Welcome to the comprehensive Community FAQ thread. In the Game of Thrones LCG players use customized decks to assume leadership of one of the great houses of Westeros vying for control of King's Landing and the Iron Throne. To achieve their goals, players launch military attacks against their opponents, undermine their opponents’ plans with intrigues of their own, and make brazen power plays to win the support of the realm.
The Game of Thrones card game launched as a CCG (collectible card game) in 2002. It was designed by Eric Lang at Fantasy Flight Games and based on the novels written by George R.R. Martin. In 2008 the game rebooted to accommodate a switch to LCG (living card game) format. In August 2015, the game rebooted again, still with the LCG distribution model but with streamlined rules, sleek new designs, and additional factions. Previous cards will not be compatible. However, the new edition does maintain the essential game elements (plot deck, three challenge types, victory condition) of the first edition. For Fantasy Flight's reasons behind the reboot, please read lead designer Nate French's letter to the community .
Players choose to represent one of eight factions vying for control of or influence over the Iron Throne - Targaryen , Lannister , Baratheon , Stark , Martell , Greyjoy , Tyrell , and the Night's Watch . The Thrones LCG can by played head-to-head (called " joust " -- the usual format for competitive tournaments) or with 3-6 players (called " melee " - more like a board game). The 2nd edition Core set hit shelves in early October, with the first "chapter pack" expansion following in early December.
Second Edition Resources
The LCG (Living Card Game) Model
The Core box for 2nd Edition contains 211 distinct cards. You get single copies of most cards, but a few important ones are duplicated to reach a total of 234 cards in the box. Casual gamers may find one Core sufficient, but t ournament players will need three Cores to obtain a full play-set of every card.
If you enjoyed playing with a single Core set, consider enhancing and customizing your decks with cards from additional Core sets, Chapter packs or Deluxe boxes. Under the LCG model, cards are released in monthly chapter packs (approx. $15 MSRP) and bi-annual deluxe expansions (approx. $25-30). Both product types contain a fixed distribution of cards, and each card comes 3x so you have a full play-set immediately. You know exactly what you're getting when you buy a pack -- no chasing rares, and no shelling out big bucks just to play on equal footing in tournaments.
Chapter packs contain 2 different cards per each of the 8 factions factions, plus 4 different neutral cards, all at 3x each for a total of 60 cards. As of January 28th 2016, we have two chapter packs available, Taking the Black and The Road to Winterfell .
The first Deluxe expansion, Wolves of the North , will feature House Stark prominently but also include a few neutral cards and cards from other factions, with a total of about 55 different cards, at 3 copies each.
To ease the burden of entry for new players and keep the tournament scene fresh, chapter packs rotate out of the tournament-legal card pool after about 4 years (so starting in 2019). The Core set and deluxe expansions will not rotate but rather remain "evergreen". The LCG model makes Thrones a relatively cheap investment compared to collectible card games like Magic. Furthermore, players can easily share a collection with a friend or two by splitting the 8 factions, thus splitting the price.
Deckbuilding
In 2nd edition, a player forms his decks by choosing a Faction card (such as House Baratheon ) which allows him to use all loyal AND non-loyal cards from that faction. Additionally, the player can opt to use an Agenda card (such as Banner of the Kraken ) which allows him to add non-loyal cards from his Banner faction. The Banner agendas are currently the only method to include out-of-faction cards. So far there's only one non-Banner agenda, Fealty , but you can expect more agendas in the expansions. Finally, neutral cards without a faction crest can be added to any deck.
Browse Winning Decklists on White Book
Official Tournaments
Store championships are the bottom of the organized play pyramid , and the season runs from January to March. Prestigious Regional tournaments run from May to July. The U.S. National Championship is held at Gen Con in August, the European Championship is held at Castle Stahleck in late November, and the World Championship is held at FFG headquarters in Minnesota in early November. The winners of US Nationals, the European Championship, and World Championship events (draft, joust and melee) each earn the right to design their own card! Additionally, major unofficial tournaments are held throughout the year, and local stores can host tournaments with game night kits including prizes like alternate art promos, deck boxes, and playmats. In addition to player-run online tournaments through OCTGN, there's a new initiative called Tabletop Tourney Grounds to create a tiered system of tournaments following FFG's Regional season
Discussion Groups & Forums
Podcasts
Beyond the Wall: Podcasts , Facebook
The White Book: Podcasts , Website , Facebook
Banter Behind the Throne: Podcasts , Facebook
Summer Is Coming: Live on Twitch : Tuesdays at 3 Eastern / 6 Pacific
Calling the Banners: Facebook
Taming Dragons: Facebook
Dobbler Talk: Youtube
Essential Articles & Columns
The Relative Importance of Challenges
Quill & Tankard Regulars (column series on rules & timing issues)
Games on YouTube
Blogs & Personal Sites
International Resources
Roca Casterly (Spanish)
El único juego que importa (Spanish)
Le Trone de Fer (French forum)
The Conclave (Italian Facebook group)
The Conclave (Italian Youtube channel)
Upcoming Cards
Four the Watch Spoiler Tracker
Play Online
OCTGN is a free program that allows us to play Thrones online. Second edition went live on July 30th, 2015. A subscription is not necessary to play on OCTGN, but subscribing supports the developers and unlocks some additional features. FFG and OCTGN are not affiliated, so cards released in the last six months are censored - you can have either the text OR the picture, but not both. I recommend going to the "Options" tab and changing the "Zoom Behavior" to "display proxies when holding control". You can host a game or find a game to join in the lobby. To get started, follow the instructions found here .
