Just Stay Neutral - Rank and File

A lot of houses got great cards, but it’s hard for anything to top the sheer variety of top notch effect neutral got. There’s almost nothing in the bottom levels here. It’s time to look at some excellent cards.

The Useless

42. Anointed by the Mother (TCC) - Instead of trying to cancel opponents draw to take it, just run draw of your own. This is too often a dead card.

Usable, but why would you?

41. Aurane Waters (TCC) - Adding a title that you don’t control is semi-useless, but as a 3 for 2 with 2-naval icons, he could be worthwhile in a Black Sails deck with few naval icons, right?

40. Gendry (FF) - He’s fine as a 1-cost bicon, but he really didn’t need to be an Ally. Any power he grabs is wildly unsafe on him and usually gone.

39. The Tattered Prince (AJE) - Support is coming to move him up at least one, but for now, I’m not sure there are enough Mercenaries to make him more than T2.

Good, but Generally Cut

38. Favored by the Warrior (AJE) - This is getting better and better thanks to all the direct removal in the game. If it saved from more than kill, it’d be a level above.

37. Torrhen's Square (TPoL) - A military battle to kick off the City plot cycle seemed so good, but ultimately At the Gates proved too good for the military battle houses, Stark and Greyjoy, to give up, at least in part due to the fact that At the Gates is functionally a 5 or 6 gold plot while Torrhen is only 3.

36. Blessed by the Maiden (AJE) - It seems great to get cards out of the discard or dead pile, but then they go back into the deck where the likelihood of seeing them again is slight. Why not just run Judged by the Father to get the important Unique back?

35. Befouled River (THtW) - It’s good, often very good, but it can just as often discard extra cards from hand and two gold is tough to recover from early. 2-claim makes up for a bit of that, but not consistently enough.

34. Lady of the Leaves (FF) - Blanking is huge. She’s hard to make reliable, but Immune to Events is pretty solid. If she were a Response, somehow, she’d be phenomenal.

33. A Song of Fire (FaI) - Drawing an extra card a turn, potentially, is nice, but harder than it seems and does less to help a player win the game than would be expected.

32. Naval Superiority (TGF) - This plot seemed like it was going to set the world afire, but it turns out that when it’s premeditated like this, a claim raise is fairly easy to stop.

31. King's Landing Coup (AToTT) - If you’re a power struggle house, usually Targaryen, and you want to run cities and a To Be, this is an excellent choice. Nowadays, though, most people just chose to run cities with Shadows and find a way around To Be.

30. Ser Meryn Trant (TK) - Kneel can be huge, but this will usually kneel a Goldroad or a Sea that doesn’t matter. The difference? Knights of the Hollow Hill decks usually don’t have anything to kneel, so he’s great against those. A stealthy bi-con is nothing to sneeze at either.

29. Ser Barristan Selmy (TK) - He’s really expensive without some streets, but he’s also great for getting the Kingsguard out. He’s a heavy duty investment, but he can easily be great or gone before he does a thing without a reliable way to be brought back.


Great in a Specific Deck or Very Good in All Decks

28. Eastwatch Envoy (THtW) - He’s excellent in a Night’s Watch deck and useless otherwise, but he really is excellent in that one deck, as Naval is wildly annoying when everyone is a tricon.

27. A Song of Ice (FaI) - I guess this is Tier 1? Maybe? The positive isn’t great and the Agenda is mostly used because of the trait needed for it to be Winter.

26.Green Dream (FaI) - I don’t think Greyjoy Song of Ice is Tier 1, and clearly no other Song of Ice or Fire deck is besides that yet, but if it is, then Green Dream is absolutely fantastic as a way to get the Wintertime Marauders, if nothing else.

25. Nurtured by the Crone (TCC) - If you’re going to run an uber-character deck, this is now a must. It cancels such luminaries as Parting Blow, Castellan of the Rock, Nightmares (when it targets a character), Ygritte, and Meera (when it isn’t winter). Every bit of that is huge if you’re running a key unique.

24. Crossing the Ruby Ford (RotK) - A 5-gold River is a good plot, but this one has a solid effect, too, with it’s discarding a power off an opponent’s house. Think how many time we’ve all seen a player stall out at 13 or 14 power, or just barely reach 15 as the tide turns and then realize how good this actually is.

23. Summer Sea Corsair (RotK) - 3 for 2 bicon demands a good ability, so luckily the Corsair pays off. Beyond the military naval icon, the ability to replace itself with a reveal effect can be huge for maintaining your hand and board. Add in the goodness of this triggering all the fun Kingsguard effects and you have a character that fits a lot of places.

