House Targaryen is poised to return to Westeros in Fantasy Flights’ upcoming expansion for its A Game of Thrones:  The Board Game Second Edition.  The third expansion for the game, Mother of Dragons Expansion, will release in Q4.

Mother of Dragons expands the game in a number of ways, most visibly by adding an expansion to the board itself in the form of the Essos sideboard.  This board depicts the distant lands of Essos and the factions that make their home there, including the reborn House Targaryen.

This house has access to three dragons, thanks to Daenerys, which provide the backbone for their military forces.  Acting much like other armies, the dragons begin as weak fledglings but grow in strength and power over the course of the game, or until they are destroyed and permanently removed from play.  In addition to its unusual military, House Targaryen also has a unique victory condition.  Instead of earning points by capturing castles or strongholds, this house can win the game by raising up Targaryen loyalists against the other Houses.  House Arryn also becomes a playable faction in the game, with new character cards and a board overlay that depicts the Eyrie.

In addition to the two new factions, Mother of Dragons introduces a revamped system for vassal houses.  All players can now recruit vassals to aid the efforts of their House, raising forces and sending them into battle using the new Vassal House cards.  But the loyalty of the vassals can change from round to round, possibly turning against their former masters.

Rounding out the expansion is rules for the Iron Bank, which offers players access to special loan cards which grant advantages such as sellswords, tradesmen, or a Faceless Man.  Loans are bought with power tokens, and require interest payments every round.  If payments are not made, the Iron Bank will turn to the debtors rivals to get their compensation.

As an expansion, a copy of A Game of Thrones:  The Board Game is needed to use the materials in the Mother of Dragons Expansion.  MSRP for the expansion set will be $39.95.

Fantasy Flight is also expanding its A Game of Thrones:  The Card Game, in Q3 (see “Deal Yourself in to ‘A Game of Thrones: The Card Game’”).