"The Valemen" Game of Thrones LCG Review

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

Total Pack Score: 61.9% (495 out of 800 possible points)

Top Cards:
Nymeria Sand
Maester Vyman
Jhiqui

Bottom Cards:
Storm’s End Freerider
Battle at the Green Fork
Vaes Tolorro

Please note that the card images were not available yet in the cardgamedb database, so all credit for the images goes to agotcards.org. Now onto the reviews!

Ser Bryce Caron (26 Points)



emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
The card by itself is not too bad. At worst he’ll always be able to give himself renown and it’s novel if you have some extra Rainbow Guard characters in play so you can distribute the keyword as necessary during challenges.That said, it’s limited to a trait that I don’t think is super interesting and Baratheon is so loaded with renown I don’t think it’s a big value add.

Ire & WWDrakey - 4 out of 5
Bryce is probably most fitting for a Knights of the Realm deck, but even outside of that he is a really solid 3 drop by having Renown combined with Joust.

JCWamma - 4 out of 5
He's a boring efficiency character. But, importantly, he's a boring efficiency character who keys into two of Baratheon's best ways to get draw (Knights of the Realm and Rainbow Guard Squire) now that draw from Val means giving up on Melisandre's Favour. ~Time to bust out the Storm's End Tourney Grounds?

Kizerman86 – 2 out of 5
This is the kind of card you expect in a core set. Joust is a strong keyword but it doesn’t quite make up for the standard 3-for-3 MIL/POW body. There are simply too many of those (with printed renown) for me to slot him in. I have kind of given up on the new Rainbow Guard being a relevant theme.

mathlete - 3 out of 5
A solid 3-cost character with renown. Great in a rush deck, but other than having the Rainbow Guard trait, doesn’t really add anything new.

scantrell24 - 2 out of 5
Thoroughly unexciting. Does he even make the cut in Bara Knights?

agktmte - 3 out of 5
He will be played in some decks, but he does not make me want to build them.

clu - 5 out of 5
Wow, we live in a jaded community that can look at a 3 cost 3 strength bicon with two keywords with two good traits and not look fondly on it. Rainbow Guard may not be op right now but it certainly isn’t a hindrance. Pound for pound this guy is more ripped than the Mountain.

Storm’s End Freerider (13 Points)



emptyrepublic - 2 out of 5
Underwhelming. It’s a Bannerman if you have something clever going on with that trait. Otherwise this is as interesting as wallpaper paste. It’s not total trash but I don’t see it being used much, if ever.

Ire & WWDrakey - 2 out of 5
This guy will have a hard time in finding a home. The stand itself isn’t that great (unless you have found some kind of infinite combo). The other problem is the need for influence, which isn’t used too often for other effects in Baratheon and the decks which do, don’t need this guy.

JCWamma - 2 out of 5
A good chud for a Baratheon deck running an influence subtheme that still has space for chuds. If you can crowbar influence into a Noble Cause deck, a fine card. Otherwise no thanks.

Kizerman86 – 1 out of 5
The Bannerman trait is neat, I guess. This would have been OK at best when Baratheon KotHH was relevant, but for now this is purely a binder card. Any deck that tries to run this should probably run the influence Renly instead. That said, this card is so bad that I have to imagine FFG has something planned in the final 3 packs to make this guy worthwhile so hopefully I’m dead wrong on my rating.

mathlete - 1 out of 5
I would rather pay 3 gold for the ever-standing Renly than play this guy. I’d also rather give a guy Vigilant. Give me more of a reason to play influence than this.

scantrell24 - 1 out of 5
Influence in Noble Cause is a horrible idea, so I’m not sure what inspired this design.

agktmte - 1 out of 5
This card is an autoinclude for those influence heavy A Noble Cause decks. However, this card stays in the binder when building decks that actually work well.

clu - 3 out of 5
There is nothing wrong with this chud. Ally doesn’t thrill me but I’m not seeing as much ally hate as I used to. What makes them above a two is they are terribly versatile if you are using attachments to create reusable beat sticks. It’s not vigilant, but it’s not nothing either.

Euron Crow’s Eye (29 Points)



emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
At first glance he looks super scary but on his own he’s actually not that frightening. If your deck is built solely around unopposed challenges then obviously he’s your man; though bouncing Caitlyn and Horseback Archer get around his effect. I still think either of the stealth granting Eurons is better since they provide a far higher degree of utility on the offense and defense. This one is useful in particular builds though, no doubt, but he needs some addons (Support of Harlaw for sure).

Ire & WWDrakey - 3 out of 5
Powerful effect, but every other Euron just brings more to the table with the same cost. Now, it could be said that this one combines well with attachments such as Support of Harlaw and Captain of the Iron Fleet... however the other Eurons gain more from these as well, thanks to the built in renown/stealth/protection. For a 5 cost character, this is just too vulnerable.

JCWamma - 3 out of 5
The recent restrictions to Melisandre's Favour and Daenerys Targaryen move him up from 2 to 3. He is still vulnerable to blanking, kneeling, icon removal...basically any control to speak of, hard or soft. And he costs 5, and has no crest or keyword. On the plus side he's great for getting a single challenge unopposed, which you were probably doing anyway since you're Greyjoy. I imagine 99% of the time the Euron who gives Raiders stealth will get you unopposed challenges anyway, only he also has a war crest, renown and stops the opponent playing events.

