Factions 101 - Overview

About a 10 min. read.

One of the first question people asks when getting into this game is : Which faction should they play?

While it seems to be a simple question, it's still one that is to be taken seriously of course, because availability of boxes, finances, storage space, etc., are usually going to limit your choices, despite your preferences. 

But let's say that you can at least start one army of your choice, of course you will want to focus on one that vibes with either your playstyle or that contains some of your favorite characters of the ASOIAF series. 

So here's a brief description of their playstyle, some unique mechanics linked to the factions and a list of the most recommended boxes to get when starting your army. 

Note: The recommended boxes mentioned below will not mention Starter Sets, Heroes Boxes or Attachments Boxes. Theses are considered highly recommended for every factions that has them. They are the best bang for your buck and the biggest tools to customize your armies. So the recommended boxes sections will focus on additional units to buy first. 

Baratheon

Playstyle

Baratheon likes to get in the thick of things. They want to get into battle and stay there for as long as possible. Their armor will put them as one of the slower faction, but it will also help them win over prolonged engagements. They have many ways to make sure that their attack is rightfully felt and that their opponents attacks are wasted on them. Baratheon also bears a lot of different means to retaliate against attackers, but theses means are, for the most part, driven by your choice of loyalty.

The faction is known for being divided and choosing to dedicate yourself to one of theses sides will give additional focus to your gameplay. 

The Renly side resolves a lot around his alliance with Highgarden, and as such there is a big plant and flower thematic surrounding his dedicated troops. So Renly side will have a tendency to grow with battle, making sure that his troops are healed up, and as they heal, damage the opponent in kind. Renly loyalty also has an increased affinity with politics and manipulations, and as such, they have some very useful tools to be used to influence the tactic board.

The Stannis side focuses a lot on self-sacrifice for the greater good, high risk high reward type of deal. Stannis loyalty will use their faith in R'hllor against their opponent to make them flee the battlefield in terror. As such, Stannis troops affinity will be to push out more damage when they attack. As their rank gets lower, they maintain a high efficiency on the battlefield and push out more and more retaliation. One should be careful while threading with Stannis troops, as R'hllor is a powerful force to be tamed. It's sacrificial nature is unsettling to his own troops, so one should be mentally prepared for it. 

Unique mechanic

The Baratheon faction is a divided faction. Both King Stannis and King Renly have their own claim to the throne and neither will back down for the other. As such, houses have thrown their loyalty to either.

This means that units, attachments and characters loyal to Stannis cannot be taken at the same army as those loyal to Renly and vice-versa. There are units, attachments and characters that can be taken by any loyalties, but unless you have a chosen preference between one of the 2 Kings, this effectively makes Baratheon the equivalent of buying into 2 factions.

Do note that this does not influence tournament list building, as it is perfectly legal to bring 1 army of each loyalty in the same tournament.

Recommended boxes

Champions of the Stag

For Stannis loyalty, Queen's Men, R'hllor Lightbringers

For Renly loyalty, Rose Knights, Thorn Watch

Free Folk

Playstyle

Free Folk is known as the horde faction. They bring a lot of cheap units in the battle to surround or intimidate their opponent, and then wash them under the weight of their superior number. Having no access to proper metal to equip their troops, they are instead armed with leather, wood, bones or any other kind of organic material they can get their hands on. This leaves them very exposed to attacks and individual units will easily be defeated by Westeros metal weaponry. But fear not, as whenever Free Folk falls, there is always fresh troops ready to take the place of the fallen. Their wealth of tricks also helps them to even the odds against better troops. 

The units that compose their force are very adaptable and diversity in battle keep them strong. They also have a tight affinity with nature, bringing all kinds of monsters in battle. Giants, Mammoths, Bears, Wolfs, Eagles, they use everything at their disposal to gain the upper hand. They also do not play by the rules of the Seven Kingdoms, so they have their own way to manipulate political intrigues to their advantage. 

Unique mechanic

Free Folk lives to the north of the Great Wall and are proud independent people that doesn't bend the knee to any silly kings. As such, they live outside the boundaries of conventional society and do not have any coins to trade with southerners or hire mercenaries. 

