How To Win At The Game Of Thrones Board Game: Part 5- Tyrell and Martell

In this article we will look at the strategies for the two remaining houses, Tyrell and Martell. If you have missed any of the previous sections they can be found below:

- Part 1- Territory Control and House Cards

- Part 2- Combat, Managing Troops and Power Tokens

- Part 3- Stark and Greyjoy
- Part 4- Lannister and Baratheon

Tyrell:

One of the great things about the Game of Thrones board game is the focus on strategy over luck. That said, luck is of course a factor, and nowhere is this more obvious than with Tyrell. Starting with abysmal placings on the influence tracks, Tyrell can't do much about their lot until the right cards come up. If they don't get a mustering or a influence tracks bid they can't get any new units. The same is true of Greyjoy, but they at least have the Valyrian Steel Blade, giving them a substantial edge in combat. Tyrell therefore must start with a defensive set up with a focus on building up power tokens and capitalise once the cards turn in their favour.

In terms of positioning Tyrell are in a decent position. The Redwyne Straits provides a position for a strong naval defence, and Oldtown is effectively free, meaning Tyrell get 4 muster points from Highgarden and Oldtown each mustering which will almost certainly never be threatened. There are also plenty of barrels and printed power tokens for Tyrell, meaning they are not short of resources early game.

The Tyrell house cards are simple but strong. Margaery and Ser Axell are standard 1 strength cards, and Randyll Tarly and Garlan Tyrell provide decent attacking opportunities. The real strength of Tyrell is their more tactical cards. The Queen of Thorns is fairly situational, but is the only 0 strength card that can actually deliver a win by cancelling support. Obviously this requires a specific situation, but being able to cancel a large support is very damaging. Even if it does not deliver a win itself, by cancelling a support it can set up for a stronger march later that turn. It also works brilliantly for taking out consolidate power orders (ideally a starred one). Mace Tyrell is also excellent, as when used correctly is effectively a 5 strength card. Being able to deliver a guaranteed casualty is very dangerous and will disincentivise a lot of marches against Tyrell. And then there is Ser Loras Tyrell. 

*swoons*

Although not having the reliability or brute force or Mace, Ser Loras' effect of being able to move a march order into a conquered territory can win games by itself. Effective use requires careful planning, but he is a lethal card for several reasons. Firstly, assuming you win the first combat you are likely to be able to march on the routed army immediately afterwards, meaning he can kill off a lot of units without a single sword. Secondly, he can reach areas that would normally be out of reach, making him very hard for other players to defend against. Finally, if used as the penultimate card in a house card cycle, Tyrell can initiate another combat elsewhere to refresh their hand, and then march with Ser Loras again, meaning they can move a single army across 3 areas in a single turn. Again, if used at the right time this move can push on to a winning castle amount. The only thing Ser Loras needs to fear is Arianne Martell, as the ruling is that her effect cancels his, meaning he is effectively wasted in any combat against her.

The Tyrell strategy is very likely to involve conflict with Martell sooner or later. Similarly to how Riverrun eventually tends towards Greyjoy, Starfall tends to fall towards Tyrell, as it is in a difficult position for Martell to defend. This is particularly dangerous for Martell, as once Starfall is taken Ser Loras can make a quick march on Sunspear, effectively taking them out of the game. Once Starfall and the Reach are taken Tyrell need to consider where to make their push. King's Landing is a possibility if Baratheon don't get set up early, and Lannisport is only a Ser Loras double march away. Lannisport is actually one of the easiest home territories to take, due to the above issues Lannister have with Greyjoy. This can open up Harrenhal and even Riverrun if Lannister are flailing; perhaps the best approach is to take the Blackwater and see where Lannister's defences are weakest; if they are in a strong position use this as an opportunity to attack Baratheon

Tyrell should play an initially conservative game, as they have a reasonably defensive position which allows for easy farming of power tokens from the Dornish Marches, Prince's Pass and the Arbor, as well as an easy 5-6 barrels. Tyrell should then focus on reinforcing their position until they can grab position on the influence tracks. Overall Tyrell are one of the most straightforward houses to play as, and, aside from their terrible opening positions on the influence tracks, have no major weaknesses.

