Update 11:
We've reached 10,000 views! Thanks to everyone who has read the article, sent me messages, gave critiques, and played games with the faction.
The recent (postponed) release of the Brotherhood Without Banners faction had me thinking about the possible future House Arryn release. CMON's release schedule now seems to be 10 - 15 unit boxes a year along with a new mini-faction starter set. I would think that House Tully and House Tyrell would be larger priorities than House Arryn, and the Golden Company is another potential faction that could debut before them. That would put the release around the end of 2027 or 2028. The House Arryn custom faction was first shared on February 13, 2021, so I definitely met my goal of making something that fans could enjoy for a few years before any official release.
Update 10:
The faction is up-to-date with Season 5, along with a few small changes. I also removed the mountain clans from the faction document. With Stone Crows out now and the addition of several new Arryn units last year, I didn't think they added much to the faction's themes or play style. They will still be viewable in the original post below.
Update 9:
The page has now crossed 9,000 views and is moving its way toward 10,000, which I think is really cool. I've been slow to update the cards after Season 4, but hopefully I'll have the PDF updated in the next few weeks and be ready for any potential changes for Season 5.
This update is just to share this great video from Hits and Crits discussing the Song of Ice & Fire Tabletop Simulator mod and how they're implementing House Arryn and other custom factions into the mod, with House Arryn's addition being spearheaded by Pascha from the Hits and Crits team.
Update 8:
I should have known that eventually I'd dream up a few new ideas and return to the House Arryn rabbit hole. Combat units are the most fun thing to make, so they're the focus of this update, along with a few new character attachments.
I wanted to create more cavalry to go with the Arryn Lancers & Knights of the Vale as that's what the Arryn army is best known for. I tried not to create too many new abilities, but I like the idea of slightly changing a current ability to give it a new purpose that better fits the core concept of each unit. I invented the ability Call for Aid, which allows this unit to act as a true support unit and call on another unit to respond to enemy aggression.
Mord is a memorable character from the books and TV show, so making him and the Sky Cell Gaolers was a lot of fun. I like the Gaolers design space as a weak offensive unit that gets rewarded for doing a good job. Mord's abilities really match his character.
I wanted to expand House Royce, just as House Umber continues to expand in the game with the upcoming Ravagers unit. The Bronze Destriers gives Arryn players another cavalry choice. I know Adaptive Style is a controversial ability at the moment, but I think it pairs well with a slower cavalry unit that doesn't get as many dice on attack and doesn't have any secondary abilities. It really is a Swiss army knife unit instead of a straight-up dominant one. The Runestone Swordsmen are designed to be paired with the more pricey Royce units, getting into the thick of the action and healing their brothers in arms.
I understand that CMON can't justify making certain units because of the realities of the running a business, but luckily I can do whatever I want. I really like the idea of opening up the game's design space with more support-style units. This solo unit of pack mules, inspired by the mules who ferry Catelyn Stark up the Giant's Lance, does exactly that.
Finally, we have two more character attachments, Albar Royce, Nestor's son, and Strong Sam Stone, Master-at-Arms at Runestone. As I mentioned previously, I design character attachments to be slightly over tuned so that they're worthwhile additions to your army.
I'm continually blown away by how popular the House Arryn faction has been. This page now has over 7,000 views and is well on the way to 8. For this game, and especially for a niche and not highly promoted website, I think that's really awesome. Thanks again for all your support.
Final Update (Season 3):
Added all the changed abilities to match-up House Arryn with the recent seasonal updates (as well as a few other minor changes here and there). I also reworked the hill tribes since CMON removed Insignificant from the game and I wanted to get rid of it too.
Final Update:
I wanted to add the Lords Declarant because they're central to the political intrigue happening in the Vale. They're also the kind of obscure characters that CMON tends to highlight. Benedar Belmore and Horton Redfort are powerful NCUs, but there are ways for the opposing player to navigate around their abilities, just as Littlefinger manipulates the Lords Declarant in the books. Symond Templeton is a strong attachment that musters troops and keeps elite units at full strength. Gilwood Hunter is a commander that focuses on movement tactics, which will be very powerful in a cavalry-focused list.
