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

Follow me as we discuss how to put House Stark (Da King In Da Norf!) in his rightful place as ruler of the Iron Throne. Let me know your strategies & ideas in the comments below, I'll circle back and do a 2nd edition of this video, hopefully "Mother of Dragons" will be release then too, hype intensifies! If you're interested in picking up the physical game, links are below.
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Timestamps
► 0:00 Introduction
► 0:18 Early Game Planning - Round 1
► 1:42 Early Game Action - Round 1
► 3:23 Early Game Planning - Round 2
► 5:38 Early Game Action - Round 2
► 6:24 Mid Game Planning - Round 3
► 7:23 How to Win
► 8:57 How to Defend

[@frixaz1]

Easy and simple to understand for beginners. Thanks a lot !

[@SuperBronzong]

This is a nice video. I was thinking about ways to defend against Greyjoy in case they make an alliance with Lannister really early. They are either going to attack through Moat Cailin via land, or attack Bay of Ice via sea, or both (although given that Greyjoy doesn't have any reliable mustering attacking on both sides is generally not a good idea for them). In case of a Land attack, it's important as you say to have the narrow sea so you can support Moat Cailin, I always have support in the shivering sea to help keep the narrow sea from the Baratheons. In case of a naval invasion, it is worth considering to muster a ship in the port of Winterfell (towards the bay of ice), from which you can support the Bay of ice. This is because Stark does not have a lot of supply, and the effect is the same. The key challenges for Stark are low supply and having to split up your ships in two. In your video, you mention that you think it's important to "park" units or power tokens on every territory in the North. I think that's a bit greedy and slow. I would consolidate power* first turn in Winterfell to get another footman there and move one to a crown territory and one to a barrel territory. The barrel footman can later be moved to a crown territory (leaving a power token). Later, There is a lot of barrels to be had in the Mountains of the Moon, the Fingers, The Eyrie, and Greywater Watch. As for the seven castles, I would nominate Winterfell, White Harbor, Moat Cailin (These three should be obvious), The eyrie is also pretty uncontested. For the last 3, I would go for Crackclaw point, Seagard, and Flint's Finger. If Crackclaw point or The Eyrie is a no-go, you can opt for Riverrun, but Harrenhal, Lannisport, Pyke, and Dragonstone will only be relevant against very new players or in very rare circumstances. I suppose if you could take sunset sea (maybe assuming that Greyjoy and Lannister are duking it out), then you could sneakily march a small army to the searoad marches and into Lannisport, but it's very risky. In terms of character cards, the best card is Roose Bolton, as he lets you reload your hand with Eddard and Robb every third combat if you plan it right. You can also start a proxy battle by attacking shipbreaker bay with a bunch of ships, assume Baratheon is playing Salladhor Saan, and in turn play Roose Bolton to get all the cards back. The starks also have two excellent cards for protecting your units (Rodrick and Blackfish) if you don't want to lose 3 knights to ser Gregor. Eddard is a very nice 4 with 2 swords. Robb's ability is rarely useful, but he has 3 power, which is nice. Catelyn is terrible. You should only play Catelyn, if Patchface got rid of Roose. That's my take on Starks😁

[@BeyondtheBoard]

Greyjoy is .. annoying. I think any attack on Moat Cailin is very bad for you but it's pretty easily defended since Greyjoy can't support from the sea. The left side of the board however... that's a different story if they decided to take the Bay of Ice! I like my money. It's an ongoing joke / weakness in any board game I play!!! If Greyjoy and Lannister duke it out hard you can push a bit on that side of the board. I don't see a good cost / benefit analysis of doing so however beyond Flints Finger. It would spread you too thin on ships trying to hold both sides right? Catelyn is horrid. Probably the word card in the game off hand. I need to prepare those videos!

[@BeyondtheBoard]

Also, don't forget to subscribe for future videos and the house card overview! It helps a lot :D

[@sorinmarinoiu2083]

Good job! I don't agree with the set up, but as you said it's a matter of preference. I always muster 2 ships in the first round (Bay of Ice and Shivering Sea) just to have a bumper area. Next, again, in my opinion, The Eyrie is paramount for Stark early development as it grants a supply, a CP and a mustering point so no matter what comes you have everything covered. From The Eyrie, The Vale is an easy gain.

[@BeyondtheBoard]

Let me know what you guys think of the video, would you do anything differently? Starks a really stand out house because they have access to both sides of the board via ships. Which is also a big downfall due to component limits.

