A Man Sees. A Man Knows.
There Is My Claim Will Soon Be Available
“The Red God has his due, sweet girl, and only death may pay for life. This girl took three that were his. This girl must give three in their places. Speak the names, and a man will do the rest.”
–Jaqen H’ghar, A Clash of Kings
The War of the Five Kings approaches its climax. Renly Baratheon has been slain by dark treachery in the center of his encampment, and Stannis now marches to King’s Landing, bringing Renly’s host of cavalry with him. In the north, Robb Stark campaigns against Tywin Lannister, but behind his lines, Greyjoy raiders have slipped past his defenses and taken Winterfell itself. And in the midst of these military maneuvers, a servant of the Many-Faced God comes to Harrenhal, bearing with him the fateful words: “Valar morghulis.”
There Is My Claim is the fourth Chapter Pack in the War of Five Kings cycle for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, and it will be available at your local United States retailer on December 1st. As the cycle continues to follow the events of A Clash of Kings, you’ll find an assortment of iconic characters, such as Jojen Reed, Pyat Pree, and new versions of Stannis Baratheon and Aeron Damphair. What’s more, There Is My Claim reintroduces one of the most iconic plots from the game’s first edition: Valar Morghulis (There Is My Claim, 80).
Today, we’ll take a closer look at another character closely associated with the words “valar morghulis”: Jaqen H’ghar.
The Faceless Men of Braavos
Though he appears in a relatively small part of A Clash of Kings, Jaqen H’ghar’s impact on Arya Stark’s story stretches far beyond those chapters. By saving Jaqen and two others from a burning cage, Arya earns Jaqen’s services as an assassin—services that she quickly puts to use to target those who have wronged her. Now, you’ll be able to do the same in A Game of Thrones: The Card Game.
Jaqen H'ghar (There Is My Claim, 77) enters the game with a cost of seven gold, putting him among the most expensive characters in the game. Still, his impact can hardly be underestimated. When Jaqen H’ghar enters play, you can immediately place a Valar Morghulis token on up to three different unique characters. Then, when you win a challenge in which Jaqen is attacking alone, you can choose and kill a character with a Valar Morghulis token!
Obviously, since Jaqen H’ghar needs to win a challenge alone in order to trigger his ability, it can be difficult to actually kill your marked targets if your opponent is committed to stopping you. Still, forcing your opponent to play around Jaqen’s ability can almost be more useful than actually killing enemy characters. Attacking with Jaqen alone and threatening to kill a key character forces your opponent to block in a certain way, which leaves the way open for other threats to slip through, such as Mirri Maz Duur (Calm Over Westeros, 93) or Tyene Sand (True Steel, 115). It’s important to remember that Jaqen H’ghar is only a temporary Ally, however. If you take him for granted, a small measure of Dissension (For Family Honor, 59) could make him disappear without warning.
Preparing for Death
You can expect the presence of Valar Morghulis in the card pool to also have a significant impact on how many players build their decks. In particular, if Valar Morghulis becomes widespread, being able to save your characters from sudden death will make your deck much more resilient. Whether that means including more duplicates or using cards like Bodyguard (Core Set, 33) or Iron Mines (Calm Over Westeros, 92), sooner or later you’ll need to contend with the new version of Aeron Damphair (There Is My Claim, 71).
Aeron Damphair has a simple Reaction, but in conjunction with Valar Morghulis, its effect can be significant. Aeron’s ability reads, “Reaction: After a character is saved, either: stand it, or kneel it.” Perhaps the most important part of this ability is that it has no limit—no matter how many characters are being saved, Aeron can exercise his power as a priest of the Drowned God to influence those characters.
For instance, you may trigger Aeron in the midst of the challenges phase, saving one of your kneeling characters from death and using Aeron to stand it. Or, you can use Aeron as a devastating follow-up to Valar Morghulis, kneeling any characters that your opponent saves and leaving them functionally helpless for the coming round. Of course, these are just a few of the ways you might use Aeron Damphair—the real decisions will be made by you once you pick up your copy of There Is My Claim.
Stake Your Claim
The War of the Five Kings has erupted into violence, and no one is safe. Death has never been more than a few steps away in A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, and with Valar Morghulis in your plot decks, it’s closer than ever. Prepare for the embrace of the Many-Faced God, and pick up your copy of There Is My Claim at your local retailer on December 1st.
