Hi,

Never tried AGoT 1st, and I don't generally like deck buildning too much. But this I might give a try since I like the theme. Is this a game you could bring out and play a causal game with friends or do you have to get into the whole expansion buying business to make it enjoyable?

You could definitely play casual with a core set with your friends. The 8 fractions also give you a lot of flexibility and if you are really into it you can buy expansions. Just give it a try

Well right now, Core Only is the only game in town, and it's not even in town yet

But since its Gen Con release, people are deckbuilding like crazy using only core set cards, playing with what they bought from Gen Con or making proxy copies, and playing a lot online via the OCTGN platform.

From what I hear, the default tutorial decks in the core set rulebook are a bit inconsistent, leading to some swingy games, so I would recommend using the "Kingslayer" deckbuilding format: Take all the cards from one faction, all the cards from a second faction, then select ten Neutral cards. (The debut tournament at Gen Con was called "The Kingslayer" and used those rules)

Under that system you get lots of different mix and match possibilities, with a pretty casual approach to the overall deckbuilding. You really only have to pick six neutral cards (as each deck will surely want 2x each of the key resource locations "The Kingsroad" and "The Roseroad") and then choose 7 plots.

For that format, I recommend you get one core set for every two players you intend to support. The limiting factor is the aforementioned resource locations: one core set only gets four copies of each, so asking people to make do with fewer than two copies apiece makes it hard to play expensive characters.

I've been playing with the same group of 4 for about a year now with a single 1st edition core deck shared between us. We were planning on getting expansions until we heard that a 2nd edition was coming out. I imagine the 2nd edition will be even better.

The 2nd Ed. Core was specifically designed for casual play with up to 4 players without any other cards or expansions. Essentially, a single copy can be treated and played as a self-contained, casual board game.

However, if your goal is organized or competitive play, you will probably find one copy of the Core Set very limiting.