If you approach any ASOIAF player and ask them “What is the faction you most want next?” they will nine times out of ten respond with one of three factions; Martells, The Vale or The Others.
Seeing that the developers of the game have said the units and characters are designed based off of the book, it’s hard to imagine them releasing these factions anytime soon due to the lack of detail in the books that would support Commanders, Attachments, NCUs and Units. At the same time, I do think there is enough information for a specific faction to be supported before these well sought after forces make it to the table.
Guest Writer – Carly
The Masters of Essos
Targayren’s have been a welcome inclusion into the game but have lacked a specific thorn in their side for a while. Whilst a Dothraki horde led be Khal Ogo or a Stormcrow force representing the mercenaries of Slaver’s Bay are brilliant oppositions for a lore friendly game, we have one faction that is teeming with details of wondrous designs and niche concepts that it has to be coming at some point. Slave units already exist in some fashion in the game with the Freedmen and the Drowned Men, you could even include the Poor Folk unit in that description too. Then you have the mounted camel riders, the siege weapons bombarding Meereen towards the end of the fifth book, Ghiscari Legions, forces of Qarth which we have two models for already, Pentos, Lys etc. The point is that there are plenty of unit boxes for the force, although very little in terms of names for characters to lead the force or work in the background to secure political prowess.
Starter Set Example
2x Yunkai Slave Soldiers
1x Astapor Mounted Guards
1x Ghiscari Legionnaires
Grazdan mo Eraz, Envoy of the Wise Master of YunkaiGrazdan mo Ullhor, the Good Master of Astapor Oznak zo Pahl, Champion of MeereenHizdahr zo Loraq
The Good/Wise/Great Masters
The Good Masters of Astapor, the Wise Masters of Yunkai and the Great Masters of Meereen need to be the first commanders for the faction due to their importance in the story. Bringing Ghis, Qarth of Mercenary commanders this early would be a bad move, build the foundations then expand.
Astapor
Grazdan mo Ullhor is a member of the Astapor council and was the character that took prominence in the show, short lived and died thanks to Rakharo’s arrows. He would be perfect to lead the Unsullied units of the faction and represent the council. Another commander is Kraznys mo Nakloz who insults Dany in High Valyrian not knowing she speaks the language, he died to the breath of Drogon. NCUs could be the other members of the council literally referred to as Fat One, Spiked Beard and Tall One. Another commander/attachment is Cleon, who was once Grazdan’s butcher, and then overthrows the ruling council established by Daenerys and is crowned king.
There are actually a lot more characters than usual for this faction but units are where this force lacks. We could have Unsullied units in here, perhaps less quality than the Targaryen version. You could have pit fighters from Douquor’s Pit and Jothiel’s Pit which could act similar to the Mountain’s Men. Mounted Astapori guards are specifically mentioned in the history of this city and the description of demonic look could be perfect for a unique unit for this subfaction, rules similar to the Flayed Men for these. One last thing to mention is there has to be a Tactics Card with the Astapor words “Bricks and blood built Astapor, and bricks and blood her people.”
Yunaki
Grazdan mo Eraz comes to mind to represent the Wise Masters. He was the envoy sent to bribe Daenerys to leave Slaver’s Bay. Next Yurkhaz zo Yunzak, Supreme Commander of the Armies and Allies of Yunkai, was key in the campaign the masters set in motion to destroy everything Daenerys has built over the books. A more combat focused commander would be key for flavour in the faction. Yezzan zo Qaggaz, known as the Yellow Whale for his immense size and yellow clothing gives me huge Baron Harkonnen vibes from Dune. There are plenty of NCU characters from the city here as well.
There are more characters than usual for this faction. Highborn Warriors are mentioned in the histories of the city, there can be some foot soldiers here but there are plenty of references to them riding horses but more importantly Camels. Camel Riders, I don’t need to say anymore to know you want that unit. There are mentions of Crossbowmen and Slingers, I would prefer to see the latter here so we don’t get bloated with crossbows. There is talk here of a large slave army too. So in the end a few nuique units can be made from this faction.
Meereen
Now the hardest thing this city has to offer is the characters. There is a lot you can choose for the army but most don’t have specific names. However I do believe we can innovate by creating a large NCU piece with multiple characters on it the size of a cavalry base to represent a litter Solo unit/Attachment to be the first Solo Commander. Either way you can make three different Commanders or NCUs for these people. Oznak zo Pahl (as previously mentioned) was the commander of the Meereen forces and was the champion chosen to fight Belwas. Perfect for a Commander and an Attachment card. Hizdahr zo Loraq is the lucky man to marry the Mother of Dragons but has been heavily theorised to be the one funding the Sons of the Harpy and poisoning Belwas which is enough to see him imprisoned by Selmy’s hand. He would make a perfect NCU for this faction working within the enemy’s ranks.
For Meereen we can go with the forces of House Pahl as the leader of the house commands the forces of Meereen. However a more well known unit would be the Sons of the Harpy, a dagger wielding unit with little armour but loads of attack dice at low quality would be perfect for this unit. In the final book the forces of Essos have built siege weapons such as catapults, scorpions, and tall trebuchets giving us a few warmachine options for the army.
Qarth, Ghis and Others
Multiple Ghis Legions were sent to help take back Slaver’s Bay and with them they have war Elephants. A very unique looking army, they utilise shield walls and are led by serjeants in iron halfhelm similar to Unsullied. Qarth brings its own troops but in particular their Camel riders and plenty of characters. Elyrian crossbowmen, Tolosi slingers and even Dothraki. Plenty of units of all shapes and sizes that can be brought to the table. Heroes Boxes may seem impossible, however a box focused on the Council of Thirteen for Qarth would work. There is a lot to discover here considering these battles are accumulating in the next book, until then CMON has a rough idea how to design the units not of the Masters.
Mercenary Companies
These units and characters could just be neutral units added into the game. However, just like the Stormcrows, you can give them dual cards for the Masters faction. Units made from the Second Sons, Windblown, Long Lances and the Company of the Cat could help bulk out the game as a whole. You can make a commander for each of these factions, Bloodbeard for the Company of the Cat, Kasporio/Ben Plumm/Mero for the Second Sons, and Windblown Caggo Corpsekiller to name a few.
Whatever will be released, they are coming to slay the Mother and her Dragons, using bricks and their blood to rebuild Astapor, and bricks and blood will be Asatpor’s people.
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