This means that Free Folk players may not include any Neutral units into their list building. However, they are very adaptable and diversified by themselves to compensate this lack. 

Recommended boxes

Thenn Warriors, Followers of Bone, Frozen Shore Chariots

Greyjoy

Playstyle

The people born of the Iron Iles are raiders at heart and they thrive on acquiring goods and resources from their enemies instead of producing their own. As such, Greyjoy excel in snowballing an advantage. The cost of creating this advantage however is unimportant, and people are a useful resource to be used for the sake of that advantage. This also doesn't matter much, since the Greyjoy have many ways to replenish their ranks. Their faith in the drowned gods also helps them continue to fight for extended periods of time, long after what would have been lost by lesser men. 

Unique mechanic

Most Greyjoy units can accumulate pillage token. Pillage tokens are acquired from killing down ranks of enemies and each token gives additional and unique benefits to the unit that accumulates them. Thus, Greyjoy units tends to get better as battle progress, but Neutral units brought into battle will not benefit from pillaging. Besides making units better in the long run, pillage tokens can also be used as a currency to fuel some powerful tactics. 

Recommended boxes

Ironborn Trappers, Ironmakers, Blacktyde Chosen

Lannister

Playstyle

The Lannisters of Casterly Rock are a wealthy bunch and they want people to know it. They equip their troops with the best looking armor money can buy, and seeing them on the field of battle is quite the spectacle. They often terrify opponents from their looks alone, but when that is not enough, they play behind the scenes to prevent units from fighting effectively or manipulating the political game. 

The Lannister faction possess a good amount of tools that can prevent bad things from happening to them. But outside of manipulating their opponent, their troops are adept at a very wide range of roles. So while the faction as a whole is very well rounded in capacity, it is easy to specialize your army in multiple fashions. The classic Lannister troops are very efficient at terrorizing an enemy after they have been attacked. The Mountain, Gregor Clegane, brings ruthless killers into battle. The High Sparrow has a wealth of dedicated followers that gets better in battle each time their faith is tested. The very popular King Joffrey can also provide the might of his Kingsguard to help the battle. 

Unique mechanic

No particular mechanic to mention for the Lannister faction. They are very adaptable and are generally one of the best Faction to mingle with Neutral options as they complement each others pretty well. 

Recommended boxes

Knights of Casterly Rock, Warrior's Sons, Lannister Crossbowmen

Neutral

Playstyle

The Neutral faction is composed of mercenaries or Lords that will offer their services to whichever house they deems to serve, if not in fact, actually self-serving to gain more power. Their playstyle is the most varied out of any Faction, simply because Neutral put a big emphasis on their commander, which will dictate their playstyle in turn. Their core deck possess numerous tools to adapt to many situation and to draw out the power of their commander. 

The Boltons will enjoy making their opponents flee in terror and capitalize on it. Their units can be especially hard to bring down as they are constantly reminding enemies of their mortality. Stormcrows will enjoy the sound of fat money purses ringing and that motivation pushes them to new height of aggression. They are also very adaptable, and can easily be adapted to any flavor you need as the cost of bringing attachments in their units is reduced. Mummers enjoy dueling their opponents and making sure that their mistakes in battle are harshly felt. And while dueling is of their favorites sports, they are not above using underhanded techniques to deny an opponent strengths when he needs it the most. After all, a duel is only fun if you are the one coming out on top. 

Unique mechanic

While not having a specific mechanic on their own, they are the only faction that can be brought as a standalone faction OR they can also compose up to half another Faction army when calculating points for list building. 

Thus buying into Neutral options is recommended, even if you don't want to run them as a standalone, for the sheer options they can add to your list building.

Recommended boxes

Bolton Flayed Men, Bolton Blackguards, Stormcrow Archers

Night's Watch

Playstyle

Night's Watch are know to be an adaptable faction that bring a few elite, high-cost units on the table. As the fight progresses, your troops will improve and become even more powerful. They have access to a set of cards that can react to many different situations making them excellent all-rounders. 

