Winning as House Lannister - Game of Thrones: The Board Game Strategy Guide

[@BeyondtheBoard]

I personally find Lannister's start to be the most difficult opening, tons of options and really throws you into the thick of things. I'm sure I missed a ton of options, so I hope the more experienced players will allow me some leeway and chime in with their own takes! :D

[@Faerion]

Thanks for the video. We need more GOT strategy videos! ^_^ Several points I wanted to add: 1) Cercei can seem a weak card, but it's invaluable for retaking Riverrun in round 2 and ensure there will be no counterattack. Also the Mountain is the reason why Greyjoy really shouldn't capture Riverrun with more than 1 unit. 2) Majority of people I played with underestimate the value of Throne. Lannister vs Greyjoy war is a showcase of Throne importance. Not only you have first move, but also your Raid orders become super strong cause cannot be raided - this way you can ensure strong support and win with Cercei. It's really worth mentioning that in case of early CoK even 3 tokens spent on Throne are not too much: not only you get first raid and first move, but also as a king you effectively save 1 token on each subsequent bidding. 3) Attacking Tyrell early can be a strong decision in case of alliance with Greyjoy. If they didn't manage to grow strong then taking Highgarden and Oldtown can ensure your victory. It all depends on Tyrell play and overall diplomacy, of course. 4) Owning Raven at the start of the game makes some tricky order-changing tactics viable. It makes Greyjoy prepare to literally any possible order setup, without usual guessing games. 5) King-Beyond-the-Wall is your friend. If you scout that he's the guy in charge then surprising Valyrian sword grab is devastating for Greyjoy and turns the tides strongly in your favor. I won a couple of games like that. I'm also interested in longer videos with entire games against human opponents where you explain why you put this order there and what were your plans. This way chess-like warfare tactics can be covered in a more profound and interesting way!

[@JBHfromSRK]

As far as a bite-sized overview that hits the highlights of what a player should be thinking, this was a pretty great overview that managed to stay succinct for how fast it can devolve into flowcharts and theory crafting. Well done.

[@BeyondtheBoard]

Lol, "flowcharts" is a perfect description of how my notes looked!

[@Nakraal]

Support +1 in golden sound, Move -1 at port, move 0 in LP and move +1 in stoney sept. Move everything to stoney sept and wait for gj to spent his moves. If he ends up in RR, u can attack with all for a 7 v 2. 1st turn numero uno priority not to have GJ in RR

[@drippinwet774]

Greyjoy is setup to dominate Lannister with Fiefdom, Balon, and Victarion. While you wait things out; GJ goes unchecked, you'll probably want to outbid him. Making it a sea battle with Tyrell alliance. Especially if Stark allies with GJ; ally up with Baratheon, in a scenario as such.

[@erikgraham1046]

A good greyjoy player will always secure river run turn 1. Lannister cannot prevent this. However, you can set yourself up to retake it round 2.

[@Evilemil89]

With a friendly GJ - placing 3 ships in GS is a declaration of war - even two ships in GS this early is iffy for the relationship (assuming youre playing with players)

[@BeyondtheBoard]

True... It's threatening GJ naval superiority.

[@marcelocoronado7805]

Mustering first turn can be very strong. However I wouldn't recommend a naval invasion of Ironman's bay Round 2, not as long as Greyjoy has the sword. Assuming no Clash or Mustering: you have 3 ships and march +1 = 4 strength, with cards max 8 strength. GJ has min 1 ship, with Balon card becomes 3 strength and makes your cards 0, sword makes a winning tie of 4. You could play Tyrion to make Balon go away, but they can play their 3 or 4 cards to win. This is all assuming Lann commits all 3 ships and Greyjoy does nothing to increase their defense. This is fine if the purpose is to bait out a good card, but if the goal is to place a siege on Pyke on round 2, its a risky play. It requires Greyjoy to misplay or for them to think you are bluffing. Lannister is tough to play, even tougher if playing with a good Greyjoy. My best advice is don't plan everything around holding Riverrun, chances are you won't. Also try to keep someone on Stoney Sept. It's a much more valuable for positioning than it initially seems.

[@Faerion]

Actually discarding Balon is pretty good move cause it cuts maximum strength of Greyjoy's Army by 2 for several battles - Euron has 4 str, whereas Balon has effective strength of 6. It's always good to do battles that shift balance in your favor (unless you play with Tides and skulls). If no Mustering or Clash happens, in the next round you can repeat naval attack with more chances of success. Knowing that, Greyjoy player may consider play defence in Ironman's Bay, so you can play support in Golden Sound instead, which helps a lot in battles for Riverrun. And even if Mustering or Clash happens, absence of Balon is still a decent bonus. I agree that siege engine in Lannisport is not about capturing Pyke early. It's about retaking Riverrun with Cercei and posing constant threat that must be dealt with

[@toggerz7487]

With a siege tower in Lannisport, you can also take Riverun in turn two with Cersei. It's one of the safer options, Greyjoy can't do much about it. Lannister's main advantage in the early game is tempo. They move first and they can move more. If Greyjoy is attacking, they are not defending. If they are defending, then they are not attacking. Try to turn that situation into a win win.

[@BeyondtheBoard]

Ya, if Greyjoy gets too aggressive early on I think Lannister loses round 1 but wins the overall war. Unless a round 1 mustering shows up, then it gets... more tricky lol.

[@JMSginoclave]

@@BeyondtheBoard Considering Baratheon's (Iron Throne holder whom decides on 1st deck's cards that offer choice between Supply/Muster/Nothing) usual turn 1 play isn't getting barrels, that's a deck of 10 cards with 50% chance of Mustering on T1.

[@toondemaere3080]

"Lucky" unlucky you mean. There is really nothing to negotiate about with greyjoy (they are the agressor), if they get muster round 1 the math just doesn't add up for Lannister, they can just take golden sound and crush lannisport and it's kinda over for Lannister. It's bad game design...i would love to be proven wrong tough.

[@glennfuller9171]

Great video. Thanks!

[@robertl.7353]

Excuse me, where are the promised House card videos? Just found Baratheon.

[@elyastoohey6621]

Why is there a ship in the lannisport port? It aint that in the physical board game. If that's there its too easy to win as lannsiter (in a game of good players)

[@vophie]

If I was richer I’ll still be with yab

[@erikgraham1046]

The thing that stood out to me the most is baratheon in the narrow sea round 2?? What kind of incompetent fool of a stark player do you have? Lol

[@Juvelira]

Weak strategy