Harrowdeep Warbands Rivals Review: Truthseekers, Kunnin' Krew, Buccaneers, & Illusory Might

 

We previously wrote up a Rivals review for all of the Beastgrave (blog here) and Direchasm (blog here) Warbands. In this post, we cover all of the Harrowdeep 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-34-hex-ed-harrowdeep-rivals-warband-review/

Harrowdeep Warbands/Decks

Xandire's Truthseekers

 Xandire's Truthseekers are a 4-fighter Warband, offering a slight twist on the traditional Stormcast stat block. Xandire, Dhoraz, and Luxa are all 3 Move, 1 Block, with 4 Wounds. Taros is an Aetherwing with 5 Move, 2 Dodge, and 2 Wounds. Xandire is accurate with a Range 1, 3 Smash, 2 Damage attack. Dhoraz is a beater with a Range 1, 2 Smash, 3 Damage attack. And Luxa (Stormrider) is a potent ranged fighter with a Range 4 (!), 2 Smash, 1 Damage attack. The key to this Warband is leveraging their reactions and Inspire condition. The warband Inspires when a friendly fighter other than Taros is taken out of action (Taros Inspires when Stormrider Inspires). Each of the Stormcast has a reaction before they are taken out of action.

Xandire gets to Heal (2) another fighter, Dhoraz gets to push any other fighter that is within 2 hexes, and Stormrider gets to make a Range 3+ attack action. While Taros doesn't have an "on-death" Reaction, the Aetherwing does get to make a push after Stormrider's Move action and is considered to be supported by Stormrider as long as its within 2 hexes of Stormrider.

When Inspired, all three Stormcast go to 2 Block. Xandire goes to 4 Move and gains Cleave on her attack. Dhoraz gains a Range 1, 2 Smash, 2 Damage attack with Scything. Stormrider's ranged attack goes to 3 Smash with Cleave & Ensnare, gains a Range 1, 2 Fury, 2 Damage attack and gains a reaction where if she takes an enemy out of action with a Range 3+ attack action, she can make another Range 3+ attack action. Taros's attack action goes to 3 Fury and gains Grievous.

Key Cards

  • Objectives:
    • Banish the Dark (Dual: Score this in an end phase if one or more fighters made on or More Charge actions in the preceding phase AND one or more of those fighters are adjacent to no enemy fighters; Stormrider's Range 4 attack makes this super easy to score, otherwise, you can try to kill an enemy fighter one of the other fighters)
    • Blaze of Glory (Surge, Score this immediately after resolving a second or subsequent reaction in the same phase; Taros's reaction after Stormrider's Move is an easy first Reaction and the Warband has plenty of Reaction Gambits and Upgrades, not to mention their "on death" reactions)
    • Brave the Darkness (Surge, Score this immediately after an activation if each surviving friendly fighter has one or more Charge tokens; Easy to score while making a Charge action with each fighter, easier to score as you lose fighters)
  • Gambits:
    • Advance as One (Push each friendly fighter 1 hex towards the nearest enemy fighter; Attack without charging, set up other Charges or supports, move deeper into enemy territory)
    • Called Strike (You can re-roll one attack dice in the attack roll of the first Attack action made by a friendly fighter in the next activation step; Always nice to add accuracy to attacks, especially on Dhoraz's 2 Smash attack)
    • Drilled Efficiency (Choose one friendly fighter with one or more Move and/or Charge tokens. Give that fighter one Guard token; Adds some resiliency to an otherwise vulnerable fighters, especially if you can get them into a cover/gloom hex)
    • Honorable Mention: Blazing Arrow (Restricted to Stormrider: The first friendly Stormrider's Range 3+ Attack action in the next activation step has +1 Dice and Grievous until it has been resolved; Really good when she's Inspired!)
  • Upgrades:
    • Flight of Darts (Attack action upgrade: Range 3, 3 Fury, 1 Damage with the Reaction: After this Attack action, if it resulted in a critical hit, deal 1 damage to each enemy fighter adjacent to the target, allows Xandire or Dhoraz to attack more, can spread damage around)
    • Keepsake (Rolls of Single Support are successes in this fighter's attack rolls; really good for adding more accuracy)
    • Unfaltering Stride (Reaction: After this fighter's activation, push this fighter 1 hex; Allows for extra mobility and positioning and can let one fighter move around to get multiple attacks off in a round)

Boards

Choose a board that allows you to be aggressive with Xandire and Dhoraz while keeping Stormrider in Charge range and Taros in the back (hopefully safe)

Play Style

Aggressive for sure. The deck requires you to be in enemy territory, to Charge, and to take fighters out. They Inspire when one of them dies. Usually you want this to be Xandire.

