HBO Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne - The Wars to Come

The Wars to Come is an expansion for the base game, Game of Thrones: the iron throne, and increases the player count of the base game from 3-5 to 3-7 players.This expansion includes two new houses, Martell and Greyjoy, and a new deck of Ally cards. Each house has their own focus with examples like Greyjoy being able to return from the dead, or Martell being able to poison a player to eliminate a card from their hand. The Ally Cards are the primary reason for this expansion as they give new options for rewards and actions. At the start of the game players are each given one ally card. Ally cards are not a part of a player's hand, so they cannot be taken hostage. Any number of Ally cards can be played as long as the criteria for them being played occurs. Players are able to obtain new Ally cards by choosing them as a reward or asking for them in a truce.This is a must have expansion for Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne base game as it not only increases the player count, but the Ally cards completely reinvent the game. Ally cards now allow players to possibly win an attack by themselves, or be a little more hesitant on picking a fight. Also, it makes players joining the defensive side of a battle more viable as getting an Ally card reward is fantastic. Players will not take an Ally card for winning an attack, since placing an influence marker is a better reward, but defense rewards needed a better option. The base game was not great as the limited player count and choices made for a straightforward "whose going to get picked on" game, this expansion changes all of that. This is a much needed expansion for anyone that enjoyed the base game, or simply felt that the base game was missing something.For teaching the game, this is an expansion that can easily be inserted in the base game so players should not feel they have to teach a basic game before incorporating the Ally cards. Emphasize the criteria on when a player can play an Ally card as some are very specific. To help with this criteria, recommend a player, usually the teacher, should announce each phase of the game out loud so players can realize when their moment for playing a card has arisen.