Foes Tremble Seeing the Banner of the Flayed Men
Up until recently, the House Bolton was up for hire, fighting for whoever paid the most skinning their enemies. However, something has changed within the House… And now they can fight for themselves.
We are proud to introduce the new faction looking to take the Iron Throne: House Bolton!
There are many notorious people in the realm of Westeros with a reputation for cruelty and devious actions. For House Bolton, that means all of them. As such, few soldiers like to see the House Bolton banner across the field of battle from them.
And woe to anyone that is taken captive by these sadists. However, a savvy commander will use these cutthroats to their own ends.
Let’s take a look inside this set and see what is in store. First, let’s get the things that are the same out of the way.
As with all starter sets for the game, the Bolton Starter Set comes with everything a player will need to get started in the game with the Bolton faction. It includes a rulebook, terrain templates, all necessary tokens, as well as the Bolton Tactics Deck and custom dice for the faction. As such, even if someone has never played the A Song of Ice and Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game before, they will be ready to play right upon opening the box.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Boltons don’t have a lot of loyal allies. Therefore, House Bolton will be a mini-faction, with a Starter Set and a few dedicated units to go with them. The Starter Set has two units of Bolton Cutthroats, a unit of Bolton Blackguards (both of which have been previously released as Neutral Units), and a new unit, the Dreadfort Archers.
However, something players will notice is that some of these units come with two different sets of unit cards. This is because while these units can be used as Neutral mercenaries by other factions, they also have unique Bolton Faction cards as well. These are differentiated by the color and border art.
This holds true for other cards for the House. The Unit, Attachment, Commander, Tactics, and NCU cards also come in two forms, one to use when they are hired as Neutral mercenaries and the other when they are for a Bolton-specific army.
The one difference in the Starter Set is the Dreadfort Archers. This new ranged unit is used exclusively when taking an all-House Bolton army. These remorseless warriors will rain down arrows on any enemy, regardless of intervening units or terrain. They also don’t care if said enemy is engaged in close combat with their own allies. They will still attack, damning their own troops to possibly suffer Wounds as well. But, if it takes out more enemies than allies, it’s considered a net positive for House Bolton. Such is life in a House with such casual disregard for life.
The Starter Set also includes all new characters for House Bolton. Jeyne Poole and Fat Walda make their presence felt as NCUs, altering the battlefield from afar. They are not ones to hire themselves out, so they can only be used when taking a House Bolton force.
The House Bolton Starter Set is meant as an entry point for the new mini-faction. Other than the Starter set, we will be releasing a Bolton Heroes box set as well as a Dreadfort Spearmen unit box. These will both be exclusive for Bolton players and not be playable as Neutrals as indicated by their box colors.
Along with that, the Starter Set includes House Bolton versions of the stat cards for Bastard’s Girls and Flayed Men. While those units aren’t available in the box, their Bolton-exclusive stat cards are included, for players that already own the units. Future reprints for House Bolton units that can be used as both Neutral and House Bolton units will contain two copies of their unit card.
The lands of Westeros are dangerous. There are many unscrupulous individuals about. One must be wary when traveling. And if someone finds themselves straying into House Bolton’s lands, they must be even more on guard and would do well to leave as quickly as possible. But now that House Bolton has their eye on the Iron Throne… Is anyone truly safe?
We’ll have more about the upcoming House Bolton releases. Stay tuned.
