Hey Thrones community, let’s continue where we left off with the set review! Today, our reviewers have a look into the new cards available in Draft Packs! In the Tower of Joy Draft Set, this means each faction gets one new rare card and three new common cards designed specifically for the new draft format. For part 2, we’re looking at the first 20 of these.
Click here for part 1: Draft Starter
Click here for part 3: Stark and the Rest
Since this set is designed for draft, the ratings are a bit different from usual standard sets. Here’s the scale with some examples from the Valyrian Draft Set for comparison:
5 – A very powerful card that will almost always make the cut in your final deck. Either a standalone wincon or incredible utility. Examples: Feast or Famine, Victarion Greyjoy
4 – A buildaround wincon, good standalone body, or a helpful but fair utility card you’re happy to play in most decks. Examples: Arya Stark, Silent Sisters
3 – A perfectly playable card that you won’t mind picking and playing most of the time but won’t win you the game on its own. Examples: Even Handed Justice, Red Cloaks
2 – Mediocre filler card that will often end up getting cut unless you’re short on playables or have some specific synergies that it enables. Examples: Salty Navigator, Unsworn Apprentice
1 – Bad filler that you actively want to avoid picking and playing in your deck. Examples: Without His Beard, Crone of Vaes Dothrak
With that out of the way, let’s crack open some booster packs!
[Rare] Stannis Baratheon (4.4 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 4 out of 5
This guy seems very cool. He sort of has intimidate if you squint? But can trigger on attack or defense, or on a different character (even your opponent’s!). He requires a decent number of non-limited locations in your deck to be good, which keeps him from being a 5. But if you get him early enough in the draft he’ll be pretty easy to build around. I think figuring out ways to trigger him more than once per round will be the key to making him good.
Xelcor – 5 out of 5
He is a great card and works with the arguable best agenda very nicely. You do need to get non-limited locations so if you actually don’t see one he loses lots of value. If you can build around him then you should.
IljaMuromez – 4 out of 5
You always gain power. Therefore, you can probably always use this effect (once) in the challenge phase. Very solid card.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 5 out of 5
The Mannis himself. He has renown, which is great, and paired with some locations like Nightfort Ruins, he will have a strong presence. You have to build around him a little, but he’s solid in every way.
Francis Cote – 4 out of 5
While the ability to get board control is very strong, it needs a few moving parts to actually go off. I view this as a very low floor, high ceiling effect that can be bad if it can’t get triggered but could be game changing if it can be done round after round. This basically depends on what you’re able to draft if you can get Stannis as an early pick.
[Common] Myrish Pirates (3.4 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 3 out of 5
Hey look, a way to trigger Stannis! I like this card, but it’s a bit expensive. I think his main appeal is being a trait and theme ‘wildcard’, he can kind of fit in any kind of deck you’re building. Less good than something like Sparrows because your opponent needs to have a character with power or gold on the board, but also he doesn’t require a different card already in play like Sparrows. I think he’ll see play, but you won’t run more than one in most decks.
Xelcor – 4 out of 5
Stealing power or gold is great here, many keywords and can be played in the shadow agenda. Decent STR, power icon is also good.
IljaMuromez – 2 out of 5
Four traits that open up new possibilities. The card is safe to play. But whether you want to use the effect for 1 more gold is questionable. In addition, the applications seem poor.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 3 out of 5
They are a little pricey but still a perfectly playable card. The Pirates enable your Stannis or can give you some resources back in a shadow deck, making them very versatile. On top of that, they have great traits.
Francis Cote – 5 out of 5
First of all, this is a massive trait bot card, and for that alone I gave it a 4/5 rating. What bumps it for me is the ability to move power or gold around, and cards like Stannis, or other Smugglers or power moving cards will absolutely be happy to see come into play. The endless synergies make this an amazing pickup.
