For the probably last gaming event of the year, I tried out something new. First impressions of the A Song of Ice and Fire miniatures game was a small board and barely any terrain, at least compared to Warhammer. But the board is just big enough for some heavy maneuvering, especially for cavalry. And all the terrain pieces had a big impact. The miniatures are fine, and I like their esthetic. Nothing overengineered.
But, on to the game.
I scratch built a Lannister list without reading up on meta stuff. The theme: all 3 siblings were present, Jaime leading Halberdiers, while Tyrion and Cersei did non combat stuff. Up against me were the Starks, with Tully cavalry support.
My left squad of Crossbowmen faced down Tully swordsmen and Stark archers. Don't let that flat hedge fool you - you can't see through it!
On my right flank, all the cavalry and Shaggydog.
I was way too excited and zoned in to take a lot of pictures. Also, without the structure of the round, it got pretty confusing who moved what and when.
Suffice to say that I spent all my resources trying to kill Shaggydog first turn. I shot him down, like a... dog. The Starks then got all upset for me killing their dog, and played The North Remembers on a couple of units. Spoilers: I did not manage to kill any more units.
I led my Guardsmen into the middle, where they immediately took the cavalry charge to the front. Now, they held for quite a long time. However, their Panic mechanic was countered completely by Eddard Stark doing non-combat things.
The Stark Outriders charged my crossbowmen in the meantime. Poor positioning meant that my Halberdiers were out of charge arc. Big sad.
I repositioned my Halberdiers, but they were not as killy as I expected... instead, the Outriders ran away, and charged back into the Crossbowmen. Poor fellows.
Speaking of things not as killy as expected, the Tully swordsmen held really well against my knights. Kind of like my own Guardsmen. And the hedge kept them from being shot.
Overall everything held its ground. But I banked on a 3+ charge which I failed with the Halberdiers, allowing the Outriders to charge into the back of my Guardsmen. They crumpled, freeing up the Tully knights to charge the back of my knights. This freed up the Tully swordsmen to charge my crossbowmen. And that was that.
Blogging about this would be a nightmare! There is a separate board for non-combat characters.
As my units were being mopped up, the Starks took table control and a load of points for killing. I had my moral victory by charging the Halberdiers into the Outriders and taking them off the board, but the game ended 10-4 in turn 4.
Alright, so general impressions, besides the tiny board (it's really not), the lack of terrain (at least it's impactful besides blocking units), and the nice looking miniatures. And getting soundly beaten. Overall, positive!
Although there are relatively few units to play with, the game has enough tactical depth to be enjoyable. This is due to a stacking of alternate activations, non-combat units, and cards to play. Maneuvers are crucial, as was in Warhammer Fantasy.
Gameplay is quick, with a medium sized game over in about 2 hours. Even with a first timer like myself. Although I admit I read the rules thoroughly.
The rulebook is quite slim compared to Warhammer, but don't let that fool you. The depth is there, but the bloat is not.
Verdict: we'll be back!
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