Ned broke the wax with his thumb and flattened the letter to consider the king's urgent command, reading the words with mounting disbelief. Was there no end to Robert's folly? And to do this in his name, that was salt in the wound. “Gods be good,” he swore.
“What Lord Eddard means to say,” Lord Renly announced, “is that His Grace instructs us to stage a great tournament in honor of his appointment as the Hand of the King.”
–George R. R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
The A Tale of Champions cycle of Chapter Packs for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game kicks off today with Tourney for the Hand, now on sale at your local retailer and online on our webstore!
Competing to win
Knights, Lords, and Ladies head to the tournament grounds in the A Tale of Champions cycle, where the Chapter Packs focus on the unique personalities most likely to participate and attend. Tourney for the Hand gets the events in motion, introducing eight unique characters, including a bold new Knight of Flowers (Tourney for the Hand, 5) and a powerful new version of Ser Barristan Selmy (Tourney for the Hand, 10), who has already generated excitement among the many fans of House Targaryen.
Tourney for the Hand also introduces several cards with the new Joust and Melee keywords, which change the way you and your opponents approach the Challenges phase. Characters with Joust who attack alone may be defended only by a single character, and characters with Melee play their opponents against each other, gaining Strength for each character sent to oppose them.
New clarity amid the mass melee
Tourney for the Hand also begins the enrichment of the melee format for A Game of Thrones that continues through the subsequent Chapter Packs of the A Tale of Champions cycle. As cards in the cycle give players greater power to form and break alliances, Tourney for the Hand starts building the cycle’s focus on cards which create dynamic consequences in the melee format.
Though they’re not thrilled by the idea of tournaments, House Stark also makes a strong appearance in the A Tale of Champions cycle and Tourney for the Hand. Perhaps the craftiest of the Starks, Arya Stark (Tourney for the Hand, 1) doesn’t quite play by the rules, and can quickly cause headaches for your opponents as she seeks revenge against all her family’s enemies. If she wins a challenge while attacking alone, she forces each opponent with a title opposing yours to satisfy your claim. Though she may appear weak with her mere two Strength, her Joust keyword prevents your opponent from defending her with more than one character. House Stark can boost their characters’ Strength in many different ways, too, and Arya can quickly begin winning challenges. She can target weak foes first, if necessary, but she burns to make all of House Stark’s enemies reap the consequences.
The Knight of Flowers, Ser Barristan Selmy, Arya Stark, and a host of other great cards are now ready to take to the fields and the stands as the Tourney for the Hand commences!
Head to your local retailer today to buy this exciting Chapter Pack, or pick it up online from our webstore.
Note: The cards from this Chapter Pack will be legal in time for the big A Game of Thrones: The Card Game tournament at the upcoming Days of Ice and Fire 2011!
We’re making a special exception to the standard waiting period for new products. All cards from Tourney for the Hand will be tournament legal by Friday, November 11th, and Days of Ice and Fire 2011 attendees can start readying their strategies to incorporate all these game-changing new cards.