Good day Lords and Ladies. I hope the holidays were fruitful, and full of splendour. I myself ventured to the land of Fire and Ice (otherwise known as Iceland).
Guest Writer: Carly
I saw many sights that included the power of the natural titans known as volcanoes in the LAVA museum. I have never considered volcanoes as truly disruptive to the entire world until I learnt more of them, I thought to myself “Carly, you’re a fool.”
Later the same day, I read through the first book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series and came across this moment;
As the others took their accustomed seats, it struck Eddard Stark forcefully that he did not belong here, in this room, with these men. He remembered what Robert had told him in the crypts below Winterfell. I am surrounded by flatterers and fools, the king had insisted. Ned looked down the council table and wondered which were the flatterers and which the fools. He thought he knew already. “We are but five,” he pointed out.
The irony of this segment is that in fact, there are no fools on the small council. Perhaps Stark is a fool for believing so. However, knowing this, I intend to inform you of the whispers Varys’ little birds have chirped to ensure you are no fools when it comes to facing some of the lesser used commanders in the ASOIAF event at the LVO and beyond.
High Morale High Sparrow – Faith Lists Lannisters
Expand for Army List
40pt List:
Lannisport City Watch (6)
– High Sparrow (C)
Poor Fellows (4)
– Champion of the Faith (1)
Poor Fellows (4)
– Champion of the Faith (1)
The Warrior’s Sons (7)
– Champion of the Faith (1)
The Warrior’s Sons (7)
– Champion of the Faith (1)
Pycelle (4)
Petyr Baelish (4)
The power of any Faith list lies in the Morale Stat of the army. If you can pass Morale checks you’ll succeed in most of your strategies. In this list the Poor Fellows have an impressive 4+ Morale base and are put alongside the hardy knights which have become a 5+ Morale. Even if your opponent brings the best Bolton army (or Bolton lead R’hllor force) it will make little dent into the wills of the Faith. Thanks to the unwavering nerve of the army, the Sparrow’s tactics cards will be in full effect. The Champions allow you to build up Faith tokens before combat buffing them before the fight rather than after.
Oddly enough however, the City Watch unit is only a 7+ Morale which would be alarming for the force. Worries are easily put to ease once you notice the Domineering Pride ability, which means all Panic Tests are automatically passed if they are engaged in a unit with fewer ranks. I think this is a great unit in a Faith force.
But unlike Cersei, we don’t have thousands of wildfire pots ready to light them like the Blackwater. So how do you combat this force?
Before the rules update for the entire range, the army used to be quite survivable. It still has a lot of staying power, however not as much as before. Weight of dice from Critical Blow on the peasants or well placed Sundering units in the flanks of the knights will whittle the army down to nothing. However, a well timed Protection of the Father tactics card and some Faith tokens will reduce an attack on the Sons to nothing. The Poor Fellows can use Zealous Resurgence and Mercy of the Mother tactics card to heal, acting as if thousands are rioting.
Your only solution is to focus on one unit at a time, preferably surrounding to get the flank/rear bonuses. The best unit to begin with is the Sparrow’s unit due to his Embolden ability increasing the Morale of all units nearby. Anything to prevent tactics card usage will punish the army further preventing them from clawing out of the shadows of defeat.
Make Victarion Iron – Ironmaker Lists Greyjoys
Expand for Army List
40pt List:
Ironmakers (7)
– Victarion greyjoy (C)
Ironmakers (7)
– Euron Greyjoy (1)
Ironmakers (7)
– Nute (1)
Ironborn Bowmen (4)
Ironborn Bowmen (4)
Balon Greyjoy (5)
Erik Ironmaker (4)
What is dead, may never die!
Greyjoys are so fresh on the scene that I am not too sure if we are being pillaged yet. The only thing I do know is never face down a multiple Ironmaker list. Uniquely Ironmakers do not become more ferocious the more they pillage, but instead become harder to kill. Greyjoys that are defensively strong are terrifying. Each pillage token increases their Defence Dice rolls by +1, meaning once you have the max of two tokens you have a 2+ save, Critical Blow unit that can make the opponent weakened on failed saves of a 1, making it even harder to kill them.
But they need to destroy ranks to gain pillage tokens to get to that stage right? Right?!
Thanks to Euron Greyjoy one of these units just begins the game with two tokens, however every action injures the unit a little. This is a great trade off for a straightaway buffed up unit, and for a steal of one point. This isn’t to mention the order on Euron that can hand out a Condition token for a wound, using Weakens to help protect the units, or Vulnerables to help with the destruction.
You then have Erik Ironmaker, which if you haven’t guessed by the name is all about Ironmakers. His abilities allow him to pass pillage tokens from Erik onto units when he takes a spot on the tactics
board. He also gains pillage tokens when enemy NCUs take the Wealth Zone on the tactics board. Either way, By turn two, another unit is fully buffed.
