A House Divided

Many are seeking claim of the Iron Throne. While King Robert did leave an heir, claims of his legitimacy are in question, and Robert’s brothers are making strong claims that one of them should govern from King’s Landing. And while Stannis and Renly each have only some of the allegiance of House Baratheon on their side, that still amounts to a very strong fighting force on the battlefield. Though House Baratheon is a House divided, the might of the Stag is one to be reckoned with. Soon, a new contender will take to the field in the A Song of Ice and Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game. The Baratheons are coming to the field in a big way with a new starter set. Let’s take a deeper look into how the faction worksand what players can expect in this new box set.

Let’s start with something that helps define a faction’s playstyle: its Tactics deck. For House Baratheon, they excel in making their own units punishing to attack. They have cards to counter-attack enemy units, get final strikes when a unit is destroyed, or issue a charge from a close-by unit when someone is attacked, among others such as restoring wounds to their units.

The main focus for the Tactics deck comes from controlling the Crown and Tactics sections of the Tactics board, granting extra bonuses for their cards such as adding in Condition tokens to other effects, or bolstering a unit depending on which zones the House controls.

Something that sets House Baratheon apart from others is the severe infighting between the House’s two leaders, brothers Stannis and Renly. Other members of the house have had to declare their support for one or the others. This comes into account in the Loyalty special rules. For the Starter Set, only Renly and Stannis have this rule (obviously, the two brothers refuse to work together, due to their common goal). The Starter Box’s two NCUs, Shyra Errol and Alester Florent, can be used with either brother. However, it is important to keep note of where Loyalties lie for future expansion of one’s army.

The House Baratheon Starter Set comes with four units: two units of Baratheon Wardens and one unit each of Stag Knights and Baratheon Sentinels. All are cornerstones of any Baratheon force. Let’s take a look at how each unit plays on the battlefield.