Song of Ice and Fire Tabletop Miniatures Game Army Lists

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Howdy All! Brian of the Legion here. The CMON folks have been regularly posting army lists in the Kickstarter updates for the Ice & Fire game. Since I don't see them archived elsewhere, figured I'd start up a new thread where these can be posted. These won't have all the pictures included in the original posts, so head on over to the updates page if you want to peruse the originals.

 

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[h=1]WINTER IS COMING(60 pts)[/h]

• Commander: Eddard Stark (Lord of Winterfell)
• Eddard's Honor Guard (7pts) + Eddard Stark (7pts)
• Stark Sworn Swords (5pts) + Robb Stark (The Young Wolf, 3pts) (8pts)
• Stark Sworn Swords (5pts) + Brynden Tully (Unyeilding Knight, 2 pts) (7pts)
• Umber Berserkers (7pts) + Greatjon Umber (Fearless Bannerman, 3 pts) (10pts)
• Stark Bowmen (6pts)
• Stark Outriders (7pts)
• Stark Outriders (7pts)
• Grey Wind (0pts)
• NCU: Catelyn Stark (Lady of Winterfell) (4pts)
• NCU: Petyr Baelish (Little Finger) (4pts)

60/60 Points
[h=1]General Theme[/h]This list has two core themes to it. The first is each unit serves a very specific counter-role in the army, dealing with a specific threat or need, and the second is that almost every unit gains extra benefits from manipulating the Tactics Board, specifically the Combat and Maneuver zones, which the Starks already favor (go figure).


Aside from those two points, this is an aggressive army that isn't afraid to utilize its troop as a resource, expending them in whatever way necessary to achieve the scenario goals. This works in tandem with Eddard's tactics that, for the most part, are reactionary to your own units getting destroyed and/or having bad stuff happen to them. His cards are going to make the self-damaging effects of the units not matter as much, as you're going to gain benefits for them being destroyed, and his own innate recovery effect means you can be a bit more lose with said self-damaging effects since you have a way to recover them.

[h=1]Unit Specifics[/h]

• Eddard's Honor Guard

Ok, so if you're playing along at home, you immediately noticed the Eddard's Honor Guard listed above and went "Wait, what is that?". Well, that's one of the surprises we mentioned. Basically, Eddard wants to be in a super-cool unit since he makes his own unit do... Well super cool stuff. There were a few options for this: Umber Berserkers if you wanted to be aggressive, Tully Sworn Shields if you wanted defense. Those tended to be the primary choices, but they heavily skewed toward aggression or protection and it felt Eddard should be more well rounded. Given that, we made him his own personal unit of Sworn Swords in the form of Eddard's Honor Guard.


So while you don't technically have to field the unit when you take Eddard, you'll probably want to- they're pretty cool. As you can see, they function as an upgraded Sworn Sword unit, gaining a 3+ Defense Value, extra Attack Dice, and the Fearless ability for a 2 point increase. Note they're a Character unit, so you only get one of them.

This gives Eddard a unit that has a good amount of aggression but also maintains some staying power so you can best utilize his Tactics. Combine this with Eddard's own rallying abilities and the Honor Guard can get right into the thick of the fight and stick around to finish it, making them the perfect anchor for your army.

• Robb's Sworn Swords + Outriders

Next up we have Robb's unit of Sworn Swords. The key here is that Robb allows them to basically March as if they were Maneuvering as well as gain extra benefits (being able to Charge) if we claim the Maneuver Zone. The Stark Outriders also have this ability (see below)so fully half of our Combat Units gain extra benefits from that zone, allowing some good plays and/or forcing your opponent to claim that zone if they want to shut down our effects. This makes the army highly mobile and will allow us to pull off some impressive Flank (and potentially Rear) Charges.


We're going to go slightly off topic for a moment in talking about the Stark Outriders here. Basically during development we really wanted the Light/Heavy Cavalry mechanics to work (with Light Cavalry having 2 Wounds-per-model, Heavy having 3 Wounds-per-model). The issue that kept coming up was that reducing a unit to only effectively 8 wounds just wasn't balancing against other factors, so eventually we removed it entirely and just uniformed everything into the Cavalry rule, with unit stats being adjusted to compensate for the +/- in Wounds (you didn't think Outriders would be the only Light Cavalry, did you?).
After that, we really pushed the maneuverability and speed aspects of the Outriders, making them the premier unit to go for the flanks and hit the enemy where they can't defend. They still don't have the best staying power in the world with a 4+ Defense, and their Attack is average, but again, their maneuverability is their key power. After their reword, they got bumped a point to 7, whereas they were previously 6.
Back to list talk, their purpose is exactly as I mentioned above: Go after the flanks and hit the enemy where they can't defend. Like Robb's unit of Sworn Swords, they also gain benefits from the Maneuver Zone, giving us Tactics Board pressure for the opponent.

• Greatjon's Berserkers

This is our big "deal with it" unit. Clocking in at a staggering ten points, I was initially going to use another unit of Sworn Swords here and save the 2pts for elsewhere, but I decided that I really wanted a unit that would destroy anything it came across. While the baseline Berserkers already come with Sundering, Greatjon can allow them to bypass Defense altogether, meaning nothing is safe. They're also faster than the Sworn Swords, so they can keep up with the rest of the army.
Most importantly, however, they gain additional Charge benefits when I claim the Combat Zone, furthering the army theme of Tactics Zone pressure. Finally, they synergize extremely well with Catelyn, who will allow them to throw their full ten attack dice anytime I need it. Combine all these factors with Eddard's ability to recover them if they get too low and they can stick around for a terrifyingly long time, carving the enemy up the entire time!

• Stark Bowmen

These guys were included for area-denial as well as softening up targets for the primary attackers while I move into position. While, given the aggressive nature of the units, I don't expect getting to combat to be too hard, this unit can secure any backline objectives, freeing up my other combat units to... Well do the combat stuff. Nothing flashy here, they will just do what they're supposed to do and lock down a specific point on the battlefield.

• Brynden's Sworn Swords

So this is where those two points I would have saved from the Berserkers would have gone: changing the Sworn Swords for a unit of House Tully Sworn Shields. Either way, however, they serve the same battefield role: Take and hold objectives. Had I gone with the Sworn Shields I would have gained a bulwark unit that, combined with Brynden, would be incredibly hard to displace for the enemy. Combine with Eddard's Honor Guard and I'd have two central units that I could rely on to secure points. In the end I went for the aggressive nature of the Berserkers and the Sworn Swords since I wanted that combat edge, but it's still really a toss-up as to which is better for the list overall.


The other issue is the Sworn Shields are pretty slow, and I don't have any real way to fix that since I've allocated Robb elsewhere. While their intent is to go secure objectives, they're going to drag behind the rest of my army and that can be a problem- doesn't matter how unkillable they are if they get to the fight after everyone else is already dead.


