House Greyjoy in A Storm of Swords

Last week we learned how House Cards and Leaders work in A Storm of Swords, and took a look at some examples from House Stark. Today we'll be discussing Greyjoy.

Every House has seven House Cards and two Leaders that can take the field. Each has the same distribution of strength values across their seven House Cards. It is here that the similarity ends, as each House has radically different abilities that, while balanced, are in tune with the nature of the House. Greyjoy, for example, are the Ironborn. Balon Grejoy, now styling himself King, bears the titles King of Salt and Rock, Son of the Sea Wind, and Lord Reaper of Pyke. The Ironborn come in their longships, raid, pillage, kill, and vanish back into the ocean. They are a very aggressive and violent House, favoring conflict, sudden attacks, and crushing victories.

Their House Cards and Leaders reflect that.

House Greyjoy

Balon Grejoy first rebelled against the Iron Throne shortly after Robert I Baratheon became sovereign of the Seven Kingdoms. Since Robert's death, he has risen again and again taken the title of king. Hard as iron and implacable as the Old Way, the head of House Greyjoy is a formidable leader to be feared by all who know him.

Fittingly, his House Card has a strength of 4 in A Storm of Swords. As a reaver and a plunderer, Balon is also able to replenish your coffers after a victorious battle - either when attacking or defending, as the routed enemy leaves supplies, goods, and fame on the battlefield. Balon has the highest strength of any House Card in the A Storm of Swords set, so his odds of winning a battle are pretty good - and his odds of winning by a LOT can be pretty good as well. With Balon on your team, you don't need to waste precious orders consolidating power - you can win one crushing victory and be set for many turns to come.

Technically, Balon Greyjoy still has a living male heir, but his son Theon was taken away to be fostered by Eddard Stark long, long ago. Since then, his daughter Asha has been his pride, his joy, and his revenge upon the lesser peoples of Westeros.

Remember how we said there would be more uses of the "support matters" mechanic? Asha is a clever and crafty raider, and knows how to use support to her advantage. She can encircle and trap her enemy, inflicting heinous casualties. Greyjoy has rather a lot of swords in general, as might be expected for such a violent and aggressive House, but Asha's potential for two swords in a two-strength package is a little above the curve, even for them.

The Ironborn are the masters of the Raid. Reavers born and bred, they strike quickly from their longships, burning, pillaging, and vanishing back to the sea. Asha's leader token, suitably, triggers off of a Raid order, which allows Greyjoy to strike first even against enemies higher on the Iron Throne track than them. Asha's front and back side's each have a strength of one, which is a significant boost to her army both on attack and on defense. And of course, when she is leading her men in a lightning assault, she gets that extra sword icon to really put the hurt on the opposition…