Editing ASOIAF Miniatures/Tactics/Baratheon (section)

==Loyalty: Renly Baratheon==

===Commander===
[[Image:Renlymini.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Fancy lad.]]
*'''Renly Baratheon - The Charismatic Heir:''' The Baratheon Starter Box version of Renly is a very strong offensive/buff commander. Renly himself lends his unit +1 attack dice at full ranks or being treated as one higher rank in terms of attack dice than your actual ranks. Further, units within Short Range of Renly’s unit get a +1 to morale, very strong for Baratheon units. Where Charismatic Heir really shines, however, is his set of tactics cards. Each features a way to heal wounds for both his and other units, sometimes simultaneously. With the release of Rose Knights, bunkering Renly in their unit is all but guaranteed to make your opponent tear their hair out trying to wipe the tray. This is particularly vital as this version of Renly’s cards, unlike many other commanders, requires him to be alive to get their full effect. Very strong choice.

*'''Renly Baratheon - Lord Paramount of the Stormlands:'''  The version of Renly included in the Baratheon Heroes II box forgoes the healing and buffing role for a more defensive/control set of abilities and cards. Placing the Lord Paramount in a unit prevents it from being targets by tactics cards, orders and influences. His cards, on the other hand, are geared around a counter-offensive focused playstyle. Like the basic tactics deck, these abilities tend to require a triggering action by the enemy to come into effect. This can make it much harder to pull off some of the tricks these cards afford, though they are strong. You should usually bring the free Brienne attachment when playing Renly in general, but for this version she should be an auto-include.

*'''Loras Tyrell - The Knight of Flowers:''' The knight beloved by the smallfolk is a monster. Loras is a full on defensive choice with strong healing options and some additional punch in combat. Loras’ unit benefits from either dealing an additional wound every attack or, on a 3+ roll, killing the enemy unit’s attachment and getting a wound back each time they pass a morale test. All three of his tactics cards contribute to an defensive playstyle with two getting extra benefits from keeping close to Loras’ unit. Of all of the commanders available to Renly, Loras is the most straightforward, you can be aggressive or defensive with him and he'll allow you to weather the storm each time.

*'''Eldon Estermont: Lord of Greenstone'''  A very interesting, set of cards and abilities sets Eldon apart from the other commanders. With a strong defensive profile to Baratheon players Eldon’s ability to dump a Vulnerable token at long range can patch up your lackluster offensive power, and with Hardened whatever unit he gets into will be incredibly hard to shift. Unfortunately, his “Battle Endurance” tactics card wont do anything until at least turn 3 but since it attaches you can just put it on something aerly on and get the draws for next turn. His “Hefty Ransom” is a fun card that will very, very rarely be worth it, but if you can pull it off early on (Loras, Vargo, whether your or your opponent's)  it can change the whole match. Considered the strongest version of this character and a very solid commander.

*'''Cortnay Penrose: Castellan of Storm’s End''' Bonkers. Mental. Insane. Bananas. Cortnay Penrose, pre-shadow murder, is a doozy. Without any combat buffs you want him far from the fight, Issue Commands means he can pass off his activation to let other units use it and with Orders of the cronw he won't need it to reposition out of danger, getting cards out of the discard pile also nets you greater tactical flexibility and finally Counterplot the quintessential control tactics card cements him as a backfield commander, either Stormcrow Archers if you want him actively contributing when not passing activations or Wardens and the upcoming Pikemen to get more out of said activations.

====Units====

*'''Rose Knights (7pt):''' 4” move and a 3+ save, Rose Knights have the same issue as Queen's Men; Warden stats without 2pts of improvements. Now more expensive and lacking native Dauntless they're a slow unit, albeit do have some Renly synergy. Unlike Queens Men though Renly's decks don't have as much access to attack buffs (Sundering, Vicious, CB) so it's harder to take advantage of the 3+ attack value. Consider as a Commander bunker for Loras or Renly if you're keen, they will hold the line and chip away at the enemy while theyre at it. Eldon makes them a serious threat with battle endurance, also Loras Attachement makes them something to worry about albeit at 9pts. 

*'''Thorn Watch (6pt):''' Oh no, no range to melee synergy (retreat and shoot, or vice versa), 4+ in melee, terrible defence so their heal ability isn't that valuable. A very badly balanced unit that is generally agreed to be useless, they need serious support to be actually good and you can get more out of other units without having to jump through hoops for it.

*'''Highgarden Pikemen (Leaked)(5pt):''' Pike basic infantry, not too much to say about their basic profile since they are 5 points after all, but their improved charges (potential 10 hits before buffs) and little regen lets them fill a more offensive oriented role that Wardens don't. Master Wardens make them excellent line grinders while Brienne Maid of Tarth can make them effective hunters. Personally a much more interesting choice than Wardens for basic infantry but they maybe need one better point of morale to really compete at the role.