The plus to including them, however, would be it frees up a point compared to Greatjon and the Berserkers, which means I could stick something like a Crannogman Warden in with the Bowmen, which would give them Opportunist (re-roll attacks against enemies that have not activated this round). Again, it's a matter of personal taste and just seeing how the list plays in the end.


[h=1]Non-Combat Unit Specifics[/h]

• Catelyn Stark (Lady of Winterfell)

Catelyn just synergizes so well with pretty much everything in the list (and is another reason the Berserkers won out over the Sworn Shields) The Sworn Swords are going to damage themselves with Stark Fury, but Catelyn makes that a non-issue, and having my cheap unit throw 8 combat dice, hitting on a 3+ with Critical Blow, makes them a threat against almost anything. Meanwhile, as previously mentioned, she also turns the Berserkers into absolute rampagers as we can trigger their 10 attack dice (with built in Sundering) anytime we need it. I would also mention that it's useful for the Bowmen, but frankly if they get to a point where they've taken heavy loses they're probably dead anyway.

• Petyr Baelish (Little Finger)

Petyr is actually a key part of this list, decidedly more important than most realize. As mentioned in the general strategies part, claiming the Maneuver and Combat Zones are a vital part of our overall strategy, as the majority of our units gain extra benefits for doing so.


What Petyr does is bring an element of counter-play to the Tactics Board while allowing us to gain the benefits we desire. If we're playing against Lannisters, we know they're going to want to claim that Crown Zone... Petyr says we can just claim it ourselves and replace it's effect with the Maneuver or Combat Zone, still gaining those full benefits but also denying the Panic Check from Crown to the Lannisters (or just cause Panic in their own units, why not?).
If playing against other Starks, then likewise we can claim/deny the Combat/Maneuver zones based on what our opponent needs at the present time. Finally, Petyr also allows us to potentially double-up on the Wealth zone of the board, which we can use to rally some wounds back to our units- remember, we do cause a decent amount of self-inflicted damage via our effects.
With Catelyn and Petyr we can potentially bring back up to 6 wounds a round to a unit- combined with Eddard's restoring effects and we can bring a unit almost on the break of death back to full ranks (and then of course have them go kill something).


[h=1]Final Thoughts[/h]While the list initially seems pretty straight-forward in execution, with every unit having a specific role but also being really really aggressive, it has a really deep level of tactical play about it. Combat-wise you've got a wealth of positioning options available to you, making it so you can really pick-and-choose your engagements, and Tactics Board-wise you have a denial-piece in Petyr but also need to play it smart since you can gain so much benefit from knowing when to utilize each zone.

 

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Forgot to include attribution for that first list. Crafted by Michael Shinall!

 

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Fear the Lion (60 pts)

FEAR THE LION (60 pts) - Posted by Michael Shinall

Commander: Tywin Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock
Lannister Guardsmen + Dreadfort Captain (6pts)
Lannister Guardsmen + Dreadfort Captain (6pts)
Lannister Guardsmen + Dreadfort Captain (6pts)
House Clegane Mountain's Men + Tywin Lannister (6pts)
House Clegane Mountain's Men (6pts)
Lannister Crossbowmen (6pts)
Lannister Crossbowmen (6pts)
Knights of Casterly Rock + Gregor Clegane (Mounted Behemoth, 3 pts) (11pts)
NCU: Pycell (Grand Maester) (3pts)
NCU: Cersei Lannister (Queen Reagent) (4pts)

General Theme
Tywin plays off of handing out Weakened Tokens to enemies and then using those Weakened Tokens for various effects. In keeping with the theme of Condition Tokens I decided to incorporate a lot of Panic Tokens into the list as well. As we've discussed, the Lannisters really don't have a huge combat-punch unless you go for a very specific build- they're going to deal the majority of their damage via Panic and Morale related effects... Basically, I cannot stress enough that if you try to go toe-to-toe with the Starks/Neutrals relying on combat damage with the Lannisters... You're not going to have a good time (again, outside specific builds).

You need to exploit the tricks and manipulations the Lannisters are capable of to be successful. When you attack, you'll probably deal minimal damage... But when it comes time to work those Panic Tests, that's where the majority of enemy losses should be coming from.

That being said, for this list we're focusing on:

• Defensive capabilities brought about by Tywin's theme of Weakened Tokens.

• Dealing damage via Panic.

• Outlasting the enemy via combination of lowering their damage output via Weakened Tokens and innate Lannister restorative capabilities.

The Specifics
The list is basically separated into 3 sections: Our defensive "outlast the enemy" units, our offensive line, and our "problem solvers". Unlike the Eddard List from last week, which saw each unit carrying a specific role on the battlefield, here our units need to work in tandem to achieve their goals. Individually none of them are really that much of a threat. They need to synergize their rolls to get the maximum potential out of everything.

The Defensive line composes the core of the army, and is made up of three units of Lannister Guardsmen each led by a Dreadfort Captain.

The Dreadfort Captain is the first keystone in utilizing our theme of Panic. The Guardsmen have abysmal combat stats, throwing 6 dice (at max ranks) at only a 4+, so their chance to deal wounds via combat is minimal, to put it lightly. Their main source of damage is via Lannister Supremacy, but in order to optimize that, they need to survive prolonged engagements- which is why Tywin throwing down Weakened Tokens will benefit them greatly. Meanwhile, Supremacy, as well as the Panic Test from our very weak attacks, give us two chances to dish out Panic Tokens via the Dreadfort Captain.

Having two Guardsmen units near each other allow you to cross-play the Tokens and maximize the number of enemies that have them, which in turn maximizes the damage we can cause via Supremacy.

The three units here form our core Defensive Line. Their role is to get up there and engage the enemy and outlast them while we whittle them down with Panic casualties (cause we sure aren't going to do it via combat). Weakened, Panicked, and the benefits of the Generic Lannister Tactics should hold the core together while we claim Objectives and allow our other units to do their thing.

Our offensive line is actually made up of the two units of Mountain's Men, who look to capitalize on our Panic tactics since they have Vicious built in. The issue is their defensive stats are strictly average: 4+ Defense and 7+ Morale. This is thankfully mitigated by Tywin again throwing down Weakened Tokens, so they gain an extra bit of staying power. One of the units will also be the vassal for Tywin himself, so they'll gain Lannister Supremacy, throwing more Panic out into the list.

The Crossbowmen likewise are there to be a primary damage dealer. They're pretty simple in usage, but also have horrendous defensive stats, so if the enemy manages to get into combat with them they're going to have a bad time. Utilize your defensive line of Guardsmen to shield them and get your shots in while you can. Once the Guardsmen have engaged the enemy its going to be a bit trickier, since shooting into melee will cause Panic Tests for the Guards/Mountain's Men which... Neither are particularly great at. Do it if you must, but best use the Crossbowmen to whittle down the enemy and, hopefully, that, combined with Weakened and the core Lannister defenses, will keep your guys around.

