A Game of Thrones Collectible Card Game
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| A Game of Thrones CCG | |
|---|---|
| Image:Cardback.jpg All AGoT card have this image on the back. | |
| Players | Two1 |
| Age range | 13 and up |
| Setup time | < 5 minutes |
| Playing time | < 60 minutes2 |
| Rules complexity | High |
| Strategy depth | High |
| Random chance | Some |
| Skills required | Card playing Arithmetic |
| {{{footnotes|}}} | |
A Game of Thrones Collectible Card Game (sometimes referred to as AGoT) is a collectible card game (CCG) produced by Fantasy Flight Games (FFG), based on the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series by George R. R. Martin (GRRM). A number of base sets have been released for the game, each with a number of expansions. The game's primary designer is Eric Lang and the lead developer is Nate French:
Contents |
Sets & Expansions
- A Game of Thrones: Westeros Edition
- A Sea of Storms
- Westeros Premium Starters
- A Flight of Dragons
- A Game of Thrones: Ice and Fire Edition
- A Throne of Blades
- Ice and Fire Premium Starters (Greyjoy VS Targaryen)
- A Crown of Suns
- A Game of Thrones: Valyrian Edition
- A Tourney of Swords
- Valyrian Premium Starters (Stark\Baratheon VS Lannister\Martell)
- A Reign of Kings
- A Game of Thrones: Winter Edition
- A Song of Twilight
- Winter Premium Starters (Greyjoy VS Targaryen)
- A Song of Night (May 2006)
- A Game of Thrones: Seven Kingdoms Edition (September 2006)
- Expansion (November 2006)
A set contains 240 cards. An expansion contains approximately 150 cards.
A booster pack contains 11 cards of which 1 is rare, 3 are uncommon and 7 are common.
A booster box consists of 36 booster packs. 6 booster boxes comprise a case.
A Starter Deck pack contains XX fixed cards and YY Random cards including 2 rares.
A Premium Starters pack contains 2 pre-built decks. 10 brand new cards, and a number (100??) of reprinted cards.
A Draft Pack contains 1 draft card, 5 plot cards, 6 house' cards and 8 locations.
A block refers to all of the cards contained in a set and its expansions. For example the Valyrian Block contains cards from the following sets:
- A Game of Thrones: Valyrian Edition
- A Tourney of Swords
- Valyrian Premium Starters (Stark\Baratheon VS Lannister\Martell)
- A Reign of Kings
Cards
House
Selecting a house is an important necessity when first constructing a deck. Different houses excel in different areas of play and it is vital to choose the house that best represents the playstyle of each deck in order to maximize that deck's playing ability.
AGoT decks can be built using 1 of 6 houses represented by a House Card:
- Stark (Light Violet, Direwolf)
- Lannister (Yellow/Gold, Lion)
- Baratheon (Dark Green, Crowned Stag)
- Greyjoy (Blue, Kraken)
- Targaryen (Red, Three Headed Dragon)
- Martell (Orange, Sun with Spear)
Cards may be played out of house (example: a Baratheon card in a Targaryen deck for example) but with the added hinderance of a 2 gold penalty added to the cost to play each out of house card.
Alliance
With the use of an alliance house card, one can play cards from either of the two houses specified on the alliance house card without having to pay any gold penalties. To help compensate for this advantage, a player using an alliance house card requires an additional 5 power to win the game and cannot play any cards indicating them as "House X only" in their textbox. Also, since alliance house cards were only printed in the Ice and Fire block, they are strictly limited to classic play.
AGoT decks can be built using 1 of 7 alliances represented by an alliance house Card:
- Stark/Baratheon
- Baratheon/Greyjoy
- Lannister/Greyjoy
- Lannister/Targaryen
- Martell/Targaryen
- Martell/Stark
- Stark/Targaryen
Agenda (optional)
Image:Heir.jpg Decks can also add optional agenda cards to their house cards. Using an agenda often results in a trade-off between a bonus of some type and a penalty, often in the form of requiring an extra 5 power in order to win the game.
