Game of Thrones: Mother of Dragons Review

[@bushibayushi]

I've played this one recently and this is a must-buy. I love the fact that now you can bribe other players with power tokens, now you have a real tool for forging alliances ;).

[@DriveThruReview]

That’s right. I completely forgot to mention arriving with power tokens. That’s a fantastic addition to the game.

[@evanandlaurenparker]

I have a core group of 6-7 guys that all love this game and we all agree this expansion drastically improves the gameplay. With 7-8 guys the playtime will easily be over 6 hours especially if you add in any time for explaining rules etc. we have gone back and forth on the use of the tides of battle cards but after dozens of games we pretty much have to use them because once you know your opponents cards you can pretty much determine the outcome of most battles before they begin. Those cards entice players to take a risk on a crucial move that may only be won if they get lucky and pull the right card. This makes fights so much more exciting and it adds a layer of realism because real battles do have elements of chance that a battle commander could never foresee when they approach a battlefield.

[@DriveThruReview]

Thanks! That's a good argument for the Tides of War cards (once everyone is familiar with the game).

[@Bradatimrkonja]

Yeah, but to me the point of the game aren't battles, but diplomacy. I just recently won a game by backstabbing lannisters whom i had an alliance with for 5 turns.

[@seahawk8601]

Do you EVER make a bad video??? .....I can answer that....No Never!...Great work as always

[@DriveThruReview]

Haha. Oh I do! Thank you though. You're too kind Rob.

[@PrometheoNTG]

Fantastic review! Thanks for giving us an unvarnished view of your thoughts, as the complexity coming out in your discussion of tactics has made me really excited to get my hands on this one and try it. Cheers!

[@DriveThruReview]

Thank you. Hope you enjoy it!

[@john-paulmacdonagh1014]

Yeah boi! Seeing this in my feed made me very excited!

[@john-paulmacdonagh1014]

Great review! I never thought about the bank of braavos and Targaryen synergy. What I would add is that the game can go longer as it less likely for a player to jag a win. Also that Arryn presence really changes things up to the benefit of Lannister and detriment of Greyjoy and stark. That’s fine by me and they needed new play styles. Some of the braavos ‘loans’ can be gam3 changing which is fun. Goodbye castle is massive. I also like tides of battle for most games as not fortunate to play with experienced players all round and cards can be a balancing element. In short expansion now encourages three acts and a long build up for a final act play for the throne

[@DriveThruReview]

That’s a great point regarding new players and the tide cards. I can deathly see that it’s kind of a balancing factor as people won’t really understand support etc.

[@john-paulmacdonagh1014]

@@DriveThruReview thanks! It's funny because I would never dream of playing kemet with equivalent cards hypothetically speaking. But with GoT the card selection and resolution can be a mixed bag oftentimes slow, rigid, and punishing for all it's potential of high level strategy. If there was a light version (no text) and/or greater opportunity for cycling then I would enjoy faster games. Kemets system is a real streamlining in comparison and a next generation of the system

[@swagaroniyolonaise]

You can you the cards from the DwD and FFC expansions but you always have to use the MoD setup.

[@DriveThruReview]

Ya figured. Just would be nice to see if you COULD do the new set up.

[@KristofferYiFredriksson]

Sorry for asking here but I'm not sure where else to do it. Have you ever reviewed Three Kingdoms Redux? I would love to see you do an in depth review of it.

[@DriveThruReview]

I’ve not. We tried to get into it but couldn’t get through the rules a while ago. Some friends did eventually get into it and enjoyed it... a little bit.

[@RandomPerson-nd2ey]

8:40 what if you're at the top of that track? Do you still have to pick a unit to lose? Guessing so, just checking.

[@DriveThruReview]

Next player down will.

[@RandomPerson-nd2ey]

@@DriveThruReview Ah, that makes more sense now that I think about it. Thanks for the reply and keep up the good work! You do a great job!

[@gabea1500]

Awesome review! I only have the base game and noticed lannister seems at a disadvantage because of how powerful their greyjoy neighbor are at the start. Does the expansion change this at all? And i know you can trade power tokens to players for negotiation but how does that stop that player from possibly backstabbing you and not holding up their end if the bargain? And can any player do the targaryen power token donations on the influence track or is that only targ?

[@DriveThruReview]

The expansion does help. House Arryn is a thing now, and they will pressure Greyjoy and buffer the Starks. Yes, you can backstab someone after trading tokens... and then after you do that... and no one trusts you ever again and jumps you for being a jerk... that should put a damper on that :) Only Targaryen donates their power tokens.

[@sarooku]

Do note that in the Errata, Fantasy Flight Games has given Lannister a ship in the harbor of Lannisport in addition to their starting armies, which helps to alleviate some of the early Greyjoy naval pressure. Source: images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/cf/06/cf06eb26-48e3-46b9-b57c-f053beb2518d/agotbg_faq_v2_forweb.pdf

[@OrdemDoGraveto]

I never played a match that lasted less then 6 hours (always 6 players). The base game usually goes from 8 to 10, while Dance goes for 6 to 8. The extra stuff of this expansion will probably make it last even longer... PS: I only played feast for frows twice, and both times it lasted more then 6 hours as well.

[@DriveThruReview]

Never had a game go six but some in the group don’t like to kibbutz.