This will be the last update I make to the House Arryn faction, save for maybe minor changes to ability wordings if CMON makes changes in future updates. While rounding out the faction, I decided to drop commander Robert Arryn and NCU Harry the Heir. Robert Arryn remains an NCU and he is still needed in your list to field the Brotherhood of Winged Knights. Instead of having Harry as an uninspiring NCU/attachment, I made him an important attachment by giving him the powerful Relentless ability.
Speaking of attachments, the Arryn attachments may seem over-tuned compared to the attachments from the actual game, but I think this is how attachments should be designed to bring value to your army. 1 point attachments should have 1 really powerful ability like Supply Aid or 2 abilities that synergize with one another. 2 point attachments should generally give 2 abilities, 1 which provides a free action (like Sentinel or Relentless) or is extremely powerful when faction identity is taken into consideration (like Supply Aid in House Arryn since they have good cheap units that could easily feed the elite units).
Carly from Frontline Gaming wrote a nice article on the faction. Overall, this was such a fun project and I'm glad that so many people enjoyed seeing what a possible Arryn faction could look like. Hopefully the next time I talk about House Arryn I'll be comparing my work to CMON's after they release the real thing.
Update 6:
I've added attachment Vardis Egen, attachment Donnel Waynwood, and NCU Anya Waynwood. I know Vardis Egen technically died before Robert Baratheon (the game's timeline begins with Robert's death), but oh well. Arryn Crossbowmen, Arryn Lancers, and Guardians of the Moon have been updated to reflect ability changes from the 2022 seasonal update.
Update 5:
Due to popular demand, I've created five House Arryn attachments. I've also made some minor adjustments to a few other things.
Update 4:
I've added several new units, attachments, commanders, and NCUs. I think these additions really round out the faction. The new units are discussed in the original article below. At the bottom of the article there is a link to the updated faction document, as well as the original version.
Carlo and Mickey from ASOIAF Stats did a great breakdown of all the House Arryn units on their weekly YouTube show Tourney Ground.
Update 3:
I noticed that I forgot to include the Infantry/Cavalry icons on the description side of the Combat Unit cards, so they have now been added. I also took this opportunity to do a slight tweak to the Burned Men.
Update 2:
All cards have been updated to better reflect the design of the actual game cards, along with some small rule adjustments to Alayne & Robert Arryn (NCU). A printer friendly version of the PDF document has also been added. Special thanks to David aka 'Ragnarok' from Trono de Hierro: El Podcast for his help! I recently joined him for a great interview:
Update 1:
I just wanted to thank everyone for all of the kind words I've received since I posted this. It's great that people are enjoying my work and it definitely motivates me to keep creating.
I made one quick change to some card art. While I'll miss the famous runic breastplate, the new 'Cowboy' Bronze Yohn has the surliness, grit, and pugnacity that I want from the Runestone branch of House Royce. You can imagine him swaggering into the room and Littlefinger immediately rolling his eyes.
I also wanted to share this fun video that Chase from On the Table Gaming made to spotlight the House Arryn Expansion:
Development
When I posted my Plans for 2021, I didn’t know that only a few weeks later I’d begin work on my biggest Song of Ice & Fire project yet.
One of the main reasons I enjoy designing narrative scenarios is that I get to recreate awesome locations from around Westeros. Places like Moat Cailin, Dragonstone, The Wall, King’s Landing, Casterly Rock, Highgarden. I was recently thinking about one of my favorite locations from the book: the Eyrie. How could I recreate the Eyrie that would work in this game system?
I began doing some research and became even more excited. The Bloody Gate, the great valley, the castle high upon the Giant’s Lance. Dozens of ideas came to mind, but it all seemed kind of pointless without any House Arryn units to defend them. I asked myself: Could House Arryn even be its own faction? Is there enough lore to pull from? What would make it unique?
