ASOIAF: R’hllor Thematic Lists

Hello Westeros!

ASOIAF is a universe filled with charismatic characters, diverse faction identities and overall a very rich fictional history. The game in competitive plays might encourage some stronger than lore-accurate combos (who mentioned Flayed Men in every lists?), but in a casual setting, there are few things more satisfying than playing a list with a very strong identity, coming straight out of the books.

So here comes a new series of articles called “Thematic Lists”, and to kick things off nicely, let’s start with the Lord of Light’s followers, with how to create a R’hllor Thematic List!

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Why choose R’hllor?

R’hllor is the Lord of Light in the universe of ASOIAF. He comes into prominence in the story when we are introduced to Stannis Baratheon, brother of King Robert Baratheon. At the latter’s death, Stannis pushes his claim to the throne, and is supported by Melisandre, a Red Priestess, servant of R’hllor. Her arrival on Dragonstone led many followers of the Seven to abandon their faith and follow the Lord of Light. Embedded with unwavering loyalty, they see Stannis as Azor Ahai, the Prince That Was Promised, and will march with him through fire and snow.

In the game, a R’hllor list is a theme you can take in the Baratheon faction, Stannis loyalty. Many units and attachments have the R’hllor keyword, which can have various effects during the battle.

So if you also believe Stannis is the One True King, and will save Westeros of its doom, join the R’hllor legions! And yes, R’hllor armies became quite fun with the latest update!

Plus, they have really nice minis…

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Who follows R’hllor?

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Commanders

Only 2 Commanders have the R’hllor keyword: Stannis the One True King, and Axell Florent, First of the Queen’s Men.

The first one is probably the one you will want to bring first in any R’hllor themed-list. It’s Stannis after all, he’s the reason why you play this faction and this theme: because with him, your opponents will bend the knee, or you will destroy them.

Stannis is very much a support commander, to help bring the best out of your troops and test their faith: 2 of his cards can make your units resolve Panic tests, which could be a good thing if you brought R’hllor Faithful (more potential faith tokens) or Selyse & Shireen NCU (auto-wounds). His abilities make it so that failing those Panic tests is harder and less damaging (working pretty well with Melisandre, allowing him to heal 1 of the 2 wounds she makes if passing her test), while his last card allows you to auto-pass a Panic test if targeting a R’hllor unit.

Axell Florent is the commander you will bring if you want to try another R’hllor one. His main drawback is: if you bring him, you can’t play Stannis (I would really like a Stannis NCU version ala Tywin, quite representative of the man, but I disgress…).

Axell is still a fun commander to play, quite aggressive as well. His abilities work on Morale, bringing a +2 bonus to his unit, as well as “Intimidating Presence” for enemies. This synergizes greatly with many R’hllor units, who enjoy causing Panic tests in enemy ranks. One of his card brings another Panic test, one guarantees a successful charge, and the last one can cause auto-wounds on an enemy unit.

Both of these commanders enjoy being in similar units.

If you have the points available, Kingsmen are one great choice for both of them: both commanders help them with their panic tests (Axell even helping them with “To the last”), while giving them the R’hollor keyword, the only thing they miss to really synergize with the rest of the theme.

Wardens and Bolton Blackguards make a strong commander bunker for both. Wardens are the cheapest infantry unit available to Stannis players, and very good at defending, their average morale being brought up to 5 or 4 with these commanders. 

Bolton Blackguards synergize better with the R’hllor side on a gaming level, bringing Vicious and Horrific Visage. Axell Florent is an especially good option in them. Thematically however, heresy!

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Units

There are 3 units with the R’hllor keyword in the faction. All of them work well together, so you might just want to pick one of each as your “foundation”.

The first one is R’hllor Lightbringers: these guys dropped at 6pts with the updated, so they are now a complete must-have. Good defensive stats compared to other archers, and very good offensive stats, their special ability “Fire Arrows” is what sets them apart: they are the only ranged unit in the game with the Vicious keyword, and have an inbuilt “Spread fear”, being able to cause two -2 Panic tests during their attack! This makes them one of the most offensive ranged units, and a terror for low morale armies.

Attachment-wise, you have 3 “great” choices.

The Red Priestess is the most R’llor themed one, who helps out to put Vulnerable and Panicked tokens on their target unit, making their attack potentially even more deadly. Be careful though, you can only get one token in exchange of one wound, so you might not want to spend too many in a row.

Second choice, a bit less R’hllor friendly but in-faction and really good is Davos. He can heal nearby units in exchange of wounds on your Lightbringers, but makes them reroll when they shoot at units with more remaining ranks, making them quite deadly at 2 ranks.

The last choice, Neutral and not R’hllor-linked, is Bronn. He gives you both a potential free attack and better defense stats when you control the Bags zone, making your archers very oppressive for the opponent.