22. Dagger Lake Galley (TCC)- It adds a naval to pretty much anyone, anytime. That’s great for Black Sails and allows a better character or two to not cost an icon. It’s extra fun to stop key stealth.

21. Ygritte (THtW) - Fantastic for any Night’s Watch or Trait manipulation deck, she gets canceled a fair bit, but that’s just because she’s so powerful that she demands planning for.

20. Betrayal at the Wall (THTW) - The ability to go first any time then switch to a proper plot to mess with opponents is absolutely huge. This is only really for Night’s Watch or Wildling Decks, but even so, it’s excellent.

19. Ser Mandon Moore (TK) - He’s a Greyjoy killer, but he has one Icon and his Deadly is least useful there. Luckily, killing saves is great and being Kingsguard is better.

18. Judged by the Father (TCC) - I’d like to put this higher, but it’s really only a great way to get characters back in Martell Knights of the Hollow Hill.

17. Ser Boros Blount (TK) - 0-cost shadows is great. He may be one time only, but that plus 1 can be huge and he’s excellent for the Kingsguard theme.

16. Ser Arys Oakheart (TK) - Stand is always huge and that Arys does it any time a card comes out of the shadows is excellent. He isn’t usually in Lannister or Martell decks, but he’s a Lannister killer in nearly any other deck.

15. On My Oath (TK) - Fantastic in any deck requiring the Kingsguard for draw, which is, you know, a ton of decks. This is functionally a 5-7-1.

14. Naval Reinforcements (RotK) - This goes in every Black Sails deck as a one-time way to grab whatever character needed early can turn a game. 4-5-1 are great stats, too.

13. Redwyne Straits (FF) - This has to be built for and is usually best in Knights of the Hollow Hill, but 10-gold on an early turn utterly changes the game for a KOTHH deck.

12. The Long Voyage (TPoL) - It may be neutered for now, but this changed the game. Consistent card advantage means aggro win.

Tier 1: Wow

11. Battle for the Shield Islands (TGF) - This is great in enough stuff to be here. First, obviously, it’s great to have a searchable Epic Battle for Black Sails, but this is also phenomenal in both the best rush builds Siege and Noble Cause. Add in that it’s one of the funnier ways to handle a House of Dreams location and this is better than anyone anticipated.

10. Supported by the Smith (AJE) - There’s a ridiculous amount of location control right now. Getting back the important locations with this is huge, especially those of 0-cost.

9. Black Sails (RotK) - This is Tier 1 for multiple houses, most notably Greyjoy and Baratheon, but Stark has a great build of this and Targaryen is developing one. Strangely, there’s a very good hyper-Viper with this agenda, too. It isn’t as straight dominant as expected, but number two at Worlds means it’s T1.

8. The Kingsroad 29 (FaI) - A free extra intrigue claim when it’s Winter? Yes, please. Even if it isn’t Winter, plus one gold and initiative is nothing to sneeze at.

7. The Kingsroad 23 (FaI) - A free draw when it’s Summer? Yes, please. Even if it isn’t summer, yadda yadda. This ranks slightly higher as you’re less likely to be draw capped than to be facing an opponent with either so many cards the Winter Kingsroad doesn’t matter or none after Intrigue.

6. Desperate Measures (TCC) - Unless you’re constantly decking yourself, this is an absurdly great way to dig into your deck and find important cards. Add in even a touch of recursion and it’s degenerate.

5. Negotiations at the Great Sept (TPoL) - This is so good that it’s still the restricted card of choice for many decks. Two claim on top of refilling your hand is amazing.

4. Coldhands (THtW) - Bye single character builds, Maesters, positive attachments, fun Shagga ideas, and more - Coldhands, crusher of dreams is here.

3. Rally Cry (TBG) - It isn’t strictly better than Negotiations, but it isn’t restricted. Targeted removal, particularly discard, is hugely powerful. Add in the combination with Bungled Orders and House of Dreams couldn’t be less safe.

2. Ser Preston Greenfield (TK) - Preston popping in and out of shadows is absolutely awesome. It fits in any deck. He’s fantastic for rush, popping out in epic phases, fantastic for shadows, always being available for them, fantastic for knights, popping out in Marshalling, and impossibly fantastic for Kingsguard, making the whole concept work.

1. Ser Jaime Lannister (TK) - 4 for 3 with the best icon spread, Military and Intrigue, and Renown, he’s at least a good option, but he’s practically a one man draw engine, making him one of the best characters in the game.