The Iroquois – Blood & Plunder Faction Review

The Iroquois were a powerful coalition of tribes in North America that were both fierce fighters and skilled negotiators. In Blood & Plunder, the Iroquois are one of the most aggressive and powerful native factions, excelling at woodland warfare and quick raids. As with all Native American in Blood & Plunder, this faction has a lot of special rules to keep track of, but they reward repeated play and can become very powerful and enjoyable once you absorb their rules and playstyle. They are most powerful on land where their special rules provide the most benefit, but they can get in their canoes and fight at sea if need be.

First appearing in Blood & Plunder in No Peace Beyond the Line, the Iroquois were updated as the timeline progressed in Fire on the Frontier and fleshed out a little bit more in the Raise the Black expansion. The Iroquois are now represented in 3 distinct factions, but they are very similar overall, with just a few adjustments and more faction options (subfactions) as the timeline progresses.

For this article, we’re going to focus primarily on the Iroquois found in Raise the Black since they are the most fleshed out and most recent published version. I’ll reference the NPBtL and FotF version as well, but the RtB version will be the primary focus.

iroquois army force for blood and plunder

Native American Rules

Being a Native American faction, there are several rules that apply before the actual faction rules kick in (Native factions tend to be a little rules-heavy).

Native American rules found in Fire on the Frontier (and Raise the Black).

Native factions can’t take cannons or ships with 2 or more decks. This limits the Iroquois to canoes and piraguas which corners them into just a couple strategies at sea. They are much stronger on land, but still functional at sea if necessary.

If a Native faction is the attacker in a scenario, they can deploy some of their Force using the Lay in Wait scenario rule (Blood & Plunder pg 144). This can help the Iroquois quickly gain control of the field or scenario, but must be used carefully because it can be exploited by the enemy if you are careless.

Finally, there are three rules that actually have to be considered during normal play. First, units have the option to “hit the dirt” when being fired upon. You can Go Prone to increase your likelihood of rolling successful Shoot Saves, but it puts you in a dangerous position if an enemy has the potential to Charge, and it forces you to stand later. Finally, all units gain the Poorly Equipped and War Cry Special Rules.

Poorly Equipped forces a unit to gain an additional Reload marker after firing if they were activated with a Club. This is a real disadvantage when it comes to standard musketry, but it can be played around (this is one of the key differences between the NPBtL Iroquois and later Iroquois: NPBtL units have Slow Reload and later versions have Poorly Equipped). War Cry is a powerful rule that increases the effectiveness of your Charge actions, forcing your target unit to use one extra die in the Fatigue test after your Charge. This is an easy rule to forget so you might want to make a note, or add it to your Force Builder print out in huge letters!

So all those rules apply to all the Native factions in Fire on the Frontier and Raise the Black. Now let’s look at the actual Faction rules for the Iroquois themselves.

Iroquois Faction Rules

With a +2 modifier to their die when determining the Attacker before a scenario, the Iroquois will be the Attacker around 70% of the time on land (if my rudimentary calculations are correct). This is unusual for a land faction and entirely unique as a Native faction. Many land scenarios are actually more difficult for the Attacker, so this can be a bit of a penalty, but the ability to deploy half your force using the Lay In Wait rule offsets that in a big way. Deploying a couple units further into the board can really help the Iroquois establish dominance early in a game.

Iroquois Faction rules from Raise the Black

Finally, all Iroquois units gain the Cunning and Battle Hardened Special Rules. Both of these rules help Iroquois units survive in melee combat. Natives are usually very good at initiating melee combat, then very bad at sustaining, or even responding to melee combat. Battle Hardened reduces the number of dice you have to roll on a Fatigue test after you’ve been attacked in melee. Native Fight Saves are still pretty bad, but at least you don’t take as much Fatigue.

