The new season of Warhammer Underworlds kicks off this weekend when the new Gnarlwood boxed set goes up for pre-order, bringing with it updated rules and fresh formats that make it the most accessible version of the game to date. Inside you’ll find two new warbands – the undead Sons of Velmorn, and the stars of today’s warband focus, the wild and wanton Gnarlspirit Pack.
The Gnarlspirit Pack are a band of Darkoath warriors marked by animalistic spirits, forced to abandon their tribe* by the savage urges that gnaw at the back of their minds. These beastly patrons have driven the warband to the root-halls below the Gnarlwood, where they’ve found a wealth of worthy foes to hunt. Let’s take a closer look at the fighters who make up the pack.
Sarrakkar Blackwing
The pack follows the hunt-shaman Sarrakkar Blackwing into battle. He might be wiry and strange, but he’s the only one who can interpret the guttural howls of the warband’s beast-spirits. For a wizard he’s pretty handy in a fight – but what are these Spirit counters, and how do you Struggle against them? Read on to find out…
Gorl Spinehammer
Was Gorl Spinehammer named after his impressive hammer, or did he pick it up just to match his surname? Either way, he shows off the Struggle rule shared by the rest of the warband – with each activation, you’ll need to decide whether to let your fighters fall prey to their animalistic instincts by giving them a Spirit counter, or reign in their urges and become Inspired in the ensuing Inspire step.
Crimson Kheira
Few who get in the way of feared killer Crimson Kheira live to tell the tale. When she’s in control and Inspired, her Clawed Axes slice through enemy defence rolls with Cleave – but give her a Spirit counter, and you’ve got a fighter with Move 5 whose Berserk Assault can target all adjacent enemy fighters with Scything!
Either way, she can land Grievous attacks for extra damage on a critical hit – that’s pretty tasty.
Lupan Longcut
Finally, there’s the sadistic murderer Lupan Longcut. Will you keep his Spirit counter for the extra Move and improved rolls, or Inspire him to make his Longcut spear more accurate and his Silent Knife even deadlier? Like his comrade Gorl, an Inspired Lupan also benefits those allies who have become beasts – adding another layer to your Struggles.
You’ll need to strike a careful balance between succumbing to the beast within and Inspiring your fighters to get the most out of your power cards – as you’ll see as we take a look at some of the cards from the Gnarlspirit Pack’s Rivals deck. Will you stick with the out-of-the-box deck, or attempt to play down the savagery by building your own Nemesis deck?
In Control and Spurred Onwards require a mix of both beasts and non-beasts in your warband, encouraging a deadly spiritual equilibrium.
These ploys are both great for moving your warband onto objectives or for getting them properly stuck into their opposite numbers – provided at least one of your fighters retains enough humanity to hold the leash. If you do strike the right balance between Inspiring your fighters and succumbing to the beast inside, you’ll be rewarded for unleashing your True Selves.
Beasts or no, the Gnarlspirit Pack are still Darkoath, and can earn more glory by fulfilling their vows to the Dark Gods. Complete the Oath of Slaughter by taking enemy fighters out of action.
If you reveal this card** at the start of your first turn in a round, it’s essentially worth four glory – one glory to start, plus one additional glory for revealing it, and two for the kills. When you slay your prey, don’t forget to take a trophy… or two… or three…
Cool upgrades that you don’t have to spend glory on? The Dark Gods have surely blessed us! In fact, we’re doubly blessed, as they have also provided a vision of how to paint the new Gnarlspirit Pack miniatures.
Warhammer Underworlds: Gnarlwood is available to pre-order from Saturday. In the meantime, check out the updated Warhammer Underworlds website, and join us later in the week when we’ll be looking at the Gnarlspirit Pack’s sworn enemies – the Sons of Velmorn.
* See the Darkoath tribes up close and personal in the Hammer and Bolter episode Monsters on Warhammer+.
** Bellowing “I swear an Oath of Slaughter, o Dark Ones!” is recommended but not mandatory.