Bran Stark(CORE S13) reads:
Plot: Kneel Bran Stark to choose and reveal a new plot card.

Supposedly it is obvious from the above text that, by kneeling Bran Stark, Bran Stark's controller can choose and reveal a new plot card of any one player (his/her own's plot card or someone else's plot card), which is the same case as, for example, that a text like "Choose a character to..." always means that you can choose any one character in play (not just those controlled by the same controller).

3333333 said:

Supposedly Tommen Baratheon lets you draw a card from any players deck.

Yours is not a good analogy.
The word "choose" (without specification) in text boxes on cards of this game, means choose among all those in play.

Even if you could reveal another player's plot card... how could you choose one? You are not allowed to look at your opponent's plot deck, remember?

3333333 said:

Sorry for that little joke - some things are just intuitive. You are correct.

From Core Set rulebook:

“In Play”
All non-plot cards in the game are considered
“in play” except for a) cards in your House deck,
b) cards in your discard and dead piles, c) your
agenda (if any), d) any card that has been “removed
from the game” and e) the cards in your
hand.

Thus you can't for example discard plot card with Wintertime Marauders.

eloooooooi:

Remember looking at others' decks is perfectly OK when card abilities allow you to do so.

Well, I don't know how could cards like Summoning Season / Building Season possibly work, with your interesting theory of you not being allowed to look at other's deck, even while searching/choosing a card for him/her.

Remember card abilities trump rules.

3333333 said:

Hmm, with these plots every player (you and chosen opponent) searches his deck (which they own), so you don't search for him and you can't see opponent's deck.

But if he don't find any card of a required type, that's different story.

Really? All of the players here I know, upon I revealing these two cards (Summoning Season / Building Season), will search my deck and pick one card for me (I pick another card for myself) and put these two cards into my hand.

Seems like we play differently.

My english is not well, but I'm pretty sure. Text of these plots says "decks" not "deck". Besides players shouldn't see opponent's deck - it is critical to strategy (especially at tournaments)

Rogue30 is completely right. The DECKS word makes everything pretty clear. ;-)

I'd add that when you find instructions as "choose and reveal" or "choose and kill" or "search your" is referred to YOU. The problem here is that you missed an "S" and confused "YOUR" (that's an english problem ;-)).

When a card states otherwise, you'll notice, cause most of the time, wording is pretty precise in this game and istruction specifically allow you to do something like "manipulate oppo's deck" or the like.

Remember that the Building Season and Summoning Season text have to be intended as "limitations". They give you a great possibility, exchangin' this possibility with a little help to your oppo.

In the end, if Bran allowed you to do what you want him to do, you'd find it written (something like "Look at an oppo's plot deck and choos and reveal a new plot card from that deck."...Not perfect AGOT design wording, but fits the example.

But if you have serious doubts about it, feel free to write to FFG's Nate. :-)

3333333 said:

2 important things here:

1. Bran Stark's ability doesn't allow you to look at an opponent's plot deck.

2. Opponent's cannot look at your deck without an effect saying so (which is not the case with the cards you mentioned)

Wow. Quite the goings on here, huh? A couple of things:

1. Cards trump rules only when they directly contradict a rule. For example, say that a card said "Knight characters you control can be declared as attackers or defenders during intrigue challenges." This card would directly contradict the rule "characters must have the correct challenge icon in order to declared as an attacker/defender in a challenge," so you could declare your Knight characters in intrigue challenges regardless of what icons they have.

But this card does not specifically or directly contradict any rules for when a character can be declared as an attacker or defender, or by whom. So all of those rules hold true. You could not, for example, declare your Knight characters as attackers or defenders in a challenge where you were not the attacking or defending player, nor could I reach across the table and declare your Knight characters as attackers or defenders in my own challenge.

All that make sense? Is it a little more clear why "cards trump rules" can only be applied to direct contradictions without any additional extrapolation?

2. Bran says you can "choose and reveal a new plot card." That directly contradicts the rule for WHEN you are allowed to choose and reveal plots. But look at p. 11 of the rules book. Step #1 for the plot phase is for players to "choose and reveal plot cards." That's the exact same wording as is on Bran - including the word "choose". So why, during normal revealing of plots every round, can you not look at your opponent's plot deck and reveal one of those (as you are suggesting Bran should allow you to do)? Well, because the rules description and clarification right there on p.11 is that "Each player simultaneously chooses and reveals one plot card from his plot deck," right? But there is nothing on Bran's card that specifically contradicts this interpretation of "choose and reveal a plot card" from the rules, so you must follow the rule. Therefore, Bran only lets you choose and reveal a new plot card from your own plot deck.

3. Sounds like someone needs to read Building Season and Summoning Season a little more closely. Both say "When revealed, choose an opponent. Then, you and that opponent must each search your decks for a character/location, reveal it, and put it into your hands. Then, shuffle your decks." Because "decks" and "hands" are plural in the effect, it seems pretty clear that both you (as the owner of the plot) and the opponent you choose searches through your OWN decks for a character/location and put them into your OWN hands. You don't get 2 characters out of your deck from Summoning Season - one chosen by you and one chosen by an opponent. You get 1 from your own deck, and an opponent you choose gets 1 from his/her own deck.

4. That said, sure, there are effects that let opponents search through your hands and/or decks, but they really aren't all that common.

ktom said:

BTW I didn't know that before LCG era there was as much as 3 cards with such powerful effect. (Frey Hospitality, You Murdered Her Children, Dornish Law) Interesting.