As the holiday season came to a close we looked back on the year that was for ASOIAF in 2024. Now it is time to look to the future and what to expect in 2025. Tactics is on the horizon as well as the next major update, and events are starting to ramp up again. Let’s see what is ahead in the months to come.
The Season 6 Update
Early February tends to be the start of the year for ASOIAF; that’s usually when we receive an update to the game to refresh our playstyles and armies. With the previous update being minor, this update needs to be a major one to keep the game alive for the playerbase, it also needs to address some issues with the game that are starting to become a significant problem.
The best way for anyone to understand the current state of the game across the whole of the community is by seeing trends at events through the ASOIAF-stats website. From this we can see a downturn in people playing certain Factions like the Neutrals, Free Folk, and Night’s Watch. We can also see specific list designs taking up much of the playing time of Factions like the Gregor Lannister lists, or Stark Umber lists.
Essentially, the usual internal balance of Factions needs to be looked at which gives the developers a lot of freedom to choose some things to make better and tune down others. I can see them following the same ethos of turning down overplayed pieces and updating the underplayed ones. For example, Bloody Mummers may see a buff to make them more viable whilst heavy cavalry could see another nerf.
Night’s Watch needs a Commander update and perhaps a few tweaks to Units. Really, they need something to help balance out the unreliable cards they now have and make them an interesting experience to play with on the table. Free Folk lost their competitive power of chip damage which has seen them become less of a favourite, we could see a change to Commanders here too since most aren’t looked at that often.
For Units, Lannisters and Starks are in the sight lines. Internal balance is generally the only issue which could see only the top Units being tweaked down to encourage list building into other tools. But Baratheons and Greyjoys could see some significant changes here as well since they too have Units gathering dust and then others finding themselves worn out on the battlefield.
Boltons still need an overhaul to bring them in line with the rest of the game; synergies and interactions with the Tactics Board are what I believe need looking at. Neutrals saw a miniscule amount of play this season which could be due to people trying out Boltons instead. But they also saw a few indirect nerfs due to other Factions like the Boltons and whoever brought Jokin Commander. They are heading back to being a non-Faction and if Boltons are uplifted Neutrals could be the new forgettable Faction.
With all that said, almost anything can be done. The game is in a great place balance wise and most of everything feels great to play with, we are mostly nitpicking the outrageous few things that need addressing. It is a testament to the last few updates and their skills for getting a game to this point for balance.
However, momentum and relevance need to be a key factor with this update. If it is minor, it could run the risk of not generating much growth, but this could be fine if Tactics release on time, taking much of the attention from the update instead. Tactics will also bring new characters for players to use in the main game. One thing is for sure, CMON needs to be vocal about the update and why it is what it is.
Early Events – War in the North, Welsh GT, and Invitational
There are some big events happening at the start of the year to really kick off the scene in style.
In February, Hits and Crits had an incredibly successful event last year with War in the North, and now the team is back for a sequel. Sadly, I will not be attending this one which could not have hurt more, but from what happened last year, and what is building up to this year, I look forward to seeing many people who attend having an incredible experience.
Details of the event here: https://asoiaf-stats.com/tournament/039ae3c0-5946-11ef-9982-69ad04a4df50
At the beginning of March, the Welsh GT returned for their fourth GT. This event has been sold out for a while now, but it is always a massive highlight for the beginning of the year. Duke’s Gaming continuously puts on an amazing event with incredible people attending each time. There is no wonder that the event sold out. I hope all who attend have a fantastic time, and perhaps in the future the event can be held in a bigger location.
Details of the event here: https://asoiaf-stats.com/tournament/b00135a0-da67-11ee-84e6-795b07efeca1
Towards the end of March, there is a huge milestone event in the Invitational. Carlo returns to hosting an event of a large size and people from across the whole world are journeying to play. This will be Carlo’s last event so those attending will get a once in a lifetime experience unless someone intends to take over. With so many nationalities present, this will be the widespread community on display and will be the ultimate celebration of events for ASOIAF.
Details of the event here: https://asoiaf-stats.com/tournament/35221690-b223-11ee-87bf-794d5a432886
ASOIAF-Stats Closes
One of the biggest changes in 2025 will be the end for ASOIAF-Stats website. Carlo has done an incredible job with the site but is now stepping away from the game and thus the site will be closed following his last event in March. The whole community has been shouting endless praise for everything he has done for the game especially during and post COVID as this helped keep the game alive alongside Tabletop Simulator.
While there has been countless thanks to Carlo, there has also been a lot of anger that Carlo would not pass on the website to someone else in the community so that we don’t lose the asset. Doing this would be insanely kind of Carlo, but there’s a lot of extra work that goes into it, and ASOIAF Stats is more than just a stats site – there’s a lot more that goes into it and Carlo isn’t keen to share the code he’s put together (and may be applying to new projects).
