This is the first battle report in our new series of epic one-off matches, Battle Stories. This series will highlight some of the craziest custom scenarios on Board Man Gaming with huge battlefields and oversized army lists.
Just a quick note: painting my miniatures is a long-term goal, but something that will take years to complete. Hopefully in the future I will be able to recreate these photos (and the custom scenario cover photos) with painted minis.
We begin Battle Stories with the Battle of Blackwater Bay. If it’s not evident from all the custom scenarios on this website, I've played a lot of wild games of A Song of Ice & Fire. This was by far the craziest and most unpredictable game I’ve ever been a part of.
The game size was enormous at 75 Points per army. The lists were:
HOUSE LANNISTER:
Units (Attachments)
Lannister Guardsmen (Tyrion Lannister, Commander)
Lannister Halberdiers (Joffrey Baratheon, Special Attachment)
Pyromancers (Bronn)
Red Cloaks (Sandor Clegane)
Mountain’s Men (Mandon Moore)
Knights of Casterly Rock (Clegane Butcher)
Knights of Casterly Rock
Lannister Guardsmen
Lannister Crossbowmen
NCUs
Cersei Lannister
Pycelle
Lord Varys
HOUSE BARATHEON:
Units (Attachments)
Stag Knights (Stannis Baratheon: One True King, Commander)
Baratheon Wardens (Davos Seaworth)
R’hllor Faithful (Red Priestess)
R’hllor Lightbringers
King’s Men
Queen’s Men
Baratheon Sentinels
Champions of the Stag
Dragonstone Noble
NCUs
Melisandre
Selyse & Shireen
Axell Florent
DEPLOYMENT
The unit deployment set 3 distinct battlefields:
On the Baratheon left, with a wildfire hellscape raging between them, was Davos’ Wardens, the King’s Men, and Baratheon Sentinels facing off against the Knights of Casterly Rock, Bronn’s Pyromancers, and commander Tyrion’s Guardsmen.
In the center, the R’hllor Faithful and Lightbringers stood across from King Joffrey’s Halberdiers, Lannister Crossbowmen, and another unit of Knights of Casterly Rock (with a Clegane Butcher attachment).
Finally, on the Baratheon right, commander Stannis’ Stag Knights, the Champions of the Stag, Queen’s Men, and Dragonstone Noble clashed against the Hound’s Red Cloaks, Mandon Moore’s Mountain’s Men (say that 5 times fast), and Lannister Guardsmen.
ROUND 1
For this custom scenario, at the beginning of every round, the Lannister player rolls a D3 and then places that many victory points on a castle wall of their choice. When the wall is destroyed, the attacker scores D6 plus however many victory points are on that wall. If the castle wall survives the game, the defender scores the points on that wall. The game began with the Lannister player rolling a 2 and conservatively placing 1 VP on each castle wall.
The Baratheon player won the roll off and decided to go second. Round 1 saw all the Baratheon units maneuvering up the battlefield. When placing the wildfire terrain, the Lannister player decided not to put any on Davos’ ship, instead spreading it across the field in front of the enemy Baratheon units. This forced the Baratheon left to move very cautiously around the dangerous and horrific terrain. The main action saw Tyrion’s unit pass a Melisandre panic bomb by rolling a 9.
ROUND 2
The Lannister player rolled 2 once again and added 1 VP to each castle wall. The round started with dominoes-style tactics card play: the Baratheons played Test of Faith on the Lightbringers, but were countered with Hear Me Roar to make the panic test happen with -1 to morale and +1 wound when failing, potentially doing a lot of damage to themselves. The Lightbringers passed the test, which then removed the Lannister’s Bribery tactics card that was placed on them during round 1.
The Baratheon player began with a somewhat surprising move and claimed the crown zone with Axell Florent. It seemed their strategy was to negate some of the Lannisters strongest buffs by blocking the crown zone whenever possible. The Lannisters responded with Cersei on letters, weakening the Lightbringers who were likely going to be the first unit to attack. Intrigue and Subterfuge was used to block Melisandre, who then claimed the horses to move the Sentinels up the left flank. The Lightbringers made good on their promise and shot at the Pyromancers. They did 4 wounds total. Tyrion and his Guardsmen passed the bounced panic test.
