The next big seasonal update was announced just over a month ago and is currently targeted for a March release. With the disappointment with the last update being so inconsequential, I wanted to consider what we need from this update and what we may get from it. Look out for some serious hot takes on this one!
ASOAIF: Tactics
Curse your sudden but inevitable delay! ASOIAF: Tactics was always going to be delayed as almost all of CMON’s projects are delayed in some form. Couple this with looking to ship the pledges around Chinese New Year and it is clear as day that February shipping was not going to happen. Knowing this, I predicted it would be around June or July when we could see the pledges reaching our doorsteps.
The developers informed us of the delay at the last minute with it being pushed back around six months or more, which is a far bigger delay than I was expecting. CMON did release a project status page for all of their projects including Tactics and what stage they are currently at. Right now, they are proofreading the rules for the rulebook and cards whilst they are finishing off molding, which I assume is for the Lannisters of The Riverlands Set and the Greens of the King’s Landing Set as these have not been shown off on the Gamefound page.
This is really frustrating to experience, and people who have pledged have not been shy in voicing their anger at this decision. It has far less to do with the delay, and far more to do with the communication of the delay. Since the delay is pushed towards the end of the year, this should have been foreseen and communicated to the pledges. Why put a February 2025 delivery date on the pledge if it is going to be close to a year later when you believe it will actually ship? But this is a criticism from countless people over all their pledges. It is something that people should know about before pledging to CMON in the future and it’s echoed in the comments for ASOIAF: Tactics.
We all have delays with meeting deadlines in almost everything we do; it is not about the delay in general but the communication of the delay that is important. I hope the development team takes this on board with the rest of CMON when reading the community’s response to this.
What does the delay with Tactics have anything to do with the update? Well, CMON have already released some playtest files for the heads of the Blacks and Greens of the King’s Landing set. Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower were given as promo miniatures at the Realm of Battles event which saw their rules hit the War Council App to an uproar of balance issues.
I can imagine a world where CMON releases some more playtest files for some of the miniatures of Tactics as an apology for the delay. It would increase community sentiment with the development team and be an easy win to give something new for players to play with. Baratheon players could get Robert Baratheon, which is a huge character that previously could never have been included in the game.
From Robert’s Rebellion, we could get a new Eddard and Roose, but Hoster Tully, and Jon Arryn will be incredible highlights when released into the game. There would be such a big celebration of both joining the rosters. Following this is the plethora of new Targaryen forces that can be added in with Rhaegar Targaryen, Daemon Targaryen, Corlys Velaryon, and Rhaenys Targaryen. Duncan the Tall, Janos Slynt, Jason Mallister, and Lewyn Martell are all huge names that could have creative rules to play with.
They could go another route and release all the rules for ASOIAF: Tactics in a print and play module. If they are finalising rules in the proofing stage, then this should be close to complete, they may also have a Tabletop Simulator module for people to use with this as well. When I was invited to play a game with one of the developers, they had a proxy module made for it. There have been quite a few crowdfunding games that release print and play handouts that helps iron out details whilst letting pledges enjoy the game ahead of release.
Either way, I do believe CMON may do something for Tactics with this update; if they do not, it would be a missed opportunity to get back into the good graces of those who backed a project that was just burdened with a major delay. I am hoping for some Hoster Tully rules!
Universal Rules
Universal rules are normally saved for the smaller updates; however, there have been times where some have been changed in the major update. This is normally for oppressive rules that are showing up a lot, or ones that are common but so bad that they are never considered.
I think Order: Taunt may be changed further to rework its power down. It’s horrid being on the receiving end of a force that spams this ability. Either you don’t get to go where you want to go, or everything is almost always Weakened and Vulnerable throughout the game. When there is only one Unit with this ability it provides an interesting element of strategy, like Tom Sevenstrings in Brotherhood who pulls Units into engagements with Peasant Levy Units. When there are three or more Units of Thenn Warriors it becomes a nightmare.
To fix this I would suggest following the same method for Order: War Cry where it lost the ability to do both tokens, and you had to choose one of the other. I do believe this would solve this power being a problem when spammed while still leaving it very effective to play. It is a niche problem that doesn’t happen too often, however. If it was oppressive we would see Lannisters with plenty of Sentinel Enforcers, or Baratheons with multiple Halberdiers.
For a rework up, the ability Knightly Vow may need a change — or more accurately, the characters that have this ability end up being some of the worst and possibly least played in the game. Barristan Selmy Commander, Denys Mallister Commander, and Brienne of Tarth Attachment. Brienne of Tarth is especially disappointing since she is a huge character in the game and is rarely seen outside of a specific Renly list. I have no answers for how to change this rule to be something worth talking about, but it needs to impact the game a little bit more for it to be worth considering. Most people forget who they get a reroll charge against, and it isn’t often that the +1 to hit comes up. There are far too many hoops to jump through to gain a substantial benefit.
Boltons and Neutrals
Last update we got some tweaks to the Boltons that were for the better, but the true problem with the Boltons has always been and always will be their Tactics Deck. Their mechanics are a slog to get through, and it takes a lot of work to gain any substantial buffs from the deck. I found myself dumping the cards more often than I ever played them, mainly due to the same issue that plagued the Baratheons early on in their inclusion.
