Bolton Starter Set Review

So, if you're looking for a rank-and-file fix, look no further than A Song of Ice and Fire!

We will examine the best way to get started in ASOIAF, which is with a starter set. We will focus specifically on the Bolton starter set but also cover the standard items you get, which are included in all starter sets.

I love these starter sets; unlike many other starter sets, you genuinely have everything you need in one box to get started. You and your friends could buy one each (or the two-player set), and you do not need to make a single other purchase to get playing. You do not need glue, storage, dice, measuring tape, terrain, or anything other than a 4ft by 4ft board to play out of the box.

All models come pre-assembled and in coloured plastic, depending on faction. They also come in pre-set plastic trays that are perfect for storage.

Enough of me drooling over how good these boxes are; let's go through the Bolton Starter Set, and you can decide for yourself.

Contents - Rules and Tools

1 x RuleBook (This probably needs to be updated, but all updated rules are free to download and print online). Any rule changes have been minor, so it will transfer quickly enough if you play with this.

1 x Measuring Stick (This is a 12-inch cardboard stick with a house symbol and short and long-range marked)

71 x cardboard tokens (Wound, condition, score, mission markers.)

24 x Mission cards

10 x Objective cards

12 x Seige Cards

3 x Castle walls

10 x Terrain Pieces (Most a game tends to have is 7, these are double sides cardboard given you multiple options.)

10 x Bolton Dice (These are beautiful dice with the Bolton Symbol on the 6; each starter comes with its own house dice)

1 x Bolton Tactics deck (Each starter has its own house one)

1 x Tactics sideboard

This is what you get in every starter set!! I'll repeat it: everything you need to play in one box.

Now let's look into the real reason you are here: what's in the Bolton Starter set?

The box comes with

2 x Commander Options, Roose Bolton, Lord of the DreadFort and Ramsay Snow, Spiteful Heir. If you take Ramsey as your commander, you can take Reek as a free upgrade (Theon Greyjoy)

4 x NCU Both Roose and Ramsay can be an NCU alongside Jeyne Poole and Walda Frey

2 x Units of Cutthroats.

1 x Unit of Blackguard

1 x Unit of Dreadfort archers

2 x Dreadfort captains, these are unit upgrade options

1 x Blackguard captain, again a unit upgrade.

4 x Movement trays to move them all around 🙂

All in, 56 models!!!

A standard tournament game on ASOIAF is typically 40pts; in the Bolton Starter Set, you can max it out to 37pts. This leaves you a solid foundation to build out the last unit. I'll show you a decent starter list that is 35pts.

Playstyle

A crucial part of picking any wargame army is playstyle. The Bolton starter lets you play exactly how the Boltons are betrayed in the books and series: terror, deception and disregard for their own. Boltons use an array of units to instil panic checks with - to the bravery and gain a bonus from your opponent failing these checks. Boltons have abilities that allow you to take wounds and gain benefits from the suffering.

Units

Let's talk about who can lead your army:

-Roose Bolton plays more defensively by giving out conditions and reacting to being attacked; this is very good if you want to hold the line!

-Ramsay Bolton allows you to go on the offence; his abilities trigger while you are doing damage and allow you to buff units before attacking.

Now, let's take a look at the units in the box. We will start with the commander options and Non-Combatant Characters (NCU)

-Roose Bolton - Focuses on panicked conditions and making enemy units take a panic test.

-Ramsay Bolton - Influences a unit, allowing them to heal while fighting.

-Walda Frey - Depending on the zone claimed, bonuses are given for the zone.

-Jane Poole—Influences a unit to give it +2 moral, but once per game, it lets you steal initiative.