Kizerman86 – 4 out of 5
This card is extremely hard for me to rate. I think Tower-Euron decks will feature Support of Harlaw, Captain of the Iron Fleet, lots of saves/cancels to keep him alive and standing, The Prince that was Promised, To Be a Kraken to reuse/protect him, etc…. Ambitious Shagga players will play the Task plot to fetch a Fighting Pit for more standing. A few turns of unopposed challenges and that’s GG, but this is very much a glass cannon card. The potential for abuse bumps him from 3 to 4.

mathlete - 4 out of 5
I like this card and am very interested to try him, however, I think he is better with additional cards. Give him Longclaw, Support of Harlow, etc and he is amazing. I still prefer two other versions of him that either have renown, immunity, steal or crests.

scantrell24 - 4 out of 5
Euron is one of the flashiest characters in recent memory. Yes, he’s expensive and competing with other Euron versions. But any character with this much power, no matter how vulnerable, deserves respect. Support of Harlaw and Longship Grief are his best friends.

agktmte - 4 out of 5
He will be played in some decks and actually inspires some deck creation. Too much competition from the other versions though.

clu - 3 out of 5
Huh, I know I should be more excited about this fella but I just can’t get the idea out of my head that for a lot less gold I’ll just get someone with stealth and have almost the exact same text. There are obvious other synergies however with Longship Silence and Grief.
Silence Crewman (28 Points)



emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
Some really interesting design here. A low cost stealth with everyone’s favorite icon spread is very nice indeed. The downside is pretty interesting as well as some people may be tempted to apply some control to force the character to die in lieu of applying it on other stuff. You get a bit of mill out of it in the end regardless. Maybe he doesn’t show up that much in decks but I appreciate the design here.

Ire & WWDrakey - 3 out of 5
Great, another mill effects, which isn’t a triggered effect and so cannot be combined with effects that are looking for triggered effects which mill. If mill is done in second edition, we do hope they don’t make the same mistake of having mill enablers, which don’t actually work with some of the cards that trigger off them. Other than that, well, can’t argue with stealthy intrigue in GJ, but not being able to save from the drawback due to it being timed to the end of the phase is irritating.

JCWamma - 3 out of 5
Intrigue stealth weenie is a very useful set of words to associate with Greyjoy. Downside is obviously bad - when was the last time you saw Rattleshirt's Raiders? - and I'm not convinced it will ever actually see play, but the potential for goodliness is here. Sure he can be knelt and subsequently killed, but if so your opponent has wasted a kneel effect on a 2 cost chud rather than something important, so there's a trade-off.

Kizerman86 – 4 out of 5
Not much to say, 2-for-2 with MIL/POW and Stealth is great, and the Raider trait is just icing. The lack of a response window when the milling would happen makes the effect meaningless 99% of the time, but it is a drawback I’m willing to pay for this guy.

mathlete - 3 out of 5
An intrigue icon for GJ with stealth and no negative trait. Solid card/cost combo. He should be kneel fodder versus Lannister, but at least he does some damage on the way out.

scantrell24 - 4 out of 5
If my opponent focuses his kneel and icon manipulation on my 2 gold Raider rather than Victarion, Euron, etc., then I’ll gladly kill the Silence Crewman. And if my opponent doesn’t have either of the aforementioned answers, then I got a bargain. An intrigue icon paired with stealth is exactly what the doctor ordered for Raiding parties (like my Aloof & Apart deck).

agktmte - 3 out of 5
This will definitely see play, interesting “drawback.” Not exciting.

clu - 4 out of 5
Boom, the exact opposite of how I feel about Euron. If you can’t win intrigue challenges with Greyjoy you are playing wrong. Lanni kneel certainly bums this gentleman out as does the idea of playing defense but AGOT goes to the aggressor.

Gunthor Son of Gurn (30 Points)


emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
I presume FFG designed this after knowing second edition was in the works because it’s totally mental. It’s not a 5 because the big downside is that now the Lannister “Limited Response” space is getting crowded with good effects so there’s some serious choices to be made in deck construction. I’m not sure if new Kevan and this guy would live together in the same deck but Castellan will be competing for the LR space and maybe Counterplot as well, though less likely.

Ire & WWDrakey - 3 out of 5
Gunthor brings in some more draw for the house Lannister, one which bypasses the drawcap. This is also the first card in the LCG to explicitly ignore the drawcap, so the jury’s still out on whether this affects only the cards that go over the cap, or all of them. While the ability is good, Lannister is currently the house with the best Limited Responses, and ones that are not as vulnerable as this one. Barring cancels you are almost always sure to get Castellan to fire off, while Gunthor is an easily controlled 4 cost character that only brings its ability and the Clansmen trait. Overall, it can definitely be worth it in some decks, but will still be quite hit/miss.

JCWamma - 3 out of 5
A major, major trap card, and I love him to bits and want to put him in every deck from hereon out.

