I've given in to temptation and bought most of the Secrets of Oldtown set, missing only Forging the Chain and Here to Serve at the moment. This makes running a Maester Agenda quite viable, and I've been searching for a House to put them in. Lo and behold, I find that I have 40 or so completely unused Greyjoy cards (as it's a House I've never really considered playing) so I mix them together with the Maester cards.

Here's the sitiation I ended up with, and it seems so broken (for want of a word more egregious than 'overpowered') that I just have to come and check it out:

1) Baelor Blacktyde had (among other attachments) an Apprentice Collar, Copper Link and Support of Saltcliffe, while there is a Training Vesel (or two) amongst my locations.

2) Baelor kneels to attack (Military, for example) and Copper Link triggers: "After attached character hneels, chose 1 card in play. Until the end of the phase, that card gains 1 Trait of your choice (Limit once per phase)."

3) It's at this point I choose Baelor and give him the Raider trait.

4) Then, I kneel the first Training Vessel to "choose an attacking Raider character. Until the end of the phase that character gets +2 STR. If you win the challenge, discad the top card of the losing opponent's deck."

5) Baelor, we assume, wins the challenge and an opponent's card is discarded.

6) Then Support of Saltcliffe triggers with "After 1 or more cards are discarded from an opponent's deck, stand attached character."

7) Baelor stands and kneels to initiate a Power Challenge. The Copper Link can't go off again (once per phase), but he's already got a Raider trait until the end of the phase anyway. With the second Trading Vessel standing I can kneel that to re-stand Baelor if he wins.

8) If Baelor had a Steel Link to "After attached character kneels, choose and stand 1 location." He could then stand the original Training Vessel at the point of kneeling for his second attack (therefore needing only 2 Trading Vessels and not three) to end up standing himself a third time.

9) At this point, with yet another attachment such as Court Advisor for the Intrigue Icon, he could then initiate a third challenge for Intrigue, re-kneel the original Training Vessel, re-stand the second Trading Vessel, and if he wins that one he stands yet again.

I realise this is pretty complex (oh for Maester Robert Baratheon's auto-stand mechanic) but it's being based on a couple of rules that I'm shaky on. If a Maester kneels, do all the Chains he has with "After attached character kneels..." trigger?

Just realised than in point 9) He souldn't be able to stand the second Training Vessel, as the Steel Link can only trigger once per phase.

Yeah, all that works. All that works with a printed "Raider," so it should work with a Raider who gained the trait from Copper Link.

Starblayde said:

Also keep in mind that they do not all trigger, but rather, you may trigger any number of them. They are all responses, so there's no need for you to trigger any of them unless you want to.

Thanks for confirming that for me, guys. It feels wrong (on a fairness level) to have a Maester Theon with the Horn of Dragons and a Copper Link initiate a challenge, use that to give an opponent's character the Dragon trait, then take control of him with the Horn for a phase of fun and games, but at least it means I'm learning the intricacies of the game!

Keep in mind that "powerful" and "unfair" are not exactly the same thing. For one thing, in order to do these sorts of things with your "Maester Theon," you really are putting all your eggs in one basket. Your opponent just needs to kill one character (or get rid of Apprentice Collar) to have you rebuilding the better part of your deck strategy for the next 2-3 rounds.

The whole Maester/trait manipulation/etc. thing is indeed powerful and it is not fun to be on the receiving end of it when it is working at "full capacity," but there are answers to it that fit into most decks.

That is the drawback.. when this deck I've cobbled together doesn't work, it's usually because there are too many maesters and no raiders, or vice versa. Draw is my main problem, and I'm struggling to chop it down. When it does get going, though... Euron, Theon and Baelor all wearing apprentice chains, triggering stuff left right and centre, making things into Dragons and stealing them for a phase... Ouch.

It was stopped, once, by Sansa Stark, wielding Ice and with Summer attached. She was mean. Must try it against harder decks, with more attachment control and direct kill.