====Non-Combat Units====

*'''Eldon Estermont - Venerable Knight (4 pts):''' Eldon allows you to replace a tactics zone’s effect with the ability to draw three cards from the top of your deck, shuffling one back from your hand (aka, not necesarily one you just drew). Very good and flexible, but a zone replace so not always what you want besides the fact that his commander version is stronger.

*'''Margaery Tyrell - Little Rose (4 pts):'''  Not enough heals? Bring along the queen-to-be. Margaery synchronizes well with Rose Knights as her ability to heal whenever claiming a tactics board zone lets the Rose Knights’ ability proc. Considering you may not suffer wounds until Turn 3, and most games end at or before Turn 5, the value of her ability is probably only around 3 wounds (and 1 vulnerable) so is outmatched massively by Tycho's on-demand heals. She also needs to claim a zone rather than having tokens or effects that can activate at any time.

*'''Olenna Tyrell - Queen of Thorns (5 pts):''' The matriarch of House Tyrell is tired of your bullshit. Dealing with nonsense from Walder Frey? Mance Rayder? Melisandre? Whatever NCU is vexing you gets to take a seat with Olenna in play as her ability shuts down an NCU’s ability when she claims a tactics zone. Make sure you play her early enough to not get shut out as she is five points. Expensive, powerful, annoying. Her secondary effect can be good to get early tokens down and poke at those 5+ armour enemies if there's no scary NCUs.

*'''Cortnay Penrose (4 pts):''' His old Commander form, now as an NCU. Token play (always the best form of NCU) to give very good healing if NCUs take a zone you specify. Make invincible Champion's of the Stag lists, annoying Rose Knight lists, or generally just revive something from the brink of death. Flexible and highly advised as basically a better Tycho.

====Attachment====
*'''Loras Tyrell - King’s Squire (2 pts):'''  2pt attachements are hard to justify in general. Loras brings Duellist and Precision, giving you a way to break through strong armour, debatably pairing best with Vicious (Bolton Blackguard maybe). Suffers mainly from having few units with multiple attacks at the 6pt bracket where you'd normally put a 2pt attachment. Consider in Renly Paramount Commander so if he dies you can reuse his expensive ass.

*'''Cortnay Penrose - Reliable Castellan (2 pts):''' Extra shifts for your slow army are very good, especially at 3" as that's more than Swift Advance. Replacing the Crown, a zone you dislike, with more movement is also good. Unfortunately both these abilities become far less useful when units get in combat as they don't allow retreats. Potentially worth the points, depending on Renly's upcoming units and Thorn Watch changes. Otherwise can probably pull off some fun with Dervishes, Bastard Girls, and Zhorse Riders (preventing the pivot means they could retreat from a front charge then be in the rear when they activate). An attachment that buffs other units, and thus stacks that the units attachments, can be very valuable but his NCU version can have more overall value and cements you more on the healing defensive playstyle.

*'''Brienne - The Blue (1 pts):''' Brienne in her Rainbow Guard (good luck painting the cape) attire serves as the bodyguard to King Renly Baratheon. Free actions, and not an order! Position right and if your beloved Renly is attacked you can repeatedly bash the assailant. Consider in Neutrals such as Stormcrow Archers, as not many Baratheon units really take full advantage of her (Sentinels already have counter charge, Stag Knights should be taking charges not waiting to punish, etc).

*'''Thorn Guard Sentinel (1 pts)''' Dauntless and Pathfinder. The former is nice to have on your high morale units, although you don't have any ways to manually trigger tests unlike Stannis. The latter can be game-changing, allowing you to lay terrain aggressively and your alpha strike unit to ignore it. As Thorn Watch can't afford to be any more expensive, probably better attached to Sentinels or Bastard Girls. They can be added to Rose Knights/Wardens for that extra wound potential and to prevent a bog making your march into a horrific 7" but it may be better to just deploy that unit better in regard to terrain. A solid attachment that doesn't necessarily shine in non-Neutral units but is all round useful.

*'''Pikeman Captain (1 pts)''' Boldness and Courage is essentially the Renly version of True Conviction. While you don't need less ranks, it isn't as powerful (normally only adding 1 dice unless you're at 1 rank) and all the True Conviction units have a secondary ability. Also has a lot of overlap with two Baratheon tactics cards where his +1 attack die doesn't trigger. This unit at least isn't unique, so you could take lots of them, and they also pair better on the charge or when you're fully healed. Makes Pikemen into a strong 8/7/7 (as of leaked Renly Pikemen stats). Can make Bastard Girls into a horrific 7+5 attacks which is enough to one shot 5+ and maybe 4+ units with a failed panic, so long as you can keep them on full ranks (shouldn't be hard with their 6 speed).