CMON has completed their second ASOIAF campaign for a new skirmish version of the ASOIAF: TMG, and late pledges are now open. ASOIAF Tactics spans across multiple eras of George R. R. Martin’s world, where previously their game was restricted to the War of the Five Kings. One thing that is lacking from the campaign is an introduction to the characters you may not know, and in this article, I will give you an introduction to these characters, their lore, and their design in both aesthetics and rules.
Previously we looked at the Battle of the Trident Set, and today we will be diving into the King’s Landing box set that takes place during the Dance of the Dragons, an event that saw the Targaryens, at the height of their power, indulge in a civil war that devastated their House and the entire realm.
One thing missing from the campaign is an introduction to the characters you will be playing with. Some have sparked high levels of excitement such as Robert Baratheon since people know who that is. But most people know nothing about the characters during this setting. Fortunately, HBO has produced a show following this time in House of the Dragon, with a second season of this show releasing later this year. However, the show so far has been a prologue for a few characters without going into detail into a lot of them that take center stage in the conflict.
My aim is to increase the sentiment and engagement of those interested in this set by introducing them to the story of unknown characters whilst fueling a further passion in a story driven game. Tactics is more personal than the main game as you focus on a smaller conflict, a small set of characters, and all their quick decisions. Everything matters in skirmish games, including who each member of your warband is.
WARNING: There will be spoilers for the first season of House of the Dragon and possibly the second season. I will try to avoid major plot points but smaller details to explain who the characters are will be mentioned.
During a great tourney that was held for the anniversary of Viserys marriage to Alicent, the queen wore a green gown matching the colours of House Hightower, while Princess Rhaenyra dressed in the red and black of House Targaryen. Note was taken, and thereafter it became the custom to refer to “greens” and “blacks” when talking of the queen’s party and the party of the princess, respectively.
Something to note though: CMON has gone with a red field with the black three-headed dragon on top for the logo of The Blacks, but this is wrong and should be changed before the full release of the game. The colours they have chosen to represent the bastard led rebellion force of the Blackfyre’s during their rebellion and has no place here. It could have been a design choice to differentiate The Blacks from the Targaryens in the Trident set, but this would then conflict with a future Blackfure Rebellion set; it should be adjusted.
Rhaenyra Targaryen – Dragon Queen
Lore – Rhaenyra is proud and stubborn and has a certain petulance to her language. Though she can be charming, Rhaenyra is quick to anger and never forgets a slight. Rhaenyra always dresses richly, favouring purple and maroon velvets with golden Myrish lace in intricate patterns. During the Dance of the Dragons, she wore the crown of her father, Viserys I.
Throughout Rhaenyra’s early life she would always fight against the way things are supposed to be to make change but also rebel. She was a constant source of stress to her father by running off with Daemon, or her sworn shields, but also ruffled a lot of feathers with her opinions on the small council where she encouraged the war in the Stepstones. Rhaenyra has always challenged the way things are, and often had those around her choking on their words to try and defend the mindless agreement to the order.
I cannot go into more detail of Rhaenyra’s character without spoiling the story going forward, since she is the principal character and as a result a lot of conflict that shapes them is several twists and turns in the war. Grab one of the books detailing this, or wait for the next season of House of the Dragon to learn more.
Model Design – The model is a decent one for a pre-coronation Rhaenyra that showcases her fashion sense mentioned in the books but does little portray the imposing power of the Heir to the Iron Throne. I hope this means we could see an armoured version of Rhaenyra, as that does appear frequently in the books during the conflict. I am not fully convinced the character is stout enough since it is mentioned so often by characters and a more realistic body shape might have been better for accuracy, but it does not add or take away from the beauty of the model as it stands. A fine model for Rhaenyra, but it is giving NCU vibes over the figurehead of the faction.
Rules Design – Rhaenyra is fragile, you must protect her by making sure she is not caught up in a conflict. But she can limit some characters with her Court Intrigue ability, stripping away some actions by making a character Routed, and then preventing some of her own allies from receiving tokens. We cannot see the ability in full for her dragon’s presence, but it does look like it is further action manipulation. The rules are about control designed in a questioning of faith which links perfectly to Rhaenyra questioning the oaths and rules of Westeros who deny her claim to the Iron Throne.
