The Hour of Ruin is upon us, and seismic changes are coming to Warhammer Underworlds.
The first edition of Warhammer Underworlds was released seven years ago, but the deck-building and miniatures game is now moving to the Skaven-scourged city of Embergard, and bringing with it an exciting new ruleset revolutionised from the ground up.
The thriving Dawnbringer City of Embergard was destroyed during the Vermindoom and is now a warren of ruined mines that glow with the eerie light of emberstone, the potent realmstone of Aqshy. In the wake of this cataclysm, intrepid warbands from across the realms are venturing into its hazardous depths.
The new Core Game will be your starting point for the entire new edition, which means no new season starter set every six months. Here’s what’s inside the jam-packed box:
You get two new warbands – the Emberwatch and Zikkit's Tunnelpack – who are battling for control of the mines, as well as four new universal Rivals decks, a double-sided game board, a rulebook, and all the dice, game aids and tokens you’ll need to get playing straight away
The Emberwatch consists of three Stormcast Eternals from the Vanguard chamber. Their leader is the blazing young star Ardorn Flamerunner, backed up by the ruthless assassin Farasa Twice-Risen and the steady-handed marksman Yurik Velzaine.
Using their Vanguard skills, they strike fast and hard to stop those who attempt to plunder Embergard.
Warlock Engineer Zikkit Rockgnaw has turned the natural Skaven affinity towards tunnelling into an obsession, burrowing recklessly with his portable warp-drill. Zikkit’s Tunnelpack are thralls to their leader’s mad ambitions: lowly acolytes Krittatok and Nitch Singe-snout aid apprentice Rittak Verm as he gleefully careens around in his deadly Kill-wheel,* while blast-vermin like Tik Tik scamper around carrying bombs. They attack with their mad-cap technology, trading incredible power for big risks to life and limb.
Here’s where the Warhammer Underworlds format shifts. Both warbands have a Warband Warscroll Card, which gives them their unique rules, and individual Fighter Cards revamped for the new edition. We’ll be showing off some of the new Fighter Cards and how they work in the coming days, so keep an eye on Warhammer Community.
Warband decks are no longer a part of the game. Instead, warband rules live on the Warscroll, ensuring your warband's unique playstyle is there no matter which Rivals Deck you use.
Speaking of which, the Core Game comes with four Rivals Decks to use with these and other warbands: Blazing Assault, Emberstone Sentinels, Countdown to Cataclysm, and Pillage & Plunder.
They all provide a different playstyle, and each warband has its own character – so mixing and matching to find out what works best for you is a core concept in the new edition. We’ll have more details on how all of this works in the near future.
There’s a 36-page rulebook which is significantly streamlined compared to the previous edition and makes incisive changes to improve the game. The rules are only 16 pages long, and the core gameplay fits into just seven, so you can get the basics down in minutes!
There’s a new double-sided game board which replaces the old two-board setup, plus eight Warhammer Underworlds dice, a token sheet containing 76 double-sided tokens, and a double-sided quick start sheet so you can put your miniatures together and get started immediately.
New Edition, New Rules
This is a significant rules reset. After seven years, the decision was taken to streamline the game, rationalise the cards, and ensure that new players aren’t locked out of warbands and cards to buy and use.
Warhammer Underworlds had 58 warbands and thousands of cards released over seven years, with rules increasing in complexity to keep pace. The new edition drills down into the core of the game without losing any of that tactical depth or sense of mastery – but this means substantial changes to the existing structure.
These changes streamline the game, addressing years of feedback and retuning nearly every aspect of play to create tense, close-fought matches. They also ensure players never end up with a ‘bricked hand’ full of cards that can’t be used, and that losing a game is never an inevitability! All of these changes make for a game that can be a close call, right to the end, and new underdog mechanics mean there is always a chance for a heroic (or villainous) come back.
This does mean that your old cards and boards won’t be compatible with the new edition, but all of your miniatures still will be. There will be rules for every current Warhammer Underworlds warband – all 58 of them. Most warbands will have free digital rules at launch, but 16 will be released physically shortly afterwards. Two brand new warbands will also arrive, for a total of 20 warbands players can buy just to start with.
The new rules are easier to learn, but with more depth to master than ever before. It'll be easier than ever to get your friends involved in your favourite game.
We’ll have a release roadmap soon so you know what to expect, along with in-depth articles exploring the changes. We can also reveal now that the new rules will be in use at this year’s World Championships of Warhammer. All the live coverage from the first major event featuring the new edition will be published here on Warhammer Community.
For the rest of the Warhammer Day previews, head back to the hub.
And finally, five people will win one of four Greater Daemons of Chaos (a Bloodthirster, a Lord of Change, a Great Unclean One, or a Keeper of Secrets) simply by signing up to – or by already being signed up to – the Warhammer email newsletter. Be signed up by 12th of October, and then click on your choice in the Warhammer Day email you receive to be in with a shot. Terms and conditions apply.
* A miniature Doomwheel…
