Hi there! So, being a HUGE fan of ASoIaF, yet somehow never having heard of the LCG, I recently bought the starter set that comes with the Baratheon, Targaryen, Stark and Lannister house decks, and no other expansions or anything else. I was playing with some friends yesterday and couldn't help but notice a couple of very important questions were missing in the stock rulebook; I've searched the forums a bit and haven't had any luck in finding answers… so, without further ado, here are my first few noob questions regarding the LCG:

1) Is there a hand limit?

2) How many characters / locations can you have in play at once? Is there a limit?

3) A situation came up during a three-player match: I was whoever supports the Master of Whispers, and my other friend WAS the Master of Whispers, while the third friend was whoever could redirect attacks. The Master of Whispers chose to attack the other friend, who then chose to redirect the attack to me. Is this possible since the Master of Whispers can't declare an attack on me to begin with?

4) Does everyone start with no power whatsoever? If so, would that mean the first power won is taken from the power pool?

5) Where in the world can we find duplicates? The Targaryen deck comes with two Rhaegals, and yet the description of a duplicate in the stock rulebook says the same image, but no text or anything.

6) An effect that can be activated during the Marshalling phase, such as one that would reduce the cost of a House-Specific card, can it be activated during the same Marshalling phase in which it is played?

Thanks very much for the help and reading such a long post. Much appreciation!

1) no limit.

2) no limit.

3) page 18 of the rule book, which describes the Crown Regent title, covers this: when the Crown Regent player redirects a challenge, the attacker must choose a legal target. If no legal targets exist, the attack proceeds against the original opponent. In your example, no other legal target would exist because the Hand of the King supports the Master of Whispers, and thus cannot legally attack the Mater of Whispers. Accordingly, the attack would proceed against the Crown Regent.

4) players start with 0 power. Note, though, the difference between CLAIMING power and MOVING power. A player moves power from one house card to another after winning a power challenge as the attacker (according to claim value on that player's plot card). A player claims power - ie brings new power into the game from an out-of-play pool, for winning an unopposed challenge or dominance. So, a power challenge at the beginning of the game against an opponent with no power on his house card may not be so effective because there is no power to move. However, as power enters the game as players claim it, power challenges will operate to move it from one house card to another.

5) I believe that Rhaegal is the only dupe that exists in the core set. All of the expansions and chapter packs come with 3x of each card. Players may introduce dupes by building customized decks with multiple copies (up to 3) of the same card.

6) yes, just as characters can kneel to attack or trigger abilities in the turn that they enter play. There is no "summoning sickness" so to speak AGoT.

Welcome to the fold!

Gaius Hill said:

A little extra information:

Gaius Hill said:

However, even if there is nothing to steal, you can still get the bonus power for winning unopposed, or get power on your characters for Renown for winning that challenge because that power does come from the power pool, not from the losing opponent.

A very common first-round strategy for the second player is to let a challenge they were going to lose (or can afford to lose) anyway go through "unopposed." That way, the first player claims power from the power pool for the "unopposed" bonus. The second player promptly steals that power from them with a power challenge when it is their turn to do challenges.

Gaius Hill said:

Robert Baratheon is the other unique character with two copies in the Core Set. Playing with just one, he and Rhaegal are the only ones who could ever be duped.