Cunning is a little used rule but it can be a big game changer. Units with the Cunning Special Rule can fall back 5″ instead of 4″ when they become Shaken. It’s a subtle rule, but it means the enemy unit cannot follow up and stay engaged or immediately charge again. This can be triggered from a ranged attack as well, but seems most helpful when engaged in melee. It’s an optional ability, so you don’t have to move 5″ if you don’t want to.

These faction rules set up the Iroquois to hit hard in charges (War Cry), stay engaged in melee better than any other Natives (Battle Hardened), and survive a bad encounter even if they get Shaken (Cunning).

Iroquois Rules in Fire on the Frontier

Iroquois Faction Options

Best representing the earlier contact period, the Iroquois faction found in No Peace Beyond the Line has no faction options. In Fire on the Frontier, it gains options to play as two of the tribes that were part of the Iroquois confederacy: the Mohawk and Seneca. In Raise the Black, there are options for all 5 of the tribes in the Haudenosaunee: Mohawk, Seneca, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Oneida.

This is where the Iroquois get exciting. There’s just so many possibilities! These subfactions also increase complexity, adding one more layer of rules to remember. You don’t have to select a force option, but they add flavor and let you customize the faction a little.

Mohawk

This option replaces Cunning with Well-Equipped. This removes the Poorly Equipped rule that all the Native factions start with, making musketry more reliable. This is probably the best faction if you like ranged combat and don’t want to rely on melee as much.

Seneca

This option loses Pnieses as a Core Unit, dropping them to Support, but the Force’s Commander gains the Delay Tactics ability. This is another little used rule. You can use a Command Point from your Commander to try to negotiate with the enemy’s Commander. If successful, that Commander can’t use any Command Points for the turn. This trick is hard to pull off since you need to be within 12″ of the enemy commander and you have to roll a 7+ after you spend a Command Point. Fun when it works, annoying and costly when it doesn’t.

Onondaga

This tribes relies less on the Young Braves, moving them to Support and their Commander gains the Careful Planning ability. Careful Planning allows a Force to not deploy any units during setup until the enemy has deployed half their units. This is particularly powerful when half your Force can be deployed using Lay in Wait while you are the Attacker. Best case scenario, your enemy has to deploy half their Force, then you alternate placing your first units with their last units, then you deploy your last units outside of your deployment zone using Lay in Wait. It’s a huge advantage during setup! I think losing Young Braves as Core is a real cost since they’re your cheap ranged unit, but it’s not too painful.

Cayuga

This option doubles down on your melee abilities. This Force’s Commander gains Expert Ambushers which gives Hard Chargers to all his units within his Command Range. Most of the units in this faction already have Hard Chargers so it’s not a huge gain, but it helps the Warriors and Warrior Archers. But… Warriors move to the Support column. To be fair, Warriors are already some of the best chargers in the game. With Quick, Thrown Weapons and Hard Chargers, they can accomplish a long range Charge, hit on 4’s and reroll all failed results. Nasssssty.

iroquis young braves

Oneida

If you likely to play against the French, play Oneida. You get some bonus Fatigue management when playing against the French. The coveted Inspiring ability is rare in Native Commanders. Gaining a reroll on one failed Rally dice per test is pretty helpful!

Iroquois Units

The standard Iroquois faction has 4 Core and 1 Support unit. Overall, their unit selection makes musketry and melee fighting their strengths.

Core Units

One of the Strengths of the Iroquois is they have 4 Core Unit options, giving them more flexibility in force building and more flexibility in where you put your commander.

Braves

Blood & plunder birchbark canoe full of Native American braves

This is your bread and butter unit. Armed with a musket and 6 Shoot skill and with Hard Chargers and options for Thrown Weapons, this unit is a solid, well-rounded 5 point model. Their primary weakness is the 6 Resolve number. Brave’s Fight Save of 7 is also subpar, but that’s to be expected with Natives.

Braves have a lot of options of customization include Thrown Weapons, adding bows, exchanging Muskets for Bows, upgrading to Veteran, and adding a pistol sidearm. Adding Thrown Weapons for 3 points seems to be the best bang for your buck in most cases.

