Direchasm Warbands Rivals Review

We previously wrote up a Rivals review for all of the Beastgrave Warbands (click here). In this post, we cover all of the Direchasm Warbands. We're building this document to provide some insight into each of the warbands that have a legal Rivals deck. Given how easy it is for a new player to jump into Underworlds with the Rivals format, we want to give the community a resource for helping new players pick a Warband and jump into the game!

Podcast: https://podcast.battle-mallet.com/e/episode-33-hex-ed-direchasm-rivals-overview/

Direchasm Warbands

Storm of Celestus

Storm of Celestus is a four fighter Stormcast Warband with three Castigators and one Gryph-hound. Unlike most other animals we've seen so far, Sleek can actually hold objectives. Celestus, Aphus, and Mellisan all have standard Stormcast stat blocks, 3 Move, 1 Block, 4 Wounds. They all have a Thunderhead Greatbow attack (Range 3, 2 Smash, 2 Damage) that Inspires them when successful (but can only be made once per round). They all have melee attacks that get better when they Inspire (either getting more accurate or going to 2 Damage) and they all gain a special ability related to being on Objectives when they Inspire. Sleek is 4 Move, 1 Dodge, 3 Wounds, Inspires when its Attack succeeds and goes to 5 Move & 2 Dodge. Sleek's key is its on-card reaction, that allows it to put nearby fighters on Guard before an attack roll.

Key Cards

  • Objectives:
    • Bold Claim (Surge, 2 Glory! - Score this immediately for holding any 2 of Objectives 1,3, & 5)
    • Here We Stand (Score this in an end phase for holding 2 Objectives)
    • Zone of Banishment (Score this in an end phase if there are no enemy fighters in your territory)
  • Gambits:
    • Aetheric Channeling (Choose +1 Dice, Ensnare, or Cleave for the next Range 3+ Attack action)
    • Greatbow Block (Each time a friendly fighter other that Sleek takes damage in the next activation, reduce the damage to 1)
    • Swift Step (Push a friendly fighter 1 hex, or push Sleek 2 hexes)
  • Upgrades:
    • Long Ranged (+1 Range to Thunderhead Greatbow attacks)
    • Strength of Sigmar (+1 Damage to Range 1 Attack actions)
    • Stoic Fortitude (Celestus only, +1 Wounds)

Boards

Choose boards that allow you to deploy centrally, not too close or too far from enemy fighters. Try to have 3 Objectives each in range of at least one Thunderhead Greatbow.Middle of the board, 4 starting hexes close together, with an eye to having 3 objectives in range and letting Sleek's reaction cover as many people as possible.

Play Style

Flex (Hold Objectives and Shoot). Try to maximize your attacks, keeping as many enemy fighters in range as you can.

Playing Against Them?

Focus your attacks on a single fighter, whittling the Warband down 1 fighter at a time. Try to pick on someone not within 2 hexes of the Sleek.

New Player Rating

Bronze. If it weren't for the Delve mechanic in Harrowdeep, Storm of Celestus is a Silver Warband. But with Objectives starting hidden, they're tougher to score glory with.

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Drepur's Wraithcreepers

Another 4 fighter Warband. Drepur and the Patrician have Move 3, 2 Dodge, 4 Wounds. Haqfel and Grodrig have Move 3, 1 Dodge, and 3 Wounds. Drepur, Haqfel, and Grodrig all have Range 2, 2 Smash, 2 Damage attacks and Inspire whenever they start an activation within 2 hexes of an enemy fighter. The Patrician inspires whenever each other surviving friendly fighter is in enemy territory. The Patrician has a Reaction that allows you to push a fighter 1 hex towards the nearest enemy fighter. , 2 start on 2 dodge, patrician is useful for inspiring. after the inspire, they all have 2 damage, 3 have 2 range attacks Cleave on 1, Ensnare on another

Key Cards

  • Objectives:
    • Ethereal Hunters (Surge, Score this immediately after an activation in which a friendly fighter made a Charge action in which they moved through one or more blocked and/or occupied hexes; do this through a blocked hex, a friendly fighter, or the target!)
    • Massed Blades (Surge, Score this immediately after an activation in which a friendly fighter made an Attack action with one or more supporting fighters; thanks to the drum, setting up supports is pretty easy)
    • Deathly Blooms (Score this in an end phase if your warband holds one or more objectives in enemy territory.)
  • Gambits:
    • Drifting Death (Push up to two fighters 1 hex closer to the nearest enemy fighter)
    • Horrifying Shriek (Choose an enemy fighter within 3 hexes of a friendly fighter and push them 1 hex)
    • Methodical Attacks (Attack again after a failed attack)
  • Upgrades:
    • Bitter Strength (+1 Damage, gets any fighter up to 3 Damage!)
    • Murderpact (+1 Damage if this fighter is supported, +1 Dice if this fighter is supporting)
    • Pall of Fear (-1 Dice to Range 1 and 2 Attack actions that target this fighter, drastically reduces opponents accuracy)

Boards

Look for boards with blocked hexes and starting hexes near the mid-field. Thanks to The Patrician, this warband is a lot more mobile than they look.