The Clegane Butcher led Knights of Casterly Rock wanted to get in on the carnage and saw a vulnerable target within charge range. The Lannister player recklessly threw away their defensive advantage and crashed right into the Lightbringers with the Butcher Knights. This shocking attack left the Knights very exposed in the center of the battlefield, surrounded by Baratheon foes. They did 8 hits against the R'hllor fire archers, but because of Test of Faith, the Lightbringers were saving on a 3+. They suffered only 3 wounds from the surprise attack, but failed their panic test. Azor Ahai! was played and they automatically pass instead. The Lannister player tried to Counterplot this, but failed the roll. The Baratheon player threw down Final Strike, doing 2 wounds to the now panicked Butcher Knights. The Sentinels used their order and maneuvered into position to attack the poorly positioned Lannister cavalry, hoping to make them pay dearly for their chaotic aggression.
The Sentinels activated. Despite not controlling the crown or bags, the Lannisters played a desperate Subjugation of Power. It did not work. The Sentinels readied their charge into the Butcher Knights flank… but the charge was disorderly. The melee attack did 3 wounds and the Knights crit failed their panic test, so they only had 4 wounds remaining.
Across the burning battlefield, Bronn and the Pyromancers saw the hopeless situation that the Knights were in. Bronn’s Pyromancers charged into the Sentinels flank, doing 6 wounds with their wildfire attack. The Sentinels panic test was taken with -1 from the flank, -1 from the wildfire terrain, and -2 from vicious, yet they luckily passed. All hell had broken loose as 4 units tangled in the center-left of the battlefield. If one army could destroy a unit or two of the enemies, it would give them a big advantage going forward from controlling the center and having more activations.
The right side, evidently jealous of the bloodletting they were witnessing across the battlefield, decided to get into the action. The Champions of the Stag gambled by moving into Lannister territory and charged into the Mountain’s Men. Luckily, they took the Mountain's Men down a rank to avoid their bullying benefits.
An interesting by-product of these huge games became apparent as the battle got deeper into each round: the Lannister payer used all their tactics cards relatively early, so they had no tricks up their sleeve for long stretches of game time.
Back at the killing fields, the other Knights of Casterly Rock decided to risk it all and charge through the wildfire to attack the Sentinels in the rear. The gambit paid off and the Sentinels were vanquished. The score was 1 to 0 for the Lannisters. The King’s Men retaliated by also charging through the wildfire at the Knights, though they did more damage to themselves than the enemy.
The round ended with the Lannister Guardsmen attacking the Dragonstone Noble who had been sneaking towards to the castle wall. The Noble rolled two 1s on its defense dice roll, leaving the solo unit dangerously close to death (but also very hard hitting).
ROUND 3
The Lannister player rolled a 3 and added all 3 VPs to the Davos side castle wall, feeling that the King’s Men and Wardens would not have enough juice to fight through the wildfire and destroy the castle, especially with Tyrion and his Guardsmen resolutely blocking the way. Cersei began the round by claiming the crown, hoping to get more out of Mandon and the Red Cloaks. The King’s Men crit failed the crown zap panic test. From the wildfire and the wrath of the Queen Regent, the King's Men were suffering heavy losses.
What happened next was the biggest, most unexpected swings I’ve ever seen in one turn. Davos’ Supply Aid healed 4 King’s Men, as the slow Wardens lagged behind and had settled into their role as being mostly fuel for the units up ahead. Melisandre claimed the swords. The Lannisters played False Agenda, which allowed them to move her off the swords after using that zone’s ability. Melisandre’s NCU panic ability destroyed the Butcher Knights. Then the Champions of the Stag used the swords attack (with some help from Ours is the Fury) to wipe out the Mountain’s Men. The score was 2 to 1 for Baratheon. The Lannister player used a Varys token to attack the Dragonstone Noble with the Guardsmen. The Noble rolled a 1 and died. Three units destroyed in 1 turn. The score was now 2 to 2. The Baratheon player held off using Shireen’s sacrifice as Selyse & Shireen could still be activated 4 more times.
The Champions of the Stag turned their attention to the Red Cloaks and did some damage. Across the field the mayhem continued. The Pyromancers charged into the Lightbringers and destroyed them, making the score 3 to 2 for the Lannisters. A few turns later, the surviving Knights of Casterly Rock attacked the King’s Men and did 5 total wounds. Final Strike was played, and with some bad rolling, it was enough to kill the Knights. The game was tied 3 to 3.
The R’hllor Faithful failed a vital charge that would have severely weakened the naked Guardsmen unit, leaving them in a prone position against the oncoming Pyromancers.