Playing Against Them?

Focus on one fighter, knowing that once you kill one, the rest are getting better. Go for Taros if you can, otherwise concentrate on Dhoraz (that 3 Damage can hurt!).

New Player Rating

Silver. The Warband and Deck go well together, but the reactions and the need for one of your fighters to be out of action keep them from getting Gold.

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Da Kunnin' Krew

Da Kunnin' Krew is a 5 fighter Warband of Kruleboyz, with a wide variety of fighters. Uninspired, all 5 fighters are 3 Move and 1 Block. Mannok has 5 Wounds and a Range 2, 2 Smash, 2 Damage attack. He also has a Reaction on his card that we'll get to in a moment. Tuffskul has 4 Wounds and a Range 2, 2 Fury, 2 Damage attack with Ensnare and Grievous. He also has the Grapple rule, which lets him support friendly fighter's attack action if he is within 2 hexes of the target. Krookgrin is a hobgrot with 3 Wounds, a Range 1, 2 Fury, 2 Damage attack and an Action where he can spend a Glory and one Minion (Shank or Gikkit) makes an attack action with +1 Dice. Shank and Gikkit both have 2 Wounds and count as two supporting fighters (thanks to Pain in the Knee). Shank has a Range 3, 2 Fury, 1 Damage attack. Gikkit has a Range 1, 2 Fury, 1 Damage attack with Grievous. The Warband Inspires when three or more enemy fighters are out of action OR after any Attack action (friendly or enemy) in which this fighter supports or is supported.

Between their Inspire condition, Pain in the Knee and Tuffskul's Grapple rule, this warband really relies on supports, which is where Mannok's Kunnin' Kommand reaction comes into play. Reaction: Use this reaction after a friendly fighter's Move action. Choose another friendly fighter adjacent to this fighter. That fighter makes a Move action. With this reaction, Mannok can let another fighter Move after one fighter Charges, adding supports to the attack. It can also let a fighter attack multiple times and/or provide support for multiple attack actions. It helps the fighters Inspire and hit more often.

When Inspired, all 5 fighters go to 4 Move. Mannok's attack goes to 3 Smash with Grievous; Tuffskul's attack goes to 2 Smash; Krookgrin goes to 2 Dodge, his attack goes to 3 Fury with Cleave, and he can spend up to 2 glory with his action and let 2 Minions attack; Shank and Gikkit also go to 2 Dodge, with Shank's Net going to 2 Smash with Ensnare and Gikkit's Irons going to 2 Fury.

Key Cards

  • Objectives:
    • Outmanoover (Score this in an end phase if two or more friendly fighters each have the same enemy fighter within the Range of one or more of their Attack actions; This is fairly easy to set up with the extra movement, Mannok/Tuffskul's Range 2 attacks and Shank's Range 3 attack)
    • Showy Taktiks (Score this in an end phase if two or more friendly fighters are Inpsired; Again with all of the extra movement plus Tuffskul's Grapple, it is pretty easy for this Warband to Inspire)
    • Supreme Kunnin' (Surge: Score this immediately after a friendly fighter made an Attack action with two or more supporting friendly fighters; Can you say Pain in the Knee?)
  • Gambits:
    • Easy Meat (+1 Damage to the first Range 1 or Range 2 Attack action made in the next activation step, if the attacker has one or more supporting fighters; easy +1 Damage without having to spend a Glory)
    • Skin of their Teef  (Reaction: Play this during an Attack action that targets a friendly fighter, after the attack roll, if that Attack action would deal the precise amount of damage necessary to take the target out of action. -1 Damage from that Attack action, to a minimum of 1, until that Attack action has been resolved; A really good card for keeping a critical fighter alive)
    • Swampspill (Choose one friendly fighter. You can re-roll one dice in that fighter's attack rolls for Range 1 and Range 2 Attack actions. This effect persists until the end of the phase; Great way to add accuracy [or fish for crits for Grievous] on multiple attacks)
  • Upgrades:
    • Dirty Fighter (Reaciton: Use this after a friendly fighter's failed attack action, if this fighter was supporting that fighter. Deal 1 damage to the target of that Attack action; great way to make the most out of a failed attack, really good for Tuffskul since he can support Attack actions from 2 hexes away)
    • Intimidating Phosphor (Illusion*: -1 Dice from enemy fighters' Attack actions, to a minimum of 1, while they target this fighter; great way to keep Mannok or Tuffskul in the game, especially since they stay on 1 Block when Inspired)
    • Titan of Kunnin' (Illusion*: +1 Defense; again, a great way to keep fighters alive)