Second in-theme unit, the R’hollor Faithful: I didn’t like them before as they can be very fragile, but they are quite dangerous in combat, and they can spend one faith token when they die to give out a free attack to another unit, which is awesome. They can use their tokens offensively or defensively, bringing them some flexibility in combat.

They work very well with Selyse and Shireen NCU: you can have a fun triangle with Lightbringers shooting at their combat, they pass their panic test and Selyse gives 1 wound to the opponent.

Parallel to the above combo, you can also put a Stag Knight Noble in them. While it makes for a quite expensive option for such a flimsy unit, it synergizes quite well with them. The Noble brings more resilience to Panic wounds in case of a bad roll, but mostly deals auto-wounds to an engaged opponent quite fast. With Selyse NCU, they can deal 2 auto-wounds for each passed Morale test, and she can even save them one time per game!

Thematically enough, they are a good option for Stannis OTK Commander: you want to pass as many Panic tests as possible with them, which his cards bring, and his abilities tremendously help them mitigate the risks, while healing them in the process! Be sure to bring Selyse & Shireen NCU to get a maximum of auto-wounds in and to save them in case of an untimely demise, and maybe Melisandre for even more Panic tests!

The last R’hllor unit is the Queensmen. These guys were a disaster before, now they leveled-up. A lot. The new version of the cards they pick is awesome: wait for one of your R’hllor unit in short range of them to be attacked, and you can basically dish out 2 to 3 tokens per turn, or heal 2 wounds with a bonus effect every turn. They are a fantastic support unit for the rest of your army, and their attack isn’t bad at all either. Moreover, they get a “To the Last” ability, which lets them take a Morale test when they would be killed and stay on the table. This can be a really nasty surprise for your opponent, who has to take into account that his attack might not destroy you.

Attachment-wise, they are already quite self-sufficient, and at 7pts, you might want to spend points elsewhere. If you really want an attachment on them or have enough points however, Andrew Estermont can give them Vicious, which synergizes well with R’hllor builds, and keep them efficient on even their last rank. Devan Seaworth can make them reach units 10” away, which helps their slow movement of 4” and makes them more of a threat.

A Master Warden is also a good option, with their defense of 3+ they will probably stay in combat more easily, and you can use his order to deal extra-hits.

They could also be a good bunker for a non-R’hllor commander that you would want to bring into the fray, such as Stannis TRH (playing with tokens and benefiting from their “Baratheon Justice” fishing) or Andrew Estermont (bring the Kingsmen to fish for “Ours is the Fury”, and use it for the Queensmen’s attack, while enjoying all the zones for “Baratheon Conviction” and “Justice”).

Axell Florent commander is a good option for them as well: his +2 to Morale helps them pass their “To the last” effortlessly, while his “Intimidating Presence” is a good tool in a R’hllor list.

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Attachments

Only one attachment gives you the R’hllor keyword: Axell Florent, Fanatical Devotee.

For 2pts, he is an expensive option, to which you might prefer his Commander or NCU version. His abilities are good however, and he has the advantage to have the only in-faction “Intimidating Presence”, a great support for Lightbringers or Melisandre. If you insist on bringing him, a unit without the R’hllor keyword is a must, and a good morale might be preferable (to pass the panic test of Lightbringers shooting in a combat he is engaged in). Stormcrow Mercenaries are a good option to lower his cost, but might fail Panic tests easily. Baratheon Wardens could be a better alternative, to have a sufficiently low cost unit overall, acting as a strong anvil.

The second R’hllor linked attachment (who unfortunately doesn’t give the keyword) is the Red Priestess, but apart from being attached to Lightbringers, she will be hard to justify bringing.

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NCUs

Three NCU options are linked to R’hllor.

The first and cheapest one is Axell Florent. The Hand of the Queen is an interesting one. He entirely relies on the unit he influences to fail their Panic test, which makes him a bit unreliable depending on the faction you are fighting against. Due to this, he synergizes quite well with units bringing Vicious, such as the Lightbringers or the Faithful. The fact that he gives a Weakened token to the unit failing their Panic test is quite good for Baratheons, who have more ways to give Vulnerable and Panicked. The added wound to a failed Panic test goes well with the second NCU…

…and the most high profile one, Melisandre. For 5pts, the Red Woman is a dangerous one, for both you and your opponent: highly situational, against a high-morale list she could be more bad than good for you. You will basically take a minimum of 2 wounds on a unit (1 if you bring Stannis OTK commander) in order to “potentially make 3 to 5 wounds to an enemy unit”.

She is a good option, but such hit-or-miss is only recommended if you build your list around her. Think Stannis OTK commander for better morale and 1 wound healed, R’hllor Faithful for Faith tokens, Selyse & Shireen NCU for better morale and auto-wounds, Axell Florent for “Intimidating Presence”, etc. Lots of options to make her work better, but it will still depend on dice rolls, so no guaranteed results!