Play Style

Flex (Aggro + Hold Objectives in Enemy Territory). Keep The Patrician in the back & use pushes to maximize attacks without charging.

Playing Against Them?

Don't feed them kills (score what you can passively, only send in resilient fighters). Know that the pressure will always be on and that it's hard to stop the inspire.

New Player Rating

Gold. Good fighter stat blocks, reliable objectives, and good attack economy.

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Myari's Purifiers

The first of the fighters in the Direchasm box. A 4 fighter warband with a wizard, a big hammer, a big sword, and a bow. All of the fighters have 3 wounds, which can make them pretty soft. They introduce the Aetherquartz mechanic, where each fighter starts with an Aetherquartz token. You can spend the token to re-roll one die in an attack, defense, or casting roll, which feeds right into their Inspire mechanic (roll only successes in an attack, defense, or casting roll). You can also spend the Aetherquartz to boost the power of some gambits, so it's another resource to be managed.

As for the fighters themselves: Myari is the leader, a level 2 Wizard with 4 Move and 2 Dodge. His melee attack is Range 2, 1 Smash, 2 Damage (reliable Inspire with the re-roll) and a spell Attack action that's Range 3, casts on Focus for 1 Damage. When Inspired, his melee goes to 2 Smash and his spell goes to 2 Damage. Bahannar is your beater with 3 Move and 2 Block. His melee attack is Range 2, 2 Smash, 2 Damage and he cannot be driven back if he hasn't moved or charged. When he Inspires, he goes to 3 Damage! Ailenn starts with 4 Move, 1 Block and a Range 1, 2 Smash, 2 Damage melee attack. You can re-roll any number of defense dice when targeted by a Range 3+ attack action. When Inspired, she goes to 2 Block and her melee attack gains 1 die and Cleave. Senaela is the ranged threat in the group with 4 Move and 1 Dodge. The bow has 2 modes - Aimed is Range 3, 2 Smash, 1 Damage with Grievous (though it isn't called that yet); Lofted is Range 4, 2 Smash, 1 Damage. When Inspired, Senaela gets 2 Dodge, Aimed mode gains Cleave and Lofted mode gains Range 5 (!).

Key Cards

  • Objectives:
    • Elemental Blessing (Surge, Hybrid - Score this immediately after you either: remove an aetherquartz counter to resolve an Elemental ploy OR your warband casts its second or subsequent spell)
    • Purifying Light (Score this in an end phase if your leader holds an objective)
    • Pursuit of Excellence (2 Glory! Score this in an end phase if one or more surviving friendly fighters each have 3 or more upgrades)
  • Gambits:
    • Channel the River (Push a friendly fighter 1 hex or 3 hexes if you remove their aetherquartz counters)
    • Channel the Wind (Deal 1 damage to an enemy fighter within 2 hexes of a friendly fighter or up to 2 enemy fighters within 2 hexes if you remove the friendly fighter's aetherquartz counters)
    • Surety of Purpose (+1 Damage to the first Attack action made as part of a Charge action)
  • Upgrades:
    • Heartstone Amulet (Reduce damage taken by 1 to a minimum of 1)
    • Mountain's Gift (If this fighter has one or more aetherquartz counters, this fighter is on Guard. Or if this fighter's Attack action takes out an enemy fighter, give this fighter one Guard token)
    • Heightened Reflexes (+1 Move + Reaction: Use after an enemy fighter Attack action. Remove this fighter's aetherquartz counters and make an Attack action that targets that enemy fighter and discard this card).

Boards

Choose a board with starting hexes in the middle of the board (use ranged attacks to your advantage). Maybe offset the boards to protect your fighters and note that you really only need two objectives.

Play Style

Full Flex (Aggro/Hold + resource management). Bahannar can do some work, but you need to keep him alive to buff him up. Myari likewise can do decent work at range with his Spell attack action. Choose your engagement and try not to overstretch.

Playing Against Them?

Try to limit rolls so that they don't inspire (as in, go for kills, not whittling them down, if you can). Focus on Myari and Bahannar. If you can get one or both of them down, you're doing well.

New Player Rating

Silver (Mostly because of the aetherquartz mechanic and the low Wounds)

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The Dread Pageant

The other half of the Direchasm box. A 4 Fighter Warband Where each fighter has a specific tool. The Inspire condition (6 or more Wound counters on fighters, enemy or friendly) is tough, but there are tools to help with that. 

