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 at the fully revealed Units and Characters of the new Mini-Faction. The Traitorous House Bolton.
NCUs
Roose Bolton – Calculating and Cruel
NCU Roose Bolton has remained the same as his Neutral counterpart, however he is less valuable in the Mini-Faction due to having more ways to generate Panic tokens. The Zone replace Panic test has become way better since there are more abilities that affect the test in the faction as well.
Whilst I think we will see less of Roose in his NCU form, he is not terrible and still has some value.
Ramsay Snow – Red Helm
NCU Ramsay Snow has arrived and sports an influence ability that gives a Unit Fuelled by Slaughter. This is quite good for any list and certainly could be an auto-include. Giving any of the Units in the Bolton faction a way to heal on top of the healing from the Base Deck is super powerful and counteracts the glass hammer design of some of the Units. You can also make the defensive Units even harder to shift like Flayed Men and Dreadfort Spearmen.
A great NCU that I can imagine seeing a lot of play in Bolton lists.
Walda Frey – Fat Walda
I am slightly upset that “Weight in Silver” was never mentioned on this card, or the rules designed by it. However, I do like that Fat Walda is designed to represent the ambition of House Frey rather than Walda herself. Roose cares little about Walda and more about what she gives him, money, heirs, and titles.
Walda does specific effects depending on which Tactics Zone you take. It is very similar to Dalla in Free Folk as it is only for a few zones rather than all of them like some of the Targaryen NCUs. The Crown and Wealth effects are not mind blowing but welcome help to the faction.
The true power comes from having Walda take the Letters Zone and pulling a Commander card from the discard pile, giving you more uses out of great Tactics Cards. Since Ramsay has amazing cards, I feel like she is an auto-include in his lists, but Roose has very impactful cards so I doubt she will be brought alongside him. She has some play but is it worth it other than pulling some cards and handing out a token?
Jeyne Poole – Arya Stark, Bride of Bolton
In the Game of Thrones show, the showrunners decided to combine the Jeyne Poole storyline and Sansa’s storyline into one because it would be expensive to have two different plots or something stupid like that. In the books, Roosed needed a grip on the North and having Ramsay marry Arya Stark would be a strong claim considering she is the last known alive Stark. However, very few people knew the truth that this was Jeyne Poole and was of little worth to the Boltons claim on the North.
To represent this, Jeyne can give the Boltons a leg up on their opponent by taking the first turn but giving her activation that round to the opponent. This trade off can be huge and is of little consequence to the Boltons but could have some devastating repercussions. I think taking the first activation could cause havoc to the opponents plans who may be setting up for the first activation next turn. Now the opponent needs to be aware of this trick which is quite strong even if you don’t use the ability.
I can see Jeyne being used a lot due to her potential, btu others might be wary of giving the opponent a buff in the game.
Tybald – Maester of the Dreadfort
Tybald is not in the show or the books. Tybald only appears in the pre-released chapter for The Winds of Winter. I am very annoyed that we are getting characters that are subject to change, but we still don’t have staples like Edmure Tully, Maester Lewyn or any of the Brotherhood Without Banners.
He is quite inconsequential, other than proving to Stannis Baratheon that the Karstarks loyal to Arnolf are indeed working with the Boltons to betray him because why would the Maester of the Dreadfort be so far away from the Dreadfort and drawing up the troop details of Stannis’ forces?
Tybald’s rules are confusing to use, even with the FAQ released. Essentially you can trigger an additional Tactics Zone using some of their Order tokens when an enemy NCU activates but doesn’t take that Zone, or if they do then a Vulnerable token is generated. The loophole here is, Tybald can use this after activating, and it can be on the Zone he is currently occupying, thus guaranteeing a double effect.
This can be stupidly good, but the confusing nature of the rule, along with needing to explain everything to your opponent likely leading to a disagreement may not be worth it. Perhaps this should be a way to use Tybald when an opponent is about to take a Zone you want to either stop them. This needs to be looked over to make easier sense on the go in a game and prevent arguments. Personally, I don’t think you should be able to double Zone here as it is clearly not the intention with the way the rule is designed.
Attachments
Ramsay Snow – Sadist, and Theon Greyjoy – Reek
The only 2pts Attachment and a strong one at that. Not only do you get Fuelled by Slaughter and Intimidating Presence, but you also get access to Reek to supply you with Panic tokens. This combination in every Unit except the Archers is incredible and if you have the points to spare you will likely be bringing him.
The most important part of these rules is that they work with every Unit rather than a specific one unlike some of the other Attachments.
