From the Desert Sands
Down at the southernmost tip of Westeros sits Dorne. It’s a harsh land, mostly comprised of desert. Blistering sun, scorched rocks, and shifting sand dunes are what greets anyone that attempts to traverse it. In this harsh land sits the city of Sunspear, home to House Martell, one of the Great Houses in Westeros.
Now, during the war to seat a new occupant on the Iron Throne, these desert specialists are leaving their sun-blasted home for King’s Landing. House Martell is the next faction to be hitting tabletops in the A Song of Ice and Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game!
In this article, we’re going to take a generalized look at the faction and the contents of the upcoming starter set. Prepare yourselves for high temperatures and let’s get going.
Just as the desert sands shift and change, so do House Martell’s troops on the battlefield. House Martell is a faction very much about movement. Like a slithering serpent, they bob and weave back and forth, deftly avoiding attacks and stabbing at enemies from unprotected quarters.
Their Tactics deck often employs attaching cards to enemy units, hampering them in all ways. Others focus on disrupting enemy movements. If the enemy simply can’t get where they need to go on the battlefield, House Martell is already at an advantage in positioning before combat is truly met.
The Martell Starter Set will comes with 3 types of combat units: Martell Spearmen, Sand Skirmishers and Sunspear Dervishes.
The Martell Spearmen are well trained with their spears, and their main defense is offense. The Sand Skirmishers are the only unit in the core box for Martell that has a ranged attack, training with their skirmisher’s bows. They only have a short range, but they are fast to Maneuver and Retreat, and they are also armed with swords should they need to engage in close combat.
The Sunspear Dervishes are the epitome of the “strike fast and fade away” doctrine that House Martell utilizes in combat. They are almost impossible to lock into place. Meanwhile, their reflexes and training let them strike like a coiled serpent.
Of course, along with the various units, NCUs, and Attachments, the Martell Starter Set comes with everything a player needs to get playing. It has a measuring stick, terrain tokens, a rulebook, Tactics Board, and even custom Martell dice. It’s a must-have for any player looking to bring the fury of the desert to the more northern lands of Westeros.
We will not get into too many details right now. For now, the sun is too high in Dorne and the desert is unrelenting… Let us retreat to the shade. More news and an in-depth looks at the faction will be coming soon, stay tuned!