As far as Special Rules, the Braves are well set, but are very different than most Natives from NPBtL. Braves have Scouts, Hidden, Ball & Shot, and Hard Chargers. Noticeably absent are Quick and Skirmishers. Use your Braves to provide solid musketry from cover where it’s hard to hit them. Keep them 12″ away from the enemy and incoming ranged attacks get a +1 penalty and can’t hit on target numbers of more than 10. As enemies get closer to negate Hidden, your Ball & Shot ability kicks, giving you exploding 10’s! Braves can hit pretty hard if you combine their 6 Fight with the Hard Chargers bonus and Thrown Weapon rerolls. Don’t leave them in melee combat long though! They’ll take significant casualties with their 7 Fight Save.

Pnieses

blood and plunder pnieses in front of longhouse. iroquois

Trained to ignore pain and weariness, run incredibly long distances and fight with all manner of weapons, Pnieses are your elite unit. At 7 points, they aren’t cheap but their stats are rock solid. Pnieses hit hard with that 5 Fight modified by Hard Chargers. Their stock Heavy Melee Weapon make them more lethal, but will hurt their naturally good Fight Save of 6. Thrown Weapons at 3 points are still a great option for Pnieses but not as necessary since they’re hitting on 4’s on a Charge already. They have options to bring Sidearm Pistols and Brace of Pistols as well, but Thrown Weapons typically steal the show. Just remember you have to declare which weapon you’re using when you attack. You can’t apply the bonuses of Thrown and Heavy Melee Weapons at the same time.

Warriors

Blood and plunder native warriors

Warriors are a very affordable and deadly option for your first strike force. At only 4 points, they’re pretty low cost, but still have almost everything you want in a forward striking unit. You can trade their Heavy Melee Weapons for Thrown for free. Warriors have a 5 Fight naturally. Combine that with Thrown Weapons and you get 8.4 hits out of every ten men attacking in a Charge. This unit is especially useful in the Cayuga force (even though it has to be Support). If you can apply your Commander’s Hard Chargers to Warriors, it gets crazy. That brings their numbers up to 9.1 hits per 10 dice thrown after rerolls.

You can add bows to Warriors to make them useful for ranged fighting as well. Or you can add Muskets as Sidearms for only 4 points. Musket Sidearms are my personal favorite. Get up close, shoot, then break heads!

Their lineup of Special Rules includes Hidden, Scouts, Quick, and Skirmishers. Those last two rules make Warriors excellent at charging in, wrecking an enemy unit, then disengaging. Their 7 Fight Save means you don’t want to leave them in melee. Their Resolve of 6 is their other weak point.

Young Braves

blood and plunder young braves

Also coming at 4 points, the Young Braves can be use as core unit most Iroquois Forces. These impulsive warriors have a solid Resolve of 5, but they trade that for an even worse Fight Save of 8! I like using a unit of Young Braves for archery support. The Thrown Weapons for 3 points seems to be the best weapon upgrade for them, but the Musket Sidearms for 4 points is solid as well.

Support Unit

The FotF and RtB versions of the Iroquois only have 1 Support unit.

Warrior Archers

Blood & Plunder Character - Grizzled Veteran Natives

Warrior Archers can hit things way across the board with their 5 Shoot skill, but that’s pretty much their one role. They’re great at dropping Fatigue on enemy units that need to be slowed down. Warrior Archers are a control unit. You can use the Young Braves in a similar fashion for 1 less point but Warrior Archers are still great troops. Giving these guys a Musket Sidearm is amazing when you need that real stopping power. Infamously bad in melee, you have to keep these models protected and doing their job, spreading arrows and Fatigue around the board every single turn. Warrior Archers are a Support Unit so you can’t just spam accurate arrows in this faction.

No Peace Beyond the Line Iroquois Units

warrior musketeers

The original Iroquois faction uses Warriors, Warrior Musketeers, and Young Warriors as Core Units and Warrior Archers as Support. This lineup is faster and more slippery, but musketry is noticably weaker (Slow Reload on Warrior Musketeers) and units are not as well-rounded.

