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Beheading Ned - The Champion’s Purse
Apr 15 2014 05:10 AM |
Sygmaghost94
in Game of Thrones
Small Council Beheading Ned Sygmaghost94
Warning: This article may contain spoilers from any and all of the books.Welcome back everyone to another great installment of Beheading Ned! I was going to build a Nedly deck this week and talk about that, but since everyone is patiently waiting for the new FAQ to come out, I thought I would do the same and just hold off until the next issue. While we didn’t get an FAQ this week, we did receive the full spoiled chapter pack of The Champion’s Purse, and since those cards are now in the cardgamedb deckbuilder, I thought it would be ok to talk about them. This week I’ll give you my Nedly reviews of the newest chapter pack. But first, how about a little trivia?! This week I’ll give you guys something pretty easy. Give the person(s) who inspired the names of Dany’s dragons. Bonus question: fill in the blank of each dragon and rider pair. - ______ & Balerion the Black Dread; Visenya Targaryen & ______; Rhaenys Targaryen & ______.
A lot of interesting cards appear in this newest addition to the Conquest and Defiance cycle. The first chapter pack sported a good number of both powerful and Nedly cards. Let’s see how The Champion’s Purse compares.
Knight of the Songs: 4 out of 5
This is a pretty high rating, but I think this card is very deserving of it. The Knight trait and Joust keyword are always Nedly features of a knight character, but let’s look at his effect and pay close attention to his name. This card gets stronger for each prized character you have. This card, as the quote and name will tell you, is a person who is revered in song. His battles and victories are sung about in high regard, and when you sing about other great people (prized characters) along with him, his appearance is that much better. Does that make sense? It made sense when I was thinking about it.
Rider from Storm’s End: 3 out of 5
I’m trying to make sense out of these cards that get a bonus for OOH characters. If this is a rider from before Robert Baratheon died, then the strength support of the Starks makes sense. If we look at it as a rider reporting back after the siege of Storm’s End, then the stealthy Lannister support is valid.
A Taste of Glory: 3 out of 5
This card works with prized characters who would generally be famed people with renown or prestige to their name. How did these people become famous or prized? They wanted A Taste of Glory! They became stronger and earned a bit of renown.
Wex Pyke: 5 out of 5
Everything about this card is Nedly! From his Squire trait to his awesome effect, this card is thematic to the core. Wex is obviously stealthy to have avoided capture by the Boltons when Winterfell was destroyed. His is a key character who is prized by Wyman Manderly and Davos Seaworth. Above all else, he is on a mission to return a prized person who is thought to be dead. His ability is so in sync with the story, it’s crazy.
Every Captain is a King: 4 out of 5
Another very Nedly card for Greyjoy from this pack. The Greyjoys are known for their strong and numerous fleets. So it only makes sense that when a naval battle is started, the Greyjoys will bring forth a ship.
Ser Robert Strong: 4 out of 5
Not much is known about this guy, yet. But what we do know about him makes this card very Nedly. Believed to be the reanimated corpse of Gregor Clegane, Robert Strong emerged from the shadows after being experimented on by Qyburn. He was immediately appointed to the Kingsguard so he can champion for Cersei. He’s also a hulking figure, so we can assume he is worthy of a military icon and not much else.
Frey Emissary: 3 out of 5
Another interesting OOH support character. The buff from Stark characters is obvious because the Freys were at one point allied to them. The Lannister affiliation makes sense because the Freys switched loyalties. I can’t quite figure where the Baratheon support is coming from though.
Counterplot: 3 out of 5
The name and effect of this card seem rather generic. The picture obviously is suggesting that this is Tyrion’s counterplot to Tywin. The house Lannister restriction and the cost of kneeling unique Lannister character fit because the Lannisters are responsible for many of the stories plots and counterplots. Finally, the prized 3 is relevant because a counterplot can be very dangerous when playing the Game of Thrones.
Summer Sea Scout: 2 out of 5
Pretty bland on the Nedly factor here. The naval enhancement is warranted because he is a scout of the Summer Sea. Other than that, I really don’t see how his effect, trait, or crest plays into the character.
Blood Orange Grove: 2 out of 5
The prized here makes a little sense because I guess people value fruit or something. I’m not quite sure how a grove of fruit can remove someone’s crest and give them an icon.
Desert Raider: 2 out of 5
Martell is not scoring high on the Nedly scale this time around. The military icon and ability to steal (raid) an icon makes sense. The resurrection from the dead part does not.
Ser Edmure Tully: 3 out of 5
Now I know most of you are thinking that an actually good version of Edmure has to be extremely un-Nedly. Well you’re only half right with this card. I’m not sure why he has deadly. Did we ever see him kill anyone? Does he have the capacity to kill anyone? Regardless, he does have the Knight trait and a war crest. Even though he is terrible at war, he does participate. For his ability, I’m making a stretch by saying that he allowed the Blackfish to escape being captured the Lannisters and therefore return to the game (of thrones).
The Gatehouse Tower: 3 out of 5
These towers are famous for being very useful when fending off enemy attacks, so an ability that boosts strength when you have less characters is very fitting.