As the round came to a close, it was obvious that the Lannister side needed someone to turn the tide. Brave King Joffrey stirred his men and marched onward through the wildfire hellscape. On one side of the field, the King’s Men and Wardens faced Tyrion’s Guardsmen and Joffrey’s Halberdiers. On the other, the Champions of the Stag, Stag Knights, Queen’s Men, and R’hllor Faithful battled the Red Cloaks, Crossbowmen, and Guardsmen, with the Bronn and his Pyromancers rushing over to try and save the city.
ROUND 4
1 VP was added to the Davos side castle wall. There were now 6 VPs on that side and 2 VPs on the other. Melisandre started the round by targeting the Red Cloaks and killing 3 of them. She then claimed the swords and wanted the Faithful to attack the Guardsmen. The Lannisters played Intercept Orders to make the Baratheon player choose another unit to target. This majorly backfired on the Lannisters, as the Champions of the Stag were instead chosen to attack the Red Cloaks and destroyed them. Score 4 to 3 for Baratheon.
The Lannister player used Cersei to get both Hear Me Roar and Subjugation of Power from their discard pile, giving them a full hand. The castle walls (which are extra activations for the Lannisters, giving them a huge advantage) shot at the Faithful and killed them… but Shireen was sacrificed and the Faithful remained on the battlefield with 1 wound. They barely passed their panic test and survived.
The next turn, the Faithful activated, hoping to strike at the Guardsmen, but the Lannisters played Subjugation and Hear Me Roar in tandem. The Faithful failed the morale test, which did 1 wound, destroying them and making Shireen’s sacrifice for naught. The score was tied 4 to 4.
The Queen’s Men battled the Guardsmen to make a pathway to the right-side castle wall. The Pyromancers lined up the Queen’s Men, only needing a 2 to charge into their rear. They rolled a 1 and failed the charge.
ROUND 5
2 more VPs are added to the Davos side castle wall, 8 now in total. Pycelle started the round by claiming the swords. The Pyromancers chucked wildfire at the Queen’s Men, doing 4 wounds to the Queen’s Men and 2 to themselves. The Queen's Men suffered -4 to their panic check, but they passed by rolling an 11.
Axell claimed the letters to weaken the Pyromancers, which helped turn 7 potential wounds into just 3 when they attacked the Queen’s Men again (plus 2 more to themselves). A few turns later, the Crossbowmen were able to size up the Queen’s Men and take them out with several bolts in the flank. The Queen’s Men tried to survive using To the Last!, but failed their morale test and stayed dead instead. 5 to 4 for the Lannisters.
Stannis and his Stag Knights finally got into the action, attacking the near death Guardsmen. The Champs finally charged into the castle wall and started doing some damage. It might be too little, too late.
On the other side of the battlefield, the brave King Joffrey charged *through wildfire* in an attempt to finish off the stout King’s Men. The King's Men were able to survive the attack and Joffrey did 4 wounds to himself (I said brave, not smart).
The castle wall shot at the King’s Men, and after failing their panic test they were finally destroyed. They used To the Last!, but Tyrion used Counterstrategy to shut that down and keep them gone. 6 to 4 for Lannisters.
ROUND 6
3 more VPs are added to the castle wall with Tyrion’s full health Guardsmen unit blocking the way (he hardly moved all battle). Things suddenly looked very grim for the Baratheons. The battle was heavily favouring them early on, but they were running out of time. Melisandre killed the naked Guardsmen unit, continuing her extremely effective game. 6 to 5 for the Lannisters.
The Champions were unable to destroy the castle wall with their attack, so Stannis charged in and finished the job. The Baratheon player gained the 2 VPs that were placed on the castle wall from the Mud Gate special rule and 4 more VPs from the D6 roll. The score was 9 to 6 for House Baratheon, but at the end of the round the Lannister player scored 11 points from the VPs that were placed on the other castle wall, making the final score 17 to 9 for House Lannister.
WRAP-UP
This one really slipped through the Baratheon’s fingers. They were not fast or aggressive enough on one side of the battlefield and the Lannister player used that to their advantage. The Baratheons controlled the tempo and were superior on the battlefield, but two major swings (Varys killing the Dragonstone Noble, Shireen’s useless sacrifice) really changed the game.
The Lannister’s tactics cards gave them a huge strategic advantage while the Baratheon’s card never made an impact. The Lannisters were even able to kill a unit with smart tactics cards play. It was also clear that the King’s Men and Queen’s Men were not up to par for their 7 point cost, which is a shame because I love the models (especially the King’s Men). As I said during the intro, this was the most swingy, unpredictable game of ASOIAF: TMG I’ve ever been a part of and it was an absolute blast to play.