- Defenders of the North
- Heir to the Iron Throne
- Kingsguard
- Knights of the Realm
- Maesters of the Citadel
- Night's Watch
- Small Council
- The Twins
- The Wildling Horde
- Threat from the East
- Treaty
- War of the 5 Kings
Players are limited to one agenda per house card and cannot play agendas with an alliance house card.
Plot
Image:Standfast.jpg Plot cards are generally regarded as the defining feature of the A Game of Thrones CCG. The seven card plot deck which is kept separate from the random draw deck adds a strategic element to game. Plot decks are built prior to the game and are revealed singly in an order of the player's choosing. This allows a great deal of customizable strategy aside from randomly drawn cards. Plot cards are often balanced with trade-offs. For example, a high gold plot may have a very low inititive; a high claim plot may have next to 0 gold and/or initiative.
The possible attributes for a plot are as follows. The text inside the parens relates to the Stand Fast! plot card show to the right:
- Gold - Large gold coin with a number (6)
- Name - Text across the top (Stand Fast!)
- Initiative - Diamond with a number (6)
- Claim - Small silver disc with a number (1)
- Traits - Bold text
- Others
- Kingdom
- Plot Ability Text - In the box at the bottom
Character
Image:Theredviper.jpg Image:Nedstark.jpg A common element in CCGs, characters are the cards that represent units from armies down to single characters. Generally characters are the main focus of an AGoT deck because they are the card type that is used to participate in challenges, and thus garner the power necessary for a win.
The possible attributes for a character are as follows. The text in parentheses relates to The Red Viper card to the right:
- Gold Cost (4 Gold)
- Unique (Yes - Black flag icon)
- Name (The Red Viper)
- House Afilliation (House Martell - Sun Spear icon)
- Strength (4 - Banner)
- Icons
- Military (Yes - Red Axe)
- Intrigue (Yes - Green Eye)
- Power (Yes - Blue Crown)
- Artwork
- Artist Credit
- Card Classification/Sorting Order
- Set Membership (Winter Edition - Snow flake icon)
- Rarity {(R)are|(U)ncommon|(C)ommon|(P)romo} (R - Rare)
- Card Number in set (111th card)
- Traits
- Ally, Ambassador, Army, Asshai, Bastard, Brotherhood, Clansman, Creature, Direwolf, Dothraki, Dragon, House Clegane, House Dayne, House Florent, House Frey, House Goodbrother, House Harlaw, House Karstark, House Reed, House Tully, House Tyrell, House Umber, Ironborn, King, Kingsguard, Knight, Lady, Lord (The Red Viper has the Lord trait), Maester, Mercenary, Messenger, Night's Watch, Qartheen, Queen, Queensguard, Rainbow Guard, Sand Snake, Septon, Traitor, Unsullied, Wildling
- Keywords
- Stealth
- Immune to Events
- Immune to Character Abilities
- No Attachments
- Renown (Yes - The Red Viper has renown)
- Limited
- Deadly
- Doomed (Yes - Black raven icon at bottom left)
- Endless
- Character's ability text
- Bonuses
- Influence Provider
- Initiative Bonus
- Gold Bonus
- Flavor Text - A passage from the GRRM books
Attachment
Image:Kingslayer.jpg Attachments are a card type that are used exclusively to modify other card types or place modified stipulations or effects on other cards. An attachment may not be in play unless it is attached to the proper type of card. The most common type of card for an attachment to be played on is a character card, although some may be played on a location or even another attachment. So far an attachment has never been legal on an event card, however, some event cards abilities can cause an event to become an attachment such as Appointing the Hand. Attachments are sometimes placed face down. This mechanic is found mostly in house Martell cards and with Story Event cards.
