“Sigorn,” asked Melisandre, “will you share your fire with Alys, and warm her when the night is dark and full of terrors?”
“I swear me.” The Magnar’s promise was a white cloud in the air. Snow dappled his shoulders. His ears were red. “By the red god’s flames, I warm her all her days.”
“Alys, do you swear to share your fire with Sigorn, and warm him when the night is dark and full of terrors?”
“Till his blood is boiling.”
Hello Thrones Community,
Seasons come and go, the song begins again, and the Design Team is proud to present the first entry in our latest cycle: Old and the New. Such an evocative dichotomy brings with it competing pantheons and social upheavals, marrying the reinvigoration of older cards with the continuation of newer factional themes. To begin, we present Till His Blood is Boiling, drawing from the series’ most recent developments: Stannis’ northern crusade, Euron’s southern invasion, and the precarious positions of King’s Landing, Dorne, and Meereen…
Stannis Baratheon’s misadventures between the Wall and Winterfell dominate this pack and its parent cycle. The game’s original run saw this narrative as an opportunity to encourage out-of-faction play with cards like The King at the Wall and The Queen’s Men. We seek to continue this with Deepwood Steward, whose versatile support for cross-faction play helps him appeal to Baratheon and Banner decks alike. By accommodating both The North and out-of-faction locations, this Steward can summon support for Banner of the Watch, Wolf or even Kraken decks, without excluding the likes of Northern Encampment, Northern Pyre, or its own Deepwood Motte. Continuing this interest in versatile cross-faction support is Wedding at the Wall, an event which rewards a successful Power challenge with the standing of two – no more, no less – R’hllor or Wildling characters. While its bride and groom will be detailed later in this article, its utility extends beyond them by supporting both Baratheon’s oldest card family and Stannis’ newest allies, as well as distinct-but-coterminous groups like Brotherhood and Giant.
This cycle’s focus on conflict and upheaval promises great things for House Greyjoy. Kingsmoot Claimant joins the likes of Old Captain, Every Captain is a King, and Called to Arms’ Balon Greyjoy, combining two under-explored factional themes: proliferating the King trait and preying upon the King-less. While this new Captain demonstrates both, it relies on them only for situational renown; otherwise, its respectable STR and icon combination promise it a place in and aboard many decks. While rabid enthusiasm has its uses, colder and more strategic minds are favoured up the chain of command, as seen with Captain of the Iron Fleet. To render this mechanically, we recalled House Arryn’s penchant for contributing STR to a challenge without the perils or benefits of direct participation, a theme also seen in Enameled Emerald Armor and Fire Upon the Grass’ Willas Tyrell. Each demonstrates shrewd control of their chosen battlefield, and by tying this Title to Warship locations it becomes the envy of any true Ironborn. Although only capable of contributing the attached Captain’s STR to Military or Power challenges, the emphasis on locations makes Naval Bombardment a natural fit.
Moving away from strategy and foresight, Cersei Lannister’s misrule as Queen Regent offers a rare challenge: authentically depicting reckless self-sabotage, while still producing helpful cards. Last cycle, we sought to evoke Cersei’s impatient urgency through The Regent’s Council and its premature determination of dominance. This cycle, we turn to her greed and desire to utterly overwhelm her opponents. First, we present Orton Merryweather, fair-weather friend and Hand of the King. Once a support for Small Council and Spy decks, his defection from Tyrell to Lannister has brought him to the fore, doubled in STR, doubling your gold pool’s contribution to dominance, and potentially yielding still more gold to tip the scales. Also on offer is Casterly Rock’s newest treasure, the Jeweled Tiara. A Crown for a Queen, this attachment not only provides a valuable trait but randomly discards a card from any opponent who dares opposes its wearer in Intrigue challenges. Functionally inflicting Intrigue claim on both attackers and defenders, this attachment also demonstrates the Queen Regent’s sense of subtlety and mercy by tripling the number of cards discarded if victory is achieved by an overwhelming margin of 10 STR.
Poisons, vengeance, and the Sand Snake family lurk in this cycle’s future, but for now Nymella Toland of Ghost Hill demonstrates House Martell’s capacity to delay. She does this through the targeted removal of solitary attackers and defenders; not as drastic or lethal as her Ghost Hill Elite, perhaps, but far more reliably repeatable. Such delayal joins Scorching Sands and Doran Martell’s own Sands of Dorne variant, and here depicts an effort to slow Ser Balon Swann’s discovery of Myrcella Baratheon’s fate and face. Of course, by targeting lone participants for removal, Nymella aggravates more than just Ser Balon, but the entire Knight family – especially Dorne’s bitter rivals in the Reach. While your opponent waits, Godsgrace speeds you to victory, yielding an additional power anytime a Martell character gains it. Much like Sand Steed, however, this effect relies on Summer plots. While valuable in Martell’s Lord and Lady decks and several variants of The Red Viper, power on characters is easily lost in a faction fond of failure. Perhaps consider Daemon Sand, The Bastard of Godsgrace, whose power-consuming discount becomes doubly effective while at home.
The tension between old and new – between venerable tradition and necessary reform – might best be demonstrated in the Free Folk’s struggle for acceptance among the Night’s Watch. Watchers on the Wall’s Jon Snow exemplifies this tension, while in-faction Wildling support has trickled in over the cycles through Leathers and Oathsworn Wildling. Now comes the next step in that integration: Alys Karstark, first Lady of the Watch, briefly glimpsed in Wedding at the Wall, and one-half of a political union linking the Northern houses and the Free Folk’s Thenns. Appropriately, she begins by evoking House Karstark’s native faction, specifically the Core Set’s Sansa Stark, by generating power each time she stands. But rather than hold it herself, the alliance she embodies demands another Wildling be chosen, with the choice of her new husband also yielding valuable card draw. But the Night’s Watch would be nothing without oppressive restrictions, and The Skirling Pass marries this obligation with yet more encouragement for Wildling use by removing stealth from all non-Wildling characters. Not only does this motivate you to include exempted characters, the threat may motivate the same in your opponent.
