Sow It with Salt

Theon turned to give her an appraising glance. He liked what he saw. Ironborn, he knew at a glance; lean and longlegged, with black hair cut short, wind-chafed skin, strong sure hands, a dirk at her belt. Her nose was too big and too sharp for her thin face, but her smile made up for it.
   –George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

The War of the Five Kings has ravaged Westeros, as vainglorious kings lead their soldiers into the jaws of death. Stannis Baratheon’s army and navy burn in Blackwater Bay, caught in a fiery embrace between the walls of King’s Landing and the allied Lannister and Tyrell armies. Robb Stark’s victories in the westerlands have not prevented Greyjoy reavers from capturing Winterfell and pillaging the north. And far to the east, Daenerys Targaryen continues her journey towards Westeros, leaving the great city of Qarth in search of new allies. A battle has ended, but the war continues…

Stake your own claim to the Iron Throne with Tyrion’s Chain, the sixth Chapter Pack in the War of Five Kings cycle for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, now available at your local retailer and online through our webstore! Like the previous five packs in this cycle, Tyrion’s Chain brings the climactic events of A Clash of Kings to the forefront and reinforces the importance of Summer and Winter. Simultaneously, you’ll have the chance to introduce a host of new characters, including Qhorin Halfhand, Salladhor Saan, Podrick Payne, and Quaithe of the Shadow.

Raiding the North

As part of Balon Greyjoy’s plot to seize power in A Clash of Kings, he orders his children and brothers to raid the coast of northern Westeros, reaving and pillaging wherever they find weakness. Now, with the Tyrion’s Chain Chapter Pack, you’ll find two new Greyjoy cards that may help you gain an advantage over those who live in the north—such as the Night’s Watch!

The first card you’ll encounter is Esgred (Tyrion’s Chain, 111), the personality feigned by Asha Greyjoy (Core Set, 67) to learn the nature of her brother Theon. In keeping with this, if you ever control both Asha Greyjoy and Esgred, you must sacrifice Esgred and have Asha gain one power—and in most cases, you won’t even want to include both characters in the same deck. So what does Esgred bring to your reaving party that would make you choose her over Asha Greyjoy?

First, Esgred bears all three icons, making her the perfect inclusion for a Greyjoy deck using The Lord of the Crossing (The King’s Peace, 60) agenda. Three icons also makes Esgred a more versatile attacker than Asha Greyjoy, able to pressure your opponent at his weakest point. Esgred’s STR is lower than Asha’s, but she gains a powerful additional ability—Esgred has the stealth keyword and may bypass an additional character using stealth.

Stealth already gives you an upper hand against any faction, especially the Night’s Watch. By choosing your stealth targets carefully, you can force your opponent to defend in a way that you choose, if they want to prevent an unopposed challenge. Combine that with Esgred’s ability to use stealth on two characters, and you may be able to force your opponent into a corner with no clean escape. Of course, like many impactful characters, Esgred can be largely neutralized by cards like Milk of the Poppy (Core Set, 35) and Craven (Called to Arms, 26). Fortunately for your raiding party, it’s much harder for the Night’s Watch to answer the second Greyjoy card in this pack.

You’ll find another Warship for the Iron Fleet here, and it’s one that may soon rise to a place of prominence. Sea Bitch (Tyrion’s Chain, 112) was Theon Greyjoy’s longship, and it features a simple, elegant ability: “Action: Sacrifice Sea Bitch to choose a non-limited location. Take control of that location until the end of the phase.”

Obviously, Sea Bitch is massively useful for clearing the way for your challenges. Any problematic non-limited location can be removed—you may steal Ghaston Grey (Core Set, 116), The Red Keep (Core Set, 61) or Winterfell (Wolves of the North, 17) itself. But perhaps the most deadly way to use Sea Bitch is against The Wall (Core Set, 137). 

Consider the following example: you’re playing against a Night’s Watch deck. The Wall is in play, and the Night’s Watch has strong defenses. You attack with everything you have, using Balon Greyjoy (Core Set, 68) and stealth to push your challenges through. Perhaps you succeed in making an unopposed challenge, and in that case, you’ve won some power and knelt The Wall for another turn. But maybe, despite your best efforts, The Wall remains standing. In that case, you simply sacrifice Sea Bitch and take control of The Wall, kneel it to give yourself power, and return it to your opponent at the end of the phase. The only thing your opponent’s defenses accomplished is giving you more power—as a best-case scenario, your opponent will need to make their own unopposed challenge to kneel The Wall and keep you from gaining power. You may even surprise your opponent by springing Sea Bitch into play with Salladhor Saan (Tyrion’s Chain, 107).

Raiding the Bay of Ice

Whether you’re an Iron Fleet captain, a sworn brother of the Night’s Watch, or a lord of the greenlands, you’ll find new cards to expand your decks in Tyrion’s Chain. Head to your local retailer and pick up your copy of Tyrion’s Chain today!