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Warhammer Underworlds

2018-04-10T15:31:54Z

2A02:C7F:5E7B:A00:3C98:8749:5D03:EAA4: /* Ironskull's Boyz */

{{stub}}
[[File:SS-logo.png|450px|center]]
Warhammer Underworlds is a new Specialist game released by [[Games Workshop]], situated in the shadowy city of Shadespire, where warbands battle in the streets for glory or to gain "shadeglass", a substance that can confer eternal life. It combines the easy-to-pick-up nature and deck-building from [[X-Wing]] with the setting of [[Age of Sigmar]], an unholy fusion of the two most addictive hobbies to grace nerddom. Geedubs are banking on this being a competitive tournament game, with contests already being planned even before all the factions have been released. You can bet that the min-max crowd are gonna be over this like sloppy T-Rexes over carrion.

The starter pack comes with Stormcast Eternals and Khorne Bloodbound (where have I seen this before...) with all the bitz needed to play the game. Ironjaw Orrukz and Skellingtons have been released since with their own decks, along with Skaven and <s>Dwarfs</s> Fyreslayers Warbands in a second wave. If the game does well, it can be expected that Underworlds will be expanded with additional Warbands and settings. Now, [[Just as planned|if all goes as planned]] we’re awaiting a second band of Sigmarines with a different loadout and their totally-not-power-armoured Khornate counterparts.

==The Setting==
[[File:Shadespire-Factions-Image1jrcn.jpg|450px|thumb|right|Oh no, I hate it when a [[Nagash|Skeleton Lich-Overlord]] screams broken mirrors out on me and my friends!]]
At the edge of the Desert of Bones in Shyish, the Realm of Death was a great city called Shadespire. The people living in it had managed to create some sort of magical mirror-like substance called "Shadeglass", which let the souls of their dead live on in mirrors put up everywhere around the city, keeping their knowledge and powers safe for future generations to use for the city’s betterment. Naturally, this didn't sit too well with [[Nagash]], who wasn't fond of ''once again'' be cheated of his tithe of death. So, to get back at those arrogant Shadespirers, he threw the entire fucking city out between the Realm of Shadow and Light in the endless void, trapping everyone inside to live out an eternity of kinda-torment until they petition themselves to him voluntarily. An unliving husk is left of Shadespire in Shyish, but the actual city, now out in the nothingness, has become impossibly vast, but fragmented and all messed up, so you never know if you can find that favorite In-And-Out Burger you love so much after you leave it.

To the surprise of no one, the destruction of Shadespire inspired legions of looters to ransack the physical ruins for Shadeglass and other riches. Unfortunately, anyone who goes just a bit too far into the city will find themselves with a one-way ticket to Shadespire for an eternity of bloodshed. With nothing better to do, the different Warbands caught in Shadespire fight it out to the bloody death for kicks - they can't die permanently anyway, as the city resurrects them within days.

While the setting and the idea of "Warbands" might cause a few of you [[Mordheim]] players to awake from your eternal slumber, be warned that the Warbands aren't customizable ''at all''. These guys are not [[Your Dudes|your dudes]], they are unique characters with names and such, so if you wanted to make your own guys, this isn't your game.

==The Game==
The game is played between two players (with a possibility for up to four players) on hex-grid boards, with the goal of gaining as many <s>Victory</s> '''Glory Points''' as possible before the end of the game. You gain G<s>l</s>ory Points by either killing enemy models or by achieving Objective Cards, which you draw before the game starts. This means that you can win a game even if your entire Warband is killed off. The only thing that matters is gaining more Glory Points than the opponent.

A game is three turns of four activations each, for a total of twelve activation per person. If this sounds quick, it's because it fucking is: two players who know the rules can easily play a full game in twenty minutes or less. In tournaments, a match is almost sure to be three games in a row and tournaments are intended to be best of 3.

At the start of every turn, the players roll off and the winner chooses how to place the first hex-board, with the second player placing the other board in such a way that the hexes connects properly and at least three hexes are connected. Board placement can have a drastic effect on the game, as each board side has its own starting positions and such. Then the players roll off again, the first player placing their models on the starting positions on their own board side first.

The players take turns doing Activations; four Activations each per Turn. An Activation lets you do one of these Actions:

* Move a model. Each model can only move once per Turn. There are tokens to indicate which models have moved.
* Attack an enemy model within reach. For each friendly model in base contact with the enemy model apart from the attacking model, the attacker hits easier (presumably as his bud holds the enemy down to the curb while your attacking models winds up his stompin’ boot). Ranged attacks go through models, but not terrain, which can make certain models a real fucking pain in the ass when they get Inspired and have Supporters on their attacks.
* Charge an enemy model, which is a Move followed by an Attack. Models cannot be activated after Charging, and you can only Charge with three models a turn, so spend them well. There's also little tokens to indicate what models have charged.
* Guard with a Friendly model. This allows your model to use '''both''' Dodge and Block on the Defence die, which can help a lot if your’re a fucking human with 2 Wounds and one Dodge, which is like half the Khorne Warband. Models lose Guard if they charge in the same turn.
* Draw a Power Card. Generally don't use this; you get new Power Cards each Turn and your Activations are precious.
* Discard and draw an Objective Card. Again, don't do this unless you're boned. Still, this is remarkably more useful than the other Draw option, since you can't replace your Objective Cards ever, and they win you the game if you have the proper set.

After each of your Activations you may play Power Cards which come in different flavours:
'''Ploys''', which are free and do all sorts of interesting shit after playing them, like moving guys around or stealing the enemy's Glory Points. The other Power Card type are '''Upgrades''', which cost Glory Points (put doesn't remove them - They still count as "Victory Points" even if used to buy an Upgrade), and are permanent upgrades to your models. Ploys make or break the game; have as many Ploys as you can (up to half of your deck) in the Power Deck and choose them very carefully. After you have played a Power Card, your opponent may do the same, then you can play one and so on, until both calls. With this, the opposing player gets to Activate.
Some cards are also '''Reactions''' which are played <s>like [[magic the gathering]]</s> as a counter or response to certain enemy actions, their power cards or things that have happened to your dudes.

Each model is unqiue and have an [[Anime|INSPIRED MOOOOODE!]] When the model's Inspire requirement is met, you flip the card and use the profile on the other side which usually includes new attacks and better stats. For some Warbands this is just a nice little bonus, but for others, like the Reavers, it's their entire thing and what you should build your decks around.

===Deck-Building===
[[File:Shadespire-DeckBuilding101-Cards1krs.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Two Objective Cards.]]
So that's pretty simple, but this is where Warbands and deck-building comes into it.

Each player has two decks; a Power Deck of 20 cards (or more) and an Objective Deck of exactly 12. A large amount of the cards available are Neutral and usable by everyone, but there's a good amount of Faction Cards that only the specific Warband can use.

The Objective Deck is the one that will win you the game, since it has the collection of cards that will award you Glory Points. Your choice of Objective Cards is crucial for your gameplan, and ideally you should have a combination of high-risk, five Glory Points cards and the easy-to-claim one Glory Point cards to tackle those situations where RNG fucked you over.

The Power Deck is the one where your Ploys (aforementioned God-cards of Awesome, dagger symbol) and Upgrades (eh, gear symbols) goes. They should help you achieve your Objectives obviously, but some are just so good that they should be in all decks if you can make them fit. Cards like Confusion (switch two models in base contact) and Sidestep (Friendly model moves one Hex) are awesome to help you get into bashing range without using Activations on Move Actions. Generally, anything that gives some additional movement fucking rocks. Only half of your deck can be Ploys.

