2021.03 Update for A Song of Ice and Fire Miniatures Game is here. We will be going over each faction’s changes to Units, NCUs, Characters and even Base Tactics Decks. This update has been bigger than the last and thus has shaken up the game substantially. In this article, we will be looking into the scum and villainy of ASOIAF; Neutrals.
Base Deck
Changes – Rework Adaptive Methods, Worth the Risks, and Spoils of War Tactics Cards.
Adaptive Methods has become one of the best cards in the game. The developers have changed the card slightly to have it also generate a condition token on top of switching it around. Usually, players bring Roose NCU to fuel this card a bit more, but you don’t need to rely on him with this change. Being able to manipulate condition tokens so easily on both the opponent and your own Units is quite strong and can result in a big difference in game.
Worth the Risks has gained a heal buff in addition to the Morale buff that it usually does. The card is very valuable outside of Golden Company as Neutrals have some shocking Morale stats. I am unsure what the developers were thinking with adding the heal, but it is very welcomed and could come in clutch in several situations, however the true power is the auto-pass it provides. Facing a Bolton force with a pure Stormcrow force makes this card invaluable, and now it counters some of the Morale damage with some healing.
Spoils of War is an interesting card that has less effect on the game than other attachment cards from other factions. If the developers removed the Short-Range limitation of the card, then it might be much better, however, to improve the card the effects it could give you have become much better. I don’t think this will make too much of a difference unless it is attached to a unit doing a lot of attacks and damage like the Golden Company Swordsmen.
Vargo Hoat – Commander
Changes – Rework Threaten Order. Rework to Exploit Weakness Tactics Card.
Vargo was featured across some factions quite often due to some of his cards being quite strong. You would often see him comboing with Othell Yarwyck in Night’s Watch to rival the orbital strikes from Mel. Whether he was in another faction or pure Neutrals, his rules are heavily restricted on needing Weakened Tokens, and just like other Commanders this update who focus on token play, this has had a much-needed change.
The biggest is the change to Threaten. No longer is it tied to the Commander activating, which would result in a two-turn setup for any of the cards to be played to an effect. I expect to see these changes to result in his cards giving more opportunities to the Mummer Units.
Vargo in other factions looks a lot better due to other Units and Characters that can help contribute to the playstyle. The Mummer Units do not easily put out the token to be relevant enough to tie into Vargo, but Pycelle or Stark Bowmen are more valuable to synergise with. Skirmishers are sort of a jack of all trade Unit since they are okay at survivability and okay at combat, but in truth they don’t do great at either. I wish there was some change to make them a worthwhile 6pts Unit.
I hope we see something more for the Mummers in the future as Vargo will shine, but a pure Mummer force won’t.
Bloody Mummer Zorse Riders
Changes – Changes on Motley Armaments ability.
One of the big highlights for the Neutrals is the changes to Motley Armaments making Zorse Riders way better now. Playing with the Unit a lot recently, you must play them into the Flank or Rear of an opponent otherwise you are wasting their potential. It tends to be a lot of work but pays off more if you are lucky enough to get into the rear.
Now you aren’t restricted to your positioning to get a bonus which makes them a very handy tool and one of the best Light Cavalry options in the game. I can see them being taken over Clegane Brigands, Starfall Outriders, and even Dothraki Screamers. Further to this, the changes to Vargo Commander makes them much better so they can take advantage of his buffs a lot more.
They can hit like a truck or take away the tricks of the Unit they intend to mow down. We will be seeing more of the Zorse riding Mummers over the coming months with less stress with trying to position them.
Lysene Sellswords
Changes – Rework Pillage Ability to Raiders of the Free Cities ability. Rework Pirate’s Blade
Greyjoys are not looking too great, and their Neutral counterpart is not standing out either. Before this change, the Pirates were showing up in a few lists with the most notable being in a Cotter Pyke list which is all about aggression which the Pirates play well into.
The problem with Pillage is that you need to get into combat and do enough to get your bonuses, and then live long enough to utilise those benefits. This is supposed to be balanced with everything else which is at its full rule set from the get-go. This can work, if the Pillage buffs are worth it, which most of the time they aren’t.
One of the worst things here though, is that the developers have deliberately gone through everything in the Greyjoy faction to restrict their rules to Greyjoys only, preventing any synergies with the Neutral faction. If anything, getting the two Pillage tokens will keep this Unit in the game due to the highest attack dice buff.