[Common] Nightfort Ruins (3.6 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 2 out of 5
Hey look, a cheap location for Stannis to use! I think this card is ok, but not super strong. Most often will be run as a cheap non-limited location for effects that need that, like Stannis. There are a couple fun synergies with reserve boosts in the set you also might pick this up for. The +STR for power challenges is ok, but you’ll see this played most often for 0 or 1 gold than 2, I think.
Xelcor – 5 out of 5
Power wins games, this can make you win that challenge every time. 5/5 100% take it.
IljaMuromez – 5 out of 5
Very solid. Two permanently good effects for a reasonable cost. You should definitely play this.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 4 out of 5
A great common. Every Seeking Fortunes deck will want this, and if you draft it, you’ll probably also play it. The fact that you can have multiple copies in play is not to be underestimated.
Francis Cote – 2 out of 5
While the ability to lock power challenges is amazing, I view this as win more most of the time. I would most likely want to invest on a character to help me win the board battle over playing this.
[Common] Flaming Sword (3.0 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 3 out of 5
I like this card. On its own as a 1-time intimidate it’s fine? Not particularly strong but you’ll maybe run one. But if you can pair it with some add-to-challenge synergy like No Song So Sweet or Greywater Watch or use it to give intimidate to Shagwell/Vargo I think it can be pretty good.
Xelcor – 4 out of 5
Great card, gives a power icon and intimidate, both needed to push challenges. Also great for setups.
IljaMuromez – 2 out of 5
The effect is good, but it’s a one-time thing. But whether you want to and will spend one gold and one card for it is doubtful.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 3 out of 5
I was torn between 3 and 2. It’s a perfectly playable card, and the intimidate is strong. The self-sacrifice is a bit meh, but because of Biting Cold, you’ll probably still play this.
Francis Cote – 3 out of 5
While this is a cheap intimidate attachment, and it can also give a power icon to a card lacking it, losing it the turn your character attacks makes it a good way to balance it and not see this being abused turn after turn.
[Rare] Euron Crow’s Eye (4.6 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 5 out of 5
This guy is kinda the lynchpin of the Raider pillage deck. Not sure if that deck is worth running if you don’t have Euron, but if you run into him in your draft I would almost always consider trying to go for Raiders if it’s not too late in the draft. The effect is quite strong, and he’s got all the traits you could ever want! Kinda wish he had renown instead of intimidate, but that would probably be pushing it.
Xelcor – 3 out of 5
Honestly…… i assume his ability will not work that often. And if you want to win with milling you don’t need to get power anyway. Intimidate is great tho but probably cheaper cards are easier for a pillage strat.
IljaMuromez – 5 out of 5
He has the best keyword: intimidate! The reaction is great. Plus, he and his companion look good. A successful card!
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 5 out of 5
Euron is very powerful. It remains to be seen how often he actually triggers, but intimidate is still strong, and pillage may also win you games in this format.
Francis Cote – 5 out of 5
The centerpiece to a rush pillage deck, where you either deck your opponent out, or you win by getting so much power on those pillage characters. On top of it, it had intimidate, a keyword amazing at controlling the pace of the challenge phase.
[Common] Saltcliffe Marauder (3.2 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 4 out of 5
I think this guy rocks. There are enough effects that reload gold onto stuff in the draft pool that I think you’ll be able to use this guy as two stealth triggers per phase a lot of the time, and stealth is very powerful in draft. Good traits, fits in the bestow deck as well as GJ in general, what’s not to love?
Xelcor – 2 out of 5
Bestow lets you pick it in the Seeking Fortunes agenda. Stealth is nice but a bit expensive. Very good chud for a pillage strat. It gets more value with cards that can give you free gold like Left-Hand Lucas Codd.
IljaMuromez – 3 out of 5
Solid card. Pillage and stealth make them very playable for one more gold. Shouldn’t be missing from any pillage deck.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 4 out of 5
A very playable card that will likely make your cut. Especially Seeking Fortunes decks that can refill him will love this card. Raider will also turn out to be a prominent trait for Join Forces decks.
Francis Cote – 3 out of 5
Decent stats, decent ability, and decent keywords. Nothing bad to say, and his stealth and ability to give stealth can poke holes left by your opponent, depending on how they defend challenges.