The possible attributes for an attachment are as follows:
- Name
- Gold Cost
- Unique
- Artwork
- Artist Credit
- Traits
- Banner, Condition, Creature, Crown, Decree, Item, Promotion, Retainer, Skill, Title, Warhorse, Weapon
- Keywords
- Setup
- Deathbound
- Immune to Events
- Immune to Character Abilities
- Attachment's ability text
- Bonuses
- Gold Bonus
- Influence Provider
- Flavor Text - A passage from the books
Location
Image:Kingslanding2.jpg Image:Ironisland.jpg Locations represent places from the novels. They are most commonly used to provide additional income of some type, be it gold or influence. Other locations may have a wide variety of abilities to assist their controller or hinder the opponent.
The possible attributes for a location are as follows:
- Gold Cost
- Unique
- Name
- Artwork
- Artist Credit
- Traits
- Battlefield, Dorne, Dragonstone, Free Cities, Iron Islands, King's Landing, Lannisport, Stronghold, The East, The North, Tourney Ground, Warship, Westeros, Winterfell
- Keywords
- Limited
- Deathbound
- Immune to Events
- Immune to Character Abilities
- Location's ability text
- Flavor Text - A passage from the GRRM books
- Bonuses
- Gold Bonus
- Initiative Bonus
- Influence Provider
- Doomed
Event
Image:Handgold.jpg Event cards represent special actions or happenings in the course of the game. Certain events may be restricted to play by a specific house, and some may only effect characters of a specific house. Event cards generally have a play restriction or a cost of some type which may be paid in influence, gold, or possibly by kneeling a character, location, attachment or house card. Attributes of an event may include:
- Unique
- Story Event
- Name
- Endless
- Artwork
- Artist Credit
- Keywords
- Deathbound
- House {Stark | Baratheon | Targaryen | Martell | Lannister | Greyjoy} only
- Event ability text/card effect
- Doomed
Rules
AGoT games are played with 2 decks. A 7 card plot deck and a 60+ (40+ for draft) card draw deck of characters, attachments, locations and events. During play the draw deck cards will often end up in other "decks" including the discard pile (cards discarded from play) and the dead pile (cards that were killed or are marked as deathbound). Normally, unless you use an agenda card, you may only have 3 copies of any one card (determined by the name of the card) in your draw deck. Only 1 copy of a card, by name, is allowed in your plot deck.
How to win
A player must claim 15 power tokens in order to win The Game of Thrones. Using an agenda or alliance along with playing other cards during the game will sometimes raise or lower the number of power tokens you need to win. Power tokens are placed onto either your house card or a character card in play.
How to lose
A player is eliminated from the game at any time they has five or more Doomed cards in their dead pile. If all but one player is eliminated from a game, the remaining player wins the game.
Resources
Most cards require the player to pay a cost to play them using the following types of resources:
- Gold
- Influence
Setup
The Setup phase occurs once during the game. Each player shuffles their deck, offers a cut to their opponent and then draws 7 cards from the top of their Deck. Each player is allowed one mulligan. A player who chooses to mulligan returns their 7 cards back to their draw deck, shuffles, offers a cut and then draws 7 cards which the player must use. The players then choose any number of cards, other than event cards, totalling a cost of 5 gold or less and places them face down onto the play area. Attachments may be played during setup only if they have the setup keyword and there is an eligible character or location on which it can attach. Each player is allowed to play only 1 card with the keyword limited during setup. Each player then draws back up to 7 cards in their hand. The players reveal their face down cards. Also note that the only abilities that work during the Setup phase are "Setup" and "Limited." So you can only play one limited location during the setup phase(doesn't count towards the first round's one limitied card count). No other abilities, Like the ability on Westeros version of Eddard Stark says "When Eddard comes into play, he claims a power.", would work. So in the example, Eddard couldn't claim a power.
Rounds
This is a very generalized description of a round and many cards will influence how these rounds play out. A Round is broken into 6 phases:
- Plot - Each player chooses and reveals 1 plot card. Count initiative (roll off for tie). The player with the highest initiative chooses who goes first. The player choosen to go first then chooses which player's plot effects fire first.