Finally I included a unit of Knights of Casterly Rock including Gregor Clegane. This is my big, scary, "make stuff dead" unit. Frankly, while it can dish out a ton of damage, it's main inclusion is actually to be a giant threat to the enemy so they focus all their resources on taking it down. Yes, it's a staggering 11 points, and it really can't be left to rampage across the battlefield, but if the enemy expends all their resources on it then that means they're not using those resources elsewhere, and that's really what I want more than anything. Basically this unit functions as my tactical-nuclear option if all else fails. The enemy knows I have it, and I can probably get it where I need to (since it is Cavalry, after all), and hopefully that scares them.

Finally, on the NCU front we have Cersei and Pycelle. Pycelle is a natural inclusion to a Tywin list since, surprise, he hands out Weakened Tokens. He's also one of the cheaper options as well at only 3 pts. Cersei comes in as a supplemental damage dealer since we've put so much of our focus on spreading Panic across the board. There is nothing overly complicated here- being Lannister we want to claim the Crown and Wealth sections of the Tactics Board to utilize our best card effects.

We can play the counter-game if we want by claiming Combat and Maneuver if playing against Starks, but for this particular list I believe we're better focused on achieving our own tactical plans rather than shutting off the opponent's- we have Tactics Cards for that purpose.

Cersei naturally wants to claim the Crown zone to zap an enemy unit with a Panic Test at -3 (hopefully they have a Panic Token as well) to get some damage in early. A savvy opponent will block this, but that leaves her open to take other areas. It's also important to note that if your primary opponent is Starks their average Morale Stat is 6, so even imposing a -3 modifier that just usually translates into 2-3 Wounds (assuming average roll of 7). This is why getting those Panic Tokens out there is so important.

Pycelle meanwhile can go where-ever he needs to, but you'll probably want to focus the Wealth area to keep your units fresh, or claim the Tactics Zone to double-down on those Condition Tokens depending on what you need- Hitting an enemy with the triple threat of Panicked, Weakened, and Vulnerable can really shut off a threat in no time!

Final Thoughts
Lannisters are all about controlling the battlefield and/or your opponent in some capacity. With this list the focus is crippling their units and shutting off what makes them effective offensively, making it so they can't crack the natural defenses built into your army. Remember that you need to be playing to the Game Mode and not just focusing on combat- I will stress one final time that against most other factions raw fighting is a sure-fire way to lose the game as Lannisters. Utilize your tricks, get those objectives, and win the overall war, rather than minor squabbles.

 

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House Bolton (60 pts)

House Bolton (60 pts) - Posted by Michael Shinall

The List
We have two options when it comes to Neutral Commanders: Roose Bolton (NCU, Lord of the Dreadfort) or Ramsay Snow (The Bastard of Bolton). Roose is the more cunning and manipulative (play-style wise) of the two, whereas Ramsay is more combat focused. For this list I decided to go with Roose as our Commander and exploit the Bolton play-style of throwing Panic across the battlefield.

• Commander: Roose Bolton (NCU: Lord of the Dreadfort)
• House Bolton Cutthroats + Dreadfort Captain (6 pts)
• House Bolton Cutthroats + Dreadfort Captain (6 pts)
• House Bolton Cutthroats (5 pts)
• House Bolton Bastard's Girls + Bronn, the Sellsword (9 pts)
• House Bolton Bastard's Girls + Ramsay Snow, Sadist (10 pts)
• House Bolton Flayed Men (10 pts)
• House Bolton Flayed Men (10 pts)
• NCU: Varys, the Spider (4 pts)

General Bolton Tactics
Roose is the key component in an engine designed to dish out Panic tokens- specifically because they are the fuel for his machine of terror and dread.

Meanwhile Roose's Tactics cards utilize said Panic tokens to cause a number of ill effects on the enemy, ranging from disrupting enemy Tactics cards, unit abilities, and available actions. Basically, Roose is a master of manipulating various aspects of the game via usage of Panic, so if you're the type of player who likes disruption and control, then Roose is the Commander for you. Combine this with the General Neutral Tactics Cards, which, while not carrying a specific theme of their own, are built to be useful in a variety of situations, and you have a well rounded jack-of-all-trades toolkit to aid you regardless of the Game Mode or opponent.

The overall list does pack a good combat punch, but it's mainstay is going to be control via Panic. You're not going to hit as hard as the Starks, and you definitely don't have the defensive capabilities of the Lannisters, but you make up for that in versatility and sneaky tricks. Your key power is going to be able to adapt to counter the enemy's plan, as well as shut them down at key moments- being able to predict and plan around these moments is going to be the key difference between a good Bolton player and a wannabe lord.

Combat Unit Tactics
The backbone of this force are the Bolton Cutthroats, clocking in at 5pts for the unit and an additional +1 pt for the Dreadfort Captain. Perhaps the most important thing to note about this entire force is that it's exceedingly forced on damage output, and has very little staying power if it doesn't get its attacks off quickly. Your overall goal is to hit the enemy fast and hit them hard. Cutthroats have some of the absolute highest damage output potential for their cost, with a 3+ to Hit, high attack dice, and Vicious built in. More so, if the enemy hasn't activated, they're going to become Vulnerable, which means you have built in counters to both defensive units and high morale units.

The Dreadfort Captain is there because, combined with Vicious, you have a high chance of triggering his Spread Fear ability, which in turn synergizes with Roose and keeps your Panic Engine running. Your rounds should begin with activating the Cutthroats to make use of their Ability, as well as getting some Panic tokens out on the board to allow you to trigger more of your Tactic Cards.

The Bastard's Girls are going to act as your "cover-all" units. Again, no real staying power, so their focus needs to be damage output- with their ability to do a Ranged Attack (marginal damage, but a Panic Test) and then Charge (good damage, and again, another Panic Test) these guys can really lay out the hurt. Of course, if you don't cripple the enemy then their 6+ Defense Save isn't going to save you from a strong counterattack, so, again, its super important that you hit them hard.

In order to make sure you can accomplish this, we have two Attachments to stick with these guys:

Bronn is an excellent choice for the Girls since the +2 dice carries over across both their Ranged and Melee attacks. Meanwhile, the +1 Speed is useful for both initial positioning as well as making sure your Charge goes off. Factor in that the Neutral Tactics Deck has a heavy emphasis on the Wealth zone and the natural synergizes become apparent. Finally, making the unit have, effectively, a 3+ Morale Stat aids them with some additional staying power, further making up for their 6+ Defense Save. All in all Bronn is one of the best choices to stick in the unit- yes, he requires a small amount of set-up to work, but even if you don't need to heal anyone Roose's replacement effect means you can claim the zone and still utilize it for your strategies.

Ramsay accompanies the other unit of Bastard's Girls. Unfortunately, his Affiliation: House Bolton ability is wasted here, but frankly its a minor bonus compared to everything else. We already established that the unit wants to cause as much damage as possible, and Ramsay's Cut Them Down! ability does just that. Combine this with the free Reek that he gets, which now means you get to combo down both Panicked as well as Vulnerable, and you have a second super deadly unit for your opponent to deal with.

