Captains of the Iron Fleet
Bannermen! Today we shall take a look into the various Commander options available to House Greyjoy!
If you haven’t had a chance to read over our previous articles, we suggest you do so before continuing:
Now that you’re all caught up, let’s jump right into some of the various Commanders:
The release of House Greyjoy will feature not only their Starter Box, containing Asha and Victarion Greyjoy, but also their Hero Box #1, which adds numerous additional choices to your army. Today, we shall be taking a look into Asha, Victarion, and Balon:
ASHA GREYJOY, THE KRAKEN’S DAUGHTER
We’ve previously spoken about how the weakness of the Greyjoys is their poor Morale Stat values. Asha is an example of how a charismatic leader can make all the difference. With her Commander Attachment she works to boost the Morale of all those around her, bringing them to not just average levels but a staggering 5+! This means thatyou’ll want to put her in a good bunker unit, since she needs to be directly in the fight to make the most of her aura ability (We suggest Ironmakers for this role).
When it comes to Tactics Cards, Asha continues to play off the Morale boosts she gives. Ironborn Mettle allows a unit to restore Wounds upon a successful Morale Test (such as a Panic Test from being Attacked), while War Cry confers both Panicked and Vulnerable on enemies. Combine both to drastically turn the tables on an opponent when your own unit suddenly heals itself up while simultaneously causing penalties to their targets!
Finally, Raider Bravery rewards a unit for passing their test as well, though unlike Ironborn Mettle, it replaces restoration with raw combat aggression. Combine these tools with Asha’s build-in Morale buffs to make a surprisingly resilient Greyjoy army.
VICTARION GREYJOY, THE IRON CAPTAIN
For those who prefer slaughtering their foes rather than buffing their own units, you have the option to field Victarion. There isn’t really anything subtle about Victarion or his tactics - he’s just here to kill things and he does it well. His Commander Attachment allows a unit to continue their onslaught by charging into another enemy upon destroying their target and grants the additional benefit of making anyone they charge Vulnerable as well.
His Tactics Cards are all based around this same principle: Rush of Aggression makes it so his charges become guaranteed, as well as gain additional benefits. Of course, this comes at the cost of making your own unit Vulnerable after the fact, but such is the price for such a powerful effect. Assault Orders means that you will always have an option to Attack, especially noting that Greyjoys already have access to a similar effect from their Generic Tactic Card We Do Not Sow. Truly, running Victarion can allow an army to push out a staggering number of Attack Actions.
Rounding out Victarion’s Tactics is Sustained Assault, giving him an option in case his units find themselves where they don’t want to be: a prolonged and protracted combat. While the Greyjoys do have a number of ways to restore themselves, they areone of the most fragile factions when it comes to lasting engagements. Sustained Assault helps mitigate that when Victarion is your Commander.
BALON GREYJOY, THE KRAKEN KING
For those preferring a more pragmatic approach to winning, Balon brings that specific play-style to the tabletop. Balon views everything at his disposal as an asset to achieve victory, and his troops arenot excluded from that fact. While an inspirational leader in his own right, Balon is not one to rally men behind him, but rather adheres to the Old Ways, favoring examples of might over talk. With his Commander Attachment, this is shown via his Iron Resolve Ability, which boosts the Morale of his own unit, while Fueled by Slaughter shows his ruthless nature.
The first of his Tactics Cards, Acceptable Sacrifices, immediately demonstrates Balon’s views when it comes to his own troops: Sometimes one must be sacrificed for the greater victory. Greyjoy Combat Units are fragile by nature unless properly supported. Understanding that, eventually they will all fall, why not take advantage of that? By sacrificing one unit, the rest of your army can be bolstered tremendously.
Balon does not tolerate failure, however, and Price of Failure demonstrates this by giving him one of the best offensive cards available, ensuring that your unit can push out damage when needed. Yes, they will hurt themselves in the process, butwhat are a few wounds compared to winning?
The Old Ways ties Balon to the Pillage mechanic seen prominently with Greyjoys, giving them two distinct functions in allowing a unit to re-roll Morale Tests or Attack Dice. Pillage tokens are a valuable commodity though, so careful consideration must be given to using them... Assuming that you haven’t thrown down an Acceptable Sacrifices on a unit to recoup those loses!
And with that we will conclude our look into some of the Commanders arriving with the release of House Greyjoy. Don’t think that these are the only options that will be available at launch, however. Many other prominent characters will rise to lead the Kraken Armies, such as Euron Greyjoy, Erik Ironmaker, and even the likes of Theon Greyjoy as well!
