Becoming a Kingslayer

“There are no men like me. There’s only me.”
   –George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

Gen Con Indy 2015 is fast approaching, and with it, the inaugural tournament for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Second Edition: the Kingslayer tournament. As many of you know, Gen Con Indy is a premier tabletop gaming convention, held annually in Indianapolis. The first edition of A Game of Thrones: The Card Game launched at Gen Con Indy years ago, and now, we're proud to be launching the game's second edition here. For more information about Gen Con Indy, click here. There, in the Kingslayer tournament, you’ll have your first chance to call your banners and battle for the Iron Throne and the Seven Kingdoms!

The Kingslayer tournament is an introductory event for the second edition of A Game of Thrones: The Card Game and it's a special opportunity to experience the game for the first time. Unfortunately for those who don't have tickets, the Kingslayer tournament is now completely sold out. However, those of you who are participating in the Kingslayer tournament should be aware of a number of special deckbuilding rules for the Kingslayer tournament. Because this is an introductory event, these special rules won’t be used in Organized Play for this game, but they exist here to let players explore much of the Core Set during the Kingslayer tournament. 

First, all players in the Kingslayer are limited to using cards from a single Core Set, which was included in the cost of the tournament ticket. Secondly, a number of special deckbuilding rules are in effect for this tournament. For more on the special deckbuilding rules for the Kingslayer, we turn to Nate French, the lead developer of A Game of Thrones: The Card Game.

Nate French on the Kingslayer Tournament 

The Kingslayer tournament is an introductory event for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Second Edition. Because of its introductory nature, this event features special deckbuilding rules that enable players to experience as much of the game as possible.

For this tournament, each player is limited to a single Core Set from which to build a deck. This rule is to ensure that all players in the event are competing with access to the same card pool.

Additionally, a player may alter his or her deck between each round of the tournament by swapping out plots or neutral cards, and/or selecting a different faction pairing for each round. This rule enables players to experiment with a larger variety of cards, thereby gaining firsthand experience with a greater portion of the Core Set.

Finally, streamlined deckbuilding rules, presented below, will be used at this event to facilitate single Core Set deckbuilding and to enable players to quickly modify their decks from round to round.

Kingslayer Deckbuilding Rules

To build a deck for this tournament, a player selects the following:

A plot deck of seven plot cards. A second copy of a single plot card may be chosen if more than one copy of that plot card exists in the Core Set.

All of the cards from any two factions. A player’s faction choices are indicated by using the faction card from both of the chosen factions. Agenda cards, such as the Banner agendas, are not used for this event. Each of the twenty Core Set cards, both loyal and non-loyal, from both of the chosen factions must be included in the player’s deck.

A minimum of ten neutral cards. For neutral cards that appear more than three times in the Core Set, no more than three copies of the card may be included in a deck.

Plot choices, faction choices, and/or neutral card choices may be adjusted between each round of the event, as long as players are ready to begin play at the start of the next round. A player who is happy with his or her deck is not required to adjust his or her deck between rounds.

Join the Fight for the Seven Kingdoms

It is our hope that these rules help players select decks for this limited, single Core Set environment, while simultaneously enabling them to explore a wider variety of the card and faction options at their disposal in a tournament setting. We’re looking forward to seeing you there! 

Thanks, Nate!

The price of a single A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Second Edition Core Set was included in the Kingslayer ticket price. While we encourage players to pick up their copies at our retail booth before the Kingslayer tournament to ease registration, players unable to do so will be able to pick up their single Core Set at event registration for the Kingslayer tournament.

Check out the prizes for the Kingslayer tournament, and prepare to join the fight at Gen Con Indy 2015! We can’t wait to see you there.