Many of the Tactics Cards that are played in combat require a lot of hoops to jump through to gain any benefit at all, let alone one that is worthwhile. In a world where Starks can just gain a keyword for an attack action, or Lannisters can just immediately provide a debuff to a morale check, why do Boltons need to gain a negative in addition to their buff or kill a whole Unit to get an additional negative on the table? Improve the Tactics Deck so that it is more in line with other Factions and add some synergy between Units and the Tactics Board Zones.
Neutrals have been at the receiving end of punishment for the entire lifespan of the game. They had a brief rejuvenation when their Tactics Deck was overhauled, but since then there have been few buffs to the Stormcrows and many more nerfs because of their play in other Factions. Due to the drastic reaction to Jokin in other Factions they continued to nerf the Commander when they were only played in Neutrals on rare occasions.
It is closing in on a time where more Mini-Factions are needed to make the Neutral forces playable on the table as their own Faction, or the developers need to update the Faction as a whole, which brings its own issues with how they are played elsewhere.
There are also some Neutral Units that need nerfing, once again because of their play outside of the Faction! Golden Company Crossbowmen are all over the place right now. First it was Flayed Men, then it was Stormcrow Mercs who still show up everywhere, and then it was Golden Company Swordsman, but now the crossbows are frustratingly common, mainly due to the power of long ranged units in the game.
Honestly, I am tired of mentioning the Neutrals at this stage; they need changing in a substantial way, but it feels like they never will get this. I really hope that it will be different this time, and CMON gives some much-needed love to the Neutrals.
Internal Balancing
There will always be internal balance shifts with the update; however, which Factions and Units should be targeted by CMON?
Free Folk, Night’s Watch, Martells, and Neutrals should be high up in priority for some changes. Following this should be the Lannisters, and then the Starks. Now, obviously that is a lot; let me break down my thinking here, as there is a method to my madness.
Free Folk have lost some momentum from the last few updates changing up their roster. Currently there are a few ways that they can perform well by focusing on Oops All Monsters or going high activation with a few tricks like Thenns and Bard Mance. Chipping damage is no longer viable but there are some new synergies such as Savage Giants benefiting from a Raid Leader’s Gang-Up. Some slight tweaks on lesser used Units, and Attachments may change them from being a dark horse to competent contender.
Night’s Watch have been treading water for a while now since their huge injury from the nerf bat. Whilst it is their Tactics Deck that took the biggest beating, the NCUs and Units feel slightly out of sync with the new Tactics Deck and tweaking them all with the possibility of some major reworks could make the forces of The Wall flavourful again.
Martells may need to see their first major shakeup since their introduction into the War of the Five Kings. They for the most part have been perfectly fine with their rules not needing many tweaks but have for a long time been a nuisance to players with their countless debuffs from the Tactics Deck. However, time spent with the Faction has resulted in players discovering the best way to run them which seems to always be with double Sand Skirmishes, whilst many other Units aren’t even considered in a serious manner.
Attachments and NCUs seem to be in a great place however, so some tweaks and maybe a rework here and there to Units is all they really require. The consequence of not doing this, however, will be the Martells becoming a one note Faction for another six months where a mini update would be needed to fix them.
Lannister forces have some strong combinations that may need to be tweaked down, but a huge part of their roster needs to be tweaked up to fix the internal balance. A trend I am seeing in events is that running very specific lists with The Mountain, Honour Guard, and Crossbowmen does well, and anything else struggles. Minor tweaks across the board are needed for the Lannister forces.
Starks suffer from the same issue as Lannisters in that there are specific Units that are so good that they shoot Starks up the performance table by themselves, but then there are plenty of other Units whose inclusion can have them fall short of doing anything viable. Tully Cavaliers, Umber Ravagers, and to be honest any Umber Unit, are all leading the pack. Again, minor tweaks to Units, and possibly some Commanders, could be in the cards for the Northern forces.
Hopefully I am correct with at least one of these but who knows what could be in the cards for the developers to change.
Rulebook
Anything short of a Second Edition is unlikely to be a big deal and is more taking some clarifications from the Community FAQ and applying them to the official rules. Outside of this we could see new missions brought into the rulebook like we saw Banners & Butchery, a game mode few enjoy.
There are some great playtest files on the CMON website for some other missions; these are a lot of fun, and any could make it into the main book. Narrative missions got a new addition, and we were teased that there are more on the way which I hope is the case. However, Board Man Gaming has already made incredible missions for narrative play that you should go and play right now!
The Future
We haven’t had any insight into the future of the game outside of the rumour engine themed teases on the Facebook page. We may not get a roadmap for 2025 from the development team, especially if they are pouring all their work into ASOIAF: Tactics, but I do believe it is time for a new wave of Heroes and Attachment Boxes to refresh the game.
With the major update I am going to wish for a hail mary and hope we get some information on some future releases even if it is a single Unit box. I am more than sure the community would want to know about the next Mini-Faction or even when the Arryns will be taking to the battlefield. It might even be possible to get some further updates on the rules for ASOIAF: Tactics. Some form of vision in the flames would be more welcomed than rules updates.
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