Steelshanks Walton – Relentless Soldier
Steelshanks has some perfect rules to use alongside Roose Bolton Commander. Being Roose’s Vassal brings more value out of Seeing Their Flaws Tactics Card from Roose, and since Roose’s Unit is the only one who benefits and is likely in a Unit not great at combat (the Blackguard) this could be perfect.
Alongside the vassal rule, Steelshanks comes with an increasingly popular Order these days, Sentinel. There are some good opportunities for setting up some interesting plays here, and I think having him in a Unit that can do some work in combat is the right decision. Cutthroats, Spearmen, or even Bastard’s Girls is a good place for him.
Outside of Roose Commander, 1pts for Sentinel is pretty good and I can see him being taken for that alone, imagine him in Archers for example, that Sentinel is going to get you in some great positions for the fight.
Ben Bones – Kennelmaster
Ben Bones and his little pup are probably the second most known character out of this box behind Steelshanks. Ben was asked to train the hounds to fight wolves by Ramsay, and I suspect we may see a canine fight in the books between these hounds and Nymeria’s wolf pack.
Ben is free if taken in the Bastard’s Girls Unit, he gives them reroll charges and panics the enemy on a successful charge. So, the target they get in contact with gains two tokens, and you are more likely to succeed a longer charge now as well. Ben amplifies the Unit into doing what it does but better. Although, I do think bringing one of the Bastard’s Boys would be a better plan to increase their effectiveness. It either increases their reliability or makes them more potent with someone else.
Would he work in another Unit? I think he would be quite good in a Cutthroat Unit as it just amplifies everything they do, but he could be useful anywhere. Really it is down to personal preference, I will always bring him in Bastard’s Girls, but if there is something else, I can do that could be better I am likely to do that.
Damon Dance-For-Me – Bastard’s Boy
Damon brings Boldness and Courage, a fantastic ability that allows you to remain potent in combat whilst suffering from losses. I think the best place for Damon would be in the Cutthroats or Bowmen, keeping them at a strong damage output no matter what rank they are on.
I don’t believe the Attachment is super useful in the faction, especially when the other Bastard’s Boys come with stellar rules that make them unmatched at times. I do think he is better than the unnamed Attachments in some scenarios, but the Bolton Flayer can be very strong if enough of them are played.
Skinner – Bastard’s Boy
Probably the worst Attachment, and the most unlikely to be taken, Skinner just doesn’t fit in the faction as a whole. Whilst the Weaken Token is useful, especially when you pair it with Blackguard for Horrific Visage, there are just way better options like the Bolton Flayer in the same Unit or any other Attachment.
Skinner might be quite playable if the developers decide to allow Neutrals in Boltons, which they need to do. I can see him working well with a Vargo Commander, and with the Neutral allowance restricting how many Mummer Units you can bring, the Token will be important. CMON please allow the Neutrals in Boltons or at the very least a restricted list of them such as Walder Frey and the Mummers.
Grunt – Bastard’s Boy
Resilience is quite a rare Order in the game, but often a very powerful order saved for expensive Attachments and Units. I can only recall three places where this rule now comes up: Stag Knights Unit, Drowned Prophet Attachment, and Ser Robert Strong Attachment.
Grunt could join a Unit not great at defence like Cutthroats or Archers and make them tough to take down, or you can put all your eggs in one basket and increase the defensive capabilities of Spearmen or Blackguard. I think the best place is in some Cutthroats to keep them around for longer, it also patches up one of their clear weaknesses especially when you want them stuck in early in the rounds.
I do think Grunt will be taken almost all the time, with Sour Alyn taken more than him.
Sour Alyn – Bastard’s Boy
Brutal Sadism is an incredible new rule added into the game and plays very well with Bolton Units however it is likely to do well everywhere. Something interesting about this rule is how it can fit with quite a few different Units to create very different play styles and strategies.
I can see Alyn joining Archers to give them even more punch, whilst not worrying too much about the damage due to them likely being out of the way. He could join the Bastard’s Girls to give both their attacks extra power for their snowballing of damage. You can even turn up the defensive Units of Spearmen and Blackguard to be good in combat at the same time.
I can see Alyn being an auto-include in every Botlon army for his diversity for play, plus if he is your first Bastard Boy Attachment he is for free, so why not take him? In fact, he is still worth taking even if you need to pay the price for him.
Dreadfort Captain
Prey On Fear is a great ability, however there are many other better 1pts Attachments you want to take above the Dreadfort Captain. Maybe you are having issues with survivability which makes the captain worth it instead of others. Personal preference will be the only reason this Attachment is taken currently.
Bolton Flayer
JBone from the local community scene in the UK has demonstrated to everyone how a Spread Fear list can be devastating. At the Welsh GT he was able to take down a Giant by popping Spread Fears alone, which is very impressive. A Spread Fear designed list is better within the Mini-Faction now, however there are many different Attachments to grab that may see people do something different. But do try a list like this if you can as it is very fun.