I considered being a normal person and waiting for the actual CMON release. But House Arryn could be years away… if it’s even on the schedule at all. I was very interested in House Royce and its history, so I started out by contemplating what a House Royce unit might look like. I decided they would be a stout, super defensive unit, something like Middle-earth dwarves. I was particularly inspired by this artwork of an Iron Hills dwarf from The Hobbit:
I decided to design a few Combat Units and see how it went, starting with a tanky House Royce unit. The card template came together simply enough, and once the first unit was made it wasn’t too difficult to make the next one. The more I created, the more ideas I had. Eventually, I committed to creating enough to have a fully functional faction.
Design
The game designers often talk about faction identities, so once I decided to create several units, I stepped back and looked at the faction on a macro-level. What are the defining features of House Arryn? A few things immediately came to mind: an impregnable castle near the top of a mountain. A land surrounded by mountains. Famous cavalry troops. Barbaric mountain clans.
I knew the defensive nature of the Mountains of the Moon had to inspire the key design elements, so I developed Order: Natural Defenses. I didn’t want to add too many custom abilities (that’s when game balance starts to get shaky), so instead I made one straightforward faction-defining ability and added it to several units. This is the faction for the player who doesn't want to pre-measure their enemies. Let them Charge, and let's fight. There is also an emphasis on Vulnerable tokens since enemies that attack the Eyrie or the Bloody Gate are typically doing so from an exposed position, leaving them open to deadly counterattacks. Tactics Cards would focus on the Tactics zone in honor of Lord Protector of the Vale Littlefinger (and also as a nod to how a letter from Lysa began the War of the Five Kings).
I moved onto designing the cavalry and began to think of the faction more as two halves: ‘hammer and anvil.’ The optimal strategy of an Arryn commander would be to impede the enemy with your defensive infantry, then attack from the flanks with your hard-hitting cavalry. Just as Lysa wanted to keep House Arryn out of the War of the Five Kings to keep her army fresh, Arryn Commanders will want to make sure that their infantry isn't engaged too long before the cavalry arrives, as they are more vulnerable to attack after surviving the initial Charge. As with all of Littlefinger's plans, it's about timing.
ARRYN GUARDS: These are the soldiers who bravely guard Minas Tirith... I mean the Eyrie. A lot of people requested a 5-point foundational unit, and I was happy to oblige. The Arryn Guards are the definition of an Objective holder. Just sit 'em in the back and draw cards all game with their Vantage Point ability.
ARRYN CROSSBOWMEN: The Crossbowmen are almost an exact copy of the Night's Watch Builder Crossbowmen, but luckily for your opponents you can't stack Night's Watch Tactics cards on them. Though not the most original, I really enjoy these guy's backstory as the lonely, eccentric soldiers who live high on the mountain for months at a time.
FALCON KNIGHTS: The Falcon Knight, Ser Artys Arryn, was the founder of House Arryn. I like the self-healing Morale Test concept, especially the fact that an opponent like the Lannisters can exploit it with timely Tactics card play.
HOUSE ROYCE BRONZE GUARDIANS: From A Wiki of Ice and Fire: “[The Royces] have several sets of ancient bronze plate armor inscribed with runes that are thought to make their wearers immune to injury.” This unit is named in memory of the House Royce Bronze Kings who ruled over a large section of the Vale before the Andals arrived. Enemies will not want to charge the Bronze Guardians since they have a 2+ save with Natural Defenses. The Guardians are the true anvil of the Arryn army.
HOUSE ROYCE GUARDIANS OF THE MOON: I wanted each unit to have character, and that drew me to the differences between the Bronze Guardians and the Guardians of the Moon. These guys are more regal, while the Bronze Guardians are more rugged, heavy duty, and battle ready.
KEEPERS OF THE GATE: Similar to Lannister Halberdiers, but I really liked the idea of giving spear/pike units an anti-cav ability which led to Form Ranks! (you maggots).
VALE SENTRIES: Originally these guys were a more defensive unit with the 'Natural Defenses' ability, but I decided to focus more on retreating as you want to keep them moving and away from melee. The new 'Let Fly!' ability also gives them the fire power needed for a big 7-point investment.
