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In Season 6, we find out the following about the magical properties of the wall:

BENJEN: This is where I leave you.

BRAN: You're not coming with us?

BENJEN: The Wall is not just ice and stone. Ancient spells were carved into its foundations. Strong magic to protect men from what lies beyond. And while it stands, the dead cannot pass. I cannot pass.
—"Winds of Winter" (Game of Thrones, S06E10)

So why would the men of Westeros need to worry about the Night King and his army? Couldn't they sit back and enjoy the wall's protection?

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    A Wall is just as strong as the men manning it - Tywin Lannister
    – Aegon
    Aug 21, 2017 at 12:09
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    There are legends about Horn of Joramun which can supposedly bring down the wall. Wildlings didn't find it but accidentally let lose the spirits defeated 8000 years ago. So it is possible that the spirits might have the horn. Plus we know NK can cause tremors in the ground from show-verse so maybe he can do it front of the wall too and bring it crashing down
    – Aegon
    Aug 21, 2017 at 12:11
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    @Aegon: Benjen specifically mentioned strong magic as the reason. That has nothing to do with the men manning it (who seem to be unaware of this magic, at least it doesn't get mentioned in the show except by Benjen). Tywin was not talking about a magical ice wall, he was talking about a normal castle wall. And even then, his statement is an exaggeration. A wall made of paper is considerably less useful than a wall made of stone. I know that's an extreme example, but you're taking Tywin's words much more literally than intended.
    – Flater
    Aug 21, 2017 at 14:33
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    @Flater The Wall indeed has magic thanks to CotF. I am just pointing out that just because they have a Wall doesn't mean they don't have to defend it against its enemies. And if the physical defense fails, Magical defense will also faulter
    – Aegon
    Aug 21, 2017 at 14:41
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    "while it stands"
    – Taladris
    Aug 22, 2017 at 3:04

3 Answers 3

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In your question you provide an answer:

And while it stands, the dead cannot pass.

There's nothing that says that the night's king won't be able to tear down the wall or undo the magic.

As it is, the wildlings were almost able to punch through the wall. If they had a bigger force or, perhaps, a dragon, they'd be able to significantly damage the wall.

It's reasonable to think that the Night's King has magic of his own, since he creates undead beings and other white walkers.

Edit: As shown in the last episode from season 7, the Night King used the Wight Dragon to blow through the East wall with it's special dragon fire. So it does look like the dragon was the key to it.

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    I'm pretty sure at some point this season they discussed the army of the dead going around the wall at some castle. Aug 21, 2017 at 19:42
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    “If they had a bigger force or, perhaps, a dragon, they'd be able to significantly damage the wall.” That’s ridiculous! The wall’s made of ice! You can’t just get a dragon to melt it awa... oh dear. Aug 22, 2017 at 8:05
  • Good call spacertyper. Aug 29, 2017 at 15:35
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Sure, Benjen can not pass the wall, but that does not mean that the Night King and his army can't.

  • The wall have an end, in the sea. But White Walkers could frozen the sea, and get around the wall
  • The Night King’s mark on Bran was done to help him penetrate the Cave of the Three-eyed Raven, maybe they can now pass the wall.
  • The Wall is not the only magical item

    In the books, the Horn of Winter, A.K.A. Horn of Joramun is a magic horn with magical properties, as woke giants from earth or make the Wall collapse

  • They have another tool :

    They resurrected Viserion, so maybe they can use a dragon to melt the Wall

  • The last but not the least (and plausible because D&D) enter image description here
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    Will Viserion still breath fire? A creature of ice, which is supposedly to be destroyed on contact with fire, breathing fire itself? I find that hard to believe
    – Aegon
    Aug 21, 2017 at 13:05
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    the same can be said for the horn : not a single mention on the tv show, but it would not be the first deus ex machina plot twist of the season. While both solutions seems unlikely at the first sight, a single reminder of what happen during season 7 is enough to reconsider the probability of this event to occur.
    – Kepotx
    Aug 21, 2017 at 13:28
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    Some of our comments seems to be deleted, can I ask why ? i really don't see the point, they were not spoilers, or agressive...
    – Kepotx
    Aug 21, 2017 at 14:36
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    @Aegon: Dragon fire is different from normal fire (as the Walkers are immune to the latter, but not the former). Zombie Viserion may breathe something else (the term "frozen flame" comes to mind), which is functionally equivalent to dragonfire in the sense that it destroys the wall. No one in this answer has claimed that zombie Viserion will be using "normal" dragonfire. We can't know that yet, but it stands to reason that he will thematically be an ice dragon.
    – Flater
    Aug 21, 2017 at 14:37
  • @Kepotx : Comments are for asking questions about an answer, suggesting problems with the answer, or suggesting improvements to the answer. They are not for general chat (use chat for that). If you really want to find out, ask in Meta. Aug 22, 2017 at 7:01
-2

They have giants. Giants plus walls equals:

We've seen it happen in GoT too:

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    I know you went for the Attack on Titan reference, but the giants in Game of Thrones cannot break The Wall, as was shown in season 4 episode 9.
    – LeonX
    Aug 22, 2017 at 14:40

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