 Fighter-wise, they're all pretty different. Vasillac starts at 4 Move, 1 Block, 4 Wounds and has a Range 2, 2 Smash, 2 Damage attack. When Inspired he goes to 5 Move and his melee attack goes to 3 Damage with Cleave. Slakeslash (maybe the coolest model in Direchasm) starts at 4 Move, 1 Block, 5 Wounds and has a Range 1, 3 Fury, 2 Damage attack. When Inspired it goes to 5 Move and 4 Fury on its attack. Both Vasillac and Slakeslash have a Reaction on their card with lets them deal 1 damage to themselves or Heal (1) themselves after a successful attack action.

Hadzu is 4 Move, 1 Dodge, 2 Wounds with a Range 3, 3 Fury, 1 Damage attack. He has an on-card ability that lets him push his targets 1 hex instead of driving them back. When Inspired he goes Glissette (the best a man can get) is 4 Move, 2 Dodge, 2 Wounds, is always on Guard, and has a Range 2, 2 Fury, 2 Damage attack. When Inspired she goes to 5 Move and 3 Fury on her attack and gains a Range 1, 3 Fury, 1 Damage Scything attack.

Key Cards

  • Objectives:
    • Endless Revel (Surge, Score this immediately after an activation if each surviving friedly fighter has one or more Move and/or Charge tokens - very easy to control)
    • Excess of Avidity (Score this in an end phase if your warband holds more objectives than any other warband)
    • Excess of Indolency (Hybrid, Score this in an end phase if either: there are no enemy fighters with any Move or Charge tokens OR your warband holds two or more objectives)
  • Gambits:
    • Dark Desires (Give an enemy fighter a Move token or push them 1 hex, enemy player's choice)
    • Lure of Slaanesh (Push any fighter 1 hex or up to 1 hex for each surviving friendly fighter with one or more wound counters)
    • Shared Pain (Reaction: In short, pass damage from one of your fighters to another fighter within 3 hexes and end the combat sequence)
  • Upgrades:
    • Distracting Ostentation (-1 Dice from attack actions made by enemy fighters adjacent to this fighter)
    • Sickening Resilience (When this fighter is dealt damage, roll 1 defense die. On a block, this fighter is only dealt 1 damage)
    • Strength from Pain (+1 Damage to Range 1 and 2 Attack actions if this fighter has one or more wound counters.

Boards

Most boards are good. Possibly pick one with a lethal to damage your own fighters. You likely want to offset the boards and you really only need 2 objectives.

Play Style

Flex (Control + Hold 2 Objectives) probably the best Rivals Warband at disrupting what your opponent is trying to do and it has reliable passive scoring.

Playing Against Them?

Be aggressive. Hadzu is a wet noodle. Try to keep Glissette out of a cover hex. Be mindful of Shared Pain, since it means all of your efforts could go into taking out the wrong fighter.

New Player Rating

Silver. Two of their fighters only have 2 wounds and they can be complex to manage and difficult to inspire.

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Khagra's Ravagers

Khagra's Ravagers are a 4 Fighter Warband. Khagra, Razek, and Cragan are Move 3, 1 Block, 4 Wounds, while Zarshia is a Level 2 Wizard with Move 3, 1 Block, but only 3 Health. They Inspire when two or more Desecration tokens on the battlefield (more on the Desecration mechanic later). Khagra has the coveted Range 1, 2 Smash, 3 Damage attack. Zarshia has a Range 2, 1 Damage attack as well as a Range 3, 1 Damage Spell attack (note she suffers backlash when this attack fails, not just on double Criticals). Razek and Cragan both have Range 1, 2 Damage attacks. When they inspire, Khagra, Razek, and Cragan go to Move 4; Khagra and Razek go to 2 Block, and Razek and Cragan's attacks get more accurate (by going to 3 Smash or gaining Cleave). Zarshias attack both go to 2 Damage as well.

So what about Desecration. There are two ways on the fighter cards to gain Desecration: first, if any of your fighters take an enemy fighter out of action while they or the enemy fighter are on an objective token, you can desecrate that objective. Alternatively, Razek and Cragan have the Despoil rule, where if they hold an objective at the end of the action phase, you can desecrate that objective. With the Delve mechanic in Harrowdeep, this can be a little tricky, but still doable.

