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Swept into Battle

A Turn of the Tide Is Now Available for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game

“The armor they showed us was plain, only…the one who led them, he was armored like the rest, but there was no mistaking him all the same. It was the size of him, m’lord. Those as say the giants are all dead never saw this one, I swear. Big as an ox he was, and a voice like stone breaking.”

    –George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

A Turn of the Tide, the fourth Chapter Pack in the A Song of the Sea cycle for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, is now available at your local retailer and online through our webstore!

When the Great Houses of Westeros go to battle, the tides of war drown the Seven Kingdoms and their small folk in the undertow! From north to south, and east to west, no location nor army is ever truly safe from the conflict, and the sixty new cards (three copies each of twenty different cards) in A Turn of the Tide draw new players into the game’s deadly skirmishes.

New Armies arrive to reinforce each of the Great Houses, fallen characters drag themselves pull themselves out of the wreckage of fatal naval battles, members of the Night’s Watch explore the lands beyond the Wall, and the members of House Tyrell grapple for power on the battlefield and in King’s Landing. Will they side with House Lannister, or will they ride against the Lions with the Stags of House Baratheon? A Turn of the Tide draws each of the Great Houses into new conflicts and difficult decisions.

The Tides of War

In A Turn of the Tide, the six Great Houses gain new Army characters that share several common qualities. Each costs four gold, each features the War crest, each brings five strength and two challenge icons to the table, and each offers considerable support to decks that run a character agenda or don’t run an agenda at all. The game text for each of these Armies begins with the line, “If you are running a character agenda or are not running an agenda,” and each ends with a powerful Response that can make a significant impact in a variety of strategies.

Take, for example, the House Clegane Brigands (A Turn of the Tide, 61). If you aren’t running an agenda other than a character agenda, this Army gains, “Response: After you win an [INTRIGUE] challenge, stand House Clegane Brigands.” While this ability might not provide enough incentive on its own to give up the consistent effects of such agendas as Lannister’s The Power Behind the Throne (Lions of the Rock, 48), it offers a very tempting way to make powerful Intrigue challenges in a deck that runs Ser Kevan Lannister (Valar Morghulis, 4), especially if you can pair it with Cersei Lannister (Lions of the Rock, 6), Maester Creylen (Forging the Chain, 24), and any combination of cards that can create extra Intrigue challenges.

Alternatively, because House Clegane Brigands aren’t “House Lannister only,” it's possible that Tywin’s catspaws could be bought off by another Great House. In an ironic twist of fate, one of the most obvious options is to have them serve House Stark. In a deck built around The Kindly Man (Valar Morghulis, 1), the Brigands provide a strong non-unique target to bring into play from your dead or discard pile after you win a Power challenge. Is it odd to think of Tywin’s lackeys serving House Stark? Of course, but then again, Clegane’s men were proficient killers, and the Many Faced God profited greatly from their actions.

The House Clegane Brigands aren’t the only new Army in A Turn of the Tide that’s worth the gold to keep them in your service. Each of the Chapter Pack’s six new Armies bolsters its House with powerful, thematic abilities, and one or more copies of Baratheon’s Blackcrown Knights (A Turn of the Tide, 66) can quickly accelerate your bid for the Iron Throne. Of course, we wouldn’t expect any less of an appetite for power from anyone associated with House Tyrell, especially not when they’re inspired by the efforts of Queen Margaery Tyrell (A Turn of the Tide, 77) in King’s Landing.

Master the Tides

The time has come to master the tides or be swept out to sea! A Turn of the Tide is now available at your local retailer and online through our webstore. Pick up your copy today!

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Source: Swept into Battle (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=4094)