If you need advice, GW put some example decks up on their website based on dev team recommendations and decks that won major tournaments.

==Warbands==
The game is slated to get at least eight Warbands. The two first Warbands can be found in the starter pack, with the rest being released over time.

===Steelheart's Champions===
[[File:60010799005 ShadespireENG03.jpg|right|300px|Steelheart's Champions]]
The Stormcast Eternal Warband and the smallest group currently in the game. Liberator-Prime Steelheart and his two roadtrip buds went to Shadespire to find a cure to the increasing hollowness that plagues Stormcasts when they get reforged, and they're not even gonna try to get out of the city before they have it!

Stormcast are among the tougher and slower Warbands, and all their attacks hits fairly easily and hits like a bullet train. Their Inspire comes into play when they successfully roll a Shield or Critical on defense, which causes them to gain [[Nurgle]]-like toughness and additional attacks... But you'll need to strike a precarious balance because before that, even your four Wound won't save you from attacks; and with only three models, each casualty will severely hurt your board presence and ability to gain Glory Points. Another issue is that Steelheart McLanternjaw, the leader of the Warband, ironically is the least useful model, with no specific role to fill in.

The SC cards are pretty simple - Not bad, just simple. Your opponent will often know what your decks are about the moment you place just one set of gold-plated buttcheeks on the board, but that might necessarily be that much of an issue. It just means that the Champions are a very steady Warband that can take a beating and still work towards their goals.

They are tough, but slow, and warbands like the <s>Orruks</s>, <s>Orcs</s>, <s>Orkz</s>, DA BOYZ with access to a lot of cleave can cause a lot of trouble.

===Garrek's Reavers===
[[File:60010799005 ShadespireENG05.jpg|right|300px|Garrek's Reavers]]
No Stormcasts without the cannibals in red! They don’t even say why they’re there; maybe [[Warhammer:_Age_of_Sigmar#Khorne_Bloodbound|Bloodbound]] just appear spontanously where Stormbois go, like a really sick sort of intestinal disease that usually follows a McDonalds menu? The Reavers is widely considered one of, if not the most difficult Warband to pilot currently in the game... But when they get rolling, they get fucking *rolling*!

The Reavers have five models, varying from pretty okay to absolutely awful. They’re all pretty fast and get faster yet when Inspired, and has a model for every situation - the issue is, they fall like flies to even the slightest attack, with two of the Reavers literally having [[Fail|2 Wounds and 1 Dodge]] (which is the worst defense in the game), and the others are only marginally better. However, this is also the Reavers’ trump card, because when '''any''' three models in the game are taken Out of Action, *all* Reavers become Inspired, which turns them into some of the most dangerous models in the game! Saek and Garrek himself gets particularly nasty, with very powerful attacks and high movement. When this is combined with the frankly fantastic Reaver Upgrades and Ploys, this Warband goes from weedy to scary in no time. There's a mixed bag included Axe-Chain-Man with the power of axes on a chain allowing ranged melee attacks and Stabbins McGee who can make lots of attacks. By having 5 Speedy Khornezales grabbing objectives is easy, but they drop like flies.

====Reaver Decks====
*'''Aggro Reavers:''' How a warband of Khorne-worshipping mortals who come back to life should play - Fast and hard! Aggro Reavers aims to start the game by attempting to kill as many enemy models as possible before Arnulf and Targor eventually dies by a stiff breeze, which should allow you to become Inspired. Then you pile on the upgrades on Saek, Garrek and Karsus and go to town. These builds are meant to burn like crazy, with loads of easy-to-use reactionary Ploys and great Upgrades that allow your golden boys to reave havoc; most games you'll end with an empty Power Deck! This is not an easy deck to run however, as it requires you to weigh the sacrifices you are going to have to make to be Inspired - if you're not careful, you'll just bloody yourself, like punching yourself in the nose.
**'''Karsus Unleashed:''' A variant of the Aggro Reavers that puts most of their Upgrades on Karsus. He's got a Range 2 attack as well as an "attack-everything-within-Range-1" attack, both which benefit massively by Upgrades like Great Strength (+1 Damage to all attacks). Place him somewhere were he gets support from the other models and let him go to town from a safe distance.
*'''Objective Reavers:''' Believe it or not, Khorne cultists play a fairly strong Objective game. The Reavers are fast and have quite a few models with allows you to cove most of the board quickly. With the addition of the Move buff from Inspired and Ploys like Sidestep (Move a friendly model one Hex) or Sprint (Next Move is doubled), the Khorne guys are among the fastest Warbands in the game. Only issue is that they aren't very tough compared to other Objective decks, so more bashy Warbands can ruin your day by throwing your bare-torsoed-ass around.

===Ironskull's Boyz===
[[File:60120709001 IronskullsBoyzENG02.jpg|right|300px|Ironskull's Boyz]]
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!!!!
The 'Ardboyz representing green power. These guys have been stuck in the city for a while(decades) after a looting spree gone wrong. At first the leader, Gurzag Ironskull, did not like it one bit but after the years has grown rather fond of the place. What with an endless cycle of battle and bloodshed, this place is actually rather nice for an Orruk.

These guys are one of the simpler teams to play and is great for beginners. They are tough as hell, have alright movement and hard hitting power from 2 of the 4 members. They inspire simply by taking damage which is rather easy as only a few combos can one-shot these monsters of melee. Most of their unique Ploys are made to essentially break the game; making extra moves and attacks, making moves after attacking or attacking after moves and so on and so forth. Combining these Ploys in one Activation can cause you to play an entire Turn in a single Activation, clutching a win from defeat at lightning speed! Almost all their objectives focus on them hitting enemies, so don't include all of them in one deck. The orcs aren't suited for Objective play either; they just don't have the movement to claim a lot of Objectives in time.

Their main weakness is Hakka and Basha, who's damage sucks up to several colors of chode, even after they're Inspired. However, with some clever use of Upgrades they can get alright. They are also very predictable to play against, predictable in their unpredictability in a sense. While their Ploys can mess up the game, that's what they have to play with mostly. This isn't the that bad though; you've still got 17 Wounds with good Defense, so whatever the enemy can throw at you, you can probably take it in stride.

====Orruk Decks====
*'''Grind-Out Orruks:''' With four tough-as-nails boyz that actually likes to take damage, you've got no reason not to throw them into the fire and let them roast. The main difference between you and most Warbands is that ''you'' can take it; they usually can't! This deck-type needs a keen eye for opportunities and openings to exploit, as well as a tactican's mind to utilize your Ploys and Upgrades well. For example, don't burn Power Cards on a dude who's probably gonna die soon, and never think that even Basha or Hakka can't do their share; even a single Wound of Damage can make a great difference. This deck uses Brutal but Kunnin' (Make a Move after an Attack), Kunnin' but Brutal (Take a guess), 'Avin' A Good Time (50/50 chance of making an extra attack) to squeeze the most value out of each dude, as well as upgrades like Daemonic Weapon (Dude gets a nasty-ass attack) and 'Ard Head (Hakka or Basha takes a permanent -1 Damage) to boost Basha and Hakka to true killyness.
*'''"You On Da List?":''' Also called Board Orcs or Bouncer Orcs, this is a deck based on three Objective Cards that can give fucking '''8''' Glory Points by the end of the game, with the same requirements basically! These three are Denial (Enemy models didn't end on your board), Contained (Enemy models ended in their Board entirely) and Conquerors (All your models ended in the enemy board), which, as you can imagine, can win you almost any game immediately. Here's the issue - Almost all players who've lost to this before will do ''everything'' they can to stop you, Sprinting to the end of your board side to ruin your life. This is why you'll want to make like Blood Bowl and wall the fuck up at the No-Mans Land between the boards, hopefully stopping any intruders. Your deck should also be filled up by defensive and supportive Ploys and Upgrades like Great Toughness (+1 Wound), Unkillable (When Gurzag is killed, 50/50 chance he lives), Healing Potion (Heal 1 or 2 Wounds) and 'Ard Head (Hakka or Basha takes -1 Wounds) to increase your staying power.