Game Results
The Annals of Castle Black (tournament data)
The Iron Link (individual game results)
Winning Decklists (via White Book podcast)
Challenge Phase Timing - Don't Forget to D.U.C.K.!
At the end of a challenge, it's important to resolve game and card effects in the proper order.
1. Determine winner - this is where you'd trigger reactions to winning/losing, like Tears of Lys, Lannisport, and Ghaston Grey
2. Unopposed bonus - this is where you'd trigger reactions to claiming the unopposed bonus, like Rise of the Kraken
3. Claim - this is where you'd trigger reactions to claim, for example if a Lord or Lady is killed for military claim, Joffrey can trigger here
4. Keywords - finally, keywords and their reactions happen last, for example, when Robert gains a power for renown, you can trigger Lightbringer
Vocabulary (under construction)
Player types include Ned, Jaime and Shagga
Deck archetypes include Combo, Aggro, Rush, Tempo, Toolbox, Soft Control and Hard Control
Game terms includes Burn, Mill, Choke, Resets, Voltron and Metagame
Find Players & Events Nearby
You have four ways to search for other Thrones LCG players.
The first method is this spreadsheet . Anyone who has the link can edit it.
I've created a tab for each country (more countries can be easily added as necessary). There are columns that ask for state/province within the country, name of your local gaming store, the store's address, a link to your meta's website, forum or facebook group, contact info for someone in the meta, and what time your group regularly meets (if any). Holding Ctl + f will let you search within a sheet to find your state.
The second is this pin-able map . Anyone can add a pin for either a store or a player. To add a pin, go to "Additions" in the top right and click "Add Marker - Detailed". To add a PLAYER , make sure the marker color is RED . For the "Entry Name" put your real name, forum handle, or both. For address, you can get as detailed as your exact address if you want, or just put the street name without your house number, or you can just put your city or area code. Then on the "Details" tab you can add an email address or other contact info. To add a STORE , make sure the marker color is GREEN . For the "Entry Name" put the name of the store. Add the exact street address. Then under the "Details" tab you can add contact info for the store. I also recommend adding contact info for your meta in the Description box, such as a Facebook group or forum url. If you make a mistake with your pins, send me a message and I'll correct it.
The third method is the event calendar on whitebookpodcast's page .
The fourth method is the player finder on throneshub .
Tournament Etiquette
FFG's Tournament Rules (under "Support" and then "Tournament Resources")
Scouting is generally frowned upon. Ask your TO and discuss with your meta mates to determine exactly where they draw the line. Some groups allow players to spectate and/or share the details of opponent's decks with their friends between rounds. Personally, I think both of those actions make you an ass-hole, but scouting can be a grey area if "everyone does it".
Draft Packs
In November 2013, FFG introduced draft packs which allow players to hold draft tournaments. The LCG distribution model previously made drafting difficult ; players had to create their own draft cubes. But now each player just needs a reusable starter pack ($5) and a randomized draft pack ($15). There were two draft pack sets in First Edition - first Fire and Ice followed by Westeros . FFG added draft tournaments to World Championship weekend starting in 2015, so we can safely assume draft will continue into 2nd edition.
Major Tournament Champions
2015 Worlds - Sam Braatz from Wisconsin - Martell Banner of the Rose
Conclusion
Thanks for reading this guide! Feel free to bookmark it, as I make frequent updates with newly relevant links, and share it with other new players. Below you'll find some information from the previous edition of the Thrones LCG, which is not compatible with second edition, and will not be supported by FFG after the European championship at Castle Stahleck in November 2015.
First Edition Resources
FFG's Support Page
Video Tutorial
Basic Rules
FAQ 5.5 and Tournament Rules
(updated July 15 2015)
Rules Questions & Answers
Quills & Tankards Articles
Valar Morghulis
Timing Structure
Helpful Sites & Articles
Deckbuilding 101
Card Advantage
Deck Archetypes
Playing With a Limited Card Pool
Setup Analyzer
OCTGN for playing online
OCTGN Installation Walkthrough
FFG's Timing:
FAQs were released 3 to 4 times each year to update the resitricted/banned list and to address unclear rules interactions. Previous FAQs were released on 16th July 2015, 12th February 2015, 15th October 2014, 21st July 2014, 15th April 2014, 14th October 2013, 23rd July 2013, 27th February 2013, 11th October 2012
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3rd August 2012, 20th March 2012, 19th January 2012, 22nd September 2011
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