Kizerman86 – 4 out of 5
I’m really glad they made this guy “House Lannister Only”. With Rivers taking a recent hit, this guy is generally less useful, but a Clansman deck can still make great use of his ability. Aside from the standard suite of Clansman discard effects, you can use Ashemark and Much and More to make him even more effective. HoD Ashemark with Gunthor, Befouled River, Rally Cry, etc… could be a very fun T1.5 deck.

mathlete - 5 out of 5
I have said in many interviews in the past that I am a card *****. This guys is a card *****’s wet dream! In a Clansmen deck, where they usually have less cards than the opponent,. This guy is Lannisport!

scantrell24 - 5 out of 5
Yes please. Even if he never draws a card, he probably forced my opponent to make sub-optimal plays. My Clansmen decks are using Pentoshi Manor and little to no shadows, so there’s no conflict between Gunthor and Castellan or Guild Hall.

agktmte - 4 out of 5
This is definitely an exciting/inspiring card and will be a focal point for many decks to come. Ultimately, I think these decks will be too gimmicky (as Clansmen have been already) to see frequent competitive play, but this does strike me as an abusable card and has a very powerful effect, though one that will be slightly less useful and used overall than is currently being imagined.

clu - 2 out of 5
I understand if you are playing a dedicated clansman deck you want to ditch cards out of your hand to get the big effects. My supposition is, what if that isn’t what makes clansmen so deadly? You’re Lannister, draw til the golden cows come home.

Ser Ilyn Payne (24 Points)


emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
Strong because he effectively has no downsides and brings in a crest along with a good icon spread. The 3 gold cost character space is massive with lots of good stuff from all the houses. He’s probably not quite as useful in Joust play, but in Melee games you should have a target rich environment and he’ll be an excellent tool to deal with particularly pesky characters.

Ire & WWDrakey - 2 out of 5
Waiting to use his ability on Dominance will be irritating. Added to that, he does not bring much to the board in raw statistics, and that just makes him all the weaker. While he is safer than the old Ilyn, the old one can swing his sword immediately and more often than not get you at least one kill thanks to his timing. So far it seems that part of the theme of the cycle are unexciting 4+ cost characters that are weaker than the old ones?

JCWamma - 3 out of 5
This could be a major under-rating, I'll freely admit. Repeatable hard control is good, I hear. I'm nervous about how often a deck is going to be able to play a 4 cost character, keep him standing throughout the challenges phase, and be able to pick off a strong character of cost 3 or lower who is knelt, and have that be a net positive for Ilyn's controller. But we'll see, maybe he's amazing.

Kizerman86 – 4 out of 5
I’m still a huge advocate of Lannister War Crest Aggro, and Ilyn fits that theme very well. It will usually be a tough job to keep a 4g standing until Dominance, but most Aloof and Apart decks should include 1x.

mathlete - 4 out of 5
I’m upgrading Payne to a 4 out of 5 (instead of a 3) because he does not have the Ally trait. Will you use him in challenges (and his Intrigue Icon or War Crest) or will you save him for Dominance to kill? I like a card that is versatile that way. He reminds me of a certain Targaryen King that came out in the last chapter pack cycle….

scantrell24 - 2 out of 5
He might be decent in Knights or Aloof & Apart, but I’m not excited about expensive characters that have to kneel in Dominance.

agktmte - 3 out of 5
He will be included in Aloof and Apart decks, and that’s about it. The cost to keep him standing (or find a way to stand him) through challenges in order to use his effect is quite steep, and if you use him to challenge, you can probably get more impact through other 4 cost characters.

clu - 2 out of 5
I don’t like spending four gold on a character when I may not get to use their ability. Besides if this was good Viserion would be getting mad play. The reason he may be playable is due to Lanni’s preternatural kneel game. And I do love the idea of Ilyn and Gregor standing back to back killing all the knelt folks.

Battle of the Green Fork (9 Points)


emptyrepublic - 1 out of 5
I don’t see the point. There are many other epic battle events with far more interesting effects. Don’t waste your deck space.

Ire & WWDrakey - 1 out of 5
Considering all the events that Lannisters have in their arsenal this one seems quite weak and inefficient. The ability on it doesn’t even fit in the older varieties of Lannister Rush decks featuring epic battles, since Clansmen and Mercenaries are not used in those heavily.

JCWamma - 1 out of 5
I see what FFG are getting at here, but you can't reliably have Shagga Son of Dolf on the table 100% of the time, and therefore this is too large a risk in my book.

Kizerman86 – 1 out of 5
Was this necessary? I guess there is a minor synergy with Shagga and Tyrion’s Enforcers, but I feel like there are many better events even for a dedicated Clansman deck.

mathlete - 1 out of 5
Boring card. A Lannister Only Epic Battle? Meh. Even if I played a Clansment deck, I’m not sure I would use this card with so many better Lannister events.

scantrell24 - 1 out of 5
This needed a bonus for winning the epic challenge, rather than a way to help win the challenge.

agktmte - 1 out of 5
Unnecessary.

clu - 2 out of 5
Something that Lannister can do almost as well as Stark is bringing the beats. Between a couple phenom 4 cost armies and stealth some of Lanni’s best builds have been kneel+2 claim plots= win by killing all the dudes. Overall, I’d rather see this card as direct kill if were building this deck.

Nymeria Sand (32 Points)



emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
By herself she’s pretty solid. With just The Red Mountains, from the first pack this cycle, you start opening up a lot of possibilities. Think of either version of Quentyn. Perhaps the House Dayne Skirmishers from PotS. I’m not arguing it’s a game changer, but it gives Martell a mechanism similar to Ilyn Payne or Stark style direct kill.

