Now that Stahleck has been completed for a couple of months and the dust has settled, and with the topic of Rotation finally beginning testing, it is time to look at how the game will look in the upcoming months. As always, the goal of this list is to try and keep a good balance between factions by looking at how Rotation will affect the meta and if we are able to anticipate certain cards that can be problematic in addition to looking at the already powerful cards that are in the no Rotation meta. This also means that removing cards to help factions that are losing more than others in the two cycles that are being Rotated out are also on the table. Please note that this Restricted List will be in effect as of 23rd January 2025 and will be updated shortly on both theironthrone.net and thronesdb.com as well.

Without further ado, here are the changes for the v1.13 Restricted List.

Joust

Rotation

All cards from the “Westeros” Cycle and the “War of the Five Kings” Cycle are rotated out, including the version of those cards in the “Redesigns” pack, are considered banned for competitive play.

Baratheon

There will be no changes to Baratheon for the upcoming Restricted List.

Greyjoy

Pods 1 and 14 are merged together. Scouting Vessel will be joining Alannys Greyjoy (CoS) and Drowned God Fanatic along with the already podded Asha Greyjoy (KM) to alleviate the pool of pods. While some of the top end cards for Greyjoy could certainly be discussed further for more restrictions, they are also the biggest loser with the loss of their aggressive resets with Valar Morghulis leaving the game due to Rotation.

Lannister

With several jumper pieces being removed due to Rotation, it is perceived that the pod that consists of Lionstar and Painted Dogs can be removed. While this combination is strong together, the loss of Harrenhal (FFH) and I Never Bet Against My Family as jumping tools, as well as The Hound (TtB) as a cheap repeatable jumping option, we are hopeful that the Jumping Archetype is still played in Lannister.

In the same vein of thought, the lost of Jumper options on top of losing The Lord of the Crossing means that the rush potential has been diminished by a lot for Lannister. Therefore, Cersei Lannister (LoCR) and Heads on Spikes has been removed from the Restricted List as a pod.

One theme that has seen quite a lot of rise in play is the Cat theme. While it is a fan favourite, our furry friends have been quite successful since the release of Boots. Therefore, Casterly Rock (Core) and Boots have been added to a pod. It is believed that the loss of The First Snow of Winter and Valar Morghulis means that the low cost rush decks are seen as a possible problem post Rotation.

Martell

With In Doran’s Name Rotating out, and the loss of a lot of minor but important pieces to many Martell decks, it is believed that Host of the Boneway and Secret Schemes can be removed from their pod together. While both of them are very strong, the Restriction of Secret Scheme plus the pod means that Host of the Boneway is rarely picked as an option. Hopefully this gives it a chance to come back into decks.

Another pod that is being removed from the Restricted List is The Last Greenseer and At Prince Doran’s Behest. A pod that was perceived by some as pre-emptive can finally be released and tested more extensively. With Martell losing one of it’s best deck in Martell Knight’s of the Hollow Hill due to the lost of resets, it can now be seen if the deck can utilize this combination of plots like some have feared in the past.

Night’s Watch

Night’s Watch has been perceived by some as the best faction in the game currently. The do lose some good pieces due to rotation, but their dominance during Stahleck, and other tournaments before and after has shown us that they were at the top of the meta game. One card that is perceived to be strong in many of their decks due to it’s cheap body and strong effect is Three-Finger Hobb (R), and will therefore make its way to the Restricted List. The Steward Trait means that it fits nicely in the Aloof and Apart deck for extra draw, while his 1 cost paired with The Crone meant it would survive resets if timed correctly.

One of the deck that was incredibly popular and did well during Stahleck was the recruiter deck. It was played in either the Night’s Watch Banner of the Wolf package or Night’s Watch Fealty, and it was very dominant in applying its game-plan to choke and remove characters from the board to then steal those characters for themselves. For this reason, a pod that consists of Mutiny at Craster’s Keep and Saved by the Watch was added to the Restricted List to reel back the archtype.

Stark

A few changes are coming for our friends up North. First of all, Dacey Mormont has been Added to the Restricted List. The cheap and efficient renown body that she is, on top of being able to tutor her with Bear Island Scouts, being recurred with Summer (Core) and being able to be saved by The Crone means that this card would usually get on the board quite frequently in games, and was able to get to high strength pretty easily. This now means that the Starks have to decide if they prefer this cheaper Renown body with high strength or the ability to stand the board with Robb Stark (Core).

With Rotation, it means we will be losing a few pieces to the Lord of the Crossing deck, with the Agenda leaving itself, and Septa Mordane also leaving the game. It is therefore believed that the Pod that consists of Alysane Mormont and I Am No One isn’t needed anymore. On top of it, we have Removed from the RL completely Passing The Black Gate, in the hopes that the weenie decks are still playable, even if less fast.

Targaryen

Daenerys Targaryen (TFM) has been removed from the Restricted List. The removal from the list of our beloved Queen Daenerys Targaryen (TFM) is not a small decision, but it is believed that terminal burn during challenges isn’t as bad. Therefore, by removing her from the Restricted List, we have also decided to change the Pod that involves her and Shadow of the East. We will be removing Incinerate from the pod as it is believed that the event is one that promotes burn during challenges, and have replaced it with A Dragon Is No Slave, which promotes out of challenge burn. We are hopeful that this change will give Burn the centrepiece back and allow them to shine once again.

A hot topic in every Restricted List discussion is Queensguard. This attachment has been Restricted, then Podded, and it still was in both finalists very different decks at Stahleck. While those decks are certainly losing pieces to rotation, Queensguard is perceived to continue to come up and cause problems, and therefore it was decided to add Queensguard to the Banned List. Considering that Queensguard is now Banned, it is believed that the pod that consists of Trading With Qohor and Gifts for the Widow (R) is no longer needed and will be disbanded.

Tyrell

The pod consisting of The White Book and Green-Apple Knight has been removed. Tyrell White Book is losing A Tourney For The King as a rush option plot, and therefore it is believed that playing The White Book along Green-Apple Knights should help that deck that also lost Hedge Knights, The Arbor and Ser Barristan Selmy (TS).

Neutral

The Crone has been added to the Restricted List. This plot has proven to be able to ensure that Stark and Night’s Watch are able to withstand Resets fairly easily with no real drawback as the gold this provides is high for it’s effect. Making this Restricted now makes it a clear choice for deck builders to decide to survive resets over picking another card.

Melee

There will be no changes to the Melee Restricted List for the moment.