Warhammer Underworlds will be plunging into the Nethermaze this weekend – a murky, tangled labyrinth where malevolent shadow magic seeps down to pool in its maddening nadir. We’re kicking off this week’s juicy taste of Nethermaze tidbits by chewing over Skittershank’s Clawpack, the first of the two new warbands clamouring to claim the labyrinth’s penumbral prize.
When tales of Harrowdeep first reached the twitching ears of the Clans Eshin, it didn’t take long for the squabbling enclaves of skaven assassins to dispatch a kill-squad to investigate. In fact, they dispatched a lot of kill-squads, each out to sabotage and overtake the others – whoever could seize control of the Nethermaze would be seizing one of the most powerful arcane constructs ever invented.
It was up-and-coming throat-cutter Slynk Skittershank who won this rat race, and he has descended into the Nethermaze with his deadly Clawpack.
The most notable trait of these skittering assassins is their speed. Every member of the Clawpack moves an impressive five hexes, outpacing even their aelven rivals.
With agility comes fragility, however – if some poor rat is isolated from the swarm, they can be picked off quickly. You’ll want to use haste-speed to pick your fights, and employ some crafty tricks to devastate any opponents who assume they’re safe at a distance.
Slynk Skittershank, in particular, can amp up his speed to truly ridiculous levels with his exclusive Deathmaster upgrade – taking him to a remarkable six hexes.
In true Eshin fashion, this warband excels at assassinating leaders. Killing a leader – or inflicting four or more wounds on beefier leaders like Blackpowder – will immediately inspire Skittershank, whereas his Clawpack merely need to try and hit the enemy leader to get their power boost. An inspired Skittershank will become much more accurate as he hacks and slashes his way through the deep.
The Clawpack can exploit powerful gambits to help cut the head off the snake. Misplaced Optimism, for example, can push enemy leaders in their own territory up to two entire hexes – perfect for luring out a vital leader like Deintalos, or dragging the Shroud Queen Slythael out of the cover she needs to teleport. Combined with their speed, even a leader on the opposite side of the board isn’t safe from the Clawpack’s knives in the dark.
The Clawpack’s objective cards support this strategic approach to assassination. The Way of the Hidden Paw is achieved when an enemy fighter is taken out of action with support from Slynk – exemplifying Eshin’s preference for calculated kills carefully-crafted to cause chaos. Play your cards right, and you may find yourself taking out fighter after fighter with just a few models working together.
This is the first of a dozen objective cards exclusive to these venomous vermin, which form part of the warband’s Rivals deck – a pre-built set of cards designed for out-of-the-box play. These decks are perfect for beginners, or just those who want a straightforward game with no deck building.
Nethermaze also introduces the new Map keyword – though as you might expect from an eldritch labyrinth, even the guidebooks are a gamble. Detailed Map Fragment, for example, allows you to find a shortcut to victory by gaining spent glory points – but beware! Your opponents are watching your every move, and can dip into their armoury in return.
Piecing together a full set of Map cards will be a trickier task, but it’s well worth the payoff. Clawpack players will need to think strategically and weigh up the risk of trusting their Maps… whilst remaining aware that the opponent may be doing the same.
The eldritch hell of the Nethermaze will unfurl its coral steps for pre-order this weekend. In the meantime, subscribe to our newsletter for more updates, as we’ll be revealing more news from under the Penumbral Sea in the lead-up to Nethermaze’s release.