[@elyastoohey6621]

Bad strategy. ALmost evey house, except baratheon, and lannister should gave marches on EVERYTHING turn 1. Original board gam deck. 33% supply 33% muster, 33% either nothing, or the two where iron throne chooses. Obviously winter is coming, reshuffle deck, draw new card. Barathen tends to want to do mustering (especially if he took kings landing, or even if he did an alternative attack on the reach, storms end and crackclaw. HArd to pull off, but doable. If they can pullthis off, it is a game changer. EIther way, 95% of the time they are in kingslanding/red keep, they have no one at dragonstone. They want 3 ships in the bay asap, unless the no support orders card showed up (really low odds, 10% ish). Baratheon wnats to muster. This means yur odds of mustering, is going to be more like 56% turn 1-2. Might not happen, but odds are it will. But the other 33% is barrels, and 11% nothing at all (summers end or some crap) SO almost every house (but lannister and B) should be pushing their troops around. Lannister not because to beat greyjoy you have a speicifc move order (original 1 ship board game, and even easier with two ships on the new and digital versions) Stark wants to move his one footman on WH to widows watch. The the ship down to narrow sea (Barathon only weirdly contests this if doing a WEIRD move) Your winterfel boys move onto either barrel, crown, but have to go to moat cailin. If greyjoy gets the moat, gameover. You only have 1 stronghold. You can't afford greyjy to sit next to it with raids witing for mustering and maybe bidding to shove a siege engine up you. Knight to moat. FOot to barrel (deepwood or torrhens sq etc, whatever it is called) Sadly you have to leave tokens on wh. It sucks but you gotta. This way you are very covered for turn 2. Odds are musterng, but if barrels come up, you won't be gimped, possibly for mutliple rounds with no barrels. EG worst case is you move to those crowns, take no barrels, barels comes up (33% chance) round 1, and you miss your shot. Now if mustering comes up next turn, you are severely limited in numbers. if a bidding comes up, that sucks, but its life. Lannister usually doesn't want to bid round 1/2. You hopefully get the muster R1, muster 1 ship into shivering sea from wh. one ship into bay of ice from winterfel. 1 foot on winterfel. Mat cailin is interesting. You can only muster a foot, or a ship into narrow sea. fot tends to be better as you can aggressively push the barrel, or the vale with him. you can also pull him back to the wall/karhold. Yoour opening move, in an optimal world looks like boat south, march +0. then choice of reserving knigth and footman movement if you think greyjoy will take M.C, you can take it with 3+march +1, or knight with march +1 after you move WH footman. If you want to play big and bombastic, wh footman move after. Or you can put your march +1 on wh, move winterfel boy first to barrel and kngith to wh. boats south. Reserve right of reply with March +1 for winterfel and further barrels in karhold. If barrels, turn 2 becomes harder, but not that hard. as greyjoy wil be weak, so will baratheon. who cant do a sfe muster either. You need the barrels and 4 muster points round 1. Stark can easily win on the long game. So long as they set up wide. They want crowns coming in, and power to bid by round 4. By round 6 you want to be in the position to take the eyrie and start marching south. if a good lannister or greyjoy has beaten the other by then, you should now be strong enough to put on the pressure hard. remember, on the original board game, and even worse on the updated, give a free ship to lannisport port, a good lannister player can destroy Greyjoy by turn 4 if the right cards come round 1-2. (no bidding, and a muster round 1). Even if a muster doesn't come round 1 lannister can make life really hard for the greyjoys with the right orders and raven. If nobody has won by round 6, stark should usually win if they set up right. ALso moving to the crowns right away is double folly. You can't generate crowns from them until turn 2. If a bidding comes up, you want at least 1 star order. to get your boys spread. But if crown gathering card comes up you really only get 1-2 crowns, and if that card coems up there was no bidding anyway Whilst you also want footmen on the crowns, (and maybe the barrels to defend/support). But you need bodies o nthe crowns to get their true benefit, c.p orders. so you want the barrels first, to either abandon, or to use as support staging. Safer to go barrels and castles round 1.

[@LazzaRuss]

My opening moves for Stark are usually muster at White harbour. (Ship in frozen sea) March +1 on the boat. March 0 for Winterfell. (Move the footman to Widows watch for supply and Knight to Moat Cailyn.) This gives 3 castles if a muster comes out ups supply to 2. Winterfell is empty but no danger of attack. Next turn, defend the moat. March foot knight back to Winterfell so you can start mustering the following turn. Muster a ship in port at White harbour (or support if Greyjoys and Lannisters are playing nice as Greyjoy might try for the moat) Defend the narrow sea and support +1 in the frozen sea. Your then safe on the East side and can muster a ship in bay of ice port just to collect power or raid as needed and a footman at Winterfell to send north and start CP going.

