The Champion's Purse Review

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


[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_knight-of-the-songs-tcp.jpg'] Knight of the Songs 22 out of 40

emptyrepublic – 3 out of 5
His value will scale depending on the amount of useful prized cards that Baratheon get over this cycle. On his own he’s a decent 2/2/2 with a keyword but not much more than that.

Doulos2k – 3 out of 5
A solid character with a (mostly) positive trait. It works for Noble Cause and Knights of the Realm. Joust isn’t going to do much here except maybe with some Naval support. It’s pretty vanilla, but I can see it slotting into a few decks.

mnBroncos - 3 out of 5
Won’t go in probably even most bara decks but if there is a good amount of solid prize cards for Bara then this guy could be strong for some decks.

OKTarg - 3 out of 5
He really is crying out for some Renown, but I think Knights of the Realm is where you’ll slot him. He’ll be good there, you’ll be happy to draw him, but he’s not great by any stretch. A lot depends on how much Prized is out there.

PulseGlazer - 2 out of 5
He might be okay in Knight decks, but in the decks I’d use him, I surely want to be attacking with more than just him.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
Knight of the Songs has a mostly positive trait (exception: Daario), a strong keyword (albeit one that’s anti-synergistic with other Baratheon cards) and a potential strength buff to help push through key challenges. He could become 4 depending on the rest of this cycle, but it’s unlikely.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 3 out of 5
Nice horsey! Shagga never learn to ride, Shagga never own horsey. C’mere little knighty, c’mere… Come joust with my AXE!

Ire & WWDrakey say: Joust? Rare. Storm’s End Tourney Grounds? 3 CP Cycles. Ha.

Sygmaghost94 - 2 out of 5
For this card to be anywhere above mediocre, you would need to run several prized characters. This means that if something goes wrong, let’s say a Valar, then you are giving your opponent a lot of power just to pump up this non-unique knight. By himself, he is pretty subpar. With other prized characters, he’s pretty good, but you are putting yourself at a bigger risk; a risk, I would say, is not worth it.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_rider-from-storms-end-tcp.jpg'] Rider from Storm's End 18 out of 40

emptyrepublic – 3 out of 5
Builds on the the theme from the previous cycle and benefits from the fact that his abilities have a higher likelihood of kicking in since Baratheon has more likely synergies with Lannister and Stark. Really though he’s generic and not that remarkable.

Doulos2k – 3 out of 5
Primarily, he gets a 3 because the House crests that give him benefits aren’t that far-fetched. There are already Lanni/Bara Conquest decks and a number of Lanni/Bara and Stark/Bara dual hose characters. But, again, just a solidly costed card. The Bannerman trait will help make Alester Florent a beat stick.

mnBroncos - 2 out of 5
Since one of my favorite conquest decks is bara/martell disappointed that he doesn’t get a bonus from that combination (makes sense thematically though) but I just don’t see this guy being that strong and won’t go in many decks.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
Bannerman is a positive trait, but it doesn’t really do much in reality. Best case, he’s 2 for 3 with Stealth, which is nice, but how often will that happen? Most decks (all decks?) will pass.

PulseGlazer - 1 out of 5
I don’t foresee any situation where this guy is better than the numerous really good 2-cost Bara characters like River Runner.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
Rider from Storm’s End has a positive trait with potentially solid stats in Conquest decks, but is otherwise uninteresting. Brienne, Margaery, etc can meet his conditions in non-Conquest decks, but not reliably. Meh.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 2 out of 5
Bah, Shagga kills weakling Bannermen with one toe. The smallest one from left foot!

Ire & WWDrakey say: Alone? Bad. Synergy? Mediocre. Overall? Bad.

Sygmaghost94 - 2 out of 5
He will obviously only see play in certain builds, and those are generally going to be some form of Treaty or Conquest decks. Now, while those decks are not bad, this guy is. You need at least 1-2 other characters in play before he is halfway decent, and even then he’s just alright. By himself, he’s pretty weak. At his best, he’s only semi-good and you need to have several different cards for him to get to this point.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_a-taste-of-glory-tcp.jpg'] A Taste of Glory 22 out of 40

emptyrepublic – 2 out of 5
Maybe the value of this will go up as the cycle goes on but I’m not so sure about that. Seems that you need at least several prized characters to justify this.

Doulos2k – 2 out of 5
I just can’t see this being used much. The +2 buff is nice, but are you really going to have that many prized characters to justify an event slot? Not likely.

mnBroncos 3 out of 5
Very hard to rate right now.

OKTarg - 3 out of 5
STR pumps are nice, but we’ll see how many Prized characters there are before we make a final decision. I mean, how many can there be that DON’T have renown already? What’s that? We already have seen TONS of prized characters without renown…….

PulseGlazer - 3 out of 5
That little bit of extra renown can really go a long way, but I have a feeling that most of the best prized guys to use this on will already be renown.

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5
A Taste of Glory is difficult to score at this moment, but the effect lasts until the end of the phase, so it has incredible potential for future abuse.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 2 out of 5
More like A Taste of My Axe! There’s yer prize!

Ire & WWDrakey say: Prized? Several? Overcommit? Ha. Stupidity.

