His fire was as black as his scales, his wings so vast that whole towns were swallowed up in their shadow when he passed overhead.
- A Song of Ice and Fire, Vol. II: A Clash of Kings

Hello and Welcome Back, Loyal A Game of Thrones Fans!

This week we continue our look at the final Chapter Pack of the Defenders of the North cycle of expansions, Return of the Others. Even though the sunny grasslands of the Dothraki Sea are thematically distant from the frozen North beyond The Wall, there have still been some cool additions to the House of the Dragon in this expansion set: new versions of Khal Drogo and the Hatchlings, Stalwart Shield, True Power, and more. This week we take a look at one of the last two House Targaryen cards of the cycle.

This card was voted into existence by the players of the first A Game of Thrones LCG league. The intention of that ballot was to bring into the metagame a "legendary" character, that is, one whose existence is legend or history to the current people of Westeros. Among the legendary representatives were Bran the Builder of House Stark, Lann the Clever of House Lannister, and more. Naturally, each voting player cleaved to their favorite House and this time around House Targaryen won impressively with Balerion the Black. We would like to thank all participating league players for voting Balerion into being, but more importantly for supporting A Game of Thrones in their local gaming community.

There is not much to say about Balerion the Black that is not immediately apparent on the card; among the first thing you will notice about him is that he is very expensive. As such, he is something of a closer, something you bring out once you've managed to save up enough gold to really let him loose. In which case, you bring him into play, kneel everything else, and then do a big, renowned power challenge for the win.

Of course, there's no reason why you wouldn't bring out Balerion sooner if you can. If the stars align and you manage to pull all of your Seas and Conscriptors early, then by all means, give 'em the old Black Dragon shock and awe. If you already have the other Dragons in play (or characters with Blood of the Dragon (Core, T100) attached), you can really go to town on your opponent when Balerion drops.

When it comes right down to it, Balerion is one of those cards that shares the same sort of space as Raiding Fleet (A King in the North, F87) or House Dayne Reserves (Princes of the Sun, F17): big, expensive cards with huge, impressive effects that are difficult to actually put into play, because of the expense or the conditions contingent on playing them. Nevertheless, on the rare occasion when you pull it off and they do come out, it's usually awesome and that makes it all worthwhile.

So that's it for this week's card spoiler. Come back next week for more A Game of Thrones!

Bonus Question: What is your favorite expensive and splashy card - the one card you hope will cause your opponent's jaw to drop the moment it comes out?