My gf and I just started playing AGoT with the core Lannister/Stark box set. We've played 2 games so far and ran into a rule question that just doesn't seem right the way it plays out.

She put the Direwolf attachment on Eddard Stark early in the game. The Direwolf attachment states that it can be kneeled to save a character from being killed. So essentially she never bothered to win any military challenges (when my claims were 1) because she could "choose" Eddard Stark, then kneel the direwolf.

My question is, are we playing it right? Is the Direwolf card essentially an indestructable shield during the rounds where the opponent can make only 1 military challenge and claim 1?

I later tried the Imprisonment card (permanent kneeling) and after that effects that would cause a character to kneel. The problem is it appears the Direwolf could still be used to save the card from being killed even if the Eddard Stark card was imprisoned or forced to kneel prior to the challenge. Since the Direwolf is not a "character" I could not find any way to kneel it ahead of time.

Since the defender chooses the character in play to be killed, can a character forced to kneel early or "Imprisoned" still be chosen after losing a military challenge, when that character has an attachment that can save it? Are attachments that can save a character from being killed always usable even when the character is in a kneeling state or any other state?

Just seems like since most of the time you can only make 1 military challenge, and usually only have 1 claim, the Direwolf becomes a perma-shield throughout the whole game.

The way you are playing is correct. The attachment can be knelt to save the character no matter what state the character is in (kneeling, standing, etc.). In order to deal with this you would need some way to remove attachments or blank their text (Frozen Solid, Ill Tidings, and many others), you could also use target kill cards (such as Die by the Sword, Incinerate, etc.) or use more claim 2 so you can at least kill the other characters on the board.

EDIT: You could also cancel the Response by using something like He Calls it Thinking.

I'd like to add that I'm under the impression you're playing with the HBO Box set (which includes pictures from the HBO TV show, instead of artwork from various artists).

If that's the case, then keep in mind that the "Game of Thrones" card game we're discussing here is a more complex version with a much deeper card pool of about 1800 cards (most of the cards mentioned by the previous poster don't exist for you). In addition, while most of the rules work the same way, several have been simplified for the HBO box set, so I can't really be certain the answers we give you apply. There is a forum for the HBO card set HERE .

That said, a repeatable "save" like the Direwolf you mention is typically an invulnerability to low-claim military challenges, which can be quite powerful especially with a limited card pool and/or less experienced players. As a Lannister player, play to your stengths and strip his hand of everything useful, before eventually wiping his board with a reset (like Valar Morghulis or Wildfire Assault, if either of them exists in the HBO set). Sure, he'll still have his Eddard, but while you'll have a hand full of goodies to flood the board, he'll have... his lonely Eddard.

If there are any cards which discard attachments, cancel a save, blank their text, make it so characters cannot be saved, let you kill a specific character (so you can use it after he's knelt the direwolf to save from claim), return a character to its owner's hand (the attachment would fall off), or find some way to discard the character from play (I don't know if the HBO set has any "discard" effects, or if the direwolf can save from "Discard" *and* "Kill").

Deadly would also work, if you have access to it.

Deadly would also work, if you have access to it.

I don't think there's any deadly in the HBO set.

Deadly would also work, if you have access to it.

I don't think there's any deadly in the HBO set.

Wouldn't Eddard Stark(Core) and Shaggydog have it? Aren't there some Lannister(Core) cards with it beside I'm Writ You Small? I was under the impression that the HBO box was core Stark and Lannister?

The rules for the HBO box don't include Deadly. A lot of the cards are heavily re-written and/or don't exist in the LCG, in order to make more of a self-contained experience.

I'm not really an authority - the only thing I've done is read over the rules PDF, which has card information for about 20 of the cards.

The rules for the HBO box don't include Deadly. A lot of the cards are heavily re-written and/or don't exist in the LCG, in order to make more of a self-contained experience.

I'm not really an authority - the only thing I've done is read over the rules PDF, which has card information for about 20 of the cards.

Ah. Now that is something I didn't know at all about the HBO box which is I assume is why it is illegal in the LCG environment.