Leaders and House Cards in A Storm of Swords

One of the features in A Storm of Swords is a brand new set of seven House Cards for all six great houses. These House Cards represent battlefield leadership from a variety of colorful characters from throughout the A Song of Ice and Fire series, and contribute an exciting sense of uncertainty to each battle over the course of the game. Players of either the classic A Game of Thrones board game or its A Clash of Kings expansion will already be familiar with how these cards work - each House Card adds its printed strength to the battle, and each has a special ability that affects the outcome of the battle in some way.

A Storm of Swords also adds a new dimension of battlefield leadership to the game board. For the first time, Leaders for the various Houses take the field directly, influencing the battles with more than just their House Card. These Leader tokens have a printed strength, but they behave more like a cross between special order tokens and knights or footmen than like House Cards. The printed strength on a Leader is added to the strength of the units in his region. The order symbol on the Leader's front allows you to activate the Leader instead of that printed order in his region.

But what House Cards and Leaders will be seen in the expansion? Read on for a taste.

House Stark

Catelyn Stark is a strong woman, in many ways the ideal noblewoman for her time. Her skill at negotiating alliances and seeing through deception is unrivaled in her House, and, as a Tully and a Stark, the ferocity of her protection of her family is unmatched anywhere.

In game terms, Catelyn receives a boost for being supported in battle, whether by your own troops in a nearby region, or by your allies. Catelyn is not the only House Card to make use of a similar mechanic - expect support to be even more important in the A Storm of Swords variant game than it is in the classic version - and don't be surprised if you find ways to ensure that you receive the support you need when you need it…

Eddard Stark, called Ned by those who love him, is first and foremost a good man. He is honorable and capable, committed to doing the right thing, not only for his family but for his people. His dark fate in the books is echoed somewhat in his starting position in the board game, but a daring rescue or careful diplomacy can secure his future.

Ned's A Storm of Swords power is strongly reminiscent of his classic A Game of Thrones House Card ability, in which he had the highest strength in his faction and two fortification icons. His classic ability was an odd mix of high strength and an ability that only triggers if you lose - after all, with such a high strength, you shouldn't lose much. His A Storm of Swords power is more generally useful, but clearly related. Ned won't let his people die, no matter what. Even special House Card effects that kill soldiers are ignored.

Ned's leader token is deceptively potent. It has a perfectly average strength of 1 in its passive mode, lending some support to the troops in Ned's region. On his reverse, activated, side, Ned has an impressive strength of 2, the March order (which all Leaders have), and a power token - you won't get the power for resolving a Consolidate Power order when you use it to trigger Ned Stark, but you will get some power. His trigger is the Consolidate Power order, which is resolved last. Some other Leaders might have a March or even a Raid trigger, which allows them to dart ahead before the enemy is prepared and make lightning strikes deep into enemy territory - not so with Ned. He moves with careful deliberation, but he goes LAST, which is its own special kind of benefit in the framework of the game. By marching last in a given turn, you are able to grab territory without fear of immediate counterattack, and you have the ability to place a Defense order there on the next turn, if need be.

His high strength doesn't hurt, either.