- Draw - Each Player draws 2 cards.
- Marshalling - Count gold. Spend gold to play cards from hand in turn. Unused gold is not saved.
- Challenges - The player chosen to go first may initiate 1 of each of the following challange types in any order they choose. The other, or next in multi, player then initiates their challanges in an order of their choosing.
- Military - Attempt to kill your opponents characters.
- Intrigue - Attempt to discard cards, at random, from your opponents hand.
- Power - Attempt to take power tokens from your opponents house card.
- Dominance - Each player counts the total amount of strength for each of their standing characters. The player with the highest total strength claims 1 power for their house card.
- Standing - Each player returns all of their cards to the standing position.
Keywords
- Renown- When a player wins a challenge, all of his participating characters with Renown claim a power.
- Stealth- For each attacking character with stealth, you may choose one of your opponents character without stealth; that character cannot be declared as a defender during the challange.
- No Attachments- Attachments may not be played on this card. If attachments are ever on this card, they are immediately discarded.
- Limited- You may play one limited card per round, unless a card effect lets you play additional limited cards. This does not count for "Put into Play" effects.
- Setup- Only attachments with the Setup keyword may be played during the setup phase. They must be attached to an eligiable card.
- Immune to Character Abilities- A card with this keyword may not be effected by any card effect coming from a character.
- Immune to Events- A card with this keyword may not be effected by any card effect coming from an event.
- Deathbound- A card with this keyword is sent to the dead pile rather\sthan the discard pile when discarded from play.
A Standard Game
The following was taken from the article titled, "Playing Out(side) the Box" by Nate French, Lead Developer of CCG's at FFG. The full article can be found here
The Winter Edition Premium starters are currently en route to a store near you, but I think there’s time for one more peak at their contents and implications. As I write this, I’m opening up the Targaryen deck for the first time, flipping through the cards, and trying to put myself in Casey’s shoes to look at these decks from the perspective of a developer … Across from me sits Eric Lang, opening the Greyjoy deck, trying to figure out what he was thinking when he designed these cards… I shuffle my deck, draw 7 cards, and my eyes light up. I’ve got a solid 4 card drop: Jhogo, Crossroads, Kingsroad Farmstead, and a Ghiscari Outpost. As I wait for Eric to decide what he wants to play, it really sinks in that Casey built these decks to provide an enjoyable right-out-of-the box experience. In my 47 card Targaryen deck I counted 11 cards that provided income and/or marshalling assistance, and that’s a noticeable improvement over the resource system in past editions of the premium starter decks. Another basic observation is that there are no neutral characters in the deck, which means that house flavor will be strong, as opposed to the Winter Edition basic starter decks where an abundance of neutral characters and just a smattering of fixed cards from 3 different houses makes house flavor and identity practically non-existent. Think of our newfound players, who just walked into a game store, picked up these decks, and are playing them heads up right out of the box. Our fledgling Ned gets a strong taste of house identity, un-diluted by a plethora of grey cards, and our fledgling Jaime gets an excellent example of how to construct a solid gold curve and resource system in the new game. Already, I’m smiling at Casey’s construction.
After what seems like an eternity, Eric, muttering to himself, drops 3 cards. We flip, and I take a look at what he has: a Rider Through the Storm, a Fallow Fields, and a Marauding Longship. For those of you who don’t know what a Marauding Longship does, it’s a Greyjoy Warship location (you should be able to figure out the cost on your own), with the text: “Challenges: kneel 1 influence and discard Marauding Longship from play (cannot be saved) to choose a defending character. Remove that character from the challenge.” Pretty nasty card!