Sygmaghost94 - 3 out of 5
It’s pretty obvious that we can expect more prized characters for Baratheon with this card and Knight of the Songs coming out. So let’s assume you have a decent number of prized characters out and then you use this card. This card is like a much better version of Heart of the Stag as it affects more than one character and lasts until the end of the phase. The problem is for this card to really have an impact, you’ll need to have several prized characters out at one time. This can be very risky, especially late game. However, if you can end the game quick with this card’s help, you may not see the downside of those prized characters.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_wex-pyke-tcp.jpg'] Wex Pyke 24 out of 40

emptyrepublic – 3 out of 5
A cheap tricon with stealth has a lot of utility during challenges. It’s less clear how much utility the response has as you are potentially recycling the opportunity for your opponent(s) to get power. Maybe worth it if there’s a killer Greyjoy prized event in the future.

Doulos2k – 2 out of 5
Recursion is awesome. We all love recursion… but, again, you’re having to commit to having a Prized card that is already in your discard pile (or has already been killed) to see his ability gain you anything. Otherwise, he’s a 1 strength tri-con with stealth. And, while there are uses for stealth chuds (see Carrion Bird), in most decks, you’d probably only be including him for that alone (and not his ability) and he becomes far less worth it then.

mnBroncos - 3 out of 5
Well he is okay but unless you have some key prize card you want I prefer the old Wex in most cards, I feel the old version is very underrated.

OKTarg - 3 out of 5
Any card advantage in Greyjoy is great, even somewhat mediocre ones like this one. Does he really deserve Prized himself? I suppose the fact you can recur from either dead or discard is super nice.

PulseGlazer - 2 out of 5
He isn’t great now, but he will be. Recurring dupes and Prized events isn’t to be scoffed at, nor is a tricon with stealth. That’s great for Black Sails and will win a challenge most turns.

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5
Wex Pyke is awesome against everything except burn, much like his earlier version. A stealth tricon with card recursion is not to be underestimated.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 4 out of 5
Boy less talkative than Shagga. Shagga respects. More horsey!

Ire & WWDrakey say: Combo. Enabler. Otherwise? Ok.

Sygmaghost94 - 3 out 5
A tricon in Greyjoy is a pretty rare sight. Unfortunately, this tricon is not very strong. With a 1 strength and 2 cost, he is already not very efficient. To make matters worse, he has no good traits and a negative keyword. Now that I’m done bashing on poor Wex, I can talk about his good features. Even though he only has 1 strength, he is still a tricon, and intrigue is always welcome in Greyjoy. Unlike his other version, this Wex does not have any negative traits and actually has a pretty good keyword. Finally, his effect can be very useful in recurring possibly dead copies of unique characters or prized events and locations from the discard pile. This card has huge potential.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_every-captain-is-a-king-tcp.jpg'] Every Captain is a King 14 out of 40

emptyrepublic – 3 out of 5
Probably great to drop in a warship at just the right time to muck with your opponent during a challenge though it requires a few too many moving parts to be reliable. Potentially useful for only a few deck types.

doulos2k – 4 out of 5
The card is situational and is incumbent upon you to be playing a solid bevy of Naval characters, but cheating a Warship into play is awesome. And if you choose Maiden’s Bane as your restricted, this also creates a buff and completely wrecks challenge math if you’ve got a Naval Escort in play.

mnBroncos - 1 out of 5
A 2 card combo to get a surprised strength buff won’t make the cut almost ever.

OKTarg - 1 out of 5
This is, functionally, a surprise 2 resource card. (Plunder?) The upside is the surprise that you dropped in a Warship, but honestly for the card disadvantage I’ll never play it. Some combo with Reaver’s Song, but meh. Would have been 20x better to grab a Warship from your discard.

PulseGlazer - 1 out of 5
Reaver’s Song is going to need better tech than this.

scantrell24 – 2 out of 5
There are a few warships with strength pumps, deadly, etc. that are better when unexpected, but Every Captain is a King is too situational. Maybe this event finds a home in the Old Way to abuse Naval Escort or Maiden’s Bane, but I doubt it.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 1 out of 5
Every King fears Shagga’s Axe!

Ire & WWDrakey say: Cards? Disadvantage. Warship? Hand. This? Hand. Why? No idea.

Sygmaghost94 - 1 out of 5
This card is too situational and lacks any sort of efficiency to do well. Sure, under the right circumstances you can cheat in a warship for free, getting around the downside of The Reaver’s Song. However, you are now committing yourself to 2 different cards in order to a get a 1 card benefit. Card advantage is crucial for Greyjoy considering they already struggle with it. By running this card, you are putting yourself at a greater disadvantage. Don’t do that.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_ser-robert-strong-tcp.jpg'] Ser Robert Strong 29 out of 40

emptyrepublic – 4 out of 5
You’ll hit yourself with it but it’s a strong effect that has a degree of control in the broader Kingsguard theme by jumping him in and out of the shadows at the right time. Being a mono-icon keeps him short of a 5.

doulos2k – 4 out of 5
This is a double-edged sword, but the effect is so amazing, I can’t help but rate it high. You have to pay close attention to your own dead pile… but in a Lanni Knights deck? This can add an incredible level of control assuming you’re succeeding at killing characters at a solid pace. This might be a reason for Targ to start slotting Long Lances again as the RC of choice.

mnBroncos - 3 out of 5
Very cool card but being two sided makes this guy a lot riskier to run than I think most people are realizing. However, in the right deck this guy is a monster considering a lot similar to a very powerful Call of Cthulhu card.

OKTarg - 3 out of 5
He’s (as the others have said) double-edged, but he will help slow the game to a crawl. That’s very interesting, but honestly that double edge and his monocon challenge icon suite will make him tough to include.
It would be sweet to put him in a City of Shadows deck and use Storm the Gate. LOL.

