The Martells are right around the corner with copies of the Starter Set showing up at distributors across the globe. With that in mind the other highly anticipated great House of Westeros has had no hint of being brought into the fold. However, do not go making a claim for Warden of the East so quickly as the folks at Board Man Gaming have made homebrew rules for the faction.
Background – Why are they important?
House Arryn is one of the great Houses of Westeros and controls one of the largest forces in Westeros due to the War of the Five Kings, and their Neutrality to the conflict. The Eyrie’s power has exchanged hands during the books from Lysa Arryn to little Robert Arryn or actually Petyr Baelish, to what seems like will be Sansa Stark and Harry Hardyng. The politics is strong in the East with the Lords Declarant amassing a blockade against Petyr’s influence, to the discussion of succession with the plot to make Sansa the ruler.
The warriors of the Vale are regarded as the Knights of the Vale and heavy armour and cavalry are their calling card. Their kingdom resides in the most impregnable region, and there are actions in motion to improve their strength.
Since the game is built around the ‘What If?’ scenarios after the death of Robert Baratheon, at any point the Vale could join in the conflict and aid any faction. In the books they didn’t, but on the tabletop, it is you who decides their motives.
How the Faction Works
The faction is very defensive whilst having high quality stats for combat. They can produce a lot of tokens consistently through Tactics Cards, Attachments, or some units on their own. There is no manipulation of the Tactics Board or Units that other factions may have; I do believe this is perfect as this represents how the Vale never got involved in any of the conflicts in Westeros. The only time this change is based on the Commander or Characters you take as they bring their personalities to the table.
The Tactics Deck is incredibly unique. There are three cards (6 because two of each) called Stone, Snow, and Sky. When you play each card, you put a token and then put the card aside. Once you have played one of each you play one of either Giant’s Lance or Alyssa’s Tears which gives a powerful immediate effect. I love this and would love every faction to have something like this. Allies of Convenience is a card only used with Mountain Clansmen which we will look at in another article as they are a whole faction in and of their own.
Main Units
Arryn Guards – Showcase the knight aesthetic with the full suit of armour knights are known for. I love the Vantage Point rule which has the flavour of keeping out of the fight plotting until the right moment. For 5pts these guys are great.
Falcon Knights – A unit like the Arryn Guards but to pack a bigger punch. The combo of the Morale Test and Dauntless amazes me, as this should be in the game it is so perfect. Unsure if it should be 7pts though.
Keepers of the Gate – A different flavour of the Spear infantry but keeping the familiar Set for Charge Order. The Poleaxe design is neat and would fit into the game with giving the unit a unique feel, unlike other units in the game, cough cough Shadow Tower Spearmen cough cough.
Arryn Crossbowmen – I love the idea that these are a glass hammer unit. Holding a powerful punch in return for a weak survivability is a good play to keep a unit relevant. I do enjoy the backstory on the card here.
Knights of the Vale – Ouch! An 8pt unit that will be taken often due to how much the name of this unit identifies with the faction. High points cost but packs a punch without needing support due to the stats and tokens it can put out.
There are a few other units, but we will cover these in other articles later.
Main Characters
We will only be talking about a few characters due to their being so many available here.
Petyr Baelish, Devious Conniver (NCU) – We all love Neutral Petyr, and it will be hard to beat his rules. This 5pt version does not do that due to it being a slightly different version of Alester Florent. For 1pt more you have one less order token to use to change NCUs from Tactics Zones, unlike Alester who does it after he has taken a zone, Petyr does it before he takes a zone. Meaning you can take any zone with Petyr by using his order tokens. Is this better than Neutral Petyr for an extra point? Truly I am unsure, only one way to find out though.
Lord Protector of the Vale (Commander) – A Commander Baelish! Okay you have my attention. Petyr adds the Card and Ability manipulation missing from the army with his Cunning Strategy and Counterplot, then his Knowledge is Power and False Agenda. Parlay gives a neat trick controlling activations. I do think he is a perfect Commander for the faction.
Harrold Hardyng, The Heir (NCU) – Not a crazy NCU, Weakened token generator as well as making sure you have the Letters Zone. He is very much an auto-talk with Petyr Baelish Commander, and perhaps this was on purpose since he is crucial to Littlefinger’s plans. Not an impressive player in the game.
The Young Falcon (Attachment) – Equally unimpressive rules for an Attachment. As much as Reckless Heroism can be situationally helpful, that an Embolden does not equate to 2pts and becomes worth it. NCU is better but only with Petyr. However, the rules lore wise, fit perfectly.
Lord Declarant (Attachment) – This is an odd placement. This character could be perfect for an NCU. The first NCU that acts as an unnamed NCU. Lord Declarants were a group of lords in the Vale that came together to block Baelish from taking control of the Vale after Lysa was killed. Baelish was given a year to prove himself to the Lord Declarants. However, Supply Aid for these guys as Attachments works just as well, especially for 1pt.
Cavalry Captain (Attachment) Turning your Cavalry from heavy hitters to one many armies in the blink of an eye. The mobility and selfheal added to the amazing stats of the Cavalry in this army brews so much potential. It does not matter that this Attachment is 2pts as it is worth it.
Alane Stone, Cloaked Wolf (NCU) – Or Sansa to those who know her. This takes her from a Card puller to a Card manipulator. The Ability name ‘Mastering the Game’ is a perfect description of the evolution of rules in game as well as how Sansa has progressed in the books. This is chef’s kiss rules design.
Lysa Arryn, Lady of the Eyrie – Lysa sucks. The limitation of the ability makes this the worst NCU, furthermore if you do get to activate the ability it is up in the air whether it will be a benefit or detriment to you. Perhaps this is well written to show how on edge Lysa is where she can switch personality in a moment. I do not like these rules the same that I do not like Joffrey’s rules. Nothing in your army should have that makes you feel bad for playing them. The negative should never out way the benefit, it should feel like an equal trade like Attachment Qyburn.
This is the beginning
I really enjoy the homebrew rules for House Arryn, there is just too much that has been made that I cannot fit them all in one article, nor should the work gone into this homebrew be shoehorned into one article. I will go over these more leading up to a few test games of the faction over the next few weeks. Do check out Board Man Gaming’s website to see all the grand rules for yourself.
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