House Martell in A Storm of Swords

Last week we examined how a House's flavor could influence its mechanics in a game such as A Storm of Swords, and we used House Greyjoy as our example. This week, House Martell will show us how relatively "plain" components of a game such as this can still be both tactically and flavorfully interesting.

Read on…

House Martell

The Red Viper of Dorne, Oberyn Martell, is one of the most colorful characters in George Martin's books. He is intense, fiery, complicated, and very, very dangerous.

His A Storm of Swords incarnation has three of these four attributes, at least on his House Card. Four Strength with two Sword icons is about as simple as House Cards come, but it is also a particularly vicious combination. His high Strength (each House having only one four-Strength card) makes the Red Viper able to tip the scales of almost any battle, and the twin Sword icons he brings to the table mean that once victorious, the Red Viper really punishes the loser and makes future victories easier.

While mechanically simple, the Red Viper's combination of high Strength and Sword icons is game-defining. Opponents cannot afford to ignore his presence, and oftentimes the THREAT of the Red Viper can be as effective - or more effective - as actually playing him. Which is a lot like Oberyn Martell in the books, actually…

The Red Viper's Leader token is also mechanically straightforward. He triggers off of a March order, which means that his timing is straightforward. The kicker is that, when activated, he gains an extra sword and an extra point of Strength (consider using your March -1 order with the Red Viper!), all of which plays out very much like his House card. The Red Viper is an intense, dangerous, aggressive man who can inflict great harm on the opposition - your opponent must take that into account and be very, very careful.

Nymeria Sand is one of the Sand Snakes, Prince Oberyn's brood of bastard daughters. As dangerous as their father, each in their own way, the Sand Snakes are a terrible force to be reckoned with and feared - even by Prince Doran Martell, their own uncle!

Here, Nymeria Sand has an ability that is deceptively potent - rather like the Sand Snakes themselves. "If you are defending in this battle, gain a Fortification Icon. If you are attacking, gain a Sword Icon." The incredible strength of Nymeria's ability rests in its flexibility - she can be useful in either a winning or a losing battle, on either attack or defense. Since you ordinarily only attack when victory is a good bet, her Sword icon helps you inflict pain on your opponent. Since your opponents will attempt to crush you with unbeatable odds, her Fortification icon on defense can save precious units. Either way, Nym is a very useful card to have in your hand.