The most prestigious event in ASOIAF: TMG is about to take place this weekend. The Invitational is a landmark event which will host players from over a dozen countries including several champions from the world’s biggest events. We will be going over the lists revealed for the Invitational and the lists I will be bringing.
The Invitational is quite different from the usual tournament format that most people are used to. The top 16 players by ranking on ASOIAF-Stats are split into four groups. Then international players are split across these groups, before it is filled up with remaining players at the event. This is to try and make sure that people from the same country are not playing against each other as much as possible.
At the end of the first day, the two players from each group will be moved into a knockout bracket away from the rest of the tournament to decide the final standings of the top 8 players at the event. The rest will play games in the usual format you expect from an event. Overall score will determine your standing from best in faction awards.
Knowing that this is going to be an event filled with some of the most skillful players in the game, I decided to stick to what I know best, which is the Neutral Faction. It is quite likely that decision will cost me dearly so why not make it harder by bringing themed lists as well?
My Lists
Essos of Mercenaries List
Stormcrow Archers (6)
- Daario Naharis (C)
Stormcrow Mercenaries (5)
- Jokin (1*)
Stormcrow Dervishes (7)
- Widower (0)
Hedge Knights (7)
- Glory Seeker (1)
Jaqen H’ghar (4)
Petyr Baelish (4)
Tycho Nestoris (5)
Out of all of the Commanders in the Neutral roster, my favourite is Daario Naharis. I enjoy the playstyle of aggressive with some support tools that Daario brings to the force, as well as Stormcrow Units interacting well with the Tactics Board. I had to bring the Commander I enjoy the most to this event!
With Daario comes the three Stormcrow Units. I don’t usually have Daario in the Archers as I prefer him in the Dervishes so I can use Issue Commands on the bowmen if needed, and it isn’t always a good thing to have the Dervishes as an option whilst it is counter intuitive to put him in the Mercenaries. Daario is in the Archers due to Jokin coming along for the ride, and I needed another point from somewhere. I am unsure if he will amount to much in the mercs but giving them a keyword is going to be very helpful, as well as the Widower inside the Dervishes giving them a keyword as well.
Hedge Knights have been a staple in my Daario list giving me precision strike units to break the enemy’s lines whilst also being another target for Issue Commands. I was tempted by a Fortune Seeker to have all my units with Motivated By Coin, but it is hard to pass up on the defensive capabilities of the Glory Seeker. Perhaps that attachment will be knocked down a peg in the upcoming update.
The NCUs are not perfect in terms of theme as we don’t have many characters outside of the Targaryen Faction that would make sense for the Stormcrows. Tycho felt like a perfect pick due to the Iron Bank’s history with mercenary companies like the Golden Company. Jaqen H’ghar was selected purely due to the Faceless Men temple being in Essos and close to the Iron Bank. In a perfect world I would be bringing Varys instead of Petyr Baelish, but I have damaged my Varys model who needs some special attention to recover, so Petyr will need to fill his void here.
Forces of Harrenhal List
House Bolton Cutthroats (5)
- Roose Bolton (C)
House Bolton Cutthroats (5)
- Dreadfort Captain (1)
House Bolton Blackguard (6)
- Bolton Flayer
House Bolton Flayed Men (8)
Bloody Mummer Zorse Riders (6)
Jaqen H’ghar (4)
Shae (4)
Combining the Bloody Mummers together with the Boltons feels like it was meant to be rules wise. Since both have a lot of stories at Harrenhal it works into a nice theme. An earlier version of the list did have Vargo Hoat leading the force with the Blackguard swapped out for the Bloody Mummer Skirmishers, however, these were not performing well at all in the list. I did also have Rorge and Biter and thoroughly enjoyed Gang-Up, no wonder Brotherhood are doing so well with the Peasant Levy.
The new Neutral Roose is a downgrade from what he once was, losing Intimidating Presence for Prey On Fear is not going to come into play as often. I believe this was done to make the Roose in the Bolton Faction better than the Neutral one thus giving the player a bonus for picking pure Boltons as a Faction. Most people put Roose inside Blackguard for obvious reasons, but I don’t believe this is the best place to put him anymore. I want to get the most out of Spread Fear, so he joins my frontline combat unit.
Adding in the Bolton Flayer and Dreadfort Captain is like having a second Roose, I want to have a chain reaction of Spread Fear take place between Roose and the Flayer, the Dreadfort Captain is there because it is very rare the Attachment ever sees the table, so I want to bring it for the sake of trying it out. Will Prey On Fear actually be useful?
Flayed Men and Zorse Riders are obvious picks since they are both just so good. Although they have a habit of not doing well for me. Hopefully I can take advantage of the Intimidating Presence from the Flayed Men for Spread Fear whilst the Zorse Riders flank around the opponent. I am worried about not bringing a Glory Seeker for either unit since it makes them far easier to take down, but if this Attachment is hit in the update, then we will need to get used to this. I just want to try something different than the norm.
List Reveal
Lannisters – There is a good spread of Lannister commanders at the event with Gregor Clegane pulling out ahead of the rest. Gregor brings a strong, aggressive style of play to the Faction with Assault Orders, Overrun, and Price of Failure. Lannisters can be a hit or miss now, and it is less about the Commander and more about the units and NCUs you bring. Crossbowmen, Knights, Honour Guard, these are the units showing up frequently across the Faction, with Tywin and Varys showing up a lot as well.
There are quite a few good players playing Lannisters so they for sure won’t be a pushover Faction at the event. The likes of Cajo, Alaric, and V4Victarion, are just some of the names competing for best in Faction.
