I've had the game of thrones card game for a while now but Im still a relatively new player.

I bought the core set at first, which is great for what I'm after. I'm not that interested in deck building or anything, I just want a game I can bring out when I have a few friends over. So for that, the core set is great because it's a four player game that involves 4 even decks.

But the problem is that I wanted to have up to six players. I thought this could easily be solved by buying the Martell and Greyjoy sets. The trouble is that rather than these just being a standard deck they're three sets of cards for you to deck build with.

This is great for those who are into the game, but for me who justs wants another two decks to add it's a bit frustrating as I want them all to be even with the core set.

Using just one of the three packs you get in the martell and greyjoy box doesnt really work either as these contain either title cards or extra cards that don't belong to that house set. This leaves me with a very confusing martell and greyjoy set.

What should I do to fix this. Whats the best way to get another two houses to add to the core set?

It will require a little deck building, but nothing too onerous.

Each expansion comes with 7 plots - convenient, so use those.

For the draw decks, try something like this.  Put in one copy of each unique character included.  Then add non unique characters (one or more of each) until you have 25 characters.  After that, add 10 locations, 6-7 of which give you gold or reduce he cost to play characters.  Finally, add 10 events/attachments (in any combination).  That will give you a total of 45 cards, comparable to your 45-card core set decks.

I've never done this myself, but it should be roughly balanced.  Maybe 12 locations and 8 events/attachments.

Vaapad said:

Probably not a bad idea.

Your other option would be to just take 1 copy of each plot and 1 copy of each neutral and Martell card and put them together (basically take all the non-Martell, non-neutral cards out of one of the card packs). That's probably the easiest thing to do. Just accept it'll be a bigger deck. It's not like it'll matter all that much.

you could also try the board game, i haven't played myself but it should be a balanced experience for all players involved.

Wolfbrother said:

strongly disagree re: "balanced for all players."  I love th game mechanics, but lannister gets royally screwed by their prescribed board position.  It is virtually impossible to win as a lannister player, to the point that playing lannister is unenjoyable

Vaapad said:

Lanni gets screwed might even be an understatement. LoL. I tried playing as Lanni and I was definitely in the running to win, but it would've taken such a weird sequence of events for me to actually win that it was pretty much impossible on the deciding turn. You just get blasted from all sides on that turn. Lanni in the board game is definitely for those looking for a challenge and not a good starter faction.

I have to agree about the board game and the lack of balance for each house position.  It sort of turned me off the game a little bit.

mdc273 said:

Its not even remotely winnable as Lanni.  In 4-player GJ crushes Lanni in 2-3 turns; with more players GJ pushes them back into their capital and they get stuck in an eternal siege (if they're lucky and GJ somehow doesnt crush them in 3-4 turns).  Not really the right forum for this, but is the game more balanced with the GenCon alternate start?

Skowza said:

Apoligizes to the OP, but I think we answered his question.  What's the GenCon alternate start?  I've been looking for a fix for this game for years and have done everything I can think of short of re-drawing lines on the map . . .