PulseGlazer - 4 out of 5
He has to be built around, but if he is, he could change games. I like him best for Lannister Aggro that kills everything, but there’s plenty of good options.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
The best thing Ser Robert Strong has going for him is that shadows crest. He can wait until the opportune moment to come out, so hopefully his passive won’t backfire much. I’ll be trying a copy in Tunnels so that in the worst case scenario he stays hidden and provides a strength pump. No attachments and the Kingsguard trait are solid as well, but the sole challenge icon is a bummer.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 4 out of 5
Halfman, give me third axe! Good thing Shagga’s Clan not fear kneeling, this guy STRONG!

Ire & WWDrakey say: Character? Kneel. Ambush? Kneel. Shadows? Kneel. Meera? Syrio? Kneel. Profit.

Sygmaghost94 - 4 out 5
This is an extremely powerful card. And with most great cards, there is some sort of drawback. The drawback here is that this card also hits you. But don’t fret, this double-edged sword is not something new to us. We see this in the form of Ghaston Grey and White Raven. So how do we make the most out of these cards? Well, we dull the blade. With Ghaston Grey and White Raven, we mitigate the downside by running an abundance of economic locations. While the method may be different, we can mitigate the downside of Ser Robert Strong by working with his ability, not against it. Our opponent won’t have that luxury, but we, as the deck builders, will. By running cards like standing Jaime, Ser Balon Swann, and Shagga Son of Dolf, we can reduce the impact of our characters coming into play knelt. By running cards like Doubting Septa and High Septon, we can reduce the amount of cards in our dead pile. Finally, with cards like Lady of the Leaves and Preston, we can simply nullify the effect of Robert Strong if it becomes a problem. Sorry for the length of this review. I’m just excited about the different combos you can pull off with this monster.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_frey-emissary-tcp.jpg'] Frey Emissary 21 out of 40

emptyrepublic – 2 out of 5
House Frey gets some love; though do they deserve it? Anyway, not terribly interesting of a character as it requires pulling Stark which doesn’t synergize well with Lannister. He might be cheap renown if you splash Baratheon though.

Doulos2k – 3 out of 5
Two for two with the potential for Renown (due to the number of dual-house Lanni/Bara characters) is pretty great. Other than that, it’s the same song… appropriately costed 2 STR chud.

mnBroncos - 3 out of 5
Quite good in the bara/lanni conquest rush deck but don’t see him making any other deck.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
I suppose getting renown on a 2 cost guy is pretty OK, but color me skeptical that these guys end up being worth it. How many Lanni/Bara guys are actually used very often? Margaery and…..? Arrogant Contender?

PulseGlazer - 4 out of 5
Sure, he’s only great in one deck, but that one deck is Francisco’s Baratheon Conquest Lannister where he’s a godsend who can win you the game a turn early. Elsewhere, don’t bother.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
Frey Emissary has a positive trait with potentially solid stats in Conquest decks, but is otherwise uninteresting. Brienne, Margaery, etc can meet his conditions in non-Conquest decks, but not reliably. Meh.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 2 out of 5
More scrawny Bannermen for Shagga’s Axe! This one smell funny.

Ire & WWDrakey say: Alone? Bad. Synergy? Mediocre. Repetitive? Indeed. Bad. Sigh.

Sygmaghost94 - 2 out of 5
Here we see another below average card that has synergy with other houses. The bonus of getting renown isn’t too bad, but you still need to have another card in play. Remember, efficiency is the name of the game. This guy is not very efficient.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_counterplot-tcp.jpg'] Counterplot 24 out of 40

emptyrepublic – 4 out of 5
You can’t fault the response and the cost to activate is pretty negligible. The prized 3 is the bitter pill on this one. This is a game changer but you need to be surgical with the timing since it’s susceptible to many different cancels.

Doulos2k – 4 out of 5
The effect is incredible. Completely canceling a plot reveal is ridiculously powerful. Making this your Limited Response and the fact that it’s easily cancelable with Paper Shield (while netting your opponent 3 power) makes it a tough card to play and keeps it from ever being a 5 in my opinion.

mnBroncos - 3 out of 5
So very interesting card here, probably the most powerful effect of any card in the pack however lot of negatives too it. Prize 3 is horrible late game (anytime really) you have to kneel a unique character which means you have to kneel a character and besides my favorite Jaime that character is out for a turn, and if it gets canceled well thats great ha. Also limited response in the house that has the most used limited responses and have to hope that the opponent doesn’t have just as good of plot to switch too soooo yea...not as incredible as people first thought.

OKTarg - 3 out of 5
It was the best of cards; it was the worst of cards. I wonder how many folks will get their hand caught in the Prized 3 cookie jar before they realize the cost is STIFF on this one. Still, blocking Valar or Threat or perhaps even Forgotten Plans is pretty sweet.

PulseGlazer - 3 out of 5
I don’t like having plot cancel in the game at all. This is a very powerful effect, but with all of its drawbacks, it may lose as many games as it wins outside of the hands of the most skilled players.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
Counterplot will surely win games that you should have lost by cancelling the reveal of a Valar or Fear of Winter, but it will also lose games that you should have won by sitting impotently in hand at times. I’m not a fan.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 3 out of 5
Halfman never was good with em’ axes.

