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Monday, 22 August 2016

How To Win At The Game Of Thrones Board Game: Part Other posts

3- Stark and Greyjoy Home

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In this part I am going to start talking about the specifics of playing as each house. I have broken
this discussion into 3 parts, as each house has a lengthy section attributed to it. In this first part Popular Posts
we will look at Stark and Greyjoy (if you missed the previous parts, part 1 can be found here and
part 2 here). How To Win At The Game
Of Thrones Board Game:
Part 1- Territory Control and
House Cards
With the current Game of
Thrones obsession still
holding strong after several years in the
limelight, and the season 6 finale having
been...

How To Win At The Game

Of Thrones Board Game:
Part 3- Stark and Greyjoy
In this part I am going to
start talking about the
specifics of playing as each
house. I have broken this discussion into 3
parts, as each...
6: Specific House Strategies and Weaknesses
How To Win At The Game
"Know when to fight Of Thrones Board Game:
Part 5- Tyrell and Martell
And when not to fight"
In this article we will look at
the strategies for the two
- Sun Tzu on Waging War remaining houses, Tyrell
and Martell. If you have missed any of the
previous s...
During this discussion on general strategy I have also alluded to the specifics of playing as
individual houses. In this section I am going to talk about the key strategies that each house How To Win At The Game
should deploy, as well as proposed opening moves. The majority of these opening moves are Of Thrones Board Game:
based on the principle that a large land grab in turn 1 is the best move, but also allowing for Part 4- Lannister and
Baratheon
flexibility and time to react to opponents' moves.
In this article we continue
our look at the specifics of
Stark: playing as each house. If you missed any of
the previous articles, they can be fo...
House Stark are often seen as the most defensive house, since a lot of their house cards are
How To Win At The Game
designed to protect units, as well as them being geographically the furthest away from the action.
Of Thrones Board Game:
Probably the biggest strength for Stark is the large number of land areas that they can take and Part 2- Combat, Managing
hold without much fear of retaliation; the only house that may consider heading north is the Troops and Power Tokens
Greyjoys. The Starks can create a choke point at Moat Cailin, as well as having easy access to In the last part I talked about
the key strategies relating to
the Vale. It is therefore a priority for Stark that they set up a defensive position around Moat Cailin
territory control and effective use of house
(or even Seaguard if the opportunity arises), and send 2-3 footmen to pick up the undefended cards. In this part I will ta...
territories in the north and the Vale. This creates easy power token farming as well as allowing
Stark to pick up extra barrels, which has to be an early game priority for them, as they only start How To Win At The Game
Of Thrones Board Game:
on 1.
Part 6- Taking the Win,
Meta-Game and Alliances,
Perhaps Stark's biggest weakness is their navy. Winterfell is the only territory that can be and Alternative Ways to Play
marched on from both the west and the east sea areas, and as such it needs a strong navy on Hello, and welcome to the
final part of my guide on how to win at the
both sides. The problem with this is that Stark's neighbours, Baratheon and Greyjoy, boast the
Game of Thrones board game. If you have
strongest navies in the game. Furthermore, Stark has at best 6 ships to play with, which is not missed any of the previous pa...
going to be enough to hold both sides. Therefore, Stark must consider how to put pressure on
these two houses. By continually making aggressive moves towards Seaguard Stark can force How to Win at Codenames
Greyjoy to keep their navy in and around Ironman's Bay, as they will not want to leave their land (Part 1: Spymaster Side)
Vlaada Chvatil's
forces unsupported. This means that Greyjoy will not be able to spare an attacking navy to head
Codenames is a very
north. That said, it is vital that Stark muster 1-2 boats into Bay of Ice as soon as possible to bankable board game. If you
ensure that Greyjoy have a strong enough incentive not to head north. are going to a board game
meet up with a bunch of randos, you could
do...

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To defend against Baratheon, Stark need boats in the Narrow Sea. Ideally having a force of 3
boats, possibly with additional support from either the Shivering Sea or White Harbor port, will
make any naval attacks an unappealing prospect for Baratheon. Their trump card is Salador
433,392
Sahn, who only works when Baratheon are being supported, which they can't be when marching
north. Followers Contributors

Ben
Stark have the most unusual house deck, in that Roose Bolton's ability to avoid playing through Seguidores
the full deck means that Stark can ensure they always maintain a strong hand of cards. This (12) Dave Lamb
means that Eddard, Robb and the Greatjon should be used first to maximise Roose's value. The
Ed Colley
best time to play Roose is by marching into a key territory for an opponent, which forces them to
play a winning move. For example, a march into Seaguard puts pressure on Greyjoy to play a Jak Marshall
strong card to ensure a win, whilst also posing little threat to you, since Greyjoy have few sword Jen
icons at their disposal.
L P Fielder

Unless Greyjoy or Baratheon are completely wiped out it is unlikely that Stark can make a play for Peter Smith
7 castles. Therefore, Stark players should aim for 5-6 castles; namely, Winterfell, White Harbor,
Tom
Moat Cailin, The Eyrie, and ideally Seaguard and Flint's Finger. As long as Greyjoy are kept in Dransfield
check Stark shouldn't have too many problems making a safe attempt at the win.

