Visions in the Flames: House Targaryen in 2021

Bannermen! We return for another look at the upcoming 2021 Updates.

Michael Shinall here, and we have previously covered both House Baratheon and Neutrals in this faction-focused series, so check out those articles before diving into this one! For today though, we are going to be focusing on the followers of the Dragon-Queen, House Targaryen.

FIRE AND BLOOD

House Targaryen is perhaps the most diverse band of characters in the entire A Song of Ice and Fire universe, with various leaders from literally across the world banding together under the house banner. While Daenerys herself is their queen, each figure usually has their own ambitions and reasons for joining her cause, whether they be loyalists or have more self-serving plots.

One of the core elements seen in the Targaryens is a focus on units that, while individually powerful, did not carry the usual synergies seen among units of other factions: Dothraki served a specific play – style and role, as did Unsullied, as did Dragons, etc etc. While other factions also have “sub-styles” spread across them, they still usually carried a central “theme” . Targaryens meanwhile could be described as a hodgepodge mix of interesting units that function in their own little bubbles.

This element is still present, but we’ve added a bit of a “binder” to help bring it all together. This was achieved specifically when we began evaluating their Commanders. As mentioned in the opening, it was these individuals and their diversities that sparked this style, so we’ve leaned into that by giving House Targaryen a unit trait when it comes to their Commanders: Each of their House Commanders brings with them a set of four Tactics Cards rather than the typical three. How this works is that each Commander has a specific card that replaces one of the Generic Targaryen Tactics cards, further customizing their Tactics Deck to better represent their unique personalities.

Today we’ll take a look at one element of the Targaryens as an example of this in action: The Dorthraki and their fearsome leader himself, Khal Drogo