The Ultimate Game of Thrones Threat Rankings: Who can be a Game (-of-Thrones)-changer in Season 8?

What was once a two-year wait is now (unbelievably) less than a week away from concluding, as the sun sets on the long and barren summer between Game of Thrones' Season 7 and Season 8. The last time we were in Westeros, two mainland powers remained - one more dangerous than the other - but up north, a wholly different beast had entered the fray, destroying the Wall in minutes and making a beeline for whatever stands in its path.

With the Night King having crossed the Wall, Jon and Daenerys marching together to Winterfell and Cersei holding out for one final and expensive scheme, here are contenders - people, armies, powers, beasts - and everything else that could be a Game(-of Thrones)-changer, in order of the threat they pose:

20. The Iron Fleet - Euron's fleet was imperious on the seas in Season 7, as his relatives and the Dornishmen found out quite early on. The Unsullied also had to take a long walk on this account. He's now taken his ships to bring the Golden Company to Westeros for the first time, and he still has a deal with Cersei. One thinks, however, that he's just as dangerous to her as he is to anyone else - not to be trusted. 

19. Non-Reek Theon - Is it real and will it last? Theon's off on a daredevil rescue mission. He has a few hands with him and the benefit of being able to meld in with his fellow Iron-islanders. Could he sneak up behind uncle Euron? 

18. The Hound - Sandor Clegane's not become a pious man just yet but he may need some divine help if 'Cleganebowl' - the much-looked-forward-to final battle against his brother happens.

17. Jaime Lannister - He's likely to land at Winterfell alone and be asked at least a few questions - 'Where is your sister and her Army?' first and 'What are you really up to?' second. Can he fight? He can probably help strategise and that may not sound half bad to Brienne. 

16. Tyrion Lannister - With the talking over and fighting set to begin, will Tyrion fade into the background, or is there more he can contribute? He's going to run into his wife Sansa again. Are they still married? There may be one or two jokes about this. 

15. Maester  Qyburne - Cersei's Hand has yet to fail on any count. His 'Scorpion' bolt almost brought down a fully-grown Drogon and his necromancy with a poisoned Mountain has somehow managed to make the most dangerous man in Westeros an even bigger threat. Qyburne adds an x-factor to the threat posed by the murderous Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and if nothing else, his little birds are going to keep her informed of everything that happens up north. He also appears to have an interest in the Army of the Dead, so ignore him at your peril

14. Sansa Stark - She's shown steel, killing off Littlefinger, and is probably the only one up North who views Cersei as being as big a threat as any other. She won't trust anyone - Dany included - and has proved herself to be able to take decisions on her own, often in secret, when required. 

13. The Golden Company - Twenty-thousand gilded soldiers and their elephants don't know what they're walking (sailing) into, but neither do their adversaries. The banter is likely to be fun too and one suspects they won't be so overawed facing Unsullied and Dothraki as the Lannisters were.

12. The Dragon Queen - Daenerys' invasion of Westeros hasn't turned out quite the way she'd have imagined. Rather than marching into King's Landing and taking the Iron Throne, she's had to head the other way, Dothraki, Unsullied and dragons in tow. She's got a new ally/partner, however, in Jon Snow, who is actually her nephew and has a stronger claim. She's also likely to get some ice from Sansa and Arya when she enters Winterfell. Will the most magical human in the Seven Kingdoms be able to cut through the clutter and emerge victorious? Riding atop Drogon, anything's possible.

11. Winterfell - This is where at least one of the big battles will take place - perhaps the biggest. We've already seen one battle - with Ramsey - before its gates, but the old castle now faces the biggest danger ever. Does it hide some old secrets somewhere? Is there a massive ancient dragon, for instance, that lives beneath and warms the springs that keep Winterfell warm? Likely not.

10. Melisandre - She has to die in 'this strange country'. And she seems to be coming back with something specific in mind. What is it and why? And is there some magic that she's not revealed yet? And what of her God? 

9. Arya Stark - War awaits Arya, but you get the feeling that before it comes, she's likely to have a few more desperate one-on-one battles, maybe in close quarters. She's a 'Faceless Man' and there are still people in her list. Woe to them.

8. The Mountain - Who can face him? There are a few contenders, his younger brother chief among them. But apart from Drogon tearing him in two, can he even be killed? How/If Ser Gregor Clegane meets his end is one of the biggest questions going into Season 8.

7. The Army of the Dead - There are about a hundred thousand of them. Some are giants. Some may be polar bears. Zombie war norms dictate that many thousands will be killed off at once as the living side's defences catch them unawares, but the Army of the Dead has dead to spare with the promise of picking up more along the way. Interestingly, nobody from North of the Wall has ever shown much military nous. The Wildlings didn't have a firm handle on strategy, but will the Whitewalkers run things differently?

6. Jon Snow - The King in the North will face his greatest challenge in Season 8. He's been 'noticed' by the Night King while in his element and there have already been two face-offs between them. With his true heritage likely to be made known to him at some point, Jon may come to be more than aware of the responsibility that rests on his shoulders. Long before the final battle, however, he may face a different kind of challenge - getting his sisters and the northmen to accept their new Queen!

5. Cersei's schemes - She's cornered but nobody has any time to take advantage. Cersei's already got Jon and Dany thinking that she's marching north to fight alongside them. At the end of Season 7, it is unclear what she'll do, apart from pay the Golden Company a Queen's ransom. Which way will Cersei's pendulum swing? And what of Jaime and their unborn child? Will these considerations play a part?

4. The Army of the North - There are northmen, Wildlings, the riders of the Vale, Unsullied, Dothraki and two dragons. That's a big army, perhaps the biggest we've seen comprising folks who live and breathe. They'll give their dead counterparts a run for their money, but will also end up switching sides to a certain extent, in all likelihood. 

3. The Three-Eyed-Raven - Could Bran Stark hold the key to defeating the Night King? His true nature is still unknown but one thing's clear - the greenseer holds cards that others do not. Not only can he keep the living in the know of the undead army's whereabouts but he is also capable of peering back in time and place to reveal things that others have no hope of knowing. 

2. The living Dragons - Three dragons decimated the Army of the Dead in the desperate battle up North, but things turned on their head once ol ' King Cold picked up his ice spear and downed Viserion with relative ease. Dragons in Game of Thrones are intelligent. They'll know the threat posed by ground artillery but it's the skies that they must watch out for with their undead brother flying about. Drogon's still bigger than Viserion and Rhaegal needs a rider. (Is Jon listening?)

1. The Night King and his Ice Dragon - It's a scary prospect. There's something about the Ice Dragon that's more menacing than the fire dragons. Blue flames generally also burn hotter than yellow but the mechanics of fire aren't what the living will be worried about. Can an undead dragon be burnt? Can it be shot and killed with Dragonglass? Can it be grappled with and pinned down? Can anyone contend with it now that the Night King is its rider?

Game of Thrones Season 8 debuts on Monday morning in India.