If you go with her, bringing Jaqen as a second NCU might be worth it to get double-panic bombs, an expensive option, with either “double the reward or double the pain”.

Finally, my favorite, Selyse & Shireen, an expensive option, but providing lots of benefits. First, she gives a +1 Morale to the unit she influences, which is always a nice bonus with the Panic-heavy lists popping up across factions, and a good boost to many R’hllor synergies. Then, that same unit can give out 1 auto-wound to an engaged unit when passing their Morale test! Once again, a great synergy with R’hllor.

Last but not least, once per game, she saves one of your units from death. No Morale test required contrary to “To the Last”, they just come back with D3 wounds (you still have to take a Panic test if you were killed in combat), and the R’hllor keyword! This is a fantastic ability, which can really hurt your opponent’s plans, and works very well with the “To the Last” abilities of Queensmen and Kingsmen, giving some extra-wounds and one more action to your whole army. With all the Stannis-loyalty units being quite expensive, being able to save one just one more turn could turn one battle upside down!

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Build your R’hllor list!

I would start your R’hllor list with one of each R’hllor units: Lightbringers, Faithful and Queensmen. All 3 of them synergize greatly with each other, and really bring the theme of “Lord of Light fanatics” forward. With these 3 units, you basically get 19pts of units as a base for a R’hllor army. You then have 21 more points to get 4 more activations to reach 7, which is the sweet spot for Baratheons.

You will probably want to go with 3 NCUs (unless you take a Dragonstone Noble). For a R’hllor themed list, you will want at least one to two of the 3 R’hllor linked NCUs. This means that your NCU count will go between 12pts (only Axell and 2 non-R’hllor NCUs) and 16pts (Selyse & Shireen, Melisandre and a 5pts NCU).

All options are viable, but the rest of your list and your playing style will greatly depend on those 3 NCUs choices, more than in many other factions.

With 3 units and 3 NCUs, you should have between 9 and 5 points left. The rest is basically up to you, but you will want at least one more infantry unit. If you have 9 points left, you could bring one 5pts infantry unit and 1 Dragonstone Noble for 8 activations, but this means no Melisandre, no Selyse & Shireen and no Kingsmen.

If you pick Stannis OTK or Axell commander, the last infantry unit you will put them in will become R’hllor, making your troops thematically complete! As mentioned in the Commanders part, I would suggest Kingsmen or Wardens lore-wise, but you can always try different options, they will become R’hllor in any case!

NCU-wise, 2 of the R’hllor options being quite expensive, you might want to check for other 4pts alternatives: Petyr Baelish is probably the most useful NCU for Baratheons, helping you to get the Crown and Letters zones while still using more “pressing” ones, and Alester Florent does a similar job, in a different way. I would suggest to bring one of these 2 NCUs as one of your 4pts options (lore explanation works pretty well with Alester, Petyr is harder to justify, but can be considered as playing “his own game”).

Another one who synergizes well with R’hllor armies is Roose Bolton, giving out Panic tokens, although this one is REALLY hard to justify thematically!

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How to play a R’hllor list?

A R’hllor list is all about intra-units synergies. They all have a good Panic resistance and many units cause maluses to Panic test, so you will want to capitalize on these 2 factors.

Lightbringers will be your most important unit, so you will need to protect them from cavalry and very mobile units who could reach them easily.

With all the staples R’hllor units synergies, I like to place them as such: R’hllor Faithful between Queensmen and Lightbringers, with the last unit being more or less on its own, either on the Queensmen or Lightbringers side, depending on enemy deployment.

If the Faithful are attacked, Queensmen can trigger their order and get a “Baratheon Justice” or “Conviction” card (I usually pick the Conviction one for Faithful, due to the lack of healing in this sub-faction, I take all the healing I can get).

The Lightbringers can then shoot into the Faithful combat, which will make them take a Panic test, which they should normally pass, giving them one Faith token (and potentially the enemy 1 wound in case of Selyse & Shireen influence). Same process with Melisandre if you target the Faithful (which can be dangerous due to their low defense, every wound counts!).

If the Faithful die, either the Queensmen or the Lightbringers will get a free attack thanks to a Faith token (always keep one just in case they die, a free Lightbringers attack is too important to miss out upon).

Your fourth unit will either protect your flank (Wardens) or take care of anyone coming near them (Kingsmen). If you bring Stannis and Melisandre and don’t want to put too much pressure on the quite flimsy Faithful, you can use this unit to take the Mel-tests, with Stannis healing 1 wound every time they pass a Morale test.

In a nutshell, R’hllor themed builds are a fun way to play Stannis-loyalty, were you can really play around different combos to make your opponent bend the knee!

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Conclusion

I hope this article will help a bit the crazy followers of R’hllor, and that it will help you bring the One True King to his righteous place: the Iron Throne!

Which thematic builds would you like to read about in future articles? Give me ideas in the comments and I will pick the one I have the most inspiration for first!

Grob’