Motivation Design – Rhaenyra is a ruthless version of Rhaenys in Motivation. Rhaenyra wants to kill instead of capture, and this is far less of a risk, but you do need to get her engaged which can be quite risky. But her abilities can help with this. For a Gold the VP is not too bad, especially since you will be killing at least someone, and why wouldn’t you grab some more VPs if Rhaenyra is right beside them?
However, if Rhaenyra dies you must spend Gold or lose VPs, although you have a way to earn them back by removing the model that killed Rhaenyra. It is of utmost importance to make sure Rhaenyra does not perish when you bring her, but you will need to throw her into harm’s way to get value so it is a huge risk that might not pay off that often.
Overall, Rhaenyra has some pretty lore-friendly rules that match her character and importance in the civil war, but the rules make her a huge gamble and more of a liability than most. With both her and Rhaenys needing to be protected and fighting over the abilities of Corlys Velaryon it could end up a messy risk of a force.
Corlys Velaryon – Hand of the Queen
Lore – Corlys Velaryon, known as the Sea Snake, is the fabled Lord of the Tides, Master of Driftmark, and head of House Velaryon. He has been reimagined in the House of the Dragon show and has become a favourite of mine but is certainly different from his written counterpart. By the age of seven-and-thirty, Corlys was hailed as the greatest seafarer the Seven Kingdoms had ever known. Corlys is said to be as brilliant as he was restless, and as adventurous as he was ambitious. Though he accomplished much and more in life, he was seldom satisfied.
After being scorned by House Targaryen when Viserys I Targrayen took Alicent Hightower as his next wife instead of Leana Velaryon, he forged an alliance with Prince Daemon Targaryen to settle the matter in the Stepstones for good, and together they were determined to conquer the Stepstones for themselves.
When King Viserys I Targaryen died in early 129 AC, and the king’s eldest son Aegon II Targaryen ascended the throne, passing over Viserys’s appointed heir Rhaenyra, Corlys travelled to Dragonstone to lend his support in the struggle to his former daughter-in-law. He sat on Rhaenyra’s council and was the greatest lord to pledge his strength to her cause. More than half of Rhaenyra’s army was made up of men sworn to House Velaryon. Corlys’s fleets also gave the blacks superiority at sea.
Corlys’s storied presence in history does not end at this point, with countless twists and turns in the Dance of the Dragons but I will not spoil this as it could be one of the greatest plotlines of the new show. Let’s just say he is a badass and deserves great recognition.
Model Design – I have great issues with the model of Corlys Velaryon; however, this has a lot to do with the performance of Steve Toussaint in House of the Dragon which has reshaped what is expected of this formidable character. On the other hand, CMON do not have access to the shows and must base their designs on the books. HotD’s version has him feel and look far younger than his book version of around 78, which this model does well to portray and is the main source of disagreement.
Besides this, I think there is more that could have been done to present Corlys as his imposing, powerful, badass self than what we have, perhaps having him in more of a combat stance and presence would have been the better choice. At least there is a cool axe for him, but first opportunity to get an alternative model, I will take it.
Rules Design – We don’t get to see a lot of Corlys’s rules, but we can see that he is terrible in combat and has an ability to force an additional move on a character. I like the move design of him to represent his nature as a great traveler and seafarer even in his old age. But the final ability looks to be chunky and will decide if he is worthwhile, but currently he is not looking too interesting.
Motivation Design – Corlys is designed like Jon Arryn in the sense that to score the Motivation you need a selected model to survive until the end of the game. Jon Arryn gets more points due to the opponent getting to pick whereas Corlys gets fewer points for this Motivation as he gets to select the model. Honestly, it is weak due to the opponent knowing which Unit he needs to kill to deny you points from the get-go; on top of that it is only 3VP. We can’t quite see what the rule is when he dies but it is almost the same.
From a lore to rule standpoint, the theming of the rule is perfect since Corlys is obsessed with his legacy continuing, which would be through his grandchildren. The only one we have here though is Jace, so I hope to see some other members of the family in the future.