BURNED MEN & BLACK EARS: The lore is obviously shaky (if not diametrically opposed) to having these guys fight alongside the Knights of the Vale, but I thought it would be cool to incorporate them because it makes the faction more dynamic. Having an army comprised only of dudes in shiny armor and bird feathers can be monotonous, so having mountain savages on the field keeps things visually interesting and opens up interesting play style options. I was really happy with the compromise of having them not being able to gain Victory Points, as its flavorful and mechanically interesting. I imagine Vale soldiers clashing with an invading army, then the hill tribesman joining in on the chaos so they can pillage from the defeated invaders.
STONE CROWS: I wanted to use the hill tribes to add unique mechanics to the House Arryn faction. The Stone Crows can really boost both the Burned Men and Black Ears and make an army consisting solely of the Vale mountain clans conceivable.
BROTHERHOOD OF WINGED KNIGHTS: Taken from Sansa’s Winds of Winter preview chapter, I was inspired to create these guys after seeing this amazing piece of artwork by Linda Lithen. Obviously heavily inspired by Joffrey’s Kingsguard, they can only be fielded if you also take NCU Robert Arryn .
ARRYN LANCERS: I knew I wanted two cavalry options, and once I decided that the Knights of the Vale would be a bit more tanky, the other unit’s role of a lance-focused cavalry became clear.
KNIGHTS OF THE VALE: I wanted to make the Knights of the Vale a powerful unit since they are the most legendary cavalry in all of Westeros. They are very balanced overall with strong offense and defense.
LITTLEFINGER: Littlefinger is one of the great political manipulators in Westeros, so I thought it would be appropriate for him to use his immense influence as Lord Paramount of the Trident and Lord Protector of the Eyrie and the Vale of Arryn to push his competitors around and get exactly what he needs. You need to Activate Petyr early since you need an open zone for this ability to work, which reflects the many proactive moves Littlefinger has made throughout the story. Not only will you be able to get a much-needed ability (such as a late-round free Attack), you will also be able to use your enemy to block another zone's ability (though they do Control it for all other purposes).
LYSA ARRYN: So much of Lysa’s character is a juxtaposition of Catelyn, and how their divergent paths led them to become very different people. That being said, Lysa still has immense influence as the head of a powerful kingdom. I wanted Lysa’s ability to be a bastardization of Catelyn’s, something strong but which may not always work as intended. A smart Commander will place this on enemy units with full ranks or place it on a friendly unit with just 1 remaining rank. ‘Composed of 3 ranks’ was added since each die facing represents a rank in the unit, yet the Brotherhood of Winged Knights is composed of only of 2 ranks. To make everything simpler, the extra wording was added so the Brotherhood unit cannot be Influenced. I took the term ‘composed of’ from the rulebook and it should not be confused with your ‘remaining’ ranks that you have left. I added the wound dealing and healing because most people I heard from did not like the total randomness of her previous ability. She is still unpredictable but you know she is very likely do something significant.
ROBERT ARRYN: When you play as Joffrey, you want to yell “I AM THE KING!” When you play as Robert Arryn, you want to yell “MAKE THE BAD MAN FLY!” You have to give the people what they want, so I gave Robert the Moon Door ability that allows him to chuck panicked enemies off a mountain to splatter on the rocks below. I know that letting him stack the damage might be devastating for an early game failure, but the Arryn faction doesn’t have many ways to push Panic tokens or Panic modifiers, so having strong morale should be considered a good enough counter to this ability. You will also have to decide if you want expend that Vulnerable token to do extra damage on the attack, or leave it on and hope the enemy fails the Panic Test. He also unlocks the powerful Brotherhood of Winged Knights.
ALAYNE STONE: Having learnt about politics and subterfuge from Littlefinger, this version of Sansa is now manipulating other players and gaining information about how the game is played.
MYRANDA ROYCE: Myranda is a solid healing NCU, which is very strong in the 2021 version of the game. Myranda on the Bronze Guardians or the Guardians of the Moon makes them a nigh indestructible unit.