Ire & WWDrakey say: Wrong deck? Bad. Right deck? Good. Every deck? Never. Risky? Yes. Rewardy? Indeed.

Sygmaghost94 - 2 out of 5
Nope to this card. Everything about it is wrong. For starters, can we talk about Prized 3? I mean, this is power immediately given to your opponent, regardless of if the event is successfully played or not. Giving 3 immediate power is huge and almost impossible to do late game. Not only is it largely prized, but it is also a limited response. This means that you won’t be able to use your Guild Hall or Castellan for a turn. You also have to kneel a unique Lannister character. Damn. This card has a hefty price to pay. And for what? Yes, you can negate the revealing of their plot, but then they get to pick a new one after they have already seen yours. This card is not worth the price.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_summer-sea-scout-tcp.jpg'] Summer Sea Scout 22 out of 40

emptyrepublic – 3 out of 5
I think he can find a home in specific decks. The naval enhancement for Martell is still pretty rare and the learned crest isn’t that common either. The response isn’t that stellar but given he has no negative traits I think its worth looking past that for some decks.

Doulos2k – 2 out of 5
Really, this is a meh card. The learned crest keeps it from being a 1. Yes, it’s well-costed for its strength, but at Prized 1 it better do something worth the slot. And it’s only worthwhile if you have a higher than necessary number of Prized cards in your deck.

mnBroncos - 3 out of 5
wow boring review so far 3s all over ha. So learned crest and navel is interesting indeed also the effect can be good. Reviewing all these cards like this is really hard right now without knowing the prize cards will be getting.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
It’s OK. The naval is weird, but I’m not sure it’s useful. 2 for 2 potential card advantage? Let’s just take a House Messenger, how about that?

PulseGlazer - 3 out of 5
If Martell gets enough Naval for a Black Sails deck, watch out. As is, Martell has three of the better prized cards in the game already. Is it above House Messenger in most decks? No, but it has it’s place, even if that place is developing.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
Summer Sea Scout has an awkward but potentially powerful learned crest which gives Martell decks access to Outwit if they so desire. The naval enhancement on intrigue is nice, but Martell Black Sails is still far from Tier one. His response is marginally useful, but could actually be detrimental because you’re revealing critical information to your opponent. It does let you rearrange the top 2 cards but that’s barely worth mentioning.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 3 out of 5
Ha! Shagga more learned than this guy! Shagga know all kinds of goats.

Ire & WWDrakey say: Stats? Ok. Flavor? Ehh…

Sygmaghost94 - 3 out of 5
The prized 1 definitely hurts this card, but the learned crest and interesting ability offset that downside. He has a decent trait that seems to be showing up more on Martell characters and his naval enhancement is an added bonus. I don’t see his effect grabbing you too many cards, but at least you can know what to expect on your next turn.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_blood-orange-grove-tcp.jpg'] Blood Orange Grove 30 out of 45

emptyrepublic – 4 out of 5
I really like this conceptually as it feels like a natural evolution of the icon removal them. Additionally it as another layer of flexibility during challenges as it is equally potent as an offensive and defensive effect. It’s has a big X factor as it’s introducing an effect combo that hasn’t really been seen before.

divinityofnumber 3 out of 5
I like this. It does not immediately appear amazing, but definitely has its uses. For example, it can make a noble character vulnerable even though Power of Blood is revealed.

Doulos2k – 2 out of 5
Very cool effect and one of the few cards with anti-crest tech. It would be a way to shut down some War Crest shenanigans. But, overall, I think the card is just OK.

mnBroncos - 5 out of 5
Okay I maybe overrating this because I don’t think it will actually make that many decks, however, this little guy is very strong! Lets look at facing Stark a very popular start is At the Gates for Luwin and then have Outwit, well this guy ruins that plan. What about facing another Martell deck say goodbye to one of my favorite cards Ghaston Grey. Remove Bara or Lanni or Martell or whoever’s Noble crest to counter Power of Blood....and many other uses. This will be one of the most powerful cards that probably won’t see as much play as it should.

OKTarg - 3 out of 5
There’s some cool use, for sure. Taking a War crest or giving Arianne a MIL icon seem like good ideas, but it will struggle to find space in decks.
For a minute there I thought it took an icon to give a crest, which would have been amazing with Ghaston Grey and Outwit.

PulseGlazer - 3 out of 5
I don’t know what to make of this yet. It offers some cool tricks, but Prized, I’m not sure what they’re worth. Perhaps if we’re suddenly overflowing with War Crests in the new Aggro meta.

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5
Blood Orange Grove can do some cool tricks. It makes Spy from Starfall better on defense, and can also turn Arianne into a monster on offense. Prized on a location is not quite as detrimental now that the Red Keep is restricted (so Favorable Grounds won’t be everywhere). I look forward to trying it.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 3 out of 5
Bleeding oranges? Shagga approves.
Ire & WWDrakey say: Neat-o.

