A few weeks ago I spoke about how there were several characters that, just like Walder Frey, are late to the battlefield. From Edmure Tully to Podrick Payne several characters should have been released before the likes of Devan Seaworth and the soon to be everywhere Patchface. But what about the units? Where are some of the missing forces so prominent in the books early on?
Starks (Riverlands)
It’s hard to be disappointed with the Stark units as they are so varied. Mormonts, Umbers, Reeds, Karstarks and Tullys all bring a different flavour to the fury of the North. However, being a Tully advocate I can’t help but become jealous at Renly Baratheon and his Highgarden allies. Soon the Reach will have two more units in the Pikemen and light cavalry to add to the Rose Knights and the Thorn Watch. On top of that they also have several characters from the Reach that can make a pure Reach force and not be laughable. However, the Riverlands have two units, and two Commanders both the Blackfish, where is Edmure? Hoster? Mallisters? The Riverlands are often forgotten in their strength due to them being united with the King in the North however they are their own Kingdom but are treated the same if not worse than smaller houses dedicated to the North.
What can CMON do? Personally, I would love to see the Riverlands and the Reach become their own factions, however this may result in the existing units not being usable in the current factions. Thus I would create cards similar to the Stormcrow units; a Neutral card and a Targaryen card. Then release the two Kingdoms as their own factions with these units being a part of them. If CMON chooses to not do this then we need to see the love for some of the Riverlords like what they have done for the Mormonts and Karstarks of late. Perhaps some Seaguard units for House Mallister, or some scouts for House Vance to represent their vanguard deployment at the Golden Tooth.
Of course the game is planned to go for years more and there are Stark Houses not yet touched like the Glovers and Manderlys, but since the Riverlands is the main focus for warfare in the beginning of the story, I would have expected somewhat more focus on their units and characters.
Lannisters
Lannisters always have plentiful characters to pull from and soon it will be mainly those from the book to contend with. However, there are plenty of units from both the show and books that should be produced for the game.
The first two units are only fuel for me to chant Halfman over and over again. A unit of Blackwater Defenders would be really neat for Tyrion Commander but having them side-by-side with Mountain Clansmen would be brilliant, a truly lore friendly force for Tyrion to lead. You could feasibly go over the top with the Mountain Clansmen with all the tribes getting separate units, however I would feel it best to instead release maybe an attachment box with Clansman attachments that change this one unit to fit with the style of each tribe. The Defenders feel like more of the same with Guardsmen but it’s nice to imagine Lannisters who don’t despise Tyrion but cheer him.
With Adam Marbrand Commander releasing and being titled Captain of the Gold Cloaks, it should be obvious that a unit of the shifting allegiance City Watch aren’t too far behind them. It also feeds into the missing characters with no sign of Janos Slynt or Ironhand anywhere, furthermore I am blown away that we got City Watch for Lannisport before Gold Cloaks when they were so crucial to the fall of the Stark power in King’s Landing and the defensie of the city against the forces of Stannis. It’s obvious they should be added to the game and I hope it is one of the units CMON teased they had left to bring out in 2022.
Neutrals
Ah, the faction that is technically a faction but not quite actually a faction. A few months ago I made an article about a Neutral Starter set idea with the Freys. I still stand by that article being the best way to forge a pure Neutral faction into something substantial whilst also bringing another crucially important House into the game. Again I would like to repeat that a Frey release, whilst poetically late, should be focused on being implemented. I am honestly quite shocked we are getting Golden Company before them when they haven’t done much in both the show and the books. Walder Frey has played a massive role in the NCU game and is still quite substantial in his current state, give him a unit to carry out his murderous betrayals.
There is another potentially Neutral release that feels missing; The Brotherhood Without Banners. I can understand why anything relating to the Brotherhood isn’t in the game due to their complex loyalties, however not having Beric Dondarion or Thoros of Myr is too much for me to handle. I want to play games where Beric is hunting down the Mountain for vengeance, or even better, a Lady Stoneheart model to enact the judgement on the Boltons. Perhaps it can be as simple as restricting them to being a pure affiliation army or even a card discussing which units aren’t allowed to be in a BWB force. I am unsure how to write the list building here but I am sure they are late to the game.
What units or even characters do you want to be put into the game soon?
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