LYN CORBRAY: A cool, mysterious character, Lyn is reckless, but with a purpose. Under Littlefinger’s direction, he publicly opposes every move Littlefinger makes to discover what Littlefinger’s enemies are saying about him in secret. Lyn is also a great warrior. He killed Prince Lewyn Martell of the Kingsguard during the Battle of the Trident with his Valyrian Steel sword, Lady Forlorn.
MYA STONE: This is one where the abilities and character were made for each other.
LOTHOR BRUNE: I liked the 'companion' mechanic and thought it would be a cool boost to Littlefinger’s Commander Attachment. If he is going to be near the fray, he’ll likely have his personal bodyguard with him.
HARRY THE HEIR: As the quote on the card says, the Arryn soldiers are easily inspired by the charismatic 'Young Falcon.' Embolden will be a big help to House Arryn. Their morale is not bad, but not a strength. Relentless will help with more elite Arryn builds with Falcon Knights or Bronze Guardians.
MARILLION: This is an Attachment that will be challenging to get value out of, but if used at the right moment it will far exceed its cost. Just as Littlefinger used Marillion to get away with Lysa’s murder, a shrewd Commander can use Marillion to cover for some major mistakes.
TIMETT & CHELLA: The Burned Men literally burn off their body parts to prove how dangerous they are, so I thought War Cry would be an appropriately powerful ability for Timett. Chella is equally renown for her bloodlust and opponents fear to see her across the field.
COMMANDER LITTLEFINGER: Littlefinger is the control Commander of the faction, utilizing some of the most popular control cards found in the game. False Agenda plays on the fact that even when Petyr is in the field, he has his eyes on other political players and every move they make. Parley is Davos’ Parlay, but ‘parlay’ is a cumulative series of bets, while ‘parley’ is a negotiation that leads to an armistice, so I think they meant parley with an ‘e’ since it suits the ability of the card. Just trying to make the grammar man Stannis proud.
COMMANDER YOHN ROYCE: Bronze Yohn is a grizzled military leader, so he’s a bit of Blackfish, a bit of Rodrik Cassel, definitely the more offensive of the Royce commanders. Mark Target was a perfect Order for House Arryn as it builds upon the Vulnerable token theme found throughout the army.
COMMANDER NESTOR ROYCE: The premier defensive commander of the faction, it will be hard to put a dent in any Royce army commanded by Nestor.
COMMANDER SHAGGA: Shagga is meant to be used with the hill tribes and synergizes well with them.
CHIVALRY AND MIGHT: I wanted a card that would give units a bit more offensive punch. It was also a nod to the importance cavalry have in the Vale.
DEFENSIVE FORMATION: I thought this ability was a great way to represent the unassailable defensive positions the Vale is known for, such as the Bloody Gate, the Gates of the Moon, and the Eyrie.
AS HIGH AS HONOR: I wanted a card named after the House Arryn words, so I thought using the friendly destroyed unit mechanic that very faction has to bolster the units fighting for their fallen brothers would be appropriate.
VALIANT EXAMPLE: A nice healing card that represents the importance of knighthood and chivalry in the Vale.
STONE, SNOW, & SKY: I love the concept of the 3 waycastles that guard the passes up to the Eyrie (the whole thing is so much better in the books than in the show). I started to think about how maybe I could create 3 Tactics Cards with these names that somehow build upon each other. Inspired by some mechanics found in deck-building games, I eventually settled on the idea that you would collect them as they were played until you made a complete set. When you made a set, you immediately trade them in for something powerful. I thought getting a VP would be a good way to represent the cautiousness of Lysa Arryn during the War of the Five Kings. If you have an early lead, you can stay out of the action longer and be more measured. There is also precedence in VP granting Tactics Cards with Eldon Estermont’s Hefty Ransom. To counter that, I needed an ability that would be equally as tempting. I don’t know Alyssa’s Tears offers too much healing, but the nature in which you get it, the competing special ability, and similar healing abilities found in NCUs and Tactics Cards made me give it considerable healing power (with Spoils of War changed in 2021, I will maybe tone down the healing a bit when I do small updates in the next few months). Remember that once you have played a set of all 3 you must immediately ‘cash them in’ for one of the two special ability cards. So if you don’t need the healing or VP right then, you may want to hold off before playing the final card to complete the set. And just to clarify, Alyssa’s Tears and Giant’s Lance are Special Ability cards, not Tactics Cards, so they cannot be Counterplotted.
