Out of the frying pan, and into the fire. Fresh after a small Martell Leak comes the announcement of several releases throughout the 2022 year. I think I will refer to this as the 2022 Road Map as each quarter release will shake up the game immensely.
Q1
Lannister Starter Set
Stark Starter Set
Mormont Bruisers
Shadow Tower Spearmen
House Harlaw Reapers
Greyjoys Heroes 2
Frozen Shore Bear Riders
Most people are already enjoying the spoils of the first quarter releases. However, some territories still do not have these boxes, and many others from the previous year. In my experience, it seems the UK is the last to get releases, however we are currently enjoying the Lannister Starter Set, it is a shame that we did not get the Stark at the same time, although there are a lucky few who did manage to find some. Greyjoys Heroes 2 is an important release and most have been dining in splendour over the rules. Besides this the other boxes have not been used much in games to warrant a dive into their capabilities yet, however I am sure there will be some commotion over their uses shortly.
Q2
Stark Heroes 3
Karstark Loyalists
Lannister Heroes 3
Night’s Watch Heroes 3
Free Folk Heroes 3
Golden Company Crossbowmen
Highgarden Pikemen
Riders of Highgarden
Drowned Men
The second quarter of the year is jam packed with redefining boxes. Lannisters have been slipping to irrelevance recently and Heroes 3 might be all they need to climb back up that ladder, I can see many Mountains riding. A fresh update for Starks too, a smorgasbord of heroes that seems to make up different themes are around the corner, a Karstark Commander with another Karstark unit leaves me particularly curious about their overall playstyle.
They aren’t the only faction getting more heroes, however I do consider the line-up a big dud. Free Folk Heroes 3 is filled with characters that all ventured over The Wall with Tormund. Not super memorable characters and I am unsure what they will bring to shake up the Free Folk as they stand right now, the box will sell well however based on there being a boar and a Wildling Jon. Night’s Watch Heroes 3 has a similar dilemma, the characters aren’t that impactful, Yoren and Edd are my standouts but Cotter Pyke and Denys Mallister are a different kettle of fish. Being an officer of Eastwatch and Commander of the Shadow Tower may suggest their playstyles and future releases for the faction. With a Shadow Tower unit already in the game, perhaps we will see Mallister synergise well with them? And from there another unit perhaps, alongside a Eastwatch unit. Certainly food for thought.
The rest of the quarter is broken up by long leaked units that people are dying to get a hold of. Stannis has had a long moment in the son with a wealth of releases but Renly is laughing to the Iron Bank with a stellar light cavalry unit and cheap five point Pikemen. Expect them to “Grow Strong” throughout the second half of the year. Long leaked Drowned Men feel like you have caught the Golden Snitch, they are a cheap support unit to the faction that will increase the quality of your glass hammer, but do also come with an incredibly defensive attachment in the Drowned Priest. Expect to see these in some form in every Greyjoy list. Whereas these three boxes are amazing for their factions, a major let down is the Golden Company Crossbowmen, expensive for what they do, you should just grab the Stormcrow Archers if you’re struggling for ranged support.
Q3
Golden Company Swordsmen
Golden Company Elephants
Casterly Rock Honour Guard
Varamyr Sixskins
Targaryen Heroes 3
Baratheon Heroes 3
Baratheon Heroes 4
Martell Starter Set
Sand Skirmishers
Sunspear Royal Guard
Sunspear Dervishes
Martell Heroes 1
After the crazy shake up of the second quarter, I did not fathom how they could top it, and by God they did it. The full release of the Golden Company is exciting but with the lacklustre reveal of the crossbows I hope these are not let downs. The Elephants will be a huge balancing problem for CMON let’s hope they have prepared well for this release. Biggest announcement of the event is Varamyr, so many discussions over what his rules, tray and models will look like with nothing being for certain. However, there is one thing everyone can agree on, he will look phenomenal.
The three Heroes Boxes again shake up the game, and maybe just in time for the LGT. Targaryen Heroes 3 brings in obvious inclusions like Missandei, Dany’s Translator, and Hizdahr zo Loraq, the Husband of Daenerys, but also some unusual inclusions like Mirri Maz Duur the Shepard Witch that killed Drogo and Marselen the Commander of the Mother’s Men. But unexpectedly we are getting Skahaz mo Kandaq of the Brazen Beasts and Quaithe, amazing inclusions for book fans. Sadly they announced another Daenerys model in this box and it’s hard to imagine what else they haven’t done with her that requires another release.
Baratheons see a brilliant upgrade for both Loyalties. A mounted King Stannis model makes my mind implode with possibilities, whilst a Maester Cressen fulfils my Maester filled hole in the game for now, but shock and horror came upon me with the announcement of Patchface being in the box, I guess it was only a matter of time before we started to see the fools of Westeros enter the game. The bigger reveal was the Rainbow Guard of King Renly, this is all I have ever wanted from Renly, a chance to utilise the Rainbow Guard after George pulled the rug out from under my feet and destroyed them before they could do another awesome in the books. Everyone is in consensus, this unit will be like Lannister Heroes 2 making a whole unit from attachments to wander the field. What an epic stand off would it be to see Renly’s Rainbow Guard fight Joffrey’s Kingsguard?
At long last, a new faction is brought to the game, the most anticipated faction of all time; House Martell. Queue the Dune Soundtrack now please. The starter contains two units not getting a solo box release so those that tend to buy two boxes might see a grand opportunity here. Inside are Sand Skirmishers, Spearmen and Dune Vipers, with the hero line up being; Doran Martell, Oberyn Martell, Ellaria Sand and Aero Hotah (What a legend). Alongside them we will see the Sand Skirmishers, Sunspear Dervishes, Sunspear Royal Guard and Martells Heroes 1 released. The heroes box contains the Sand Snakes, Obara, Nymeria, Tyene and Ellia Sand, along with A political version of Oberyn and his loyal ally Harmen Uller. I feel pretty chuffed predicting two models for Oberyn, and we all know this character will become the most played in the game let alone the faction. There isn’t much to go off in terms of rules here but we will just have to wait to see what the dune’s of Dorne hold.
Q4 and Beyond
“Many More Releases on the Scheduled, right now with logistics some of these releases may slip to later quarters or earlier.” Nothing is announced currently for the fourth quarter, however CMON did mention they had other releases that could arrive early or later due to logistical issues. Knowing that there are more releases that were not mentioned fills me with hope that this could be the most packed year for the game yet. The representative for CMON also says that they have plans for many more years so if you did not get your favourite model of faction announced, I am more than sure CMON has a plan for those.
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