Iroquois Command Options

Generic Commanders

Looking at Commanders is a little complicated since there are three version of the Iroquois.

Northern Tribes Commanders

The Iroquois in NPBtL and FotF use the 3 levels of the Northern Tribes Commander. The Untested Northern Tribes Commander is pretty terrible. With only a 4″ Command Range and only a Standard Melee Weapon, he’s not really bringing anything to the table. The Experienced Northern Tribes Commander is massively better, bringing the rare (in Natives) Inspiring ability along with a reasonable 8″ Command Range. He still doesn’t have a good weapon, but at least he can command and rally. The Seasoned version adds another 4″ to Command Range as well as adding Battle Hardened, and Savvy. This 25 point commander can make one unit of Warrior Musketeers lose their Slow Reload penalty, actually making them a really good unit. This original faction has no Historical Commanders.

The Command Options for the FotF Iroquois is substantially better as it allows you to add a musket or bow to the Nothern Tribes Commanders for 1 point. It feels bad having a commander without a ranged weapon! It’s basically a 4-6 point penalty to have no weapon on your Commander. Buy the weapon!

Standard Native American Commanders

In Raise the Black, the Iroquois get access to the new “Standard Commanders” that you can customize. This opens up a a lot of options at a low price point, but you can’t get too many rules at once on your commander. The free Untested Commander is as basic as you can get with 1 Command Point, and 4″ Command Range. His only advantage over the Untested Northern Tribes commander is that he comes armed like the unit he is attached to. This can effectively be a value of 4-7 points since he can participate in all the combat instead of only being armed with a standard melee weapon.

For 10 points the Standard Native American Commander gets another 4″ of range and another Command Point and a Special Rule off the Native list. Great Warrior, Quick, and Lead By Example all stand out as solid choices for most Iroquois forces. Savvy can be a great choice for the older NBtL list if he’s attached to Warrior Musketeers.

Blood & plunder native woodland commander

For 20 points, the Seasoned Commander gets a full 12″ range and a second rule off the list. Here you can do some fun combos like Guerilla Commander and Quick so you get a forward and backward move on a Spade all for free. Or you can use Expert Ambushers and Great Warrior on a unit of Warriors as your Command unit. For only 5 points a model, you get Hard Chargers and that Great Warrior bonus so your melee unit can potentially hit on 3’s with re-rolls on (free) Thrown Weapons. Choose your tactic, then choose rules to support your fight style.

Historical Commanders

Fire on the Frontier contains 2 Historical Commanders and Raise the Black adds another to the roster.

Black Kettle (FotF)

What can I say about Black Kettle that hasn’t already been said? He’s awesome. He’s capable of making some deadly Black Kettle Kombos. Several different bonuses are available to him that can bring both Shoot and Fight test target numbers down to ridiculous numbers. It’s not easy and it’s not always worth it, but he can do crazy things.

His rules include Great Warrior (unit can receive -1 Bonus to a single action every turn), and Cold Blooded (Ruthless on his unit and units he gives Command Points) both of which can gives bonuses to Fight or Shoot actions. With Core units with a 6 Shoot (Braves, Pnieses and Warriors), that means if you use Great Warrior and can pull of the Ruthless shot, you can bring your Shoot base number down to 4. If you want to go even crazier, you can add a Sharpshooter to his unit, then use the Marksmen ability to use two actions to shoot and get another -1 bonus. That brings your Shoot down to 3 + range penalty. This will take people off guard (and make them say bad words and never play with you again).

The Fight skill can be similarly boosted but it’s even easier. Braves have a 6 Fight with Hard Chargers. Add Ruthless and Great Warrior to that, and you bring your Fight to 3. Nasty…. If you pay through the nose for Pnieses (7 points) with Great Warrior (+1) points each, they start with a 5 Fight and can apply Hard Chargers, Great Warrior, and Ruthless all to the same attack, bringing their Fight down to 2. That will leave a mark.

