Uniquely Suited - Jaime Lannister

Hello one and all and welcome to the return of Uniquely Suited. For those of you who are new to the site, Uniquely Suited is the article series that takes a look at all the variations of a specific unique character. For each one I will be discussing their strengths and weaknesses, relation to the source material and anything else that I think warrants a mention. Finally, each card gets a score out of ten that I offer for you to discuss, chew over and berate me for in the comments section.

Previous articles in this series have covered the big hitters from House Baratheon. I'm going to abandon the Stag this week and instead go to the house of the Lion to focus on one of my favourite characters of all time, Jaime Lannister.

There are currently five versions of Jaime available for deck builders and while only one is truly neutral, none of his iterations are House Lannister only. So, despite the impracticality of such a thing, even if Lannister isn't your bag you can bring Jaime along in whatever deck you like. Just keep that Alliance plot card, or some extra gold, handy if you really must have a Lannister crest version of him.

All the versions of Jaime are built upon the same blueprint. All are 4 gold bi-cons with the 'Knight' trait as standard. At an immediate glance those aren't the sort of numbers the scream auto-include. But in a typically thematic fashion there is a lot more to this Lannister than meets the eye. However, Jaime is no Melisandre. Not every card bearing his name is brilliant. Infact a couple are pretty awful. What can be said though is that there is a lot of variety here and the initial blueprint gets re-imagined in a number of ways. Also, as unimportant as it may be, I reckon Jaime is one of the only cards to have such top quality flavor text on every appearance. Anyway, let us start at the beginning and the Jaime you will find in the core set.

Core set Jaime really sets the tone for this character. This is a very efficient card by any bench mark you care to use.

Our two icons here are military and intrigue and his 'Knight' trait is joined by 'Lord'. For keywords Jaime gets 'Deadly' and 'Infamy' and his character ability truly befits a man widely regarded as the best swordsman in Westeros. He doesn't kneel to attack or defend military challenges.

This alone is extremely efficient. Non-kneelers are gold dust, especially when they stay standing on the defence. Jaime provides you with a reliable warrior even if you are going second. When the fighting is done, his innately cunning side can be indulged in an intrigue challenge too. This is where the most effective use of his deadly keyword comes into play. By and large, unless there is something exceptionally juicy sitting in hand or the opponent has some deadly of their own, people won't waste many characters defending an intrigue challenge if they are guaranteed to lose a character as a result. Cue one unopposed power that thanks to infamy can sit safely out of power challenge range on Jaime himself. Lovely.

This Jaime will really shine when used in conjunction with plots like Storm of Swords (LoW) or Game of Thrones (LotR) and is a solid choice in a Knights of the Realm build. Crucially, he can take attachments, meaning loading him up with Widow's Wail (LotR) or Longclaw (ASitD) will yield excellent results. He is also a very worthy recipient of Bodyguard (Core), especially if you start to really capitalise on that infamy ability.

For a core set card it's a real corker and comfortably sits as one of the best versions of Jaime available. The only let downs are the lack of a crest and a lack of renown. Both of which can be easily remedied, but would have been nice to have along in the first place.

Rating: 8.5/10.

Largely unchanged structurally from the core set but exchanges Infamy for a war crest. His ability changes dramatically however and now Jamie has the ability to kneel a character after participating in a successful challenge. These changes are most definitely not improvements.

You are looking at a likely trigger of his ability purely due to the deadly keyword coming into play during intrigue challenges. However, four gold is a lot to pay to ensure you get the challenge through and if backing intrigue up with deadly is your bag then you can do it far more efficiently with
Bronn's Hireling (LotR) and House Payne Enforcer (MotA)

It all adds up to the realisation that this version of Jamie is completely outshone by the other tricks Lannister has to force characters to kneel and even in a dedicated kneel deck, this Jaime isn't a worthy inclusion.

The only reason to seek this version of Jaime out over others is the war crest. But, with no in house synergy for the war crest it would have to be part of a build that used event, plot and supplementary characters like Randyll Tarly. Even then, other versions of Jaime are better suited.

This Jaime is likely a product of its time, but is rendered almost obsolete by newer improved cards in the Lannister stable and better versions of Jaime himself. It's a shame because it is cracking artwork. Core set Jamie is still the one to beat.

Rating: 1/10.

In his Tourney for the Hand iteration, Jaime loses the 'Lord' trait and loses the war crest but gains the 'Kingsguard' trait. This was of course back in the days when being a 'Kingsguard' wasn't as cool as it is now. Unfortunatley, no matter how hipster this version of Jaime may be, it doesn't make it any better in the current climate.

In terms of the slick efficiency of core set Jaime, this card really falls flat. His ability is essentially a targeted removal, but has a rather lofty pre-requisite to be properly effective. Unless Jamie turns up early and you fully dedicate your power grabbing to fuelling him with infamy the likelihood of pulling this off within the first few turns is slim. Of course, you could start discarding weenies after a turn or two, but why on earth would you be satisfied with that after spending four gold on Jaime Lannister? Equally, if you are looking to load anything up with power due to the infamy keyword then Id wager it would be a lot more profitable to be doing it with
Widow's Wail (LotR).

