Duplicates of unique cards may be played for free as Player Actions.

FRAMEWORK ACTION
1. Marshalling Phase begins

* FRAMEWORK ACTION
1. Active Player counts income

PLAYER ACTIONS

FRAMEWORK ACTION
1. If there are players that have not yet been the Active Player, the next player becomes the Active Player and move back to the Framework Action for counting income (*). If all players have already been the Active Player, then move to the Framework Action for ending the phase.

FRAMEWORK ACTION
1. Marshalling phase ends

Player Actions

The first opportunity to make a Player Action is with the First Player. After the Player Action window for the first player's Player Action has closed, or he has passed on making an action, the opportunity moves clockwise. This repeats until all players have consecutively passed on making a player action.

The structure of a player action window:

1. Initiate Player Action
2. Save/Cancel Responses
3. Resolve Player Action
4. Passive Effects
5. Responses
6. End of Player Action

First, the player action is initiated, play restrictions are checked and all relevant costs for the action are paid. Then, is the opportunity to cancel the action, or save cards that would be removed from play by the action. Once all save/cancel responses have been played, the player action is resolved.

Next, when the player action has resolved, all passive effects initiated by anything that has happened during the Framework Action up to this point are resolved (Step 4). In a case of conflicting passives, the first player decides the order in which they resolve. Note that passive effects are not triggered, and are not optional even though they can allow player choice, for example via a 'may' clause.

Finally, players are allowed to trigger any Response: effects that have their play restrictions met by anything that has happened during the Player Action window up to this point, including passives (Step 5). The responses are played in order, starting with the player left to the player whose player action it is, until all players have consecutively passed. Then, the Player Action ends and moribund cards leave play (Step 6).

Framework Actions

1. Initiate Framework Event*
2. Save/Cancel Responses*
3. Resolve Framework Event*
* Repeat for each Framework Event.
-----------------------------------
4. Passive Effects
5. Responses
6. End of Framework Action

See our first Citadel Custom here, for a more indepth explanation on how Framework Actions are resolved.

Starting Situation

Imagine a cold and wintery game of back and forth, with Greyjoy loaylists landing their longships on the frozen shores of the north, only to be repelled time and time again by staunch defenders of the King in the North.

Stark Player (6 Power)

Plot:
Battle of Oxcross (PotS)

Characters:
Ser Kyle Condon (APS)
Robb Stark (KotS) (2 power)

Locations:
Godswood (Core)
Gates of Winterfell (CtB)

Attachments:
Frozen Solid (LoW) (on The Iron Mines (KotS))

Hand:
House Umber Berserkers (BoRF)
Northern Cavalry Flank (SA)
Icy Catapult (TWot5K)
Distinct Mastery (Core)

Greyjoy Player (7 power, first player)

Plot:
The Winds of Winter (TWoW)

Characters:
Ice Fisherman (TWoW)
Moqorro (VD)
Distinguished Boatswain (TftRK)
Maester Murenmure (CbtC)

Locations:
Street of Steel (Core)
Street of Sisters (Core)
River Blockade (RoR)
The Iron Mines (KotS)
Gatehouse (KotS)

Attachments:
White Raven (TWoW)

Hand:
To Be a Kraken (SB)
The Sparr (APS)
Gatehouse (KotS)
Iron Island Fiefdoms (KotS)

[lightbox='Stark_start_small.jpg']tn_Stark_start_small.jpg[/lightbox]
[lightbox='GJ_start_small.jpg']tn_GJ_start_small.jpg[/lightbox]


Gameplay Resolution

GJ Players Marshalling: After winning the initiative this round, our Greyjoy player elected to push for an advantage with her 2-claim plot and elected to be first player. Thus she Marshalls first and counts 3 gold as income (three from her plot, minus one from White Raven (TWoW) and plus one from her Gatehouse (KotS)). She takes that many gold tokens from the goldpool and starts marshalling.

As her first player action, she kneels her Street of Steel (Core) to lower the cost of the next character she plays with a military-icon. Then, it's our Stark player's turn to make a Player Action, and he decides to attempt to use Robb Stark (KotS)'s ability beforehand, before he can be blanked or kneeled in some way. He kneels Robb, and the GJ player now has the option to cancel with Maester Murenmure (CbtC). She decides to do so - Robb stays knelt, Maester Murenmure (CbtC) is knelt and it's again the GJ players chance to make a Player Action.