===Sepulchral Guard===
[[File:Shadespire-WarbandsSkeletons.jpg|right|300px|Sepulchral Guard]]
The remains of several of Shadespire's unfortunate inhabitants, now turned to the service of Nagash in the hopes that he will forgive their insolence (and put them out of their misery). Their boss was once the last Lord Marshal of Shadespire.

Skellington Skwad weighs in with no less than 7 dead guys. There's Spear McGiblets the leader who, despite the cool models armor and spear, needs to hide like a <s>bitch</s> boss at the back because only he can resurrect your dead undead. Did we mention that re-animating <s>a</s> two skellymans makes him Inspired? Put simply if you play this band you will activate Boss Skellington most of the 12 actions, and striking the right balance between moving your squishy guys forward to let them get krumped, bringing them back in their more powerful form and actually activating them to have them do shit will win or lose you the game.

There's 2 hero guys, basically skeleton warriors - a mace dude (The Prince) and the sword dude (The Champ) - these guys can actually get shit done and benefit from the better upgrades. They can be resurrected by Spear McGiblets which as is normal (for animated necromantic skeletons) Inspires them. Then there's the remains of Farmer Maggot with his kick ass scythe. This can hit all adjacent foes giving you some area of attack. Finally there's 3 petitioners which at the moment are the worst models in the game - move 2, piss poor attacks. In fact most of your dudes attacks and defence are rubbish, however the upgrades let you take extra attacks or let you get support on actions even if you don't have the models in the right place.

By having 7 models combined with McGiblets' ability to move 2 other skeletons allows you to zerg your opponent and capture objectives. Just be aware that the skeletons are pretty squishy and most warbands won't have much trouble smashing through them - just as well they get back up! Building your deck with the right mix of upgrades and reactions and knowing when to play what to get the most mileage out of your bonebags isn't easy but is really satisfying when it does work.

===The Chosen Axes===
[[File:Warhammer-Underworlds-Shadespire-Fyreslayers.jpg|right|300px|Garrek's Reavers]]
<s>Dwarfs</s> Fyreslayers - expect 4 short, choppy bastards mixed with fire as well as typical stunty grumbling about painting orange. The Fyreslayers of the Vostarg lodge failed an oath of theirs to keep the city safe, and even after hundreds of their number have fallen trying to dispel its curse they're much too stubborn to know when they're beat.

Fyreslayers are supposed to be similar to the Stormcast Eternals but with the ability to specialise in either offense or defense. They are very slow but get inspired from holding objectives. Oddly enough, the massive axe does not count as a ranged weapon, and can only reach one hex...

===Spiteclaw's Swarm===
Skaven - a mini-swarm of 5 ratbois here for the looting. Expect speed and trickyness but to die easier than the skellybones. There'll be ranged attacks and bonuses for outnumbering or supporting against single models.

They get inspired whenever a ploy is used on them. They have two named characters, while the remaining three are more expendable. If they die, one of the three can automatically be brought back a turn (and a ploy allows for another to come back as well in that same turn.)

===The Farstriders===
Sparklier Stormcast, with a greater focus on ranged combat. Inspiration strikes from ending an action phase in enemy territory, encouraging more aggressive play instead of sitting back and pewpewing like a bitch.

===Magore's Fiends===
The Stormcast version of the Reavers - choppy and armoured. And with a fleshound to boot.

{{Specialist-Games}}
[[Category:Age of Sigmar]][[Category:Games Workshop]][[Category:Specialist Games]]

Warhammer Underworlds

2018-04-10T15:31:35Z

2A02:C7F:5E7B:A00:3C98:8749:5D03:EAA4: /* Ironskull's Boyz */

{{stub}}
[[File:SS-logo.png|450px|center]]
Warhammer Underworlds is a new Specialist game released by [[Games Workshop]], situated in the shadowy city of Shadespire, where warbands battle in the streets for glory or to gain "shadeglass", a substance that can confer eternal life. It combines the easy-to-pick-up nature and deck-building from [[X-Wing]] with the setting of [[Age of Sigmar]], an unholy fusion of the two most addictive hobbies to grace nerddom. Geedubs are banking on this being a competitive tournament game, with contests already being planned even before all the factions have been released. You can bet that the min-max crowd are gonna be over this like sloppy T-Rexes over carrion.

The starter pack comes with Stormcast Eternals and Khorne Bloodbound (where have I seen this before...) with all the bitz needed to play the game. Ironjaw Orrukz and Skellingtons have been released since with their own decks, along with Skaven and <s>Dwarfs</s> Fyreslayers Warbands in a second wave. If the game does well, it can be expected that Underworlds will be expanded with additional Warbands and settings. Now, [[Just as planned|if all goes as planned]] we’re awaiting a second band of Sigmarines with a different loadout and their totally-not-power-armoured Khornate counterparts.

==The Setting==
[[File:Shadespire-Factions-Image1jrcn.jpg|450px|thumb|right|Oh no, I hate it when a [[Nagash|Skeleton Lich-Overlord]] screams broken mirrors out on me and my friends!]]
At the edge of the Desert of Bones in Shyish, the Realm of Death was a great city called Shadespire. The people living in it had managed to create some sort of magical mirror-like substance called "Shadeglass", which let the souls of their dead live on in mirrors put up everywhere around the city, keeping their knowledge and powers safe for future generations to use for the city’s betterment. Naturally, this didn't sit too well with [[Nagash]], who wasn't fond of ''once again'' be cheated of his tithe of death. So, to get back at those arrogant Shadespirers, he threw the entire fucking city out between the Realm of Shadow and Light in the endless void, trapping everyone inside to live out an eternity of kinda-torment until they petition themselves to him voluntarily. An unliving husk is left of Shadespire in Shyish, but the actual city, now out in the nothingness, has become impossibly vast, but fragmented and all messed up, so you never know if you can find that favorite In-And-Out Burger you love so much after you leave it.

To the surprise of no one, the destruction of Shadespire inspired legions of looters to ransack the physical ruins for Shadeglass and other riches. Unfortunately, anyone who goes just a bit too far into the city will find themselves with a one-way ticket to Shadespire for an eternity of bloodshed. With nothing better to do, the different Warbands caught in Shadespire fight it out to the bloody death for kicks - they can't die permanently anyway, as the city resurrects them within days.

While the setting and the idea of "Warbands" might cause a few of you [[Mordheim]] players to awake from your eternal slumber, be warned that the Warbands aren't customizable ''at all''. These guys are not [[Your Dudes|your dudes]], they are unique characters with names and such, so if you wanted to make your own guys, this isn't your game.

==The Game==
The game is played between two players (with a possibility for up to four players) on hex-grid boards, with the goal of gaining as many <s>Victory</s> '''Glory Points''' as possible before the end of the game. You gain G<s>l</s>ory Points by either killing enemy models or by achieving Objective Cards, which you draw before the game starts. This means that you can win a game even if your entire Warband is killed off. The only thing that matters is gaining more Glory Points than the opponent.

A game is three turns of four activations each, for a total of twelve activation per person. If this sounds quick, it's because it fucking is: two players who know the rules can easily play a full game in twenty minutes or less. In tournaments, a match is almost sure to be three games in a row and tournaments are intended to be best of 3.