Illusion*

Do not spend any glory points when you play this card. At the end of the action phase, or when this fighter is chosen by a gambit or is dealt damage, break (discard) this card.

Boards

Look for boards with adjacent starting hexes and hexes that will let you move other fighters next to Mannok (to utilize his Kunnin' Kommand). Cover hexes provide some needed defense as well.

Play Style

Aggro, for sure. Your first activation will likely be moving someone adjacent to Mannok so that you can utilize his Kunnin' Kommand. Particularly in the Rivals format, don't be afraid to put him and/or Tuffskul on the front lines. It's pretty difficult for most warbands to chew through 5 wounds in a single action phase. Use pushes and Kunnin' Kommand to get supports.

Playing Against Them?

Try to kill as much as you can. Gikkit and Shank are squishy and provide the most support. Know that they inspire with supports, so try to isolate your targets.

New Player Rating

Silver. The warband is good and all of their fighter cards, objective cards, and power cards align really well. They miss out on Gold (for new players) because of the complexity of setting up the supports and positioning the warband to get the most out of them.

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Blackpowder's Buccaneers

Blackpowder's Buccaneers is a 5 fighter Warband with 3 pirates, a MONKEY and a PARROT! Gorlok Blackpowder has 3 Move, 1 Block, and 6 (!) Wounds. He has 2 attacks, a Range 3, 3 Fury, 2 (!) Damage attack and a Range 2 (!), 2 Smash, 3 Damage attack. His ranged attack has the Ammo rule: This fighter cannot make this Attack action unless you first discard a Swag counter. At the start of the game, gain one Swag counter. So he won't get to shoot a lot unless you get more Swag counters (more on that later). 

Kagey and Peggz are 2 Gnoblar Minions. Both Move 3, 1 Dodge, and 2 Wounds. Kagey has a Range 3, 2 Fury, 1 Damage attack with Ensnare and is Flying. Peggz has a Range 1, 2 Fury, 1 Damage attack. Both have the Light-Fingered rule - Reaction: After this fighter's successful Attack action that targets an adjacent fighter, pick one of the target's upgrades and break (discard) that card. When you break that card, gain one Swag counter*. Nice way to get Swag counters, but their attacks aren't that accurate.

Enter the monkey and parrot. Mange is a companion (but not a Beast, so he can take Attack action upgrades and hold objectives) with Move 4, 2 Dodge, and 2 Wounds. His dagger is Range 1, 3 Fury, 1 Damage with Grievous. He has the Light-Fingered rule and another Reaction: After a friendly minion makes a move action, push this fighter up to 3 hexes. After this push, this fighter must be within 2 hexes of that minion. A nice little mobility boost! Shreek is a Flying, Beast, companion with Move 5, 2 Dodge and 2 Wounds. His talons are a Range 1, 3 Fury, 1 Damage attack with Grievous and he has more rules! First, If Shreek is within 2 hexes of Blackpowder, that Blackpowder is supporting this fighter. Second, he has a Reaction: After a friendly Blackpowder makes a move action, push this fighter up to 3 hexes. After this push, this fighter must be within 2 hexes of that Blackpowder. Third, he also has Light-Fingered.

Blackpowder Inspires when you discard your second or subsequent Swag counter. On Inspire, his Grunderbuss goes to 4 Fury and Ammo lets you discard an additional Swag counter to gain Ensnare. The rest of the warband inspires individually when they make a Light-Fingered reaction. Kagey and Peggz go to Move 4, 2 Dodge and 3 Fury on their attacks. Mange goes to Move 5, 3 Dodge and gains Ensnare. Shreek goes to 3 Dodge and gains Stagger.

