Visions in the Flames : Season 6 Overview

Hail bannermen!

 

With Season 6 coming soon, we want to take a moment to share some of the changes coming to A Song of Ice and Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game. This update aims to bring balance changes to the game in a variety of ways, but the primary focus this season is Attachments, not only in direct balancing but their use in the overall game.

Note that this article does not cover all the updates, but you will be able to see the complete changelog and update when it goes live on War Council and this website on the 28th of March.

As has been the standard over the last few years, our updates following the pattern of a “Major Update” at the start of the year, followed by a lesser Midyear Update, which mainly acts to fine-tune the efforts put forth at the start of the year as well as address any lingering items we felt needed attention.

And of course, all these changes are FREE on War Council. The printable files will be made available on our website. You will also be able to purchase physical cards via our printing partner Forgefire in 1-2 weeks after the update launched.

 

Attachments

Attachments add layers of strategy, theme, and tactical depth, and we want to encourage players to incorporate them more in their list-building. To support this, we’ve adjusted point costs and provided additional points in list-building specifically for attachments. This was first seen in the Optional Rules we presented last Season, but we felt the direction was one we wanted to push forward, thus they have been incorporated into the Core Rules.

For example, if you are playing a medium game, each player will receive 4 additional points solely for adding attachments to their list.

 

Neutral Commanders

One of the biggest changes this season is the shift in availability for Neutral Commanders. Previously, Neutral Commanders could be used freely across multiple factions, but this approach presented several challenges. While it provided flexibility, it also created problems in terms of balance, faction identity, and overall game health. Here’s why:

  • Design Space Limitations: Allowing Neutral Commanders to be “free for all” placed restrictions on our ability to design distinct playstyles for each character. If a Commander had to work seamlessly across multiple factions, it had to be designed in a way that was broadly applicable rather than tailored to a specific faction’s strengths.
  • Loss of Uniqueness: The Neutral faction itself suffered under this model. By sharing its Commanders across the game, it struggled to maintain a strong, independent identity. Instead of being a faction with a distinct playstyle, Neutrals became more of a toolbox for other armies, which weakened their thematic and mechanical presence. In the past, Neutral Commanders had to be considered alongside faction-specific options, which sometimes led to design overlap or competition. Now, with clearer faction boundaries, we can ensure that each faction’s Commanders have more distinct and well-defined roles.

 

Factions and Theme

We also wanted include combinations that align with the game’s lore and narrative for a more immersive and cohesive gameplay experience. Thus, we have introduced some additional bonuses for these attachments and units to encourage thematic armies to enhance the overall fun and depth of list-building!

Champion of the Faith

The first Champion of the Faith attachment is free if your army contains The High Sparrow.

Crannogman Survivalist

The first Crannogman Survivalist attachment is free if your army contains Howland Reed, Lord of the Crannogs.

Devan Seaworth, King’s Squire

If your army contains Stannis Baratheon, reduce the cost of Devan Seaworth, King’s Squire by 1.

Epic Game Size

Lastly, we’ve also been working on a new Epic Game mode for commanders who want to field even larger armies. This mode also comes with a new, expanded tactics board.

These are just some of the talking points for the update, but nowhere near the full scope. Of course, per usual we have our rounds of unit and army modifications and balances (Boltons), but we wanted to spend some time specifically detailing one of the major focuses and aims of this update. No, we didn’t go into too much detail, but it really would be a lot to cover, and a single article wouldn’t do it justice. The best method is just to see the whole package when it is released, as to not only take one moving part into consideration when, in the end, the whole is what matters.

That that being said, we look forward to the full upcoming release on 28th March.

 

See you on the battlefield!