Key Cards

  • Objectives:
    • Brutal Desecration (Surge, Score this immediately after you desecrate an objective; best achieved with Gambits, but doable with attacks)
    • Malevolent Exploits (Surge, Score this immediately after playing your third or subsequent power card in a single power step; can lead to some sub-optimal card usage, but likely worth it to get upgrades on)
    • Razed Realm (Score this in an end phase if there are two or more desecration tokens on the battlefield; fairly reliable if you can make use of Razek's and Cragan's Despoil rule)
  • Gambits:
    • Ravaging Advance (Push each friendly fighter that is not in enemy territory 1 hex closer to enemy territory)
    • Ritual Desecration (Pick one objective token in the same hex as a friendly fighter and desecrate that objective. That fighter is Inspired - AWESOME)
    • Wrack the Land (Pick one objective token in an empty hex within 1 hex of one or more friendly fighters. Desecrate that objective; trickier to pull off in Harrowdeep, but do-able with pushes or if set up across action steps)
  • Upgrades:
    • Bolstered by Hate (+1 Wounds)
    • Ruinous Might (+1 Damage to Range 1 or 2 attack actions)
    • Hellfire Sword (Attack action upgrade for Khagra or Razek; Range 3, 2 Smash, 2 Damage attack!)

Boards

Choose a board with central starting hexes so you're protected turn 1 and can hopefully set up the Inspire.

Play Style

Passive or slow aggro. Getting Inspired helps with damage and resilience. If you can't get the Inspire turn 1, then try to take down targets of opportunity.

Playing Against Them?

Apply pressure early and focus one fighter down at a time. Khagra and Zarshia are good target because it messes up the Rivals deck. If you can take out Razek or Cragan, it slows the inspire. Don't be on or adjacent to objectives!

New Player Rating

Bronze. Reliant on getting the right cards and the right time. Gloom hexes hurt the Desecration mechanic.

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Starblood Stalkers

This is quite the 6 Fighter warband! You get 5 Skinks and a Saurus Old-Blood. All of the Skinks Inspire if you are holding three or more objectives after an activation. Klaq-Trok Inspires when he makes a successful attack action. 

Kixi-Taka is your leader with 4 Move, 2 Dodge, and 3 Wounds. He has a Range 2, 2 Smash, 2 Damage attack and a Range 3, 2 Smash, 1 Damage attack. He also has an on-card Action: Pick one feature token within 3 hexes. Then either flip that feature token OR deal 1 damage to one enemy fighter within 1 hex of that feature token (once per round). He gets a little more accurate when he Inspires.

Klaq-Trok is your beater with 3 Move, 1 Block, and 4 Wounds. He has a Range 1, 2 Smash, 3 Damage attack and his Powerful Jaws (Range 1, 1 Fury, 1 Damage and cannot be modified). On his card he has a reaction where he can make the Powerful Jaws Attack action after any of his activations. Klaq-Trok goes to 4 Move and 2 Block when Inspired and his Powerful Jaws attack goes to 2 Fury.

Otapatl is a Chameleon Skink (4 Move, 2 Dodge, 2 Wounds) with a unique Attack action: Range 3, 3 Criticals, 1 Damage with Cleave and Ensnare (that's right, he only hits on Crits). His attack cannot drive back BUT if it succeeds you give the target one Move token. This is really good if you can give him supports against his target. When Inspired, Otapatl goes to 5 Move and 3 Dodge and his attack goes to 2 Damage.

The 3 skinks are all 4 Move, and 2 Wounds. Two of them are on 1 Block, the last is on 1 Dodge. And they have varying attack profiles. Huachi is nice early on with Damage 2, but Xepic goes to Damage 2 when Inspired. They all have the Skittish reaction: After an opponent's power step, push this fighter 1 hex away from an enemy fighter within 2 hexes. Inspiring the Skinks pushes them all to 5 Move and they all get a little more accurate (Tok goes to 2 Dodge as well).

Key Cards

  • Objectives:
    • Astromatrix Alignment (Surge: Score this immediately after you flip a feature token in enemy territory; fairly easy in Harrowdeep!)
    • Instinctive Tactics (Surge: Score this immediately after resolving your warband's second or subsuquent reaction in the same phase; Skittish and the Powerful Jaws attack work for this, as well as Gambits and Upgrades)
    • Balance the Cosmic Equation (Score this in an end phase if: there are two or more enemy fighters out of action OR your warband holds more objectives than any other warband; likely going for the 2nd condition)
  • Gambits:
    • Burst from the Shadows (Push up to 2 friendly Hunters up to 2 hexes; great for positioning)
    • Huanchi's Device (Push 1 enemy fighter OR opponent pushes 3 of their fighters 1 hex)
    • The Great Drake (Asterism - a persisting ploy, +1 Dice to Range 1 attack actions until the end of the round or another Asterism is played)
  • Upgrades:
    • Heaven-blessed Weapon (+1 Dice to Range 1 attack actions)
    • Unfeeling Resilience (-1 Damage to a minimum of 1, great for Klaq-Trok)
    • Selfless Sacrifice (Skink only, Reaction: During an attack action that targets and will take this fighter out of action, this fighter makes an attack action)

Boards

Boards are tough with 6 fighters. Choose a board where Klaq-Trok & Otapatl are the only ones in danger. Avoid lethals and try to get at least two feature tokens in your territory)

Play Style

Flex (Hold Objective & Aggro). Try to be cagey with the Skinks so you don't bleed Glory. Let Klaq-Trok do work. Know that Inspiring them isn't critical.