That leaves the third. Bowmen are a strange unit since they don’t gain pillage tokens. They instead pass them to units within long range when they destroy a rank. Place a few Bowmen units in range to take down a few ranks, take advantage of the Combat Zone on the tactics board, and you should see the Ironmakers close to full strength by the latest turn two.
Now add in the devastating tactics deck of Victarion, that can also be used on Nute’s unit as if he was Victarion. Then add the King of Salt and Rock’s ability to bring a unit back from the dead, and you have an army more survivable than the Rose Frollockers of the Reach.
So how do you solve a problem like the Kraken? They aren’t pushovers, they aren’t slow, and they aren’t packing a tiny punch. First off, Location Location Location. Deploy your forces a little bit out of the max range of the bowmen to stave off their pillaging gifts, this will set back the defensive capabilities of the Ironmakers for a little longer.
The next thing I would consider is the one stat they aren’t doing too great in; Morale. 7+ isn’t bad, but a few modifiers to that can result in some unforeseen casualties. Take the Crown Zone on the tactics board where you can and force as many Morale checks as possible.
Cavalry is also a big factor in this fight. Greyjoys have no cavalry to speak off unless they throw in some neutrals but this seems so unlikely due to all the synergy the Greyjoy units have. If they do have cavalry it will be oddly placed in the force. Use your own cavalry, and even your faster moving units, to get into the flanks and rears of the Ironmakers to reduce that defensive save. Use the Maneuver Zone on the tactics board if you must. Add this with Vulnerable tokens and what is dead, stays dead.
Underestimated Unsullied – Unsullied Lists Targaryen
Expand for Army List
40pt List
Unsullied Pikemen (7)
– Grey Worm (C)
Unsullied Pikemen (7)
Unsullied Swordmasters (8)
– Stormcrow Lieutenant (1)
Unsullied Swordmasters (8)
– Stormcrow Lieutenant (1)
Illyrio Mopatis (4)
Tycho Nestoris (4)
“I have been to Essos and seen the Unsullied firsthand. They are very impressive on the battlefield.” – Oberyn Martell
If any review on trip advisor is to be taken seriously, it is one left by a Martell. I am sure some Lannister said that at some point. I rarely see full armies of the Unsullied played. This isn’t a bad thing as Targaryens tend to be at their best when you take a little of everything, but don’t sleep on the pure might of Grey Worm.
His tactics cards mixed with the Pikemen and Swordmasters bring in a very well organised force. Add that to the amazing stats, abilities and orders of the units and you have an army capable of taking down any threat. The true issue lies in weakness, or no weakness in this case.
Both units suffer from no bad stats. Their Morale is a 4+, they hit on 3+ (a not too frequent sight), their dice is 7 for Pikemen, 8 for the Swordmasters, and then their speed is 5.
The Pikemen are super defensive with the counterattack of Set For Charge Order and blocking of wounds from the Shield Wall Order. Couple that with Grey Worm’s Lash Out tactics card and they deal damage after the defenders attack back to the defender. A real annoying unit to try and clear.
The Swordsmen are then super offensive with the reroll of misses all the time, can never be Weakened and have Precision. Couple this with Grey Worm’s Issue Commands on the defensive Pikemen who aren’t getting into combat, to give them free Attack or Charge actions means the Swordmasters should be renamed to janitors.
The only lacking stat is the saves being a 4+ which thanks to the NCUs can be fixed with healing quite effectively. I added Stormcrows to the unit as you will likely be going for the Wealth Zone to heal and the buff of Sundering with highest dice values will ensure this unit stays strong throughout the game.
The Battle Endurance tactics card is likely to be put on to the Pikemen in an effort to make them better for combat. This will result in them being more active late game once the war of attrition catches up to the Swordmasters. And when the Swordmasters do go down, the Retribution of the Dragon will ensure an easier kill with Vulnerable tokens and earn more victory points on the unit fortunate enough to earn a small victory.
So how do you face such a stacked enemy? In my experience the player has to be on point with the synergies and they can become quite predictable. When an army moves as one it may look tough and menacing but it means they have a routine to exploit. Such as the long game. Any long ranged unit like crossbows, bowmen or siege engines will be key in shrinking the units. The Pikemens’ abilities only work when engaged, resulting in them being less than useful when they are in the open. Use the Combat Zone to increase your ranged output on these units.
Out manoeuvring the Unsullied is also a great idea, flank or rear charges into the Swordmasters will see them neutered but make sure you get rear charges onto the Pikemen as the Set For Charge Order activates in the flank. A good way to deal with this is to bring along some cheeky Zorse Riders as they can take away the buffs of the unsullied when attacking anywhere but head on. There are other units, attachments and tactics cards that can take away orders and abilities. The Lannister Turncloak or the Stark tactic card Winter Is Coming are great examples.
These are just some of the forces threatening our borders my Lords and Ladies. Do keep me informed of your experiences facing these forces, and as soon as I hear of other lurking troubles from the little birds, I will bring it to your attention.
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