Spitewood is the upcoming expansion for Warhammer Underworlds, and it contains two new warbands and two new Rivals decks. We’ve shown how Kurnoth’s Heralds use their swiftness and knowledge of the lay of the land to drive invaders back, and how the Blood of the Bull empower their weapons by extracting energy from places of power as they do battle.
It also contains two new Rivals decks, which can be used with the warbands in the box, or with any other warband in the game. These two decks are the Strike deck Hunting Grounds, and the Mastery deck Deadly Synergy, each one filled with new Objectives, Ploys, and Upgrades that provide you with additional ways to play.
Hunting Grounds is a Strike deck tailored around staying in your own territory and goading your enemies to come and fight you on home ground, where you can punish them most effectively. By exploiting Secrets of the Realm, you can stagger any enemy fighter in your half of the board that is next to a friendly fighter or feature token, making them easy prey.
Your warband can also Deny Invaders using a flurry of blows, with every friendly fighter gaining +1 Attack dice while they are in friendly territory, or they can make use of Paths Unknown to stop Attacks from targeting them – with the underdog able to do so even when in enemy territory.
Other highlights include Keep Them at Bay, which adds +1 Range to a maximum of 2 for Attacks that target enemies in friendly territory, Mind Your Step, which lets you push an enemy fighter two hexes as long as they land in neutral or enemy territory, and the upgrade Hidden Traps, which provides a reliable weapon that gains Grievous when the target is near a feature token in your territory.
SECRETS OF THE REALM
Give each enemy fighter in friendly territory that is adjacent to a friendly fighter and/or feature token a Stagger token.
Only fools stumble blindly into the wilds of the Mortal Realms, thinking boldness alone will see them through.
PATHS UNKNOWN
Pick a friendly fighter in friendly territory. If you are the underdog ( ), you can pick a friendly fighter in enemy territory instead. In the next turn, that fighter
cannot be picked to be the target of an Attack.
The deadly tangle of the Spitewood offers many opportunities to outmanoeuvre the unwary.
HIDDEN TRAPS
This weapon has Grievous ( ) if the target is within 1 hex of a feature token in friendly territory.
Objectives reward you for forcing enemies to Back Off! by pushing them out into a different territory, or by having your leader stick in your own territory and Attack twice, ensuring they Lead By Example. If you can coordinate things, Pinned! scores big when an enemy is driven into an edge hex in friendly territory, while Home Advantage nets you glory if an enemy fighter fails an Attack that targets a member of your warband in friendly territory.
BACK OFF!
Score this immediately after a friendly fighter’s Attack if the target was pushed into a different territory.
‘Get back, wretch. None but the faithful may pass.’
– Leona Stratosi
PINNED!
Score this in an end phase if an enemy fighter was driven back into an edge hex in friendly territory this battle round.
‘We have the beast cornered. Now to clip those wings…’
– Traxya, the Aegis
HOME ADVANTAGE
Score this immediately after an enemy fighter’s failed Attack if the target was a friendly fighter in friendly territory.
The wise warrior prefers to do battle in a place they know intimately.
The second deck is Deadly Synergy, which is a Mastery deck built around the concept of uniting your fighters. When your warriors are adjacent to each other they are considered united until one of them dies, and enemy fighters next to united fighters are considered Flanked – bad news for them!
United fighters can Take One For The Team, diverting an incoming Attack to themselves, or present a Unified Front and gain +1 Save in the next turn, to a maximum of 3. Leaders can be upgraded with Shared Incentive to get +1 Move, which united fighters also pick up if they start their move adjacent to the leader.
A Brother-in-Arms can pick the melee weapon of an adjacent friendly fighter when making an Attack, perhaps making use of the Entangling Strike upgrade weapon that gains Cleave and Ensnare when their target is Flanked or Surrounded. There are also cards like Army of Two and Titan of Combat that can make fighters united even if they aren’t adjacent, something to look out for given a united fighter is always considered to be flanking their foe…
TAKE ONE FOR THE TEAM
Play this immediately after a united friendly fighter is picked to be the target of an Attack. Pick a united friendly fighter adjacent to the target and within
range of the weapon being used for the Attack. That fighter must be the target of that Attack instead.
SHARED INCENTIVE
This Upgrade can only be given to your leader ()
This fighter has +1 Move.
United friendly fighters have +1 Move if they are adjacent to this fighter when they start that Move.
BROTHER-IN-ARMS
Play this immediately before you pick a melee weapon as part of a united friendly fighter’s Attack. Pick a united friendly fighter adjacent to the attacker. Use 1 of that fighter’s melee weapons for that Attack instead.
‘All must fight. All are part of Great Plan.’
– Kro-Jax, the Aegis
Staying united is key to scoring with Deadly Synergy. With Aggressive Unity, you just need to make three or more melee Attacks with united fighters, while Inevitable Outcome requires two or more united fighters to be adjacent to the same enemy fighter. You can score Got Your Back! if an enemy fighter’s failed Attack targeted a united fighter, and Outmuscle your opponents by driving back an enemy with a united fighter.
AGGRESSIVE UNITY
Score this in an end phase if 3 or more melee Attacks were made by united friendly fighters this battle round.
With momentum on their side, the attackers keep their foe under constant, merciless pressure.
GOT YOUR BACK!
Score this immediately after an enemy fighter’s failed Attack if the target was a united friendly fighter.
A single fighter is easily overwhelmed, but two fighting in tandem are a dangerous prospect.
OUTMUSCLE
Score this in an end phase if an enemy fighter was driven back as part of a united friendly fighter’s successful Attack this battle round.
‘Listen, wazzok, if you come after a duardin, you’d best be prepared to face his friends.’
– Fjul-Grimnir
There are plenty of opportunities to put both Rivals decks into use with a wide variety of warbands in order to figure out the most powerful combos. There are 18 warbands available to pre-order on Saturday as well – two new warbands in Spitewood, and 16 returning via Grand Alliance bundle boxes.