Our Greyjoy player then plays The Sparr (APS) from her hand, paying 2 gold, since it's cost was reduced by 1. The Stark player decides against making any more actions yet, and passes. She then decides to play the Gatehouse (KotS) from her hand for free, and he passes again. The 1 gold left in her goldpool would be enough for Iron Island Fiefdoms (KotS), but she already played one Limited card this turn, so she also passes from making another player action, and the game moves to our Stark player's turn to marshall and be the active player.

Stark Players Marshalling: The Stark player counts 2 income (four from his plot, minus one from both White Raven (TWoW) and The Sparr (APS)). The first player action is with the GJ player, and she uses it to steal one of the gold tokens from the Stark player's gold pool using Ice Fisherman (TWoW), and add it to her own. The first action from the Stark player is to kneel Godswood (Core), the effect of which gets cancelled by the GJ player's River Blockade (RoR). With the GJ player passing on a further Player Action, our Stark player then elects to quickly put Icy Catapult (TWot5K) into play from her hand by paying her last gold. Suspiciously he attaches it to Ser Kyle Condon (APS). Our GJ player now continues passing on player actions, as she doesn't have anything else to do.

Even though our Stark player's goldpool may be empty, he still has a few tricks up his sleeve. He first plays Distinct Mastery (Core) in order to stand Robb Stark (KotS), then after the GJ player has passed, he kneels Robb to lower the cost of the next Stark Army he plays to zero. Our GJ player is starting to see where this is headed, as after she passes again, he plays House Umber Berserkers (BoRF) from his hand for free. After the Berskers enters play, both players need to kill one of their characters. The GJ player offs her Ice Fisherman (TWoW), while the Stark player naturally chooses his Ser Kyle Condon (APS).

Now that Ser Kyle is in moribund:dead, our Stark player triggers the Response: on Icy Catapult (TWot5K) and targets The Sparr (APS) with it. Our GJ player sighs, and kneels Moqorro to save The Sparr (APS) from being killed. Our Stark player is also able to trigger the Response: on Ser Kyle Condon (APS), drawing a No Quarter (TBC) from his deck. As the Player Action Window ends, Ice Fisherman (TWoW) is moved to the deadpile, the Catapult is moved to the discard pile, and Ser Kyle Condon (APS) jumps to the top of his owner's deck due to the Stalwart keyword. Yet again our GJ player passes on making a player action. With a flourish our Stark player makes his final action, jumping Ser Kyle straight back into play via the Marshalling: action on Gates of Winterfell (CtB). Thankfully for the GJ player, at least he's now knelt. With both players passing consecutively, the game now moves onto the end-of-phase Framework Action Window, and the Marshalling phase ends.

[lightbox='Stark_end_small.jpg']tn_Stark_end_small.jpg[/lightbox]
[lightbox='GJ_end_small.jpg']tn_GJ_end_small.jpg[/lightbox]

With our Stark player cleverly working around the impressive chokehold, will our GJ player be able to force her opponent on the defence with her two claim plot?

Dear Archmaester

Dear Archmaester collects interesting, unusual and unexpected rulings from the FFG Rules forum.

Q: Woah. This really cool new card called Rhoynar Emissary (AHM) just came out, and I wanna use it in combination with icon strippin' n' other dirty Martell tricks for some good ole' repeatable removal. Can I?

A: No. Since Rhoynar Emissary (AHM)'s ability checks eligibility, removing that in any way (kneeling, icon removal etc.) voids it from discarding the character from play. See here for details.

Antti Korventausta (WWDrakey) is a self-proclaimed Finnish AGoT philosopher and nitpicker, who also used to practice Quantum Mechanics, but found that it paled to AGoT in both interest and complexity. As a Stahleck regular and judge, he sometimes has oddly vivid dreams of understanding portions of the game. In AGoT, he'll play anything as long as it's suitably twisted... often ending up with something that has horns on it.

Helmut Hohberger (Ratatoskr) started playing AGoT in September 2010 and has never looked back (although his wife has, longingly). As a German, he loves rules - and I mean *loves* 'em. Try triggering a Response at the end of a phase on his watch, and he'll probably invade your country. He has actually read the FAQ, and was made a judge at Stahleck 2011 and at various other events. He sometimes answers rules questions on boardgamegeek and the FFG rules board. Some of his answers haven't even been contradicted, corrected or expanded upon by ktom - there is no higher accolade for a rules board morlock.

Every Maester needs a Raven on his shoulder. As a Finn, Iiro Jalonen (Ire) got pulled under the waves by Krakens years ago, and has never looked back. A self-inflicted Shagga and active member of the global AGoT community, he has always strived to know the rules of the game, in order to make them do ridiculous things.