Starks – As expected, Greatjon Umber leads the pack for the Starks with Eddard not too far behind. Tully Cavaliers are everywhere, for sure the tweak down that CMON did was not enough to deter players from picking up lance cavalry for this event. The trinity of Catelyn, Arya, and Sansa show up just as often as Tully Cavaliers with some swaps here or there. Starks are tough to face if you can’t withstand their rush towards you or reduce their capabilities, I am interested to see if they are good enough to break past the Targaryens and Brotherhood which are becoming a menace.
The likes of Psychoste, Tsiou, and Corpmake, are just some of the names competing for best in Faction.
Neutrals & Boltons – There are only two Neutral players including myself, and two Bolton players, it is first to the finish line for each Faction and should be fun to compete with only one other person. Both Factions struggle massively with balance issues and is a good reason as to why they have not been taken as much here. CMON have given some good hints that Neutrals and Boltons will be receiving some substantial updates in the next season coming real soon, so this will hopefully be the last hurrah of the terrible Factions before they get their buff.
The likes of Yngvar, TauRo17, and DanG, are the other players competing for best in Faction for Neutral or Bolton.
Night’s Watch – Not a lot of Night’s Watch forces at the event, likely due to their big nerf still impacting them, but it doesn’t mean that they aren’t out of the race completely. Warmachines and cavalry are themes across the forces, with a good spread of commanders as well. Quite a few Stone Throwers are about for the watchers on the wall, so infantry lists beware. I am interested to see how good the Night’s Watch will perform at the event as it will give some great insight for where they need to go going forward.
The likes of Endi, Gabo, and Nachtalb, are just some of the names competing for best in Faction.
Free Folk – Free Folk have fallen from grace and are not picked as much for this event. Those bringing the Wildlings are in favour of mass activations from Varamyr or the monstrous combinations of Mag the Mighty. There is some good spread to other commanders though with Styr and Mance taking a stand. If Varamyr is leading, then he is likely coming along anyways. Spearwives and Thenns show up a lot, and Mag has trained up a lot of Spear Throwers.
Over the years we have seen Free Folk go from very dominant to almost diminished, but some names who have continued playing the Faction can perform very well with them. The likes of Nasko, Masarath, and Bannockburn, are just some of the names competing for best in Faction.
Baratheons – The Baratheons are spread quite evenly across their commanders and some of the lists look incredibly difficult to face. This bleeds into the unit and NCU choices which sees a lot of good spread on units picked with Lightbringers, King’s Men, Rose Knights, Riders of Highgarden, and Halberdiers taken frequently across players. However, Queen’s Men and R’hllor Faithful don’t show up once, and there are twice as many Renly Loyalty lists than Stannis Loyalty lists. It is interesting to see where Baratheon players fall in terms of loyalty here, but which side will win the most games? Stannis or Renly?
The likes of Darkman, Flixieflixer, and Belisarius, are just some of the names competing for best in Faction.
Greyjoys – Almost all the Greyjoy players are bringing Victarion Greyjoy and Baelor Blacktyde. Two players have gone rogue and brought a different commander from these two as their second list. Victarion brings extreme aggression to the Greyjoy roster with an automatic result of a six for a charge with Rush of Aggression, and a way to get some free attacks or charges with Assault Orders.
Baelor brings a card to boost the combat potential of a unit it is attached to, a way to save better on morale tests, and the famous Lash Out card for instant wounds. Both are brutal commanders and just by looking at the pick rate you can see how the internal balance for commanders in the Faction is off. I wonder which commander will perform better. The likes of Mikel, Midnight, Kermit, and sirjacobofglais, are just some of the names competing for best in Faction.
Targaryens – Ever since the major change to the Mother of Dragons, she has seen a return to form over this season. But this has not been enough to pull focus from Khal Drogo who inches past Daenerys as most picked commander. For the most players will be facing the Dothraki or Dragons, and almost all of the lists contain Mirri Maz Duur, with Selmy being almost as frequent. I am surpirsed that there isn’t more Xaro, since his reduce rank ability is so good at shutting down forces. There is one mad person who has chosen a Dothraki list with only one NCU!
Someone from this Faction will be in range of winning the event just purely down to how good Targaryens are right now. The likes of LArks, neichous, and Lord Robbo, are just some of the names competing for best in Faction.
Martells – Oberyn and Harmen are the most picked commanders for our dune dwellers. Oberyn has been slowly inching his way up to being the most played commander now due to his debuffs and token manipulation. Harmen has always been a solid pick for the Martells with Battle Endurance and Spiteful Truce being his main benefits. Sand Skirmishers, Skyreach Bowmen, and Royal Guard are the units showing up often with Sand Skirmishers being a particular favourite. Doran, Ellaria, and Vary show up a lot for NCU support.
I have seen quite a few members of the community calling for their Tactics Cards to be toned down, and with Martells being the most popular Faction there might be a point. I look forward to seeing how they do over the weekend. The likes of Forestpond, Geelott, and Wanil, are just some of the names competing for best in Faction.
Brotherhood – The new kid on the block is showing up in style with a lot of people bringing the Brotherhood this weekend and for good reason. Beric has stormed ahead as their most popular commander for the same reasons as many others; boost to aggression. His Sentinel ability and Assault Orders Tactics Card gives the band of merry men a step above the rest. There are a few Lady Stonehearts added in as well but for the most part you are likely to be staring down the Lightning Lord.
We should get to see some accurate results on how good the Brotherhood are after going up against some of the best players in the world. The likes of KRW4WY, KeLian, and Rivarama are just some of the names competing for best in Faction.
There is an incredible array of players and forces from across the world and the game. Every person I see talking about the event is super excited for the weekend of gaming and celebration. I look forward to meeting so many people from across the world and finally putting faces to names. It is going to be a great event!
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