Ire & WWDrakey - 4 out of 5
Good for clearing out some chuds, and the Limited Response is barely ever a problem for Martell, unless you are running some Beric War Scorpion weirdness. The character itself is quite solid, but the 3 cost slot is already quite crowded in Martell (especially NA)l to use something which is just solid. However more trait synergy is always good. Probably she’s best treated as a character with a good leaves play ability, that can also sometimes get triggered multiple times?

JCWamma - 4 out of 5
Martell currently has little fighting for limited response with this effect (although Doran's Solar is on the way), making it very strong. Trait manip loves Nymeria. Even without it, she's a reasonable body with Blood for Blood when she dies, what's not to like?

Kizerman86 – 3 out of 5
I’m still not sold on Sand Snakes, but this looks like a great card for Martell Maesters. If you have Nymeria and a Copper Link, your opponent has a tough decision to make when it comes to declaring Military challenges. If Sand Snakes get solid support, this card could be bumped up to a 4 in my book.

mathlete - 4 out of 5
A better version of Nymeria Sand with a great ability. A built-in Blood for Blood. Combine her with the new location (Red Mountain Keep) and she will be a lot of fun!

scantrell24 - 5 out of 5
The breast, sorry, best icon pair along with a built-in Blood for Blood makes Nymeria close to auto-include status in every Martell deck.

agktmte - 4 out of 5
This card makes me want to build a deck so I can play it. Comparisons to Blood for Blood are valid and having recently used that event, it is a lot of fun. Best if you can abuse it by giving other characters the Sand Snake trait (yes, maesters). Bonus points if you give the trait to Watchful Servant and other characters with kill costs.

clu - 4 out of 5
She is totally reasonable to the point of an auto include. The limited response thing doesn’t matter unless you’re also running Hotah’s Axe and she has no worry of the other version of herself being as close to being as good. Maiden of Poisons suddenly get a bump for Sand Snake decks.

An Opening Gambit (13 Points)


emptyrepublic - 2 out of 5
I’ll give it a 2 since it’s not too hard to activate given all the Sand Snake support we are getting. That said it doesn’t float to the top bracket of great Martell events. Probably doesn’t really get into the second bracket either. If you want to get power for losing a challenge use Ellaria or Taste for Blood.

Ire & WWDrakey - 2 out of 5
This event wants you to go for two themes, which by itself makes it situational. Martell is a house with some of the best events in the game, so using this instead feels like a waste. It also doesn’t synergise too well with the Sand Snake characters we have currently.

JCWamma - 2 out of 5
I don't think this sees play in Joust, where you'd rather play events that do more. I was going to give it a 3 for Melee potential, where can-tripping power grab sounds much nicer, but it's slightly harder to ensure you're involved in the first challenge of the phase in melee, so a 2 it will remain.

Kizerman86 – 2 out of 5
Martell has much better events, even for a dedicated Sand Snake deck. Stand and Draw are 2 of the best effects in the game, but having to lose a challenge with a participating Sand Snake character is very restrictive. Now if you could recur this event every round (a la Forever Burning) it would be much better.

mathlete - 1 out of 5
Basically a cantrip but too conditional. Again, if I’m adding a new event to my deck, it needs to be better than existing events. I’ll take Choosing the Spear over this card.

scantrell24 - 2 out of 5
What a mess. It’s like FFG held a contest among the design team to see who could create the most conditionally positive card yet.

agktmte - 1 out of 5
Are you really going to use this instead of the other events at your disposal as a Martell player?

clu - 1 out of 5
Darned if you do… Thankfully AGOT is predicated on winning challenges and Sand Snakes not being a thing is what keeps this little gem from ballooning to a 3. Can you imagine? Meh, I’ll sucker you into defending the challenge I wasn’t really worried about to get closer to my win condition and draw a card? Gross. Against a quality opponent this card will be mostly useless.

Red Mountain Keep (21 Points)


emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
On it’s own it does nothing to affect the game state of course, but clearly it’s meant to build upon the Sand Snake combo machine being introduced here. Even without much of the other Sand Snake stuff it at least lets you get some characters out of the dead pile. The card is designed to work with the other cards in this cycle so its value scales up when you consider that.

Ire & WWDrakey - 4 out of 5
This rating depends completely on how good the Sand Snakes will be. The ability on it is pretty good in vacuo, and it goes well with the theme of killing your own characters for effects. This also lets you more freely run more unique duplicates in your deck, which lets you filter some of your cards and get a more stable structure into your deck.

JCWamma - 3 out of 5
For Sand Snake decks this is strong but not spectacular. Obviously sees zero play outside of them.

Kizerman86 – 3 out of 5
This card helps the Sand Snake theme quite a bit by allowing you to run 2x-3x of the important uniques without having to worry too much about dead draws. Sand Snake decks seem to rely heavily on character abilities rather than their events/locations, so I’m glad to see this effect.

mathlete - 2 out of 5
This is a fun card in a Sand Snake deck, especially with the new Nymeria Sand, but unlike Nymeria, this card does not stand on its own.

scantrell24 - 2 out of 5
Red Mountain Keep lets you run 2-3 copies of each unique Sand Snake without having to worry about dead draws. But then you have to run probably 2 copies of this location that doesn’t actually affect board presence.

agktmte - 2 out of 5
Might see play if you are planning to abuse some of the new Sand Snake effects. See the Nymeria review above about Watchful Servants, et al.

clu - 2 out of 5
Really nifty in Sand Snake decks. Getting to recycle characters to put back into play with the amount of tutoring they can do is great. Too bad there isn’t enough quality Sand Snakes to make this a deck.