Rhaenys Targaryen – The Queen Who Never Was
Lore – Rhaenys is a clever, capable, spirited, proud, fierce and fearless woman and has a fiery temperament. Rhaenys wore steel and copper armour which flashed in the sun and rode the Red Queen, Meleys. She had been passed over in many decisions such as Princess of Dragonstone much too many linked to her lineage’s disapproval, but it wasn’t until the first Great Council at Harrenhal to decide the matter of succession that she received her namesake.
Fourteen claims were considered, including the claims of Rhaenys and her children. Rhaenys’s uncle, Lord Boremund Baratheon, was outspoken in supporting the claims of Rhaenys and her son Laenor during the Great Council, and Lord Ellard Stark gave his support to Rhaenys and Corlys as well. There were several other supporters from great houses, yet the claims of Rhaenys and her daughter were rejected on account of their sex. Rhaenys and Corlys used their wealth and influence to persuade the lords present to vote for their son Laenor, one of the two primary claimants, however, Laenor was eventually passed over in favour of Baelon’s son Viserys. Thus, Rhaenys was known as the Queen Who Never Was.
During the Dance of the Dragons, Rhaenys did not sit back on the sidelines but was an active part in not only the war council, but many of the fights to defend the gullet and even some important battles.
Model Design – Rhaenys is certainly a standout model in this box for a lot of categories which she knocks out of the park. Whereas others excel in some areas but not all, Rhaenys has an amazing pose of shouting out an order or casting down a foe, whilst armoured to the teeth and wielding an awesome cutlass. The facial expression is well crafted along with the Targaryen theming of the whole ensemble. Truly a standout model of the whole campaign, not just this box set.
Rules Design – The rules for Rhaenys are looking very powerful and are far more worthwhile for her cost than Corlys. She has one of the worst armour values in the game even though she is in full plate armour at 9+ which is the same as Rhaenyra who is wearing a gown, a little confusing but perhaps this is to show her age or lack of skill in a combat scenario.
But for lack of armour, she makes up in commanding presence with an ability that either pushes enemies away or makes them move closer, I can’t tell from the images we have seen of her rules. If it is a push thanks to the presence of her dragon, I can see this being an asset in pushing characters away from objectives to claim them yourself. She has two of these, so I am looking forward to seeing the complete wording here. But combine this with her Motivation and you have an auto-include character.
Motivation Design – You can spend 2 Gold to arrest a character engaged with Rhaenys gaining you a hefty 5VP for doing so. Arrest can happen if you can kill a model, and instead you choose to leave them on 1 Wound and take their model into custody. So, I imagine a play with Rhaenys is to get engaged, have another character kill an engaged enemy model, pop Motivation, then have Rhaenys push other models away. You could even follow this up with Corlys forcing a move on Rhaenys to safety as an example.
Honestly one of the better Motivations out there as you are likely to do the parameters anyways, but it will likely cost half of your Gold resource for the game. We do not know what the rule is when she is dead however, and if you kill Rhaenys you get the arrested model back, so it is a gamble.
Daemon Targaryen – The Rogue Prince
Lore – Daemon Targaryen is the most experienced warrior of his time and wields the Valyrian steel blade Dark Sister. A dragonrider of the mutated Blood Wyrm Caraxes, Daemon declared himself the King of the Stepstones and the Narrow Sea when laying conquest to the islands with Corlys Velaryon. He has disgraced himself many times due to his scandalous behaviour in many aspects but one of these blossomed into a marriage with Rhaenyra Targaryen and resulted in him becoming a prominent supporter to his wife during the Dance of the Dragons.
Like Rhaenyra, I will not be able to talk about Dameon further without spoiling a hefty amount of the story to come, but he will become a fan favourite wild card of the story.
Model Design – I am not a fan of the Daemon model due to how low key and restrained the Rogue Prince is here. I expected something more ostentatious to match his out of control needy rebellious but also highly lethal nature, but this is a duellist stance with a reserved cool to it. To be fair, Daemon during the Dance of the Dragons is a lot more mature than his reputation has built and he is one of the most lethal combatants to face. This is also one of the few if not only models that sports a duellist stance in action which will allow him to stand out, but expectations were not met in this instance.