With a diverse cast of characters coming from all over Westeros, units can obtain a huge variety of abilities that will help them to either mitigate their weaknesses, or specialize them into any role you need. 

You will often get outnumbered on the field because of the high cost of your units, but that is all right because each of your troops can grow to become worth two of other factions units. Night's Watch has access to a wide range of low cost units as well that are specialized in helping their more elite brothers. Take care of your units as every life is precious and should be accounted for. 

Besides an excellent cast of core units, the builders bring their engineering knowledge to the field in the form of warmachines. While slow and cumbersome, theses warmachines can be used to harass opponents on a very large range. And if slow and cumbersome doesn't do it for you, the rangers specialize in fast movement and blitz strikes.

Unique mechanic

The Night's Watch is a brotherhood dedicated to the defense of the realm of men. To be initiated into the brotherhood, one must take vows which are to be uphold until death.

This means that the core tactic deck of the Night's Watch faction has cards that may be attached to Night's Watch unit that uses them. Attached cards will give benefits to its unit for as long as the unit lives, the game ends or the card is transferred by other means. This helps Night's Watch units grow in power as the game progresses, but it is also a deterrent in bringing Neutral troops as they can never attach theses cards.

Recommended boxes

Ranger Hunters, Builder Crossbowmen, Conscripts

Stark

Playstyle

Probably the most recognized name of the franchise, the Stark embodies the furry of the north and they bring into battle the loyalty of many bannermen's. While their arch-nemesis, the Lannisters, uses subterfuge and conspiracy to get their way, the Stark faction focuses on controlling the most important part of any battle, namely the battlefield itself. As such, they do not let any obstacles relent their charges. They are very adept at blitzing an opponent and claiming first blood. 

Once they get into battle, they demonstrate their fury for their fallen comrades and they adopt a berserker-like style of fighting. Their attack and defense becomes more fierce as they loose ranks. Maintaining a balance on a sword edge, they are at their most dangerous when close to death. 

Having many bannermen's also means that you have access to a wide variety of specialists on your hand. For instance, the Tully's bring heavy armor and defensive shield walls to distract their enemies from their deadly cavalry charges, and the Crannogman's are adept trappers, limiting and punishing the advance of their opponents. 

Unique mechanic

No particular mechanic to mention for the Stark faction, but if you include their corresponding masters in your unit lists, you will be able to bring wolves to the fight. As with the Lannister faction, their lack of mechanic also makes them very apt Neutral users. 

Recommended boxes

Mormont Shebears, Tully Cavaliers, Tully Sworn Shields

Targaryen

Playstyle

The core of the Targaryen faction is all about moving fast and defeating their enemies before they get a chance to react. If that sound a bit like the Stark playstyle, that's normal, but they do it in their own fashion. Targaryen expects to draw the blood of their enemies, not their own, and so, most of their troops struggle over long engagements, but shine in alpha strikes. They have a huge amount of freedom in their mobility, letting them dismantle the opponents ranks from any angle they choose. 

It comes as no surprises that they will favor winning by killing of opponents than dragging a fight around controlling objectives. The core of their army is, again unsurprisingly, cavalry units, where other factions will have an infantry core accompanied by cavalry. The Targaryen's will not favor particularly synergy or cooperation between their units, preferring instead to have raw power in each individual unit. It doesn't mean that they don't work well together however, as getting double tagged by two Targaryen units of any kind is almost surely a death sentence. 

Unique mechanic

Their commanders being a cast of characters coming from all over the world, and not all of them agrees on how to best command the Targaryen troops. As such, each commander bring with him a set of 4 commander cards, as opposed to the regular 3, that lets them fashion the core Targaryen deck in their own image. 

They are (currently) one of the only faction that can bring a mounted commander, so having a full cavalry list is possible with them. 

Stormcrow units, normally from the Neutral faction, can be brought as full Targaryen units, meaning they don't count for the half army limit of Neutral points. 

Finally and just a small detail, they are the only faction with access to Dragons, if that strikes your fancy. 

Recommended boxes

Stormcrow Mercenaries, Stormcrow Archers, Unsullied Swordmasters