[Common] Stony Shore Thrall (1.6 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 1 out of 5
Not a huge fan of this card to be honest. It will still see occasional play for the icons and cost slot, but the effect is clunky enough that you probably won’t use it very often. Maybe if you draft a bunch of these in a shadow deck you could do some weird reserve choke build? But I think the minimum here prevents that from being worth all the trouble.
Xelcor – 1 out of 5
Maybe a good chud but i don’t belive reserve strats will be that viable.
IljaMuromez – 2 out of 5
A somewhat complicated but effective reaction against ambush or shadow, which are probably not played very often. And saving two gold for that seems (too) much to me.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 2 out of 5
He’s solid but might end up being just a filler. The effect is nice, but I don’t see him being played that often, as choke is not an overly present theme in the set.
Francis Cote – 2 out of 5
While being able to choke your opponent if ever you or they play jumpers, the fact is this is limited to once per number of Thralls you have in play, as it has to kneel itself. Unless choke is really your gameplan, I don’t see how this is played very much.
[Common] Kraken’s Hatchet (4.6 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 5 out of 5
This card whips dude! Granting the Raider trait has some really fun synergies in the set, not the least of which is Saltcliffe, which can reload the gold you use to stand the guy this is attached to every turn. Paying 2 gold for a stand is less good than discarding 1, but you still will do it sometimes. This can be run in Raider or bestow decks very effectively, and probably will see play in most GJ decks even if you don’t have extra synergies. Stand is good!
Xelcor – 5 out of 5
Yes, standing chars is good, paying 2 gold to not overcommit is good,
Raider trait is good, setup is good. And with Left-Hand Lucas Codd or other bestow or gold steal cards it gets better.
IljaMuromez – 3 out of 5
Good support for bestow cards. Will be played, in my opinion.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 5 out of 5
Stand is great and will be very powerful. If you get your hands on this card, you’ll definitely play it.
Francis Cote – 5 out of 5
No conditions to who you can put this on, meaning that you can attach this to any bomb and go twice with whatever other tricks you have (2 renown, 2 pillage, 2 intimidate) and really apply pressure on your opponent. As a Targaryen player at heart, good cheap stand will always be highly valued by me.
[Rare] Tommen Baratheon (2.6 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 2 out of 5
Catboy Tommen, my sweet prince. Unfortunately I think he’s not super strong. Cards like Faceless Man and the trait-granting agenda mean you can get up to 2 or 3 Cats pretty easily if you draft some of the attachments for him. If you get the trifecta of Lady Whiskers and Boots to give him stealth and renown on top of his other effects, then I think he can be very strong, but most of the time he will just be a 3 cost 2 STR bicon, which I think isn’t gonna break the game like you want your rare cards to be doing. But he’ll still see a lot of play for the memes I suspect.
Xelcor – 4 out of 5
You can have at least 3 Cats from the Draft starter, and then you still need to find some or play the plot/agenda. But if you get all this, he is a bomb.
IljaMuromez – 2 out of 5
I love Cats decks. And with lots of Cats, Tommen becomes great. But you need a lot of Cats, and you often have to wait too long for them to appear.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 4 out of 5
I love this Tommen, but he’s a card that very much needs to be built around. You’ll need some trait manipulation cards to get more Cats fast.
Francis Cote – 1 out of 5
While fairly fun to see Tommen interact with Cats, you need to draft Tommen and all 3 Cats (editor’s note: Boots, Lady Whiskers, Balerion) to make him worthwile. I just don’t see how you build your deck around him when there’s so many other amazing cards.
[Common] Eager Opportunist (3.6 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 5 out of 5
This guy is awesome! I love jumpers, and this guy will see play in a lot of different decks just because jumpers are strong. In a bestow deck where you can reload his gold every turn I think he’ll really shine, but I’d play him in every Lanni deck just as a 1-off effect.
Xelcor – 2 out of 5
Great tempo and has some great synergies with cards that return themselves. Might need some bestow support to make it repayable.