Things like this can be done in other factions but Black Kettle can really make your opponent not want to play you ever again if you really want to double down on bonuses! At 18 points, he’s a steal, but if you factor in the extra cost of paying for Great Warrior on your Command Unit models, he usually comes in at around 26 points.

black kettle blood and plunder commander

His Command Range is not great at 8″. Once your enemy has learned to hate Black Kettle with a passion, has targeted him for destruction, worn him down, and is about to close in for the kill, you can use the Evade ability to pull back and avoid the death blow! He’s a supremely annoying commander to fight and supremely fun commander to use!

Teganissorens (FotF)

This is a strange commander. Teganissorens was a powerful and very persuasive and perceptive diplomatic that was willing to call both English and French on their bluffs and unfulfilled promises. He’s a very interesting character! But in Blood & Plunder, he he some very rare qualities in a Native Commander: both a massive Command Range (16′) and the Very Inspiring Special Rule. He can command a large/or widely spread Native Force and compensate for their weakness in the Resolve department.

teganissorens blood and plunder

His other rule is Delay Tactics, but his version is a little upgraded. Delay Tactics lets a Commander spend a Command Point to try to “distract” the enemy commander with negotiations. Teanissorens can spend a command point to target an enemy Commander and roll a d10. If he rolls a 7+, that enemy commander cannot use Command Points for the rest of the turn. It’s a powerful ability when it works, but it is hard to pull off. Not only does it only trigger 40% of the time, but you usually have to be within 12″ of the opposing Commander. Once you get within 12″, you’re in danger of pretty accurate musketry or even melee combat. Not a safe place! Teanissorens can use this ability from up to 16″ which makes it a little easier to use. But to use well, you still need to activate this commander early in a round, be, or move within 16″ of the enemy Commander, be willing to gamble a Command Point, and trust to luck!

At 32 points, he’s one of the most expensive Native Commanders in Blood & Plunder, but that combo of 3 Command Points, 16″ Command Range, and Very Inspiring is pretty strong and rare for Natives.

Peter Brant (RtB)

Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow, or “Peter Brant,” was one of the young, mid-level Iroquois leaders that visited England in 1710 as a diplomatic visit to Queen Anne organized by Peiter Schuyler. One of his claims to fame is being the grandfather of the more famous Joseph Brant of Revolutionary War fame.

In Blood & Plunder, he’s a solid, but not flashy commander. His visit to England has given him the Inspiring ability, which is very valuable. Being a close friend to the English gives him the Well-Equipped ability which makes his musketry more effective. This only helps his unit rather than the entire force like the Mohawk Force Option, but it could make combining him with something like the Onondaga option. The Guerilla Commander rule gives all friendly units within his Command Range the Skirmishers Special Rule. Peter Brant would be a good option for a slippery musket list.

Iroquois Tactics

Natives are very strong on land. They will lose a lot of what makes them special at sea. That doesn’t mean that can’t do well at sea, but they will do better with cover and obstacles to use to slow the enemy, block line of sight, and mitigate incoming fire.

Iroquois young braves blood and plunder

Melee

The Iroquois seemed designed to excel in melee combat. They have lots of fun general Native American special rules, but most of the uniquely Iroquois rules boost your lethality and resilience in a hand-to-hand setting. War Cry, Battle Hardened, and Cunning all support rushing into melee, destroying important enemy units, even when it would seem unwise with another faction. They have access to Thrown Weapons, most of their units have Hard Chargers, and you can upgrade mobility with commanders’ Special Rules. In most cases you’re going to want to wear down your opponent a little with ranged attacks, but one or two shots on the way in to melee can be enough.

Musketry

Your Musketry is nothing to be ashamed of either. Ball & Shot increases deadliness a little and you can get access to bonuses like Great Warrior through Commanders, and you have the infamous Black Kettle if you want to add some Cold Blooded bonuses on top of that! If you focus on ranged musketry, even the old NPBtL Iroquois faction with a Savvy Commander can be pretty great. Even if musketry is your focus, take along a unit of Warriors or Braves with Thrown Weapons to pose a existential threat to any units within 12″.