The only trade-off for both of these units is they're fairly expensive, being 9 and 10 points respectively, so you can't just throw them out there with wild abandon. You need to be calculating in your maneuvering and just who you engage.

What I'm saying is basically never fight fair. You need to Red Wedding as many enemy units as you can in order to achieve victory.

Finally we come to your super heavy hitters. The Flayed Men cost twice the points of most basic Infantry units, but we get quite a bit for that investment. The biggest aspect of them, however, is the psychological aspect they bring to the table with their 2+ Defense Save. That alone causes opponents to panic about how to deal with them... In reality, 2+ is scary, but there are plenty of ways around it (throwing down Vulnerable, or hitting them in the Flank immediately come to mind, and of course- targeting their Morale). The biggest trapping you as the Bolton player can fall into is thinking that they're unkillable, because then that exact thing will happen- they'll get wiped out and you'll be down 10pts.

Of course, all that being said, the Flayed Men do everything that you'd want a Bolton unit to do: They're incredibly maneuverable, they hit super hard, and they spread Panic across the enemy ranks. Think of these guys as a more mobile, tankier version of the Bolton Cutthroats and you've got the general idea. I will stress again though that while, in practical application, they do much the same thing, the psychological threat is the real key to using these guys to their fullest potential. Make your opponent fear them and invest more resources than they should to stop them!

NCU Support
For this list I wanted a second NCU, though I also believe it would function just fine removing him (and a Dreadfort Captain) and replacing him with another unit of Bolton Cutthroats, just to get some additional combat presence.

Our Neutral options were either Varys or Littlefinger- with this specific list I don't feel Littlefinger really contributes all that much, so that leaves us with Varys who, on the other hand, gives us a way higher measure of control that synergizes with our strategy. One thing to note is that, overall, our force has a bit of a weakness to Panic Tests. This means that a savvy opponent will hammer our units with the Crown zone and/or the Tactics Zone to start throwing down Vulnerable/Panicked tokens on us... As mentioned we already don't have a lot of staying power, so every negative really hurts.

Varys helps us shut that down.

More than anything else, Varys is included as some added insurance that we have a method to counter some of the harsher effects that might hit us.

 

[serbaelish]

Gregor Clegane (40 pts) - posted by Michael Shinall

The List

• Commander: Gregor Clegane, The Mountain
• Lannister Halberdiers (+ The Mountain) 6pts.
• Lannister Halberdiers (+ Sandor Clegane, The Hound) 8pts.
• House Clegane Mountain's Men (+ Roose Bolton, The Leech Lord) 9pts.
• House Clegane Mountain's Men (+ Assault Veteran) 7pts.
• House Clegane Mountain's Men 6pts.
• NCU: Tywin Lannister, The Great Lion 4pts.

Overall, there isn't really anything overly complex about this list: Go make the enemy dead. Simple, but effective.

The main point to remember is a lot of people see the Halberdiers, with their Set for Charge Ability, and immediately peg them as a defensive unit... Which they are... But they are roll a constant 7 attack dice and have Sundering. Those are quite the offensive stats- combine that with how The Mountain operates and we can really crank that to 11.

For our Attachments, we have three. First is Sandor Clegane, The Hound. First, he gives us the benefit of allowing the unit to gain the additional effects of Gregor's Tactics Cards, since the Halberdier unit now triggers House Clegane benefits. In addition, his Hound's Fury Ability grants the already formittable Halberdiers +1 to Hit and Vicious, bringing them to a grant total of 7 Attack Dice, 3+ to Hit, Sundering and Vicious. Combine that with the capability of giving them 5+ Critical Blow via the Fury of the Mountain Tactic Card and not much is going to survive that onslaught. Finally, Hound's Fury can be triggered anytime the unit attacks, meaning you can activate it off of their Set for Charge Order, and since they don't lose dice until their last rank, the benefit can be used with minimal care.

It's a really strong combo, is what I'm saying.

Next you have the standard Assault Veteran being added to a unit of Mountain's Men. While you really don't want your unit tied up in melee, it's going to happen. What the Assault Veteran does is turn your guys into a nice "anvil" unit since he effectively gives the Mountain's Men up to 10 attack dice but, more importantly, a 2+ to Hit if they begin the turn engaged. It's important to note that the buff triggers anytime they begin the turn engaged and continues until the end of that turn. Meaning you can begin engaged, gain the bonus, destroy the enemy, and combo that into Overrun, with your new Charge attack keeping all the bonuses. Again, rampage.

Finally we have the unit of Mountain's Men with Roose at the helm. He's there because Ferocious Assault combos so well with the natural Vicious built into the Mountain's Men. This unit is pretty much here to go after any threats that you need to crush through Morale-based effects, such as Tully Sworn Shields or House Bolton Flayed Men (who better to know Bolton weakness than Bolton itself?). The added survivability he brings, combined with the innate boosts granted by the Lannister Generic Tactics, also make the unit surprisingly durable.

On the NCU front we have the Great Lion, Tywin Lannister. I knew going into this list I needed to focus my points primarily on the battlefield, so NCU support wasn't especially needed. There were a number of options to go with, but I figured having an ace-in-the-hole like Tywin would benefit me the most in the long run.

Overall, this list is very flexible with the Tactics Board simply because it doesn't really have to play that game as hard as other Lannister lists- Each zone is useful, but none are really key to making our strategy work. Given that, it came down to either Petyr Baelish or Tywin. Petyr was considered because we can block our opponent's options while claiming what we want, but frankly blocking off the enemy didn't really matter so much to me. Tywin here meanwhile allows me to just devastate a key enemy unit once per game. Combine the staggering debuffs he causes with the raw combat potential I have, and it will pretty much guarantee that I'm going to take my target out, and being able to (strategically) point at a unit and go "You die now" allows me to trigger much of the list's strengths.

And that is the list when we're looking at Gregor as a Commander. We still have three entire other options when it comes to him, however! He's the man that just keeps on giving.

Attachment: Lord Tywin's Mad Dog
Gregor is perhaps the most straight-up deadly combat-oriented Attachment currently out there. Specifically in that his bonus is just generically useful and is just always there. +2 Attack dice and Sundering is useful in all situations, and incredibly powerful on most anyone. Of course, he comes at a drawback in that the unit must always declare a Charge action if it can... Easy enough drawback to work around as long as you put him in a unit that you never intent to use for anything but killing: No Objective holding, no sneaky ploys, just outright killin'.

That being the case, put him in a unit of House Clegane Mountain's Men or Lannister Guardsmen. Yes, I mean that last one (and more on that in a moment).

With the Mountain's Men you'll create a unit that rolls upwards of 10 attack dice and has Critical Blow, Sundering, and Vicious... Just... All the effects. It's going to be a problem for your opponent, and they're really not going to want to be in combat with them at all.

The Lannister Guardsmen is initially going to seem like a weird option, but let's take a look at just what you're getting: An attack profile of 8/7/5 and Sundering. Not bad there, but now factor in their defensive stats of a 3+ Defense Save and Lannister Supremacy. All that combined together and you have a unit that really doesn't have much weakness, and all for eight points. Granted, that isn't the cheapest investment, but it's not bad for the cost either!