At the start of every turn, the players roll off and the winner chooses how to place the first hex-board, with the second player placing the other board in such a way that the hexes connects properly and at least three hexes are connected. Board placement can have a drastic effect on the game, as each board side has its own starting positions and such. Then the players roll off again, the first player placing their models on the starting positions on their own board side first.

The players take turns doing Activations; four Activations each per Turn. An Activation lets you do one of these Actions:

* Move a model. Each model can only move once per Turn. There are tokens to indicate which models have moved.
* Attack an enemy model within reach. For each friendly model in base contact with the enemy model apart from the attacking model, the attacker hits easier (presumably as his bud holds the enemy down to the curb while your attacking models winds up his stompin’ boot). Ranged attacks go through models, but not terrain, which can make certain models a real fucking pain in the ass when they get Inspired and have Supporters on their attacks.
* Charge an enemy model, which is a Move followed by an Attack. Models cannot be activated after Charging, and you can only Charge with three models a turn, so spend them well. There's also little tokens to indicate what models have charged.
* Guard with a Friendly model. This allows your model to use '''both''' Dodge and Block on the Defence die, which can help a lot if your’re a fucking human with 2 Wounds and one Dodge, which is like half the Khorne Warband. Models lose Guard if they charge in the same turn.
* Draw a Power Card. Generally don't use this; you get new Power Cards each Turn and your Activations are precious.
* Discard and draw an Objective Card. Again, don't do this unless you're boned. Still, this is remarkably more useful than the other Draw option, since you can't replace your Objective Cards ever, and they win you the game if you have the proper set.

After each of your Activations you may play Power Cards which come in different flavours:
'''Ploys''', which are free and do all sorts of interesting shit after playing them, like moving guys around or stealing the enemy's Glory Points. The other Power Card type are '''Upgrades''', which cost Glory Points (put doesn't remove them - They still count as "Victory Points" even if used to buy an Upgrade), and are permanent upgrades to your models. Ploys make or break the game; have as many Ploys as you can (up to half of your deck) in the Power Deck and choose them very carefully. After you have played a Power Card, your opponent may do the same, then you can play one and so on, until both calls. With this, the opposing player gets to Activate.
Some cards are also '''Reactions''' which are played <s>like [[magic the gathering]]</s> as a counter or response to certain enemy actions, their power cards or things that have happened to your dudes.

Each model is unqiue and have an [[Anime|INSPIRED MOOOOODE!]] When the model's Inspire requirement is met, you flip the card and use the profile on the other side which usually includes new attacks and better stats. For some Warbands this is just a nice little bonus, but for others, like the Reavers, it's their entire thing and what you should build your decks around.

===Deck-Building===
[[File:Shadespire-DeckBuilding101-Cards1krs.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Two Objective Cards.]]
So that's pretty simple, but this is where Warbands and deck-building comes into it.

Each player has two decks; a Power Deck of 20 cards (or more) and an Objective Deck of exactly 12. A large amount of the cards available are Neutral and usable by everyone, but there's a good amount of Faction Cards that only the specific Warband can use.

The Objective Deck is the one that will win you the game, since it has the collection of cards that will award you Glory Points. Your choice of Objective Cards is crucial for your gameplan, and ideally you should have a combination of high-risk, five Glory Points cards and the easy-to-claim one Glory Point cards to tackle those situations where RNG fucked you over.

The Power Deck is the one where your Ploys (aforementioned God-cards of Awesome, dagger symbol) and Upgrades (eh, gear symbols) goes. They should help you achieve your Objectives obviously, but some are just so good that they should be in all decks if you can make them fit. Cards like Confusion (switch two models in base contact) and Sidestep (Friendly model moves one Hex) are awesome to help you get into bashing range without using Activations on Move Actions. Generally, anything that gives some additional movement fucking rocks. Only half of your deck can be Ploys.

If you need advice, GW put some example decks up on their website based on dev team recommendations and decks that won major tournaments.

==Warbands==
The game is slated to get at least eight Warbands. The two first Warbands can be found in the starter pack, with the rest being released over time.

===Steelheart's Champions===
[[File:60010799005 ShadespireENG03.jpg|right|300px|Steelheart's Champions]]
The Stormcast Eternal Warband and the smallest group currently in the game. Liberator-Prime Steelheart and his two roadtrip buds went to Shadespire to find a cure to the increasing hollowness that plagues Stormcasts when they get reforged, and they're not even gonna try to get out of the city before they have it!

Stormcast are among the tougher and slower Warbands, and all their attacks hits fairly easily and hits like a bullet train. Their Inspire comes into play when they successfully roll a Shield or Critical on defense, which causes them to gain [[Nurgle]]-like toughness and additional attacks... But you'll need to strike a precarious balance because before that, even your four Wound won't save you from attacks; and with only three models, each casualty will severely hurt your board presence and ability to gain Glory Points. Another issue is that Steelheart McLanternjaw, the leader of the Warband, ironically is the least useful model, with no specific role to fill in.

The SC cards are pretty simple - Not bad, just simple. Your opponent will often know what your decks are about the moment you place just one set of gold-plated buttcheeks on the board, but that might necessarily be that much of an issue. It just means that the Champions are a very steady Warband that can take a beating and still work towards their goals.

They are tough, but slow, and warbands like the <s>Orruks</s>, <s>Orcs</s>, <s>Orkz</s>, DA BOYZ with access to a lot of cleave can cause a lot of trouble.

===Garrek's Reavers===
[[File:60010799005 ShadespireENG05.jpg|right|300px|Garrek's Reavers]]
No Stormcasts without the cannibals in red! They don’t even say why they’re there; maybe [[Warhammer:_Age_of_Sigmar#Khorne_Bloodbound|Bloodbound]] just appear spontanously where Stormbois go, like a really sick sort of intestinal disease that usually follows a McDonalds menu? The Reavers is widely considered one of, if not the most difficult Warband to pilot currently in the game... But when they get rolling, they get fucking *rolling*!

The Reavers have five models, varying from pretty okay to absolutely awful. They’re all pretty fast and get faster yet when Inspired, and has a model for every situation - the issue is, they fall like flies to even the slightest attack, with two of the Reavers literally having [[Fail|2 Wounds and 1 Dodge]] (which is the worst defense in the game), and the others are only marginally better. However, this is also the Reavers’ trump card, because when '''any''' three models in the game are taken Out of Action, *all* Reavers become Inspired, which turns them into some of the most dangerous models in the game! Saek and Garrek himself gets particularly nasty, with very powerful attacks and high movement. When this is combined with the frankly fantastic Reaver Upgrades and Ploys, this Warband goes from weedy to scary in no time. There's a mixed bag included Axe-Chain-Man with the power of axes on a chain allowing ranged melee attacks and Stabbins McGee who can make lots of attacks. By having 5 Speedy Khornezales grabbing objectives is easy, but they drop like flies.