I’m holding a couple cards in my hand that I really like, and I decide that an aggressive start could really get things going in the right direction. I select Ready as We’ll Ever Be, but before we reveal our plots I take an action, kneeling my Crossroads to put the Myrish Villa into play. It turns out to be a moot point, as Eric reveals last week’s plot card, The Sack of Winterfell, and all my locations are knelt. It stings, as does losing initiative, but it doesn’t really alter my plan. Eric decides he wants to go first, and I get to sit there and watch him draw cards. This game needs a way to blank your own plot text…
We enter the marshalling phase and Eric counts 6 gold. He marshals a Coastal Tower, Paper Money, kneels them both to play an Errant Captain for free (he has 1 Warship out as well), and then spends his gold on a Crossroads and the VED Balon Greyjoy. Some sick stuff over there, but I’ve still got confidence in my hand. I put the Wisdom of the East on Jhogo, and—just in case Eric has a cancel for my trick—put out a VED Black Hatchling as well. “That’s all I’ve got,” I say, and I can tell Eric thinks he’s on his way to an easy victory. We proceed to the challenge phase, and I take an action to drop my bomb: Defend the Queen. This little demon is a doomed, deathbound event with the text: “Challenges: choose a Dothraki or Kingsguard character. Until the end of the phase, that character gets +4 STR, cannot be killed, and does not kneel to attack or defend.” I’m gambling (but with a little insurance in the form of a claim soaking Black Hatchling) that Eric’s not holding a cancel; it turns out he’s not, and all of a sudden I have a 7 STR, stealthy tricon who doesn’t kneel to attack or defend. And a claim two plot. These are the moments for which we play!
Eric initiates a military challenge with Balon Greyjoy; I defend with Jhogo, who doesn’t kneel. I have the feeling Eric’s just now realizing what a strong card Defend the Queen can be. Wanting to make some headway, he triggers and discards his Marauding Longship, removing Jhogo from the challenge. He gets a power for unopposed and Balon claims renown. I tell Eric I really want to kill Jhogo, but he’s CBK, so I have to off the Black Hatchling. Harmless banter. Anything else? Eric realizes I can stealth past both of his guys, but he also realizes that I can defend both of his other challenges. He tells me he’s done, and I attack. Intrigue first, stealthing the captain. I grab the unopposed and discard a Thrice Drowned Veteran and VED Asha Greyjoy from his hand. Next I do the military challenge, stealthing the captain once again. He defends with the Rider Through the Storm, and then kills the rider and the captain. It’s good to see his cards going away. I finish up with a power challenge, grabbing the unopposed and a power off his house. Before we move into the dominance phase I decide to play An Enemy Disgraced, and draw 3 cards. I claim dominance and am for the most part pleased with the events of the first turn. Targaryens 4, Greyjoys 1.
Round two starts, and I’ve got a big card advantage but Eric’s got more resources and probably a slightly better character on the board. This game could get interesting, but fortunately I’ve got an awesome defensive plot that will allow me to push the offensive, extend my card advantage, and ignore whatever he decides to do. With him holding two cards but sitting on a lot of gold, I’m convinced Eric is going to search his deck, and he does reveal Called By the Gods. I love it when an opponent is forced to search before I am. I flip Loyalty Money Can Buy, which very well might be the coolest card in the WED Premium Starter decks. 3 Gold, 4 Initiative, 1 Claim, with the text: “The Claim value on each opponent’s revealed plot card is lowered by 1.” Realizing he can’t really hurt me with his 0 claim, I decide to let Eric go first and see what he plays.
Eric, still smarting from the last round, moves AROK Dagmer Cleftjaw from his deck to his hand, and we proceed to the draw phase. It’s nice to be drawing cards again, but Ready As We’ll Ever be was worth the sacrifice. Eric counts 6 gold, and begins to marshall. Kneeling the Coastal Tower, he plays some Bannermen to the Kraken for 5. Hello! He then plays a Reserve Fleet for 1 and tells me he’s done. Counting 5 gold, I kneel my Myrish Villa and Ghiscari Outpost to play The Good Masters for 1. I then kneel my Crossroads and play Blood Magic on Balon for -1 STR, and I finish by playing Poisoned Wine on Balon, killing him off. Things are looking up!