Light-Fingered*

There is an on-going conversation in the Underworlds community as to whether you can perform the Light-Fingered reaction when an Attack action takes a target out of action. In the Rulebook, out of action fighters take no further part in the game, so this could disallow the Light-Fingered reaction BUT the Rulebook also says that rules on cards can override the Rulebook plus the Reaction condition is valid before the target is out of action, so one could argue that the Light-Fingered Reaction CAN occur. We are of the opinion that the Warband is more viable and from a fluff stance it makes sense if you are able to perform the reaction with an out of action fighter, but we are not lawyers or rules writers, so :shrug: Our suggestion is to have a discussion with your opponent before the start of the game and play according to whatever you agree to.

Key Cards

  • Objectives:
    • Aspiring Tyrant (Hybrid: Score this in an end phase if: Your leader is on a feature token in enemy territory OR one or more enemy leaders are out of action; You want Blackpowder in the thick of it [that Range 2 attack is juicy] anyway)
    • Gold Diggers (Surge, Dual: Score this immediately after a power step if: Two or more friendly fighters are on a feature token And: One or more of those fighters are in enemy territory; pretty easy to set up with Mange's or Shreek's reactions [or a push card])
    • Treasure Hungry (Score this in an end phase if two or more friendly fighters are on feature tokens; you're likely doing this for the objectives above anyway and/or to add a little extra defense to your fighters)
  • Gambits:
    • Done That (Reaction: Play this after an adjacent fighter's failed Attack action that targeted your leader. Gan one Swag counter; great way to capitalize on a failed attack and get an additional Swag counter)
    • Flurry of Claws (Choose one friendly companion. The chosen fighter makes one of the Attack actions on their fighter card; Who doesn't love a free Attack action? And from one of your more accurate fighters with Light-Fingered to boot!)
    • Grand Theft (The first Range 1 Attack action made by a friendly fighter in the next activation has Ensnare. Gain one Swag counter after resolving that Attack action; Added accuracy against Dodge heavy warbands with a potential to gain 2 Swag counters and you gain 1 regardless of whether the attack is successful)
    • Honorable Mention: Hasty Shot/Makeshift Munitions (Gambits that allow you to shoot and ignore the Ammo rule. When using Hasty Shot, discard Legendary Looter if you can.)
  • Upgrades:
    • Cache Compass (Reaction: After this fighter's activation, push this fighter up to 2 hexes towards the nearest feature token. At the end of the action phase, if this fighter is on a feature token that is not in your territory, gain one Swag counter and this fighter is Inspired; a great way to Inspire Kagey or Peggz since their attacks aren't as accurate plus you can gain a Swag counter without worrying about dice)
    • Scavenged Shot (Blackpowder only, While this fighter is on a feature token that is not in your territory, you can ignore the Ammo ability on this fighter's Grunderbuss Attack action. After this fighter makes a Grunderbuss Attack action, if you ignored the Ammo ability deal 1 damage to this fighter; another way to shoot without spending Swag counters, but with a cost)
    • Troggoth Grease (Mange or Minion only. This fighter is on Guard; an easy way to make your fighters harder to hit)

Boards

Opt to pick the engagement so you can line up your fighters. When placing feature tokens, put one right across the line and one in no-man's land if possible.

Play Style

Flex (Aggro + Hold Feature tokens not in your territory). Blackpowder is likely to do most of the heavy lifting, but don't sleep on Mange's and Shreek's more accurate attacks.

Playing Against Them?

Farm glory from the two wound fighters, keep them off of feature tokens not in their territory. Blackpowder isn't unkillable.

New Player Rating

Bronze. The decks makes things tough because so much relies on Blackpowder and Swag counters, which you want to be spending to shoot.

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Illusory Might

For once, there are no fighter cards to review!

