These Illustrated "Game Of Thrones" Playing Cards Are Amazing

Khaleesi is Queen (of Diamonds).

Illustrator Amanda Penley is designing a set of playing cards with Game of Thrones characters on them, and they're pretty perfect:

Amanda Penley

The suit of Spades is House Stark, with Ned as the King, Sansa as the Queen, Arya as the Jack, and Jon Snow as the Joker.

Amanda Penley

Ned's sword is a nod to his decapitation, Sansa's bird is a reference to her nickname ("little bird"), and Arya is holding Needle. Jon Snow is the Joker because Penley views "him as a wildcard, especially because we're not sure of his heritage, or what will become of him."

House Targaryen is the suit of Diamonds, with Khal Drogo as the King, Daenerys (Khaleesi) as the Queen, and Missandei and Jorah as two halves of the Jack.

Amanda Penley

"House Targaryen as the Suit of Diamonds. Diamond suit represents fire, judgement, and career. Fitting for our Queen." Drogo is shown with his curved sword, while Daenerys is holding a dragon egg.

The suit of Hearts is House Lannister, with Joffrey as the King, Cersei and Jaime as two halves of the Queen, and Tyrion as the Jack.

Amanda Penley

Joffrey's wine is a nod to his death, Tyrion's quill represents his wits, and Cersei and Jaime share a card because they are twins.

House Baratheon is the suit of Clubs, with Robert as the King, Melisandre as the Queen, and Stannis as the Jack.

Amanda Penley

"House Baratheon as the suit of Clubs. Clubs represent, fire, debauchery, and war." Robert is holding a flagon of wine, while Melisandre is wielding fire.

Petyr Baelish (Littlefinger) is the other Joker, while Varys is the Ace of Diamonds (for his loyalty to the Targaryens).

Amanda Penley

Amanda Penley

"Petyr Baelish is the other wild card, lord knows where he will end up."

Meanwhile, Bran Stark is the Ace of Spades, Brienne of Tarth is the Ace of Clubs, and Margaery Tyrell is the Ace of Hearts.

Bran's card features a raven and warg eye, while Margaery's rose represents the Tyrells.

Penley told BuzzFeed about her inspiration for the project and how she decided which character to put on each card:

I keep a running list of project ideas, and one day it hit me — the four main houses of Game of Thrones and the four suits in a deck could be related. It made so much sense because there are kings, queens, and more — perfect for a tale riddled with rulers.

I initially drafted out all the Kings for the cards. And I did my research: all of the four suits represent different things. For instance, spades represent winter and death, so it's only fitting for the spade suit to be the Starks. The diamonds suit represents fall, fire, and rebirth — so again, how perfect for the Targaryen troupe? With the club suit, clubs represent summer and debauchery — guess who? The Baratheons. And finally, the heart suit represents love (and no matter how twisted — the Lannisters will do anything for love).

Penley hasn't finished the numbered cards yet but eventually would like to turn the designs into real, physical cards that could be used in a card game.

Amanda Penley

"I'd love to get these created, because I want people to experience and enjoy these cards. I also think this would be a great opportunity to create a card game based off these!"

You can find more of Penley's work on her website or Tumblr.

Amanda Penley