Balanced Force

No matter which tactic you focus on, keeping a mix of units can be helpful. You can divide Iroquois into Melee, Musket and Bow focused units. I pretty much always take a unit armed with Bows just for the flexibility of not having to bother with reloads. Those bows are better at staying ready for a Defensive Attack and dropping Fatigue on the enemy when needed. Having at least one strong melee unit is pretty much always worth it as well.

Weaknesses

The main two weaknesses of the Iroquois factions are poor Fight Saves and poor Resolve. Almost all units have a 7 or even 8 Fight Save (Pnieses being the expensive exception). Battle Hardened and Cunning can help mitigate that, but you really don’t want to get caught in prolonged melee combat.

Most Iroquois units have a Resolve of 6 and Fatigue mitigation is difficult to come by in units or commanders. Bringing a Grizzled Veteran or Medicine Man can help remove Fatigue, but be prepared for that to be a bit of a problem. Only the Veteran and Too-Young-to-be-Smart units have that 5 Resolve that will be standard on most of the European units you will be up against in most games.

Helpful Characters for the Iroquois

  • Grizzled Veteran
  • Surgeon/Medicine Man
  • Local Guide
  • Expert Scout
  • Canoe Assault Expert

You might want to shore up your weaknesses and focus your strengths with some Characters in your Force. Using the Grizzled Veteran as a way to shore up your weak Resolve is cheap and usually very effective. He provides a Rally Command Point, along with Tough and Battle Hardened on the unit he’s attached to. The Surgeon/Medicine Man also provides a Rally action, along with the ability to put models back on the field. Even though all Iroquois units have the Scouts rule, bringing the 7 point Local Guide character can be great for a melee focused force since all units close to the guide gain Quick.

The new Expert Scout in Raise the Black allows you to “hit the deck” and improve your Shoot Save more often as he provides an extra Stand/Go Prone Command Point. If you’re going for a Bow focused force, the Officer can be valuable as he can order a unit to shoot when it’s not its activation. If you’re forced to fight at sea, the Canoe Assault Expert from Raise the Black is probably going to be worth it so you can close distance faster and get all those melee advantages to come into play.

Examples of Iroquois Army Lists

100pt Savvy Iroquois (NPBtL)

This earlier era list used combined tactics of a solid musket unit (Savvy Commander), a deadly melee unit (Warriors), and quick Young Warriors with bows. It’s small at 19 models, but it props up the Iroquois weaknesses and lets some of their strengths shine. Fatigue shouldn’t be a problem with this list with an Inspiring Commander and a Grizzled Veteran.

blood and plunder Iroquois force list No Peace Beyond the Line

150pt Quick Black Kettle (FotF)

Here’s the deadly BK list. Great Warrior Pnieses with Ruthless, supported by bows, muskets and melee Warriors. Your other 3 units cover the basics, so you can use Black Kettle in his Command Unit to focus on whatever you want. The Command unit gets Quick and they’re veterans making them very fast and very deadly. This force doesn’t utilize that final musketry bonus of the Sharpshooter, but its a deadly, tournament style force.

black kettle blood and plunder

150 Peter Brant Force (RtB)

This is a pretty “standard” force with two musket, one melee unit, and one bow unit. Brant’s Inspiring keeps Fatigue at bay and the Expert Scout helps the natives use their Jack-in-the-Box ability to improve survivability. At 28 models, this is a pretty large force for a `150 point Native force, but it lacks the super command unit of Great Warriors/Pnieses that can be central to many Native American forces.

blood and plunder Iroquois army list

200pt Teganissorens Force

This force targets the enemy’s commander, first by using Teganissorens to deprive the enemy of Command Points, then by targeting him with the Indian Sharpshooter (who can choose his target model).

blood and plunder Iroquois force list

Buying into the Iroquois Faction

The Native American Starter Set is usually a good place to start when playing a Native faction. If you’re planning on playing the earlier No Peace Beyond the Line version of this faction, this box works pretty well. It contains 8x Warrior Archers, 8x Young Warriors, 4x Warrior Musketeers, and 4x African Warriors (not so useful). These models have more of a Caribbean Native look to them, but they match up well with the images and stats for the units in the faction.