Sygmaghost94 - 3 out of 5
This card is pretty good because it works in two ways. It can either hurt your opponent by stripping one of their characters of an important crest or it can help you by giving one of your characters a much needed icon. Tell their nobles to go to hell on Valar turns or make your Southron Mercenaries a tricon on To the Spears turns. Either way, you’re golden...golden orange! Like Blood Orange Grove. Get it? Well fine then. I didn’t want your laughter anyways.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_desert-raider-tcp.jpg'] Desert Raider 36 out of 45

emptyrepublic – 4 out of 5
This is strong. Martell has effectively no inhouse recursion and this sort of recursion is baking in icon manipulation is great. Depending how often you’ve sacrificed this guy you may need to temper the frequency of the response given the prized keyword. Feels like Martell decks with strong icon manipulation theme might make a bit of a comeback.

divinityofnumber 4 out of 5
You can’t beat free cards out of the dead pile. But, it is often a matter of what you have to do to make that happen. In this case, one must simply lose a challenge after already having lost this character into the dead pile. He is an ally, so there is the chance that he will be discarded and not killed. But, he is nice Martell claim-soak that will likely hit the board again.

doulos2k – 4 out of 5
A worthy addition to the win-by-losing arsenal. Now, the guy has to die to make it worthwhile, but not too hard to kill a 2 STR chud. This will be a fun card.

mnBroncos - 3 out of 5
I’m sorry Istvan but I think you could have done better. If was from dead or discard pile or from hand something... But unless you have some way to cheat this guy into dead pile I don’t think will make cut for most Martell decks. Sure can just kill him in mil challenge but then next turn opponent does a mil first so can’t use him until few turns later... Idk i maybe underestimating him but guess time will tell.

OKTarg - 5 out of 5
I seem to like this more than the others, but repeatable claim soak coupled with icon removal seems amazing to me. You can lose the challenge on offense or defense, making his response easy to trigger. Think of how annoying a 2 STR bicon who was adept at avoiding death was in Ser Preston Greenfield. This is basically that, with an INT icon to boot, and the Prized cost. Seems good to me.

PulseGlazer - 4 out of 5
Repeatable claim soak is okay with me. Add in that the lost challenge will likely come back to win you one and this is quite the powerful card. If it weren’t for Dissension now being back in a big way, this would be a 5.

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5
Desert Raider has to die first, but once he’s in the dead pile your opponent must tread carefully. I’m pleased to see Martell icon manipulation making a comeback.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 5 out of 5
Dessert? I’ll have some!

Ire & WWDrakey say: Designer? Rockstar. Why? Winning drunk! Drakey? Owned. Card? INTERESTING.

Sygmaghost94 - 3 out of 5
The prized 1 kills it for me. It’s bad enough that he has the Ally trait and he has to be dead in order to use his effect, but the prized 1 is what keeps it from being anything higher than a 3. To repeatedly use his effect, you are effectively giving your opponent a decent amount of power. Now, don’t get me wrong, this card is far from bad. It’s just not great. Stealing an icon and having constant claim fodder is really good, so it all evens out to be an average card.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_ser-edmure-tully-tcp.jpg'] Ser Edmure Tully 39 out of 45

emptyrepublic – 4 out of 5
This is a bit un-Nedly. An Edmure that is useful! The “Any Phase” aside the 3/3/3 ratio with a good keyword, crest, and good traits puts him up there in the list of Stark uniques. The character ability is quite strong as well. Problem is Stark is deep with good stuff and as good as this Edmure is you’ll need to figure out what you leave out to put him in.

divinityofnumber 4 out of 5
This version of Edmure is a beast. No negative traits, and is also a Knight and a Lord, has deadly, and a war crest, and can help you filter cards back into your deck from discard and dead pile. Awesome. But, I agree, not game-changing in the way that Meera was.

Doulos2k – 4 out of 5
All jokes about a deadly Edmure notwithstanding, this is just an excellent card. There’s absolutely no downside to it. It’s a not a game breaker, but his ability can be used as a boon to allow you to play a unique again or a way to prevent certain recursion decks from doing what they do. The War Crest is icing on the cake.

mnBroncos - 4 out of 5
Has so many good things on this card: Deadly, Knight, Tully, Warcrest and then a great ability makes it hard not to think this guy will make it into most Stark decks.

OKTarg - 4 out of 5
The response will always be useful, but it will never be game-breaking. Unique, War Crest, Deadly, three cost…..efficient. My heart’s not racing, but he’s good for sure.

PulseGlazer - 5 out of 5
He’s great. He allows me to play three Meera’s guilt free and gives me more use of Stark’s events, especially their search.

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5
Edmure Tully is extremely versatile and has no drawback. He’ll see a lot of play, but he’s not a game-changer like Meera, hence the 4 star rating.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 5 out of 5
Deadly Edmure? *chokes on goat while laughing*

Ire & WWDrakey say: Wolfs? Love. Others? Fear. Edmure? Err… Neds? Laugh.

Sygmaghost94 - 5 out of 5
Leaps and bounds ahead of his other version. This beast sports everything a Stark deck is looking for. He’s unique for your No Quarter. He’s a knight for your Knights of the Realm. He has the House Tully trait for you weirdos, I mean Shaggas, running Riverrun decks. He has the Lord trait for your Shaggydog and Guardian Wolf. He has a war crest for your Die by the Sword and Price of War. And he has deadly for, well, your aggressive playstyle. That my friends, is just the cake itself. His ability is the icing. No longer do you have to worry about Meera getting killed off or running out of events for Luwin to pick up. If you can combine this card with the new Catelyn Stark, you can potentially keep all of your uniques out of the dead pile forever! Mess with your opponent’s recursion theme by throwing their key cards back into their deck. There is so much use for this one character. This card is truly amazing.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_the-gatehouse-tower-tcp.jpg'] The Gatehouse Tower 12 out of 45

emptyrepublic – 2 out of 5
This should be a Martell card, not stark.

divinityofnumber 1 out of 5
There is just too much other Stark goodness to be run. At the moment, I don’t think I could justify a spot in any Stark deck for this.