[@elyastoohey6621]

I don't want to be a dick, but bad moves. A big aspect of the game is the card counting of the decks. You want to put march orders on every spot for stark turn 1, and leave 1 token behind on WH. Your job is to basically get every crown with a body on it, and either every barrel with a token or a support unit on it (they can c.p if you really need it too) the way the decks work, and which players get to choose matters big time. there is a 33% chance mustering after turn 1 card reveal. 33% barrels (which you are in desperate need of too and you do not want to miss your chance to update your barrels) 11% chance of nothing, or a 22% chance of the iron throne holder (baratheon, choosing supply, muster or nothing). Baratheon will usually muster here. Tyrell is usually at the reach, and can raid baratheon out of a muster. Baratheon should get no barrels on their turn 1. So odds are usually over 50% that a muster will play, and 33% that a barrel will be forced to occur due to cards. So you want castles and barrels asap. If a muster doesnt come, it is okay, as only faction that may have mustered turn 1 is lannister, and maybe a weak martell player. This does sligthly gimp your expansion with stark, but you had a 55% chance on mustering, or a 33% chance on barrels, so about a 90% chance of anything that benefitted you. A round 1 muster on winterfel can in theory be powerful, you can only make 1 footman, and either a boat, or upgrade a footie to a knight. due to your bad supply. You do not want to waste knights on holding castle black, karhold, etc. You could do your muster, wh, 1 extra footie. But that relies on hoping for a muster, and immediately concedes moat cailin. If you ose moat cailin, greyjoy can just raid the hell out of you, making you now reliant on card muster, or using raids in the narrow sea or wh.

[@LazzaRuss]

@@elyastoohey6621 Dude you say bad moves but also say you want castles and barrels asap which is what these moves get. 🙄

[@elyastoohey6621]

​@@LazzaRuss it's not a terrible move. But you want to use all marches turn 1. You need to be on at least 3 barrels, and 3 castles by end of turn 1. UNless you get a 1/10 bad luck (or baratheon does not muster, very weird) you either get your barrels, or your muster. remember, barrels are like trains. You miss the call, you might have to wait 3-4 more turns for more barrels. Severly limiting any mustering until mid game. Likwise, but to a lesser degree on castles, you miss your muster, you miss out. By playing muster on wh, you have to concede a barrel. Do-able. you can chance barrels won't come up.But if they do, you only have 2 barrels, still limiting you. Safest bet is to spread wide turn 1. If barrels come up, fine. Nobody will have mustered anyway, but lannister nad maybe Martell. If muster coems up, you re poised to own the north by turn 2. Take the eyrie by turn 4. Gather power too. March south, with lots o strength turn 6. WIn by turn 8=9. STark to win in a full game relies on a build up, then big push. your job is to also influece lannisters fights with greyjoy in the sunset sea. Draw it all out. tur 1, only lannister or maybe martell should special muster.

[@jackdaniels7653]

Only thought on the early game...as Baratheon I like to play three move to contest the narrow sea (probably sets me back since I don’t consolidate on kingswood or take Kings Landing)...when that happens I think the starks should always play blackfish on the boat and come back next turn with Eddard

[@BeyondtheBoard]

If Starks don't get the narrow sea turn 1, it's way more in play. Since reinforcements make Saaladhor Saan an "I win" card and their limited supply & areas to deploy ships open up possibilities to corner their fleet to nothing. Stark is really stretched thin on both sea areas and their house cards don't help.

[@elyastoohey6621]

Stark needs narrow sea turn 1,whilst Baratheon should be heading to Kings landing. STark is guaranteed to win narrow sea turn 1 if they use all 3 order tokens (and no tides of battle). march +1 ocean. wait until baratheon has moved in. Push boat in, play ned. I think stark starts higher on fiefdoms too, so even with a march+0, so long as barathen hasn't fought martell and they used doran to send him to the bottom of iron throne. The game is INCREDIBLY well balanced for good players who know the strats. the big issue of the game is new players getting stomped.

[@rakiskrk]

Nice

[@TVSilex]

2:53 Why both sides didn't use any house cards in sea battle?

[@myrec8883]

Why there was no battle cards in battle in the narrow sea ?

[@samknight7086]

How do you play it online?

[@BeyondtheBoard]

Its on the steam store.

[@alexb.z.3289]

Quick question: Can you muster a ship from Winterfell onto the Shivering Sea?

[@BeyondtheBoard]

Yep, Winterfell only has a port to the west but any land area can deploy into an adjacent sea area. Winterfell is unique that is connects to both sides of the map at sea.

[@alexb.z.3289]

@@BeyondtheBoard Daaaamn! Thanks! It's gonna be a whole new game plan now! XD

[@BeyondtheBoard]

@@alexb.z.3289 Yep, it's good because Stark can move and reinforce from both sides. With a ship component limit of 6, it's impossible to defend from Greyjoys (At sea).

[@vedantmenon]

This was very well done thanks !! But you talk a little too slowly, its possibly because you want us to understand better so i get it or thats how you naturally speak but thanks for this, gone from not liking stark to playing them