Until the point that you have loaded Jamie up with the requisite level of power he Jamie is kneeling one person for kneeling himself, meaning you need to bulk your deck with Kingsguard Squires to get more use out of him. It's a bloated and clunky process that doesn't befit a four cost character in a house that has plenty of others to choose from. Finally, we live in an environment that now has Coldhands lurking in practically every deck. Leaving power sitting around on characters with renown is risky enough. Choosing to put it on someone for an effect this tame is simply not worth it in a risk vs reward sense.

Rating: 2/10

Deluxe expansion, deluxe Jaime. Whilst 'Lord' and 'Knight' remain we lose all the previous keywords but gain renown. It is also about time that we saw a noble crest, and here it is. The core set blue print has been subtly adjusted and gives us a very interesting card to work with. Also, lovely and thematic. Jaime isn't the sort of guy who stays down.

Up until the Kingsguard pack was released it was likely a toss up over which version of Jaime you wanted to use. This versions ability isn't as directly efficient in challenges as the core set one is, but it does lend itself well to a number of utilities beyond that single phase. I have found him to be useful as a target for Into the Lists (TftH), he synergises very well with Joffrey Baratheon (PotS) and if epic phase shenanigans are what you are after then look no further.

The real boons here are of course renown and the noble crest. Not only does it give him blanket protection from death with the Power of Blood, he also becomes an eligible and worthwhile target for Distinct Mastery. No attachments apart from weapon will keep him safe from all but a few negative attachments while also providing him the ability to wield everyones favourite Lannister sword.

He is extremely versatile and has just enough to edge out the core set version as the top version of Jaime thus far.

Rating: 9/10

The Kingsguard is possibly the greatest chapter pack to ever be released so it follows that the version of Jaime within would be something special. Like every variation of him there are some subtle adjustments to the card anatomy. The traits here are 'Kingsguard' and 'Knight'. No more lordship for him in his white cloak, which figures. Renown sticks around though, which is the most important thing. Oddly, he can no longer wield a weapon, or any attachment at all and his noble crest gives way for the shadows crest. Absolutely crucially, he is now a truly neutral character. Jamie can be included in any deck now and if you need to have a card draw engine, you can do a lot worse than pairing Jaime and
Ser Preston Greenfield (TK) up. In fact, if you are ever struggling for draw in your decks and you haven't already done so go, right now, and make room for these two guys.

This version of Jamie is super efficient just down to the card draw ability, but is the first to allow a multiple of ways to cheat him into play either cheaply, or freely. City of Lies will drop him into shadows for free and On My Oath can retrieve him from your discard pile or your dead pile. It's surprisingly useful to drop Jamie, use him for claim and then watch your opponents face as he magically reappears from the grave, drawing a card in the process. You could of course use On My Oath with the other version of Jamie, but I can only imagine you would do that if you don't own the Kingsguard chapter pack, or you did until it was dropped into a fire.

In fact, all the benefits of the previous Kingsguard Jamie are still here. Kingsguard Squires can stand him, he still benefits from all the knight synergy that pops up all over the place and he will help maintain your White Book agenda. Which is the most important thing, am I right?

Whether this version of Jaime wins out over the LotR version will come down to a couple of considerations. Do you have a draw mechanic in place that you are happy with, what house are you running and do you have any desire for shadows shenanigans?

However, purely for the sheer amount of utility this card brings to the table, I have to declare him the best version of Jaime available today.

Rating: 10/10

I'd like to finish these articles from now on with a wish list to include in any future imaginings of the character in focus. I'd also really love to hear your opinions on what you would like to see from Jamie in the future.

*SPOILERS - IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOKS THEN TURN BACK NOW!*

I would like to see a Jamie that is a post Bloody Mummers version of Jaime. Perhaps lacking a military icon altogether and with his new disability represented in the card art. After Jaime loses his hand he develops into an almost unrecognisable man, severing ties with Cersei and becoming far more balanced and diplomatic. It would be a good opportunity to re imagine a Jamie that synergies well with a Lannister kneeling theme and breaks the mould set by the card in the core set completely.

Also, I would like to see a version of Jamie that follows The Hound (PotS) and Littlefinger (SaS)
as being a Stark dual crest.

It is safe to assume the only reason both these guys get the dual crest treatment is down to their interaction with the Stark children. The Hound protects both Sansa and Arya at various times and Littlefinger also protects Sansa, albeit for far more selfish reasons. Jaime, despite being responsible for crippling Bran does actually seek to honor the commitment he made to Catalyn Stark to ensure the safe return of her children. He even assist Brienne (also a Stark dual crest) to this end. I think that in light of the other people invited to the dual crest party, Jaime is missing out.

I hope you have enjoyed the return of Uniquely Suited. Next time around we'll be off to the Iron Islands.

Thanks for reading.