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Reach of the Kraken

Announcing the First Chapter Pack from the Upcoming A Song of the Sea Cycle

“We are the ironborn, and once we were conquerors. Our writ ran everywhere the sound of the waves was heard. My brother would have you be content with the cold and dismal north, my niece with even less…but I shall give you Lannisport. Highgarden. The Arbor. Oldtown. The riverlands and the Reach, the kingswood and the rainwood, Dorne and the marches, the Mountains of the Moon and the Vale of Arryn.”

    –Euron Crow’s Eye, A Feast for Crows

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of Reach of the Kraken, the first Chapter Pack from the A Song of the Sea cycle for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game!

As the Great Houses of Westeros play their game of thrones, their battles and bids for power necessitate they maintain strong fleets of warships, lest their opponents find their shores ripe for the picking. Naval superiority is the call of the day, especially while the krakens of House Greyjoy sail the coastlines in their longships.

The Chapter Packs from A Song of the Sea introduce the challenge enhancement mechanic to A Game of Thrones, and Reach of the Kraken allows players to make good use of the new naval () enhancement. No fewer than ten characters from Reach of the Kraken feature the   enhancement, which allows players to have them join a challenge as an action…even after the challenge’s attackers and defenders have been declared!

Along with these Smugglers, Captains, and Ironborn, players will be able to get their hands on three new plots, a new agenda, and five powerful new Fleets, one for each House except Martell. Like the Fleet from Pyke (Reach of the Kraken, 5), these new Fleets are powerful seven-strength Armies, each of which features a   enhancement on one of its icons, carries the war crest, brings a strong keyword into challenges, plays at a discount if your opponent controls an agenda, and allows you to stand and remove a character from any challenge the Fleet joins as a  attacker.

Fleet from Pyke

Salt, spray, and wind are no strangers to the ironborn of House Greyjoy. Sailing comes as naturally as walking to these ferocious raiders, and though they may have suffered a grievous defeat during Balon’s rebellion against Robert Baratheon, no House dares overlook the potential threat posed by their massed longships.

Both the Starks and the Lannisters have sought to make allies of the Greyjoys, in order to employ the strength of their fleet against mutual enemies. However, the ironborn are proud warriors who would rather rule, seizing kingdoms by force, than play the part of good and obedient soldiers who would aid others in their schemes. They are all about what they can claim for themselves.

When the deadly Fleet from Pyke assembles, it most likely signals a brutal Greyjoy strike against some part of the Seven Kingdoms. Driving their foes before them, the fleet captains’ Military   enhancement allows them to strike a swift and lethal blow after one of Greyjoy’s rivals bite on a feint. While your revealed plot has a high claim value, the Fleet from Pyke can force your opponent into some difficult decisions. Will they allow you to win a challenge with a low-strength character and suffer the deaths, along with potential responses – like The Price of War (Kings of the Sea, 38) – or will they commit enough strength to the challenge to face your fleet? And if they do work to win the challenge, how will they cope with the Fleet’s deadly keyword?

We Do Not Sow

The krakens of House Greyjoy take pride in their House words: “We Do Not Sow.” Never content to live comfortably under another’s rule, they look to play their part in the game of thrones with their axes and their longships. Soon, the A Song of the Sea cycle will give players of A Game of Thrones: The Card Game new ways to appreciate the naval battles and ship captains from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, and when it does, you can expect House Greyjoy to feature prominently.

Look for Reach of the Kraken to arrive at retailers everywhere in the fourth quarter of 2012!

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Source: Reach of the Kraken (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=3482)