In reverse, I'd avoid putting Gregor in with Halberdiers, since while the 9/9/5 attack profile is good, you're wasting the Sundering. It can work, but I hate feeling like I'm wasting points. Bolton Cutthroats can make use of him, due to their Vicious and 3+ To Hit value... Basically taking the Defensive stats of the Guardsmen and going all-out on Attack, so they're another solid option. Finally, and this should be obvious, don't stick him in units that incorporate Ranged attacks, like Crossbowmen or House Bolton Bastard's Girls, because you're neutering (heh) the unit by making it so you can only ever use their Ranged Attack if you invest in the Combat Zone of the Tactics Board... aka just making the unit worse for marginal gain.

Attachment: Mounted Behemoth
When it comes to our Cavalry Attachment for Gregor we currently have two options. Both of which are very expensive already, with the Knights of Casterly Rock sitting at 8 points and the Flayed Men a staggering 10, so initially you might be hesitant to stack another 3 points on top of that. For me personally stacking another 3 points onto the Flayed Men is a bit overkill- they already have a lot of tools to deal with threats on their own, though I won't deny that adding Gregor to them just ups their damage to insane levels, with the combination of automatic Wounds, Panic and Vicious. I still feel its a hefty investment in a single unit though, but if its your style then go for it.

Overall, I feel Gregor really amplifies the Knights for a decent cost though. Coming it at 11 points he brings three key factors to the unit: The first is he helps the issue that the Knights really don't want to get stuck in a prolonged engagement. They're ok at it with Lannister Supremacy, but you want these guys out there Charging. This ties into the second factor that Gregor allows them to do exactly that- Charge more, thus triggering their Lance buffs. Finally, Gregor throws out Panic tokens, which synergize especially well with Lannister Supremacy. The 11 points you'll be spending on this is still pretty expensive, but its a fair trade for covering the "weaknesses" of the unit. If you have the points to spare, Gregor is a welcome addition to Casterly Rock.

Combat Unit: The Mountain that Rides
Gregor doesn't need any help when it comes to killing enemies. This is exemplified by him being a Combat Unit all in his own right.

Boasting some of the best overall stats in the game Gregor is a serious threat on the battlefield, but isn't without his share of weaknesses. When utilizing The Mountain That Rides you'll have access to one of the strongest "missiles" in the game- and you really should be treating him exactly like that as well.

I believe a lot of people are going to look at Gregor here and go "2+ Defense Save! 3+ Morale Value! UNKILLABLE!" and promptly have him get killed from mass number of attacks and/or Panic wounds. Gregor can really dish out a bunch of damage, but get him stuck in combat with a full unit of Infantry and he's going to lose in the long-run. The best use of him is to go after soft targets in the enemy army, aka other Solo Units/War Machines/Weakened enemies... ... or slam him directly into the biggest threat the enemy presents... In the first scenario there are few other units that can stand up to him one-on-one, so he does really good work at taking them down. He is also exceptional at combining assaults with other friendly units who have already locked themselves into combat with your enemies. By targeting these units you maximize Gregor's potential to stay alive and make himself more useful over the rest of the battle.

Alternatively just crash him into the strongest enemy unit to weaken it. Odds are they'll kill Gregor on the counter, but if he gets even two solid swings in he has the potential to deal enough damage to make it worth it. In the end he's 4 points (and a Victory Point for your opponent)- not an insignificant investment, but if he can mitigate a unit with 7+ cost then you come out ahead in the end. With only 4 Attack dice you'll have to work for it, but this is where your Tactics Cards and your Commander come into play. It's really going to come down to all the other factors of your army to decide whether bringing The Mountain That Rides is worth it or not for your particular list.

 

[serbaelish]

The Blackfish (40 ptts)

The Blackfish (40pts) - posted by Michael Shinall

The List

• Commander: Brynden Tully, the Blackfish
• House Tully Sworn Shields + Sworn Sword Captain (8 pts)
• House Tully Sworn Shields + Brienne, Maid of Tarth (9 pts)
• House Stark Sworn Swords + Brynden Tully (5 pts)
• Stark Bowmen + Crannogman Warden (7 pts)
• Stark Bowmen + Crannogman Warden (7 pts)
• NCU: Eddard Stark, Warden of the North (4 pts)

This list has a strong focus on defense and basically creating a series of anchor-points across the battlefield via the natural defenses of the Tullys along with the restorative aspects of Brynden and Eddard. While the list doesn't have a lot of natural aggression in it, the Generic Stark Tactics Cards more than fill that role, allowing the army to push out a surprisingly large amount of offensive potential. We combine all that with a sprinkling of tricks in the form of some Crannogman-led Bowmen and we have a solid list that can take on all threats.


The most important thing to look at is our Commander himself, Bryden Tully. He'll be leading a unit of Sworn Swords, conveying unto them Stalwart, meaning they'll pass their Morale Tests on a 4+, as well as giving them the House Tully trait, meaning his own Tactics Cards become all the more effective on them. This is especially nice because it covers the one "gap" we had, allowing all our melee units to benefit from his Tactics (while the Bowmen are solid choices for some of them, we don't especially care about them as much, but we'll get into that later).

Looking at his Tactics Cards, we first have Refuse to Yield, and since our army is rocking an average Morale Save of 6+, we should be passing those fairly often (and the unit that benefits the most from it, the Sworn Swords, are passing on 4+, again thanks to Brynden). Next we have Set for Charge, which means the army can place itself into position without having to become overly aggressive, letting the enemy come to them. This is especially beneficial in any Game Mode that features Objectives (A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, The Winds of Winter) or ones where you will be on the defensive (A Storm of Swords). Finally, we have Tully Valor, which turns your already tanky-army into a near impenetrable bulwark, increasing your average Defense Save to a 2+ and allowing you to auto-pass your Panic Test. Basically you just won't be taking damage for that attack!

So those are the basics of Brynden himself, now let's look at the units he's bringing along.

Our front-line is made up of the aforementioned House Tully Sworn Shields and House Stark Sworn Swords. The Shields are basically a solid line of stats with the ability to negate damage when attacked from the Front, otherwise they don't really have a lot of tricks. It's very important in this list to protect your flanks and really try to avoid getting swarmed. As mentioned, the Sworn Shields don't have a huge amount of tricks going for them other than just "not dying". Getting hit from the Flank however, negates their Shieldwall Order and reduces their Defense Save to a 4+. While that's still not bad, it's not amazing, and you really need to avoid that whenever possible.

I will note that, given the above, the list does feature a bit of a weakness to anyone who would be running a large amount of Cavalry. If up against such an opponent, you're going to need to make tactical use of both your Bowmen as well as your Set for Charge tactic to mitigate the issues that will come. Luckily as well, the list also features a decent amount of restoration as well, which can help against that counter.