IljaMuromez – 3 out of 5
Solid card with a good effect.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 4 out of 5
A classic Lannister jumper card that I don’t see being left out. Very powerful, especially if you can refill him.
Francis Cote – 4 out of 5
Even if his targets are limited, there are a high number of high value targets you can cheat in to make use of this effect really well. Those traits also help if you wanna play any of those 2 traits heavily. His only downside is the relatively small numbers he offers to challenges.
[Common] Cruel Brigand (3.2 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 4 out of 5
I like this guy on his own as a blank 2 for 2 bicon with good traits, and with ambush he’s even better! Getting good value out of his reaction probably will be more of a ‘once every three games’ situation, but I think he’s pretty playable even without the bounce. Probably his best home is in a Join Forces deck for Knights or Raiders where the agenda doesn’t take up your faction kneel.
Xelcor – 2 out of 5
This is just a great body, works well with all the jumping Knights to not lose them, or has just a good trait and is good setup. To fill out your curve i would expect some of them in decks.
IljaMuromez – 3 out of 5
Good card that is always playable. Sure, you have to save up three gold, which your opponent will surely observe with suspicion. But since they won’t have all the cards in their head, you can easily accept that.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 3 out of 5
This one will see some play, as it’s a very nice tempo card. However, it won’t win you games on its own, and the reaction is limited to winning INT first.
Francis Cote – 4 out of 5
I have learned over time to not under estimate cards that help you thin the board to then set up some high value military claim target, or to simply help you push through challenges when you truly need it. Strong effect on a cheap body and not too expensive ability.
[Common] Silverhill River (4.2 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 4 out of 5
This will see play simply because it’s one of the only (if not the actual only) non-limited econ cards in the set. The sac reaction is fun and will help you close out some games, but you’d probably play this if it was blank except for the gold, honestly.
Xelcor – 5 out of 5
It is great econ, but i wouldn’t use it too early if you aren’t sure you are winning this turn.
IljaMuromez – 4 out of 5
Good card that is always playable. Not limited and brings gold. Winning intrigue should be no problem. And then close the game.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 5 out of 5
This location is very strong in this set. It gives you much-needed economy for shadow or bestow-themed decks and can accelerate you. I would always play it if possible.
Francis Cote – 3 out of 5
Good econ location, but a bit expensive if your goal is to try and accelerate the game. I think this card is amazing, but the gold you put into this is gold you’re not putting into characters on the board to help tempo. If you’re able to afford it, it basically reads pay 2 gold to gain 1 power.
[Rare] Arianne Martell (4.4 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 4 out of 5
A 4-cost character with insight is already pretty playable in draft, so her icon ability is just extra gravy! I think her icon-steal ability probably isn’t something you’ll use every turn, but if you can set up a situation where she’s also granting the icon to a bunch of your other characters, seems like she could be great.
Xelcor – 5 out of 5
Absolutly insane card, you will always pick her. Great icon, great cost, great keyword and great ability. I think she is the best card in the draft set in a vacuum. But she might not work that well with the best agenda so there is some trade-off. She does love Quentyn a lot ^^
IljaMuromez – 4 out of 5
Very solid card that will certainly be played often. Slightly cheaper than the usual Arianne, but also with limited effects.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 4 out of 5
The card has a typical Arianne effect with her self-bounce. She’s not too pricey, and gaining the icon for non-Martell characters is great. Still, she won’t win you the game on her own, so you’ll have to see if you can fit her into your deck. Having Mellario in the set does help her.
Francis Cote – 5 out of 5
A not too expensive body that can be used to win a challenge and draw a card, and then the ability can be used to really swing a board in your favor once she triggers it. Mainly used in a deck with no other Martell characters to truly make use of this card.
[Common] Starfall Servant (3.4 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 5 out of 5
Honestly pretty playable just for the stealth, but with an icon steal on top, this character is pushing some serious challenges through! This is a card that will swing the challenge phase hard in your favor on the turn it comes out of shadows. If you’re running an Asshai deck you’ll want to grab as many of these as you can.