Playing Against Them?

Target the 2 wound fighters or focus down Klaq-Trok.

New Player Rating

Silver. Their deck functions, but four 2 Wound fighters makes it tough to manage at times.

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Crimson Court

A 4 fighter warband of all Vampires! 4 Move & 4 Wounds on all of them. Duvalle, Gorath, and Vellas are all on 1 Block and Ennias is on 1 Dodge. From the start, all of the fighters deal 2 Damage, but unlike other warbands, the Crimson Court has 3 different states: starting, Inspired, and Bloodthirst.

 All of the fighters have The Curse: At the start of the round, give this fighter one Hunger counter AND The Hunger: Reaction - After this fighter's Attack action which takes an adjacent enemy fightouer out of action, remove one or more Hunger counters from this fighter. The fighters Inspire if at the end of the action phase, they have no hunger counters. However, they have Bloodthirst if they have 3 or more Hunger counters.

Inspired: Duvalle goes to 2 Block, gains Cleave and a Spell reaction; Gorath goes to 3 Damage and gains a Spell action; Vellas gains Cleave and Ensnare; Ennias goes from 3 Fury to 3 Smash. They all lose their Inspire if they ever have 3 or more Hunger counters.

Bloodthirst: Duvalle gets +1 Damage, but -1 Dice; Gorath gets +1 Wounds, but -1 Move; Vellas gains Scything; Ennias gains +2 Move.

Key Cards

  • Objectives:
    • Crimson Hounds (Surge: Score this immediately after an activation in which a friendly fighter made an Attack action that targeted an enemy fighter adjacent to one or more other friendly fighters; fairly easy to set up, especially if they send in a resilient fighter).
    • Spirited Attempt (Surge: Score this immediately after an enemy fighter's Attack action that deals damage to a friendly fighter if that friendly fighter is not out of action)
    • Death's Domain (Score this in an end phase if your warband holds all objectives in one or more players' territories; pretty easy to set up in Harrowdeep!)
    • Hungerable Mention: Blood Curse (Hybrid - Score this in an end phase if: Surviving frinedly fighters have 10 or more Hunger counters OR there is only one surviving enemy fighter.)
  • Gambits:
    • Mighty Strike (+1 Damage to the first Attack action made by a friendly fighter in the next activation)
    • Quicksilver Advance (Choose one friendly fighter, then pick one; the chosen fighter makes one Move action, or you remove one of that fighter's Charge tokens and give that fighter one Move token)
    • Tenebrous Form (Choose one friendly fighter. That fighter's Defense characteristic is 3 Dodge. That fighter cannot make actions or reactions, cannot cast spells, cannot be on Guard, cannot hold objectives and cannot be driven back. This effect persists until the end of the phase, or until that fighter is taken out of action)
    • Hungerable Mention: Driven to Hunt (Pick one: give one Hunger coutner ot each friendly fighter wihin 2 hexes of your leader, or push one other firendly fighter within 2 hexes of your leader up to 1 hex)
  • Upgrades:
    • Vampiric Might (+1 Damage to Range 1 or 2 if Inspired, +2 Damage to Range 1 or 2 on a critical hit if the fighter has Bloodthirst)
    • Von Marusi Armour (Inspired: reduce all damage by 1 to a minimum of 1; Bloodthirst: if this fighter would be dealt precisely 1 dmage, this fighter is not dealt that damage)
    • Deathly Majesty (Duvalle only, -1 Dice from adjacent fighters' Attack actions that target this fighter, to a minimum of 1)
    • Hungerable Mention: Glutton for Gore (When this fighter is given one or more Hunger counters, instead give htis fighter that many plus one additional Hunger counter. When one or more of this fighter's Hunger counters are removed, instead remove that many plus one additional Hunger counter)

Boards

Mid- to front-board. You only need to control the objectives in your territory.

Play Style

Definitely aggro, though there is room for accruing Hunger counters (see the Hungerable Mentions) and holding one objective.

Playing Against Them?

Focus on whichever fighter is accruing hunger. Pick your engagements. They have to attack to score most of their objectives, so isolate whichever one they send in first.

New Player Rating

Silver. Solid fighters, reliable deck, but pretty specific way to score. The starting, Inspired, Bloodthirst mechanic is a lot to manage.