In looking at the specifics of each unit, we have the following:

• Unit 1 of Sworn Shields with Sworn Sword Captain: I chose the SS Captain because the Tullys already have enough natural defense, and while a 3+ melee is good, a 3+ melee against a Vulnerable foe is better. Since the combats with these units are likely to be protracted, the continuous benefit of throwing Vulnerable down makes us win in the long-run.
• Unit 2 of Sworn Shields with Brienne: So for me it was a toss-up between including either Brienne or Bronn here. Bronn I considered including because I see the list making liberal use of the Wealth zone, and by adding him to a unit of Sworn Shields you would gain +1 MV to make up for how slow they are, +2 Attack dice, which helps with damage, and +2 to Morale Saves, giving us yet another unit that passes on a 4+. I decided to go with Brienne here instead, because she is less reliant on going after the Wealth zone and still gives a lot of nice bonuses to the unit. In the end it's personal choice, and, to be honest, I'll probably end up trying Bronn here in the end, but Brienne is the "safer" bet as she'll always be on, whereas Bronn can be shut off and needs to be "activated" in the first place.
• Unit of Sworn Swords and Bryden: This is one of our offensive-units. They're also incredibly cheap for what they offer. Plus, since they'll naturally be damaging themselves via Stark Fury, Brynden's "Blackfish's Resolve" Ability will help mitigate that by allowing some minor restoration.

Next we have what are going to be some surprise damage-dealers of the list: two units of Stark Bowmen, each led by a Crannogman Warden!

So why are these guys going to be trouble? Well the Bowmen can already toss out a high amount of damage- upwards of 10 Attack Dice. Their "weakness" was the issue of only hitting on a 4+. Stick a Crannogman Warden in there and that issue goes away, or at the very least puts your opponent in a hard place about choosing just who to activate.

Basic strategy with these guys is have them in your back-ranks (duh) and have your Sworn Shields engage your foes. Your Bowmen then begin to rain down arrows into the melee. The Sworn Shields, being the badasses that they are, probably won't care too much about the resulting Panic Test because, again, they are rocking a 6+ save (and 4+ in the case of Brienne's group). Meanwhile, the Sworn Swords and Brynden almost welcome such tactics, as they are not only passing on a 4+, but each time it happens its triggering Blackfish's Resolve, allowing them to restore a Wound!

Say what you will about the Starks, but anyone who's willing to not only have their own guys fire arrows into their melee, but actually fight better because of it, are scary in my book.

The last addition to the list is our NCU: Eddard Stark, Warden of the North. This one was another toss-up, because it was either going to be Eddard here or Rodrik. Rodrik would have provided Critical Blow to our units, which would have increased their offensive-punch, but in the end I wanted to maintain the theme of "outlasting" your opponent and Eddard fits that fill completely. By adding him to the list we're taking advantage of the natural fact that we'll be passing the majority of our Morale/Panic Tests, and thus can constantly utilize his Ability (well... up to three times per game, anyway).

One nice tactic to employ is to have your Bowmen fire into a melee, hopefully damage the enemy a bunch, and then trigger a Panic Test in everyone... As we've discussed before, your units will probably easily pass this test, allowing you to restore some wounds to them, which could potentially restore some ranks, and thus allow them to attack that much harder. Sure, it's a semi-situational tactic, but one to keep in mind when playing.

Otherwise, Ned will just add to your opponent's frustration at not being able to bash their way through your front-line, all the while getting pelted by arrows from your rear.

Alternatively, for those who favor running two NCUs in a list, there is also the option of removing Brienne and the Sworn Sword Captain and replacing them both with Sansa Stark, Little Bird. This is a viable option as it allows you to fetch one of Brynden's Tactics Cards at any key moment (well... ANY Tactic Card, really, but I'm visualizing pulling Tully Valor against a crucial attack). This does change the overall play-style of the list around, as your re-focusing some power from your Combat Units to the Tactics Board, but it was worth mentioning for those that favor that style of play over direct confrontation!

 

[serbaelish]

Brynden's Outriders (40 pts)

Brynden's Outriders (40 pts) - Posted by Michael Shinall

The List

• Commander: Brynden Tully (Outrider Commander)
• Cavalry Unit: Stark Outriders (7pts)
• Cavalry Unit: Stark Outriders (7pts)
• Cavalry Unit: Stark Outriders (7pts)
• Cavalry Unit: House Bolton Flayed Men (10pts)
• NCU: Rodrik Cassel (Combat Veteran) (4pts)
• NCU: Petyr Baelish (Littlefinger) (4pts)

While not the most exciting list when it comes to unit select, there is a surprisingly large amount of strategy and tactics available, despite the limited unit pool. To understand everything, however, we'll need to break own each of the individual components. Let's begin with our Commander himself, Brynden.

Looking at his Commander Attachment, we have Outflank: Stark Outriders, which allows you to hold a single unit off the table, deploying them from any table edge at the start of any round. It's important to note here that Bryden does not have to be in this unit- he just selects one Outrider unit and they gain the effect. This means that Bryden himself has a number of options as to where he can go, specifically in regards to his second Ability, Pathfinder. This Ability amps up the Speed of whatever unit you place him in, allowing the Outriders to jump up to Speed: 7 (and thus being able to clear a staggering 14-21 inches per activation) or stick him with the Flayed Men to bring them up to 6, allowing them to keep up with the Outriders you're running.

Personally, I believe the best option is either to stick Brynden in with the outflanking Outriders, giving them yet another speed boost to get into the enemy back-ranks, or with the Flayed Men- because I prefer the spee symmetry across the army. Also, in certain Game Modes, you'll want to protect your Commander (Clash of Kings, Winds of Winter) and the Flayed Men are one of the hardest units to crack in the entire game, let alone compared to your average-defense Outriders.

Brynden's Tactics Cards are what bring this whole list together. Of course the Generic Stark Tactics Cards also lend themselves very well to charging, which the list does in spades, but the real meat comes from the three cards above.

Heavy Impact is the first of these cards, giving you hitting power on the charge due to forcing enemy Defense re-rolls via Vulnerable. It's very important to remember that, since your list is all Cavalry, there is no reason as to why you shouldn't be getting off flank and rear Charges, thus causing a -1 to enemy Defense Save rolls and Panic Tests. -1 Defense combined with Vulnerable is absolutely devastating to any unit, and this isn't even factoring in the re-rolls to Hit you yourself are getting.

Additionally, Bryden's tactics favor the Maneuver Zone of the Tactics Board, so you'll want to claim that often. With Heavy Impact it's going to give you two additional Hits, which may not seem like much, but, again, factoring in all the buffs and negatives your going to cause, each one of them matters!

Next we have Ride-By Attack, which is probably the single most impactful card available to you. This single card dynamically changes how your strategy functions as well as modifying your opponent's strategies as well (at least it should). With this card you can send one of your Cavalry units crashing through the enemy ranks, turn them around (because, remember, this is a March action, you pivot at the end) and then you get to make an Attack! Not only has your opponent suffered an attack and your Cavalry unit is safe from harm, but they're now in the rear flanks of the enemy army- not good for your opponent at all!

