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. In this article, we will be looking into the people North of the Wall; The Free Folk.
Tormund Giantsbane – Commander
Changes – Remove Furious Charge ability and replace it with Sundering on attachment card, and rework to Devastating Impact Tactics Card.
Tormund has had some slight reworks to make him a lot better. A combo I like to see is Tormund in the Spearwives as Sundering turns the Unit into a devastating force. Plus, before this change the Furious Charge ability would double up, and now it doesn’t clash.
I don’t feel like there is too much to say about Tormund, other than he is better at what he does; being the aggressive Commander for the Free Folk.
Rattleshirt – Commander
Changes – Rework Trophy Collecting order on attachment card.
This could be considered a nerf to Rattleshirt under the guise of making him better. The developers wanted more of the Trophy cards to be attached to Rattleshirt in their focus to make Commanders a centrepiece across all factions. However, the best part about the old order was how it helps the force since you were able to pull the Trophies and attach them when you want.
Now you are less likely to get Trophies out on Units, but Rattleshirts Unit gets better. Is this a bad thing? Well, is putting all your eggs in one basket a bad thing?
The Weeper – Commander
Changes – Added Vicious to attachment card, and Price of Failure Tactics Card rework.
The Weeper has the potential to be the best Commander for the Free Folk. Price of Failure has become an amazing card in the game now, and it has the most impact on Free Folk since there to hit values are commonly the worst on average across the faction. Even in the previous state the card was pretty good since you didn’t care too much about the damage on your lesser Units.
The Weeper is likely to be in a much different Unit now since his Vicious doubles up on Bone Units. I can see him being in a Thenn Unit for survivability or in Spearwives to bring more damage to the table. I am curious to see how Free Folk players will use The Weeper going forward.
Harma – Commander
Changes – Rework to Hit and Run Tactics Card. Harma’s Bannerman gains Tactical Reposition order on attachment.
I remember a time when the best Commander in the Free Folk faction was Harma. There were Skinchanger Bears everywhere and you couldn’t fit all your Units in one deployment zone. Could Harma be back? I think so.
Harma just looks so much better, but really this is partly because Mance is not everywhere, and the other part being the need for relying on a well throughout strategy with the Raider nerf. Being able to better position your valuable and high-quality Units with the Harma toolbox is very exciting for Free Folk players.
I look forward to seeing a lot more of Harma over the coming months.
Free Folk Raiders
Changes – Remove Insignificant ability.
This could be the biggest change of the game. No longer is the opponent lagging in victory points from focusing down on the Raiders. Whilst most Free Folk players say focusing them down is important to beat Free Folk anyways, the safety of victory points not being given was pretty useful. The future of Raiders has deviated drastically.
Now I see the Raiders as a 5pts Unit where you should be bringing some 2pts Attachments in them to make them perform in some way. Borroq, Tormund, and Ygritte feel like the best picks for these Units by giving them some form of support Order for other Units to use and buffing the defensiveness of the Unit in some way.
Outside of a good Attachment, there is no point to bring Raiders since Trappers are a better choice for the same points cost. In the end, they are just a very different Unit going forward.
Thenn Warriors
Changes – Rework Taunt order.
Taunt’s rework might be quite crucial to the Thenn Warriors playstyle. In comparison to the previous version of Taunt, it will have more impact on the Free Folk playstyle due to more negatives to the opponent if they do not charge. No matter what the opponent picks, it is a win-win for the Thenns.
Followers of Bone
Changes – Melee Attack Dice value increase, and Morale Increase.
Replace Raiders with Followers of Bone anyone? I can’t see this Unit not being picked up a lot more now that Raiders look less useful. They have a better combat stat and survivability, with some nice abilities whilst still having a slot open for an Attachment. They are the perfect target for Styr to influence to make them even nastier in combat. With a 5+ armour though you might need to think carefully about their survival though.
Keep an eye out for more Wildings covered in bones in the future.
The Bonelord’s Chosen
Changes – Points decrease to 6pts.
With the nerf to the Raiders I can see more specialised Units being brought to the table. The Bonelord’s Chosen with Rattleshirt was already a potent Unit that I have been on the receiving end of, now it is a point cheaper. This could become a staple in every Free Folk army going forward and the changes to Rattleshirt Commander could also be a factor into this.
It is quite possible we will see multiple Bone Units with the Chosen being one and additional Followers backing them as they look to be one of the best Units for Free Folk now and there are a few Commanders that can utilise them effectively as well. I can see Rattleshirt, Weeper, Harma and Tormund taking them.
Varamyr Sixskins – Commander and Solo
Changes – Decrease Melee Attack Dice value.
Whilst the one less dice when attacking is probably not going to matter that often, the addition of the pass mechanic might be the true speed bump to Varamyr. Varamyr is designed to be a high activation piece for the Free Folk and high activations are less valuable now and, in some cases, perceived as bad.
If you’re going for high activations with Free Folk, you are likely playing Varamyr, that now needs to consider the opponent having pass tokens in all match ups. I will be interested to see what Free Folk players experiences have been with the new passing mechanics.
Jon Snow – NCU
Changes – Added influence ability.
This new ability is a buff at the very least, but I doubt it will amount to too much. The true power of NCU Jon comes from his once per game ability. Is he better than Val, Styr, Craster, or Ygritte? Probably not. But he is not awful and provides an interesting design to your game plan.
Mance Rayder Bard – NCU
Changes – Points decrease to 5pts.
It is hard to imagine how much this will affect the game. This version of Mance is quite similar to the Hand of the King Ned, and thus the same power could be transferred here. There are better NCUs which is why Bard Mance was not taken as much, but I could see him being tried out more, with him having a good impact on the games you play, especially with Commander Mance being played a lot less now.
Styr – NCU
Changes – Points decrease to 4pts.
Styr was taken competitively at 5pts due to the power he brings to your force. At 4pts he is a steal and may become an auto-include going forward. One of the better places to use him is on the Followers of Bone, and with both now being buffed, it’s a no brainer to combine the two. There are situations where he is not helpful, like in a Mag list since the buffs do very little if nothing, or a list that contains a lot of Sundering already such as Bear Riders.
Styr was great and is now even better. Look out for him on the table as he will be picked up more.
Lady Val – NCU
Changes – Removed token generation from NCU ability.
Val was and still is taken quite a lot. A zone replacement ability for a Retreat or Maneuver action is quite helpful for the Free Folk and removing the additional token likely has little impact in the long run. This change is a little tweak to incentivise taking other things, but Val is still great and won’t harm her pick rate as much.
Summary
It is a completely different game for Free Folk players now. Outside of a Mag the Mighty list of course which did not change and is likely better due to the Raider change. I am excited to see more unique Units taking center stage with some Commanders you rarely see. However, it is difficult to know what the future of Free Folk will be like. Either they will perform just as good as before on less activations or will be in a dire situation.
You do also have to consider the physiological effect of the Raider change. I don’t feel like it is amiss to say a lot of players saw Free Folks power in high activations and Units not giving away victory points. Both things being something that looks to have been gutted.
Free Folk is in a weird time now, but it might be the best time since it encourages playing in new ways and testing many variations for your forces. In my opinion, the Free Folk are the bigger winners of the update due to this as the fun factor of them has improved massively.
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