A New Chapter - The Battle of Ruby Ford

The Battle of Ruby Ford is the kind of expansion that you buy 3 mainly because there is one or two particular cards that you really really wanted.

Distribution of the cards is as follows -

5 Attachments - 2 Baratheon, 1 Lannister, 1 Martell and 1 Targaryen.

8 Characters with Stark getting three of them, 2 Neutrals, 2 Targaryen, the last goes to Lannister.

4 Events

3 Locations - 1 each for Baratheon, Martell and Targaryen.

Most of the attachments deal with opposed challenge, either by increasing STR or reducing the opponent's, a noteworthy mention must goes to Martial Law for Baratheon, which attaches to an opponent's location, kneel it, and allows you to kneel the Law to claim 2 Power if you win a Power challenge by 4 or more - pretty handy for speedy Power claims where Stannis is involved. The Targaryen Harp is an interesting item, which though looks good, is probably not very deck-space efficient. (but perhaps there is a way to involve it)

The characters are interesting in this pack. I must immediately mention that the Stark's Old Nan has only 1 copy in this pack, which is a pity, as she is pretty useful in Winter or Summer decks where you will be involving Ravens - and she can talk anyone into a bird. Her ability is also useful in many situations where you need a Trait, no matter the cost - as in the previous example, a Lord is necessary to handle a visit from Stannis, and with Old Nan, you can either get yourself ready for it, or help an ally to fend off the winning challenge initiated by the despicable Baratheon. Plus she has the amazingly rare green icon for the Starks. And, eh, by the way, Lannisters need to get a pack of these for the 3 Castellan of the Rock, and that is that.

The Overzealous Scout also only comes with 1 copy, and he is an interesting option for any deck (probably in the future) that may need a boost in Initiative. Giving you an incredible +4 to initiative just for being there (and he's not unique), this 3 for 3 character also has Military and Intrigue icons, making him a relatively good addition to any deck that has the space to fit in - winning Initiative is hardly a bad thing to have. (+4 gives you a very good chance to win at least 50% of the times if you play average or even below average Initiative score Plots, unless faced with a Greyjoy Initiative denial build)

The Starks get great characters, besides Old Nan, he also has the Midnight Sentry, which gives all Stalwart characters +1 STR - not bad if you intend to build a Stalwart deck. The Berserkers probably also works with Stalwart in mind, since Stark can recover from killing off one of his Stalwart fella a lot better than the other Houses can deal with its special ability.

The other characters are really nothing to write home about. But they do have 3 copies each.

The Events are alright, but only the Battle of Ruby Ford is worth mentioning - and again it only comes with 1 copy in the pack. It is probably the most generic Epic Battle card in the game, useable by all Houses, and has a Claim of 2, for any challenge type - definitely a good add to any deck with Epic Battles as its central theme.

The Locations are hardly needed, the only one that has significance is the Targaryen's one, which deals with Army, and may have implications in the future when there is a feasible Targaryen Army build. (or any Targaryen build for that matter) However, the Scorched Earth only has 1 copy in this pack.

So as you can see, there are some great stuff in this pack - Old Nan, Battle of Ruby Ford, Overzealous Scout etc. But all the good stuff only has one single copy in it, making this an expensive buy - if you want to work with 3 copies of these cards (which is not always necessary - Old Nan for example, hardly requires 3 copies in any deck, though she is good to hire in different decks if you do run multiples - seasonal decks especially), then there is no choice but to get 3. Besides that, getting just one is probably still worth it - if nothing else, there is Rhaegar Targaryen (and his harp) in the pack - how cool is that? (and why? Coz he's the only reasonable King for Targaryen, (of course, silly as it is, "King" Viserys is a lot more powerful and strategic as a card) and as far as I know, the only guy with 2 printed crests! - And yes, there is only 1 copy of him in the pack.)

(o.o)