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Hedkrakka's Madmob

The Madmob is a 4 fighter warband that introduces a new mechanic: Primacy. You gain the Primacy token after an activation in which: a friendly fighter's Attack action took a fighter with no Wound counters out of action OR a friendly fighter's Attack action took an enemy leader out of action OR their warband holds four or more objectives. If a player has the Primacy token at the end of the round, they gain one spent glory point and then discard the Primacy token.

Onto the fighters. They all start at 3 Move and 4 Wounds. Hedkrakka is on 2 Dodge, the other 3 have 1 Dodge. From there they start to differ. Hedkrakka is a level 2 Wizard, has a Range 2, 2 Fury, 2 Damage attack and has a Rnage 3, Focus-based, 1 Damage Spell attack action that does an additional damage if the target is adjacent. He also controls the Warbands Inspire condition with Primal Portent: When you gain the Primacy token, choose one firendly fighter. That fighter is Inspired. He also has the Primal Surge rule: After an activation in which this fighter's attack action takes an enemy fighter out of action, gain the Primacy token (notice the enemy fighter CAN have wound counters). When Inspired, he goes to 4 Move, his Staff goes to 3 Fury and his spell does 3 Damage to adjacent targets.

Wollop da Skul has a Range 1, 2 Smash, 2 Damage attack that does an additional damage if the target has 4+ Wounds. He also has the Primal Surge rule. When Inspired, he goes to 4 Move, gains Cleave and can re-roll one die in his defense rolls. Toofdagga also has the Primal Surge rule, has a Range 1, 3 Fury, 2 Damage attack and has the Tireless Trackers rule: At the start of the first round, choose up to two other friendly hunters (Wollop and Dakko) and push each chosen fighter 1 hex towards an enemy leader. When Inspired, he goes to 4 Move, 2 Dodge, and gets 4 Fury on his attack, with critical hits doing an additional damage.

Last is Dakko Sharp-Stikka. He has a Range 3, 2 Fury, 1 Damage attack with the Lotsa Arrers rule: Reaction - after this fighter's activation, if this fighter has no Move or Charge tokens, make this Attack action. Then give this fighter one Charge token. He also has the Primal Tracker rule (but not Primal Surge): After this fighter's Move action, fi this fighter holds an objective in enemy territory and there are no enemy fighters within 2 hexes, gain the Primacy token (pretty tough to pull off in Harrowdeep)

Key Cards

  • Objectives:
    • Bring it On (Surge, Dual: Score this immediately after an activation if an enemy fighter made an Attack action as part of a Charge actoin and the targetted friendly fighter is not out of action.)
    • Ere We Go! (Surge, Hybrid: Score this immediately after an activation if: Each surviving friendly fighter is in enemy territory OR each surviving friendly fighter has one or more Charge tokens.)
    • Eye of Gorkamorka (Dual: Score this in an end phase if you have the Primacy token AND your leader holds an objective)
  • Gambits:
    • Da Great Stomp (Push each friendly fighter up to 1 hex towards the nearest enemy fighter)
    • Unhinged Ferocity (Reaction: Use this after a friendly fighter's activation in which that fighter made one or more failed Attack actions. If you have the Primacy token, discard the Primacy token, then that fighter makes one Attack action. Otherwise, Inspire that fighter; This is critical as you can't gain the Primacy token if you already have it, so it gives you a way to discard the token to gain it back to continue Inspiring your fighters)
    • Warpaint Ward (Reacion: When an attack action deals damage roll a magic die, on a critical, the combat sequence ends, on a focus, reduce the damage by 1 to a minimum of 1)
  • Upgrades:
    • Berserk Might (Range 1 and 2 Attack actions gain Knockback. If you have the Primacy token, +1 Damage to Range 1 and 2 Attack actions)
    • Lucky Bone (Reaction: discard the upgrade to re-roll any number of dice in an attack, defense or casting roll)
    • Power of the Beast (+1 Wounds, +2 if you have the Primacy token; be careful because you might lose a fighter in the end phase when you discard the Primacy token)

Boards

4 starting hexes as close to enemy territory as you can. (Use Toofdagga's ability to get Wollop and Dakko in range or pull them up from behind)

Play Style

Aggro all day. While Primacy token can net you an additional glory each end phase, don't be afraid to discard it in order to continue inspiring your fighters. It will be more difficult for your opponent to take from you.

Playing Against Them?

Kill Toofdagga (he's accurate and goes to 2 Dodge when Inspired) first. Focus down Hedkrakka to take primacy and keep the Warband from inspiring.

New Player Rating

Gold. Straightforward Warband. The Objective deck, Power deck and fighter cards all work together really well, on top of the potential 3 extra glory per game for Primacy.