Rather than presenting the information stitched from several statements across socials, I would recommend listening to Hits and Crits sit down with Carlo on the topic. They answer all of your questions about the site and provide valuable context as to why closing the site is happening now and why it is not being passed on.
Here is a link to the video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzs-jcRLNas
My advice is to enjoy the next few months of ASOIAF-Stats, visit some events and celebrate the experience before we move onto the next step in the game.
ASOIAF: Tactics
Around February/March time is when CMON plans to release the ASOIAF: Tactics crowdfund to the backers. This is the earliest we could see the game released to people, but it is quite likely to have a delay that pushes it back a few months. However, Tactics will be in the hands of players in 2025 as some third-party stores are now selling the Tactics sets for pre-order, with the release being October 2025. CMON will likely want their backers to have what they have ordered well before retail, so summer seems to be the most likely time of release.
Currently though, the campaign seems to be behind as the details say this should have been shipped 10 months after the campaigns end which would be in December. Then deliveries would start to happen 6-9 weeks after. But there are plenty of prints they haven’t shown and there has been no word of how production is going outside of this, let alone anything about shipping. There have been very few details for the campaign recently.
ASOIAF: Tactics is a really fun game; I do believe it has potential to be more diverse in strategy and design than the main game. The richness of character in each model is so satisfying to the narrative player in me. Having an opportunity to let a character act like who they are from the story without a Unit railroading them into a specific design is so nice. I can’t wait to play it in person.
Summer Events – NGT and EAGT
Beginning the Summer off is the Northern Grand Tournament in the UK, one of the events that has been around a while and is always said to be a lot of fun. With the Always Winter event not taking place last year, this event was important for the northern gamers of the community.
Details of the event here: https://asoiaf-stats.com/tournament/9114fc20-c464-11ef-ae20-e9568892cc61
Following the NGT in June is the East Anglian Grand Tournament debuting for the first time, this one has been steadily building in hype over the end of the year thanks to the efforts of Yecats Miniatures. It is looking like it may be one of the biggest events of the year and one I will be attending.
Details of the event here: https://asoiaf-stats.com/tournament/58b36890-adc5-11ef-8764-af8fed133047
There will be more events later this year and many want to hear about it. Please reach out if you have an event upcoming that you would like to shout out. With Stats closing I am looking to increase my coverage of events from around the world as much as possible, so let us know about your events.
Potential New Faction – House Arryn or Mini-Faction
Each year CMON brings out a new Faction for the game and 2025 is likely to see more than one. Tactics may create some new Factions or Mini-Factions within existing ones. The Dance of the Dragon set looks to be coming with a loyalty design similar to Renly/Stannis, so there will be limitations depending on what side you pick. Robert Baratheon looks to be a Baratheon character rather than their own, the other characters from hsi set may follow suit with Eddard Stark and Hoster Tully being available for Baratheons. Rhaegar and Lewyn Martell may be in the same boat with the Targaryens.
Aside from the new editions to Factions there could be a brand new one altogether. House Arryn has been hinted at for a while now with multiple characters from The Vale appearing in Tactics, could we see House Arryn finally released this year? It could be a solid addition to the game and begin to complete all of Westeros. Alongside House Arryn we could see separate Factions made from existing models.
Many people are wanting a Golden Company Mini-Faction as they are the next best pick for such a design from the Neutral roster. We could see The Riverlands and The Reach become their own Factions to help make sense out of some characters. It has always been weird to play a Tully force whilst playing Winter is Coming or a Tyrell force with countless cards referencing stags. Before the North even called their banners, the Tullys had taken part in a bunch of conflicts so having a Faction where it is purely Riverland in design would be welcome.
Tyrells are more likely though since they have a lot more characters and story where they played the game of thrones of their own accord rather than under Renly. I can’t ever see a moment where you would play Randal Tarly whilst using cards referencing the Baratheons, just doesn’t make sense.
CMON could come out of left field with some unique Factions like one from the Free Cities such as Bravos or Volantis, but there is another that should be brought into the game. The forces of Essos are the antagonist to Daenerys’ campaign. Bring out the Masters of Yunkai, Astapor, and Meereen, put them alongside the Ghiscari Legions and the forces of Qarth. Set the stage for the massive siege from the books against Meereen. The models would look incredible with camel riders, trebuchets, and advanced unsullied.
If CMON does plan to release the New Faction, it would be alongside the mid-season update around August time. This should be in the middle of the Tactics releases if all goes to plan. 2025 could be jam packed with new content for the game.
Throughout the Year
There is an awful lot that happens in the community throughout the year for ASOIAF. Whether it be events, content, or new releases. All of us cherish the games we play and those we meet when playing them. 2025 will be a great year for ASOIAF and I can’t wait to explore it with more people in the community.
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