Maester Vyman (32 Points)


emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
Arguably Stark draw is no longer a problem at this point. For a limited response I think the effect should have been a bit stronger than simply top decking. The big advantage here is Vyman never has to participate in a challenge for it to activate; and with all the Tully goodness now it should be close to effortless to activate him. He also has the all important book crest.

Ire & WWDrakey - 4 out of 5
A vulnerable body for a character that will mostly be used for its ability. Unfortunately Vyman already has to compete with a character that has the same title, which fits into more decks than this does. For a House Tully -centric deck, this will be an easy 1x inclusion, but for others there often are better options on what you can get with 3 gold. Also excellent addition for TMP where you might have some trait manipulation.

JCWamma - 4 out of 5
3 cost 2 STR is actually a major weakness right now. But there's no competition for that limited response, he triggers off himself to give you card advantage that gets round the drawcap, he's another learned crest if you want to run Outwit...what's not to love?

Kizerman86 – 4 out of 5
The Tully theme is really coming around, and anything that can refill your hand in a deck that wants to vomit characters is very welcome. That style of deck also loves a Learned crest for Outwit. I expect to see this guy take the place of Luwin as the usual target for a Turn 1 At the Gates in a lot of experimental Stark decks. Get ready for a new look for Stark!

mathlete - 4 out of 5
A new unique Stark character with Intrigue and a “draw” mechanic. He’s an auto-include in every non-Siege Stark deck.

scantrell24 - 4 out of 5
Vyman brings card advantage to House Stark, possibly the most draw-poor house in Thrones. He also makes a tempting target for Flame Kissed and then the Targ player will be sad when Meera hits the board and they already used FK.

agktmte - 4 out of 5
Makes me want to build a Tully deck. I would give it a 5 if not for the other version, which is actually quite good and makes this a tougher decision than you think.

clu - 4 out of 5
Really, another card getter AND learned crest? The fact you can tutor up this fellow with At the Gates certainly doesn’t hurt either. The best reason to run stark is Outwit all day long and now they get another bullet for that chamber.

Ser Desmond Grell (29 Points)


emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
I really like him, but it’s annoying that he’s introduced when we got Seagard last chapter pack as both cards essentially serve the same purpose in distributing the deadly keyword. He of course can only do it once for Tully but he can do it on the offense or defense. Seagard is anyone but only for defense. Regardless, a nice cheap tool to sneak in a character kill or offset the annoying I’m You Writ Small.

Ire & WWDrakey - 4 out of 5
Good traits, good ability with a good cost. There is nothing exciting with a 2 cost monocon with deadly, but when you add in the trait synergy and the possibility that your opponent has to always be prepared for the deadly, you get quite a lot out of Desmond.

JCWamma - 4 out of 5
Someone needs to tell FFG that Ser Desmond Grell is not the Lord of Raventree (check his flavor text). The effect is cool, both for aggro decks and defence ones, and both his traits are very potent right now. Very close to a 5, but ultimately lacking excitement.

Kizerman86 – 4 out of 5
I’m probably starting to sound like a broken record when talking about Stark Defense, but this guy is amazing for that archetype. His threat of activation is also great for forcing challenges through on offense. All-around solid character.

mathlete - 4 out of 5
A very good character for a Stark deck. He is unique, cheap and his ability is very good. It will be fun to jump in Catelyn and give her deadly, the new Vyman, give The Blackfish deadly, etc. So many good characters to combo with.

scantrell24 - 4 out of 5
Tully is definitely a thing now. Flexible deadly and the Knight trait for 2 gold is a huge bargain.

agktmte - 2 out of 5
Surprise deadly is always nice (though perhaps not too big of a surprise), but this is definitely defensive so you can keep using Lords of Winter Catelyn without fear of deadly and now you can go ahead and defend that challenge with The Blackfish. Unlike Vyman, he is much more limited on which decks to include him in, only Tully and Knights decks will use him, and not all of those. In general, not enough value.

clu - 3 out of 5
I really like this guy. While I tend to avoid single icon chumps this ability can force through key challenges midgame if you are running a Tully centric deck concept. The access to low cost deadly is virtually unheard of and makes your opponent create decision tree mistakes.

Blackfish’s Vanguard (26 Points)


emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
Given that there are 5 gold uniques we are willing to play, a 5 cost army is certainly not much to ask; especially this one. Again, on its own it’s a beast given the renown and deadly. The scaling initiative bonus though is particularly interesting. Even with just a small smattering of Tully in your deck you could easily enjoy a +3 or +4 bonus to initiative. He’s a must include in dedicated Tully decks and a very strong contender in in other Stark army decks.

Ire & WWDrakey - 3 out of 5
Quite expensive, but Tully decks might be able to handle the cost. It has 3 good keywords and brings in a nice initiative boost, but unless the deck is completely built around initiative to matter, well it will rarely really matter.

JCWamma - 4 out of 5
MORE Renown on a military icon? How fast does Siege need to get? Initiative boosting is actually really nice for defence, who want to go second almost all the time, but let's not fool ourselves about where this will see play.