Doulos2k – 2 out of 5
This was a tough one to rate. It’s cheap, yes. But you’re counting on having fewer characters or you’ve wasted this location slot on a blank piece of card board. I just don’t think I’d play this card. Ever.

mnBroncos - 1 out of 5
next....

OKTarg - 1 out of 5
I feel like there was a contest to out-do Titan’s Daughter and White Harbor. The Gatehouse Tower didn’t win, but it was considered.

PulseGlazer - 1 out of 5
Let’s not and say we did.

scantrell24 – 2 out of 5
Gatehouse Tower leaves a lot to be desired. I’d rather run Northland Keep.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 1 out of 5
I’ll need a taller axe...

Ire & WWDrakey say: Why?

Sygmaghost94 - 1 out of 5
I agree that less-is-more can be a good thing, but not for Stark. Stark likes to flood the board with characters and then re-flood it after the Valar. This card seems to work against many Stark builds instead of helping them.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_needle-tcp.jpg'] Needle 27 out of 45

emptyrepublic – 4 out of 5
It’s an attachment which is risky given the prized 2. However it is really powerful. Keep in mind you’ll stop saves, prevent pretty much all challenge manipulation. Amazing for 1 gold. In the end keep in mind your meta’s frequency to hit attachments before you consider including it.

divinityofnumber 4 out of 5
This is nice. Turn a unique Stark card into Brienne for one gold and the potential grant of two power to your opponent. Attachment hate is something to consider. But, against something like Martell, this is a great card.

Doulos2k – 4 out of 5
Another Brienne effect. Plus as a unique attachment, it is harder to get rid of and if you really want this effect, you can still dupe it (not that you would). Solid, inexpensive, and wrecks effect-heavy decks. Get it on a Naval character and you can jump the character as a defender in the first player action window to ruin your opponent’s plans.

mnBroncos -3 out of 5
Great casual card that I would never run in a tournament. Attachments have enough problems on their own that I wouldn’t want one that has prize 2 for sure.

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
It was my illustrious friend James who phrased attachments thusly: “Take how good you think a card is. Then, remember it is an attachment. Divide how good you thought it was by four. That’s how good it actually is.” So, yeah. Prized 2 attachment? Not for me. Too bad, though, since Brienne rules. Why not just up her to 2 copies in your deck since Edmure can help keep her out of the dead pile and then use your slot on Frozen Solid or No Quarter instead of Needle?

PulseGlazer - 3 out of 5
This could be great, but it would have been better in the previous control heavy meta. Now we have a ton of aggro and a bunch more attachment control. Playing this is a defensible choice, but not one I’d make.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
I’d be fine with Needle if Viserys and Lost Message didn’t exist. Prized 2 on the most fragile card type is too much regardless of the card’s power level.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 3 out of 5
This be ticklish.

Ire & WWDrakey say: Effect? Good. Attachments? Weak. Risky? Yes. Overall? Depends. Meta? Meta.

Sygmaghost94 - 1 out of 5
Attachments already have a lot working against them because they are fragile cards and are not setup friendly. Now, when you add Prized 2 and a unique Stark character only restriction, the card suddenly becomes much worse. The effect is amazing, to be sure. However, with all of these things working against the card, it is also competing with other attachments like Frozen Solid. Sorry Needle, you’ll have to stick them with the pointy end some other time.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_rhoyne-poleman-tcp.jpg'] Rhoyne Poleman 29 out of 45

emptyrepublic – 2 out of 5
Really bland in my view. I’m not sure what “The East” trait will do. This character would have been more interesting as an ally without the the two keywords. Would have added the bit of robustness to make Targ Black Sails work without the downside.

divinityofnumber 2 out of 5
Double naval enhancement is a good thing. Equal cost-to-strength is a decent thing to have, and the Melee keyword can be more powerful than many might think. This is relatively solid support card, but nothing to get excited about.

Doulos2k – 2 out of 5
Um. Okay. This card doesn’t do much of anything at all. Well, except to have Melee (an often underestimated keyword) and totally screw with challenge math because of the naval enhancements. But other than that, it doesn’t do anything. So… yeah. Not terrible, not really good either. I just can’t think of a single one of my Targ decks where I’d slot this guy in place of what’s already there.

mnBroncos - 5 out of 5
I don’t know why this guy is rated so low by some this is probably the best cheap non-unique character stark has during challenges. You don’t need to run this guy in black sails (although helps that deck a lot) but having melee in any two challenges is very strong and will be a pain for the opponent to play around. Prize 1 is not a big deal here and makes sense this is a very powerful character.

OKTarg - 4 out of 5
Unlike Doulos2k, I can think of a number of my Targ decks where I’m looking for cheap-ish, efficient INT presence such that the Poleman fits the bill. He’ll be awesome on defense, and help push Black Sails for Targ which is a super fun agenda. All told, I’m excited to have him.

PulseGlazer - 4 out of 5
What I said about the Martell Black Sails? Well, Targ Black Sails is nearly there and just as good. And this guy is better. Be forewarned.

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5
Rhoyne Poleman will help push through a lot of challenges, and thanks to the FAQ we’re back to challenges actually mattering again. Solid all around.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 3 out of 5
Big pole good in Melee? Shagga not know this.

Ire & WWDrakey say: Art? Traditional. Great. Pole jokes? Unavoidable.

