The Vigilant Watchers
When the men of the Night’s Watch take their vows, they forsake all lands and titles they had in their previous life. That doesn’t mean, however, that they lose their personalities or determination. In fact, many who join get their passion and drive honed in the fires of the forges and through combat with the horrors of the north. These individuals all may wear the black of the Brotherhood, but they certainly are not all the same. Soon, Night’s Watch players will get a chance to add a whole host of new characters to their armies in the A Song of Ice and Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game with the release of Night’s Watch Heroes Box 1. Let’s take a look at some of what players can expect when it hits shelves.
As with many Hero Boxes, this one offers new commander options for player’s armies. There are three here, and like all commanders, changing them out in a force can drastically change how they play on the tabletop, both in the commander’s abilities as an Attachment or NCU, and in how their Tactics Cards work. In this box, there is Allister Thorne, whose Tactics cards emphasize debuffing enemy units, either by downgrading their stats based on what zones on the Tactics Board you control, to just dealing wounds directly to the enemy (the ultimate debuff). Donal Noye is a more all-round commander, with one Tactics card buffing a friendly unit, another debuffing an enemy unit, and another attaching to a friendly unit and giving them extra defense at the cost of offense. Finally, there’s Othell Yarwyck, the master builder, who emphasizes buffing his units, granting them extra dice and special abilities with his Tactics Cards.
Othell is interesting in another way. When he’s chosen as part of an army, Night’s Watch players gain access to a new upgrade card for their Scorpion figures. The Scorpion Modifications card grants the unit the ability to make a free attack when targeted by the Maneuver zone on the Tactics Board. They also gain a new Order in which they can attack an enemy trying to Charge them. Either way, getting more use out of these deadly bolt-throwers is certainly worth the points.
The Night’s Watch is an army primarily consisting of elites. They are the sworn brotherhood bent on protecting Westeros. With the new options being added in the Heroes Box 1, those elite units can gain even greater abilities, such as Qhorin Halfhand causing automatic Wounds to the enemy whenever a rank of his unit is destroyed, or Grenn giving his unit +1 attack die and Critical Blow. Meanwhile, Pypar lets his unit shift 3” before a ranged attack (instead of the normal 2”) and they can make another 3” shift afterward, letting them dance in and out of enemy range as they pelt the enemy with fire. Any one of these can turn an elite unit into one that’s truly devastating on the battlefield.
Night’s Watch players will certainly have a plethora of new options open to them when they pick up the Heroes Box 1. With new commanders, attachments, and NCUs, along with possible new upgrades to their Scorpions, there is plenty to customize a force to work just the way they want it. The Night’s Watch Heroes Box 1 will be available August 1st.