Challenges. Noting his reduced claim, Eric realizes that he has nothing to gain from initiating a challenge, and figures it’s better to at least prevent me from doing a military and an intrigue challenge. Little does he know, he’s lost either way… He passes on his challenges, and I start with an intrigue attack with Jhogo, stealthing the Bannermen. I can tell Eric thinks this is either a mistake or a pity play, but he’s wrong. I grab my unopposed power and discard Dagmer Cleftjaw from his hand. I then initiate a military challenge with The Good Masters, he defends, and I play the heartbreaking Spinning Slash, pumping my STR up to 5. Eric moves to kneel his Reserve Fleet, realizes it’s attacking character only, and loses the challenge. So much for the bannermen. Incidentally, I get to discard his Paper Money as well. I never thought I’d be a fan of Spinning Slash, but I am now! And Loyalty Money Can Buy – it’s a defensive plot that frees you up for offensive operations. What a beautiful card!
With everyone knelt or dead, nobody claims dominance; we stand, and move on to round 3. Targaryens 5, Greyjoys 0. The card advantage seems to have slipped (I have 3 cards to Eric’s 2) but I’ve got firm control of the board and he’s already searched his deck for a character. He’s probably getting desperate over there, not holding anything too threatening, and running out of worthwhile plots. I figure it’s time to put as much pressure on his position as I can, and flip Called By the Gods. He reveals Caution to the Wind, a bold move with no characters in play, but desperate times call for desperate measures and he’s got to make a move now or watch the game get out of hand, and I applaud the play. He opts to go first, announces military; I Call Drogo’s Bloodriders, and we draw.
Eric counts 6 gold, kneels his Coastal Tower to play an Iron Island Fiefdom for free, and kneels it to play WED Euron Crow’s Eye for 4. He then spends his last two gold on a Vanguard Axeman – the event cancellation he needed on turn one! I count 5 gold, kneel my Ghiscari Outpost and Myrish Villa to play the Bloodrider for 1, and I then play a Half Trained Youth for 1 and, just in case something weird happens and I need an extra person to kill, I play WED Viserys Targaryen for 1, claiming a power as he comes into play. Eric initiates a military challenge with the Vanguard Axeman, stealthing Drogo’s Bloodriders. Right now I’m not a big fan of the Reserve Fleet. I defend with Jhogo and The Good Masters, winning the challenge. That’s all Eric is allowed to do. I attack back in military, with the Bloodriders. It goes through unopposed, the Axeman dies and I claim a power. Viserys attacks with a power challenge, Eric cannot declare defenders, and I get another power. Eric wins dominance, we stand, and proceed to round 4. Targaryens 8 (one on Viserys), Greyjoys 1.
Not wanting Viserys to leave this turn, I reveal Fire and Blood, returning him to my hand. Eric flips Filthy Accusation (I think that card holds the record for being reprinted the most!) and kneels Drogo’s Bloodriders. I decide I want to go first, and we draw. I count 5 gold, and decide I’ll keep the pressure on Eric until he proves that my aggression is a mistake. Kneeling my Ghiscari Outpost, I marshall a Warlock’s Servitors for 3 and then play Under the Guild’s Sway on Euron for 2. It’s not a new card, but I’m sure it’s new to some of you, so I’ll just point out that it reduces Euron’s STR to 0 while he is defending. I pass marshalling to Eric, and he plays a Prophet of the Waves and the ATOS Red Keep!