Kizerman86 – 3 out of 5
This rating is an overall rating, but in a Tully Aloof and Apart deck he is a 5. The cost is just too high for most other decks, even with 3 great keywords.

mathlete - 3 out of 5
Lots of good traits here - Deadly, renown, no attachments and Initiative-boosting, but the 5-cost makes me less likely to play this card. He would be much better and worth the Prized 1 in an Aloof and Apart deck.

scantrell24 - 4 out of 5
Blackfish’s Vanguard alone pushes Tully towards Aloof & Apart, but he competes for space with Northern Cavalry Flank. Is there room for more than one Army?

agktmte - 4 out of 5
This card makes me want to build a Tully deck, even more than Vyman. Combined with Bay of Ice for draw, this can be worth the cost with the keywords and initiative boost alone. But in Aloof and Apart? Auto-include. Honestly, this is one of the cards I am most excited about from this pack.

clu - 1 out of 5
Will hardly see play due to 5 cost for 5 strength. I enjoy the nedlyness though. If there were easy ways to get these guys into more than one challenge they may be super sneaky great touting the Renown and Deadly.

Rakharo (31 Points)


emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
Sooo close to a 5. Weirdly, I think he would be better if he himself had a keyword that wasn’t stealth (deadly seems the best choice to me) so he was a bit more of a powerhouse in his own right. Nonetheless, the Dothraki field is deep enough to make his ability to distribute stealth a big deal; particularly given the new Drogo from the last chapter pack.

Ire & WWDrakey - 4 out of 5
Has most of the things you would expect from a 3 cost character. Brings in good board presence, while his ability doesn’t work alone. All around solid upgrade to Rakharo in Dothraki decks.

JCWamma - 4 out of 5
One of Dothraki's main weaknesses is a lack of Stealth in their key characters. Well, it was, anyway.

Kizerman86 – 4 out of 5
Dothraki decks can typically spew out a ton of characters, but anything that lets you kneel 1 less character to push a challenge through is still insanely useful for keeping your characters standing for defense. The war crest is interesting, and the obvious synergy with the new Khal Drogo is nice as well. I still think the original Rakharo may be a better companion for the new Khal, though.

mathlete - 4 out of 5
I feel about this card the same way I do about the new Bryce Caro. I give him one extra rating point over Bryce since he is a Dothraki, although there are quite a few Dothraki that have Stealth there are a lot of non-uniques that don’t (Refugees?) that will be nice to boost.

scantrell24 - 4 out of 5
Dothraki, unlike Clansmen and Tully, was already a thing. Unfortunately this character is named Rakharo, and the previous version is already solid. Both have war crests. This one gives two guys stealth while the other version gives you a bonus intrigue claim. It’s a tough call.

agktmte - 4 out of 5
Excellent card, his other version is actually good too though. Having stealth and giving another stealth is great, if only Ser Desmond Grell were made similarly. Comparing the two, it is easy to see that this card is way better. Has the keyword himself? Check. Has multiple icons? Check. This actually makes me want to build my Dothraki deck again, good work FFG.

clu - 3 out of 5
Stealth, war crest and Dothraki builds this version into a playable in any Targ deck kinda guy. If you are running a Targ deck, the other version is superior as a claim boosting freak.

Jhiqui (39 Points)



emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
I’m going to stick to my guns here and rate Jhiqui the same as Irri from the previous pack. The handmaidens are strong, but everyone moans on about attachment hate. Remember that these become attachments and players should resist pilling them all on one character. Be strategic in using them; remember that they also grant and icon above and beyond just not kneeling to attack.

Ire & WWDrakey - 5 out of 5
Unique 1 drops are often well worth it, and this one replaces itself with a good attachment when it has fulfilled its job as a chud attacker, claim soak or harrenhal soak.

JCWamma - 5 out of 5
1 in every Targ deck. At least.

Kizerman86 – 5 out of 5
It has all been said, I’m sure, but Jhiqui and Irri are some of the best cards Targ has available to them in the 1g slot. Auto-include in 95% of Targ decks, maybe even at 2x.

mathlete - 5 out of 5
A unique, very cheap 1-cost character with Intrigue and she keeps on performing her handmaiden tasks when she goes away and boosts another character with Intrigue? I can’t wait to have this Handmaide go down on the new Khal Drogo!

scantrell24 - 5 out of 5
Much like Irri from the previous pack, Jhiqui is freaking insane. I’m guessing the synergy between the Handmaidens and Dany played a role in Dany’s recent restriction.

agktmte - 5 out of 5
Perfect for setup, perfect in every Targaryen deck. I guess the only downside is that if she is your last Targaryen character, she actually goes to the deadpile? I see no reason not to include 1 in every Targaryen deck.

clu - 5 out of 5
Nope, not fair. Thankfully the stealth dragons are all no attachments… Obviously the new Dany and her are bffs but any other character would love to swing through intrigue without kneeling and then challenge again. She works Dothraki decks, Dany decks and power rush decks. Not fair.

Vaes Tolorro (15 Points)


emptyrepublic - 2 out of 5
I’m going to walk back from foolishly high rating of Vaes Dothrak in the first pack as well as rating this one low. A high gold limited location is extremely non-optimal as it affects your economy curve. The only time this card (and it’s equivalents) is truly useful is when you play Valar. Also, given the limited keywork it’s highly unsynergistic with Vaes Dothrak and what I presume will be a power challenge equivalent location in an upcoming pack.