[@OrdemDoGraveto]

@@DriveThruReview But that's quite normal. I came to the conclusion that my group plays verry slowly because we are all tryhards. Every time I see someone talking about a game duration, we usually take way longer then that hahaha

[@jonathanhollingsworth9258]

We play with DWD 6 players and everyone usually knows the game (maybe one new player) but our games consistently run 2-3 hours now. I’m looking forward to this expansion and we won’t mind the extra hour or two again

[@OrdemDoGraveto]

@@jonathanhollingsworth9258 My entire group knows all the rules of the base game, they just had to learn the new ones from the expansion. Not knowing the rules is not the problem. I really can't imagine a GoT game during less then 6 hours hahaha

[@Lowecore]

How did you find the Targ balance? BGG discussion seems to think they are OP. Was 3 star tokens too many, maybe they should be reduced to 2?

[@DriveThruReview]

I had some thoughts on that in the review part in regards to the Iron Bank and last minute strikes to win. My group agrees you can’t just ignore them early and let them build up tokens and troops.

[@XpVersusVista]

the targs are pretty much what the white walkers became in the GoT tv series. the small westeros fight is not important as long as you ignore the big threat too much. but can you really resist the urge to try and get an upper hand in westeros while all others try to defend against Danaerys? its pretty much the same system as the wildling attack, where you don't know for sure if everyone put in enough tokens to prevent desaster: on one hand you want to save your tokens and make the others use theirs up, but on the other hand you don't want to suffer the wildling attack. Targaryens are pretty much the same as a player version

[@DriveThruReview]

Palo Kan That’s a good analogy!

[@ondrejpodhorsky1355]

I played with 7 players :)

[@swagaroniyolonaise]

Also you can not use only parts of the MoD expansion, they’re not modules you have to use everything.

[@DriveThruReview]

I know. I'm just curious what would happen if you removed the Iron Bank.

[@SentecaMorvan]

tbh you can do whatever houserules you want.

[@scoogsy]

If you don’t play Targaryen, then you don’t use the Essos board, which removes the iron bank.

[@lokihve6591]

How come you dont have a board mat? Also one quick question. Aeryn come as playable faction with this expansion right? As someone who has played a lot of this base game mostly with higher counts i am telling you this in advance boysxand girls as a good roll of thumb expect an hour per player give or take. And yes expect an 8h plus game if you go 6-8 players unless you want to limit turns and stop watch them. At 6 players this game was on some occassions rivaling Twilight imperium. More people more politics more time. Always remember that!

[@DriveThruReview]

I didn’t realize the play mat was out. And yes house Aryn comes in Feast for Crows.

[@richardolekanma6210]

Where can you get the mat?

[@Izathel1]

You could actually always use the Dance with Dragons cards even in a 5+ player normal setup. So this expansion just says "if you are going to do that, also use Deck B" at least that's my understanding. Well that and letting you finally bring the Arryn deck into a real game.

[@grog3514]

I just got this and my group has never played the base game. Should I introduce them to just the base first or should I just throw this expansion in for everyones first time? Or perhaps just remove the Targ faction?

[@DriveThruReview]

I’d say just the base game to start out with. Kind of depends on how many players you have. You might try just the base game with the rules for vassals if you have less than six.

[@justaperson9535]

Question -> If I want to buy it, should I buy the last edition as well? Please someone answer me

[@DriveThruReview]

Yes, get the second edition of the base game.

[@justaperson9535]

@@DriveThruReview Thank you, nice video

[@john-paulmacdonagh1014]

Off topic but have to say that it would be great to see a review on ASOIAF Tabletop miniatures game and your thoughts on the tactics / political intrigue board. Rank and flank might not be your thing and there are more than enough games with minis to grab your attention. It’s not the most popular system to be sure! Still, it would be good to have your perspective on the interpretation of the IP and influence that a board game hand management system has on an old war game model. ASOIAF tmg has what you discuss at 18:10 about personal dynamic and it is the character of the non combat units where the theme shines through. For me I find it closer to BattleLore than WHFB in terms of being well oiled and the alternating activations are great. Maybe when the next two houses are released with 2 years of releases in the system you could get a review in? Cheers

[@DriveThruReview]

Maybe.... but... like you said, rank and flank is not really my jam. I've tried it a couple of times with other games and just could never get into it. The Game of Thrones license really intrigues me of course, but ya. It's just not high on the priority list unfortunately. It was probably the right choice for that theme though.

[@john-paulmacdonagh1014]

@@DriveThruReview yep, fair points and you're not alone in that regard. Kings of war and whfb can be tough going from both gameplay and hobby perspective. The current skirmish focus of the hobby emphasizes this even more. I think that ASOIAF is going to bring people around because it tackles the failings of rank and flank head on. But it's going to take time. Here's hoping the game takes off and in the future cmon send you a review copy of a new starter set with house Baratheon and house Tyrell led by Renly!

[@DriveThruReview]

@@john-paulmacdonagh1014 I'll take a look then and pester them if it looks like something I can get played and reviewed. Thanks for the heads up :)

[@john-paulmacdonagh1014]

@@DriveThruReview love your work! Keep em coming! :)

[@scoogsy]

Did you ever play this 4 players, and was it fun?

[@DriveThruReview]

Yes and yes (with this expansion).

[@scoogsy]

@@DriveThruReview how about three? We just had a guy drop out last minute.

[@DriveThruReview]

@@scoogsy Not played with the expansion with three. We've done it with the base game and it was still fun... not like... the "full experience" though.

[@scoogsy]

@@DriveThruReview thanks for that. We are going to go with Dead of Winter instead. I’m keen to give Thrones a go with 4 or more. I think alliances will have more meaning that way.

[@MrPeterKJ]

I think the duration of 45-60mn per player is very close to what I have seen too.

[@Jasebbi]

I think the dragons ar OP...if Joel can win GoT with them, they MUST be broken. =). Just kidding, but I do think everyone needs to work together to keep them in check.

[@DriveThruReview]

This is an outrage!