A common situation new players find themselves in (as well as some returning players who have been out of the game for a while) involves what to do with older warbands they’ve gotten second hand. Maybe you found an old box laying around, or you got something on a great deal from eBay or a garage sale etc. It’s not any of the newest season’s stuff, so that can leave people scratching their heads, asking the questions of “hey, I just picked up this old warband, are the cards legal, and is there anything I need in order to be able to play? Also, what new products should I try to match them up with in order to be more competitive?” These are very common questions that I hope to be able to help with here. So let’s dive into the next in a series of articles: “Can I Use This Old Warband? A Beginner’s Guide to the Nethermaze Season”

You can find my other seasonal overviews here:
Shadespire (Season 1)
Nightvault (Season 2)
Beastgrave (Season 3)
Direchasm (Season 4)
Harrowdeep (Season 5)
Gnarlwood (Season 7)
Wyrdhollow (Season 8)
Deathgorge (Season 9) and Wintermaw (Season 10)

Overview:
Everything from Nethermaze (Season 6) is able to be played in the current game of Warhammer Underworlds. The only cards you’ll be able to use are the newer cards from Embergard, which have been released in the new edition of the game. All of the cards and boards from this season have been left behind as editions changed, so all you’ll need to hold on to are the minis themselves.

Some of the Nethermaze warbands (The Shadeborn and Skittershank’s Clawpack) are in the “other warbands”/”legends” category in that they aren’t valid for competitive play and have to use generic warscrolls, but they’re still totally fine for learning the game and getting some casual games in. The other half (Hexbane’s Hunters and The Gorchosen of Dromm) are newly re-released in the Grand Alliance boxes and are valid for competitive play.

The Shadeborn

Slythael and her totally not slaves have been updated for Spitewood, and you can read my full review here.

The Shadeborn are a four fighter warband with some varied range characteristics and can be played well as a glass-cannon blitz aggro invading force.

Skittershank’s Clawpack

Skittershank and his assassin clan have been updated for Spitewood, and my full review can be found here.

Skittershank’s Clawpack is a 5 fighter warband with a similar story to the Shadeborn – a few different tools and a handful of bodies, so they can be played in almost any way you like… so long as you like alpha striking the enemy leader.

Hexbane’s Hunters

Hexbane’s Hunters is a six fighter warband that has fantastic miniatures, an engaging set of mechanics, and is a decent competitive force in all formats. They’re classed as a Strike warband. I’m a big fan of Diablo II and Darkest Dungeon, and they really scratch that itch for me. The warband has four “Agents Azyrite”, each with their own flavor of offensive output, and two minion hounds who can move as a reaction to a hunter moving (including the move step during a charge). This makes getting support on your attacks very reliable, and boosts their Strike output, but also opens opportunities to occupy tokens with efficiency if you wanted to lean Flex.

The warband’s cool mechanic in that each time a human is slain, you can inspire another. You can aslo ‘mark’ the killer for retributiuon, gaining rerolls against them, and if you get that sweet revenge you can remove a move or charge token or draw a card. You also can count the slain fighter’s bounty toward how many upgrades you can field at once. You also can drop Ward of Martyr’s Blood to turn off weapon abilities once a game, which can potentially save a fighter’s life in a crucial situation. The warband isn’t as busted good mechanically as it once was, but I still think it’s perfectly respectable and can chip away at enemies with some relative reliability. All this to say, they want to be killing, and wouldn’t mind if the opponent has the same plan. After all, death in battle is just the price of victory, and wouldn’t that be a life well spent?

Rivals deck pairings to consider with this warband include Blazing Assault for more Strike goodness. You could also take Reckless Fury, but the warband mechanics and 6 fighter count actually don’t pair super well with it. Instead, consider Countdown to Cataclysm (which also adds more benefit from your own guys dying) or Wrack & Ruin to get some extra ping damage out there to augment your lower damage output. In a pinch those two decks can help slay your own fighters to open up more glory for upgrades and get another inspire off! You also have four Tempered fighters at the start of the game and some out-of-sequence move actions, so Edge of the Knife could be solid for them as well.

Gorechosen of Dromm

The Gorechosen of Dromm are a 3 fighter warband with some Big Boy action that plays a very powerful game of Strike, and are very arguably the strongest in the game at the moment. The warband has phenomenal stats, with immediate access to 3 damage and the ability to get to two different range 2 damage 3 hitters when inspired (and the Gorehulk doesn’t even need Grievous to do it!). Herax is no slouch and still only gives up one bounty, so as far as Danglebros go, dad-bod is top tier.

Not only do they have stat blocks to make the rest of the field jealous, but their warscroll shreds as well even after a hard nerf. They inspire after accruing enough blood tithe (earned when taking or dealing damage), and can spend the tithe to access powerful control abilities – force your opponent to charge in the power step, a multi push that can include enemies, and even the chance to not die when slain, at least for a time. Grab your favorite strike deck, deploy in the fives orientation, and start taking skulls.

Rivals deck pairings to consider with this warband include Reckless Fury, Blazing Assault, and Countdown to Cataclysm. They synergize astoundingly well with Reckless Fury. At the World Championships of Warhammer this year, every Gorechosen player (and there were several) took RF. The most common choice wasBlazing Assault and RF, which Diego piloted quite well at Worlds in this video. Here you can see a video of Matteo, the eventual second place finisher, play on the worlds stream with RF/CtC which was an interesting combination that allowed for some cool counterplays. Realmstone Raiders has been a pretty reliable deck for me with this team as well.

Wrap

Ultimately any and all Season 6 warbands are playable in the Rivals or Nemesis formats if you pick up a universal rivals deck. You absolutely can play with those old toys you’ve just acquired, and in some cases still do pretty well with them. You’re likely safe to toss the ‘extra’ cards that come with them. Until next time, I hope you enjoy spending that glory!