Yes, there are two “power” or “chase” rares in the Winter Edition Premium Starters, and this is another awesome move on Casey’s part in putting these decks together. Cards like the ATOS Red Keep and Westeros Bleeds (which I spotted in my deck when I called the Bloodriders, knowledge that told me I could over-extend a little bit) are game defining cards, and they are also cards that some players feel are necessary to compete in tournament play. The inclusion of these cards—along with the new WED PS exclusives—rewards the experienced player by shoring up his or her collection with two of the hardest to find cards in the standard rotation. The days of switching these cards out in every deck are over, and the newer player is rewarded as well, starting off with some of the most desirable cards in the game. Finally, the inclusion of The Red Keep ensures that it will be standard legal for another year beyond the rotation of Valyrian edition (still a year away), a point that may have been missed when it was leaked that there are no classic reprints in these decks. This is a necessary evil that goes along with the extension of the Valyrian Block for another year—basically since that entire block (and each block thereafter) is going to stay legal for an extra year, we need to skip a step in our reprint schedule to get the timing right on when things are being reprinted. So while it seems like nothing is being “reprinted” right now, when Valyrian does rotate out cards like ATOS Red Keep, Drogo’s Bloodriders, and VED Asha Greyjoy will still be legal because of their inclusion in the WED Premium Starters. But I digress, so let’s get back to the end of the game…
Eric just marshaled the Prophet of the Waves and The Red Keep. He’s got a lot of influence out over there, but fortunately only one card in hand and nothing on the table to do with it! Just what I like to see. I initiate a 3 STR deadly military challenge with the Warlock’s Servitors. Since Euron is Under the Guild’s Sway, he can only defend at 0 STR, chooses not to because of deadly, and I get the challenge through unopposed. Back up to 8 power (I lost one when Viserys returned to my hand), and the Prophet of the Waves dies. (They’re pretty good at that, I’ve found.) I initiate an intrigue challenge with Jhogo, again it goes unopposed, and Eric discards his last card, A Hostage Rescued. Always good to see those go! Finally, The Good Masters come across for an unopposed power challenge, and I’m sitting at 11 after stealing Eric’s power off his house. He comes back with an intrigue challenge (trying to grab Viserys, he says, knowing I can lock the game with Vis next turn) but ends up grabbing Only Your Life. I claim dominance with the Half-Trained Youth, and the score is now Targaryen 12, Greyjoy 1.
It’s time to plot, and Eric shows me how limited his choices are: We Do Not Sow, Securing Support, and Found By Providence. He reveals Found By Providence, in the hopes of finding something that will help. I want to draw characters to power Viserys to the win, and so I also reveal Found By Providence to get an extra location out of my deck and increase my chances of drawing a character. Eric opts to go first, I find the Plaza of Punishment, and he grabs a Marine Legion. We draw, and proceed to the Marshalling Phase. Eric marshals a Scurvy Cutthroat, a Marine Legion, and a Banner Fleet. I count 5 gold and decide to play out my hand: Viserys (1 power), VED Green Hatchling (2 power on Vis), another Ghiscari Outpost, a Dothraki Whip on Jhogo, and I then kneel both Outposts and the Myrish Villa to play the Plaza of Punishment. Since I’m sitting at 14 power with overwhelming board control, Eric “scoops,” and we decide to play it back the other way. In case you were wondering, the decks are pretty evenly built, and the Greyjoy deck can win too. You just need to have your cancels around at the right time!
Informal Deck Types
Deck builds are often referred to as being either Nedly or Jamie. A Nedly deck, named after the character Eddard "Ned" Stark, is defined as a deck that has a theme which is relatively true to the story contained in the books that AGoT is based on. A Jamie deck, named after the character Jamie Lannister, is a deck that is built to win by any means necessary using any combination of cards that may make no sense at all in the context of the books. For example having two houses in a Treaty that are actually mortal enemies in the books.
Here is an incomplete list of various informal names given to describe the general mechanics or theme a deck may use.