Suggested openings:

Shivering Sea: March -1 into the Narrow Sea Seguir

White Harbor: March 0 into the Fingers
Winterfell: March +1, knight into Moat Cailin, Footman into the Twins Blog Archive

2018 (4)
or
2017 (2)

Shivering Sea: March 0 into the Narrow Sea 2016 (8)

White Harbor: March +1 into the Moat Cailin 09/11 - 09/18 (1)
Winterfell: *Consolidate Power (Boat in the Bay Of Ice, Footman on Winterfell) 09/04 - 09/11 (1)
08/28 - 09/04 (1)
Greyjoy:
08/21 - 08/28 (1)
It says a lot about Greyjoy's position that, in the 3 player game, Stark and Lannister quickly come How To Win At The Game Of Thrones
to blows without them squeezed in the middle; as such, Greyjoy, more than any other house, will Board Game: Part...
feel the pressure of being on top of other houses. Put simply; Stark needs to march south through 08/14 - 08/21 (1)
the Greyjoys, and Lannister do not want Greyjoy sitting on their doorstep. Fortunately, Greyjoy
08/07 - 08/14 (1)
start with the Valyrian Steel Blade, as well as having by far the strongest house cards. If used
correctly, Euron, Victarion and Balon are all effectively guaranteed wins. Theon and Asha are 05/15 - 05/22 (1)
very strong in the right situations, and Aeron is arguably the most dangerous 0 (he can burn 04/10 - 04/17 (1)
himself and lets Greyjoy respond to whichever housecard they come up against). All this gives
Greyjoy a huge number of options in combat, which they desperately need, especially due to their 2015 (21)
lack of special orders. 2014 (9)
2013 (29)
2012 (67)
2011 (23)
2010 (22)

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Another plus point for Greyjoy is their naval presence, in that it is possible for Greyjoy to support
all their key territories with a single strong navy in Ironman's Bay. The two key naval positions that
Greyjoy need to consider are the following. Firstly, there is enormous power in being able to hold
two adjacent sea areas, as it allows any naval supports to be raided, whilst also protecting your
own support. As such, it is key to try and take Sunset Sea as soon as possible, as this allows
raiding of Lannister support from the Golden Sound. This feeds into the second key aspect of the
Greyjoy navy; Ironman's Bay is adjacent to Riverrun, but the Golden Sound is not adjacent to
Seaguard. This means it is much harder for Lannister to defend Riverrun that it is for Greyjoy to
defend Seaguard. If Greyjoy can achieve this naval set up they can comfortably take and hold
Riverrun, giving them access to a 4th castle (and a 3rd stronghold). Because of this difference in
positioning and all things being equal, Greyjoy will probably have the upperhand in the contest for
Riverrun.

From here Greyjoy need to consider whether to march north or south. Due to the aforementioned
naval issues that Stark face a push into Winterfell is not a big stretch for Greyjoy, since Stark
simply cannot defend their Western coast against Victarion. It is also very difficult for Stark to
safely defend their northern holdings once their navy has gone, as Greyjoy will have much easier
movement options. Once Winterfell has gone Greyjoy should aim to take either Moat Cailin or
Whiteharbor, which would likely give them the win. This is made even easier if Baratheon hold the
Shivering Sea, as it prevents Stark supporting.

Alternatively, Greyjoy can head south and clash with Lannister. Again, as above, Riverrun is likely
to go towards Greyjoy, which can be a killing blow for Lannister. Once it has gone then Greyjoy
can either push east for Harrenhal and Crackclaw point, or aim to take Lannisport. Lannisport is
generally the better choice, since the Greyjoy navy can get involved, and once Greyjoy have
taken Seaguard, Riverrun and Lannisport it is pretty much game over (especially if there is a
mustering).

Obviously both these strategies are very aggressive, but it is the nature of the Greyjoy position. It
should be said that if you are moving to take Winterfell or Lannisport make sure it is mid to late
game, since you are effectively taking a player out of the game, which they won't be too happy
about if it's only turn 3.

Aside from positioning, the other main issue Greyjoy face is the influence tracks. Outside of Pyke
they are unlikely to ever be able to consolidate power safely anywhere on the board, which is
dangerous, since they need to grab special orders to compete with Lannister. Otherwise a well-
paced and conservative Greyjoy game can be a strong candidate to win, as their house cards
mean reliable victories when you need them.

Suggested openings:

Greywater Watch: March -1 into Flint's Finger

Pyke: March 0, knight into Seaguard, footman into Riverrun (or both into Seaguard if Riverrun has
been taken by Lannister)
Pyke port: Consolidate power
Ironman's Bay: Support

or

Greywater Watch: Consolidate power

Pyke: March -1, knight into Seaguard, footman into Flint's Finger
Pyke port: Consolidate power
Ironman's Bay: March 0 into Sunset Sea

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So that's Stark and Greyjoy. In the next part we move to the middle of the board and look at
Lannister and Baratheon.

- Part 4- Lannister and Baratheon

- Part 5- Tyrell and Martell
- Part 6- Taking the Win, Meta-Game and Alliances, and Alternative Ways to Play

Posted by Ben at Monday, August 22, 2016

Labels: ben, benspoon, boardgaming, guide, mondays

3 comments:

Anonymous 14 August 2017 at 19:40

Quick question about your first suggested opening for Stark. If you send all units out of the starting
locations presumably you can't muster any more forces on the next turn as you need at least one
unit to perform that function... doesn't this leave you a bit thinly spread with no reinforcements
coming?

Thanks for the detailed strategy posts btw... I'm enjoying reading them.

Reply

Replies

Unknown 30 September 2017 at 03:15

Also in your first suggested opening for Stark, how is a footman getting to the Twins if
you don't have a ship in the Shivering Sea?

Tom 27 March 2018 at 09:53

You don't need a unit in your capitulation in order to muster, and you can leave a power
token in your second stronghold and that will allow you to keep control of it without a
unit.

Reply

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