====Reaver Decks====
*'''Aggro Reavers:''' How a warband of Khorne-worshipping mortals who come back to life should play - Fast and hard! Aggro Reavers aims to start the game by attempting to kill as many enemy models as possible before Arnulf and Targor eventually dies by a stiff breeze, which should allow you to become Inspired. Then you pile on the upgrades on Saek, Garrek and Karsus and go to town. These builds are meant to burn like crazy, with loads of easy-to-use reactionary Ploys and great Upgrades that allow your golden boys to reave havoc; most games you'll end with an empty Power Deck! This is not an easy deck to run however, as it requires you to weigh the sacrifices you are going to have to make to be Inspired - if you're not careful, you'll just bloody yourself, like punching yourself in the nose.
**'''Karsus Unleashed:''' A variant of the Aggro Reavers that puts most of their Upgrades on Karsus. He's got a Range 2 attack as well as an "attack-everything-within-Range-1" attack, both which benefit massively by Upgrades like Great Strength (+1 Damage to all attacks). Place him somewhere were he gets support from the other models and let him go to town from a safe distance.
*'''Objective Reavers:''' Believe it or not, Khorne cultists play a fairly strong Objective game. The Reavers are fast and have quite a few models with allows you to cove most of the board quickly. With the addition of the Move buff from Inspired and Ploys like Sidestep (Move a friendly model one Hex) or Sprint (Next Move is doubled), the Khorne guys are among the fastest Warbands in the game. Only issue is that they aren't very tough compared to other Objective decks, so more bashy Warbands can ruin your day by throwing your bare-torsoed-ass around.

===Ironskull's Boyz===
[[File:60120709001 IronskullsBoyzENG02.jpg|right|300px|Ironskull's Boyz]]
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!!!!3
The 'Ardboyz representing green power. These guys have been stuck in the city for a while(decades) after a looting spree gone wrong. At first the leader, Gurzag Ironskull, did not like it one bit but after the years has grown rather fond of the place. What with an endless cycle of battle and bloodshed, this place is actually rather nice for an Orruk.

These guys are one of the simpler teams to play and is great for beginners. They are tough as hell, have alright movement and hard hitting power from 2 of the 4 members. They inspire simply by taking damage which is rather easy as only a few combos can one-shot these monsters of melee. Most of their unique Ploys are made to essentially break the game; making extra moves and attacks, making moves after attacking or attacking after moves and so on and so forth. Combining these Ploys in one Activation can cause you to play an entire Turn in a single Activation, clutching a win from defeat at lightning speed! Almost all their objectives focus on them hitting enemies, so don't include all of them in one deck. The orcs aren't suited for Objective play either; they just don't have the movement to claim a lot of Objectives in time.

Their main weakness is Hakka and Basha, who's damage sucks up to several colors of chode, even after they're Inspired. However, with some clever use of Upgrades they can get alright. They are also very predictable to play against, predictable in their unpredictability in a sense. While their Ploys can mess up the game, that's what they have to play with mostly. This isn't the that bad though; you've still got 17 Wounds with good Defense, so whatever the enemy can throw at you, you can probably take it in stride.

====Orruk Decks====
*'''Grind-Out Orruks:''' With four tough-as-nails boyz that actually likes to take damage, you've got no reason not to throw them into the fire and let them roast. The main difference between you and most Warbands is that ''you'' can take it; they usually can't! This deck-type needs a keen eye for opportunities and openings to exploit, as well as a tactican's mind to utilize your Ploys and Upgrades well. For example, don't burn Power Cards on a dude who's probably gonna die soon, and never think that even Basha or Hakka can't do their share; even a single Wound of Damage can make a great difference. This deck uses Brutal but Kunnin' (Make a Move after an Attack), Kunnin' but Brutal (Take a guess), 'Avin' A Good Time (50/50 chance of making an extra attack) to squeeze the most value out of each dude, as well as upgrades like Daemonic Weapon (Dude gets a nasty-ass attack) and 'Ard Head (Hakka or Basha takes a permanent -1 Damage) to boost Basha and Hakka to true killyness.
*'''"You On Da List?":''' Also called Board Orcs or Bouncer Orcs, this is a deck based on three Objective Cards that can give fucking '''8''' Glory Points by the end of the game, with the same requirements basically! These three are Denial (Enemy models didn't end on your board), Contained (Enemy models ended in their Board entirely) and Conquerors (All your models ended in the enemy board), which, as you can imagine, can win you almost any game immediately. Here's the issue - Almost all players who've lost to this before will do ''everything'' they can to stop you, Sprinting to the end of your board side to ruin your life. This is why you'll want to make like Blood Bowl and wall the fuck up at the No-Mans Land between the boards, hopefully stopping any intruders. Your deck should also be filled up by defensive and supportive Ploys and Upgrades like Great Toughness (+1 Wound), Unkillable (When Gurzag is killed, 50/50 chance he lives), Healing Potion (Heal 1 or 2 Wounds) and 'Ard Head (Hakka or Basha takes -1 Wounds) to increase your staying power.

===Sepulchral Guard===
[[File:Shadespire-WarbandsSkeletons.jpg|right|300px|Sepulchral Guard]]
The remains of several of Shadespire's unfortunate inhabitants, now turned to the service of Nagash in the hopes that he will forgive their insolence (and put them out of their misery). Their boss was once the last Lord Marshal of Shadespire.

Skellington Skwad weighs in with no less than 7 dead guys. There's Spear McGiblets the leader who, despite the cool models armor and spear, needs to hide like a <s>bitch</s> boss at the back because only he can resurrect your dead undead. Did we mention that re-animating <s>a</s> two skellymans makes him Inspired? Put simply if you play this band you will activate Boss Skellington most of the 12 actions, and striking the right balance between moving your squishy guys forward to let them get krumped, bringing them back in their more powerful form and actually activating them to have them do shit will win or lose you the game.

There's 2 hero guys, basically skeleton warriors - a mace dude (The Prince) and the sword dude (The Champ) - these guys can actually get shit done and benefit from the better upgrades. They can be resurrected by Spear McGiblets which as is normal (for animated necromantic skeletons) Inspires them. Then there's the remains of Farmer Maggot with his kick ass scythe. This can hit all adjacent foes giving you some area of attack. Finally there's 3 petitioners which at the moment are the worst models in the game - move 2, piss poor attacks. In fact most of your dudes attacks and defence are rubbish, however the upgrades let you take extra attacks or let you get support on actions even if you don't have the models in the right place.

By having 7 models combined with McGiblets' ability to move 2 other skeletons allows you to zerg your opponent and capture objectives. Just be aware that the skeletons are pretty squishy and most warbands won't have much trouble smashing through them - just as well they get back up! Building your deck with the right mix of upgrades and reactions and knowing when to play what to get the most mileage out of your bonebags isn't easy but is really satisfying when it does work.

===The Chosen Axes===
[[File:Warhammer-Underworlds-Shadespire-Fyreslayers.jpg|right|300px|Garrek's Reavers]]
<s>Dwarfs</s> Fyreslayers - expect 4 short, choppy bastards mixed with fire as well as typical stunty grumbling about painting orange. The Fyreslayers of the Vostarg lodge failed an oath of theirs to keep the city safe, and even after hundreds of their number have fallen trying to dispel its curse they're much too stubborn to know when they're beat.

Fyreslayers are supposed to be similar to the Stormcast Eternals but with the ability to specialise in either offense or defense. They are very slow but get inspired from holding objectives. Oddly enough, the massive axe does not count as a ranged weapon, and can only reach one hex...

===Spiteclaw's Swarm===
Skaven - a mini-swarm of 5 ratbois here for the looting. Expect speed and trickyness but to die easier than the skellybones. There'll be ranged attacks and bonuses for outnumbering or supporting against single models.

They get inspired whenever a ploy is used on them. They have two named characters, while the remaining three are more expendable. If they die, one of the three can automatically be brought back a turn (and a ploy allows for another to come back as well in that same turn.)

===The Farstriders===
Sparklier Stormcast, with a greater focus on ranged combat. Inspiration strikes from ending an action phase in enemy territory, encouraging more aggressive play instead of sitting back and pewpewing like a bitch.

===Magore's Fiends===
The Stormcast version of the Reavers - choppy and armoured. And with a fleshound to boot.

