No one would admit to being afraid—they were men of the Night's Watch, after all—but Jon could feel the unease. Four empty villages, no wildlings anywhere, even the game seemingly fled. The haunted forest had never seemed more haunted.
–George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings
Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce For Family Honor, the third Chapter Pack in the War of Five Kings cycle forA Game of Thrones: The Card Game!
The War of Five Kings has already begun to shape the future of Westeros. Robb Stark marches on Lannister holdings, even as Tywin Lannister menaces the Riverlands from Harrenhal. To the south, Stannis Baratheon lays siege to Storm’s End and Renly Baratheon calls upon the might of Highgarden to break his brother’s armies. Yet in the midst of these kingly conflicts, another drama unfolds far to the north. From Castle Black, the Night’s Watch rides forth in a great ranging and ventures beyond the Wall to confront Mance Rayder and brave the fury of the wild. If they fail to defend the realms of men, the consequences could reach far beyond the icy heights of the Wall.
For Family Honor is an upcoming Chapter Pack in the War of Five Kings cycle that continues to follow the storyline of A Clash of Kings. Throughout this Chapter Pack, you’ll find plenty of new cards that support the major themes of the cycle. New Kings and Crowns invite you to stake your own claim to the Iron Throne, even as other cards heighten the importance of loyal cards—the characters you can truly trust, the locations that would never fall, the events and tactics that you utterly control. Finally, For Family Honor introduces iconic characters to join the game, including Ser Edmure Tully, a House Tyrell version of Renly Baratheon, and Hot Pie.
In A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, the Night’s Watch are known for their differences from the other factions in the game. Unlike the Great Houses of Westeros, the Night’s Watch has sworn to hold no lands. Their greatest deeds go unsung and unnoticed. Their war is not against the other Great Houses. Instead, they struggle against the nameless threat that stirs in the lands beyond the Wall.
The unique perspective of the Night’s Watch is more than just skin deep: it shapes every battle they fight. While the other Great Houses ride out with a fanfare, challenging their foes on the field of battle and in dark intrigues, the Night’s Watch cares about only one thing—defending The Wall (Core Set, 137) and protecting the rest of Westeros.
For much of the faction’s life up to this point, the primary source of power for the Night’s Watch has been The Wall. Of course, if an enemy leaves an opening in his forces, the Night’s Watch can take advantage of it, but their first priority is to defend The Wall. Now,For Family Honor offers the Night’s Watch an additional way to gain power from defense with Thoren Smallwood (For Family Honor, 45).
At first glance, Thoren Smallwood appears fairly typical for a Night’s Watch Ranger—though it is important to note that his higher cost offers him protection from The First Snow of Winter (No Middle Ground, 79). The real reason you want Thoren fighting for the Night’s Watch, however, lies in his Reaction: “After you win a challenge as the defending player, gain 1 power for your faction.” As we noted above, the Night’s Watch is a primarily defensive faction, but in most cases, the only reward you gain for defending is to deflect another challenge that could kneel The Wall. Now, however, successfully defending actually brings you closer to your victory condition—and when you combine Thoren with cards like For the Watch! (No Middle Ground, 67), you’ll be able to gain power much faster than you otherwise could.
You’ll need more than Thoren Smallwood to defend The Wall, and the Night’s Watch can draw men from across the realm of Westeros. Bastards, thieves, lords, and knights all become brothers when they take the black and join the Night’s Watch. Now, you can call the dregs of the realm to join the Watch with Night Gathers…(For Family Honor, 46). This loyal event can be played in the marshaling phase, and it allows you to choose any opponent whose reserve value is lower than yours. Until the end of the phase, you can marshal characters from that player’s discard pile as if they were in your hand!
Using the strengths of your opponent’s faction against him is just one of the ways Night Gathers… can turn the tide of a game. Not only does this powerful event give you access to additional characters with powerful abilities, it allows you to shore up holes in your defenses almost on command. For instance, if you know you’ll need more power icons or intrigue icons to defend The Wall, Night Gathers… allows you to choose the best-suited characters from your opponent’s discard pile. The characters you find may have been discarded and cast aside by their owner, but they’re still worth their weight for the Night’s Watch.
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