Rules Design – Daemon’s rules make him a great debuffer whilst being able to dish out some hurt alongside it. He is rocking some very good combat statistics and has many ways to cause issues to opposing characters preventing them from equaling his martial prowess. This makes him a truly effective duelist which fits perfectly into the lore with him having many standoffs with characters throughout his time. Finally, we get to see someone who can dish out some hurt for the faction though.
Luthor Largent – Commander of the City Watch
Lore – Luthor is fierce, and measures almost seven feet tall. Luthor was rumoured to have once killed a warhorse with a single punch. Luthor was a captain of the City Watch commanding one of the seven city gates. He was promoted to the position of Commander as he was seen by the green council as the more fearsome of the officers sympathetic to Prince Aegon Targaryen’s cause. The Hand of the King, Ser Otto Hightower, named his son, Ser Gwayne Hightower, as Luthor’s second to keep an eye on him. However, Luthor and his Gold Cloaks are loyal to Prince Daemon Targaryen, their former commander, who raises the City Watch to a higher standing with funding, resulting in their namesake of Gold Cloaks.
Model Design – This model is one of my personal favourites and I can see it being one of many other people’s favourites too. Personally, it is the size. Most models CMON has made for the game have generally been the same size and those that show the difference in body shape aren’t represented appropriately but are being addressed in this campaign like Tormund Giantsbane who looks so much better. The size is authentic to the brutish nature of Luthor. The design of the armour tells the tale of how Daemon poured a lot of funding into making the City Watch truly powerful, the multiple parts of the armour, the iconography decorating it. This is a chef’s kiss model; I cannot wait to paint this.
Rules Design – Luthor Largent shows up to dish out some hurt alongside his master Daemon Targaryen, but you will need to spend some coin for Luthor to be truly useful, which to be honest is quite accurate to how Luthor and by extension the Gold Cloaks rose to power. Since Daemon raised the City Watch to a higher standing, they have found their loyalty firmly with the Rogue Prince which is reflected with one of Luthor’s abilities which grants a benefit to Luthor if Daemon is on the field. But we don’t know what this is or the third ability at this stage.
Jacaerys Velaryon – Jace “Strong”
Lore – Jace is responsible, bold, and politically savvy, becoming skilled at arms by serving as a squire. Jace is protective of his family and like his brothers, Lucerys and Joffrey, he had brown hair and eyes, and a pug nose. This made many at court suspect that Ser Harwin Strong, the sworn shield of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, was the brothers’ true father, but there was no doubt that dragon blood ran through his veins with King Viserystelling the young Jacaerys that the Iron Throne would one day be his.
The Green children grew a bitter rivalry with The Black children from issues passed on from their parents, and whilst Viserys forced them to be close to solve this conflict, it was only futile as it increased the dislikeness. But the first political conflict came with a succession crisis fueled on by The Greens over Driftmark, however this was solved by the intervention of Viserys and a marriage pact between the children of Rhaenyra and Laenor, and Daemon and Laena.
When the Dance of the Dragons broke out, Jacaerys was sent to secure the loyalty of the Arryn’s of the Eyrie, the Houses of the Three Sisters, the Manderlys’ at White Harbor, and then finally the Starks of Winterfell. This was an important task but one meant for the heir to the Iron Throne and Jace made sure to rise to the challenge.
Model Design – Jace’s paint job by BigChild Creatives is striking but also a little jarring, which perfectly fits his conflict between his three heritages of Targaryen, Velaryon, and Strong. The clash of red from Targaryen to the blue of Velaryon, and the yellow of Strong. But the model itself screams Velaryon heritage which I wish was the same for Corlys’ model but love that the Heir of Driftmark displays himself as much since most artwork has him leaning towards Targaryen only. A gorgeous model with some fantastic details.
Rules Design – Jacaerys is a little mediocre but for a Silver he is pretty good. He has some decent combat statistics, and his other rule is covered up but it looks like an auto-pass in a morale test. For a 14-year-old boy, heir to the Iron Throne, and a dragon rider of the powerful Vermax, I won’t say that I was expecting more for him, especially considering his alliance with other characters. Perhaps this is an early Jacaerys, and a future version could rectify this.