Ire & WWDrakey - 1 out of 5
So we get these nice locations that could make for interesting HoD decks! Oh wait, they mostly have that Limited word there to stop that. Nevermind, into the binders they go!

JCWamma - 1 out of 5
0 in every Targ deck. At most.

Kizerman86 – 3 out of 5
Ugh. Another tough one to rate. Limited is such a double edged sword, but I think it is appropriate here. HoD would be too strong, and no one would pay 4 for it without protection from common location hate. I have heard a lot of criticism of this card, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it show up in Dothraki decks especially Summer decks where Myrish Villa makes it affordable. Constant, passive claim raising is a huge effect.

mathlete - 2 out of 5
I’d rather pay 4 for Rhaenys Hill or 3 for Aegon’s Hill or Flame Pitch Tower. Great idea for a card but too expensive in general. It’s a card I would want to play, but probably wouldn’t actually pay for the cost during most games.

scantrell24 - 2 out of 5
The limited keyword was necessary to prevent the House of Dreams pairing, but it’s a major tempo limitation. You want to play Vaes Tolorro early, but do you forgo marshaling Temple of the Graces to do so?

agktmte - 2 out of 5
Too expensive, but powerful enough that people will try to play it anyway, and if that person is your opponent, you will be annoyed. I will probablynot be including this in any of my Targaryen decks though.

clu - 2 out of 5
You are going to be soooo mad when you go to all the lengths to play a four cost location only to see it blown up, or bounced that turn. What makes me mad is the Targ only restriction, man, Greyjoy would’ve loved that thing. The effect is super good and I can see it sneaking into a deck or two that has honed it’s curved exactly right. But, you’re also talking to someone who thinks the military challenge is least important of all the challenges.

Vale Informant (23 Points)


emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
Somewhat okay in a generic sort of way? Clearly scales well as the game proceeds and cheap stealth is rarely a bad thing. You just need to live with the fact that it has the much maligned Ally trait.

Ire & WWDrakey - 4 out of 5
Stealth is always good, especially on a cheap body that will scale well even into the late game. Especially nice addition for houses that are lacking punch with the intrigue icon.

JCWamma - 3 out of 5
Closest comparison point in the card pool is Silent Sisters, and this guy isn't as good as Silent Sisters. To be fair though, he is better early game, and quite a few decks would welcome a stealthy bicon.

Kizerman86 – 2 out of 5
The ally trait keeps this from being a 3, but Stealth on INT/POW is always welcome. I expect to see 1x tossed in a few decks, but otherwise a fairly lackluster card.

mathlete - 2 out of 5
Decent card, but I hate the Ally trait on this card and there are other 2-cost cards that I’d rather play, even out of the Neutral faction.

scantrell24 - 3 out of 5
In constructed I don’t think we’ll see Vale Informant outside of decks that are really light on intrigue icons. Maybe Dothraki? I would have said Raiders, but they just got Silence Crewman.

agktmte - 2 out of 5
Solid card, stealth is great and worth the 2 gold, but it is going to be hard to find room for it in a deck. Certainly Neutral TLV decks, possibly some Intrigue weak decks, but at this point in the card pool, most houses have some way to cover these things. It seems like a good card, but I don’t know where it fits.

clu – 4 out of 5
I don’t know. I have a hard time picturing this guy in play. On one hand he may become the reason folks restart packing Dissension. On tuther hand, turn one is a waste. On tuther hand three, he is completely reasonable on turn two through six. In fact he’s better than reasonable, 2 cost, 2+ strength bicon stealth? So good. Hmmm, I guess I’m putting him at a 4?

The Moon Door (20 Points)



emptyrepublic - 3 out of 5
If I read my spoilers correctly when this cycle is done there will be a total of 6 or 7 unique House Arryn characters in the game. Once the cycle is done I think it will be a reasonably useful location synergizing the best with the upcoming young Lord Arryn. Much like with Ilyn Payne from earlier the usefulness may not be so great in Joust, but likely work better in Melee. I think the jury will be out on this one for a bit.

Ire & WWDrakey - 3 out of 5
Repeatable kill should never be overlooked, especially in location form. The limits on this card keep it well checked, and make it so that it can only be run in specific decks… Mostly meaning Maesters, of course.

JCWamma - 4 out of 5
The only thing stopping this being an easy 5 is the lack of good unique House Arryns. It's tempting to rate it lower because of how little play this will probably see in practice, but make no mistake, this is a seriously powerful effect.

Kizerman86 – 2 out of 5
Keeping a unique House Arryn character standing until Dominance will probably be harder than it looks, unless you are playing Robert Arryn. You probably shouldn’t play Robert Arryn. The only think keeping this from a 1 is the strength of the ability if you can make it happen. This is another card I think Maesters could abuse with Copper Link, probably Rusted Maesters with Hrakkar Pelt.

mathlete - 2 out of 5
This is another card that sounds great on paper and in theory but when you play a game with it, it is too conditional. I’m not sure I’ll have enough House Arryn characters to make this effective. Now, if I could kill that sickly little mewling brat….

scantrell24 - 2 out of 5
There are six unique House Arryn characters released or spoiled in this cycle, but none of them are good enough to justify running The Moon Door, which is literally useless without the other half of the combo.

agktmte - 2 out of 5
Powerful effect, but requires two parts that can be shut down. Location version of Payne, but requires a combo.

clu - 2 out of 5
The key to cards like this is having a multitude of cheap dudes to trigger the effect. Right now you just don’t have enough cost 2 or lower folks to do this. Now, this is probably pretty good in a Stark or Lanni trait manipulation deck.

