You will be able to pre-order the core set for the new edition of Warhammer Underworlds on Saturday. It contains everything you need to start playing, but it isn’t the end of the journey. A tantalising roadmap has already confirmed five new warbands, and the first two are coming out quite soon. Who are they? The Jaws of Itzl and Grandfather’s Gardeners.
Wherever Chaos festers, the Seraphon are sure to intervene, and the Jaws of Itzl are a ferocious Strike warband who prefer to enter the fray and tear their foes apart.
The Jaws of Itzl were once part of a grander warhost sent to cull the Skaven incursion, but they were separated from their Slann Starmaster by a cave-in. The Sunblood Kro-Jax the Aegis now leads his Saurus Warriors Ro-Tak the Guardian and So-Kar into battle alongside a swarm of Sotek’s Venomites, executing orders he receives from the buried but still breathing Starmaster.
Saurus Warriors are living weapons, their tough, serrated scales and gnashing jaws complemented by bladed celestite shields and weapons. These brutal Predatory Fighters inflict deep wounds on enemies even as they’re under attack, inspiring when they shed blood.
Without direct oversight of their Starmaster, they fight viciously and without regard for self-preservation, eviscerating foes with a Savage Mauling, and growing more bloodthirsty each time they succumb to this impulse and succeed in slaying their prey.
Predatory Fighters
Surge
With bladed shields and vice-like jaws, the saurus are just as deadly on the defence as they are on the attack.
Use this immediately after an enemy fighter’s failed Attack if the target was a friendly saurus and the Save roll contained any (Shield) Inflict 1 damage on that enemy fighter.
Savage Mauling
When severed from the influence of their masters, saurus revert to their feral instincts, using natural weapons to tear apart prey in sprays of blood and viscera.
Use this in a Power step. Pick an enemy fighter adjacent to a damaged friendly saurus that has no Charge tokens. Roll an Attack dice for each damage token that friendly fighter has. For each (Swords) or (Crit), inflict 1 damage on that enemy fighter. You can only use this ability once per game. Each time an enemy fighter is slain by this ability, you can use this ability once more this game.
They are joined by a coterie of Nurgle’s most munificent plague spreaders – Grandfather’s Gardeners. This warband views the depths of Embergard as fertile ground in which to cultivate the Garden of Nurgle, and sow their diseased seeds while embracing the cycle of rot, ruin, and rebirth as a Mastery warband.
Phlegmus Potbelly has one uncomplicated duty – to spread his master’s maggots and maladies across the Mortal Realms. He is aided by the Plaguebearers Slunge, Maggoty Strewg and Bug-Eyed Dripterus, plus the overgrown rotfly Squort. Welcoming the inevitable decay of all things, these fighters inspire when vulnerable.
Grandfather’s Gardener’s are beholden to the cycle of life, represented in game by a tracker which advances after their turn, after damage is inflicted to a friendly fighter, and after their turn if the warband holds more treasure tokens than their opponent. When they Reap a Harvest, Nurgle’s blessings heal a fighter, and the Blooming Plague runemark provides attacks with damage equal to the current space on the tracker.
Blooming Plague
Where a friendly fighter has the Gardener runemark instead of a characteristic, is equal to the current space on your tracker.
Reap a Harvest
Surge
Use this immediately after placing your token on this space. Pick a friendly fighter. Heal that fighter.
These warbands are accompanied by two brand new Rivals decks that match their play styles. Reckless Fury is a Strike deck that benefits warbands who embrace its furious momentum to rampage through their enemies. Manipulating charge tokens on fighters is the core concept of the deck, with Ploy and Upgrade cards like Catch Weapon and Get it Done allowing for token manipulation, while Outburst and Furious Might take advantage of this status.
Catch Weapon
Ploy
Play this immediately after a fighter’s successful Attack. Give that fighter a Charge token.
Trap an enemy’s blade and you seriously hamper their ability to cause you lethal harm.