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Kainan's Reapers

Kainan's Reapers is a 6 Fighter Warband that introduces a few new mechanics. The first is Bone Tithe. after an enemy fighter is taken out of action, gain one tithe counter. If that fighter had 4+ Wounds, gain two tithe counters. You need the leader (Mir Kainan) or Binar Khenta alive in order to collect tithe counters, but the Warband Inspires after a power step when you have three or more tithe Counters. The second new mechanic is applicable to every fighter except Kainan. Mortek Advance is a reaction on the 4 fighters with 2 Wounds: After this fighter's Move action, choose one friendly Mortek with no Move or Charge tokens. The chosen fighter make a Move action that must end adjacent to this fighter (the triggering fighter). Note that you can select Khenta, but he cannot trigger any further Morteks to Move. The last new mechanic is Nadirite (applies to most of the Morteks' weapons): +1 Damage if the attack roll contains any single supports and there is one friendly supporting Morteks OR if it contains any single or double supports and there are two or more supporting Morteks.

On to the fighters. Mir Kainan is the leader with 3 Move, 1 Block, and 6 (!) Wounds. He has a Range 2, 2 Smash, 3 Damage attack and a Range 1, 2 Smash, 2 Damage attack with Scything. He also has the Invigorated rule, which lets you discard 2 tithe counters and pick one: +1 Move, his Range 2 attack gets +1 Dice, or his Range 2 attack gets +1 Damage. When he Inspires, he gets 2 Block, his Range 2 attack goes to 4 Damage and his Scything attack goes to 3 Smash.

Binar Khenta is like the second-in-command. He is a Mortek with 3 Move, 1 Block, and 3 Wounds. He has a Range 2, 2 Smash, 2 Damage attack with Nadirite. When Inspired, he gains Cleave.

The other 4 fighters are also Morteks and have the same basic stat block: 3 Move, 1 Block, and 2 Wounds. Karu & Senha have Range 1, 2 Smash, 1 Damage attacks with Nadirite. When Inspired they both go to 2 Block, Karu gets 2 Damage and Knockback 1, and Senha gets 3 Fury and 2 Damage. Nohem has a Range 3, 2 Smash, 1 Damage attack with Nadirite. When Inspired, his bow goes to 3 Smash. The last Mortek is Hakor, who has a Range 1, 2 Smash, 2 Damage attack (but NO Nadirite). When Inspired, he gains Cleave.

Key Cards

  • Objectives:
    • Pride of the Emissarian Caste (Surge: Score this immediately after an activation if your leader holds an objective in enemy territory; tougher to set up with Harrowdeep, but still reliable)
    • Pride of the Thorac Caste (Surge: Score this immediately after an activation if three or more friendly Morteks are in enemy territory; this is pretty reliable in early game)
    • Walking Mass Grave (Score this in an end phase if each surviving friendly fighter has one or more Move and/or Charge tokens; if you Mortek Advance all of the Morteks, you can meet the conditions for this objective in two activations)
  • Gambits:
    • Ceaseless Advance (Push one friendly Mortek up to 2 hexes towards the nearest enemy fighter, plus an additional Mortek for each tithe counter discarded)
    • Dire Ultimatum (-1 Dice from enemy fighters' Attack actions unless they target Kainan & the effect persists until an enemy fighter makes an Attack action against Kainan, until Kainan is out of action, or until the end of the round)
    • Methodical Assault (Reaction: Play this after a friendly Mortek's failed Attack action. Pick one opponent. That opponent chooses whether you gain two tithe counters or that Mortek makes an Attack action)
  • Upgrades:
    • Aura of Shyish (-1 Dice from adjacent enemy fighters' Attack actions, to a minimum of 1)
    • Empowered Nadirite (+1 Damage to Range 1 or 2 Nadirite attack actions, +1 Dice to all Nadirite attack actions)
    • Unnerving Synchrony (Reaction: After an adjacent friendly Mortek's Attack action, other than a Scything Attack action, this fighter makes an Attack action)

Boards

Pick a board with flexible deployment to help set up your turn 1. You honestly don't care about objectives, so place feature tokens to give you cover hexes to stand in to attack.

Play Style

Careful aggro. 4 2 Wound fighters are pretty squishy (even if they're on Block). Utilize the Mortek Advance to help set up turns 2 and 3. Work the supports. In Rivals, you may need to let Mir Kainan do work early and save Binar to get tooled up in the end.

Playing Against Them?

Farm the glory. They're gonna come to you.

New Player Rating

Silver. Their objective deck isn't all that great, your fighters are slow and you have 4 2 wound fighters.