{{Specialist-Games}}
[[Category:Age of Sigmar]][[Category:Games Workshop]][[Category:Specialist Games]]

Mordheim

2018-04-10T14:52:58Z

2A02:C7F:5E7B:A00:3C98:8749:5D03:EAA4: /* Warbands */

[[File:MordheimBoxArt.jpg|800px|center]]
Mordheim is a living proof that the better a game, the less [[Games Workshop]] will actively support it. It combines the good parts of playing [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] (interesting lore, cool models, variety) with none of the drawbacks (overpowered [[magic]], blatant stupidity, the need for hundreds of models), all wrapped up in a narrative skirmish game that kicks more ass than you could possibly imagine.

==Setting==
In the Warhammer universe, there was once a city known as Mordheim. Things were generally all right there, until a goddamn comet crashed into it, leaving shards of Wyrdstone around and generally destroying the city. This is bad for general business, but good for foolhardy adventurers who really, really want to loot the living hell out of an abandoned city while killing other opportunistic looters. This is considered to be the default setting for Mordheim, although other books have built on this considerably, giving you options for playing in Lustria, the Border Kingdoms, Araby, and even far-off Cathay.

Continuity-wise, it's set several hundred years before the current Warhammer timeline, which no one will care about when you're playing.

==Warbands==
Hoo boy. It'd be easier to say what Mordheim doesn't have, because there is a lot of extra material produced by GW, along with glorious fan-made material. But, to be complete, here's the list of 'official' warbands that are legal in your neighborhood GW store (unless you are in the UK where GW has banned all specialist games from their gaming rooms).

*'''Original Warbands:'''
**'''Mercenaries:''' Come in Marienburg, Middenheim, and Reiklander varieties. Easiest starting warbands, by far; you're just different flavors of human with a few altered rules. On paper they are the jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none basic warband, but due to their easy access to shooting weapons and powerful melee fighters for the cost, they tend to be more of a master-of-all sort of warband. Still, the standard warband (Reiklanders with fucktons of ranged weapons) is perhaps one of the best ranged warbands in the game.
**'''[[Sisters of Sigmar]]:''' Dead hard in the hands of a good player, Sisters get the coveted Steel Whip, one of the best weapons out there. They also have the advantage of armored spellcasters (not that you'll use armor in anything but Gentlemen's Mordheim), good statlines, and a lack of the usual crap that burdens a lot of warbands. They're a lot harder to kitbash than other Warbands however, and the models are expensive as fuck on Ebay, so be forewarned.
**'''[[Skaven]]:''' Rats cosplaying as Naruto and friends, only with poisoned swords, claws and fucking magic flintlocks. Initially, these guys get a bad rap. Then, you have fun playing with them. Then, you play a guy who runs a horde of naked Skaven carrying slings, and you hate everything forever, because it turns the game from 'hilarious, quirky skirmish' to 'being a beardy motherfucker'. If you spot someone playing that, slap them hard in the nuts.
**'''[[Undead]]:''' Generic undead list; zombies, necromancer and wolves, nothin' too fancy here... Except for that one-army beast called Vampire. Even with the large amount of extra warbands, the Vampire is still one of the best starting Leaders in the game. Notable for the fact that most of their Henchmen cannot gain experience, so you really have a hard time when you lose an important Hero in the game. Ghouls are your friends when you need XP, but they can't wield weapons.
**'''[[Witch Hunters]]:''' BURN THE WITCH! You get to shut down other magic users, plus their option to start the game by RELEASING THE HOUNDS is a fun and viable strategy. Most of their models are hard as fuck, ''especially'' Fanatics, [[Space Marines|who are S/T 4]]. Even their Hounds are S 4. The Witch Hunters hate psychics as well.
**'''Cult of the Possessed:''' [[Chaos]] up in this shit! You start weak, then you get crazy strong, then hilarious mutation tables screw you over completely and you laugh because it's Mordheim, baby! Not recommended for beginners, but smart play with buying mutations can lead to some scary-good forces.
*'''Warbands added later:'''
**'''Carnival of [[Chaos]]:''' Glorious, glorious [[Nurgle]]-centric army. Generally do fairly well in the first few missions, but some of their rules (namely Nurgle's Rot) can and will completely screw over other players in a long-running game, by breaking their heroes into useless pieces of crap.
**'''[[Dwarf]] Treasure Hunters:''' Slow, heavily-armored, and expensive, [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy Battle)|Dwarfs]] can be a force to be reckoned with. Just remember; you're a tough motherfucker, so keep your expensive heroes safe, and you'll rock out. Always prepare for ridiculous shit to happen to your Troll Slayers.
**'''[[Orc]]s & [[Goblin]]s:''' Greatest bringer of fun in Mordheim out there. Every turn, you need to roll Animosity for your warband; bad rolls can result in stupidity, in-fighting, or suicidally brave charges. A barrel of fun whether you're winning or losing, and they actually have a chance of winning thanks to pretty good stats.
**'''[[Beastmen]] Raiders:''' Whoo, [[Beastmen]]! Prepare to have no ranged weapons when you start the game, and some difficult models to control when you start out. They can get good mid-to-late game, but if you're not careful with your heroes, things will go very, very badly for you.
**'''Ostlanders:''' Inbred and dopey mercs who get access to a priest and a goddamn Ogre in their normal warband! On one hand, they get access to goddamn doublebarrelled gunpowder weapons, but on the other, they have this weird rule that forces them to spend half their money each turn on one item of some sort. Very, very '''FUN*'''.
**'''Averlanders:''' Shooty mercs. Next.
Though you do get Halflings in your normal warband because That's what everyone wants... Right?... Guys?

That's for the official, now some of the unofficial bands. Many of these came with upgraded settings, for which they tend to be be balanced for.

*'''Lustria Warbands:''' (Tend to be at least slightly OP compared to other warbands. Ye who plays a campaign with elf-lovers, abandon all hope.).
**'''Shadow Warriors:''' Elves from Nagarythe. Like the Skaven in that shooting is your best friend but whereas Skaven can shoot lots of shots on average or above average BS, Shadow Warriors can shoot you from halfway across the board and still have a good chance of hitting you (and killing if you didn't take armour or as its better known "playing properly").
**'''Amazons:''' Women from the jungles of Lustria, brought in underwear to Mordheim by slavers. Armor doesn't exist to them and their heroines have lasers. Yes, lasers.
**'''[[Dark Elves]]:''' Combine super high ballistic skills with great mobility, stealth and repeating crossbows... that's why everone hates Dark Elves and no one wants to play against them. Probably the most OP warband in the game, they start fairly weak but soon become godly snipers.
**'''[[Lizardmen]]:''' Fukken nasty at everything; they'll make your enemy think you've rolled on the Advancement table twice as much. They don't get armor, but they're armored automatically. Also, regular Henchmen with S 4/T 4. Can be mighty fun when pitted against other, unofficial warbands, but damn-near broken against anything else.
*'''[[Bretonnia]] Knights:''' Although they aren't really supposed to be in Mordheim they were added due to popular demand. So gather up your knights and purge the evil from Mordheim on horseback while archers and riflemen are confused why they can't fire at you.
*'''Pirates:''' You know what pirates are. Notable features of this warband are the Boatswains, henchmen whose experience in the ship's rigging makes them good at traveling above street level, and the ability to bring a small cannon ashore for a bit of fire support. You can also enslave heroes from other warbands and make them fight for you with a mop, which is fun.
*'''Pit Fighters:''' Someone was watching too much Gladiator in GW at the time (not really, they just ported Escaped Pit Slaves over from [[Necromunda]]), and they decided to make a warband with this guys. Crazy killing machines in close combat that will make you cry and think why did I agree on playing with unofficial bands.

