We are one week away from having three months with the 2022 season updates and there are already some pretty clear standout Commanders ruling the roost. Just by merely picking these Commanders do you stand a better chance at performing well. Let’s check them out.
Thanks to ASOIAF-Stats for providing the statistics for the game.
Free Folk – Mance
Mance Rayder – 61% for a Win
“Mance has cunning. He was raised a crow, you know, and the crow’s a tricksy bird.” – Tormund Giantsbane
Mance has rocketed to best Commander for the Free Folk due to the NCU changes allowing one of his cards to become more applicable. Alongside high activations and the Predictable Maneuvers tactics cards you will be able to out position the opponent and out activate them, allowing you to act around everything the opponent has done in the turn. Further to this most of the units taken are Free Folk Raiders which do not give points for destroying the unit and get reduced cost on attachments such as Walrus Chieftains for a better defence. Frozen Shore Chariots and Trappers show up often, this is due to their cheap points cost as well as the Chariots being capable of doing more damage and the Trappers have the Hidden traps order to help support the rest of the force.
A war of attrition is the long game for Mance however armies with high armour and morale swing the odds in their favour such as Baratheons and Night’s Watch.
Night’s Watch – Donal
Donal Noye – 62% for a Win
“His treasures were his tools, and the swords and knives he made. His life was at the forge.” – Jon Snow
What’s one way to reduce the threat of lance cavalry, Dothraki hordes and fire arrows? An army built purely around defence. Donal’s cards are all used to prevent the loss of a unit, block hits and improve saves is the theme. Donal works well with anything needing the Coins Zone for benefits, all the Senior Builders and Attachment Othell improve the saves as well. Adding NCUs like Aemon and Tycho to further heal, or Bowen and Jeor trying to draw Donal’s cards increases this further.
Any army able to get into the flank of these units to reduce the effectiveness of the defence would be crucial, units with further benefits such as token placement and Sundering will further deplete the abilities of Donal. Surprisingly, if you can out defend against Donal you are likely to do very well, for example Eldon Estermont brings the percentage chance to win down for Donal by 12%. Armies focusing on morale damage do also tend to do well, specifically Roose Lannisters or R’hllor Stannis.
Baratheons – Stan 2 and Eldon
Stannis Baratheon, One True King – 58% for a Win
“I have felt from the beginning that Stannis was a greater danger than all the others combined.” – Tywin Lannister
Speaking of units high in defence, the Queen’s Men with Commander One True King Stannis is a combo that is unkillable, the Baratheon Conviction mixed with Dauntless results in the unit healing 3 wounds everytime they pass a morale, add this to the 3+ armour they have and it’s incredibly unlikely you will kill them. The army is then backed up by Lightbringers and Melisandre to do large amounts of damage via morale tests, and they work very well with the popular choice of R’hllor Faithful feeding their Faith Tokens. Another popular choice is the Dragonstone Nobles and Champions of the Stag, these are fast moving for Baratheons and hard to skill activations. The play seems to be to stay alive long enough to slowly destroy the opponent with morale tests.
Eldon Estermont – 62% for a Win
“It takes a certain cunning to reach his age.”
As mentioned with Donal, high defence results in a powerful army. Eldon takes this to a different level. His abilities allows the unit he is in to become more survivable with Hardened whilst helping the army do more damage handing out Vulnerable tokens. His cards help defend with Martial Superiority, be more efficient late game with Battle Endurance and either have an avenue to further victory points or increase the combat prowess of units with Hefty Ransom. He is often taken with Cortnay and Margery for healing to further prevent the loss of units and activations, furthermore Champions of the Stag, a notoriously unkillable unit are utilised a lot in this army. Even units that are hard to keep alive appear in this army, Thorn Watch and Bolton Bastard’s Girls appear frequently.
Notable Mentions
Loras Tyrell – 60% for a Win
“The Knight of Flowers was still half a boy, arrogant and vain, but he had it in him to be great, to perform deeds worthy of the White Book.” – Jaime Lannister
As proved with Eldon, improving the defensive capabilities of the army as well as the combat prowess is a recipe for a great Commander. Expert Duelist and Dauntless helps the unit Loras is in to become all round better, his cards are purely defensive with the healing of Growing Strong, and the counter defence of Overgrowth and Loved by Smallfolk.
Khal Drogo – 55% for a Win
“This seller of poisons ran from the moon of my life. Better he should run after her.” – Khal Drogo
I was surprised the percentage chance for Khal Drogo to win wasn’t higher. He has become a dominant presence in the game brutally steam rolling through many units, it feels like there is no way to prevent his brutality and you need to play around his eventual murder spree. With the recent Baratheon changes and resilience being a strong way to design the army wouldn’t have helped the Great Khal.
Vargo Hoat, Night’s Watch – 57% for a Win
“The goat is Lord of Harrenhal, and the Lord of Harrenhal does not haggle.” – Qyburn
A rising star in the ranks of the crows is the Goat of Harrenhal. A few powerful combos have been discovered with the faction and a form of Expert Duelist is welcomed in the faction. He is slowly becoming more prevalent and I imagine he will be picked more in the coming months.
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