R&D Journal
A Man Sees…
by Nate French
"Three lives you shall have of me. No more, no less. Three and we are done. So a girl must ponder." He kissed her hair softly. "But not too long."
If you had a task that needed completion, and could choose but one character from Westeros to complete that task, who would be your choice? I would consider a relatively minor character who brings a great deal of competence to the table: Jaqen H'ghar.
As Eric Lang and I were working on the early design files of A Clash of Arms, we were exploring the idea of a card sporting all of the new Five Kings Edition "house specific" keywords. The card would give each House a slight taste of the tricks that the other Houses had at their disposal, and it would work as something of an appetizer, turning Stark players on to the notion of Ambush, getting Targaryen players to start thinking about the power of Vigilant, leading Martell players to open their thinking up to the potential of Intimidate, and so on, all around the color pie. This card was initially slotted as a neutral, non-unique character with the working title, "Jack of All Trades." As playtesting proceeded, it became quite evident that we were on to an idea that was a hell of a lot more interesting than your common everyday jack of all trades.
;)
The challenge, at that point, was to determine which named character could conceivably serve each of the 6 Great Houses in the game, knowing and understanding their methods, and using them to suit his own purposes in a crafty, self-sufficient manner. A heavy task, and not one that many of the characters in A Song of Ice and Fire were able to meet. A "faceless man" who can take on the guise of anyone he desires, Jaqen H'ghar was more than up to the challenge.
The final result, as you can see, is a card of mind-blowing potential. His most immediate contribution is that he supports each House's "keyword" deck as a multi-faceted beat-stick. Once you get beyond his immediate contributions, though, the fun really starts. Without even beginning to exhaust the possibilities of his potential, here are some ideas I can't wait to explore with Jaqen H'ghar:
- With excessive gold and even more excessive card draw, the Stalwart keyword will never strain the resources of a Lannister deck. Jaqen should be useful as a form of powerhouse recursion for the Lions.
- With excessive amounts of influence, Martell seems like a nice place for that Ambush keyword. And, because "a man knows," Jaqen also has the Learned crest, which fits in nicely with a Martell deck type that has been quietly acquiring force over the past couple sets.
- The Vigilant keyword is golden in an aggressive Greyjoy deck. That Infamy boost to his Intimidate is also nice in this type of build.
- Vengeful and Stalwart and Ambush is a great combination for either a character-lite deck or for a discard deck to slow the game, fend off threats, and establish control. Once control is established, the Vigilant tricon can kick in and close things out in a hurry.
- This is (at least thus far) my favorite application of Jaqen H'ghar, and it exists in the Classic format. Can you say "Claim 6" with Against the Common Foe?
As strong and multi-faceted as Jaqen can be, he is also a faceless man. Perhaps more to the point, he is a man of many faces. So whether you consider yourself "Kings in the North," "Princes of the South," or "Brothers at War," Jaqen H'Ghar can be a part of your agenda. The flip side of this is that a man with many faces is a man with many enemies, especially in Westeros, where the next betrayal is always just around the corner. This means that in the post Five Kings Edition metagame, he's always going to be on the lookout for Feral Direwolves, Nightfire Converts, Pilfering Stowaways, and their ilk. Is Jaqen H'ghar up to the task at hand? We'll find out, with the release of the Sacred Bonds Chapter Pack, later this month. Valar Morghulis.