And lastly, the créme de la créme of the fan-made bands. There are innumerable versions of different warbands made by fans, each more OP than the other, but a few keep to the standards presented by the original game.

*'''Border Town Burning Warbands:''' (set in Cathay, very weeaboo and chinese.).
**'''Battle Monks:''' No one has ever played this warband, but they look funny as hell. They like to fight unarmed, which kind of defeats the idea of Mordheim, but whatever. Monks can get stupid fast, sort of like Skaven, too. In fact, just play Skaven; it's essentially the same.
**'''Merchant Caravans:''' Merchants look fun on paper, but tend to do shitty in-game, unless you're lucky with your first few rolls. Brings about the box of infinite fun that is the Trade Coach; it barrels through the board like it was made by cardboard and plastic if touched by the smalles shortbow arrow.
**'''Restless Dead:''' Undead but not. Has skellies and grave guard, and the leader is a Lich, but it's basically the same.
**'''Marauders of Chaos:''' Proper fuckoff vikings, oh yeah! They'll slap the shit out of human warbands in melee, and the warband can even get Marks! Really makes Beastmen look shitty in comparison.
**'''Norse Explorers:''' Vikings, though not very chaos. Just play Marauders.
**'''Maneaters:''' A warband of Ogres; balanced by most of the Ogres not being proppa Ogres, but smaller, retard Oggies. You can make a viable warband with only three models, all with three Wounds each.

==Hired Swords==
Even amongst Mordheim's denizens, some freaks and weirdoes are particularly unique. These mercenary units, Hired Swords in the game's lingo, will hire on for various warbands, granting their own unique edges. What seperates them from Dramatis Personae is that Hired Swords represent special units who are still generic; they don't have the inherent back story of the game's special characters.

'''Corebook:'''
* Pit Fighter: A tough, battle-hardened human warrior, who carries a unique weapon. Starts out with [[Space Marine|S/T 4]], so it works well as a bruiser to soak up some nasty models. Just let your Heroes take the kill for the Exp.
* Ogre Bodyguard: A wandering ogre, lured to serve for the promise of violence, food and loot. This is most Warbands' only access to Large Target models, and can be considered the standard of the "Ogre Models". Some models are clearly better (like the Rat Ogre or the Troll), while others are kinda worse (Minotaur).
* Halfling Scout: A sneaky little halfling, whose cooking talents grants the warband the ability to hire an extra warrior beyond the normal limits on warband size. Exceptionally mediocre unless you're running a huge mob, and then you probably don't wanna pay the upkeep for a Hired Gun.
* Warlock: A hedge mage, willing to offer their somewhat dubious skill with lesser magic to any band willing to risk it. His magics aren't very powerful, but its something, and quite a few Warbands' only access to a magic user.
* Freelancer: A poor, disposessed noble turned hired sword. He's fast and tough, but is easy to flank and cut down over time if he doesn't get the alpha hit.
* Elf Ranger: An elven scout whose talents are quite useful in this Chaos-touched urban jungle. He starts with a Elven Bow, Elven Cloak, Elven everything, inclduing a BS of fucking 5. One of the best snipers in the game.
* Dwarf Troll Slayer: One of the legendary suicidal dwarven warriors of the Old World. Either throw him at whatever to see if he'll down it (which he very well might, being a Slayer and all) or let him slaughter chaff Henchmen - just don't expect him to survive. If he does, he can get craaazy strong.

'''Town Cryer:'''
* #6: Imperial Assassin: Imperial Assassin: A stealthy killer, whose lethal array of poisoned blades and special rules makes him deadly in ambushes.
* #6: Tilean Marksman: A crack-shot crossbowman who can whittle enemies down from afar with his trusty weapon.
* #12: Priest of Morr: A servant of the Imperial God of Death, dedicated to ensuring that the dead ''stay'' dead.
* #13: Duelist: A skilled, professional fighter.
* #13: Bard: A morale-boosting minstrel.
* #13: Bounty Hunter: A hardened tracker, whose bounties contribute to the warband's upkeep.
* #13: Witch: Hermetic practitioners of alchemy and hedge magic.
* #22: Arabian Merchant: A seller of exotic goods who is also handy at dealing with anyone trying to pay with their steel instead of their gold.
* #25: [[Clan Skryre]] [[Rat Ogre]]: A unique cybered-up undead rat ogre that can be purchased by the [[Skaven]] warbands of the City of the Damned.
* #26: Highwayman: A mounted pistol-packing bandit.
* #26: Roadwarden: A tough and skilled mounted warrior.
* #28: Beast Hunter: A fearless foe of all monsters and great beasts.

'''Fanatic:'''
* #3: Halfling Thief: A sneaky treasure-hunting halfling who has a 1 in 6 chance of pinching '''all''' of your Treasures and valuables.
* #5: Dwarf Treasure Hunter: A dwarf who lacks the combat skills of the Troll Slayer, but whose ability to increase your chance of finding valuable loot makes him quite useful.
* #22: Wyrdstone Inventor: Not a Hired Sword in the traditional sense, but rather a wandering NPC who can provide random magical trinkets in exchange for offerings of wyrdstone.
* #25: Fallen Sister: A Sister of Sigmar who fled her abbey in shame after spontaneously awakening her own magical talents.
* #45: Dwarf Slayer Pirate: A pistol-packing variant of the iconic Troll Slayer, native to the coastal dwarfhold of Barakk Varr.
* #49: Cursed Hillman: A werewolf in everything but name.
* #89: Ogre Slave Master: A malevolent ogre who serves Chaos warbands by keeping their slaves in line.
* #94: Halfling Knight: A rare halfling warrior who rides to battle atop a fierce but loyal hound.
* #94: Beggar: A humble scavenger, desperate enough to risk his life fighting in battle.
* #94: Imperial Tactician: A human master of the arts of military leadership and tactics.
* #94: Wood Elf Hunter: An adventurous wood elf youth.
* #94: Slaver: A ruthless scumbag who will use other men like cattle.
* #94: Swashbuckler: A flamboyant swordsmaster who relies on agility and panache over armor.
* #94: Emissary of Chaos: An aspiring Champion of the Dark Gods of Chaos.

'''Mordheim Annual 2002:'''
* Imperial Assassin: A stealthy killer, whose lethal array of poisoned blades and special rules makes him deadly in ambushes.
* Tilean Marksman: A crack-shot crossbowman who can whittle enemies down from afar with his trusty weapon.
* Mule Skinner: A trained animal handler who isn't much use in a fight, but who can help a warband get the best out of their steeds and animal companions.

==Dramatis Personae==
A fancy way of saying "special characters", this is the list of especially infamous denizens of Mordheim who can be persuaded to hire on temporarily with a warband. They're difficult to gain and honestly don't do much for the work it takes to get them; just get some more Henchmen instead. If you're up for some fun though, feel free to try to hire one.

'''Corebook:'''
* [[Aenur]], the Sword of Twilight: A mysterious elven swordsmaster, a wandering adventurer who wields an enormous sword called Iehn-Khain ("The Hand of Khaine").
* [[Johann the Knife]]: Greatest knife-fighter in the empire, an assassin and thief without parallel. He can throw somewhere around 149 knives per second.
* [[Bertha Bestraufrung]]: High Matriarch of the Sisters of Sigmar, a heavily armored warrior-priestess who splits skulls in a whirling fury with her twin hammers.
* [[Veskit]], High Executioner of [[Clan Eshin]]: A cybernetically augmented [[skaven]] master assassin.

'''Town Cryer:'''
* #22: Countess [[Marianna Chevaux]]: A vampire assassin who despises vampires and specializes in hunting her own kind.
* #25: [[Simius Gantt]], the Crow Master: A surgeon fallen into madness and now a practicing [[necromancer]].