I am sure we will see this Unit now and again, but the Pillage mechanic is not what you should look to use these for.
Stormcrow Dervishes
Changes – Rework Pillage Ability to Raiders of the Free Cities ability. Rework Pirate’s Blade
When playing at the Welsh GT with pure Neutrals, the biggest weakness to the army is Morale. My first game was against Squig from Dead Meta Gaming who brought the Mel/Jaqen combo which is truly nasty against a Morale 7 Stormcrow army. This slight buff to the Morale will be impactful for this Unit’s survivability.
Other than Morale issues, Stormcrows are in an okay place both within Neutrals and outside of them, furthermore there is a new Stormcrow Commander on the way in Neutral Heroes 3.
Golden Company War Elephant
Changes – Decrease points cost to 6.
An interesting change which probably balances out all the restrictions to the War Elephant. Now it is quite likely you could field one or two comfortably in a 7 activation Golden Company list. I don’t think there will be too much change with this Unit, other than it is easier to bring in other factions due to the Officer change. Expect to see it more outside of pure Neutrals.
Golden Company Swordsmen
Changes – Remove Tactical Strike ability and add Mastercraft Longsword. Add Adaptive Style Order.
A Unit that has taken the game by storm. Did CMON not learn from the Flayed Men? We will now see the same Neutral Unit everywhere in events because they have been buffed to be the best 7pts Unit in the game. Players are now actively thinking about how to counter this Unit in all their lists just due to their power level alone. I would have thought the developers would have applied a quick fix to it in their update, but it was left alone.
Whilst Golden Company was nothing crazy to shout about, they were the elite Neutral army that could stick around the longest whilst hitting hard. Golden Company armies that bring multiple of these will do very well I imagine and of course any faction that takes them as well.
This is bad for the game as it turns every fight into the same collision of Units. Flayed Men are everywhere, and whilst not oppressive they have been a strong Unit for a long time. A lot of people are sick of seeing them and wish that they were prevented from being taken outside of Neutrals, the same will happen with Golden Company Swordsmen. It feels like the developers are often quite oblivious to how some of their changes will impact the game.
I doubt they will be addressed at all before another update in 6 or more months’ time so get used to seeing them.
Golden Company Officer – Attachment
Changes – Add Affiliation: Golden Company.
With the Neutral allowance changes, the Golden Company Officer gaining the Affiliation rule is important to allow the War Elephants to be played in other factions. I don’t think it will be that big of a change outside of Neutrals as most people want to spend the Neutral allowance on other things.
But, taking cheaper Units than the Golden Company Units and throwing an Officer in there could be useful for countering the negative effects of the War Elephant. Stormcrow Mercenaries is where i am thinking about placing this Attachment.
Jaqen – NCU
Changes – Points decrease to 4pts.
This is an odd change but likely a welcome one. Jaqen may see more play now they are at a lower cost, however the worth of Jaqen comes from the NCUs they can copy. Mel has had a significant nerf which will dampen the Jaqen/Mel bomb, and NCUs like Catelyn have seen a decrease in worth.
The biggest effect this change will have been on the Neutral faction. Another 4pts NCU will allow more lists to be possible for a higher activation for the force. However, he won’t have a chance due to another NCU.
Varys – NCU
Changes – Points decrease to 4pts.
Varys will become an auto-include in many forces due to the points reduction. This is such a bad change. Varys used to be 4pts for what he did and then he was taken a lot throughout all the factions. CMON then reacted to this by making him 5pts, which did drop his play-rate significantly, but he was still a competitive choice for players in this state.
Returning Varys to 4pts with no other changes is such an illogical move as the same problems as before will happen again, especially when many great NCUs have been nerfed like Mel and Wendamyr. Already we have seen a huge increase in pick rate for him. The developers have messed up here and need to address it sooner rather than later.
Summary
Some great changes for the Neutral faction with some much-needed improvements to the Base Deck, Characters, and Units. Whilst some are much needed like Jaqen NCU, others are so bizarre that they are already appearing in many lists such as Varys and the Golden Company Swordsmen.
It feels like there were two different updates here, one which was thought out to improve the faction and which was done to break the game. Surprisingly they are not the most controversial faction changes from the update, but they are certainly a mixed bag, however they are all positive changes.
I hope this is enough to see Neutrals leave the title of worst faction behind, especially with Neutral Heroes 3 coming out soon.
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