(Are we allowed to discuss the new blue house? Please take this down and reprimand me if so)

There is NO OTHER opening move for Ayrrn except 0 march in port, -1 march in The Eyrie, and consoliate in the Vale. It’s not just the best move- it’s the only realistic move all things considered.

Am I missing sonething perhaps? Wish to hear your views all

You could also consolidate in Eyrie, or both in Eyrie and the Vale...
In the end, looking at their house cards, their strength is money, so money is what you need. It's an extremely vulnerable starting position, so diplomacy and excellent strategy will be the key.
It's all very much in favor of the south houses, if you ask me.
Very curious to see the first Arryn and Stark wins in these 7p's, but maybe with a good alliance between the 2...

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‘Cause Caesar said so…

Even Bara will have a harder time. I think Grey and Martell are the big winners here, Tyrell already had shitty stats.

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Judge
LoI&F: Seasons 10 and 11 King
France WCup team
2021: Bronze
2022: Silver

I'd go one step further and suggest that the addition of house arryn is the single biggest nerf to stark that thronemaster.net has ever seen. Time will tell but I wouldn't be surprised if it now makes more sense for greyjoy to attack lannister immediately as there is no longer such a burning need to prevent a CLA win for Stark on 4~5 castles.

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Not today.

Honestly, I feel that this 7p version a more "fun" and party play oriented game, more than a competitive and balanced game, a bit like 4p or 5p (or probably even 8p MoD).

It's probably better to see this that way than to think it like 3p and 6p are, i.e. really balanced.

Last edited by Necrarch on 2021-Oct-18 14:55, edited 1x in total

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Judge
LoI&F: Seasons 10 and 11 King
France WCup team
2021: Bronze
2022: Silver

I agree with PMGeneral. The CLA 6p heavily favours Stark, such that GJ has no choice but to sail north in most cases. Addition of Arryn seems to balance this out quite a bit

I got my first Arryn victory, by going aggressively after Stark.
Opening: Port M+0, Eyrie M-1, Vale CP.
This way Arryn can take the Narrow Sea from Stark with certainty, if Stark plays the standard opening (which Stark, until now, always does).

GJ also went north, so Stark had no chance and was eliminated.

Stark was targeted, because it was difficult to see a split of the sea areas that would satisfy both Stark and Arryn.
It will be interesting to get some perspectives on how to make a lasting peace with Stark while going after Bara.

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...like I told one of my footmen the other day. "Everyone is expendable, but who wants to live forever anyway?".

Here's an idea that requires strong diplomacy skills and trust. If Stark is willing to cooperate (and have some more "fun" as Necrarch puts it), it is feasible to take SBB. This opening is dependent on Bara making the mistake of marching both ships to BWB.

Opening (Arryn): Port (M+0), Eyrie (M-1), Vale (CP)
Opening (Stark): At least 2 marches (ideally 3), with Shivering Sea (M+1)

First March: As I noted before, bara must begin by marching both ships to BWB. Stark then marches one land unit. Arryn sails to sea.

Second March: If bara does take this approach, likely he will be done with marches. Stark then marches another land unit. Arryn can then march knights to CCP, and decision of Fingers/MotM.

Third March: Stark (strength of 2) attacks Arryn (S 1) at sea.

Here is where Arryn and Stark need to work out specific cards, but the cards can be of even strength so that Stark wins. To bolster Arryn, I think Robb vs Little finger would work beautifully. Arryn is allotted 6 power tokens, Stark chooses the retreat to SBB, and Bara is left stunned. This also makes the move appear as if Stark is hostile towards Arryn, and causes more confusion for Bara. On the other hand, Arryn's card strength is rapidly depleted and is one patchface away from being down to 2's and below. So it could be advantageous to simply use a 1 v 1.

Granted, this move hinges solely on Bara's mistake of moving both ships but certainly could happen. Furthermore, since you are still beginning in the only logical start for Arryn, while Stark likely begins with 2 marches, you can be flexible and adapt to game script. Stark beginning with 3 marches makes them very susceptible to GJ heading north.

Ideally the next turn will have a clash and Arryn should be able to take throne and either sword or raven..and both if lucky. This scenario may be incredibly rare, but I'm curious if this would enable a stronger alliance between Stark and Arryn. Would love to hear from y'all if it pans out! (I'm in the middle of trying it and was lucky enough to have the clash come up)

Last edited by Gordalicious on 2021-Dec-15 23:58, edited 1x in total

My first feeling is that anything with 7p will eventually break the balance, due to the 6p ending in 3 matches of 2 players quite often - even if it is not that obvious, an uneven number of players will necessarily make things harder, especially with a board originially designed for 6 (so Bara and Stark are MUCH weakened. Lanni and Tyrell were the down houses in original 6p, so Martell and Greyjoy are probably the easiest houses to play at 7, even more tha at 6.

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Judge
LoI&F: Seasons 10 and 11 King
France WCup team
2021: Bronze
2022: Silver

My first feeling is that anything with 7p will eventually break the balance, due to the 6p ending in 3 matches of 2 players quite often - even if it is not that obvious, an uneven number of players will necessarily make things harder, especially with a board originially designed for 6 (so Bara and Stark are MUCH weakened. Lanni and Tyrell were the down houses in original 6p, so Martell and Greyjoy are probably the easiest houses to play at 7, even more tha at 6.
I disagree with this assessment. A seventh player is absolutely welcome in the sense that it actually brings the game back to its political foundations along the books. The more than usual 2 vs. 2 scenario up to the beginning of round 10 is thus broken (and with it the usual knowledge of one's own failure from round 5 at the latest). Quite the opposite! I think that the “Player Replacements” section will be subsequently relieved by this. What I don't believe, however, is that this can be achieved to any significant extent with anything other than the Arryn house cards from the MOD expansion.

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