'''Fanatic:'''
* #17: The Dark Jester: A capering, Nurglite daemon-possessed jester, only available to Possessed and Carnival of Chaos warbands.
* #62: Countess Marianna Chevaux: A vampire assassin who despises vampires and specializes in hunting her own kind.

'''Mordheim Annual 2002:'''
* [[Nicodemus]]: A cursed wizard whose foolish wish to a [[Lord of Change]] forces him to seek Wyrdstone, afore he grows into a giant monster. The model for this guy was larger than other human models at the time, which informed his rules.
* [[Ulli & Marquand]]: Two of the most treacherous bastards to ever haunt the City of the Damned, originally appearing in their own comic series in Warhammer Monthly.

==Gameplay==
At first glance, it's basically Warhammer Fantasy in a skirmish format. Then, you realize that it's goddamn awesome.

Each player starts the campaign with 500 crowns (or teeth, or slave tokens, or whatever the hell it is your race uses to pay the poor bastards who run around for them). You use this to hire Heroes and Henchmen. Each warband can hire a maximum of five (or six, if you're a fucking rat) heroes to start out; these are the most important characters in your warband, as they give you the much-needed Wyrdstone and gold needed to keep looting the city. You fill out the roster with Henchmen, who are somewhat less talented and inspiring than the rest of your heroes.

After hiring your models, you then buy equipment for them, and you're ready to start.

When a model loses its last wound, you roll a d6; they have a chance to survive and keep fighting after being knocked down or stunned. If a model is taken out of action, you roll on the giant table of injuries (for Heroes) to see if they've died, gained a crippling wound, or somehow picked up some awesome abilities due to scars.

As models survive games, they gain experience, which can give additional skills, stat increases, and power to your warband. This is the appeal of Mordheim; it's a campaign game, designed to let you create a characterful warband of unique figures.

There are a huge number of optional rules for Mordheim. It is generally suggested that you play with them, as they enhance the whole game experience to a huge degree.

==Getting Started==
So, you want to play some Mordheim? Here's some of the things you'll need;
* Friends. I know this is the internet, but we're gonna start with the easy things
* Minis to represent your warband. Do this AFTER you've thought up your list, and where you'd like it to go. Mordheim is all about character, so work out some interesting stuff. Most warbands can be made out of a single box of troops, and there's a lot of alternatives out there.
** Special mention must be made to Perry Miniatures Mercenary Box Set; it lacks some of the nicer bits, but you can build most human warbands out of it. It also comes with enough minis for several people, making starting a game even easier.
** If you're dead-set on GW, then you'll need to know what's useful for what. In no particular order
*** Empire Free Company: Is it a Mercenary warband/vaguely similar to an Empire Warband? Congratulations, you've got all you need!
*** Beastmen: A little conversion work, and you can build a decent warband from a box of Gor. You have to get creative if you want a Centigor, but nothing in life is free, eh?
*** Skaven: Night Runners if you're aiming for the usual list, Clanrats if you're willing to do more conversion work and have fun.
*** Dwarf Treasure Hunters: Warriors work if you've got the spare gun bits laying around, and you'll need to do some crazy conversion work for Troll Slayers. [[Mantic Games]]'s dwarfs can work, but the poses are a bit static for some people, and you need to really buy in bulk before they're really worth it.
*** Orcs and Goblins: Box of Orc Boyz and a box of goblins is more than enough. Use the extra bows that come with the Goblins if you need 'em for your boyz, otherwise you've pretty much got everything. As usual, you'll need to do some conversion work.
*** Marauders of Chaos: Box of Marauders, convert, and you're good. For warhounds, you should try to scratchbuild something if you're aiming to be cheap.
* Terrain: This is the big one. Make it out of corkboard if you have time, Terraclips if you want it to be fast and good, random shit if you don't care. Remember; clutter the board, and build UP! Nothing makes Mordheim fun like building up, because otherwise, no one can suicide-charge off of rooftop or place their ranged henchmen high in the land to get picked off one by one.

This shit is pretty much all you need to get started. A normal campaign is best with at least four people, but if you can get folks at your FLGS interested, a larger narrative campaign can be fun.

==Culture==
If you read the above section, you can probably tell that Mordheim isn't the most balanced of games out there. It's not meant to be; if you're looking for a balanced, competitive skirmish game, you've come to exactly the wrong place. Random shit will happen (if you use that table), and you will laugh at it, because if Mordheim stands for anything, it stands for STUPID FUN.

Most games are played using a Gentleman's Pact, wherein the players agree on optional rules and what sort of strategies (Skaven slingwall, Shadow Walkers) are off-limits for the duration of the campaign. Narrativity is usually encouraged, as that's part of the experience.

==Supplements of Renown==
You can find them if you ask nicely. Most were hosted and supported by Specialist Games.
* [http://bordertownburning.ciantygames.com/home.html Border Town Burning]: One of the biggest post 2004 development in Mordheim. It contains detailed expansion rules for campaigns in the Cathayan borderlands, detailing the merchant travels along the "Silk Road" from Cathay to the Old World. New warbands are Marauders, Norse Explorers, Merchant Caravans, Battle Monks of Cathay, The Restless Dead, Black Dwarfs and Maneaters.
* [http://www.specialist-arms.com/fanatic/96rotc1.pdf Relics of the Crusades part 1] and [http://www.specialist-arms.com/fanatic/97rotc2.pdf part 2]: Set in Araby during the Crusades. New warbands are Arabian Tribes (Ghutani, Muzil and Turjuk), Clan Skryre, Slavers and The Fallen. The author went on to create the [[Nights of the crusades]] rpg about 9000 years later.
* The Empire in Flames: Introduces campaigning in the wilderness around Mordheim.

==Coreheim==
[http://www.coreheim.com/ Coreheim] is an attempt to balance Mordheim; /tg/ alternately likes and loathes it, depending on the player. It fixes the notorious balance issues, but also completely misses the point of Mordheim: there are only six available warbands (most of which are flavors of mercenary), the randomness is removed, and it tries to treat itself as a 'serious' wargame, rather than something that creates glorious stories to tell around the gaming table.

It's a decent game, but it's not Mordheim.

The Coreheim team have since changed their focus and released [http://www.wyrdwars.com/ Wyrdwars] which is much closer to the original Mordheim rules in spirit and contains balanced rules for twenty two warbands.

==Mordheim: City Of The Damned==
From 2014 to 2016 Mordheim received an early-access vidya called [[Mordheim: City Of The Damned]]. It is quite well received by the Mordheim community mainly by making like Blood Bowl and just being a faithful adaptation of a tabletop game you can't buy (new) minis for anymore, and managed to buck the Steam trend of early access games being cash grabs that will never be finished.

[[get shit done|The game has been released]] on 19 Nov, 2015 and it is no longer in EA.

At release, the game had 4 "races" with their own campaigns. Mercenaries, Sisters of Sigmar, Skaven, and Chaos Cultists. The Witch Hunters and Undead (of the Von Carstein family, get away Restless Dead fans) were later released as DLC warbands, though you don't need to pay to get them as enemies in your campaign. Future warbands are now very unlikely as the devs have begun work on Necromunda, so no Orc Elf Dwarf Beastmen clusterfuck unfortunately. We are deeply sadened by this as fans of other warband will not get their favorite race navigating Mordheim :(.

==See also==
*[[/TG/heim]]
*[[Mordheim/Tactics]]

{{Specialist-Games}}

[[Category:Warhammer Fantasy]][[category:Skirmish-Level Wargames]]