Xelcor – 3 out of 5
Stealth on a power icon is great. Maybe it is a bit expensive but overall good if you use it.
IljaMuromez – 3 out of 5
Solid card. 5 gold for the reaction is not insignificant. But it could be worth it, especially since it has stealth and three strength.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 4 out of 5
She has a very clean design that plays well into the icon removal strategy. The stealth bumps her from a 3 to a 4 and makes her very playable even without the reaction.
Francis Cote – 2 out of 5
5 total gold if this is played straight up is a lot to only remove 1 icon. Good body with stealth, but this will mainly be used as a card that gets cheated in for surprise challenge wins when you need it most.
[Common] Desert Freerider (2.6 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 2 out of 5
I dig this guy, I think he’s playable in some decks for the cost/icons/traits alone. The icon steal is nice but not gonna break the game I think. The flexibility is nice.
Xelcor – 3 out of 5
Just good value on the card. 2/2 with 2 icons is decent. The effect might not even matter that much but is good to have.
IljaMuromez – 3 out of 5
Two gold for two strength and two icons is okay. The action will be modest. Definitely playable.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 3 out of 5
This card is rock-solid and fits well into the 3 category. You won’t mind playing him, but he’ll never be essential to your strategy. As often, refilling him is a nice play in many situations. His traits will likely make him see play more often.
Francis Cote – 2 out of 5
A cheaper way to play icon removal, this is what I expect to see a bit more play in general decks who want to have some icon removal. Although it does come with added bonus of adding an icon if needed, in both cases, the icon removed or added is an intrigue icon, and that drawback is not negligible.
[Common] Vengeful Lordling (2.6 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 3 out of 5
I like the effect on this guy. Probably not something you want to run a lot of except maybe in a Martell Asshai deck. Best as a chump blocker, you get a gold out of preventing unopposed.
Xelcor – 2 out of 5
Claim soak that gives you a bit of econ. Not very exciting but usable.
IljaMuromez – 3 out of 5
Nice effect, and the cost is acceptable. Well suited for the usual Martell ambush or shadow cards.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 3 out of 5
This card will see a lot of play in shadow decks and helps a lot with expensive ambush cards like Lord Anders’s Host or Ghost Hill Elite. These decks will crave for this economy option as it’s also very good in setup.
Francis Cote – 2 out of 5
Cheap body that likely gets claimed for military but not before reducing the cost by 1 to ambush or to bring out of shadows. Cheap pseudo econ on a cheap body, but nothing special if you don’t lean into those abilities.
[Rare] Melisandre (4.2 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 4 out of 5
I think her baseline STR to cost ratio prevent her from being a 5, but I think she’s strong. Permanent steal is very scary. Her effect will be a little awkward to set up sometimes I think, but the threat will make your opponent work very hard to block her. I think she’ll really shine if you can pair her with jumpers out of Lanni or Targ, or a Stewards build alongside Lord Steward.
Xelcor – 3 out of 5
So i don’t know how good that is, if you don’t have an effect that cheats cards in you kinda trade down with her. Plus 7 cost with no MIL icon might be difficult to defend early.
IljaMuromez – 4 out of 5
I like that. Melisandre sacrifices and controls characters. Insight is also an important keyword.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 5 out of 5
First of all, I love having a Melisandre in The Night’s Watch. Repeatable steal will turn out very powerful and is worth a slot in your deck. You have to win first, but sacrificing a second attacker should work quite well.
Francis Cote – 5 out of 5
This can really swing games in your favor big time. The only limits it has is that it has to sacrifice a big body to steal a big one, and the loyalty on cards. But if you can steal a character with a high number of power on it, then that gives you the change to steal games you could have lost instead.
[Common] Tormund’s Horde (2.8 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 2 out of 5
How many traits can we put on one card?? (kylo_ren_more.gif) I think this guy is cool, and the Jojen effect has some fun potential synergies, but I think 5 cost for a monocon is a tough sell in draft. If you can give him extra icons somehow, then we’re talking. But on his own I think he’ll be cut pretty often.