Suggested Openings:

Redwyne Straights: Support (no other march orders available)

Highgarden: March 0, knight into The Reach, footman into Oldtown

Dornish Marches: March -1 into Prince's Pass

OR

Redwyne Straights: March -1 into West Summer Sea

Highgarden: March 0, knight into The Reach, footman into Starfall

Dornish Marches: Consolidate Power

Martell:

Whilst not always the most exciting house to play as Martell rarely do terribly either. They have decent influence track positions and average resources. One thing Martell lack are options for expansion; unless Martell play an exceptionally aggressive navy they are unlikely to expand more than 1-2 territories away from Sea of Dorne for the whole game. That is not necessarily a bad thing, as the Sea of Dorne makes every area around it very defensible for Martell. As such, Martell's first focus should be building a strong navy there, whilst also having single boats in the East Summer Sea and the Sunspear port for raiding and consolidating respectively.

The Martell house deck is one of the least tactical, consisting almost exclusively of swords and forts. The two cards that do have some strategy are Arianne and Doran Martell. Doran is a great threat to other players, working in a similar way to Patchface, although maybe not quite as dangerous early game. Whilst Baratheon losing the Iron Throne does not directly benefit Martell they will be keen to not lose it and as such will normally delay aggression towards Martell until necessary (also fearing the plethora of swords). Arianne Martell is probably the best defensive card in the game (sorry Blackfish), and is best saved for siege engines and Ser Loras, ideally both. If used carefully she can also be used to effectively march your units for free when retreating whilst also not conceding territory by retreating them into a new area.

"Come on baby; don't fear the Viper..."

The major disadvantage Martell have is a lack of strongholds. The nearest ones are King's Landing and Oldtown, which are likely to prove very difficult to take. This means Martell will often be mustering fewer units than other houses. As such, an early priority is grabbing 4 castles to reinforce their position, and then mustering from Sunspear as often as possible. Yronwood and Starfall are both easy for Martell to grab early, although Starfall will need reinforcing eventually. Storm's End should also be taken as soon as possible. Having a single boat in the East Summer Sea gives raiding opportunities against both Tyrell and Baratheon, which helps hold Starfall and Storm's End. This is particularly useful for the latter, as Martell can still support from the Sea of Dorne, making it very difficult for Baratheon to take it as they cannot rely on naval support.

After taking these 4 castles it is a long way for Martell to take a 5^th. The obvious choice is the Reach, although it will take effective and sustained aggression against Tyrell to push them back. Also, the Reach is not easy to hold, so should either be taken suddenly and then abandoned, or ideally taken as a 7^th castle. As already discussed, Martell cannot practically reach 7 castles without taking a home territory, and the Tyrells are probably the easier target. Martell should try to push aggressively into Tyrell lands early in the game, as if Tyrell fail to set up properly, as above, they may lose too much ground and not be able to recover. This would put Martell in a strong position to take the win. Alternatively, Martell can offer an alliance with Stark against Baratheon; this works well for both players, as they have no common lands but a common enemy, and a coordinated naval assault can be devastating for Baratheon, opening up Dragonstone, King's Landing and Crackclaw Point as possible castles for Martell. Without northern support this attack is unlikely to succeed, but Stark have nothing to lose by siding with the opposite end of the board.

Martell are another average house, and as such there is often a back and forth between Martell and Tyrell that does not go anywhere for either player. Martell are very unlikely to take 7 castles, and as such should make their corner as defensible as possible whilst making calculated attacks on Tyrell.

Suggested Openings:

Sunspear: *Consolidate power (muster two ships into Sea of Dorne)

Salt Shore: March +1 into Starfall

Sea of Dorne: March 0 into East Summer Sea

OR

Sunspear: March +1, knight into Storm's End, footman into Yronwood

Salt Shore: March -1 into Starfall

Sea of Dorne: March 0 into East Summer Sea

In the final part we will look at taking the win, allances, the meta-game, as well as some house rules and alternative ways of playing. Thanks for reading and see you then.

- Part 6- Taking the Win, Meta-Game and Alliances, and Alternative Ways to Play