Sygmaghost94 - 3 out of 5
The two naval enhancements combined with the melee keyword make this guy crazy good. He is a huge boost to Targ Black Sails decks and a solid card everywhere else. Unfortunately, the prized 1 brings it down.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_viserys-targaryen-tcp.jpg'] Viserys Targaryen 41 out of 45

emptyrepublic – 5 out of 5
The ultimate in point and click attachment removal. Hard to imagine this not being an auto-include in most Targ decks. The low strength makes him vulnerable (but not that much really). Honestly think he should be prized 2 given all the positives going on here.

divinityofnumber 5 out of 5
Wow. This is a monster. If he wasn’t House Targaryen only, I might vomit. Prized 1 is not a huge downside. He is cheap, Noble, has excellent traits, bicons, and that ability is simply insane. Also, the art on this card is amazing.

Doulos2k – 4 out of 5
A 1 STR chud… but he’s a King AND a Lord. He has a Noble Crest AND he can discard any attachment at will. He’s practically an auto-include in every Targ deck. A little bit stronger and he’d be a 5… but nope, sticking with a 4 on this one because he’s too easy to remove.

mnBroncos - 4 out of 5
Very good character because of ability. Just few problems though is many decks only run like 0-3 attachments so not many targets for this guy to hit and is a very weak character outside of attachment removal so doubt you will have many claim soaks before this guy goes. I am not mad about this character being around though Targ is king of attachments and now they don’t need to add some of the weird attachment removal cards to really have that upside.

OKTarg - 4 out of 5
Leave it to the Targ players to not rate him a 5, right? You only see the times that he wrecks your Enslaved, but we Targ players see all the times we get a blank 1 for 1 prized 1 weenie. Two great traits, to be sure, but honestly attachments are rare enough you can never count on him actually mattering. I know a lot of people are upset about the power level, and I can see that, but honestly how is he soooo much better than the Meereenese Brothel? The condition on that is SO easy to meet that it might as well be Viserys.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s amazing. But not as amazing as he first seems, IMO.

PulseGlazer - 5 out of 5
Look, he’s a one of in every deck and he shuts off kings without being turned off himself. He’s not entirely unbalanced, and I don’t like the card design, but he’s going to be too omnipresent to not be a 5.

scantrell24 – 5 out of 5
This Viserys makes me want to vomit. He’s a stupid card on so many levels. Point and click removal for a card type that didn’t need any more hate, the king trait, the noble crest, and two icons all for one gold make him very nearly an auto-include for every Targ deck.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 5 out of 5
Touch dragon? Dragon not touch my Axe!

Ire & WWDrakey say: Vampire? Vampire! Attachments? Forever kicked in the head.

Sygmaghost94 - 4 out of 5
Vampire Targaryen is extremely efficient. Being able to repeatedly discard nearly every attachment for a mere 1 cost is pretty awesome. On top of this, he has a noble crest and has the Lord and King traits. This is good for Incinerate and turning off other Kings. He does have some downsides in regards to his negative keyword and the fact that he has to compete with the Core set Viserys. Other than those minor setbacks, he’s a pretty good card.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_tokar-tcp.jpg'] Tokar 14 out of 45

emptyrepublic – 2 out of 5
It’s not bad but given all the other attachments that Targ can run its just weak sauce and hard to see it making its way that frequently into decks.

divinityofnumber 1 out of 5
There is just too much other Targ goodness to warrant running this.

Doulos2k – 2 out of 5
What is with the quasi-renown on power challenges in Targ? So, Renown is nice. But having to pay 1 gold to give a power icon and renown… not so nice. That said, with reset heavy decks being nerfed so hard, this might actually work in some Dothraki builds to speed those up a little. Might.

mnBroncos - 1 out of 5
would take a player with small card pool or a very unique deck to see this get played.

OKTarg - 1 out of 5
This seems like the type of thing I’ll try to make work even though I shouldn’t. Might be nice in melee, though.

PulseGlazer - 1 out of 5
If it were set up, maybe. Non-unique renown is worth at least a look though.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
Tokhar, Griffin’s Roost, and Heir to the Iron Throne could form the crux of a powerful Melee deck, but I don’t expect that this will see much play in Joust other than perhaps in a Conquest rush deck.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 2 out of 5
Does that come in goatskin?

Ire & WWDrakey say: Under-powered. Over-costed.

Sygmaghost94 - 1 out of 5
Another mediocre attachment for Targ. This could help speed up your game, but it will certainly slow down your setup. At 1 gold, this card is not good.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_shagwell-tcp.jpg'] Shagwell 26 out of 45

emptyrepublic – 3 out of 5
I think giving Neutral Faction some love is a good thing because running Neutral allows you to be the most creative. Plus it provides some control features that Neutral doesn’t really have access to. 2/2/2 with Deadly is good and the prized 1 is reasonable given the potential strength of the effect.

divinityofnumber 2 out of 5
I went with a 2, just because deadly is a really nice thing to have. The Neutral Faction requirement makes this card significantly less appealing than it would be otherwise.

Doulos2k – 2 out of 5
Just out of principle, I’m giving him a 2 because he requires Neutral Faction. He’s deadly, so that’s great on the Intrigue challenge, but outside of the NF deck, I’d never play him.

mnBroncos - 3 out of 5
I like this little guy and be interesting if Neutral gets more characters like this that pushes the Neutral faction to be playable.

