A King in the North - Stark and the FAQ

Firstly, I would like to take a few seconds of your time to introduce myself. My name Is Richard Skelton, I am 33 years of age and have been playing card games since the introduction of Magic the Gathering all those years ago. I have played numerous card games, and honestly I blame them for my hair rapidly turning grey. Does this stop me from playing them? Of course not! If I could describe my play style I would say I am very much a Nedly Player, I’m the guy in your playgroup who could make awesome decks but would rather try and make those terrible cards work. Much to the annoyance of my playgroup.

I would like to hold high the banner of the noble House Stark, the wardens of the north. By far one of my favourite houses in the Song of Ice and Fire saga. I was attracted to the House due to the honourable actions of Eddard Stark and the reluctance of the North to submit. No matter the odds, the members of House Stark refuse to sit back and merely accept the events within the books. A trait I whole heartedly admire. They struggle on tenaciously, ignoring the petty intrigues (for better or for worse) and striving to do the right thing, an admirable cause. The Starks represent family, honour, justice and strength, all valuable traits which we should all aspire to.

This is my first article for A Game of Thrones so I hope I can offer some insight into how I view the House. The subject is going to be the effects the latest FAQ have had on the house. I wish to discuss the new restrictions placed and how the house can deal with them.

Lets look at the newly restricted cards.

Bolton Refugee (RoW)
Being as all the refugee’s were restricted on the latest FAQ this comes as no surprise, however, it is my opinion that these are among the stronger of the Fugee’s due to the presence of that oh so valuable Intrigue icon. Much sought after in the house of the wolf, the intrigue icon was for a long time incredibly rare and to have it on a 0 cost character was just phenomenal. Add the fact that a number of cards can play off the House Bolton keyword and you essentially have an amazing character. Since the FAQ I have felt like a little part of me has died being unable to use these guys as frequently. Do I agree these should be on the restricted list? Yes. Do I like it? No. Luckily for those among you who play Stark, there seems to be a shortage of food in the north, and those Hungry Mob (CoS) seem to be everywhere. A poor imitation of their House Bolton allies but a reasonable substitute. The Bolton refugees’ may still see play in some competitive decks but will always struggle when it has to compete with cards such as..

No Quarter (TBC)
Undeniably, one of the best targeted kill cards in the game. Combined with Die by the Sword (LoW) and numerous other kill effects available to House Stark this card will help dominate the board. Still a very solid option and my restricted card of choice. In the same way that Die by the Sword has a need for War Crested characters, this needs for you to have won a military challenge with a unique personality. Luckily for Stark they have some of the best military unique’s in the game. On a turn where you can successfully play one of these and or a Die by the Sword or The Price of War (KotS) you can really shift the game in your favour. Having the ‘Once per challenge’ text may seem a severe penalty but considering it can be used both on attack and on defence, it can still wreak havoc on your opponents plans. I believe No Quarter is one of the preferred restricted cards of choice and its easy to see why. This card will continue to see play as long as House Stark keep making red challenges.

Bear Island (AE)
I can’t help but think of this as one of the more controversial additions to the restricted list. Having had a recent bout of success after the release of House of Dreams this card began to see more and more play. Prior to the release of HoD however, this card saw little play. The restrictions imposed by the card itself are actually quite severe. Denying you the option of using any non-House Stark cards means a huge part of the card pool is suddenly unavailable to you. Also with the Refugee’s having been placed on the restricted list at the same time means less efficient set ups which in competitive play can mean an early defeat. Its not all doom and gloom though, a built in kill action every turn is obviously very powerful. In conjunction with Die by the Sword, high claim plots, and various other kill effects your opponent will have a hard time maintaining any board presence. I can't help but think this card will become binder fodder due to the quality of the other restricted cards, although I would very much like to be proven wrong.

Meera Reed (TftH)
Meera broke the game. There I said it. Anyone who didn't play House Stark hated this card oh so much. Even us loyal Stark players knew she was disgusting, we knew this very well in fact. And we loved it. She appealed to your inner Bolton as much as she did mine. There was never any doubt that this card was going to be placed on the restricted list. Stark aren't renowned for shenanigans, some would argue they are a simple deck to play. Meera changed that. Single handedly changing the face of Stark builds, allowing an incredibly efficient control mechanism to dominate the meta, Meera made people stand up and take note. Combined with Winter and she was absolutely terrifying. Meera remains one of the favoured choices from our options and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Fury of the Wolf (AE)
We come to the last of our restricted card with some regret. Many feel that each of the Fury cards were restricted due to being an auto include in every deck, rather than being due to power level. I think it’s a safe assumption that this is probably the case. Of course its readily apparent that the plots for each of the houses have excellent stats, great gold, awesome initiative and a standard claim, and this is the reason why they would be an auto include. Not game breaking in anyway but to good not to run. I think FFG made the right decision to restrict these but it is a shame they are unlikely to ever see play, especially as the art work is so good. With the introduction of The Long Voyage some people agree that its better to use a restricted plot card as you are guaranteed to be able to use it, I subscribe to this theory but unfortunately there are still other options which are perhaps better.


Of course these are only the house specific restrictions. There are a great many neutral options, Narrow Escapes, Fear of Winter, King of Winter, The Maesters Path to name a few. There are several options for players to choose enabling a multitude of decks. The FAQ hit everyone in one way or another, some houses are struggling to pick up the pieces, others have adapted swiftly.

How do you feel House Stark have adapted to the FAQ?

What is your restricted card and why?

What Stark cards should be added to the list of doom?

Thanks for reading.