A Song of Ice and Fire: Nachtwache

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Die Nachtwache wird derzeit in zwei Artikeln näher vorgestellt:

…and now my watch begins.

Where do the unwanted go? The 4^th or 5^th sons of noblemen? The petty criminals? The bastards? The leftovers of society that seem to have no purpose? In Westeros, there’s always one place for them, The Wall. Far in the north, The Wall protects Westeros from the wild and untamable things lurking in the forests beyond it. Everyone in Westeros knows that winter is coming, and when it does, it’s going to be the Night’s Watch that man and guard The Wall that are the first and best line of defense. In the A Song of Ice and Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game, commanders will soon be able to lead their own band with the Night’s Watch Starter Set, utilizing their unique Troops, Characters, and Tactics to defend against any threat.

But what sets the Night’s Watch apart? Starks win the day through tactical battlefield positioning and offense, Lannisters through deceit and manipulation of their foes, so what sets the Night’s Watch apart from our existing armies? Let’s take a closer look at their mechanics and play-style:

FEW IN NUMBER

The Night’s Watch is not counted amongst the standing armies of Westeros, and their numbers continue to dwindle as time goes on. This, combined with the myriad dangers awaiting new and inexperienced recruits, means that only the toughest and strongest survive any time at The Wall. In-game, this translates to an army of tough, grizzled, and expensive units. When fielding a Night’s Watch army, the player can almost always expect two things: They are going to be outnumbered, and their units are going to be, on average, much more elite than their opponent’s.

To make a quick comparison, we need only look to the Stark vs. Lannister Starter Set. In it, the most expensive Combat Unit is the deadly House Umber Berserkers, coming in at 7 points of double-axe-wielding aggression. While they don’t have much staying power, their offensive capabilities strike fear into opponents. Meanwhile, in the Night’s Watch starter set, we have the grizzled Veterans of the Watch, a Combat Unit boasting superior Defense, Morale, and combat capabilities than almost any previously released unit. Of course, they also come at an 8-point price tag, so you’ll be paying the price for such capabilities.

So while the Watch might be few in number, it only makes the ones you do field all the deadlier.

TACTICAL FLEXIBILITY

The Tactics Board plays a large role with any army, and the Watch is no exception. Whereas the other Factions tend to focus on specific zones (Combat and Maneuver for Starks, Crown and Wealth for Lannister) the Watch has no such incline. In fact, their Tactics Cards make use of the full range of the Tactics Board to various degrees. As such, your opponent will never really be able to counter you by controlling specific zones. Whereas a savvy opponent playing against Lannisters might know to block their preferred zones (Crown and Wealth), because the Watch has no such preferences, preventing them from gaining some sort of benefit each time is almost impossible. This mentality extends to their Combat Units as well. While each unit in the Watch does have a different tactical role to fill, almost all of them are also well-rounded enough to approach opponents and problems in multiple ways. Utilizing this flexibility is paramount to learn when playing the Watch. You will always have a solution to a problem. It’s in learning how to solve that problem that will separate the true veterans of the Watch from the new recruits!

VOWS

And finally, the one aspect that sets the Watch apart from any existing faction would be their unique Tactics Cards, which incorporate the unique Vow mechanic.

Essentially, the Night’s Watch Tactics Cards function mostly the same as the existing Stark and Lannister cards with one exception: Most of them carry the Vow keyword and Ability, which states after the Tactics Card is resolved it is then equipped to a friendly Combat Unit, granting them an additional Ability based on controlling a specific zone of the Tactics Board. These effects can range from additional Attack Dice for controlling the Combat Zone, automatically blocking incoming damage while controlling the Wealth Zone, to even placing Condition Tokens on enemies by controlling the Crown.

This ties into the aspects of tactical flexibility we previously discussed, as it further allows units to adapt to ever-changing battlefield conditions, switching between mobility, offense, defense, and general trickery on the fly. Bringing us full-circle, this also ties into the “elite” nature of the Night’s Watch as an army. While you will often be outnumbered, with proper application of your Vows and general Tactics, each of your units has the capability to come out on top of any situation, and each unit can suddenly become an unexpected new threat for your opponent.

Night gathers, and soon the Watchers on the Wall will take to the fields of battle. Join us next time when we’ll take a more in-depth look at range of Combat Units arriving with the Night’s Watch release!

Follow along with the Unit Cards at the bottom of this article.

