The Ultimate Bunker

[Lone Pathfinder]

Robb Stark Commander in a unit of Sword Shields. This unit will last a long time, even against Flayed Men.
Robb forces disorderly charges by any enemy in long range, including those against him. Add D3 blocked hits by a shield wall and then followed by some tough armour of the Sworn Shields. Enjoy.

 

[TheGrinningWolf]

Nice! Thanks for this LP!

T W

 

[Psychopath]

But it won't help against vicious and Cersei...Or flank attacks. Or when they have to move a unit of Lannister Guards sitting on an objective.

 

[Lone Pathfinder]

But it won't help against vicious and Cersei...Or flank attacks. Or when they have to move a unit of Lannister Guards sitting on an objective.

The aim here is to help with suggestions, not to whine and throw the hands up in despair. Bring solutions, not problems. This is about a bunker. A bunker is a defensive unit not an aggressive one. You place this unit on an objective and it will remain there for a long time. You do not use this unit to try and push Lannister guards off an objective. Use Stark superior mobility to move this unit on to the objective first.

 

[AlxRaven]

I really like using Maege with the Sworn Shields for a bunker. I also then like to use them to engage a unit, and let my Bowmen fire into the melee. Which then can trigger the Order on the Sworn Shields.

 

[PinkFoam]

It is worth noting that Robb does not need to be in a unit to use his order to protect nearby soldiers, the enemy must be within long range of Robb's unit when they declare a charge in order to be hindered by the order.

I would therefore argue that your bunker would be enhanced by having Robb not in the unit, but nearby in a supporting unit (perhaps in a position to flank would-be attackers of the sworn shields?) with Maege Mormont in with the Tulley shieldsmen.

 

[AlxRaven]

It is worth noting that Robb does not need to be in a unit to use his order to protect nearby soldiers, the enemy must be within long range of Robb's unit when they declare a charge in order to be hindered by the order.

I would therefore argue that your bunker would be enhanced by having Robb not in the unit, but nearby in a supporting unit (perhaps in a position to flank would-be attackers of the sworn shields?) with Maege Mormont in with the Tulley shieldsmen.

I think that would be ideal, as it provides the best of both worlds.

Add the bowmen to back them up, we have the base for a decent army, I think.

 

[alekshewitt]

The one thing that holds Sworn Shields back is their lack of mobility. You either have to dedicate resources on the tactics board, or throw down tactics cards, to move them swiftly enough to their camping position on an objective. Commander Robb doesn't help in this regard. However, I do like the idea of using Attachment Robb to get that +1 to movement. Target the unit using Horses on the Tactic's Board, and they move up 5" instead of 4". Then you can use Swift Advance (if you draw) to move the unit forward another 6". Then you can pivot and March for another 10". In one round, you can move your Shields up to 21" and park them.

You could also follow this unit with Longbowman. When an enemy approaches, target them in the second round with horses again. Charge into an oncoming enemy. Hit them again as their activation. Bring the longbowman up to secure the objective and then use swords to possibly deal a final blow to the enemy rolling 10 dice.

This is all of course just theory and only if you are playing against an inanimate object that doesn't see what you are trying to do.

 

[Oakwolf]

Personally the Sworn Shields become a real bunker when they are supported by The Blackfish as a commander. He has great tactic cards that go hand in hand with the Sworn Shields. Healing them up, making charges weak against them. His own attachment card means they will almost always heal up during a round and grant that much desired +2 to morale checks, so you can really use those bowmen to shower whatever is engaged against them. The sworn shields will always be vulnerable to flanks though.

Eddard Stark attached to his Honor Guard seems pretty great to me too. Immunity to panic or any morale penalties is huge (attacks from flank or rear, vicious, Cercei, crown zone's -1, corpse piles, many tactic cards), healing up 2 wounds when attacking, 3+ defense and 5 movement to get to the objective quicker. At least when i played with this unit, they performed exceedingly well.

 

[Lone Pathfinder]

Except that Ned is a sub-par commander :-(

 

[AlxRaven]

Agreed. I MUCH prefer Ned as an NCU, over his commander version. You still get healing, but it’s easier to get it where you need it, in my opinion.

 

[Oakwolf]

Now that's interesting. What do you dislike of Eddard as commander? I find him quite interesting, especially when focusing on a single unit. It's a twist on this thread's goal though, as the Honor Guard is quite aggressive and will tend to move off an objective. If you look for a bunker on the flanks of the battlefield or staying at the rear, then yeah it's not going to be as good.

