A Mike Meeple Review: Warhammer Underworlds

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by Games Workshop

Warhammer Underworlds: Evolution

So, before I REALLY got into the tabletop gaming world, I'm talking in ye olde 2008, I went into a game store with my buddy Blake called Games of Berkley.  And let me tell you, that place was awesome.  I never knew that a game store could look like that.  Up until then, the closest thing I had seen to a game store was Borders (RIP).

I mean, come on...  They've got a freakin' WIZARD in the middle of their store!

While I was there, though, I noticed a game that I had only BARELY heard of.  There was a HUGE following there, with large amounts of shelf space and glass displays dedicated to showing off the components.  There were literally DOZENS of people in there, just silently painting miniatures, and to be fair, they were very nice and asked Blake and I if we wanted to learn, but honestly, that was intimidating to me.  I used to play Dungeons and Dragons and the Marvel/DC Vs. System Card Game (RIP), but this was nothing like I had ever seen.  And that game was Warhammer.

Literally, everyone painting at Games of Berkeley that day...

Fast forward 10 or so years, and I'm about as deep into wargaming as you can get with A Song of Ice & Fire, but for some reason Warhammer has maintained a certain mystique and intimidation factor with me.  Then something miraculous happened.  Games Workshop released a self contained skirmish game set within the Warhammer universe called Warhammer Underworlds, with two two-player core sets released at the time of the review: Shadespire and Nightvault.

But just because they have the Warhammer name attached to them, that doesn't necessarily mean that it'll be a good game, let alone fill that Warhammer shaped hole in my heart...

The Complete Works of William Shadespire Abridged

Warhammer Underworlds is a tactical combat skirmish game for one to four players where each player takes control of a pre-built Warband in an arena style battle to the death.  Each unique member of your Warband has unique skills and attributes, and players take turns playing cards from their constructed decks and performing actions with their Warbands, until each player has performed four actions.  These actions can be Attacking, Moving, Charging (Moving AND Attacking), or using Spells or Abilities, and they don't need to be divided evenly among members of your Warband.  For example, you could have one of your figures move adjacent to an enemy figure with one action, then have that same figure attack three times in a row over the course of your next three actions!

This is actually a really cool mechanic, and opens up the game to a variety of tactical options, though there are some strange restrictions, the primary one being that a figure cannot perform more than one Move action during a round.  They can perform AS MANY ATTACKS AS THEY WANT, but heaven forbid they walk more than a quarter mile at a time.

Could you imagine that?  Your elite, SUPER dedicated worshippers of Sigmar, willing to die in battle for their Godking, but ask them to put in a few extra steps on their pedometer and you can hush that noise.

"That" is apparently moving one more goddamn space on the board...

I understand the gameplay purpose of this design choice, but it still makes for some funny thematic choices, and honestly, some counterintuitive moments when teaching the game to a new player.

While slaying your foes is fun, it may not necessarily win you the game, however.  Killing an opposing figure grants you a Victory Point (or Glory as they call it in this game) but more points can earned through completion of your secret Objective Cards.

This is a customizable deck of cards that you'd bring with you prior to the match, full of various objectives for you to complete in order to gain points.  Objectives can range from relatively simple (perform a Charge with each member of your Warband) to some that truly require a lot of planning and a little luck (end the game with no opponents in your starting area).

In my opinion, this secret objective style gameplay is really where Warhammer Underworlds shines.  You're constantly guessing your opponent's moves, and questioning whether they're setting up for something strange or are just making some bad moves.  And it could be either one, really!

The fact that you can customize this deck of objective cards gives the game almost a Trading Card Game feel, where you're trying to maximize the deck space for points per card, but you also have to balance that with whether or not you'll actually pull off the cards in your hand.

Nightvault of Riches

So, as you'd expect from Games Workshop, the miniatures in this game are great.  Yes, they're on sprues and have to be assembled, but unlike the ones that come in Blitz Bowl, the Warhammer Underworlds miniatures actually push-fit together pretty well without glue, though each Warband can easily take over an hour to assemble.

The boards are of nice quality and double sided, which helps keep it varied, though I don't know if there's really much of a difference between the two sides of each board.

Each starter set is $60 and comes with two Warbands, ranging from three to seven figures, with additional Warbands able to be purchased for between $25 and $30, so price of entry on this game is quite low.

I will say this, though...  The card for this game are CHEAP.  CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP.  They are of such poor quality, they barely survive in the box they're shipped in.  I can't imagine that higher quality card stock for the cards, which are SUCH a vital aspect of the game, would add THAT much to the cost of production, so it stands as really odd thing to skimp on.

Buy It!, Try It!, or Fly It!

Okay, so according to some of my followers, this game is not REALLY a simpler entry point into Warhammer, but you know what?  I don't flippin' care.  I really like this game.  It's fast, each game plays in under 40 minutes, and it's easy to learn and teach.  Not to mention the pre-constructed Warbands combined with the customizable decks accessible, while still offering high levels of customization without having the break the bank on plastic.

This game continues the recent trend of Games Workshop releasing complete gaming experiences in a small box, which started with Blitz Bowl, which was also excellent, and it really makes me excited to try Space Marine Adventures.  While I haven't played this game in the tournament format, so, I don't exactly know what that community or gameplay experience is like, I can say that if you're looking for a quick fun little way to decimate your friends on a Saturday afternoon, you could do a lot worse than Warhammer Underworlds.

The Verdict...?

BUY IT!

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