Finally we have Ride Them Down! which functions to compound the damage you're already dealing to your foe. It may not seem like a lot, but additional Wounds (aka straight damage) are additional Wounds, and you'll be thankful you have it when it takes out the last bit of a remaining enemy rank! Once more we see the benefits of having claimed the Maneuver Zone, as now you're causing a guaranteed 3 Wounds instead of rolling, which is almost an entire enemy rank (or, indeed, and entire Cavalry model in the case of fighting your own mounted-brethren).

Alright, now that we have an understanding of Brynden's Tactics Cards, let's look at the two units that will be benefiting from them.

First we have our Outriders, who will be making up the majority of our list with three full units. These guys synergize extremely well with the Maneuver Zone, which as mentioned before we're going to want to make heavy use of, as well as our NCU selection with Rodrik Cassel. In regards to the Maneuver Zone, they pair perfectly with Heavy Impact, as the zone allows them to charge and not only trigger the card but gain its full bonus effect as well.

Looking at the Outriders, it's important to note a lot of their power comes not from their raw Abilities or stats, but just how they function on the board. 4+ to Hit is not amazing, eight Attack Dice is average, and they have no Abilities on the attack. What you need to remember, however, is the Flank and Rear Charge bonuses, which I will stress again, you should always be getting. This means their attacks effectively have Sundering as well as a semi-version of Vicious. Combine this with their Order: Swift Retreat Ability and they should never be locked down in combat, and should always have the potential to Charge an enemy when they want to.

We have included a unit of Flayed Men in the army to give us a center-piece "tank unit". Opponents tend to be afraid of these guys when they see a 2+ Defense Save and overly focus resources to take them down- this is exactly what you want. While the Flayed Men are acting as a big anvil unit your Outriders should be hitting enemy flanks and being the real source of damage in your army.

Of course, the Flayed Men also give you access to some Panic shenanigans, which gives you the needed tools to deal with those pesky tank units in the enemy army, which, flank bonuses aside, still provide a bit of a problem for you to deal with. Send the Flayed Men after any threat that you can do more damage to Morale-wise than just dealing raw combat damage. While the Outriders can hurt a lot of threats, anything that is super scary should be handled by the Flayed Men- just don't let them get bogged down by chaff units from the enemy, least you fail to recover their hefty point-investment.

Finally, we come to the NCU selections for the army.

Running two NCUs at 40pts in an already unit-lite army is tough, but I feel it's worth it in the end, actually specifically because of the point just mentioned- you have a small number of combat units- you need to maximize value out of them wherever possible! Rodrik brings a bit of added combat push to your army- Ok yes, he is completely useless on the Flayed Men, but for all your Outrider units he is fantastic.

As mentioned, you should be 1. getting the Charge and 2. hitting Flanks. Charge re-rolls mean you can aim for more 6's to trigger Critical Blow, thus upping the overall damage of your Outriders... and since you're going to spend so much time in the enemy flanks, punish them ever more for it by claiming the Combat Zone, allowing yourself another attack and triggering the Vulnerable from Rodrik. There is not a single unit in the game that isn't going to be hurt by Outriders hitting them with re-roll to Defense stacked with a -1 Defense Save and -1 Panic Test... an this is before you factor in any of the Generic Stark Tactic Card buffs!

Littlefinger joins us because not only is versatility key with this army, but he brings an added level of control by allowing us to counter enemy Tactics Board strategies. Lannisters want to claim that Crown? Nope. Opposing Starks think they're going to gain those Combat Zone buffs? Nope again! And on the offense? Well now you get to double-down on whatever effects you think you might need. An enemy tank unit causing you grief? Double-Crown them and destroy their Morale, or just overflow your Tactics Hand with four more cards while also throwing down two Condition Tokens of your choosing (assuming Petyr and Rodrik double-team the Wealth Zone and one other of your choosing).

The important thing is just keep your options open with Petyr and deny your opponent theirs. As Brynden himself said "My first rule of war, Cat, is never give the enemy his wish."

 

[serbaelish]

Starter Set Tactics: Lannister Lists

Starter Set Tactics: Lannister Lists (30 pts) - posted by Michael Shinall

Tactics Board Control

• Commander: Jaime Lannister/Gregor Clegane
• 1x Lannister Guardsmen (5 Pts)
• 1x Lannister Guardsmen (5 Pts)
• 1x Lannister Halberdiers (6 Pts)
• 1x House Clegane Mountain's Men (6 Pts)
• NCU: Tyrion Lannister (4 Pts)
• NCU: Cersei Lannister (4 Pts)

This is perhaps the most "basic" setup to run right out of the gate. You can play it with either Commander option and they both benefit equally well from it. What this Setup is going to allow is a very strong control element when it comes to the Tactics Board as well as manipulating enemy Morale and Tactics Card usage.

With this list, you are giving up a bit of field-presence in favor of control, so do take note of that- your Combat Units are vanilla here with no Attachments (outside your Commander) to speak of- you're going to have to make up for that lack of presence with ruthless utilization of the Tactics Board and the combined effects of Cersei modifying enemy Morale and Tyrion granting you additional Tactics Cards while simultaneously denying them from your opponent.

Here, you're going to need to use your wits, proper planning, and natural Lannister cunning to win the day. If those sound likes areas you excess at, then this is a great starter list to explore.

Crush Their Skulls In!

• Commander: Gregor Clegane (The Mountain)
• Lannister Guardsmen + Guard Captain (6 pts)
• Lannister Guardsmen + Gregor Clegane (5 pts)
• Lannister Halberdiers + Jaime Lannister (The Young Lion) (8 pts)
• House Clegane Mountain's Men + Assault Veteran (7 pts)
• NCU: Cersei Lannister (4 pts)

This is perhaps the most aggressive Lannister list you can run right out of the starter, with an extreme focus on dealing damage and just annihilating your foe. With this list, you've given up the added bonus of taking a second NCU in favor of decking out your Combat Units with a variety of Attachments. The first Guardsmen unit has a Captain attached (a fairly common set-up) which allows them a guaranteed trigger to their Lannister Supremacy ability. Stack with Cersai for added flavor. Next you have Gregor in the second unit of Guardsmen, which makes the usually lackluster combat prowess of the unit jump way up since Gregor just deals D3 auto-wounds each time you attack. More importantly, he grants the unit the House Clegane

Affiliation, which means they gain added benefits from his Tactics Cards.

Jaime meanwhile leads the Halberdier unit and, due to his Boldness and Courage Ability, makes it so they will never roll less than 7 dice until they are completely wiped out! Finally, we have the Mountain's Men being led by an Assault Veteran, who allows them to become a truly scary "anvil unit" once they become entrenched in combat, making their attacks hit on a 2+ with an added two dice! Being that they naturally have Critical Blow and Vicious, you can see how scary that can become!
With this list, you do gain the additional benefit of being able to just swap out your NCU choice freely, depending on your style. Personally I like Cersei here because she synergizes so well with Lannister Supremacy, the Panic that Gregor's Charges cause, and the Vicious trait of the Mountain's Men's attacks. If you prefer a little added control, however, feel free to swap her out for Tyrion to grant you additional Tactics Card options.