OKTarg - 3 out of 5
Obviously only good in neutral, but in neutral he’s really good….probably like 5 good honestly. Enemy Informer is a autoplay at 3 cost, and he’s even better…..like halfway between that and Castellan. I can’t rate him a 5 because of the neutral restriction, but man, he seems fun.

PulseGlazer - 3 out of 5
He’s neutral only. He will not see very much play, but when he does work, he’s a Castellan.

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
Shagwell is a Neutral Faction-only combination of House Payne Enforcer and Enemy Informer, which is to say he’s excellent, but only in an otherwise Tier 2 deck. If you’re running TLV, here’s one card down, 84 to go.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 4 out of 5
He does? Feed it to the goats!

Ire & WWDrakey say: Cycles? 5. Support? No. Now?

Sygmaghost94 - 3 out of 5
I like this guy. He gives you an excuse to run the Neutral Faction, and by extension, The Long Voyage. His kneel effect can be powerful and he is a cheap bicon with deadly. I won’t even fault him for his trait considering you can trigger his effect after he is played. However, the prized 1 does hurt.

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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_vargo-hoat-tcp.jpg'] Vargo Hoat 32 out of 45

emptyrepublic – 3 out of 5
Honestly, this really only matters to Quentyn decks and then we’re talking Martell so He Calls It Thinking will be in the mix. Martell Quentyn decks will be marginally more conservative with their cancels is the only net effect in my view. So I think the response is pretty limited really. So if you consider everything else the prized doesn’t make this guy that great, but still playable.

divinityofnumber 3 out of 5
In the right deck and the right meta, this guy could be awesome. But, up against a No Agenda deck, or a non-chargenda deck, this is just a deck slot that could be better used. Mercenary trait is potentially negative, and he also has Prized 1. He has potential to be occasionally a clutch play, but also potentially to be completely and totally mediocre against a wide range of decks.

Doulos2k – 4 out of 5
The ability to discard a character agenda is HUGE! Renown is great. Solidly costed with a War Crest. Plus this makes KotHH decks cry for that turn.

mnBroncos - 3 out of 5
Just not sure how much will see play. Is nice to kneel Kothh deck for a turn, good anti character agenda, but only can have so much room in your deck so if your meta has lot of strong Character agenda decks then will see play not sure how much otherwise.

OKTarg - 4 out of 5
A weird and niche ability, but one I like. His value is in the 3-drop neutral renown (so far only Lady Stoneheart has that, and she’s an ally) and the War crest. I like him, but he seems destined for fun, Tier 2 decks.

PulseGlazer - 3 out of 5
Three cost for neutral war crest and renown may find a home in some decks. Naturally, he comes out as Knights of the Hollow Hill is crushed by the FAQ. That lowered him some.

scantrell24 – 4 out of 5
Vargo Hoat has the Mercenary trait like Shagwell, so we’re starting to see the outlines of a Shagga deck emerging. He’s also playable in many competitive decks, with solid strength, crest, and keyword. The real kicker is that he punishes KotHH and character agendas like Quentyn, which I expect will become popular again this season.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 5 out of 5
Now try to say AXE.

Ire & WWDrakey say: Neutral? Renown? Crest? Cost? Good! Ability? Bonus.

Sygmaghost94 - 3 out of 5
His ability is rather situational, but he is still a 3-for-3 bicon with renown and a war crest. His Mercenary trait is helpful with Shagwell, but it can also hurt to lose a 3 cost character so easily. The prized 1 does bring him down slightly.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/got/med_the-lost-message-tcp.jpg'] The Lost Message 24 out of 45

emptyrepublic – 3 out of 5
This is only really needed if you are absolutely desperate to get rid of Black or White ravens. Carrion bird is better for managing the raven attachments. If you know you need strong attachment control in general then it’s a potential include, but remember that its prized.

divinityofnumber 3 out of 5
This will be better when there are Warden titles and seasons to worry about.

doulos2k – 3 out of 5
It does one thing and you’d only include it if you really needed to do that one thing. If you can’t handle it being a specific season, it’s an auto-include… otherwise, it’s meh.

mnBroncos - 2 out of 5
I don’t even think a defiance deck would find room for this plot..

OKTarg - 2 out of 5
I think this will almost never be played. Why not just play a Carrion bird? It might be better if the Warden titles get out of control, but, spoiler alert, they won’t.

PulseGlazer - 3 out of 5
I liked this until I realized it has to go off and will hit my damn Raven if my opponent doesn’t have one. Still, we may be overrun with seasons and Defiance is a good call when you aren’t sure of the meta (and none of us are right now sure of the meta).

scantrell24 – 3 out of 5
The Lost Message won’t see much play outside of Season-based decks that want to protect themselves against the competing Raven. It would be good for Defiance, but then the Prized 1 doubles and you’re paying two power just to discard an attachment. Maybe it becomes better after the upcoming Warden titles are released.

Shagga Son of Dolf - 3 out of 5
Shagga cannot read. But birdie tasted juicy, and paper was good kindling!

Ire & WWDrakey say: Metacall? Metacall. Rare? Sure. Worthwhile? Sometimes.

Sygmaghost94 - 2 out of 5
With the old Summer and Winter agendas coming off of the restricted list, we could see a rise in season decks. This card can help stop those decks in their tracks. It can also take out any attachment that is giving you trouble. Unfortunately, the stats on this plot are not desirable and it has prized 1. A little subpar in my opinion.
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