Beheading Ned - Bran Stark

Warning: This article may contain spoilers from any and all of the books.

Welcome back to Beheading Ned, the article series all about blah blah blah. You get it. I feel like these intros are getting a little stale and repetitive. So in order to spice things up, I’ve decided to ask a question related to the books at the start of each article. The questions may be simple or hard, but they are here to make things more interesting and to make you think. The question for this week will be easy to start things off. Before Maester Aemon joined the Night’s Watch, what house did he belong to? You can answer the question in the comments or just in your head. Remember that these articles are written to entertain as well as to inform, so just relax and have fun.

Now let’s move on to the topic of this article. As the title would suggest, we will be looking at Bran Stark and one of his Nedly cards. The one I chose to examine is the new Bran Stark (FaI) who received a rather low rating on the review of that chapter pack. That is one of the reasons I picked this card in particular. I want to show how even a card that ranks low in a competitive format can rank higher than most when reviewed under a Nedly lens.

Bran Stark is the second youngest son and one of five children from Eddard and Catelyn Stark. Early on in book one, Bran is pushed out of a window by Jaime Lannister and becomes permanently crippled. The inability to walk takes its toll on the young boy as Bran is forced to realize he will never be able to become a knight.

As his older brother Robb rides off to war, Bran is forced to act as the figurehead of Winterfell. This position is quickly taken away from him when Theon Greyjoy takes over Winterfell and proclaims himself its new ruler. Bran, along with his companions, has to flee in order to avoid being taken captive by the Kraken prince. Finally, after Winterfell is destroyed by the Boltons, Bran marches north with his friends to find the three eyed crow.

During this long and rigorous journey, Bran encounters different people that help him on his way, Samwell Tarly and Coldhands being a few of these strangers. When he finally meets Brandon (the three eyed crow), he learns about his powers as a warg and how to see with his third eye.

Long story short, Bran discovers he has some cool powers and he’s learning how to use them. So how does this relate to Bran Stark (FaI)? Well it turns out that this version of Bran captures the boy at the current peak of his powers when he is with the children of the forest. I know these recaps can seem tedious and drawn out, but I just want to give some background on the characters before I discuss why they are particularly Nedly cards. So just bear with me here.

Let’s get down to it then. Starting off with the basics, we can see he has the Skinchanger trait. This is not the first time we have seen this trait as you may recall. This trait also appears on Orell the Eagle (ASitD) and Varamyr Sixskins (AKitN), both of which are well known wargs in the books. This trait doesn’t really have any synergy but it is definitely Nedly.

This version of Bran only has a power icon, which makes sense considering he doesn’t do any of the fighting on his own. Bran will take over Summer or Hodor in order to go on the offensive. And it is from this ability to take control of someone else that makes this Bran so Nedly.

Bran’s effect requires it to be winter which is important when you think about the role winter plays in the books. Winter is the ominous season that everyone dreads and it is during winter that Bran is able to control his powers. The effect also requires Bran to kneel which accounts for the fact that when Bran enters someone else’s body, his own body becomes lifeless.

After all of the different conditions are met, this card allows you have a character participate on your side of the challenge. Because the effect does not specify your opponent’s characters, you can use Bran’s ability on your own cards as well. Can you guess what that means? If you do a military challenge with Meera Reed (TftH), you can use Bran’s effect to have Hodor (Core) participate on your side as an attacker! How awesome and Nedly is that?! If you’re able to pull this move off, I’m pretty sure your opponent is required to declare you the winner for one of the most Nedly plays ever.

All kidding aside, this card can do exactly what Bran in the books could do. In my opinion, that is what makes a card truly Nedly. Feel free to comment with any questions or if you just want to talk about life. I hope you have enjoyed this Nedly breakdown of Bran Stark (FaI). As I finish up here, I want to leave you with the wise words of one of the most influential characters in the books: “Hodor. Hodor, hodor hodor.”