Get It Done
Ploy
Pick 2 friendly fighters. Remove a Charge token from 1 of those fighters and then give the other fighter a Charge token.
‘A bit of hard graft and we all go home the richer.’ – Bjorgen Thundrik
Outburst
Ploy
Pick a friendly fighter with any Charge tokens. Roll an Attack dice for each enemy fighter adjacent to them. If you are the underdog, roll a number of dice equal to the battle round number instead. If the roll contains any (Hammer), inflict 1 damage on that fighter.
‘That lunatic nearly killed us!’ – Crimson Kheira
Furious Might
Upgrade (1)
This fighter’s melee weapons have Grievous while this fighter has any Charge tokens and is not using the Charge ability.
Planting their feet and summoning every ounce of their fury, this fighter unleashes a spine‑shattering blow.
Objective cards reward the proliferation of these tokens, with Best Foot Forward, Arena Mortis and Unrelenting Massacre, giving Glory to warbands that can stack up those charge tokens.
Best Foot Forward
Objective (Surge) - 1 Glory
Score this immediately after a friendly fighter’s successful Attack if that fighter has any Charge tokens and is in enemy territory.
‘Raaargh! Let’s stick ’em, buckoes! Err... buckoes?’ – Peggz
Arena Mortis
Objective - 2 Glory
Score this in an end phase if all fighters in the same territory have Charge tokens and their total Bounty characteristic is 4 or more.
Most battles are decided in the moments that follow the first crunching impact of charging warriors.
Unrelenting Massacre
Objective - 3 Glory
Score this in an end phase if all fighters have Charge tokens.
‘Little fleshling, if the boil-burst plague didn’t stop us in our tracks, what chance do you reckon you’ve got?’ – Ghulgoch the Butcher
Wrack and Ruin takes a different tack, designed as a Mastery deck with a focus on using power cards to control the battlefield and inflict damage with traps and trickery. Confusion and Ominous Rumbling await in the tunnels beneath Embergard, and Upgrades like Rock-splitting Tread and Unstoppable reward those who can master this treacherous environment.
Confusion
Ploy
Pick 2 adjacent fighters. Remove those fighters from the battlefield and then place each in the hex the other was removed from.
Down in the smoky darkness, it’s all too easy to find yourself suddenly beset by foes.
Ominous Rumbling
Ploy
Your opponent must pick 1 of the following abilities for you to resolve:
Pick 2 enemy fighters. Give each of those fighters a Stagger token.
Pick an enemy fighter that is not vulnerable. Inflict 1 damage on that fighter.
Rock-splitting Tread
Upgrade (1)
Stomp (Surge): Immediately after your last Action step in a battle round, pick an adjacent enemy fighter that is not vulnerable. Inflict 1 damage on that fighter. Then, roll an Attack dice. On a (Hammer), discard this card.
Even the earth beneath this warrior’s feet screams in pain.
Unstoppable
Upgrade (2)
While this fighter is vulnerable, each time 1 damage is inflicted on this fighter, reduce that damage to 0.
Even when all the world is breaking apart, there are always those able to stand firm.
Scoring for this deck rewards careful positioning and thoughtful use of power cards, through Objective cards like Predictable End, Alone in the Dark, and Out of the Frying Pan.
Predictable End
Objective (Surge) - 1 Glory
Score this immediately after an ability on a friendly Wrack and Ruin card inflicts damage on an enemy fighter holding a treasure token.
‘Well, whatever did you expect?’ – Vellas von Faine
Alone in the Dark
Objective - 2 Glory
Score this in an end phase if no fighters are adjacent.
‘I am not lost. I am. Not. Lost. Nor am I talking to myself. Both good signs.’ – Brydget Axwold
Out of the Frying Pan
Objective - 2 Glory
Score this in an end phase if 3 or more damaged friendly fighters that have Move and/or Charge tokens are in enemy territory.
For once, it probably is just as bad as it looks.
The Jaws of Itzl, Grandfather’s Gardners and both decks will be available to pre-order shortly – keep an eye on Warhammer Community for more details.