Continuing the internecine theme of Old and the New, aged Arnolf Karstark acts as a counterbalance to the young Alys. Though aligned in relying on others to trigger their effects, Arnolf differs from his great-niece by standing from the sacrifice of his fellows or their locations, thriving at their expense instead of from their company. This suits a double-agent for House Bolton, with its fondness for sacrifice and non-loyalty. Relevantly, Stark and Bolton are another example of the dynamic, dynastic displacements this cycle seeks to explore, with each fighting to serve as Lord of Winterfell. Much like Winterfell Castle and its castellan Rodrick Cassel, this Title bestows appropriately-conditional insight, in this case relying on Winter plots. More interesting still is the power it provides the attached Lord when their loyal characters are victorious. Loyalty’s mechanical prominence in Stark made such a criterion feel appropriate, while also serving to characterise its bearers: the varyingly loyal Eddard Stark might delegate or directly intervene, whereas the consistently loyal Robb Stark leads from the front, leaving the ubiquitously non-loyal House Bolton to reap the rewards of those more loyal than themselves.
From self-serving usurpers to self-styled liberators, Targaryen-occupied Meereen has already given us many examples of religious and political tension. Recent additions to the Grace family depict Daenerys Targaryen‘s increasing reliance on the ancient faith of Old Ghis as resistance foments against her. In the Sons of the Harpy, we see the threat she fears. Emerging from the shadows to use her faction’s iconic STR reduction against her, these Ghiscari join Pyat Pree, the Sorrowful Man, Wise Master, and many others who share Daenerys’ faction while gladly seeking her death. But hers is also the faction of Astapor, Yunkai, Slaver’s Bay, and other conquests to which she felt entitled due to her blood – the Blood of Valyria. Coveted from the Wall to Volantis, the Legacy of Aegon the Conqueror is now available to any unique Targaryen character. Its immunity to STR reduction evokes both the Unburnt’s eponymous miracle and her family’s indomitable will, while the insight it affords the attached character during Power challenges likewise recalls what many see as a natural right to rule. And, regardless of their right, it also provides invaluable draw to a card-poor faction.
And at long last, after languishing for two decades with but a single iteration, a Paxter Redwyne variant has arrived! Now acknowledged as a member of the Small Council and worthy of renown, he follows in the wake of last cycle’s Warship expansion and a growing network of shadow-focused Tyrell locations. His relevance to this playstyle is seen upon him winning a challenge, whereupon a location you own can be returned to your hand – or to shadows, if it is a Warship. Complementing Redwyne Merchanter, The Whispering Sound, and older entries like Oldtown Undercity, this recursion incidentally counters the location-stealing piracy of Euron Crow’s Eye and his ilk, while supporting his fellow councillor Mathis Rowan. But often the reward for work well done is more work. Demonstrating this chivalrous notion is Tyrell’s new Morningstar, which rewards successful participation in a Military challenge with the standing removal of its bearer. At the cost of beneficial keywords, a character can make itself available elsewhere; or, more insidiously, a well-timed use of this Weapon can create the illusion that another participant achieved this victory alone. This facilitates appropriately unchivalrous triggerings of Lady Sansa’s Rose and similar effects, or even Chivalry of the South.
Among the final few who eschew affiliation, we must first look to Sigorn of the newly-created House Thenn. Magnar of Thenn, joint-linchpin in Stannis’ conscription of the Free Folk, and husband of Alys Karstark – whose fierce love for him gives this pack its name. Fierce befits the warrior god-kings of Thenn, whose new leader inspires his fellows to stand after a successful Military attack. And, just as Alys’ devotion singles out her husband, Sigorn’s effect marks her especially by allowing him to stand with her should she be chosen – with the aforementioned power generation and card draw an appreciated bonus. Potentially aiding him in such attacks is the Shadowskin Cloak, whose velvet darkness grants stealth to the attached character. Simple enough, but made far more interesting by its pairing of free emergence from shadow with a mandatory return to hand each turn. Much like the nightcat that gave its life to make it, this cloak and its wearer can lurk, pounce, and vanish.
Mercifully, after such violent and duplicitous additions, this pack’s final entries offer some respite in Summer peace and Conclave wisdom. The first plot, Into the List, allows players to compete in harmless feats of STR between Military-iconed characters, with the sole victor garnished with praise – and power. Such tourneys are often part of darker plans, as Ser Hugh of the Vale and Lady Lyanna can attest, and this plot’s low initiative makes it likely one’s opponent might control who declares the first competitor and sets the standard for STR. Accompanying it is Searching the Archives, which may initially seem simpler still: placing up to three cards under one’s agenda to draw that many from one’s deck, filtering cards without the risks or recursion of the discard pile. While undeniably favouring The Conclave agenda and its perennial Archmaester Marwyn, cards beneath agendas are not solely their purview. Just as the last cycle saw many new Maester additions supporting this mechanic, so too did it produce Armed to the Teeth, demonstrating what can arise from complementary mechanics.
We hope this initial pack proves entertaining, inspiring, and intriguing. Yet more unexplored source material and cross-faction experimentation awaits, alongside the expansion of Trait families and a continuation of the factional themes added in cycles past. Old and the New has only just begun, and we hope to see you soon!