- Army
- Burn/Disintegration
- Character-lite
- Cheese
- Control (Character/Location)
- Discard
- Dominance
- Jousting
- Kneeling
- Melee
- Murder
- Night's Watch
- Power Grab/Power Rush
- Revenge
- Save
- Stark Kids & Wolves
- Story Event
- Trait Manipulation
- Tully
- Unopposed
- Warship
- Weenie Rush
- Wildling
Community
The AGoT community is defined by mature good natured players who go out of their way to help each other. Players are also united by their love of the GRRM books it is based on. AGoT is often played by adult CCG players with very few younger than 18. Some players attribute this sense of community to non-cash prizes for placing in tournaments. AGoT is rarely played by cut-throat attitude players. AGoT is a complicated CCG and its players tend to be highly intelligent and creative. One of the big draws to AGoT is the ability to create a Theme Deck that is tournament ready and can compete sucessfully.
Competition
Night's Watch
Within the context of the Game of Thrones tournament environment, the Night's Watch are Tournament Organizers officially sanctioned by FFG.
Prizes
Gold Dragons
When you buy booster packs, or starter decks, you get a set number of gold dragons. There is 1 gold dragon on the back of the booster pack. There are 2 gold dragons on the starter deck. Gold Dragons are also awarded as the main prize for tournaments. You get 80 Gold Dragons for first place, 40 Gold Dragons for second place, and 20 Gold Dragons for third place. You may redeem these Gold Dragons for past promo cards, booster packs, or other AGoT related products such as card binders, stone house cards and power counters.
Promo Cards
Promo cards are special cards given away to participants in FFG sanctioned tournaments run by members of the Night's Watch.
Tournaments
Classic Format Tournament
A Classic tournament deck may contain any card from any set as long as the card is not banned.
Standard Format Tournament
A standard tournament deck may contain only cards in latest sets. Currently cards from the Valyrian Block and newer along with promotional cards P20 and higher are legal for use during standard play. FFG has changed the way they identify promo cards and the block they are associated with and are now including the icon for the set they were released to.
Draft Tournament
40+ card draw deck. 5 card plot deck.
- 1 Draft pack
- 4 Booster packs
- 3 Crossroads
- 3 Minor Fiefdoms
Sealed Tournament
- Starter Deck pack
- 2 booster packs
Promotional Tournaments
Image:Circleofspies.jpg FFG will on occasion release special theme decks. These decks are particularily brutal and challange the skill of deck builders and players. After you win a game against one of these decks your prize is the deck. Cards found in one of these special decks can never be used in a standard/classic rules deck. They also have special Skull icons printed on them to indicate they are not legal.
- Wildling Deck
- Circle of Spies
Banned Cards
- The Things I Do For Love
- Counterplot
- Alleys and Whispers
- Heads on Pikes
- The King's Peace
World Championships
The AGoT World Championships are held yearly at Gen Con Indy. One of the prizes for the world champion is the opportunity to design their own card.
Previous World Champions
- 2003 Casey Galvan
- Designed Bandit Lord found in A Crown of Suns expansion
- Hired by FFG to be Lead Developer until Fall of 2005; now has a consulting role at FFG
- 2004 Greg Atkinson
- Designed Flea Bottom found in A Reign of Kings expansion
- 2005 John Bruno
- John's card will appear in A Song of Night expansion
Other Con Champions:
- 2003
- GenCon SoCal - Melnick
- KublaCon - Matt Ley
- 2004
- GenCon SoCal - Matt Ley
- KublaCon - ??
- 2005
- GenCon SoCal - Matt Ley
- KublaCon - Ram
- 2006
- ChiCon - John Bruno
Industry Awards
- 2003
- A Game of Thrones: Westeros Edition won the Origins Award for Best Trading Card Game of 2002
- 2004
- Game of Thrones: Ice and Fire Edition won the Origins Award for Best Card Game Expansion or Supplement of 2003
See also
External links
- agameofthrones.com - Official website
- ktome.com - Site archive of ktom5's card and rule explanations (FAQ)
- gotraven.com - Play Online
- tzumainn.com/agot - Fan Site (deck building discussion)
- Draconigena - Deck building toolit:A game of thrones (gcc)