Needle: 1 out of 5
I’m not seeing anything Nedly about this card. Even the unique Stark character only doesn’t really make sense considering the sword was stolen from Arya for a while. I can see Arya valuing the sword as a prized possession, but the ability doesn’t seem very fitting to the sword.
Rhoyne Poleman: 2 out of 5
Him being a poleman and having naval enhancements is fitting. Having the melee keyword is not. I find it un-Nedly when a card has the melee keyword but no military icon. At least he has The East trait though.
Viserys Targaryen: 3 out of 5
This version is much more Nedly than his Core set counterpart. The intrigue and power icons make sense when we think of his schemes and deals between Illyrio and Drogo. The noble crest and King trait are another good Nedly touch. His ability is the only part of him that doesn’t seem thematic. He wasn’t able to discard the golden crown so easily.
Tokar: 3 out of 5
Short and sweet. This attachment gave Dany a footing in her new city where she ruled. To rule is to have power. And with enough power, you can gain renown.
Shagwell: 3 out of 5
I like everything about this card except for the intrigue icon. I mean, he’s a fool! Fools are not intriguing. He is very deadly though and he does sport the Fool and Mercenary trait. Finally, his ability which supports the neutrality of The Brave Companions is what makes this card pretty Nedly.
Vargo Hoat: 4 out of 5
Leader of The Brave Companions, Vargo has a well-known reputation. This explains his Lord trait and his renown keyword. The Mercenary trait is befitting as well and his constant influence in the war grants him the war crest. His ability shows how Vargo is able to take a key player and get rid of their threat. *cough**cough* Jaime *cough**cough*
The Lost Message: 1 out of 5
I don’t get how a message being lost gets rid of attachments, but hey, at least it has the Raven trait with raven artwork.
And there you have it, my Nedly review of The Champion’s Purse. We had a few very Nedly cards with Wex Pyke and Vargo Hoat, and some not so Nedly cards with Needle and The Lost Message. If I’ve done my math right, this review should come out before the Small Council’s review. I bring this up because I want you to compare these reviews to their Jaime counterparts. Are the Nedly scores extremely off base or pretty close? Feel free, as always, to comment. Let me know if you agree or disagree with any of these ratings. Thanks for reading; I hope you guys enjoyed this installment of Beheading Ned!
- VonWibble and CobraBubbles like this
7 Comments
Ser Robert Strong cannot get above 3 for me, simply because you can have him in play at the same time as Gregor. The only reason I'd go to 3 is because technically its not confirmed they are the same person.
Desert Raider coming back from the dead pile represents that there are loads of them. A different Desert Raider is joining the fight. The sheer number of them and fact they are an unknown quantity for any non Martells makes intrigue and power plotting very difficult for them. At least a 3, maybe even 4.
The Lost Message is literally the attachment that has gone. For example, the raven officially declaring that a character has the Support of Saltcliffe/has been knighted. Whilst this doesn't explain all attachments (Sunstroke - best I can think of is that the message sending them to the desert where they are burned has been lost), I think it again pushes it to a 3.
Vargo Hoat - last I checked Jaime isn't a charagenda. The ability really should be to choose a character that has lost a challenge this turn (Ie been captured by him) and remove their Mil Icon. Affecting a charagenda make little sense at all - would the Martells really not be angry an vengeful if Vargo had chopped of Quentyn's hand?
Big stretch with Edmure, for me you have to actually be good in mil to get a war crest. I suppose he did defend quite well. If the ability is how you describe it then moving a dead card to the discard pile makes more sense.
Blood Orange Grove is prized because it is part of the palace where Doran Martell is. A lot of Doran's plotting takes place there, so I'd say that making commanders weaker in wars, and reducing noble, learned and holy characters influence on the game of thrones makes sense. What doesn't make sense is giving them an icon afterwards (I'd be OK with it if the ability only worked on friendly characters). Overall a 3.
Needle for my mind fits with the proviso of only thinking from Arya's POV. Yes, it is taken from her, but the men who do this don't exactly benefit from it in the long run (so it is not benefiting the non Stark). And Arya does spend the majority of the books not directly affected by character abilities. Because the above is not true of other unique Starks I'm going up to 2 out of 5.
Overall I disagree on 7 cards and broadly agree on the remaining 13. That's a 65% strike rate, roughly 2 out of 3. Which, from what I hear, ain't bad...
Its game effect prevents characters from being saved, for one thing, and by preventing triggered effects it takes out a lot of the things that would make a military challenge seem larger scale rather than personal.
Not a perfect fit, but slightly Nedly.
I can see valid arguments for all of the points you have made. When looking at cards through a Nedly lens, it is very opinion-based on how Nedly they are because it's all speculation. My views are simply my opinions. They're not necessarily right, but if I can start a discussion about a card and get people to think about it in a different way, then I think I've done a good job.
And as for Vargo Hoat, I recognize that Jaime is not a Character Agenda. I was simply stretching by stating he can cripple a key character in the game like he does in the book. Although, a lot of these reviews are stretched a little
Dorea is the one with the Morningstar. Definitely can see that argument though!
I agree with Vonwibble about the Desert Raider, but I'd have to take a point off for being House Dayne. The Daynes are Stoney Dornish, not Sandy Dornish...isn't Starfall in the Red Mountains at the western-most end of Dorne?