Where Kamandora’s Blades were heading to Embergard to claim just skulls, the next Warhammer Underworlds warband is coming to claim ALL the bones! And Thanatek’s Tithe, a group of Ossiarch Bonereapers, is bringing along a new Rivals deck, full of new ways to win.
Just because Embergard has been devastated by the Vermindoom, doesn’t mean that Nagash won’t still expect them to pay the bone-tithe. But Thanatek isn’t after just any boring old bones – he’s after ‘truebone’, which is an unusually pure form. What does Thanatek plan to do once he has all this osseous matter? We’re sure he’ll just be making some lovely puppies and kitties, right?
To help in his quest, Thanatek has brought some friends. Tukhar and Sekhmor are both Mortis Reapers,* deadly assassins who specialise in eviscerating promising targets, and Xar-Tamok and Medeb-Ahk are Mornial caste retainers that each have a handy casket between their two heads. This is primarily to carry bones and mystical soul-stuff, but imagine how handy that would be for a trip to the supermarket.
Thanatek’s Tithe are a Flex-style warband, which means they can quite happily slay enemy fighters or jump on treasure tokens, depending on the situation. Their warscroll card has a few tricks up its sleeve (or it would if Bonereapers wore shirts) to help out when things get a bit violent. Both Xar-Tamok and Medeb-Ahk have the Retainers runemark, which means that Thanatek can channel his attacks through them.
SOUL-LINKED CONSTRUCTS
Your leader’s weapons’ characteristics cannot be modified. When you pick a target as part of your leader’s Attack using a non‑Upgrade melee weapon, you can measure the range of that weapon from a friendly Retainer instead of from your leader
MORBID RETAINERS
Immediately after a friendly fighter’s successful Attack, if the target is adjacent to any friendly Retainers, gain 1 cadaver token.
If you’ve been sufficiently aggressive with your Retainers and they are adjacent to a foe when you attack, you might even be able to claim a cadaver token. This represents them claiming some bones in their caskets.
While we’re sure that Katakros will be thrilled if you just travel around the mines of Embergard or the Spitewood, collecting cadaver tokens, they have a more sinister use. Should one of your Mortis Reapers be slain, you can bring them back (turns out Thanatek isn’t making puppies and kittens after all!).
ENDLESS DUTY
Even the destruction of their physical form does not release a Bonereaper from their eternal service to Nagash.
Use this in your Power step. Remove any of your cadaver tokens. Pick a slain friendly Mortis Reaper, then roll an Attack dice for each cadaver token you removed. If the roll contains any or , Raise that fighter and place them in a starting hex in friendly territory. You can only use this ability once per battle round.
Unlike more straightforward Flex warbands, Thanatek’s Tithe will require a little planning to get the most out of – thinking about where you need your Retainers to be and deciding when (and if) to sacrifice your Mortis Reapers will be the key to victory. You’ll also need to be careful with those cadaver tokens, as you’ll need them to inspire your fighters. Don’t get it wrong, though, because Nagash is always watching.
Alongside Thanatek’s Tithe comes the Nexus of Power Rivals deck. It’s a Flex-style deck, which means it would pair really well with the new Ossiarch Bonereapers or another Flex-style warband,** such as Borgit's Beastgrabbaz. It introduces the covetous rule, which works well with both sides of the Flex equation – claiming treasure tokens and killing enemy fighters.
Rivals Deck
NEXUS OF POWER
While using this Rivals deck:
Friendly fighters are covetous while they are within I hex of a treasure token.
Friendly covetous fighters' Range I melee weapons ( excluding Upgrades) have + I Range while they hold a treasure token.
After the numbered side of the feature tokens has been revealed in the Place Treasure Tokens
sequence, your opponent can flip up to two treasure tokens. If both players have this Plot card, then starting with the player who last placed a treasure token, both players take it in turns to flip a token or pass. A player must pass if they have already flipped 2 treasure tokens. The sequence ends after both players pass in succession.
Your opponent getting the opportunity to flip a pair of treasure tokens makes it harder to take advantage of your covetous state, and if they are using the Pillage and Plunder deck, their eyes might light up as they find themselves close to already completing some of their high-scoring Objectives.
Take advantage of your covetous status and accurate attacks to Close the Vice on your enemy, turn some of those cover tokens back into treasure tokens with Unearthed Treasure, and even things up a little with I Like Those Odds.
CLOSE THE VICE (2)
Score this in an end phase if 3 different friendly covetous fighters Attacked in the preceding combat phase.
‘Claim it all for the tithe.’
– Thanatek
UNEARTHED TREASURE
Pick a cover token that does not have a fighter on it. Flip that cover token.
The forest giveth, when it must. The forest taketh, when it can.
I LIKE THOSE ODDS (1)
This fighter has +1 Save (to a maximum of 2) while they hold an odd-numbered treasure token.
‘The aesthetic curl of the femurs. The pleasing off-white hue. By the Great Necromancer, they even
have an arcane resonance.’
– Thanatek
Thanatek’s Tithe and the Nexus of Power Rivals deck will both be available to pre-order soon. If you’ve yet to begin your quest for glory in the dark places beneath the Mortal Realms, the Warhammer Underworlds: Embergard boxed set contains everything you need to start playing the fast-paced arena combat game.
* We saw a whole unit of Mortis Reapers, along with other Ossiarch Bonereapers reinforcements, shown off at the New Year Preview.
** Or try it with the warband of your choice to open up new tactical options. Maybe a Strike-style warband, such as the Jaws of Itzl, might also enjoy being covetous…