House Arryn Buyer's Guide
These models are the closest Song of Ice & Fire counterparts to the custom House Arryn units:
Arryn Guards - Highgarden Pikemen
Arryn Crossbowmen - Golden Company Crossbowmen
Falcon Knights – Golden Company Swordsmen
House Royce Bronze Guardians – Baratheon Wardens
House Royce Guardians of the Moon - Queen's Men
House Royce Runestone Swordsmen - Stark Sworn Swords
House Royce Bronze Destriers - Champions of the Stag
Keepers of the Gate – Lannister Halberdiers
Brotherhood of Winged Knights – Kingsguard (Lannister Heroes Box II)
Vale Sentries – Crannogman Trackers
Vale Outriders - Stark Outriders
Sky Cell Gaolers - Lannister Gold Cloaks
Burned Men – Cave Dweller Savages
Black Ears - Free Folk Trappers & Spearwives
Stone Crows - Thenn Warriors
Arryn Lancers – Knights of Casterly Rock
Knights of the Vale – Hedge Knights
Petyr Baelish – Petyr Baelish (Neutral Heroes Box I)
Alayne Stone – Sansa Stark (Stark Starter Set)
Lysa Arryn – Catelyn Stark (Stark Starter Set)
Robert Arryn – Rickon Stark (Stark Heroes Box II)
Harrold Hardyng - Renly Baratheon (Baratheon Starter Set)
Myranda Royce - Walda Frey (Bolton Starter Set)
Anya Waynwood - Olenna Tyrell (Baratheon Heroes Box II)
Mya Stone – Osha (Stark Heroes Box II)
Lyn Corbray – Qarl the Maid (Greyjoy Heroes Box I)
Mord - Skahaz mo Kandaq (Targaryen Heroes Box III)
Donnel Waynwood - Assault Veteran (Lannister Attachments I)
Vardis Egen - Eldon Estermont (Baratheon Heroes Box II)
Bronze Yohn Royce – Greatjon Umber (Stark Starter Set)
Nestor Royce - Cortnay Penrose (Baratheon Heroes Box II)
Lothor Brune – Bronn (Neutral Heroes Box II)
Marillion – Turncoat (Lannister Attachments I)
Timett – Chosen of Styr (Free Folk Attachments I)
Chella - Raid Leader (Free Folk Attachments I)
Shagga - Cave Dweller Alpha (Free Folk Attachments I)
Black Ears Ripper - Champion of Bone (Free Folk Attachments I)
Petty Lord - Axell or Alester Florent (Baratheon Starter Set & Heroes Box I)
Vale of Arryn Squire - Devan Seaworth (Baratheon Heroes Box I)
Cavalry Captain - Winterfell Guardian (Stark Attachments Box I)
Sentry Scout - Thorn Watch Sentinel (Baratheon Attachments Box I)
What's Next?
Until House Arryn is officially released by CMON, I’ll use these in custom scenarios that feature a full House Arryn army. The ideas that come to mind are a second Battle of the Bastards scenario with the Knights of the Vale versus Ramsay, as well as a scenario that pits any army of your choice against House Arryn in a series of assaults against their famous locations (The Bloody Gate, the great valley, Gates of the Moon, Stone, Snow, Sky, the mountainside, the Eyrie).
The more I read about the Vale, the bigger fanboy I became. If a few weeks ago you asked me to rank the Seven Kingdoms, the Vale would have been near the bottom. Now I might even consider it my favorite. That’s a testament to the amazing world George R. R. Martin has created. This was a big undertaking, but super enjoyable. I hope whoever tries out these custom Arryn units has as much fun playing them as I did designing and playtesting it all. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or notice any mistakes. Enjoy!