In A Game of Thrones Second Edition there is an optional rule variant to use the included Tides of Battle (TOB) cards.
However, the rule book does not mention what is to be done with the discards.
We have been playing that after each battle, all the TOB cards are returned to the deck and it is reshuffled, such that each battle will have the same random chances of getting each card, the only exception being that when the Valyrian Steel Blade is used to draw a new card, the old card is not returned to the deck until after the combat, with the rest of the TOB cards.
I think the way we are playing is correct, because I don't think that the way one battle was fought should influence another in any meta-type way. However, some of the players in my group think that the cards should be discarded into a discard pile (like every other deck of cards in the game) and only when it is empty should they be reshuffled.
This would drastically change the way combat is played out, as players would remember the previous TOB cards drawn and know what advantages and disadvantages they might have in combat.
What is the official verdict on this? Should the cards be reshuffled each battle to create a more balanced system of combat, or should they only be reshuffled when they run out, so as to create much less balanced and much more calculated battles?