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Elathain's Soulraid

The Soulraid is a a 4 and 1/2 fighter warband (thanks, Spinefin) where each fighter is pretty unique. Let's start with Spinefin. First, it has the Small Fry rule. You can choose whether or not to set up the Spinefin. This fighter cannot make attack actions, be given upgrades, or hold objectives. If it would be taken out of actoin, remove it from the battlefrield and clear all counters and persisting effects from this fighter: it is not taken out of action (no Glory for the kill and it blocks "takes a fighter out of action" objectives). Second, it has the Shoal reaction: After an opponents power step, choose to either place (or remove and place) a shoal token in an empty hex OR place Spinefin in an empty hex that contains a friendly shoal token. Spinefin is useful for getting supports and triggering some gambits. On to the rest of the Warband.

Duinclaw (2nd place in Games Workshop's Miniature of the Year 2021) is the best crab and has the Beast keyword (no attack action upgrades and cannot hold objectives). It has 3 Move, 2 Block, 3 Wounds, and a Range 1, 2 Fury 2 Damage attack. It also has the Scuttle reaction: After another friendly fighter's activation, push this fighter 1 hex closer to that fighter. When Inspired (beginning of the 2nd round), it gets 3 Fury and Cleave.

Elathain is your leader. He has 4 Move, 1 Block, 4 Wounds, and two Attack actions: Range 1, 3 Smash, 2 Damage & Range 3, 2 Fury 1 Damage, both of which have the Soul-harvest reaction: if these attacks take an enemy fighter out of action and Tammael is also out of action, you can place Tammael on a starting hex in your territory. When Inspired (2nd round), Elathain goes to 5 Move, his Range 1 attack gains Cleave and Ensnare, and his Range 3 attack goes to 3 Fury with Ensnare.

Tammael is the resurrect-able fighter with 4 Move, 1 Dodge, 3 Wounds, and two Attack actions: Range 2, 2 Smash, 2 Damage with Riptide or Range 3, 3 Fury, 1 Damage, with Riptide & Impact. Riptide lets you push the target 1 hex instead of driving the target back. Impact grants +1 Damage when made during a Charge action. Tammael also has the Flood Tide rule: When activated, this fighter can make a Move action or a Charge action if it has one or fewer Move tokens. When Inspired (2nd round), Tammael goes to 5 Move and 2 Dodge and his attack's gain Ensnare.

Last is Fuirann with 4 Move, 2 Dodge, 3 Wounds, and a Range 1, 3 Fury, 2 Damage attack. She also has the Flood Tide rule. When Inspired, shes goes to 5 Move, 2 Block, and her attack goes to 3 Smash with Cleave.

Note that all of your fighter will un-Inspire at the start of the third round.

Key Cards

  • Objectives:
    • Merciless Raiders (Surge: Score this immediately after a friendly fighter's Attack action made as part of a Charge action that takes an enemy fighter in enemy territory out of action; Tammael is a good candidate for this, thanks to his ranged attack with Impact)
    • Surging Tide (Surge: Score this immediately after one friendly fighter's second or subsequent Move action in the same phase; you have to score this in Turn 1 or Turn 3 as you lose the Flood Tide rule when Inspired)
    • Guardians of the Deep (Score this in an end phase if no enemy fighters are in your territory; easy to score early)
  • Gambits:
    • Cloud of Midnight (Choose one friendly fighter. Until the end of the next activation, that fighter cannot be the target of Attack actions, cannot be chosen or damaged by gambits, and cannot be pushed; really helps you protect a key fighter)
    • Spinefin Toxin (Choose one enemy fighter adjacent to a friendly Spinefin. Deal 1 damage to that fighter AND the chosen fighter cannot hold objectives, cannot be on Guard, and cannot make Range 3+ Attack actions. This effect persists until the end of the round or until that fighter is out of action)
    • Terrornight Venom (Choose one enemy fighter adjacent to one or more friendly fighters. YOu can re-roll one attack die in attack rolls against that fighter. This effect persists until the end of the round or until that fighter is out of action)
  • Upgrades:
    • Armour of Cythai (-1 Dice from adjacent fighters' Attack action that target this fighter, to a minimum of 1)
    • Born From Agony (+1 Wounds and Lethal hexes cannot deal damage to this fighter.)
    • Hunter of Souls (+1 Damage to this fighter's Attack actions that target a fighter with one or more wound counters)

Boards

Mid-board starting hexes. You're only placing 4 fighters and two of your fighters can Move twice in the 1st round.

Play Style

Calculated Aggro. You need to be careful about picking your engagements. Since you can bring Tammael back, he's not the worst fighter to throw in early. Let the Spinefin give you Support. Try to get everyone in range to do some damage on turn 2.

Playing Against Them?

They still only have 3 wounds for 3 of the fighters. Try to take out a fighter other than Tammael. Make them come to you.

New Player Rating

Silver. This warband is definitely effective in the Rivals format, but they aren't the most straightforward Warband to play. In the hands of a veteran, they can do quite well.

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