Xelcor – 3 out of 5
If you wanna mill people out this is your attacker. 5 cost might be a bit expensive at first but Manning the City Walls gives you good value here.
IljaMuromez – 4 out of 5
It has the most important keyword, intimidate. And it provides cards. The cost is high, but so is the strength. That’s good. The card should be played.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 2 out of 5
The intimidate on this card is its best part. Drawing cards is strong, and the traits are also great. However, being an expensive mono-con, I think this card won’t see play that often.
Francis Cote – 3 out of 5
This is an intimidate body, so obviously I appreciate it, and it allows you to either discard or draw cards after winning the challenge while attacking, whichever is more advantageous for you. The downside is that you pay 5 for a card with only a military icon and not much else to offer in actually winning the game.
[Common] Abel’s Washerwoman (2.6 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 2 out of 5
Granting stealth is pretty strong, so I think you’ll see her played in some decks. As a vanilla card she’s pretty lackluster on her own tho, sadly. Very fun synergy with Moon Door if you can snag both, but outside of that combo I think she’ll usually get cut for better cards.
Xelcor – 3 out of 5
Sometimes you don’t get the non-limited locations but stealth is good.
IljaMuromez – 3 out of 5
Pillage is certainly good in combination with Greyjoy decks. In the Night’s Watch deck, it’s rather questionable. Besides, she’s a washerwoman! Four gold is not insignificant, but you get two icons.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 3 out of 5
She probably won’t be played in every deck, and you need to make sure you have enough non-limited locations in your build. Granting stealth will still make her a frequent inclusion.
Francis Cote – 2 out of 5
The ability isn’t terrible, but it also isn’t great. The body isn’t completely bad, but it isn’t that good either. Not much to say about a card that is fairly vanilla.
[Common] Wall-Bound Knight (2.2 Average)
Ben Barnhart (Haruspex) – 3 out of 5
Great traits here, particularly The Seven, which has a lot of great synergies in the draft pool. I think his shadow effect is cute, but most often you’ll just play him in marshaling.
Xelcor – 2 out of 5
Stealing gold can be very clutch sometimes but you also want to use it.
IljaMuromez – 2 out of 5
Two gold for two icons for two strength is always solid. However, the reaction is too expensive for too few effects.
Flo (PitchBlecc) – 3 out of 5
The Wall-Bound Knight is totally playable but won’t win you games on his own. Denying your opponent shadow or bestow resources can interrupt a lot of plays, so playing him at the right moment will turn out well. He’s also solid enough in his base case most of the time.
Francis Cote – 1 out of 5
If bestow is how you want to play, then this might be of great use. At the same time, the cost it has to achieve getting only 1 gold off of your opponent’s bestow cards is fairly high. Might be better to invest in a better character or effect to ensure you can battle with your opponent over trying to maybe stop them from using potentially 1 gold. You get the idea.
Card Averages
4.6 Euron Crow’s Eye
4.6 Kraken’s Hatchet
4.4 Stannis Baratheon
4.4 Arianne Martell
4.2 Silverhill River
4.2 Melisandre
3.6 Nightfort Ruins
3.6 Eager Opportunist
3.4 Myrish Pirates
3.4 Starfall Servant
3.2 Saltcliffe Marauder
3.2 Cruel Brigand
3.0 Flaming Sword
2.8 Tormund’s Horde
2.6 Tommen Baratheon
2.6 Desert Freerider
2.6 Vengeful Lordling
2.6 Abel’s Washerwoman
2.2 Wall-Bound Knight
1.6 Stony Shore Thrall
And that’s all for today! With only a short time left until Stahleck, look forward to one final set review article covering the remaining factions and neutral cards.
For more information about the Tower of Joy Draft Set, check out our previous articles:
Announcing the Tower of Joy Draft Set
Revealing the Full Tower of Joy Draft Set