• Lead by the Example is amazing, it can completely wipe a unit with a relatively small set up (especially Stark Outriders as the 2nd unit)
• Northern Defiance is more situational, but again, if you play bunker with Eddard's Honor Guard, it can make it pounce for a free attack.
• Fury of the Fallen is nothing short of brutal if you're within reach

But yeah Robb is a more flexible commander, yet i honestly don't think Eddard is bad or subpar...but that's only from the games i played with him of course.

In any case, other than the Honor Guard, i guess it's only the Sworn Shields for the starks. The Night's Watch, however...

 

[Lone Pathfinder]

Hi Oakwolf,

I find him in a unit of Ned's honor guard to be a great unit and attachment. But his cards are so very situational it is difficult to get the right value from them. At times you might be so focused to try and simluate one of the situations/sequence-of-events to get the best value out of his cards that you miss the other strategies on the table. So a lot of the times you never get the full benefit from his cards. In fact very rarely.

Now, that in itself is OK. I said he was sub-par, not a total waste. But he is not nearly as good as Robb, even if you add the honour guard (for 7 points). Robb with berzerkers or sworn shields is always going to be my go-to over Ned with honour guard because Robb's cards are so much more versatile and can be applied more often and when needed.

Now, on a separate note, when I play any games over 40 points I tend to move to a 6x4 table. And in these situations you will find that Ned's cards are again very limited because his cards tend to be limited to a set range. With the game tested and tried on a 4x4 table, then being exploded to a 6x4 table, and you spread your units out to make the best of falnking manouvres, the limited range of his tactics cards mean that on top of all the other situational specifications, they only apply to units close to him.

 

[Oakwolf]

Now I understand what you mean and i agree that Robb will provide a wonderful toolset if you wish to dictate the flow of battle. Robb will certainly outperform many generals (perhaps along with Brandyn Tully - Outrider commander) on a 6x4' table. I think that emphasizes Ned's weaknesses in your games. We play on a 4x4' exclusively, and after a while i began to think that the "cramped" feeling of a 50pts game on a table is intentional (is it?). It's an additional challenge to pierce the flanks, but with 2-3 NCUs on each side, things can explode very fast. It's such different game from the cat and mouse 30pts ones.

When i put Ned at the wheel, i make him my army's Vanguard. I keep this in mind when i place terrain, and when i place objectives (depending on the scenario). Basically, it's Ned's game. That's also extra work compared to Robb, but that's also what i like from him i guess. Perhaps i got lucky in the games i got with him though, but if there is an objective that the enemy needs to get, they can't avoid him forever. I flanked him with Stark Outriders and Berserkers, to get those tactic cards to use.

All this said, back to your topic and sorry for dragging off.

How about Brandyn Tully, the Blackfish inside a Tully Sworn Shield unit?

He does provide the desirable morale bonus from the other Stark attachments, so his unit costs 7pts instead of 9 (with Maege for example). His tactic cards certainly promote defensive work to "bunker up" on an objective.

 

[Lone Pathfinder]

I have not yet tried Brynden as commander, but will do so. However i might wait for the Tully cavaliers. With Ned, he also loses effectiveness drastically when he dies since so much is about him being in range. So if I played against Ned's army I would focus on killing him off quickly.

 

[Oakwolf]

Oh yeah if you loose Ned, it's really bad news.

The Tully Cavaliers are certainly going to help both the Blackfish and the Outrider commander versions of Brandyn Tully, but the infantry version seems quite tailored for what you intend to do : Tully Sworn Shields + Bowmen in the back, two units of each in a small game could produce what you seek and bunker down on a critical objective. On a 6x4 map though...i suspect cavalry must reign supreme.

 

[Bohun242]

.........

How about Brandyn Tully, the Blackfish inside a Tully Sworn Shield unit?

....

I prefer to put Blackfish to Greataxes unit, then Maege to Shields.
Blackfish needs 2 solid Tully units to trigger his cards with full effect, and his healing helps Greataxes a lot.
Set for Charge is meant to be used with Greataxes .

Shields with Maege under Blackfish command have great armour, morale, monster deterrent (auto wounds from Maege) and healing from Blackfish cards.