Units
Cutthroats
This is your base 5pts Unit that hits hard and dies hard. A glass hammer Unit that wants to get stuck in early in each Round. Within the Bolton Faction, I can see all the Attachments enhancing the Cutthroats in various ways, however I don’t think it is worth putting any of the Commanders into the Unit. I have seen some lists bring 3 or even 4 due to how good they are at taking down Units, and the faction has ways to keep them around for much longer. They are also an ideal candidate for Harsh Punishments Tactics Card for the Sundering and Highest Attack Dice Value.
Blackguard
The most defensive Unit in the roster and even the Neutral roster as well. It is an auto-include in a Roose Commander list or a Spread Fear list. In terms of the Bolton Faction, there are now many ways to make Horrific Visage even better with Tactics Cards like Remorseless Examples or Skin Collection, or with some of the new Attachments to like Grunt to make them even harder to kill or Sour Alyn to give them a combat punch.
Picking up one or two for your force is important, but you are likely to only use one or none across lists.
Dreadfort Spearmen
The Dreadfort Spearmen are a brand-new Unit to the game and can only be taken in a Bolton Faction. They are a defensive Unit; however they also play a support role when they become aggressive. I like that the Cutthroats are aggressive, the Blackguard are defensive, and then the Spearmen can play either role on the fly. There are some interesting combinations with the Spears, such as Ramsay Commander using Horrific Visage before the Set For Charge which could also be buffed by Our Blades Are Sharp.
I can’t see anyone taking multiples of this Unit as it is a lot more a support piece than anything else. I am curious to see if people do think they are useful and better than just bringing Cutthroats who hit like a truck.
Dreadfort Archers
A phenomenal Unit that you are likely only bringing one of, but I could see two of them in some lists. Mini-Factions need to make sure they bring a ranged Unit due to how powerful of a threat ranged attacks can be. Giving an Archer Unit based off Roose’s strategies on the Greenfork is awesome, but the power of their ability could become way too much.
They have some great play with some of the Bastard’s Boys and Tactics Cards that can improve the attack even more. Opportunist form Ramsay, and Sour Alyn’s Brutal Sadism are key highlights with this Unit.
Bastard’s Girls
This Unit takes the definition of glass hammer to heart by being incredibly easy to kill but hitting like a train. When you bring the Unit, they do often become a centrepiece in the army due to their points cost, and now they are even stronger with the addition of powerful Attachments and Tactics Cards that take them to the next level. I can see this Unit becoming a similar issue as the Ranger Hunters if you use the heals across the faction you have access to.
Flayed Men
What to say about the Unit that features everywhere? Within the Bolton Faction, Flayed Men are spending their time in the shadows. They are still a heavy Cavalry Unit that can stick around for a while whilst doing plenty of damage. Without any Attachments for Cavalry in the Faction, you are left with buffing the Unit through NCUs like Ramsay or Attachments. A double Flayed Men list can be incredible in the right hands, but Flayed Men don’t feel right now in the Bolton Faction as they don’t feel like they synergise too much.
I am curious to see if they are better in Neutrals than Boltons however.
Summary
Some fantastic Units, Attachments, and NCUs for the first Mini-Faction added to the game. Bolton players have plenty to work with to design interesting lists utilising synergies to dominate in the Panic test game. It feels like nothing is completely bad and has its place in the force which is a refreshing feeling. I can’t wait to try out many lists due to the various playstyles built outside of the Commanders rather than on the Commanders alone, something the other factions don’t achieve.
The biggest problem with the faction that is likely to creep up on the game later down the line, is the restriction to Neutrals and the lack of support. The point of the Mini-Faction was to create a unique experience with a specific side of a faction, but they won’t see many releases in comparison to the full factions. We are yet to be informed on what this exactly means in releases, but I imagine a box a year is not out of the question.
Not allowing Neutrals to be taken in this faction based on the Boltons trying their hardest to tell no one of their traitorous intentions is just dumb. How can you say Wlader Frey is not part of the Bolton “Inner Circle”? You also have the easily manipulated Vargo Hoat, the Bloody Mummers, and a bunch of characters from Neutral Heroes 3 that all worked under the Bolton thumb when they were debating betrayal. Why can’t these be used, just like they were used in the story?
This will also allow for the faction to see some form of updates over time when there is a new Neutral Unit. Furthermore, it also allows some customisation from things that currently exist like the Cavalry Attachments of the Hedge Knights or a Vargo Commander. I think this is a mistake by the developers and implore them to reconsider.
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