Key Cards

  • Objectives:
    • Horrors in the Dark (Surge, Hybrid: Score this immediately after an activation if: Two or more friendly fighters are in cover hexes that are not in your territory OR two or more friendly fighters hold objectives that are not in your territory; This card aligns with a lot of everything else that the deck wants to do and informs which Warbands make the most sense to use)
    • Illusory Nemesis (Surge, Hybrid: Score this immediately after: A power step if one or more opponents played on or more Illusion upgrades in that power step OR you play your third or subsequent Illusion upgrade in the same phase; the first condition is no guaranteed, but the second is pretty easy since the Illusion upgrades don't cost Glory to play!)
    • Out of Time (Hybrid: Score this in an end phase if: Your warband holds a number of objectives equal to the round number OR the number of friendly fighters in cover hexes is equal to the round number; Lines up with Horrors in the Dark and other objectives)
    • Honorable Mention: Trace the Leylines (Score this in an end phase if there are X or more friendly fighters within X hexes of an objective that is not held by an enemy fighter, where X is that objective's number [e.g. if there are two or more friendly fighters within 2 hexes of objective 2]; This objective is fairly easy to set up, especially because you know your objective numbers when you place your feature tokens)
  • Gambits:
    • Cover of Darkness (Pick one: Gambits cannot deal damage. This effect persists until the end of the next power step OR Push one friendly fighter up to 2 hexes into a cover hex; Pushes are already good, but this one helps you set up your Objectives, too)
    • Illusory Find (Reveal cards from the top of your power deck one by one until you reveal an Illusion upgrade. Add that card to your hand, then return the revealed cards to your power deck and shuffle your power deck. If you did not reveal an Illusion upgrade, return the revealed cards to your power deck and shuffle your power deck; a great way to fish for Illusion upgrades)
    • Transfer of Power (Choose two friendly fighters who each have one or more Illusion upgrades and no Charge tokens. Place each chosen fighter in the hex that was occupied by the other fighter when you chose them; Offers some opportunities for shenanigans to get key fighters into a good position, but note that this Gambit says "choose," so the fighters will lose their Illusion upgrades)
  • Upgrades:
    • Bloodwrack Mask (Illusion*: Reaction: After an enemy fighter's Move action, if that enemy fighter is within 1 hex of this fighter, deal 1 damage to that fighter; We really like this card for giving your opponent tough choice on who to attack. If they decide to move someone adjacent, you're getting extra damage anyway)
    • Ephemeral Fortitude (This fighter has a Wounds characteristic of 4 in rounds 1 and 2, and a Wounds characteristic of 2 in round 3. This fighter's Wounds characteristic cannot be modified; Such a good upgrade to keep a disposable fighter alive to do some work for a couple of rounds.)
    • Phantom Fists (Illusion*: Attack Action - Range 1, 3 Smash, 2 Damage with Stagger; A nice accurate attack that sets up future attacks by applying Stagger, super good for low-wound fighters with bad attacks)
    • Honorable Mention: Weapons Master (+1 Damage to this fighter's Range 1 and Range 2 Attack actions while this fighter has three or more upgrades; you really only need two other upgrades and this one is really good since +1 Damage is so hard to come by in Rivals)

Illusion*

Do not spend any glory points when you play this card. At the end of the action phase, or when this fighter is chosen by a gambit or is dealt damage, break (discard) this card.

Boards

This decision will be solely based on the Warband you choose. But you'll need to note the numbers of the feature tokens you're given and you'll want to place feature tokens in no-man's land or just across the line in enemy territory.

Play Style

Flex (Aggro + Hold Objectives/Feature tokens). How you really play the deck will be determined by how the warband you choose plays.

What Warband(s) Should I Pick?

You want to pick a warband with a variety of Wounds characteristics, at least 5 fighters, and some free movement or pushes built-in to their fighter cards.

Our top pick is Zarbag's Gitz (from Nightvault). Their free movement through the Scurry Reaction allows you to position fighters easily. Zarbag, Drizgit, and the Squigs are all decent fighters in their own right. Prog, Stikkit, Redkap, and Dibbz all provide excellent Illusion upgrade caddies. Plus Snirk provides a fairly resilient and reliable source of damage that doesn't require attack actions. Not that it would happen every game, but the ability to use Transfer of Power to throw Snirk into your enemy is pretty tasty.

Outside of the Gitz, we like Thorns of the Briar Queen (Varclav's push), Spiteclaw's Swarm (for the ability to bring back fighters), Eyes of the Nine (there are likely some interesting plays with the Blue Horror), Garrek's Reavers, and the Blade Coven.

Playing Against Them?

Whatever the warband they've picked says you should do. Of note is that 7 of the total glory comes from 3 cards that are pretty easy to stop if you kill whatever comes into your territory & don't put more than two upgrades on any single fighter.

New Player Rating

Bronze. The deck itself is not completely straightfoward and your play and ability to score is largely dependent upon which warband you choose.

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