Mastering Aegon Targaryen’s Expansion Strategy in Conquest of Nine Kingdoms

To dominate the map in Conquest of Nine Kingdoms, players must abandon traditional infantry-heavy attrition in favor of the Targaryen expansion doctrine: a combination of dragon-led aerial supremacy, psychological warfare, and tactical vassalization. Aegon’s historic conquest was not merely a series of battles, but a masterclass in shifting the meta from slow, ground-based sieges to high-mobility strikes. By prioritizing speed and the projection of overwhelming force, you can dismantle fortified enemy positions that standard armies cannot penetrate, effectively unifying the fragmented kingdoms under a single banner.

Leveraging Dragon Supremacy for Siege Breakthroughs

The most significant bottleneck in Conquest of Nine Kingdoms is the fortified castle. Traditional siege units are slow, resource-intensive, and vulnerable to counter-attacks. Aegon’s doctrine changes this by utilizing dragon assets to neutralize walls and internal defenses before your main army even arrives.

Why Dragon-Led Tactics Work:

• Bypassing Choke Points: Traditional AI defenders are programmed to protect gates and walls. Dragon units ignore these physical barriers, allowing you to strike internal supply chains and leadership hubs directly.
• Force Concentration: By deploying dragons to force the enemy to defend their entire territory, you stretch their defensive lines thin. When the AI is forced to pull units away from the front line to protect their capital, your ground forces can seize resource nodes with minimal resistance.
• Mobile Strike Teams: Never park your dragon units in a single location for extended periods. Use them as a rapid-reaction force that transitions from one siege to the next, preventing the enemy from regrouping.

Navigating the Politics of Fragmented Regional Alliances

Aegon Targaryen did not conquer Westeros by fighting every house simultaneously; he exploited existing rivalries. In Conquest of Nine Kingdoms, diplomacy is your most cost-effective military tool.

When you encounter a new region, identify which houses are currently embroiled in conflict. Approach the "underdog" faction with an offer of vassalization or military protection. This serves two purposes:

1. Frontline Mitigation: You avoid fighting a war on multiple fronts by turning potential enemies into defensive buffers.
2. Logistical Support: Local houses provide intelligence on terrain and supply routes that are otherwise hidden from your faction.

Focus your diplomatic efforts on peripheral houses that feel threatened by larger, aggressive neighbors. By acting as the "protector," you can absorb these power bases into your empire without losing a single unit in combat. This creates a "snowball" effect where your influence grows through political integration, setting the stage for a total regional takeover.

Managing the Cost of Rapid Territorial Expansion

The greatest risk to a burgeoning empire in Conquest of Nine Kingdoms is overextension. The game mechanics penalize players who capture territory faster than they can administer it.

Best Practices for Territory Consolidation:

• The Garrison Rule: Never leave a newly conquered province without a dedicated garrison. Even if you have the military strength to move on, your rear will be vulnerable to insurgency if you fail to stabilize the region.
• Choke Point Prioritization: Focus your early game on securing "natural" borders—mountains, rivers, and coastal nodes—rather than capturing every single settlement. These choke points are easier to defend and require fewer total units to hold.
• Supply Line Integrity: As you push deeper into enemy territory, ensure your supply lines are connected to a hub. If a node is cut off from your main capital, its production drops significantly, and its loyalty will quickly decline.

Utilizing Psychological Warfare to Reduce Casualties

A key pillar of the Targaryen strategy is the "Display of Force." In Conquest of Nine Kingdoms, you can often force a capitulation without ever triggering a combat encounter if you manage your intimidation factor correctly.

Position your strongest aerial or heavy cavalry units in plain view of an enemy capital. When the AI detects a force that significantly exceeds their defensive capability, their "Will to Resist" meter drops. If you have successfully isolated the enemy from their allies through your diplomatic efforts, the cost of resistance will outweigh the benefits, leading to a bloodless surrender. This preserves your elite units for the endgame, where you will need them to face the most entrenched, high-level factions.

Scaling Your Progression Through Strategic Capitulation

To reach the endgame in Conquest of Nine Kingdoms, you must eventually transition from a warlord to an administrator. Aegon Targaryen’s rule was defined by the willingness to allow regional lords to retain their titles in exchange for absolute loyalty.

The Three-Phase Expansion Cycle

Always evaluate whether a territory is worth the cost of direct occupation. In the late game, it is often more efficient to turn a conquered kingdom into a "Tributary State." This allows the local AI to manage the micro-level resource production and defense, while you collect a percentage of their output. This strategy frees up your main army to focus on the final, most difficult objectives of the unification campaign.

By following this expert-level approach, you treat Conquest of Nine Kingdoms not as a simple war game, but as an exercise in geopolitical strategy. Whether you are burning the walls of a defiant castle or negotiating a peace treaty with a neighboring house, remember that the goal is the unification of the realm—and the dragon is merely the instrument that makes that ambition a reality.