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He wiped the blood off his lips with the back of his hand, grinned, and said, “That was a stiff one, Mord.” The gaoler squinted at him, trying to decide if he was being mocked. “I could make good use of a strong man like you.” The strap flew at him, but this time Tyrion was able to cringe away from it. He took a glancing blow to the shoulder, nothing more. “Gold,” he repeated, scrambling backward like a crab, “more gold than you'll see here in a lifetime. Enough to buy land, women, horses… you could be a lord. Lord Mord.” Tyrion hawked up a glob of blood and phlegm and spat it out into the sky.
“Is no gold,” Mord said.
He's listening! Tyrion thought.
–George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
With the upcoming release of Lions of the Rock, the Lannisters become the last of the six great houses to get their own deluxe expansion. This set introduces many major unique characters, new versions of the Lannisters’ iconic players, and some great reprints.
All the gold in Casterly Rock
Each deluxe expansion presents a close examination of the featured house and enhances it through a number of main themes and subthemes. One of the most predominant themes Lions of the Rock showcases is the strength of gold for House Lannister. In the books, there is no question that the Lannisters are the wealthiest of all the great houses. “All the Gold in Casterly Rock” is a common saying. The crown borrows heavily from the Lannisters, and Cersei toys with the idea of creating the Golden Bank of Lannisport to back the kingdom–and derive profit from its needs. The Lannisters have money, and with their money comes power. In A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, House Lannister has always had ways to increase their gold pool, with cards like Lannisport Steward (Core Set, 52), Lannisport Weaponsmith (Core Set, 53), and Lannisport Councilor (Return of the Others, 103). The Lannisters have also long had a number of cards that let you spend your extra gold for key effects, but with Lions of the Rock, their wealth plays a larger role in the game.
We’ve already seen the new Tywin Lannister (Lions of the Rock, 9) and the revised Coin Mint (Lions of the Rock, 27), and how they form a combo unto themselves, but to stop there would be to ignore all the other ways that Lannister benefits from retaining more gold in their pool than their opponents. Among them is the new character Ser Addam Marbrand (Lions of the Rock, 14). Normally you would only pay three gold for a character like Ser Addam, with two icons, three Strength, and zero renown, but his ability is easily worth paying the one extra gold to bring him into play. While Ser Addam Marbrand is in play and you have the largest gold pool in the game, your in-house armies no longer need to kneel to attack or defend. Combine him with The Burned Men (Mountains of the Moon, 44) and you have a Deadly Army that can attack twice, raise your claim, and still defend. Furthermore, this set gives the Lannisters several new Army characters to help take advantage of Ser Addam’s ability.
Sound investments
Still, the Lannisters know better than anyone that while the potential of coin is powerful, gold wants to be spent. Gold that sits idly in your pool earns no interest, so Lions of the Rock introduces new events that let the Lannisters spend their gold to trigger timely effects. Take The Lion’s Cunning (Lions of the Rock, 32), one of the more powerful surprises this set allows you to spring on your opponents. The Lion’s Cunning permits you to spend any amount of gold to choose that many Lannister characters participating in a challenge to give them each Strength boosts equal to the gold spent. Even a pool of three gold could net you an extra nine Strength in the challenge, increasing your odds of winning a challenge and being able to play cards such as Make an Example (Princes of the Sun, 42) and Superior Claim (Kings of the Storm, 47) for extra power.
House Lannister has gained power from their wealth as long as anyone can remember. With Lions of the Rock, they now find new ways to use that wealth to their advantage in A Game of Thrones: The Card Game. Gold is power.
Head to your local retailer to pre-order Lions of the Rock today!
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