You can also use the plastic Native American Unit Box, but again, those models are very Caribbean in appearance. But it’s the cheapest option at $29 for 12 models.

pnieses blood and plunder models

For the later versions of the faction found in Fire on the Frontier and Raise the Black, the Braves, Pnieses, and Young Braves are used. Their appearances are much more appropriate to North America. The Braves are currently available as metal miniatures for $18 for a unit of 4. The Pnieses and Young Braves are difficult to acquire are the moment. They were released in 3D Printed resin along with the release of Fire on the Frontier, but that supply has been exhausted and they are now moving to siocast plastics. Currently the Pnieses and Young Braves are listed as Out of Stock on Firelock’s website but they should be back in stock soon™.

You’ll also want the Woodland Native Commander (which is also out of stock as I write this).

There are other lines of Native American models out there including Warlord’s Woodland Indian Tribes box of multipart plastic models. These are flexible and fun to customize your own models, and they’re cheap, but they are noticeably smaller (and very skinny) compared to Firelock models.

Once those northern native units get back in store, there should be a new North American Native American Starter Box that would be a great place to start.

You’ll also probably want one of the expansion books that contains the Iroquois! The Core Blood & Plunder Rulebook doesn’t contain any Native Americans at all. No Peace Beyond the Line is a must-have expansion that contains the first, earlier period Iroquois, Fire on the Frontier has a major update and two fun commanders, and Raise the Black has all 5 tribes split out into Force Options. You can also access all 3 versions of this faction using the online Blood & Plunder Force Builder.

Historical Reading on the Iroquois

Here are some books I recommend if you want to learn more about the Iroquois this faction repressents.

The Great Law and the Longhouse: A Political History of the Iroquois Confederacy is a landmark work on the Iroquois that is just as heavy as it sounds. Covering Iroquois culture, history and politics from the mid 16th centuries up until 1794, this heavy tome will answer all your questions about the Iroquois!

If you want a bit of a shorter read, Your Fyre Shall Burn No More: Iroquois Policy Toward New Frace and its Native Allies to 1701 covers the era that Fire on the Frontier focuses on really well. This book has a lot of fascinating tables and stats regarding population, raids, effects of diseases and casualties suffered through the late 17th century.

While this book covers a much wider topic (and it may contain a bit more than a small bit of woke influence), I’ve really been enjoying the broad & detailed narrative on the Iroquois found in the recently published Indigenous Continent.

Final Thoughts

The Iroquois are one of the biggest and best Native American factions in Blood & Plunder. They use the classic Native tricks of movement and cover bonuses plus add strong melee capabilities from their faction rules. Their 5 Tribes Force Options in Raise the Black offer even more variability in how you can play this faction!

Iroquois commander blood and plunder
YOU should play the Iroquois faction!

If you enjoy playing Native Americans, this faction is a great place to settle. Lots of variation, several interesting commanders to build around, and a solid, top tier power level.

Article by Joseph Forster

Additional Content Suggestions

Find and overview of how the Natives work in Blood & Plunder and quick summaries of all their factions in the Native American Nation Nationality and Faction Overview post.

Read about one of the other best Native factions in the South American Tribes Faction Review

Read about a more Caribbean style Native faction in the Caribs/Kalinago Faction Review

Get some info on the Natives as a whole in conversation form in our Native American Nation Overview Video

Check out these posts featuring painted Braves & Pnieses, and this painting guide for the Warriors models.

Learn about the Cherokee in Raise the Black in this preview article.

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