Erryk Cargyll – Queensguard
Lore – Erryk Cargyll is the twin brother of Arryk Cargyll who find themselves on different sides of the war. Erryk was a Kingsguard member for Viserys I Targaryen during his reign and became the sworn shield for the Princess Rhaenyra when Ser Harwin Strong was removed from the position. Erryk journeyed with Steffon Darklyn and Lorent Marbrand to side with Rhaenyra when Viserys died, resulting in Viserys Kingsguard being torn in two during this conflict.
Model Design – It is tough to create Kingsguard models that standout differently from other models due to their design being so like each other. But the designers do find ways to give some personality to the models since they are characters and not random soldiers. The Cargyll twins have incredibly similar designs with both sporting their house sigil whilst having slightly different poses. They are the only two Kingsguard of this era made with Shields which allows them to be defined without being duplicated. The designers have done a fantastic job with limited room to create.
Rules Design – Erryk does have an edge over his fellow Queensguard Steffon with a better defence due to his shield and a much better attacking profile. He does bring a defence buff to Rhaenyra if he is nearby due to being her sworn shield and has another rule that is covered up but hints at performing some actions with Rhaenyra involved in this rule as well.
Erryk looks to be a must if you are bringing Rhaenyra in your force, and an auto pass if you are not. However, his rules are pretty good to boost Rhaenyra since she is very vulnerable. I love the design around being her sworn shield but ultimately the Aftermath ability to do an additional wound plays so well into the lore.
Steffon Darklyn – Lord Commander of the Queensguard
Lore – Ser Steffon was a member of the Kingsguard during the reign of King Viserys I Targaryen. When the Dance of the Dragons began, he escaped King’s Landing and joined Rhaenyra Targaryen on Dragonstone when her half-brother, Aegon II Targaryen, usurped the Iron Throne. Fleeing in the night, Steffon arrived at Dragonstone with his squire, two stewards, four guardsmen, and Viserys’ crown, allowing for Rhaenyra’s coronation. From then on, he served as Rhaenyra’s Lord Commander of her Queensguard.
Model Design – As a Commander of the Queensguard, his pose of giving out a command is perfectly suited for his role. Apart from this there isn’t too much going for the model outside of the design of the armour, which certainly screams of a high-ranking knight. Not too much going on but this character isn’t a huge deal, so it isn’t needed as much.
Rules Design – Steffon has some decent combat statistics being the Lord Commander of the Queensguard but the true power comes in the form of the Queen’s Favour rule which allows Steffon to recover 7 Copper. Now this could be huge depending on how valuable Copper is for the abilities of the faction, if you can blow a large amount of Copper and then get a bunch back to blow some more all in a big turn, that could be huge. Copper does come back though, so it is specifically to allow a huge turn of ability popping.
Driftmark Defender and Sentinel
Model Design – The Defender is a stunning model, and a whole Unit of these guys would be incredible to see in the main game. I love the idea that there are some heavy armour Units even though most of the Velaryon forces are seafarers and wouldn’t dare wear heavy armour on a boat incase of going overboard. I adore the layered scale mail sections especially the face covering.
On the other hand, we have the best looking bowmen in the game, but with some of the most bizarre bows I have ever seen. It is so common to see bow designs that would never work or make sense in reality, but this is on another level. Outside of authenticity, the models look dynamic and fantastic whilst being quite different from each other.
Rules Design – The Driftmark Defender has some pretty good combat statistics in comparison to many other named characters in the game. I am starting to see that bringing the unnamed characters might be an important call for The Blacks in list building. But it looks like the model also comes with a debuffing ability which you don’t see often in the game. I love the design of this model’s rules and it might be a firm take for players.
The Driftmark Sentinel has some decent rules for the points cost. Players may look at the high to-hit rolls and be turned off of bringing this model to the field, however with Copper coming back and Steffon funding a big turn, you might be able to make them work. The only problem is it is pretty much a hail mary. But at the same time, not a lot of characters are bullet sponges, and a rogue wound here and there can bring down the mountain, literally.
Next time, we’ll take a look at the other faction in the set: The Greens.
