NW 40pts

[itsLeumas]

Hi guys,

I thought I'd start a thread about our experiences with 40 points Night's Watch armies. It could be really helpful to read about what worked for other players and why. I'll start with the army list I used for the tournament at my local game store:

Commander: Jon Snow - 998th Lord Commander
Points: 40 (4 Neutral)

• Veterans Of The Watch (8) with Jon Snow - 998th Lord Commander (0)
• Ghost (0)
• Sworn Brothers (6)
• Sworn Brothers (6)
• Ranger Trackers (6)
• Ranger Trackers (6)
• Aemon - Maester Of Castle Black (4)
• Lord Varys – The Spider (4)

I deployed all of my troops at the right side of the table. The right flank was protected by the edge of the table, the left flank was protected by a palisade and one of my Tracker units. Carrying 3 mobile units (2x cavalry and a wolf) allowed for quite some flexibility and manoeuvrability. The order of deployment varied a bit, depending on the opponent's army and the mission.
The NCU were quite helpful, Aemon for healing and Varys to stop the opponent from using their NCUs as they'd planned to.
This army worked out quite well for me, although I have to admit I got a bit lucky in the final game due to the selected mission and some bad rolls for my opponent.

I'd appreciate some feedback from you guys and would be happy to see some of your army lists!

 

[Oakwolf]

You can't go wrong with your list, really. It's just good.

Our experience with the Night's watch is that it can take on pretty much all comers rather easily, but we've also noticed that they really love 2 NCUs, more so than other factions. Ranger Trackers and Sworn Swords are some of the most cost-effective units in the game. Veterans of the Watch and Ranger Hunters are an acquired taste, and will start to shine after some time.

I really like Bowen Marsh, because he can allows us to toy with the tactic deck to help get the right vows when needed rather than relying on chance.

Jon Snow + Veterans + Aemon = insane levels of defense. That unit has made truly epic last stands in our game.

While you probably won't learn anything there, i did a small review of the night's watch back then.

https://boardgamegeek.com/article/30732251#30732251

 

[Rickson]

Oakwolf,

what at are your thoughts on including a unit of Flayed Men in a 40 point list? On paper, they look downright nasty.

 

[Oakwolf]

Flayed Men are not just nasty on paper, they're really scary to fight against...and that's the whole point of Boltons in general.

That being said, there's a few things to consider with the Night's Watch:

1. They can't take vows, so for 10pts that's 1/4 of your army not benefiting from one of the more unique traits of the faction.
2. There's little synergy with vicious and panic tokens within the faction so far.
3. They absolutely can't be hassled with objectives for too long otherwise you're wasting serious points. They can hold objectives while "on the way" to a critical fight area, or if you just need to back off to win.
4. Their cost might make it hard to bring 2 NCUs.
5. Factions are starting to have more direct counters to their 2+ save (Giants, Greataxes, The Mountain that Rides, Pyromancers, Scorpion crews, etc.)

On the other hand:

1. They're the only heavy cavalry you can get, and you can support them with Ranger Trackers (throwing Vulnerable on their target).
2. They cause headaches to the opponent because of their "psychological" impact on the table, especially if they have weak morale, or no direct counter to 2+ armor.
3. They can survive attrition thanks to the wealth zone (which the Night's Watch have use for).
4. They can spread panic tokens, something unusual in a Night's Watch army.

I didn't feel the need or particular use for them -yet- for the Night's Watch games i've played, but keep in mind we've only seen 2 generals yet...there might be more incentives in the future if one of them has rules to benefit more from the Flayed Men's Vicious and panic generation. At the moment they obviously find more synergy with Lannisters and Neutrals.

But regardless, Flayed Men rarely disappoint as long as you don't expect them to carry the game for you and you make sure they are always doing something important (No rest for the wicked).