Just Better Than You

• Commander: Jaime Lannister (The Kingslayer)
• Lannister Guardsmen + Jaime Lannister (5 Pts)
• Lannister Guardsmen + Gregor Clegane (Lord Tywin's Mad Dog) (8 Pts)
• Lannister Halberdiers + Assault Veteran (7 pts)
• House Clegane Mountain's Men (6 pts)
• NCU: Tyrion Lannister (4 pts)

This list capitalizes on Jaime's Tactics Cards, which are all about punishing your opponent for attacking you. His unit of Guardsmen become one of the most incredibly annoying and dangerous units in the game to attack, and any savvy opponent is going to avoid them instead of directly engaging them.

The second unit is going to seem very odd at first glance as your sticking the damn Mountain in with Guardsmen, who are notoriously bad at actual combat. The thing is... It's the damn Mountain. By adding him to the unit you've created a Combat Unit with a 3+ Defense Save that causes Panic Tests when attacked, an 8/7/5 Attack Die profile, and Sundering on top of all that. That's... really scary, even with just a 4+ to Hit. It really does speak to how adding the Mountain to a unit can jump their combat potential way up. Here we've added him to the Guardsmen because of their low cost-investment and the 3+ Defense Save allows them to stick around longer. The 2+ dice are alright on the Halberdiers, but the Sundering would be wasted, so they're not the best option.

Alternatively, you could stick him in the unit of Mountain's Men as well to just make them go full berserker-style offense, cranking their already high-combat-potential to 11, allowing them to rock a 10/8/6, 3+ to Hit, Attack with Critical Blow, Sundering, and Vicious. That's a crazy amount of damage coming out of a unit! It's a personal preference, as I like the more well-rounded approach the Guardsmen give, but if you want to field what is potentially the single scariest Combat Unit in the entire starter, then you have your option!

Finally, your NCU option here is Tyrion. While, again, you could switch out for Cersei, I wouldn't recommend it as Jaime particularly loves the tricks his Tactics Cards employ, and having access to more of them at any single time is something I value much higher in this list than the Panic-inducing effects that Cersei brings.

 

[serbaelish]

Starter Set Tactics: Stark Lists

Starter Set Tactics: Stark Lists (30 pts) - Posted by Michael Shinall

Standard Combat List

• Commander: Robb Stark/Greatjon Umber
• 1x House Stark Sworn Swords + Sworn Sword Captain/Umber Champion (6 Pts Total)
• 1x House Stark Sworn Swords + Commander (5 Pts)
• 1x House Umber Berserkers + Sworn Sword Captain (8 Pts)
• 1x Stark Outriders (7 Pts)
• +/- Grey Wind (0)
• NCU: Catelyn Stark (4 pts)

This is going to be perhaps the most basic Stark List setup out of the box. It allows you to freely swap the Commanders around without effecting the overall list composition (the only change would be if you get Grey Wind or not). There is some variance in the list in that you can choose to field either a Sworn Sword Captain or Umber Champion in your first Sworn Sword Unit, depending on personal tastes.

The second unit, however, I like to place my Commander in. It's true, you could put them in with the Umber Berserkers as well, but those guys I'm going to be sending into the very thick of the fight, and I also don't really believe they need the extra boosts that the Commanders would give- at least not as much as the second Sworn Sword unit. A consideration would be to stick Robb in with them, as his Ability is more about area control than raw combat buffs, and you create the situation where if your opponent wants to get rid of him they'll have to fight through Berserkers to do it.

With our NCU option here we've gone with Catelyn, who will probably latch onto the Berserkers each round, allowing them to throw down their 10 Attack Dice right from the start. Of course, don't marry her to them, the Sworn Swords can make heavy use of her Influence as well, especially if they're reduced down to 1 rank.

House Umber List

• Commander: Greatjon Umber (Lord of Last Hearth)
• House Stark Sworn Swords + Greatjon Umber (5 Pts)
• House Stark Sworn Swords (5 Pts)
• House Umber Berserkers + Robb Stark (The Young Wolf) (10 Pts)
• Stark Outriders (7 Pts)
• Grey Wind (0 Pts)
• NCU: Sansa Stark (3 Pts)

This list capitalizes on the fact that Greatjon's Tactics Cards trigger extra benefits when targeting House Umber units, and his Commander version grants that to any unit he is in. This means fully half your army gains the added benefits- while it may not seem like a lot (being only two units) it really comes into play.

With this list we've opted for Sansa due to her being the cheaper option. With that extra point we're able to gain access to Robb, who in turn gives us Grey Wind. Robb is added to the Berserkers which, while making them a staggering 10 point unit, also makes them the absolute fastest unit in the Starter Set- not even factoring in the added ability to Charge when targeted by the Maneuver Zone of the Tactics Board.

Alternatively, you could replace Sansa with Catelyn to once again keep the Berserkers fighting hard (removing Robb in favor of cheaper options as well), but Sansa is included because she allows you to dig for a key Tactics Card right when you need it, and as we previously mentioned, half your army is gaining additional benefits due to the House Umber keyword- It's a supremely nasty surprise when the Lannisters think they're accomplishing a victory by destroying one of your Combat Units, only to have Sansa search out a Last Stand card and have the unit decimate their attacker.

Tactics Control

• Commander: Robb Stark (The Wolf Lord)
• House Stark Sworn Swords + Greatjon Umber (Fierce Bannerman) (8 Pts)
• House Umber Berserkers + Robb Stark (The Wolf Lord) (7 Pts)
• Stark Outriders (7 Pts)
• Grey Wind (0 Pts)
• NCU: Catelyn Stark (4 Pts)
• NCU: Sansa Stark (3 Pts)

I would almost call this is a bit of an "advanced list" to play, because you're giving up an entire Combat Unit for more Tactics Board options. With this list you're giving up your numbers advantage by removing a Sworn Sword unit in favor of running a second NCU + expensive Attachment.

What is the benefit of this? Well with this specific set-up we maximize our usage of the Tactics Board by having both Greatjon (who, in his Attachment version, allows us to Charge off of the Combat Zone), Catelyn, who again bolsters the Berserkers, and Sansa as well, who might be the greatest asset to Robb as his Tactics Cards are full game-changers when played correctly, given that their entire focus is battlefield positioning and manipulation.

Again, the downside of this list is that, while we will still match the Lannister starter-lists 4 for 4 in unit count, Grey Wind cannot really be considered a "full Combat Unit" on his own, as he's a support piece- one should never expect him to go toe-to-toe with another unit and survive on his own.

Of course, I do believe with the proper knowledge and skill this list is perfectly capable against anything else out of the starter, but a player must understand that each Combat Unit loss will hurt that much more, versus the safety net of the other lists that can afford to lose a unit or two early and still be fine.