Holding Council (25 Points)



emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
To start it has real good stats. The effect though is so versatile. It does two very important things. First it bypasses the limited keyword so you can drop in a gold location before the Marshalling phase and still play another limited card normally during Marshalling. It also bypasses OOH costs for when you splash in stuff. It is a touch conditional given that you can only use it on printed cost of 1 or 0.

Ire & WWDrakey - 3 out of 5
Good stats, okish ability, pretty vanilla and sometimes you might even be unable to use this how you want, thanks to the random discard elements in the game.

JCWamma - 3 out of 5
Its best use is to push out limited cards quickly. Therefore it's only really good if you open with it, and most decks have better openers already.

Kizerman86 – 3 out of 5
I’m personally very excited for this card, if only because it opens up TONS of fun combos. Drop this turn 1, followed by the appropriate Task plot on Turn 2 to cheat in an OOH 1g card. Stark Seige gets a free Pyromancer’s Cache, any high-initiative plot deck can get Bay of Ice guaranteed by Turn 2 (and trigger it that turn if you won initiative), and Tower-Euron decks can get their Fighting Pit going, or a Port at Slaver’s Bay to play a ton of OOH attachments. Most of these plays will not be Tier 1, but man they sound fun.

mathlete - 4 out of 5
You really need to play this early for it to be effective, or in combo with a few other Plots. If I did an early A Time for Ravens or Spending the Winter Stores, bouncing in a Raven or a 1-cost attachment could be very sneaky. I’d really like to run this with Pyromancer’s Cache (OOH) or another card played out-of-house.

scantrell24 - 3 out of 5
The stats and ability on Holding Council are fine but not impressive enough to make the cut in my decks. I imagine you’ll often have to reveal it without any targets in hand. Now if it said to play the card from hand or discard pile, then we’d have a winner.

agktmte - 3 out of 5
This seems like it will become the go to opening plot for Castle plot decks, mostly because I think you will want to play this turn 1 or turn 2 unless you have plot cycling, any later and you may not get the effect unless you have a plot to combo with it.

clu - 2 out of 5
I love anything that helps you break deck construction gold curves to include more out of house effects. It does two things; one, your opponent is for sure not going to see it coming and two, you look super smart when it works. Unfortunately you look super dumb having a dead plot while you are waiting a full turn to trigger the effect. On the plus side with regards to the baseball season coming soon and A League of Their Own on in the background, what a (good stats) hitter!

The Withering Cold (30 Points)



emptyrepublic - 4 out of 5
This is a really interesting card. You are balancing really strong stats with a really strong effect against Prized 3. My gut reaction is that if you don’t think you’d play this plot on turn one or two then don’t bother. Passing out 3 power on turn 4 or later in many cases is very dangerous unless you have a strong command of the game. The big edge you get with this is strong tempo control but it does require you to time it carefully given the amount of prized.

Ire & WWDrakey - 4 out of 5
Not sure if this card really needed the Prized at 3, however, this might be able to enable some of the old styled slow KotHH builds, especially from Bara which can burn the power away with RQF later on. It can be used there to stop the momentum of the other player, while not losing much thanks to an already small starting board state. Other decks might find the Prized 3 to be too much of a cost for the effect, and in some cases your opponent can turn the effect to be positive for him/her.

JCWamma - 4 out of 5
I see this being overplayed. However, make no mistake, it's a very powerful effect. I've long felt Edict of the Rock was an underused effect, and now we have a less conditional version that isn't limited to one house with higher numbers. Prized 3 does bite though, even for rush decks that view prized as a good thing.

Kizerman86 – 4 out of 5
This opens up a handful of new archetypes that should be interesting to see play out over the next few months. Think Martatheon-style paradigm shifts when it comes to deck-building. Huge effect, huge stats, and a huge drawback.

mathlete - 4 out of 5
I love the gold and initiative on the card, but you only play this Plot in your Plot deck if you are planning for it, and hoping to catch your opponent unprepared, just lock Blockade. Of course, a Lannister player will love this card but there are too many ways to stand characters nowadays. The Prized 3 will definitely limit the amount of play that this card will see initially but I believe that a smart player will find a way to make the Prized 3 work to his advantage.

scantrell24 - 4 out of 5
This plot only belongs in a few (one?) decks, but it fills a role extremely well.

agktmte - 3 out of 5
I’m not sure how I feel about it. Seems very powerful, potentially abusable, but certainly takes some work to use well. I can only assume that decks will start using this in an interesting way, but I’m not sure how good they will be. Prized 3 is a lot.

clu - 3 out of 5
I have been waiting for this plot for the better part of a decade. And now I’m only going to get to play with this thing for a couple months. Infinite sad. The numbers are way too good for the powerful effect. Lanni is obv going to love it and paired with the City plots makes me a little nauseous. And I don’t know why Targ loves plots with winter in the art ala Heir to the Iron Throne. Heck, anything that can muster a lot of standing effects like Long Lances or vigilant works this plot. Worst case scenario? Your opponent doesn’t attack you and wins the game during next plot phase, so, you know, watch out for that.