In our previous article, we took a look at a general overview of the upcoming Night’s Watch faction for A Song of Ice and Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game. Today, we’re continuing our look into the faction with an expanded examination of the Combat Units appearing in the Night’s Watch Starter Set. While there are technically four different Combat Units when counting Jon Snow’s loyal companion Ghost, we’re going to hold off on speaking about him until we talk more in-depth about Jon specifically, so today we have three units to discuss: Sworn Brothers, Ranger Trackers, and the Veterans of the Watch.

SWORN BROTHERS

Included in the Night’s Watch Starter Set are two units of Sworn Brothers, which form the backbone of the Night’s Watch army. As we previously discussed, the Night’s Watch is a very specialized army where every unit plays a key role. This can plainly be seen when looking at the Sworn Brothers. Despite being the “basic” option for the Night’s Watch forces, their stats rival those of most other army’s “elite” troops. This is because of their extremely focused and continuous „on the job“ training once they arrive at the wall. Looking to their stats, we see they have a respectable 4+ Defense and 6+ Morale. While each is not overly amazing, they still form a solid line of defensive capabilities that allow the Sworn Brothers to survive a prolonged engagement. Moving on to their offensive stats, however, we see they boast an impressive 3+ To-Hit and a decent number of Attack Dice on their Greatsword. Combine this with the Sundering and Critical Blow Abilities and we see their offensive-potential begin to shine.

While not overly flashy, the Sworn Brothers present a solid package of offense and defense at a mere 6 Points. Of course, like all aspect of the game, one cannot merely look at the Sworn Brothers (or any Combat Unit, for that matter) in a vacuum. Via the use of the unique Vow Tactics Cards available to the Night’s Watch the unit can be customized on the fly to fit whatever battlefield role is needed, whether it’s giving them an extra offensive punch from The Sword in the Darkness, or increasing their objective-holding capabilities and speed with The Watcher on the Wall. Whatever the situation may be, the Sworn Brothers are up to the task!

RANGER TRACKERS

Next up we take a look at the 6-Point Cavalry unit included in the Starter: The Ranger Trackers. While the unit is rather fragile, boasting a mere 5+ Defense, a savvy Commander should not have this unit engaging the enemy directly (if they can help it, of course). The Trackers fill the role of harassers in your army- sweeping along the flanks of the enemy army, shooting them from the safety of range with their Recurve Bow attack. This is easily achieved due to the Cavalry rule of the Trackers, which allow them a free Maneuver action at the start of their activation, furthering the ease in which they can reach said flanks and maximize their damage.

It’s not just the mere frustration they can cause your opponent, however. With their Order: Mark Target the Trackers also supplement the raw offensive power of your entire army! By triggering this Order, which can used at the start of any friendly turn, you can make a nearby enemy Vulnerable, forcing them to re-roll any Defense Saves when they are attacked. Combine this with the -1 to their rolls they suffer from being attacked in the flank and the Trackers suddenly push out a ton of damage. Of course, any friendly unit can make use of this Vulnerable token, making the trackers a valuable support-piece as well, marking a target for your other Combat Units to Charge and destroy!

Just remember to keep them out of direct combat and utilize their speed and maneuverability and they will serve you well.

VETERANS OF THE WATCH

Finally, we come to one of the “elite” units of the Night’s Watch. Clocking in at 8 Points, we have the Veterans of the Watch- and befitting any unit of such a cost, these guys are absolutely deadly!

Offensive-wise, we have an incredibly impressive 3+ To Hit combined with an 8/7/6 Attack Die profile, meaning even when reduced to their last rank these guys are always a threat. What makes the Veterans truly a foe to be reckoned with, however, are their specific set of defensive-capabilities. Featuring a staggering 3+ Defense Save combined with a 5+ Morale, there are few things, physical or mental, that can take them down. Opponents will have to utilize clever tactics and positioning to crack the iron defense of the Veterans. To top it all off, they also have the Order: Counterattack Ability, so even when your opponent does decide to try to take them down they will be punished for it as well!

Of course, just like the Sworn Brothers, the threat of the Veterans increases exponentially when the Night’s Watch Vows are brought into play. Equipping the unit with The Shield of the Realms of Men, which grants them the Ability to automatically block incoming Hits, synergizes exceptionally well with their Order: Counterattack. Meanwhile, The Fire That Burns Against the Cold can likewise aid their survivability by cancelling Condition Tokens on them! So, while they might be pricy, “elite” is the name of the game when it comes to the Night Watch, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more fearsome unit!

And that concludes our look at the Combat Units coming in the Night’s Watch Starter Set, which releases (Take the) Black Friday, November 23rd. Join us next time, however, as we still have some more surprises to discuss before their official release!

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